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INVITING HARD QUESTIONS

Anthropic has invited public input on AI-related concerns, conducting surveys and focus groups to understand societal hopes and fears.

META'S NEW AI CHIPS WILL BEGIN PRODUCTION IN SEPTEMBER

Netta and Broadcom are working on the chip design, with TSMC set to manufacture it.

ELON MUSK PRAISES MYTHOS/FABLE, PROMISES NOT TO ‘CUT OFF' ANTHROPIC

Elon Musk insists that he's full of admiration for rival Anthropic.

LOVABLE IS REPORTEDLY IN TALKS TO RAISE $300M AT A $13.2BN VALUATION

Lovable is reportedly in talks to raise $300m at a $13.2bn valuation, roughly double its $6.6bn December Series B, according to Sifted. The Swedish vibe-coding startup has surpassed $500m in annualized revenue with just 146 staff, though the round remains unconfirmed and Lovable declined to comment. The surge reflects both Europe's push to prove it can produce AI giants and broader concerns about a possible AI-funding bubble.

GOOGLE PHOTOS CAN NOW TURN YOUR ORDINARY VIDEOS INTO AI-GENERATED WORKS OF ART

Google Photos is adding Video Remix, a new Gemini-powered tool that transforms videos up to 10 seconds long into stylized versions using AI effects like cinematic relighting, new backgrounds, watercolor, oil painting, and sketchbook styles. Users simply choose a template from the Create tab, and Gemini generates a reimagined version of the clip in a few minutes without requiring manual editing. The feature is rolling out first to Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers in select countries, continuing Google's expansion of Gemini-powered creative tools in Google Photos.

CHARACTER.AI ENTERS THE MICRODRAMA ARENA WITH ITS OWN PRODUCTIONS, BUT THERE'S A TWIST

Character.AI is entering the microdrama market with three AI-produced series spanning romance, horror, and survival, while adding a twist that lets adult users chat and roleplay with the shows' characters. The company plans to use this studio-led experiment to develop creator tools that could eventually let users build and share their own character-driven series. Character.AI is also testing AI-powered audio dramas and fiction tools as it expands further into interactive entertainment.

THE 15-MINUTE AI STRESS TEST EVERY DESIGNER CAN RUN

The Spaghetti Table Protocol tests whether multimodal AI systems apply physical grounding when generating images, using a prompt for an impossible dining table with dry spaghetti legs, a concrete slab top, and a water-filled fishbowl. Testing GPT-4o, Gemini 1.5 Pro, and Claude 3.5 Sonnet in February–March produced an aggregate score of 4/30, with Claude notably flagging the physical impossibility in words while still rendering it anyway. The author invites designers to run the same two-prompt test themselves and contribute results to a shared public dataset mapping where current AI architectures lack physical grounding.

DESIGN ENGINEERING

Design engineering is shifting from bridging the gap between design and engineering toward one person owning as much of that gap as possible, especially as coding agents and cross-disciplinary skills reduce implementation friction. Marcelo Chaman frames it as a spectrum from prototyping-focused historical roles to full production ownership, exemplified at Gumloop where design engineers turn ambiguous problems directly into shipped, coherent product. He argues taste—combined with decisiveness and shipping ability—matters more as software becomes easier to build, since the person who can both judge and execute has outsized leverage.

HOW DO YOU TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT OF SCRAPPED DESIGN PROJECTS?

Designers often assume a scrapped project's impact disappears with it, but preliminary evidence exists if they defined and collected the right signals early. A signal is an observable user behavior change—visible in prototypes or usability tests, not requiring launch—that predicts whether a design achieved its intended effect. Unlike lagging metrics (revenue) or leading metrics (activation rates) that need a live product, signals can be captured before shipping, giving designers a lasting record of impact even when projects get cancelled.

BUILD AROUND CONTENT, NOT BREAKPOINTS

A React component that knows when content stops fitting. No media queries. No container queries. No magic numbers.

CREATE STUNNING SLIDES WITH REPLIT IN MINUTES

Start with a doc, choose a template, and get polished, structured decks ready to present.

PPT GENERATOR

Create professional presentations in minutes with AI. Generate, beautify, and enhance your PPT with intelligent automation.

STORYBOOK WORKBENCH: AUDIT VIBE-CODED UIS AND FIND HIDDEN BUGS IN HOURS

Evil Martians built Storybook Workbench, an open-source set of agent skills that audits vibe-coded apps by rendering every component state in Storybook, catching dead code, duplicate design systems, and hidden accessibility bugs no build would flag. On one internal test app, it found 31 dead components and six accessibility bugs in hours rather than the three days manual audits used to take. The toolkit runs via simple /sb commands covering onboarding, orchestration, navigation, and reporting, and outputs structured JSON that teams can feed into Linear tickets, PDF reports, or Figma sync.

STUDIO MOARA CRAFTS ORGANIC BRANDING FOR BORI CAFE

Studio Moara refreshed Bori Cafe's identity with a warm, minimalist branding system that combines earthy colors, clean typography, and organic illustrations to create a welcoming yet contemporary feel. The visual language extends consistently across digital and physical touchpoints—including cups, packaging, and signage—using simple layouts and modular elements to strengthen recognition and improve usability. The redesign demonstrates how a cohesive, strategically crafted identity can elevate a local café by making the brand feel both approachable and premium.

IF AI PRODUCTION IS MAKING PRODUCTION CHEAPER, HOW CAN YOU SELL DESIGN THINKING INSTEAD?

As AI makes production cheap, designers should sell judgment, taste, and problem-framing instead—the thinking behind the work, not just its execution.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CLIENTS TRUST AI MORE THAN CREATIVE EXPERTISE?

Clients are increasingly arriving with AI-generated concepts already "finished," skipping the concept development process agencies see as their real value.

THE PULSE: INTERESTING AI CODING STATS FROM CURSOR

A recent report from Cursor shows large disparities in coding productivity among its users, with top 1% power users generating up to 40,000 lines of code per week, compared to the median user's 700 lines. The study also shows that input tokens make up about 90% of AI token usage during coding, suggesting that developers spend more time reading and understanding existing code than writing new code.

SERVING SUB-SECOND IDEOGRAM V4 WITHOUT QUALITY LOSS

The development of Ideogram V4 has achieved a huge speed improvement, reducing image generation time from 2.75 seconds to just 0.44 seconds without sacrificing quality, primarily by exploiting multiple optimization techniques including FP4 computation and epilogue fusion. Key methods like quantization-aware distillation were used to address the quality issues inherent with FP4, improving color accuracy and image fidelity.

PROGRESSIVE DISCLOSURE: FROM TRAINING WHEELS TO WEEK-LONG AI AGENTS

Progressive disclosure is a UI design strategy that presents only the most critical features initially, allowing users to access more advanced options as needed. This method is great for usability by allowing most users to complete tasks efficiently while allowing more advanced users to dive deeper with minimal effort.

WHAT 900,000 LINES OF AI-BUILT CODE TAUGHT ME ABOUT BEING WRONG

After creating over 900k lines of code for a new product, the biggest learning was the importance of reassessing the effectiveness of AI tools and maintaining human oversight in architectural processes.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FRONTEND WHILE YOU WEREN'T WATCHING

Frontend development has transformed from being straightforward to requiring knowledge of the entire JavaScript ecosystem. However, the current trend is moving back towards a simpler approach.

GPT-5.6: FRONTIER INTELLIGENCE THAT SCALES WITH YOUR AMBITION

The newly launched GPT-5.6 family of models, including the flagship Sol, improves intelligence and efficiency, outperforming previous versions and competitors in various domains while reducing costs. It also introduces advanced capabilities for complex tasks, better cybersecurity measures, and safety systems to manage misuse risks.

CHATGPT IS NOW A PARTNER FOR YOUR MOST AMBITIOUS WORK

ChatGPT Work is a new feature that improves productivity by allowing users to automate tasks, manage complex projects, and integrate with various apps to generate finished documents and analyses.

TRAYCER

Traycer is an open-source AI orchestration app that allows users to connect existing agent subscriptions, facilitating parallel operations without losing context through shared memory. Features include seamless model switching, agent communication, collaboration tools for teams, and cross-device synchronization.

WAYS TO THINK ABOUT TOKEN PRICING

There is currently a supply crunch in the AI market affecting token pricing, with uncertainty about future demand and whether frontier models will maintain sustainable pricing power or devolve into low-margin commodity infrastructure. The balance of supply, demand, and pricing dynamics is expected to shift over the coming years.

FABLE 5 VS OPUS 4.8: OUTCOMES-BASED ASSESSMENTS ARE A MASSIVE WARNING FOR FRONTIER AI LABS

Recent assessments show that advanced AI models, specifically Fable 5 and Opus 4.8, fail to meet real-world business outcomes, scoring zero in improving website conversion rates despite appearing capable on artifact metrics. Companies like Eli Lilly have opted for smaller, purpose-built models over frontier AI.

WHAT'S REALLY SLOWING DOWN THE AI BUILDOUT

The ongoing expansion of AI infrastructure, particularly the large-scale Stargate project in Texas, is facing challenges primarily due to the limitations of the electric grid's interconnection process, which is backlogged and inefficient. Despite an abundance of electricity generation potential, the existing first-come, first-served queuing system for connecting new facilities to the grid is outdated and leads to delays, increasing costs for consumers.

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GLM 5.2 IS (NEARLY) AS ACCURATE AS A HUMAN BOOK-KEEPER AT LESS THAN 1% OF THE COST

GLM 5.2 is an AI model that demonstrates nearly perfect accuracy in preparing quarterly VAT returns for UK SMEs, achieving results comparable to human bookkeepers at a fraction of the cost.

DATA IS YOUR ONLY MOAT

The complexity of AI adoption and problem-solving impacts business growth.

INTRODUCING MUSE SPARK 1.1

Muse Spark 1.1 is a new multimodal reasoning model by Meta that helps with agentic tasks with improved performance and efficiency in tool usage, coding, and contextual understanding.

AI SLOP STARTS WITH THE CODEBASE ITSELF

AI's effectiveness in coding is heavily influenced by the clarity and consistency of the codebase, suggesting that software rewrites should prioritize clear patterns to use AI's strengths and improve output quality and efficiency.

AI'S VALUE CAPTURE PROBLEM

Imagine an AI claims assistant watching every override an insurer makes. It does not just learn policy text. It learns when the company bends the rule for a broker, when a fraud pattern gets escalated, which underwriter gets trusted, and which ugly edge cases become paid claims. That is the enterprise AI value-capture problem here. The most sensitive company knowledge may live in exception logs and decision traces, not PDFs. For founders selling AI into serious workflows, customer-owned memory, audit trails, and training controls are not compliance garnish.

THE REIGN OF THE MIGHTY CREATOR

Brands used to brief a campaign, buy distribution, and control the message. This piece is about what happens when that center breaks. Creators are becoming the people who make the format, hold the audience habit, and decide how a product enters culture. That is different from an influencer post. An influencer rents attention for a launch. A creator can make the product part of a recurring world people already follow.

HOW TO WRITE AN EMAIL

Emails need to be clear so readers can understand the point in seconds, decide quickly, and forward the message without extra explanation. A good email makes the reader understand the point fast without trying to sound smart, warm, or impressive. Don't use emails for long back-and-forths - call or chat when speed matters more than recordkeeping, then send a short email summary with the decision. Make the next step obvious, so the receiver knows what to do.

WHY WINNERS KEEP WINNING (PREFERENTIAL ATTACHMENT)

Preferential attachment shows that initial advantages can snowball into significant success, as seen in sports and social media. Early momentum and visibility are crucial to becoming a top contender, often outweighing pure quality. Focusing efforts on what's working can lead to outsized returns, reinforcing the importance of being number one.

SHIP OS

Ship OS is a ready-to-use setup for running product development from end to end in Notion. It provides configurations for everything - developers just have to connect the custom agents that power the workflow. Ship OS makes Notion a shared workspace where all agents can work together. Examples of templates from companies building at scale are available.

TAKE ON YOUR MOST AMBITIOUS WORK WITH CHATGPT

ChatGPT Work brings together context from teams' tools to turn scattered notes, drafts, and ideas into finished work. It is available on all plans on desktop and is rolling out to Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu on web and mobile over the next few days. Powered by GPT-5.6, ChatGPT Work can help teams accomplish more. More information about the tool, along with examples of use cases, is available in the article.

COMPANY CULTURE AT SCALE

Mercury has kept its company culture strong as it scaled by following four high-level ideas. Be weird: the core of a strong company culture is how authentic and real everyone is. Keep doing things that scale. Be very careful with hiring executives and leaders because culture is a very top-down phenomenon. Embed company culture into processes to organically help perpetuate the culture.

HOW GAMMA HIT $100M ARR WITH A TEAM OF 50: CEO GRANT LEE'S TOP 4 LESSONS. AND TOP 5 MISTAKES

Gamma is at $100 million ARR, 50 million users, and 600,000 paying subscribers after five years. The team only has 50 people, and the company is profitable. This was achieved with zero sales or marketing spend. Growth came from word of mouth. This post details how the company did it.

FOUNDER CONTENT IS A SYSTEM

Successful founder content follows six repeatable formats built from authentic company data, failures, and product-building progress.

IF YOU WANT TASTE, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO EAT

If AI can make thirty versions by lunch, taste becomes the bottleneck.

ADAM NEUMANN: THIS IS HOW YOU BUILD ICONIC COMPANIES (90 MINUTE PODCAST)

Iconic companies emerge by relentlessly controlling the customer experience, building products people emotionally connect with, and thinking decades ahead.

AEO JOB OPENINGS IN 2026: SALARY DATA, HIRING TRENDS, AND MARKET INSIGHTS

AI search roles are emerging fast, with 50+ open positions across major brands and industries. These are senior roles with budget and ownership, not entry-level add-ons. Salaries match leadership positions, reflecting long-term investment. Demand is rising as AI search usage grows, while the talent pool remains small, creating a seller's market. The function is splitting from SEO into its own discipline, with companies building dedicated teams. AI search is becoming a core marketing function, not an experiment.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN EVERY PRODUCT BECOMES SCANNABLE?

Scannable packaging is turning products into dynamic digital touchpoints. QR codes are replacing static labels with interactive, updatable experiences that deliver personalization and real-time engagement at the moment of use. Packaging becomes a media channel and data layer, giving brands post-purchase visibility and ongoing interaction. With Digital Product Passports accelerating adoption, packaging is shifting from fixed design to flexible infrastructure. Static packaging is fading as consumers expect products to inform and respond.

EMAIL MARKETING TRENDS: WHAT WE LEARNED FROM 79,235 REAL EMAILS

Weekend sends now match weekdays, shrinking the old gap and making Monday the least crowded inbox. Subject lines are getting shorter and less shouty, favoring clear specifics over urgency. Per-brand volume is flat, but more brands are sending consistently, with weekly cadence on the rise. Emails remain heavy on images and links. Industry differences are wide, so broad benchmarks mislead. Attention is shifting toward newsletters and re-engagement, not one-off promos.

THE TOP 10 GTM MISTAKES FOUNDERS MAKE

Founders who fire off thousand-contact cold outbound sequences in month two are usually avoiding the harder work of a handful of real conversations earned through warm intros. That shortcut skips the only way to learn what a target market actually cares about before trying to scale it. The same premature-scale instinct shows up in handing buyers product access and calling it a pilot, when a real pilot needs defined success criteria, a timeline, and an internal champion driving usage. Hiring a salesperson follows the identical trap, since no rep can run a closing process a founder hasn't already proven works.

SEO & AI TIP: USE GSC GENERATIVE AI DATA, SCREAMING FROG, AND CLAUDE SONNET TO IDENTIFY THE PROMPTS YOU'RE LIKELY BEING CITED OR REFERRED BY GOOGLE AI OVERVIEWS

A five-phase pipeline that tells you which questions are likely triggering AIO appearances and whether Google is treating you as a source or a recommendation. Start with Google Search Console's Generative AI report to find the pages that appear in AI Overviews. Analyze those pages with Screaming Frog and Claude Sonnet to identify citable topics, likely search prompts, and content gaps. Test those prompts in Gemini to see which ones cite your site and which ones mention your brand.

BE WARY OF 'META-ANALYSIS' IN DIGITAL EXPERIMENTATION

Meta-analysis combines the results of similar A/B tests into one dataset to identify patterns across many experiments. It can help generate new experiment ideas, but it should not become a source of best practices. Test categories rely on subjective labeling, and different teams can classify the same experiment in very different ways. Most experiments happen under different conditions, so combined results rarely isolate a single variable or reveal the real cause of performance changes.