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LEAK CONFIRMS OPENAI IS PREPARING ADS ON CHATGPT FOR PUBLIC ROLLOUT

OpenAI is now internally testing ads inside ChatGPT. The ChatGPT Android app beta includes new references to an ads feature. The ads seem to be initially limited to the search experience only. ChatGPT has roughly 800 million weekly users, so the move has the potential to disrupt the web economy.

“TESLA RIDE” PROGRAM LETS RIDERS EXPERIENCE FSD AND GROK AI IN REAL-WORLD DEMOS

The new Tesla Ride program brings supervised Full Self-Driving demos and Grok AI-guided experiences to consumers. Participants will be allowed to sit in the driver's seat while a Tesla Advisor rides in the front as co-pilot. The sessions are capped at 45 minutes each, and participants are required to have a valid driver's license and insurance. The program will run at some locations until the end of December.

DATACENTERS IN SPACE ARE A TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD IDEA

Putting data centers into space is a terrible idea and makes no sense. The components needed to make a data center work don't work in space. The reality of making space hardware actually function in space is not necessarily intuitively obvious. It is possible, but it would be disproportionately costly compared to Earth-based data centers and would offer mediocre performance at best.

ACHIEVING LASTING REMISSION FOR HIV

Researchers have discovered a way to keep HIV under control long-term without constant treatment. Some individuals with long-term HIV eventually produce antibodies that can neutralize the virus. Scientists are now racing to find the most potent broadly neutralizing antibodies and engineer them into a functional cure. Two independent trials have already shown promise, with some participants maintaining undetectable levels of HIV for over a year after treatment without taking antiretrovirals.

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HOW GOOD ENGINEERS WRITE BAD CODE AT BIG COMPANIES

For engineers working on self-contained technical projects, the only explanation for bad code is incompetence. Other engineers operate more like plumbers or electricians, working on projects with awkward or surprising parts that are relatively new to them. In these cases, bad code is inevitable, but as long as the overall system works well enough, the project is a success. Engineers don't get to choose the type of work they end up doing - the mistakes made in an unfamiliar system are a deliberate tradeoff being made by the company, not the engineer.

AGENTS SHOULD BE MORE OPINIONATED

The best agent products are the most opinionated. The goal in agent products is to give users a delightful experience. A good baseline for agents is that everything works reliably without tweaking too many settings. Good product design is the result of creators distilling their vision into an intuitive interface that just works.

300,000 AI-ANIMATED POSES IN AN INSTANT: MY VISIT TO DISNEY AND THE NEW REALITY FOR CARTOONS

Disney's proprietary AI animation tools allow artists to draw a sketch and control an animation based on the sketch. It brings sketches to life while retaining the unique art style of the animator. Artists can make corrections to any of the AI-generated animations. The AI tools free artists up from repetitive tasks to spend more time on the creative side.

HP PLANS TO SAVE MILLIONS BY LAYING OFF THOUSANDS, RAMPING UP AI USE

HP plans to lay off 4,000 to 6,000 employees in favor of AI deployments. The company claims the move will help save $1 billion in annualized gross run rate by the end of its fiscal 2028. The reductions will affect employees in product development, internal operations, and customer support. HP hopes that AI will accelerate product innovation, improve customer satisfaction, and boost productivity.

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BLACK FRIDAY BROKE RECORDS

Shoppers are trusting AI to do the busywork and find them the best value.

WE ARE ON THE CUSP OF A PROFOUND CHANGE IN THE FIELD OF MATHEMATICS

Harmonic Math's Aristotle AI just proved Erdos Problem #124 all by itself.

THE BATTLE OVER AFRICA'S GREAT UNTAPPED RESOURCE: IP ADDRESSES

A Chinese entrepreneur has spent ten years collecting millions of IP addresses in Africa to lease to companies outside of Africa.

DURABLE CONSUMABLES

The rational response to constantly shifting frontiers and accelerating progress is a shorter time horizon, faster replacement cycles, and less investment in permanence.

GEMINI APP DOWNLOADS ARE CATCHING UP TO CHATGPT

Gemini users spend more time in the app than ChatGPT users.

JAPAN UNVEILS HUMAN WASHING MACHINE, NOW YOU CAN GET WASHED LIKE LAUNDRY

Japanese tech company Science has created a capsule-style device that lets users lie inside and enjoy a full-body cleanse.

Limited Time Only!

IPHONE FOLD WILL BE CREASELESS AND COST $2,400, REPORT SAYS

The first foldable iPhone reportedly won't have a crease. Apple's engineers have made breakthroughs in creating a crease-free design. The product cycle has now moved past the experimental stage to pre-mass production mode. The Fold is rumored to launch in September next year.

ALIBABA RELEASES AI GLASSES IN RARE CONSUMER GADGET FORAY

Alibaba's Quark S1 glasses, powered by the company's Qwen AI models, are now available in China, with international versions coming next year. The glasses feature built-in translucent displays that superimpose contextual information on the wearer's view of their surroundings. They are equipped with cameras, bone conduction microphones, and swappable batteries rated to last 24 hours. Alibaba has also released a cheaper version of the glasses that doesn't have the displays.

STUDY CLAIMS TO PROVIDE FIRST DIRECT EVIDENCE OF DARK MATTER

The first evidence of dark matter may have been discovered. Scientists have spotted a pattern of gamma rays that appears to match the shape of the dark matter halo that spreads out in a sphere from the heart of the galaxy. It closely matches the properties of gamma-ray radiation predicted to be emitted by dark matter. More work is needed to rule out other astrophysical processes and background emissions that could explain the signals.

TECHNICAL DEFLATION

Anything you build now will get easier in six months. If the building part is easy, then your moat has to be something else. Focus more on selling and less on building. Understanding your customer and their problems better than anyone else is a real advantage that doesn't go away.

RUNPROMPT

runprompt is a single-file Python script for running .prompt files. .prompt is an executable GenAI prompt template file format designed to be agnostic to programming language and model provider. It allows for maximum flexibility in usage. The format streamlines the process of working with AI models and ensuring consistency across different uses of the same prompt.

THE MATH OF WHY YOU CAN'T FOCUS AT WORK

Deep work is unlikely unless you deliberately design for it. Your default state is fragmentation - you are not uniquely undisciplined. Dropping just one interruption per hour per day can have a huge effect. Cutting down tasks into smaller chunks can mean the difference between a hellish day and a passable one.

MORE ARTICLES ARE NOW CREATED BY AI THAN HUMANS

The quantity of AI-generated articles has surpassed the quantity of human-written articles being published on the web. Despite the prevalence of AI-generated articles, they largely do not appear in Google and ChatGPT. The proportion of AI-generated articles has remained relatively stable over the last 12 months. This is likely because practitioners found that AI-generated articles do not perform well in search.

DEEPSEEK JOINS OPENAI & GOOGLE IN SCORING GOLD IN IMO 2025

DeepSeekMath-V2 demonstrates strong theorem-proving capabilities in mathematics - it solved 5 of 6 problems on the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) 2025.

INTERNET HANDLE

Open social apps allow people to use any internet domain they own as a handle, enabling them to log into multiple apps with one identity.

HYPER CONTENT NEGOTIATION

Combining the ability to negotiate content type and LLMs may be a powerful concept for the future of the web.

SAM ALTMAN'S BUSINESS BUDDIES ARE GETTING STUNG

SoftBank's shares have dropped 40% from late October, while Oracle's stock has lost all gains made since early September.

GOOGLE MAPS WILL LET YOU HIDE YOUR IDENTITY WHEN WRITING REVIEWS

Google Maps will soon let users use a nickname and select an alternative profile picture for online reviews.

AWS BUILDS A DNS BACKSTOP TO ALLOW CHANGES WHEN ITS NOTORIOUSLY FLAKY US EAST REGION WOBBLES

AWS is implementing a feature that allows DNS changes within 60 minutes of a service disruption in US East.

APPLE SET TO BECOME WORLD'S TOP PHONE MAKER, OVERTAKING SAMSUNG

The iPhone 17 models have been a hit in both the US and China. Apple has seen double-digit year-over-year sales growth in both markets. The cooling of US-China trade tensions and a depreciating dollar have boosted purchases in emerging markets. The growth will propel Apple past longtime rival Samsung this year.

TETHER STABLECOIN STABILITY RATING REDUCED TO ‘WEAK' AT S&P

Analysts have dropped Tether's USDT stability rating to 'weak' due to a rise in exposure to high-risk assets in USDT's reserves over the past year. The reserve can no longer fully absorb a decline in its value. A drop in Bitcoin's value, combined with a decline in the value of other high-risk assets, could lead to USDT being undercollateralized. The token's other weaknesses include limited transparency on research management, a lack of asset segregation to protect against Tether's insolvency, and limitations on redeeming USDT with Tether directly.

CHINA LAUNCHES AN EMERGENCY LIFEBOAT TO BRING THREE ASTRONAUTS BACK TO EARTH

On November 4, astronauts on the Tiangong space station discovered that one of the two docked ferry ships had a damaged window. The discovery was made during a crew handover, so it left three astronauts on the Tiangong station without a safe return craft. China successfully launched an unpiloted spacecraft late Monday to the space station to provide a lifeboat for the astronauts. The astronauts will return next year, soon after the arrival of their replacements.

A CELL SO MINIMAL THAT IT CHALLENGES DEFINITIONS OF LIFE

Scientists have discovered a single-celled organism with a fantastically small genome. The cell is so stripped of essential functions that it challenges biologists' definitions of life. Its lost genes include those central to cell metabolism - the cell can neither process nutrients nor grow its own. The cell appears to be a parasite entirely dependent on a host or cellular community.

8 LEARNINGS FROM 1 YEAR OF AGENTS

PostHog AI is an AI agent built into PostHog that can access user data and setup via dozens of tools. It works tirelessly in a loop until it achieves the tasks it is given. PostHog AI can create multi-step analyses of product usage, write SQL queries, set up new feature flags and experiments, dig into impactful errors, and more. This post reflects on the lessons PostHog's team learned when developing the agent.

WHY (SENIOR) ENGINEERS STRUGGLE TO BUILD AI AGENTS

Transitioning from deterministic systems to probabilistic agents requires trading certainty for semantic flexibility. People trained on strict interfaces will find this uncomfortable. However, forcing an agent into a deterministic box defeats the purpose of using one. Instead of coding away ambiguity, start engineering systems that are resilient enough to handle it.

MIT STUDY FINDS AI CAN ALREADY REPLACE 11.7% OF US WORKFORCE

MIT has released a study that shows that AI can already replace 11.7% of the US labor market across finance, health care, and professional services. The study used a labor simulation tool called the Iceberg Index to simulate how workers interact across the country and how they are affected by AI and corresponding policy. The index offers a detailed map of where disruption is forming, down to the zip code. It is designed to provide a skills-centered snapshot of what today's AI systems can do to give policymakers a structured way to explore scenarios before they commit real money and legislation.

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CHARLIE MUNGER'S FINAL YEARS

Charlie Munger died two years ago in his longtime home in Los Angeles, close to people he liked and projects he found stimulating. Rather than a quiet life by the sea, Munger spent his final years chasing investments, forging friendships, and facing new challenges. In the year before his death, he made over $50 million on a bet on coal stocks, revved up his real-estate activities, and dealt with health issues. His final years provide a blueprint for investors on how to age with grace, equanimity, and purpose.

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UX IS YOUR MOAT (AND YOU'RE IGNORING IT)

The model that wins is the one that people don't want to leave.

TRADERS ARE FLOODING MARKETS WITH RISKY BETS. ROBINHOOD'S CEO IS THEIR CULT HERO

Robinhood offers a host of ordinary financial products, but it's the riskier products tailored to day traders that make the most money for the company.

FEEDBACK DOESN'T SCALE

Past a certain size, people in an organization will always be frustrated with the leadership.

ROBOTS AND AI ARE ALREADY REMAKING THE CHINESE ECONOMY

China wants to deploy what is available today quicker than the US can to lock in any advantages.