1.
Why the next AI chip could be made of neurons
This week, Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang stepped down amid personal controversies, leaving CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO. This shake-up follows scrutiny over Nvidia's dealings in China and Huang's connections to a former executive. As the company faces pressure, the tech world is buzzing with developments in biological computing.
Cortical Labs is at the forefront, merging living neurons with silicon chips to create a biological computer that can learn and adapt. Their recent robot dog, controlled by human neurons, showcases the potential of this technology. Unlike traditional AI, these biological systems could offer energy-efficient solutions and more natural learning capabilities.
However, challenges abound. Integrating biology with silicon is complex, as neurons communicate differently than digital circuits. Keeping the neurons alive and programming them poses significant hurdles. Moreover, ethical considerations around consent and ownership of biological materials are becoming increasingly pressing as this field evolves. As researchers push boundaries, the implications of merging biology with technology will require careful thought and governance.
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Jensen is OUT!? Fable 5.2 and the Anthropic IPO, Gemini 4 Carbon and Hydrogen, live from AI Engineer
Jensen Huang has stepped down as CEO of Nvidia, effective immediately, following a whirlwind of personal controversies and an investigation into potential foreign intelligence ties. Colette Kress, the CFO, is taking over as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement. This shake-up comes at a crucial time for Nvidia, a leader in AI hardware, and raises questions about the future of open-source initiatives that Huang championed.
Meanwhile, Anthropic rolled out Claude Fable 5.2, which is now cheaper and faster, and has topped the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index. This model is designed to be more aware during evaluations, making it a strong contender in the AI landscape. Anthropic also kicked off its IPO roadshow, aiming to raise about $64 billion, with significant interest from major players like Google and Nvidia.
In other news, Google launched Gemini 4 Carbon and introduced Gemini 4 Hydrogen during a live event, showcasing new capabilities in decision-making APIs. The discussions at the AI Engineer Code Summit highlighted the evolving landscape of AI and the importance of adaptability in this fast-paced environment. The sentiment among experts is mixed, with concerns about the implications of Huang's departure but optimism about the resilience of the companies involved.
3.
AI Ambition: ArtCraft Cloned Photoshop and Now Wants to "Rebuild Everything"
At the AI Engineer Code Summit in San Francisco, ArtCraft's founder, Brandon Thomas, shared his ambitious vision for open-source software, highlighting their recent projects like PhotoCraft, a Photoshop alternative built in Rust. The excitement in the room was palpable as he discussed their approach to cloning popular tools, including Adobe's Acrobat and Figma, aiming to restore the freedom of the early internet. Thomas expressed frustration with the current state of the web, which he feels has become too controlled by big companies. ArtCraft's goal is to empower users to tailor applications to their workflows, leveraging AI to make this possible.
Their journey began with a detailed AI prompt to replicate Photoshop’s functionality, and while they’ve achieved about 60% parity, they aim for closer to 100%. The response has been overwhelming, with downloads soaring to 1.7 million daily and a growing community of around 4,000 developers. Thomas emphasized the importance of Rust for performance, noting that PhotoCraft opens ten times faster than Photoshop. Despite facing challenges with scaling and permissions, they've found a balance between human and AI contributions. The vision is grand, aiming to open-source everything, rekindling the collaborative spirit of the early web.
4.
Sharp Tech on Video: Nvidia After Jensen Huang, Ominous News for American AI, D.C. Gets Its Revenge
Sharp Tech is, for the first time, available on video. You have three ways to consume it: YouTube, Spotify, and here on Stratechery Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts. Substantial analysis of the news of the day delivered via three weekly emails or podcasts. Interviews with leading public CEOs, private company founders, and discussions with fellow analysts.
5.
The AI Agents Can’t Find Anyone to Help Yet
AI agents were supposedly going to be game-changers for both sides of consumer transactions—agents would handle tasks like bookings, support, and services 24/7, freeing humans for other work. Turns out businesses don’t like dealing with AI agents, and consumers don’t want them handling their business. Earlier this week, United Airlines announced that it would ban AI agents from making bookings on behalf of customers, citing privacy concerns, the risk of exposing sensitive data to third parties, and the potential for unintended or unwanted transactions bogging down the process for everyone.
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OpenAI Codex Helps Uncover & Fix A Nearly 20 Year Old Radeon Linux Driver Bug
Sent out today was the latest batch of AMD kernel graphics/compute driver patches destined for the Linux 7.5 merge window opening up at year's end/ Besides a lot of fixes and continued work around new IP enablement for upcoming GPUs, there is even a fix for old ATI/AMD Radeon R600 era hardware after help from OpenAI's Codex...
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Nvidia’s leadership crisis puts enterprise AI’s dependence on one company under scrutiny
The tech world has been rattled by the toppling of one of its most prominent leaders, and the widespread implications it could have on the AI industry itself. Nvidia, which provides the underlying AI infrastructure for seemingly every company on the planet, announced on Thursday that its president and CEO Jensen Huang has resigned, effective immediately. Earlier this week, news broke that Huang had had at least two extramarital affairs, including one with an alleged Chinese spy and one with a direct report.
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The FAA Is Rolling Out Its AI Air Traffic Tool Nationwide
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expanding use of an $875 million AI tool, SMART, to “assist in managing air traffic across the entire national airspace system,” Ars Technica reported on Thursday—but the agency says that the route-management software will not affect air safety.
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Hands-On With the New Apple TV 4K and Siri AI
Siri AI is the headline feature, and while it's not perfect, it works better than the prior version of Siri. Siri was able to pull up multiple movie and TV show recommendations and answer questions about content. Apple says Siri AI is in beta, and there's more work to be done. Siri AI wasn't great at answering follow-up questions, and only did so part of the time. There are far-field microphones in the set-top box, so you can just say "Hey Siri" to activate Siri without having to use the remote.
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Fairphone and Boost Mobile enter new partnership
Timi is the news and deals reporter for Android Police, who has been reporting on technology since 2008. He has worked in tech retail and also the IT space, providing hardware and software support, which gives him a unique perspective on the tech that he covers. This allows him to effectively break down complex subjects into easy-to-read pieces that even casual readers can enjoy. Before joining Android Police, he was a news writer for XDA, where he eventually transitioned to covering deals.