The AI Platform War Got Practical

Mike's take

You don't need the newest model. You need the one you'll actually use. The best AI tool is the boring one already open in your browser.

Top AI stories worth your time

• Google will now tell you if an ad was made with AI — The Verge AI
  You can see if ads on Google Search, Google Discover, and YouTube were made or edited using AI from a new section in Google's "My Ad Center," as reported earlier by TechCrunch. The update, announced on Thursday, adds a "
• OpenAI bets on families as ChatGPT goes deeper into households — TechCrunch AI
  ChatGPT is hiring a dedicated product manager to build experiences for families, caregivers, and older adults, according to a job posting.
• Apple sues OpenAI for allegedly stealing hardware secrets — The Verge AI
  Apple has sued OpenAI, alleging that engineers stole Apple secrets to advance the AI startup's hardware plans. In its complaint, Apple says it uncovered "a pattern of theft of Apple's trade secrets by OpenAI employees wh
• Would you host part of an AI data center in your home? — The Verge AI
  A solar and home energy storage company is expanding into AI data centers, but not by building one - instead, it's offering to pay its customers to put its compute units in their homes. Sunrun is launching a pilot progra
• Meta turns off the Instagram feature that let users make AI deepfakes of public accounts — The Verge AI
  Following significant backlash, Meta is turning off the feature it announced this week that let users generate AI images based on content from public Instagram accounts just by tagging them. The feature, as originally se

Jargon, decoded: Multimodal

An AI system that can process multiple input types, such as text, images, and audio.

In plain English: An AI that can handle words and pictures (and sometimes sound), not just text.

Fact: Free versions are plenty for most people.

You can do 90% of everyday tasks without paying. Don't subscribe until you actually hit a wall.

Try this today

Get a plain-English answer to a tech question. Skip the forum rabbit hole — just ask, and request the beginner version.

Try this prompt

Act as a skeptical Gen X consultant. Here's a task I do every week [describe]. Show me how to hand the boring 80% to AI and keep the 20% that needs me.