Now researchers say they have trained a cutting edge AI model for… checks notes… $50. Not $50 million dollars. $50. Dollars. Get ready for the superbowl of AI ads. Amazon has scheduled an Alexa AI event. And also, why does Amazon fail so hard when it comes to physical retail?

Sponsors:

• Oracle.com/techmeme

Links:

• Researchers created an open rival to OpenAI’s o1 ‘reasoning’ model for under $50 (TechCrunch)
• Google Kills Diversity Hiring Targets (WSJ)
• Google Unwinds Employee Diversity Goals, Citing Trump’s D.E.I. Orders (NYTimes)
• OpenAI Set to Make Super Bowl Ad Debut (WSJ)
• OpenAI to Air Its First Super Bowl Ad (AdWeek)
• Amazon's AI revamp of Alexa assistant nears unveiling (Reuters)
• Bill banning social media for youngsters advances (Politico)
• Trump's de minimis cancellation is bad news for Temu, but worse for Shein (Reuters)
• Amazon, King of Online Retail, Can’t Seem to Make Its Physical Stores Work (WSJ)

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Temu And Shein got a reprieve from the USPS, but they are still in deep, deep trouble. I’ll explain why. Alphabet earnings disappoint their investors but cheer investors of Nvidia. Google and Meta going in different directions when it comes to AI. And why are people increasingly refusing to pay ransomware?

Sponsors:

• Acorns.com/ride

Links:

• USPS Resumes Accepting Packages From China After Unexpected Suspension (Wired)
• Google expects to spend $75 billion this year on the AI race (The Verge)
• Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance (The Washington Post)
• Meta says it may stop development of AI systems it deems too risky (TechCrunch)
• After a bruising year, Sonos readies its next big thing: a streaming box (The Verge)
• 35% Year-over-Year Decrease in Ransomware Payments, Less than Half of Recorded Incidents Resulted in Victim Payments (Chainalysis)
• Apple Launches New 'Invites' App (MacRumors)

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Is the US government about to get into, or at least, heavily impact the VC investing business? Apparently, the trade war with China is still on. The resurrection of Twitterific. And how Spotify has quietly stopped investing, and started getting real about profitability.

Sponsors:

• LinkedIn.com/ride

Links:

• Trump Signs Executive Action to Create Sovereign Wealth Fund (Bloomberg)
• China Hits Back Against Trump’s Tariffs With Targeted Actions (Bloomberg)
• China targets Google, Nvidia and Intel as Trump tariffs bite (Financial Times)
• Twitterrific team launches new ‘Tapestry’ iPhone app for Bluesky, Mastodon, RSS, more (9to5Mac)
• Opera’s new browser might save you from doomscrolling (The Verge)
• Spotify Reports First Full-Year Profit (WSJ)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.