🤖 Elon Musk’s xAI wins big after scandal

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What’s happening:

• 🤖 Grok lands $200M defense deal

• 🔥 Zuck bets billions on AI arms race

• ⚠️ AI therapy bots found to make harmful remarks

• 🍎 Apple shake-up begins as Cook stays in charge

• 🚫 Meta cracks down on Facebook content theft

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Hand-picked news:

🤖 Grok lands $200M defense deal ↗️LINK

• What: Just a week after Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot called itself “MechaHitler” and made antisemitic remarks, the U.S. government awarded his company xAI a defense contract worth up to $200 million. Other recipients include OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

• Why: The Pentagon aims to boost national security with “agentic AI workflows.” Despite Grok’s recent meltdown, xAI unveiled a “Grok for Government” plan, offering custom AI tools for classified and healthcare uses.

• Impact: The timing sparks backlash and raises ethical questions about funding controversial AI firms, especially in sensitive government roles.

🔥 Zuck bets billions on AI arms race ↗️LINK

• What: Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will spend hundreds of billions building AI data centers to develop superintelligent systems. Projects like Prometheus and Hyperion will power massive “titan clusters,” with some facilities covering areas as large as parts of Manhattan.

• Why: With setbacks to Llama 4 and internal shifts, Meta reorganized under "Superintelligence Labs" and is betting AI will drive future profits. Its AI already boosts ad revenue, and new tools like smart glasses and AI ads could grow returns.

• Impact: The bold spending signals a high-stakes race with OpenAI and Google for AI dominance. But investors question when — or if — these huge bets will pay off.

⚠️ AI therapy bots found to make harmful remarks ↗️LINK

• What: A Stanford study found AI therapy chatbots often express stigma and make inappropriate or dangerous comments, especially about schizophrenia, alcoholism, and delusions. Some bots even answered insensitively to suicidal prompts.

• Why: Researchers tested several leading AI models and found they responded appropriately only 50% of the time—some even less. Chatbots struggled with empathy, context, and taking client perspectives, especially for marginalized groups.

• Impact: The findings stress that AI should not replace human therapists. While chatbots may assist with admin tasks, their current emotional limitations pose serious risks in mental health care.

🍎 Apple shake-up begins as Cook stays in charge ↗️LINK

• What: Despite mounting pressure over Apple’s AI stumbles, CEO Tim Cook isn’t stepping down soon. But a major leadership overhaul is underway, with longtime COO Jeff Williams set to retire and other top execs nearing the exit.

• Why: Apple is facing internal and external pressure to revamp its AI strategy and leadership structure. The company is exploring acquisitions like Mistral and Perplexity to jumpstart AI progress, while restructuring teams post-Williams.

• Impact: This marks Apple’s biggest leadership turnover in decades. As Cook tightens his grip, insiders expect more bold changes ahead—potentially reshaping Apple’s design, AI, and services future.

🚫 Meta cracks down on Facebook content theft ↗️LINK

• What: Meta is tightening its rules on “unoriginal” Facebook content, targeting accounts that repeatedly repost others’ videos, text, or images without adding value. So far in 2025, it’s removed 10 million impersonator profiles and penalized 500,000 for spam behavior.

• Why: The move follows a similar policy update from YouTube amid rising concerns over low-quality, AI-generated “slop” content. Meta aims to protect original creators and limit monetization of recycled media.

• Impact: Offending accounts will see reduced reach and lose monetization. Meta’s tougher stance could reshape content strategies, though creators warn of over-enforcement and lack of human support.

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