🤖 iRobot files for bankruptcy

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☀️ On this day: On December 15, 1995, AltaVista was launched as one of the first popular web search engines. Developed by researchers at Digital Equipment Corporation, AltaVista introduced fast, full-text search across the rapidly growing World Wide Web, making it far easier for users to find information online. Its speed and advanced indexing capabilities set new standards for search technology and helped shape how people navigated the Internet in the mid-1990s.

What’s happening:

• 🤖 iRobot files for bankruptcy after 35 years

• 💼 Microsoft lowers expectations for Copilot AI

• 🏰 Google removes AI videos using Disney characters

• 🧠 Grok spreads misinformation about Bondi Beach shooting

• 🚗 Toyota may soon support Apple Wallet car keys

• + 📊 Daily poll and results

• + 📈 Trending tools and resources

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Hand-picked news:

🤖 iRobot files for bankruptcy after 35 years ↗️LINK

• iRobot, the maker of the Roomba, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will be acquired by its Chinese contract manufacturer, Picea Robotics, while promising no immediate disruption to products, apps, or customer support.

• Once a pioneer in household robotics, iRobot struggled as cheaper Chinese competitors eroded its market share; a planned $1.7 billion Amazon acquisition collapsed in 2024 after regulatory pushback, triggering layoffs and a sharp decline.

• The company says existing Roombas will keep working during restructuring, though long-term uncertainty remains — especially around cloud features like app scheduling, room mapping, and voice control.

💼 Microsoft lowers expectations for Copilot AI ↗️LINK

• Microsoft has reportedly slashed sales targets for Copilot and other agentic AI tools by as much as 50%, signaling weaker-than-expected demand and concerns that the company overestimated how useful these products would be.

• Despite early advantages from its OpenAI investment, Microsoft is struggling to monetize AI, as many users find Copilot less compelling than rivals like ChatGPT and Google’s rapidly growing Gemini, which is now close to overtaking Copilot’s market share.

• Independent testing suggests AI agents fail tasks up to 70% of the time, limiting their value as workforce replacements and reinforcing the idea that AI currently works best as a productivity aid rather than a standalone solution.

🏰 Google removes AI videos using Disney characters ↗️LINK

• Google has taken down dozens of AI-generated YouTube videos featuring Disney characters like Deadpool, Moana, Mickey Mouse, and Star Wars figures after receiving a cease and desist letter from Disney accusing it of large-scale copyright infringement.

• Disney’s letter targeted both YouTube’s hosting of the videos and Google’s alleged use of copyrighted Disney content to train AI models such as Veo and Nano Banana, according to reports from Variety and Deadline.

• While Disney is suing several AI companies over similar issues, it’s not rejecting AI entirely — the company announced a new partnership with OpenAI to bring Disney characters to Sora and ChatGPT, and AI-generated shorts to Disney+.

🧠 Grok spreads misinformation about Bondi Beach shooting ↗️LINK

• Grok, xAI’s chatbot promoted on Elon Musk’s platform X, repeatedly shared incorrect claims about the Bondi Beach mass shooting, including misidentifying the bystander who disarmed a gunman and questioning the authenticity of real photos and videos.

• The chatbot wrongly identified 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed as an Israeli hostage, brought up unrelated commentary about the Israeli military, and falsely claimed another person, Edward Crabtree, was responsible for disarming the attacker.

• Some errors have since been corrected, with Grok later acknowledging Ahmed al Ahmed’s identity and attributing the confusion to viral misinformation and a questionable, possibly AI-generated news article.

🚗 Toyota may soon support Apple Wallet car keys ↗️LINK

• A new report says Apple’s backend has been updated to include Toyota as a supported automaker for Apple’s car key feature, signaling that official support may be coming soon.

• There’s no timeline or confirmation yet on which Toyota models will support the feature, or whether it will arrive via software updates to existing cars or be limited to new models.

• Apple car key, introduced in 2020, lets drivers lock, unlock, and start their car using iPhone or Apple Watch through passive entry, proximity use, or remote controls, with Express Mode enabled.

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• MGMT Playbook – Practical management insights delivered to your inbox every Wednesday, authored by Dave Kline.

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• Identity Jedi Newsletter - This is your space for actionable insights, bold ideas, and a little snark to keep things interesting.

Today’s Poll:

Vote and find out about the result tomorrow.

Yesterday’s Poll Result:

Do you think AI should correct someone’s beliefs, even if they’re wrong?

• A) No, beliefs should be acknowledged - 39%

• B) Yes, accuracy matters - 61% 🏆

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