Meta’s CTO told employees to stop asking for more time off and use AI gains to build “cooler stuff” instead
Meta’s CTO told employees to stop asking for more time off and use AI gains to build “cooler stuff” instead

Meta’s chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth told employees at a July Q&A that AI productivity gains should be used to build more products, not to take more time off. An employee had asked whether the gains could be channelled into reviving “Met…

Uber’s tech chief says the AI ‘tokenmaxxing’ era is ending
Uber’s tech chief says the AI ‘tokenmaxxing’ era is ending

The mood around corporate AI spending is turning, and Uber is saying so out loud. The company’s chief technology officer, Praveen Neppalli Naga, says the era of tokenmaxxing is coming to an end. The term needs a translation. Tokenmaxxing is the practic…

Google is cutting 52 jobs in Washington the same week it lost four star researchers
Google is cutting 52 jobs in Washington the same week it lost four star researchers

Google is laying off around 52 employees in Washington state, according to a WARN notice it filed on Wednesday and first reported by GeekWire. The letter gives no reason for the cuts. It says only that they are permanent, and that they are not the resu…

Microsoft tells employees to stop tokenmaxxing, sets division-level AI budgets
Microsoft tells employees to stop tokenmaxxing, sets division-level AI budgets

Microsoft executive vice president Jay Parikh has told employees in an internal email that the company needs to rein in its AI token consumption, writing that “tokenmaxxing is not what we are optimizing for.” The message, first reported by 404 Media, r…

Zillow calls itself “AI-native.” It just cut 500 jobs and won’t say whether AI was the reason.
Zillow calls itself “AI-native.” It just cut 500 jobs and won’t say whether AI was the reason.

Zillow laid off more than 500 people on Tuesday, about 7% of its staff and its largest cut of the year. The Seattle property company made the move one day before it reports quarterly earnings. It has spent the year telling investors it is becoming an “…

Deel acquires deepfake-detection startup Clarity as fake hire problem grows
Deel acquires deepfake-detection startup Clarity as fake hire problem grows

Deel, the global HR and payroll platform, has acquired Clarity, a Tel Aviv-based AI cybersecurity startup that detects deepfakes and verifies identities in real time. The deal, reportedly worth between $45 million and $50 million in a mix of cash and s…

The student “AI revolt” is mostly a myth. Business students just want to be taught how to use it.
The student “AI revolt” is mostly a myth. Business students just want to be taught how to use it.

The boos at last spring’s graduations suggested a student revolt against AI. The data points the other way. Among business students at one Washington school, regular AI use has quietly become the norm, and the loudest demand is not to ban it but to tea…

OpenAI pays $3.2m to settle a US claim it favoured visa workers over Americans
OpenAI pays $3.2m to settle a US claim it favoured visa workers over Americans

OpenAI has agreed to pay $3.2m to settle a US government claim. The allegation: it favoured workers on temporary visas over American workers. The Justice Department announced the deal on Tuesday. It resolves claims that the company broke federal anti-d…

PwC is hiring fewer consultants and accountants. Its CEO is still sending his kids into consulting.
PwC is hiring fewer consultants and accountants. Its CEO is still sending his kids into consulting.

The Big Four built its fortune on armies of junior consultants and accountants. PwC has started hiring fewer of them. Its US boss says that is the future, and he is comfortable with it. Paul Griggs, PwC’s US senior partner and chief executive, told Bus…

Congress hasn’t written AI’s rules yet. It already spends nine of every ten AI dollars with OpenAI.
Congress hasn’t written AI’s rules yet. It already spends nine of every ten AI dollars with OpenAI.

Before Congress writes a single rule for artificial intelligence, it has already picked a supplier. In the year to the end of March, House offices spent nine of every ten visible AI dollars on one product: OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The figures come from a CNBC…