Meta and Apple were about to go to the woodshed in Europe, but it looks like Trump’s tariffs have run interference for them. Everyone wants in on stablecoins, example number 23. Beware of phishing emails from Google.com. And are OpenAI’s latest models good, bad, or just “jagged”?

Sponsors:

• QualiaLife.com/ride and code RIDE

Links:

• EU Delayed Punishing Apple, Meta Just Before Trade Talks Started (WSJ)
• Crypto Knocks on the Door of a Banking World That Shut It Out (WSJ)
• Phishers abuse Google OAuth to spoof Google in DKIM replay attack (Bleeping Computer)
• Coinbase in hot water over $12 million ‘content coin’—but exec tells haters to lean in (Fortune Crypto)
• OpenAI’s new reasoning AI models hallucinate more (TechCrunch)
• On Jagged AGI: o3, Gemini 2.5, and everything after (Ethan Mollick)

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Google is ruled an illegal monopoly. Again. But for a different reason this time. Switch 2 pre-orders are back on. Americans are flocking to Temu and Shein alternatives. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, what if I told you 25 percent of community college applicants are now AI bots? And not only that, the bots are now “attending classes” in quotes.

Sponsors:

• FactorMeals.com/ride50off and code ride50off

Links:

• Google Broke the Law to Keep Its Advertising Monopoly, a Judge Rules (NYTimes)
• Google loses online advertising monopoly case (Axios)
• Google Found GUILTY of Monopolization Again (The Big Newsletter)
• Nintendo Switch 2 preorders start April 24th and the price is still $449.99 (The Verge)
• The latest viral ChatGPT trend is doing ‘reverse location search’ from photos (TechCrunch)
• Chinese shopping app Taobao joins DHgate in Top 5 on US App Store (TechCrunch)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• As ‘Bot’ Students Continue to Flood In, Community Colleges Struggle to Respond (Voice Of San Diego)
• Astronomers Detect a Possible Signature of Life on a Distant Planet (NYTimes)

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OpenAI has a new reasoning model, and more lower cost models as well. Is OpenAI about to acquire a coding startup? Is Perplexity turning to Samsung for distribution and branding? A Neuralink rival gets FDA approval. And why is Jensen Huang on a code-red mission to China at the moment?

Sponsors:

• 1Password.com/ride

Links:

• OpenAI's new o3 and o4-mini models are all about 'thinking with images' (Engadget)
• OpenAI debuts Codex CLI, an open source coding tool for terminals (TechCrunch)
• Vibe Check: o3 Is Here—And It’s Great (Every)
• OpenAI In Talks to Buy Windsurf for About $3 Billion (Bloomberg)
• Perplexity AI in Talks to Integrate Assistant Into Samsung, Motorola Phones (Bloomberg)
• Neuralink Rival Gets FDA Clearance in Path to Less Invasive Brain Implants (Bloomberg)
• Nvidia chief Jensen Huang flies to Beijing for talks (FT)

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Well, it looks like DOGE has finally come for cybersecurity. It sounds like the tariff stuff is already biting Nvidia to the tune of $5 billion. Why is OpenAI building a social network? The government would have settled the antitrust case with Meta to the tune of $30 billion. And why did Mark Zuckerberg consider spinning off Instagram voluntarily?

Sponsors:

• SelectQuote.com/ride

Links:

• Uncle Sam abruptly turns off funding for CVE program. Yes, that CVE program (The Register)
• Nvidia says it will record $5.5 billion charge tied to H20 processors exported to China (CNBC)
• OpenAI is building a social network (The Verge)
• Figma confidentially files for IPO more than a year after ditching Adobe deal (CNBC)
• Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s Failed Negotiations to End Antitrust Case (WSJ)
• Zuckerberg Says He Considered Spinning Off Instagram in 2018 (Bloomberg)

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OpenAI releases its latest next gen models but you wouldn’t know it by the nomenclature because the numbers are going backwards. What’s up with that? Apple is tying itself in a pretzel to train on user data but still stick to privacy. And a big rundown of the first day of the big Meta antitrust trial.

Sponsors:

• MackWeldon.com promocode BRIAN

Links:

• OpenAI’s new GPT-4.1 AI models focus on coding (TechCrunch)
• OpenAI launches another model before GPT 5 — here’s what this one can do (Tom's Guide)
• Nvidia says it plans to manufacture some AI chips in the US (TechCrunch)
• Apple to Analyze User Data on Devices to Bolster AI Technology (Bloomberg)
• Zuckerberg testifies as FTC, Meta trade opening salvos in antitrust trial (Politico)
• Mark Zuckerberg Takes Stand to Defend Meta Against Antitrust Suit (NYTimes)

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You know that meme of Ebenezer Scrooge shouting out the window? “Hey boy, what tariff regime is it today?” Sam Altman again implies ChatGPT usage has exploded. If you’re coding with AI, a big new vulnerability you need to know about. And is Apple pivoting the Vision Pro to the type of product I thought they should have done all along?

Sponsor:

• Freshbooks.com

Links:

• Apple, Nvidia Score Relief From US Tariffs With Exemptions (Bloomberg)
• Sony raises PlayStation 5 prices in Europe citing ‘challenging’ economic environment (CNBC)
• ChatGPT Hits 1 Billion Users? ‘Doubled In Just Weeks’ Says OpenAI CEO (Forbes)
• LLMs can't stop making up software dependencies and sabotaging everything (The Register)
• AI-hallucinated code dependencies become new supply chain risk (Bleeping Computer)
• Apple Readies Pair of Headsets While Still Looking Ahead to Glasses (Bloomberg)

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Europe says it could tax social media ads if the tariff wars get really nasty. Why COULDN’T Apple make an iPhone in the US as President Trump wants? Is OpenAI cutting corners on safety in order to stay ahead in the AI race? And as always, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.

Sponsors:

• Oracle.com/techmeme

Links:

• EU could tax Big Tech if Trump trade talks fail, says von der Leyen (Financial Times)
• Why Trump’s Dream of Made-in-the-USA iPhones Isn’t Going to Happen (Bloomberg)
• OpenAI updates ChatGPT to reference your past chats (TechCrunch)
• OpenAI slashes AI model safety testing time (Financial Times)
• Mira Murati doubled the fundraising target for her new AI startup to $2 billion. It could be the largest seed round in history. (Business Insider)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• 12 Graphs That Explain the State of AI in 2025 (IEEE Spectrum)
• Generative AI is learning to spy for the US military (MIT Technology Review)
• How Apple Fumbled Siri’s AI Makeover (The Information)

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At the time of this writing, the tariffs are back off, but who know what will happen by the time you hear this. OpenAI sues back. Google wants a framework for AI agents to talk to each other. Oh, and how many iPhones can you pack in a jumbo jet?

Sponsors:

• Acorns.com/ride

Links:

• Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10% for most countries, hits China harder with 125% (CNBC)
• Nintendo Gains Time to Prep Switch 2 Debut With Tariff Pause (Bloomberg)
• How Many New iPhones Can Fit on a Freight Plane? (Daring Fireball)
• Wall Street Consultant Paul Atkins Confirmed to Lead SEC (Bloomberg)
• OpenAI countersues Elon Musk, claims harassment (Reuters)
• Google launches Agent2Agent protocol to connect AI agents across platforms (Testing Catalog)
• OpenAI launches program to design new ‘domain-specific’ AI benchmarks (TechCrunch)
• AI is set to drive surging electricity demand from data centres while offering the potential to transform how the energy sector works (IEA)
• AI to double data centre energy demand by 2030 (Silicon Republic)

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