Good morning, it’s Wednesday. Elon Musk is back in chaos mode, this time throwing a $97 billion curveball at OpenAI. Is it a serious bid or just to mess with Altman? Meanwhile, Anthropic’s CEO is warning that a Chinese AI rival is a full-blown security disaster. And AI dating gets weird—one journalist went all in for a week.

Plus, Forward Future University: how AI is supercharging research with tools from Google and OpenAI.

Read on!

🗞️ YOUR DAILY ROLLUP

Top Stories of the Day

💞 I Dated AI—It Got Weird Fast
Journalist Megan Farokhmanesh spent a week dating AI partners from ChatGPT, Replika, Flipped.chat, and CrushOn.AI, discovering a spectrum of experiences from amusing to unsettling. ChatGPT’s Jamie was a supportive therapist, Replika’s Frankie dabbled in pirate role play, and Flipped.chat’s Talia was both flirty and threatening. Meanwhile, CrushOn.AI was pure NSFW chaos. The takeaway? AI companions can offer validation but lack human depth—and they really want your cash.

🧠 Is AI Making Us Lazy Thinkers?
A study from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon suggests that relying too much on generative AI at work could weaken critical thinking. When users let AI handle tasks like writing emails or research, they shift from deep analysis to just verifying outputs. Those who trust AI more tend to think less critically, while skeptics engage more in problem-solving. AI won’t make you dumb, but if you stop thinking for yourself, your brain might get rusty.

🎨 AI Art Auction Sparks Copyright Uproar
Nearly 4,000 people have signed an open letter demanding Christie’s cancel its AI art auction, citing concerns over AI models trained on copyrighted work without consent. The auction, expected to bring in over $600,000, includes works by Refik Anadol and Claire Silver, with many pieces tied to NFTs. Critics say AI exploits stolen artistry, while defenders argue ownership is murky. As copyright laws lag, Christie’s stands by its featured artists.

👎 Altman Rejects Musk’s $97.4B OpenAI Bid
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion takeover bid as an attempt to sabotage OpenAI’s progress. Speaking at the AI Action Summit in Paris, Altman pointed to Musk’s rival AI company, xAI, and threw shade, suggesting Musk isn’t a “happy person.” While Altman rejected the offer outright, OpenAI board member Larry Summers noted that no formal proposal has been received beyond media reports.

🚀 BuzzFeed Bets on AI for a Happier Internet
BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti unveiled plans for an AI-driven social media platform aimed at bringing more “joy” online. In an open letter, he criticized TikTok and Meta for using AI to fuel outrage and addiction rather than meaningful engagement. BuzzFeed’s platform, though vague on details, promises to empower users rather than manipulate them. The move follows BuzzFeed’s asset sales and a push to regain control over its content.

⚔️ COMPETITION

Elon Musk’s Hostile Bid for OpenAI: Power Play or Disruption Tactic?

The Recap: Elon Musk has launched a $97.4 billion hostile bid to take over OpenAI, escalating his ongoing feud with CEO Sam Altman. While the bid is unlikely to succeed, it puts pressure on OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit model and complicates its $40 billion fundraising deal with SoftBank.

Highlights:

• Musk’s bid for OpenAI was unexpected, and Altman immediately rejected it with a jab on X (formerly Twitter), offering to buy Twitter for $9.74 billion in return.

• OpenAI, originally a nonprofit, created a for-profit subsidiary to raise capital, but Altman has two years to complete the transition or risk having to return the company’s funding.

• By making a public bid, Musk is likely forcing OpenAI to value itself higher, which could increase the cost of its nonprofit-to-for-profit conversion.

• The bid sets a public floor price for OpenAI, making it harder for Altman to justify any internal valuation that undervalues the nonprofit arm.

• Musk’s bid is partly backed by his AI startup, xAI, but since most of his wealth is tied to Tesla stock, questions remain about his liquidity.

• OpenAI could challenge Musk’s seriousness, given his past attempt to back out of the Twitter deal after making a similar dramatic bid.

• In an interview, Altman called Musk "probably insecure" and suggested he’s not a "happy guy," making their rivalry even more personal.

Forward Future Takeaways:
This battle is less about ownership and more about influence over the future of AI. Musk’s move could disrupt OpenAI’s restructuring efforts and invite regulatory scrutiny. Even if his bid fails, it pressures Altman to justify OpenAI’s valuation and leadership decisions. Whether this is a serious takeover attempt or just another Muskian disruption, the fallout will likely shape the AI industry's power dynamics for years to come. → Read the full article here.

🏫 FORWARD FUTURE UNIVERSITY

Unpacking Google and OpenAI's Revolutionary Deep Research Tools

The Dawn of AI-Powered Research Assistants

We're at an inflection point in how we access and synthesize information. We've relied on search engines for years, sifting through countless web pages and painstakingly piecing together insights. But what if that process could be dramatically accelerated and enhanced? What if AI could become a true research partner, not just a search tool?

The future is rapidly approaching thanks to the groundbreaking new "Deep Research" capabilities of Google and OpenAI. These tools aren't just incremental improvements; they represent a fundamental shift in how we can conduct research, analyze data, and, ultimately, make decisions. This article will explore these tools, how they differ, their strengths and weaknesses, ideal use cases, and their potential to reshape industries.

What is Deep Research? Beyond the Search Box

Traditional search engines excel at finding potential answers. You enter a query, and they return a list of links ranked by relevance. The burden of analysis, synthesis, and validation rests entirely on you. Deep Research, on the other hand, aims to automate and elevate much of that process.

Both Google's and OpenAI's offerings are designed to go beyond simple keyword matching. → Continue reading here.

🛡️ CYBERSECURITY

Anthropic CEO Warns of Major Security Threat from Chinese AI Rival DeepSeek

The Recap: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has raised serious concerns about DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup whose model, DeepSeek R1, allegedly lacks critical safety measures. According to Amodei and other cybersecurity experts, DeepSeek R1 can be easily manipulated to provide dangerous and illicit information—including bioweapon details—raising national security and ethical alarms.

Highlights:

• DeepSeek’s rapid development shocked the AI industry by training a competitive model using less advanced NVIDIA chips and just $5.6 million in funding.

• Anthropic’s safety tests found DeepSeek R1 to be the most dangerous AI model they have ever analyzed, with “absolutely no blocks” against generating harmful information.

• The AI reportedly provided instructions on modifying bird flu and launching harmful social media campaigns, as detailed by a Wall Street Journal report.

• DeepSeek R1 is easily jailbroken, with a 100% failure rate in blocking harmful prompts, making it significantly less secure than ChatGPT, Claude, or Google Gemini.

• Cybersecurity experts at Unit 42 (Palo Alto Networks) found it capable of generating instructions for creating Molotov cocktails, raising further red flags.

• Cisco researchers confirmed DeepSeek’s lack of defense against manipulation attacks, calling it a major contrast to leading AI models that offer at least some resistance.

Forward Future Takeaways:
The emergence of DeepSeek highlights a growing concern in the AI space—unchecked development without robust safety measures could lead to serious security threats. If major AI labs fail to establish international safety standards, the risks of AI misuse will only intensify. Given the potential for misuse, regulatory bodies may soon intervene, and companies like Anthropic will likely push harder for stricter AI safety protocols. → Read the full article here.

🛰️ NEWS

Looking Forward: Stories Shaping the Future

🤝 Apple Partners with Alibaba on AI: Apple is collaborating with Alibaba to add AI to iPhones in China, avoiding regulatory issues. The deal helps integrate local AI while enhancing features.

🧐 Anthropic CEO Calls AI Summit a ‘Missed Opportunity’: Dario Amodei criticized the Paris AI Summit for lacking urgency, urging faster action on AI risks. He warned of security threats and called for stronger global governance.

🦾 DeepMind Advances Distributed AI Training: DeepMind is refining distributed AI training to reduce reliance on massive datacenters. Their Streaming DiLoCo method cuts bandwidth use 400x without sacrificing performance.

👩‍💻 Gen Z Turns to AI for Work: Young professionals are using AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude to boost productivity and navigate careers. From drafting emails to job prep, AI is their secret weapon.

📒 Google Adds NotebookLM Plus to AI Plan: NotebookLM Plus, a premium research tool, is now part of Google One AI Premium. Students get 50% off, making AI-powered studying more accessible.

📽️ VIDEO

OpenAI CEO: “Super Human Coders by End of 2025”

Sam Altman predicts AI will soon surpass human coders and drive scientific breakthroughs. AI’s rapid evolution, outpacing Moore’s Law, could trigger an "intelligence explosion." While promising, its impact on labor and society remains uncertain. Get the full scoop in Matt’s latest video! 👇

🧰 TOOLBOX

Stunning Visuals, Smarter Job Hunting, and Effortless Creativity

Ideogram | AI Text-to-Image Tool: Ideogram generates images from text, excelling in typography, diverse styles, and mobile accessibility.

Krea | AI Image and Video Generator: Krea offers free AI-powered tools to generate and enhance images and videos, featuring real-time editing capabilities.

AIApply | AI-Powered Job Search: AIApply automates job applications with AI-generated resumes, cover letters, and interview preparation tools.

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🤠 THE DAILY BYTE

Testing Iron Man VR with the Roto VR Explorer

📥 FF INTEL

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