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Beginners in AI
Good morning and thank you for joining us again!
Welcome to this daily edition of Beginners in AI, where we explore the latest trends, tools, and news in the world of AI and the tech that surrounds it. Like all editions, this is human curated, and published with the intention of making AI news and technology more accessible to everyone.
THE FRONT PAGE
AI Is Already Hurting You—Just Not the Way Tech Leaders Are Warning
LEAD STORY
TLDR: Anthropic's chief scientist is warning humanity faces an "ultimate risk" decision on AI by 2027—but while the industry debates hypothetical doom, AI is already quietly overcharging consumers for groceries and helping corporations extract billions in extra profit.
The Story:
Jared Kaplan, Anthropic's chief scientist, told The Guardian this week that humanity will soon face "the biggest decision yet": whether to let AI systems train themselves. He predicts this moment arrives between 2027 and 2030, warning it could trigger an uncontrollable "intelligence explosion." Meta's chief AI scientist Yann LeCun has called out OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic for what he describes as "massive corporate lobbying" to write rules that favor their models and concentrate power over the technology's development. But while frontier labs debate existential risk, AI is already doing measurable harm. New research from Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports, and More Perfect Union found that Instacart has been using AI to charge some customers up to 23 percent more than others for identical products at the same store. The scheme kicked off in 2022 when Instacart acquired an AI pricing company called Eversight, and a family of four exposed to these fluctuations pays roughly $1,200 extra per year. The stores involved—including Target—told researchers they had no idea the price experiments were happening.
Its Significance:
The Instacart story(in today’s Quick Takes) illustrates a pattern worth paying attention to: while AI leaders warn about machines outsmarting humanity, the technology is already being deployed to outsmart consumers. And the same companies sounding the loudest alarms are often pushing for regulations they're uniquely positioned to afford. David Sacks, the Trump administration's AI czar, has accused Anthropic of "running a sophisticated regulatory capture strategy based on fear-mongering." Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya put it plainly: "Only the biggest and well-funded companies" can afford the compliance burden of sprawling AI regulations. None of this means long-term AI risks aren't real. But apocalypse talk makes for convenient cover when the more immediate threat is algorithms quietly extracting extra profit from your grocery cart.
QUICK TAKES
The story: At least eight major bitcoin mining companies—including Core Scientific, Riot, IREN, and Cipher Mining—are converting their facilities to run AI workloads instead. With bitcoin mining profits falling after the 2024 halving cut rewards in half, miners are finding that AI companies will pay more for their power infrastructure. Microsoft just signed a $9.7 billion deal with former miner IREN, and AWS partnered with Cipher Mining for similar arrangements.
Your takeaway: Bitcoin miners built exactly what AI companies need most—massive power capacity, cooling systems, and remote facilities. Now they're cashing in on the AI boom while crypto profits shrink.
The story: Chinese company Kuaishou unveiled Kling O1, a video model that handles text, images, and video editing all in one system. Instead of switching between tools, creators can generate video, change scenes, swap outfits, or adjust lighting using simple prompts. The company also released Video 2.6, which generates video with dialogue, music, and sound effects simultaneously—no more adding audio separately.
Your takeaway: AI video tools are consolidating fast. What used to require multiple apps and manual editing now happens in a single prompt, which could reshape how ads, social content, and short videos get made.
The story: Electric vehicle maker Rivian revealed its own computer chip designed specifically for self-driving cars at its first Autonomy & AI Day. The chip powers a new system that will bring hands-free driving to over 3.5 million miles of roads. Rivian will also add LiDAR sensors to its upcoming R2 SUV, marking a different approach than Tesla's camera-only strategy. A monthly self-driving subscription will cost $49.99 or $2,500 one-time.
Your takeaway: Rivian is betting big on building its own AI hardware rather than buying off-the-shelf parts. The company is positioning itself as a serious competitor in the race to full self-driving.
The story: Governor Kathy Hochul signed two laws requiring advertisers to clearly disclose when they use AI-generated "synthetic performers" in commercials. A second law prevents companies from using a dead person's likeness for ads without permission from their estate. Violators face fines up to $5,000 per incident. The laws take effect in 180 days.
Your takeaway: New York is drawing a line on AI transparency in advertising. As AI-generated content becomes harder to spot, these disclosure rules give consumers a way to know when they're watching something fake.
The story: Research from Consumer Reports and other groups found that Instacart charged some customers up to 23% more than others for the exact same products at the same store. At one Target location, researchers found seven distinct price groups seeing different totals for identical grocery carts. The practice traces back to Instacart's 2022 acquisition of AI pricing company Eversight. Instacart says the pricing experiments have now ended.
Your takeaway: AI-powered "dynamic pricing" is spreading from airline tickets to everyday groceries. The research suggests a family of four could pay an extra $1,200 per year if they land in a higher price group.
TOOLS ON OUR RADAR
📝 Tally
Freemium: Build unlimited forms and collect unlimited responses for free, with features like conditional logic and payment collection other tools charge for.📅 Cal.com
Freemium: Share your availability and let others book meetings with you—unlimited events, calendars, and booking links.✍️ LanguageTool
Freemium: Check your grammar, spelling, and style in over 30 languages with this open-source writing assistant that works in your browser, Word, and Google Docs.🎨 Excalidraw
Free and Open Source: Sketch diagrams, flowcharts, and wireframes with a hand-draw
TRENDING
MIT Launches AI Program for Naval Officers – MIT created a two-year master's degree to teach Navy officers how to apply AI to military problems, from autonomous vehicles to cyber defense.
Mistral Releases Devstral 2 Coding Model – French AI company Mistral launched a new coding assistant that scores 72.2% on a major software engineering test and costs up to 7 times less than competitors.
Users Flood Sora With Dark Disney Parodies – Days before Disney announced a licensing deal with OpenAI, users were already generating disturbing fake Pixar trailers featuring offensive jokes and copyrighted characters.
AI Data Center Boom May Hurt Infrastructure Projects – Private spending on AI data centers now matches state spending on roads and bridges, and both are competing for the same construction workers during labor shortages.
US Launches "Pax Silica" Coalition to Secure AI Supply Chains – The U.S. formed an alliance with eight countries including Japan, South Korea, and the UK to build secure supply chains for chips, minerals, and AI infrastructure.
TRY THIS PROMPT (copy and paste into Claude or Gemini)
Delegation Decision Matrix: Figure out what to delegate, automate, defer, or delete using a strategic 2x2 framework
Build me an interactive Delegation Decision Matrix as a React artifact that helps leaders and managers strategically distribute work for maximum impact.
The console should include these sections:
1. **Task Inventory** - Capture everything:
• Quick-add task input with "Add Task" button
• Bulk import option (paste list of tasks)
• Common task templates by role:
- Manager (1-on-1s, reviews, planning, reporting)
- Founder (fundraising, hiring, strategy, operations)
- Creative (content, design, campaigns, reviews)
- Developer (coding, debugging, architecture, reviews)
• For each task, capture:
- Task name/description
- Estimated time (hours per week/month)
- How often it occurs (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly)
- Current owner (you or someone else)
• Task counter showing total items and total hours
2. **Impact Assessment** - Rate each task:
• For every task, two sliders:
- **Impact/Importance** (1-10): Low → Strategic/High-Value
- **Your Unique Ability** (1-10): Anyone Could Do → Only You Can
• Quick-rate mode: Swipe through tasks rating them rapidly
• "Auto-classify" button using task descriptions
• Visual preview of where tasks will land on matrix
• Flag high-time, low-impact tasks automatically
3. **Decision Matrix Grid** - Visual 2x2 framework:
• **Four Quadrants:**
**High Impact + Only You (Top Right):**
- Label: "FOCUS - Your Zone of Genius"
- Color: Green
- Action: Protect this time, do more of this
**High Impact + Others Can Do (Top Left):**
- Label: "DELEGATE - Develop Others"
- Color: Blue
- Action: Assign to team members, train them
**Low Impact + Only You (Bottom Right):**
- Label: "STREAMLINE - Automate/Simplify"
- Color: Yellow
- Action: Create templates, automate, reduce frequency
**Low Impact + Others Can Do (Bottom Left):**
- Label: "ELIMINATE - Delete or Outsource"
- Color: Red
- Action: Stop doing, outsource cheap, or delete entirely
• Tasks plotted as draggable cards
• Click any task to see details
• Resize bubbles based on time spent
• Filter view by quadrant
• "Show only my tasks" toggle
4. **Delegation Planner** - Execute on decisions:
• For tasks in "DELEGATE" quadrant:
- "Find Best Person" matcher
- Team member selector with skills/capacity
- Delegation level chooser:
* Level 1: Do exactly as I say
* Level 2: Research and recommend
* Level 3: Decide and inform me
* Level 4: Act independently
- Training needs assessment
- Handoff checklist generator
• "Create Delegation Brief" button
• Timeline for transition (immediate, 1 week, 1 month)
5. **Automation Opportunities** - For "STREAMLINE" tasks:
• Task automation potential score
• Suggested tools/solutions:
- Process templates
- Software recommendations
- AI/automation options
- Checklist/SOP creation
• "Search Automation Tools" button
• ROI calculator: Time saved vs. setup cost
• Quick-win identifier (easy automations first)
6. **Elimination Checklist** - For "DELETE" quadrant:
• Challenge questions for each task:
- "What happens if we just stop doing this?"
- "Who asked for this and do they still need it?"
- "Is this habit or actual value?"
- "Can we reduce frequency?" (daily → weekly)
• Stakeholder impact check
• "Trial elimination" suggestion (stop for 2 weeks, see if anyone notices)
• Courage booster: "You're not alone - leaders eliminate X% of tasks"
7. **Team Capacity View** - Who can take what:
• Add team members with:
- Name and role
- Current workload estimate (% capacity)
- Skills/strengths
- Development goals (what they want to learn)
• Visual capacity bars (green = available, yellow = at capacity, red = overloaded)
• Match tasks to team members based on:
- Available capacity
- Skill fit
- Growth opportunity
• Prevent overloading (warning if assigning too much)
8. **Impact Dashboard** - See the benefits:
• Time reclaimed calculation:
- Hours per week saved through delegation/elimination
- Hours per week protected for high-impact work
- New capacity created (% increase)
• Before/after comparison:
- Previous time allocation by quadrant
- New time allocation after changes
- Visual pie charts
• "What can you do with X extra hours?" ideas
• Delegation roadmap (priority order)
• Track implementation progress
9. **Templates & Resources** - Execution tools:
• Delegation conversation script
• Task handoff template
• SOP creation guide
• "How to say no" phrases
• "Search Delegation Best Practices" button
• Video tutorials on effective delegation
• Common delegation mistakes to avoid
Make it look like a strategic planning tool with:
• Clean 2x2 grid as the hero element
• Color-coded quadrants (green, blue, yellow, red)
• Draggable task cards on the matrix
• Card-based design for tasks and team members
• Professional but approachable aesthetic
• Clear visual hierarchy
• Modern SaaS interface style
• Smooth drag-and-drop interactions
• Hover effects showing task details
• Progress indicators and capacity bars
• Action-oriented button labels
• Clean sans-serif typography
• White/light gray background with colorful accents
When I click "Search Automation Tools" or "Search Delegation Best Practices," use web search to find automation software, productivity tools, delegation frameworks, and management best practices for distributing work effectively.What this does: Helps overwhelmed leaders strategically offload work by categorizing every task into delegate, automate, streamline, or eliminate—with team capacity matching, automation suggestions, and implementation templates to actually execute on the decisions.
What this looks like:
WHERE WE STAND(Based on today’s Quick Takes and Trending news)
✅ AI Can Now: Generate videos with dialogue, music, and sound effects all at once—no separate audio editing needed.
❌ Still Can't: Keep characters looking exactly the same across long video sequences without drift or sudden changes in appearance.
✅ AI Can Now: Power self-driving features on custom chips designed specifically for cars, processing billions of pixels per second.
❌ Still Can't: Run full Level 4 autonomy on affordable consumer vehicles—current driverless systems require expensive sensor arrays and operate only in mapped areas.
✅ AI Can Now: Set different prices for the same product based on what each individual customer might pay.
❌ Still Can't: Explain why it assigned a specific price to a specific person—dynamic pricing algorithms make decisions that even the companies using them can't fully trace back.
FROM THE WEB
RECOMMENDED LISTENING/READING/WATCHING
BOOK: Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)
Case is a washed-up hacker who gets hired for one last impossible job: break into an AI so advanced it's illegal. The plot takes him through the neon-soaked underworld of Chiba City, into orbit, and eventually into cyberspace itself.
Gibson invented cyberpunk with this novel. The opening line "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel" sets the tone for everything that follows. The prose is dense and moves fast, throwing you into a world where the line between human and machine has blurred beyond recognition. Some of the technology feels dated now, but the aesthetic and the ideas remain influential. Every tech noir film and game since owes something to Neuromancer.
Thank you for reading. We’re all beginners in something. With that in mind, your questions and feedback are always welcome and I read every single email!
-James
By the way, this is the link if you liked the content and want to share with a friend.
