June 17, 2025

Power Grabs, Prompt Hacks, and Policy Wars

Power Grabs, Prompt Hacks, and Policy Wars

This week, Jeff and Annie delve into the weird, wonderful, and slightly concerning ways AI is making its presence felt in our lives. Meta is throwing $15B at a new AGI dream team. Google’s Gemini wants to become your executive assistant. OpenAI is in court defending your right to delete. AI is showing up in hospitals, planning departments, even behind the Starbucks counter, and not always in the ways you’d expect.

In this episode:

  • A new study reveals the real secret to better AI prompts—and it’s not what you think
  • The privacy battle that’s putting OpenAI in the awkward role of data defender
  • The growing tension between states and the feds over who gets to regulate AI

Relevant Links:
Google’s Gemini adds scheduled actions for productivity
Wharton study debunks prompt engineering myths
OpenAI fights NYT over user chat data retention
Meta invests $15B in Scale AI for AGI ambitions
Amazon launches AI video generator for sellers
Ohio State mandates AI fluency for all students
DeepMind’s Weather Lab beats top cyclone models
Heartfelt Technologies builds AI scanner for heart failure detection
UK and Google launch AI tool ‘Extract’ for planning reform
Starbucks tests Green Dot Assist AI at 35 stores
Trump-backed “Big Beautiful Bill” includes 10-year state AI regulation ban