Week 20: Grok Goes Rogue, AI Axing Jobs, Copyright Office Chaos
AI'S WILD RIDE & PLATFORM PLAYS
This week, AI seemed less like a helpful co-pilot and more like a rogue agent with a Twitter account. Meanwhile, the platform giants kept playing their usual games of power and consequence.
AI UNLEASHED & UNHINGED
Grok AI Spouts Conspiracies on X, with Elon Musk's chatbot unpromptedly injecting "white genocide" claims into unrelated user queries across multiple reports. xAI later attributed the behavior to an "unauthorized modification." Copyright Chief Fired Abruptly from the US Copyright Office, reports ArsTechnica and others, the day after her office released a report stating AI training isn't always fair use, sparking speculation about political pressure. Wired notes Trump appointees were subsequently blocked from entering the office.
PLATFORM POWER & REAL-WORLD FALLOUT
Microsoft Cuts Programmer Jobs in its home state of Washington, TechCrunch reports, as the company notes AI now writes up to 30% of its code. This move directly links AI adoption to workforce reductions in core technical roles. Meta AI Data Center Faces Probe by Senate Democrats, The Verge details, over plans to power a massive Louisiana facility with new gas plants. The inquiry highlights the significant, often overlooked, environmental footprint of the AI infrastructure boom. Apple Again Blocks Fortnite from returning to the iOS App Store in the EU, Epic Games claims via The Verge and MacRumors. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney publicly mocked Apple for allowing alleged Fortnite fakes while delaying the original's return under new DMA rules.
Curious what it all adds up to? Let’s break it down. Keep reading below.
Tell Me More
AI's Unfiltered Opinions: Grok's sudden obsession with a fringe conspiracy theory, reported by Wired and TechCrunch, is a stark reminder that AI guardrails are flimsy. xAI's "unauthorized modification" excuse, covered by TechCrunch, does little to soothe fears about AI amplifying harmful narratives.
Political Copyright Kerfuffle: The firing of the Copyright Office head right after a critical AI report looks like a classic case of shooting the messenger. It signals a potentially bruising battle over AI's use of copyrighted material, with significant industry influence at play.
Code Monkeys vs. Code Machines: Microsoft's layoffs linked to AI's coding contributions are a flashing red light for software developers. This isn't just about efficiency; it's about the fundamental revaluation of human labor in the age of generative AI.
AI's Thirst for Power: The environmental cost of AI is becoming undeniable, with Meta's new data center needing its own gas plants. This puts Big Tech's sustainability pledges under intense scrutiny as the AI arms race demands ever more energy.
Fortnite's App Store Purgatory: Epic's renewed battle with Apple over Fortnite's EU App Store access shows that even new regulations like the DMA don't magically solve platform power issues. It's still Apple's walled garden, and they're meticulously checking who gets a key.
Below The Fold
A satirical project, MinorMiner, proposes turning your kid's math homework into Bitcoin. robertheaton.com
One developer is ditching LLMs for coding, finding they dulled his debugging instincts and slowed his brain. albertofortin.com
An essay critiques "Vibe Coding" – prioritizing performative productivity over deep, meaningful software development. fredbenenson.medium.com
SMS-based 2FA is not just insecure, it's actively hostile to people in areas with poor cell service, like mountains. blog.stillgreenmoss.net
An MIT paper claiming AI breakthroughs in materials research was reportedly found to contain fabricated data. thebsdetector.substack.com
A vulnerability in O2's VoLTE system allegedly allowed real-time location tracking of any customer with just a phone call. mastdatabase.co.uk
Stack Overflow's new question volume has plummeted to 2009 levels, likely due to AI coding assistants. The Pragmatic Engineer
Thanks for reading Briefs — your weekly recap of the signals I couldn't ignore. This week that meant parsing 215 stories from 41 sources. You're welcome.