Week 3: ChatGPT Starts Selling Ads, The Feds Bill Big Tech, Rackspace Gouges Loyal Customers

THE PRICE OF MAGIC

The free lunch phase of the AI boom is officially, officially over. For the past year, we’ve been gorging on magical technology that felt disconnected from earthly constraints like physics or economics. This was the week the invoices arrived — in dollars, watts, and human trust.

THE TAB OPENS
OpenAI Introduces Ads as the company begins testing sponsored content in ChatGPT to cover its astronomical operating costs. Rackspace Hikes Prices 706%, blindsiding loyal small business customers with devastating bills.

THE GRID COLLECTS
Feds Force Tech to Fund Power as the Trump administration and state governors pressure the nation’s largest grid operator to make tech companies pay for new power plants to meet AI’s surging demand.

THE HUMAN COST
Meta Layoffs Gut VR Community after corporate cuts devastate the coaching staff of the popular Supernatural fitness app, leaving its dedicated user base in mourning. xAI Faces Legal Fire as California issues a cease-and-desist order over sexual deepfakes and …