An NBER study of nearly 6,000 CEOs and CFOs across the US, UK, Germany, and Australia found that roughly 90% of firms reported zero measurable impact on productivity or employment from AI over the past three years.
The average employee AI usage was 1.5 hours per week.
The average CEO AI usage was less than one hour per week.
Meanwhile, their companies are pouring money into the $690 billion AI infrastructure buildout that, according to Sequoia, needs $600 billion in annual revenue to justify itself (but currently generates maybe $50-100 billion).
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Sam Altman Apologizes to British Columbia Community, Wonders Who Could Have Stopped Such Violence
OpenAI, in a nameless blog post:
Mass shootings, threats against public officials, bombing attempts, and attacks on communities and individuals are an unacceptable and grave reality in today’s world. These incidents are a reminder of how real the threat of violence is—and how quickly violent intent can move from words to action.
People may also bring these moments and feelings into ChatGPT. They may ask questions about the news, try to understand what happened, express fear or anger, or talk about violence in ways that are fictional, historical, political, personal, or potentially dangerous. We work to train ChatGPT to recognize the difference—and to draw lines when a conversation starts to move toward threats, potential harm to others, or real-world planning.
Pedometer++ 8.0⇢
Today, we shipped a huge update to Pedometer++. We have full details over on the Pedometer++ blog, and David has a post up as well:
Today I’m beyond delighted to announce the release of Pedometer++ version 8. I worked with legendary designer Rafa Conde to re-design the appearance and layout of the watchOS app to make it the most capable, yet intuitive, walking app on the App Store.
Pedometer++ has been on the Apple Watch from day one twelve years ago. Over that time I’ve built dozens of designs and features, today’s redesign learns from that journey and arrives at an incredible place.
CHATBOT Act Introduced in Senate⇢
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, in a press release today:
U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), John Curtis (R-Utah), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) today introduced the CHATBOT Act, legislation that would put parents, not Big Tech, in charge of how children and teens interact with AI chatbots.
While AI chatbots can support a child’s learning, research, and creativity, they also pose real risks to minors, including exposure to inappropriate content, language, and addictive features. Some AI companies have even deployed rewards, notifications, and targeted advertising to drive prolonged engagement by adolescent users.
‘Debating New iPhone Colors for a Living’⇢
I was honored to join Eric Schwarz for the first episode of his new podcast, named Magical & Revolutionary. We had a wide-ranging conversation about my background and career, touching on the weirdness of covering large companies, my issues with xAI’s presence here in Memphis, and a lot more.
The Problem With AI: ‘Software Brain’⇢
In a world of companies burning money and resources at a breathtaking rate, Nilay Patel’s essay on the state of AI offers a refreshing level of clarity.
The next time someone asks me what I think about AI, I will send this video with a note that I agree with all of it.
AI is the most complex thing to happen to the technology industry, and Patel nails many of the reasons why.
Control Center is Homeless
Last night before going to bed, I told my iPhone to install iOS 26.4.2 and when I picked it up this morning, I was greeted by a Control Center bug that has been around since iOS 26 first launched:
For months, HomeKit controls will be missing after an iOS update or device restart. In this case, I am missing controls for my garage door, my thermostats, and a couple of scenes.
Connected 600: Tommy Siri⇢
Stephen plays audio from a website, Federico prefers to talk about products, Myke takes a victory lap, Tim announces his retirement, and John gets a new job.
The Framework Laptop 13 Pro⇢
I think the most interesting company in the personal computer space may be Framework, the small company dedicated to making repairable and upgradeable notebooks and desktops. It launched its first laptop — named the Framework Laptop 13 — in 2021 and you can still replace and upgrade components in it five years later. It started with an 11th-gen Intel Core processor, but now can run up to AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. A bunch of other things have been added as well, including support for Wi-Fi 7, a 2.8K display, more robust keyboard, and more. All of that is on top of being able to replace the SSD, battery, and RAM in just a few minutes.
A Presidential Proclamation Marking Tim Cook’s Retirement⇢
A very official and normal statement from the President:
I have always been a big fan of Tim Cook, and likewise, Steve Jobs, but if Steve was not taken from the Planet Earth so young, and ran the company instead of Tim, the company would have done well, but nowhere near as well as it has under Tim. For me it began with a phone call from Tim at the beginning of my First Term. He had a fairly large problem that only I, as President, could fix. Most people would have paid millions of dollars to a consultant, who I probably would not have known, but who would say that he knew me well. The fees would be paid but the job would not have gotten done. When I got the call I said, wow, it’s Tim Apple (Cook!) calling, how big is that? I was very impressed with myself to have the head of Apple calling to “kiss my ass.” Anyway, he explained his problem, a tough one it was, I felt he was right and got it taken care of, quickly and effectively. That was the beginning of a long and very nice relationship. During my five years as President, Tim would call me, but never too much, and I would help him where I could. Years latter, after 3 or 4 BIG HELPS, I started to say to people, anyone who would listen, that this guy is an amazing manager and leader. He makes these calls to me, I help him out (but not always, because he will, on occasion, be too aggressive in his ask!), and he gets the job done, QUICKLY, without a dime being given to those very expensive (millions of dollars!) consultants around town who sometimes get it done, and sometimes don’t. Anyway, Tim Cook had an AMAZING career, almost incomparable, and will go on and continue to do great work for Apple, and whatever else he chooses to work on. Quite simply, Tim Cook is an incredible guy!!! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Cook Out
Tim Cook, writing on apple.com:
For the past 15 years I’ve started just about every morning the same way. I open my email and I read notes I received the day before from Apple’s users all over the world.
You share little pieces of your lives with me and tell me things you want me to know about how Apple has touched you. About the moment your mom was saved by her Apple Watch. About the perfect selfie you captured at the summit of a mountain that seemed impossible to climb. You thank me for the ways Mac has changed what you can do at work and sometimes give me a hard time because something you care about isn’t working like it should.
The Future of the Artemis Program⇢
The Artemis era well and truly began Friday evening when a shiny spacecraft that had traveled 700,000 miles around the Moon, carrying four astronauts, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
For NASA, for its international partners, and for all of humanity the successful conclusion of the Artemis II mission marked a return to deep space by our species after more than half a century.