Hello, AI Enthusiasts.
Friday night AI check-in—made it through the week! How was yours?
On the 404 Media podcast, investigative journalists explore AI’s disruptive impact on publishing and labor—sparking debates on the role of automation in creative fields.
OpenAI just teamed up with the U.S. Department of Energy’s national labs for an AI-powered research sprint involving 1,000 scientists. Could this change the way we conduct scientific breakthroughs?
And in the corporate world, a new study finds IT leaders focused on cutting costs and improving efficiency rather than chasing ambitious AI projects.
The week’s over, but the AI conversation continues. Until next time!
Here's another crazy day in AI:
Work, creativity, and the AI disruption
Can AI speed up science? 1,000 researchers put it to the test
Study reveals IT leaders favor AI for productivity over innovation
Some AI tools to try out
TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: The Trouble with AI-Generated Everything
Image Credit: Wowza (edited with Canva)
Did AI just steal a book? And what about factory workers?
In a recent episode of the 404 Media podcast, award-winning investigative journalist Joseph Cox shares how someone used AI to create a cheap, low-quality summary of his book and sell it on Amazon. The discussion doesn’t stop there—Cox and his co-hosts dive into the ethical concerns of AI-generated content, a controversial startup that dehumanizes factory workers with machine surveillance, and a peculiar AI-generated video involving Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
What’s Inside This Episode:
AI vs. Authors – Joseph Cox finds a poor AI-generated ripoff of his book for sale, sparking a conversation on intellectual property and the value of real writing.
AI & Factory Workers – The team exposes Optify, a Y Combinator-backed startup using AI-powered surveillance to track factory workers' productivity, raising major ethical concerns.
The Dark Side of AI Content – How AI-generated summaries and low-quality content are flooding the market, diluting original works.
Tech vs. Humanity – A critical take on how startups often prioritize efficiency and profit over ethical labor practices.
Musk, Trump & AI Weirdness – A strange AI-generated video surfaces, possibly as a protest from within the U.S. government.
These conversations touch on an uncomfortable reality: AI isn’t just automating tasks—it’s beginning to replace real human effort in ways that are ethically murky. When AI-generated content appears next to genuine work, it blurs the line between what’s real and what’s artificially produced. For writers and creatives, this raises concerns about ownership, quality, and the devaluation of original ideas.
At the same time, AI is quietly reshaping the workplace. A system designed to track factory workers may sound like an efficiency tool, but it also introduces new concerns about privacy, job security, and the increasing role of surveillance in everyday labor. The way AI is being implemented matters, and without careful oversight, we risk trading human dignity for technological convenience. The question isn’t just about what AI can do—it’s about what it should do.
Read more here.
Watch the video podcast on YouTube.
Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:
Can AI Speed Up Science? 1,000 Researchers Put It to the Test
/OpenAI
In a groundbreaking collaboration, OpenAI and the U.S. Department of Energy’s national labs have brought together 1,000 scientists across nine national labs for an AI-powered scientific jam session. Researchers are using OpenAI’s o3-mini model to explore solutions in materials science, renewable energy, astrophysics, and more. The event, hosted across major U.S. national labs, aims to integrate AI-driven insights into scientific discovery and strengthen America’s leadership in AI. Findings from this first-of-its-kind event will be published in a follow-up report, shaping the future of AI-assisted research.
Read more here.
Study Reveals IT Leaders Favor AI for Productivity Over Innovation
/Grant Gross, CIO
A new AI Priorities Study reveals that IT leaders are prioritizing efficiency and cost-cutting over groundbreaking innovation. More than two-thirds of IT leaders are focusing on AI-driven employee productivity, while fewer are investing in AI to expand revenue or drive new innovations. Despite AI’s potential as a workforce assistant, over half of IT leaders expect AI to eventually reduce jobs. The report also highlights debates over whether companies should pay extra for AI features, with many CIOs expecting AI to be bundled into existing tools rather than incurring additional costs.
Read more here.
SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:
Macro - All-in-one AI superapp for PDFs, notes, docs, code, images, and more in a single tab.
Quanta - Instant, automated accounting—no more waiting weeks for your data.
Deep Review by SciSpace - AI-powered assistant for systematic literature reviews.
That’s a wrap on today’s Almost Daily craziness.
Catch us almost every day—almost! 😉
EXCITING NEWS:
The Another Crazy Day in AI newsletter is now on LinkedIn!!!
Leveraging AI for Enhanced Content: As part of our commitment to exploring new technologies, we used AI to help curate and refine our newsletters. This enriches our content and keeps us at the forefront of digital innovation, ensuring you stay informed with the latest trends and developments.
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