Edition: May 14, 2026

A California jury is deliberating in the case of Elon Musk vs. OpenAI, considering whether the AI lab's cofounders and Microsoft breached charitable trust and unjustly enriched themselves with Musk's donations. The verdict could potentially impact the future of OpenAI as a for-profit company. The jury's decision will weigh on the validity of Musk's claims and the potential consequences for the AI lab.

The Musk v. Altman trial concluded with closing arguments, where Musk's lawyer struggled to present a coherent case, while OpenAI's lawyer effectively organized the evidence against Musk. The trial's outcome remains uncertain, but the opposing sides' performances were starkly contrasting. The case's resolution will have significant implications for the tech industry.

Elon Musk's SpaceXAI is experiencing a significant brain drain, with over 50 researchers and engineers leaving since February, amid concerns about the company's commitment to developing leading AI models and Musk's demanding work culture. Rivals like Meta and Thinking Machine Labs are poaching former staff, with at least 11 and 7 employees defecting to these companies, respectively. The exodus has raised questions about SpaceXAI's ability to build top-notch AI models.

OpenAI's coding tool Codex is now available on mobile devices through the ChatGPT app, allowing users to manage development workflows remotely. The update enables users to monitor live environments, review outputs, and start new tasks from their phones. This move intensifies competition with Anthropic's Claude Code, a similar tool.

An audit of AI note-taking systems used by Ontario healthcare providers found that many systems routinely missed critical details, inserted incorrect information, and fabricated content. The audit revealed that 9 out of 20 systems fabricated information and made suggestions to patients' treatment plans that weren't discussed in recordings. The findings have raised concerns about the accuracy of AI in critical healthcare situations.

Meta's decision to track employee keystrokes and mouse data has sparked an uproar among its workers, with nearly 20,000 employees viewing an engineer's internal post protesting the move. The company's Model Capability Initiative aims to collect data for AI training, but employees are pushing back with a petition. The controversy has contributed to record-low morale and driven an employee unionization effort in the UK.

OpenAI's Codex, a tool that can write code and use apps on a computer, is now accessible through the ChatGPT mobile app, marking a significant step in the company's push to expand its services. This move follows a surge in popularity for competing AI tools and OpenAI's efforts to focus on its core business. The integration allows users to leverage Codex's capabilities directly from their phones.

Recursive Superintelligence, a new AI startup, has emerged with $650 million in funding to develop a recursively self-improving AI model that can autonomously identify its weaknesses and redesign itself. The company, founded by Richard Socher and other prominent AI researchers, aims to achieve a long-held goal of contemporary AI research. This innovative approach could potentially lead to significant breakthroughs in AI development.

OpenAI is reportedly considering legal action against Apple due to a failed ChatGPT integration that did not meet expected subscriber and revenue targets. The partnership, announced in 2024, was expected to bring in billions of dollars in new subscriptions but has been hindered by Apple's control over the platform. This is not the first time a major software company has had issues with Apple, with Google, Adobe, and Spotify having similar experiences in the past.

IBM has released two new multilingual embedding models, Granite Embedding Multilingual R2, which support over 200 languages and achieve top-tier retrieval quality. The models are available in two sizes, 97M and 311M parameters, and are compatible with popular frameworks. They can handle context lengths up to 32,768 tokens and support cross-lingual code retrieval in 9 programming languages.

An audit by the Ontario auditor general found that AI medical scribes used by doctors to summarize patient conversations often generated incorrect or incomplete information, potentially leading to harmful treatment plans. The audit tested 20 approved AI scribe vendors and found issues with accuracy or completeness in all of them. This raises concerns about the reliability of AI in healthcare.

Cerebras Systems raised $5.5 billion in its IPO, with shares surging 108% to $385 on the first day of trading. The company's valuation reached $56.4 billion, with its co-founders' stakes worth nearly $1.9 billion and $1 billion respectively. Cerebras is now a major contender in the AI chip market, with notable customers including OpenAI and Amazon Web Services.

A Gallup survey reveals that over 70% of Americans oppose the construction of AI data centers in their area, with only 7% strongly in favor. The opposition is so strong that Americans would rather live near a nuclear power plant than a data center. This widespread disapproval may impact the development of AI infrastructure in the US.

Wirestock, a platform that supplies creative multi-modal data to AI labs, has raised $23 million in Series A funding to expand its data supply business. The company has signed up over 700,000 artists and designers to provide datasets of images, videos, and other content. Wirestock aims to focus on providing data for models that aid creative use cases, such as image and video generation.

The success of agentic AI in financial services relies heavily on the quality, security, and accessibility of the data it uses, with companies requiring a trusted and centralized data store to deploy AI with speed and confidence. Agentic AI has enormous potential in financial services due to its ability to incorporate real-time data and optimize complex workflows. Financial services companies must prioritize data readiness to meet customer expectations and stay ahead of competition.

Companies are reevaluating their reliance on third-party AI models and seeking to establish control over their data and AI systems, with 70% of global executives believing a sovereign data and AI platform is necessary for success. The concept of AI sovereignty is becoming a global policy conversation, with leaders emphasizing the need for countries to build their own AI infrastructure. This shift is driven by concerns over data protection and competitive position.

Deepfake technology is being used to create non-consensual explicit content using the bodies of adult content creators without their permission, while AI chatbots are exposing people's personal contact information, including phone numbers, due to personally identifiable information in their training data. These breaches highlight significant concerns around privacy and consent in the age of AI. The issue is growing, with little recourse for victims.

The era of personal software is emerging, allowing users to create customized apps without needing to learn how to code, potentially ending the tyranny of pre-designed software. This shift enables individuals to tailor software to their specific needs, regardless of their profession. Users can now create apps that fit their unique requirements.

Gen Z's relationship with truth is being shaped by their early exposure to smartphones and social media, leading to a cultural and cognitive shift in how they process reality. This shift is influenced by algorithmically driven content platforms that prioritize engagement over evidence and authority. As a result, Gen Z is navigating a world where reality is often pre-curated and emotionally optimized.

The Tesla Semi, an electric semitruck, has officially started production after nearly a decade of development, with a recent order of 370 units valued at over $100 million. This could be a significant moment for electric trucking, as medium- and heavy-duty vehicles contribute a large portion of pollution. The Tesla Semi boasts impressive performance and relatively affordable pricing, making it a potential game-changer in the industry.

British technology company Humanoid is set to deploy humanoid robots at German industrial supplier Schaeffler's factories, with plans to integrate 1,000 to 2,000 robots by 2032. Meanwhile, South Korean AI startup RLWRLD is collecting worker motion data to train robots for physical tasks in various industries. The advancements in physical AI are expected to transform factory floors and industrial workplaces.

A woman discovered her body was used in a deepfake porn video with someone else's face, highlighting the issue of nonconsensual use of bodies in deepfakes. The problem is growing more complicated with the improvement of generative AI and the proliferation of 'nudify' apps. The nonconsensual use of bodies in deepfakes is a concern that is often overlooked in discussions about deepfake technology.

Campbell Brown, former Meta news chief, is tackling AI misinformation through her company Forum AI, which evaluates and trains AI models to provide accurate information on complex topics. Brown aims to get AI judges to reach a 90% consensus with human experts, addressing concerns over AI bias and inaccuracy. Her goal is to optimize AI for truth, rather than engagement, and is betting on enterprise demand for reliable AI to drive her business.

Clio, a Canadian law firm management software company, has reached $500 million in annual recurring revenue, driven by its integration of AI into its offerings. The company's growth is a sign of the vast potential of the legal AI market, which is also being pursued by other companies such as Harvey and Anthropic. The increasing competition in the market is expected to drive further innovation and growth.

PwC is expanding its strategic alliance with Anthropic to deploy Claude, an AI technology, to build technology, execute deals, and reinvent enterprise functions for clients across various industries. The collaboration aims to help companies replace outdated systems and processes with AI-driven solutions, with a focus on areas such as agentic technology build, AI-native deal-making, and reinvention of the enterprise function. This partnership is expected to bring significant benefits, including reduced delivery times and improved efficiency.

Anthropic has formed a $200 million partnership with the Gates Foundation to use AI for global health, life sciences, education, and economic mobility. The partnership aims to improve health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries and accelerate the development of new vaccines and therapies. The collaboration will also focus on improving educational outcomes for K-12 students in the US, sub-Saharan Africa, and India.

Researchers have found a way to improve the performance of large language models by separating CPU and GPU workloads, allowing for asynchronous batching and reducing idle time. This technique can lead to a 24% speedup in generation time without requiring any changes to the model or kernel. The approach involves running batch preparation for the next batch while the current batch is computing on the GPU.

Cisco is cutting nearly 4,000 jobs to shift its focus towards AI and cybersecurity investments, despite reporting record quarterly revenue. The move follows a trend of tech companies prioritizing AI spending over workforce retention. Cisco aims to address security vulnerabilities and enhance its cybersecurity capabilities.

A new open-source project called Clawdmeter brings Claude Code usage stats into a tiny desktop dashboard, allowing AI power users to track their usage in a fun and nostalgic way. The device, created by software developer Hermann Haraldsson, features pixel-art animations and can be customized by users. It has gained popularity on GitHub, with over 800 stars and 50 forks since its launch.

The Uncanny Valley podcast discusses Trump's visit to China with a select group of Silicon Valley CEOs, the ongoing Musk v. Altman trial, and conspiracy theories surrounding the hantavirus outbreak. The podcast breaks down the latest developments in the trial and explores the potential implications of Trump's visit to China. The team also examines the spread of misinformation about the hantavirus.

Microsoft is canceling most of its Claude Code licenses, an AI coding tool developed by Anthropic, after it gained popularity among its developers. The company will instead push its developers to use Copilot CLI. This move comes six months after Microsoft first introduced Claude Code to its employees.

A new interactive map tracks data center construction and AI policy, sparking concerns over tech giants like Google acquiring public land for their facilities. The map's creator, Isabelle Reksopuro, was motivated by misinformation surrounding Google's data centers in her home state of Oregon. The issue highlights the growing need for transparency in data center development.

Ian Crosby, founder of the failed startup Bench Accounting, has raised $10 million in seed funding for his new venture Synthetic, which aims to develop a fully autonomous AI bookkeeper. Despite the challenges and controversy surrounding Crosby's past, Khosla Ventures is betting on his vision for the future of bookkeeping. Synthetic plans to serve AI and software startups with a fully AI-driven service.

The recent collaboration between Audemars Piguet and Swatch, the Royal Pop collection, was preceded by AI-generated images that fueled hype and disappointment among watch fans. The actual collection, featuring pocket watches with iconic Royal Oak design cues, was unveiled ahead of schedule. The event highlights the challenges of managing expectations in the age of AI-generated content.

Meta is experiencing record high profits, but employee morale has hit a record low due to impending layoffs, widening pay gaps, and mandatory role changes. The company plans to cut about 10% of its workforce, and some employees are even hoping to be laid off to receive severance packages. The low morale is reportedly hindering the company's recruiting efforts and has led to talks of unionization among UK employees.

Top real estate app development companies in the US have been identified, including LITSLINK, Code District, and Empat, which excel in complex PropTech requirements such as RESO Web API integrations and tenant screening workflows. These firms stand out for their expertise in core integrations, including listing and MLS data, identity and credit, and payments and escrow. Their abilities and pricing are reviewed in detail.

A trophy inscribed 'Never stop being a jackass' was presented in the Musk v. Altman trial, commemorating a research scientist who was called a jackass by Elon Musk. The incident occurred when Musk was leaving OpenAI and discussed racing ahead of Google, despite concerns over AI safety. The trophy has become a notable moment in the trial.

Startup Battlefield 200 applications are closing on May 27, offering early-stage startups a chance to gain global visibility, VC access, and $100,000 equity-free funding. Selected startups will showcase at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in front of 10,000+ attendees and leading VCs. The application window is closing fast, with only two weeks left to apply.