Edition: May 30, 2026

SoftBank Group plans to invest up to €75 billion in France to expand data center capacity, aiming to develop 5 gigawatts of additional capacity. The investment is the company's largest AI infrastructure project in Europe, supporting France's goal to become a leading AI destination. The move comes as data center construction faces opposition in the US over environmental concerns.

Microsoft's Github Copilot is switching to a token-based billing system, which may significantly increase costs for smaller companies and individual developers, sparking widespread criticism and concerns about affordability. The change, effective June 1, has led to reports of drastic cost increases, with some users claiming their monthly bills could rise from $29 to $750. The move has sparked a heated debate among developers, with some defending the new pricing model and others arguing it is unfair and unsustainable.

Meta is developing an AI-powered pendant for testing next year, building on its acquisition of Limitless, an AI device startup. The pendant is part of Meta's broader push into AI-enabled wearables, including expanded AI glasses and a business subscription service. The move aims to revitalize Meta's Reality Labs division, which recently reported significant losses.

The browser market is becoming increasingly competitive with new alternatives to Chrome and Safari emerging, including AI-powered browsers like Perplexity's Comet and OpenAI's Atlas, as well as privacy-focused browsers like Brave and DuckDuckGo. These new browsers offer features such as chatbot-based search engines, automation platforms, and built-in ad and tracker blocking capabilities. As the browser wars heat up, users have more options than ever to choose from.

AI-generated influencers, posing as Black people, are being used to sell mass-produced products on social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. These fake accounts are promoting items such as belt buckles, often using emotional manipulation to garner views and sales. The phenomenon raises concerns about authenticity and cultural appropriation.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with a rumored valuation of over $1 trillion, despite reporting nearly $5 billion in losses last year. The company's total addressable market is estimated at $28.5 trillion. Critics argue that the IPO could be detrimental to investors, with Musk and his bankers potentially benefiting at their expense.

Google's new 24/7 AI assistant, Gemini Spark, aims to help users navigate their digital lives by automating tasks and providing personalized suggestions. In testing, Spark proved to be a fairly useful implementation of consumer AI, assisting with tasks such as shopping research and planning a packing list for a day trip. However, it also had some limitations and oversights, such as being unable to use Google Keep.

Craig Campbell, a former Meta engineer and experienced tech founder, has defied the trend of investing in AI by creating a website, Past Maps, which overlays historical maps on current ones. Despite the potential risks and the looming 'Google Zero event horizon', Campbell's bet on the 'old school web' is paying off. His decision to focus on a traditional website has yielded promising results.

Wispr Flow, an AI-powered transcription tool, promises to help users write faster by talking out loud, but its high price tag has led to a search for free alternatives. Spokenly, a free platform-agnostic application, offers similar benefits without a subscription. It can work entirely offline and supports various LLM providers for post-transcription formatting.