Is the UK government about to force Apple to put backdoors into all of our iPhones? Tallying up the Tech Earnings week of CAPEX announcements. We might get a new iPhone next week. The Weekend Longreads suggestions. And listen to the end of the show cause I’m running an experiment.

Sponsors:

• IQBar. Text TECHMEME to 64000

Links:

• U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts (Washington Post)
• Amazon plans to spend $100 billion this year to capture ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ in AI (CNBC)
• Tech Giants Double Down on Their Massive AI Spending (WSJ)
• Apple’s Long-Awaited Overhaul of iPhone SE Nears Release (Bloomberg)
• Softbank set to invest $40 billion in OpenAI at $260 billion valuation, sources say (CNBC)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• How is Fortnite's Attempt to Become the YouTube of Gaming Going? (Posting Nexus)
• The Sims Turned Players Into Gods. And Farmers. And Vampires. And Landlords. (NYTimes)

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Now researchers say they have trained a cutting edge AI model for… checks notes… $50. Not $50 million dollars. $50. Dollars. Get ready for the superbowl of AI ads. Amazon has scheduled an Alexa AI event. And also, why does Amazon fail so hard when it comes to physical retail?

Sponsors:

• Oracle.com/techmeme

Links:

• Researchers created an open rival to OpenAI’s o1 ‘reasoning’ model for under $50 (TechCrunch)
• Google Kills Diversity Hiring Targets (WSJ)
• Google Unwinds Employee Diversity Goals, Citing Trump’s D.E.I. Orders (NYTimes)
• OpenAI Set to Make Super Bowl Ad Debut (WSJ)
• OpenAI to Air Its First Super Bowl Ad (AdWeek)
• Amazon's AI revamp of Alexa assistant nears unveiling (Reuters)
• Bill banning social media for youngsters advances (Politico)
• Trump's de minimis cancellation is bad news for Temu, but worse for Shein (Reuters)
• Amazon, King of Online Retail, Can’t Seem to Make Its Physical Stores Work (WSJ)

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Temu And Shein got a reprieve from the USPS, but they are still in deep, deep trouble. I’ll explain why. Alphabet earnings disappoint their investors but cheer investors of Nvidia. Google and Meta going in different directions when it comes to AI. And why are people increasingly refusing to pay ransomware?

Sponsors:

• Acorns.com/ride

Links:

• USPS Resumes Accepting Packages From China After Unexpected Suspension (Wired)
• Google expects to spend $75 billion this year on the AI race (The Verge)
• Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance (The Washington Post)
• Meta says it may stop development of AI systems it deems too risky (TechCrunch)
• After a bruising year, Sonos readies its next big thing: a streaming box (The Verge)
• 35% Year-over-Year Decrease in Ransomware Payments, Less than Half of Recorded Incidents Resulted in Victim Payments (Chainalysis)
• Apple Launches New 'Invites' App (MacRumors)

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