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This week in tech feels like a crossover episode between Black Mirror and Shark Tank. OpenAI just dropped ChatGPT Atlas, a browser gunning for Google’s crown, while Anthropic is catching political heat for so-called AI “fear-mongering.” Meanwhile, AI’s also doing some good—new safety alerts will flag scammy DMs and sketchy screen shares to protect older users. Elsewhere, crypto chaos returned with a Melania Trump–themed memecoin scam and Casio unveiled a $430 robot hamster that “learns your personality” 👀
Video pick: How This Legislation (Accidentally) F*cked Us All
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Catch the stand-up comment of today’s issue here:
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Eight bullets of updates
🛡️ New alerts will help users avoid risky screen sharing and flag scammy DMs with AI—targeting online scams facing older adults.
🖥️ OpenAI's new AI-powered browser, ChatGPT Atlas, aims to challenge Google's dominance.
🤑 Millions lost as crypto investors allege a scheme used Melania Trump as bait in an elaborate memecoin scam.
🐹 Casio’s $430 Moflin develops its own AI personality as you interact with it over weeks.
🌍 Travelers can now connect and message fellow guests as Airbnb rolls out social features to its 150M+ users.
🔌 X opens up a pay-per-use API beta to more devs, offering $0.05 per 1,000 tweets for expanded flexibility.
💵 $1.7B deal lets users manage and secure enterprise data from one unified command center with Veeam and Securiti.
🤖 Win a guaranteed YC interview and over $80K in prizes at MetorialAi’s upcoming hackathon.
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Your office just got a brain
Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash
Codi, an a16z-backed startup founded by Christelle Rohaut and Dave Schuman, has launched what it calls the first AI platform to fully automate office management. Originally founded in 2018 as a marketplace for flexible office spaces, Codi has evolved into a SaaS product that can manage any office’s logistics—handling tasks like vendor coordination, cleaning, and pantry restocking automatically. The system is trained on years of operational data and integrates directly with vendors. After launching its beta in May, Codi reached $100,000 in ARR within five weeks and has already onboarded 40 companies, including TaskRabbit and Northbeam.
Rohaut says office management remains inefficient and costly, often exceeding $80,000 annually in admin expenses. With hybrid work reducing the need for traditional office managers, Codi offers a cheaper, automated alternative through a monthly subscription. Competing with legacy management firms and workplace platforms like Envoy, Codi differentiates itself by executing tasks autonomously, not just tracking them.
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How This Legislation (Accidentally) F*cked Us All
Governments are cracking down on adult content with strict age-verification laws—but the “solutions” put your privacy at serious risk. In this video we unpack how ID checks, face scans, and AI detection actually work, why they’re easy to hack, and the hidden dangers of handing over your personal data to access the internet.
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Find your customers on Roku this Black Friday
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🤝 Leaders make service a culture, not a department, fueling near-zero employee turnover—see how it works in practice .
🔄 In declining markets, strategically rotate—not pivot—to match demand as 2024’s edtech fade shows where growth flows.
AI Pitch Deck Reviewer
Slidebean has been helping startups craft pitch decks for over 10 years. We recently built an AI Pitch Deck Review tool, that processes the text and visuals on your presentation, and provides actionable feedback on the story, potential missing items, and recommendations on how to improve each slide.
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Anthropic faces political backlash over AI industry fear-mongering accusations
Photo by Piotr Chrobot on Unsplash
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei responded to a week of criticism from Trump AI officials and industry figures, rejecting their “fear-mongering” accusations. He pointed to Anthropic’s collaboration with the White House—federal AI deployments, a $200M Department of Defense contract, and contributions to the U.S. energy build-out. Amodei also opposed a proposed 10-year federal ban on state AI regulations and supported California’s SB 53, which protects smaller AI companies from heavy compliance burdens.
The broader takeaway: the long-running “AI safety vs. ship it” debate is now shaping real policy. If Washington blocks states from acting, big tech firms gain an advantage; if states set lighter rules, compliance itself becomes a competitive edge. Amodei noted Anthropic’s rapid growth—reaching a $7B annual run rate—and called for thoughtful policymaking over partisan politics.