AI fatigue. It's real.

Covering the week of January 19, 2026

The AI Round-up: Year 4, Issue 2

AI anything and everything. That’s how I’d describe the era we’re living in right now. I mean, that was quick. But we were warned.

Today I’d like to open with a quick note about AI brain, AI fatigue and AI burnout. All of them are tied together but it’s coming from using AI to do so much (too much?) on a daily basis, leaving your brain rewired and your senses dulled.

The AI fatigue, especially, is real. Your brain isn’t a muscle, but it operates in a similar fashion. And right now, it’s being flexed and worked out in a way that it’s not used to, leaving a lot of us drained at the end of the day and wondering why. Some days I feel like Bradley Cooper in ‘Limitless’…others I feel like Demi Moore two-thirds of the way through ‘The Substance’.

So, seems like an obvious thing to say but today I’m here to remind you: don’t forget to take care of that muscle-like thing in your head…just like you would care for your body pre- and post-workout, you need to do the same for your mind. It’s only going to get faster!

I’m here to help, both with the technology and stories as well as any challenges or questions you or your company may be facing. Regardless of where you are in your AI journey, make sure you’re taking the time you need to slow down and process it all. (Spoiler: You’ll never move as fast as the technology. It’s virtually impossible. So give up on that fight and do some yoga.

-Ben

Onto this week’s stories.

8 stories -- Let’s get to it.

Story 1: AI Data Centers Pushing Electric Grid into a Meltdown (Futurism)

A lot of you know this is a hot story for me. I don’t cover it as much here but it’s a real issue that doesn’t seem to get the publicity or coverage it deserves. (And I’m pretty sure it was a story line in Idiocracy.)

We may have rolling blackouts this summer. Good—keep a cooler and a fire pit ready at all times. Bad—the whole overtaxing the grid thing.

Story 2: How to clone yourself with AI (Andy Crestodina)

Ah Andy. He does it again. This time with a topic that has our attention – making an AI clone of yourself. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. You don’t want to end up in a Multiplicity situation.

Story 3: OpenAI says its device will be here the summer of 2026. (Shelly Palmer)

Sure it will.

Story 4: Apple is going to release a wearable pin. (TechCrunch)

I don’t know if it will be any good, but I know it will be here before OpenAI’s device.

Story 5: Holiday news dump alert—ChatGPT has ads! (MediaPost)

Nothing like celebrating a long holiday weekend with a major announcement. On the Friday of MLK weekend, OpenAI announced it will begin rolling out ads. Watch for them at the bottom of the response you receive. I’m preparing for the stories about ChatGPT referring users to a competitor. You know people are going to ‘chat’ with the ad; is there a guarantee the follow-up content will be reflective of the company doing the actual advertising?

Thoughts and prayers to you, Sam. I know you detest ads, once calling it “unsettling” and a “last resort.”

Story 6: Do we realize how fast things are moving? (Paul Roetzer)

Yes, of course we do. Probably. I mean, we have an idea. Ok, no, we don’t – it’s almost impossible. Because of that, Paul’s callback to his guiding principles (established three years ago) is worth your time.

Story 7: This too is worth your time (a non-Greenland presentation from Davos)

The Day After AGI: an interview Demis Hassabis (co-founder and CEO of Google Deepmind) and Dario Amodei (co-founder and CEO of Anthropic). Linked in the post from Paul, above, but just in case you missed…

Story 8: The Claude constitution. (Ethan Mollick)

“We don’t want Claude to suffer when it makes mistakes.”

Okkkaaaaay. So we’re here now, huh? Either they think Claude will be a real boy one day…or they want to cover themselves if it becomes impossible to tell whether it’s real or not. Either way, I do appreciate the directness and think this is something we deserve from all AI leaders.

This week, I’m not talking about:

AI threatening democracy ahead of our 2026 and 2028 elections. (The Guardian)
Data centers in space. (Axios)

As a reminder, this is a round-up of the biggest stories, often hitting multiple newsletters I receive/review. The sources are many … which I’m happy to read on your behalf. Let me know if there’s one you’d like me to track or have questions about a topic you’re not seeing here.