The AI Round-up for 12.11.25
The AI Round-up: Year 4, Issue 1
Of course.
We go away for one holiday break and rumor has it we have AGI.
Onto this week’s stories.
10 stories -- Let’s get to it.
Story 1: So, is AGI here or not?
I’m not going to waste your time. Rather than round-up stories, posts and more that talk about it, I’m just going to turn it over to Paul and Mike at The Artificial Intelligence Show.
This episode (#189) was so impactful that they talked about it in the next episode, saying people stopped mid-episode. It was a wake-up call. This was overdue (oh wait, that’s my comment). And more.
I applaud their assessment and directness. Because whether it’s here or not, playtime’s over.
Related: Casey Newton tackles the AI consciousness discussion. (Platformer)
Story 2: Claude Cowork is here. Is this the one ring to rule them all? (Conor Grenan)
Great breakdown from Simon Willson that puts Claude’s latest offering into perspective. Your new co-worker is here. They cost you $100/month and their name is Claude.
Story 3: Apple picks Gemini to be the next voice of Siri. (CNBC)
So, does this mean Gemini is in and OpenAI is out as Apple’s AI supplier?
Story 4: ChatGPT visits fall by 22%. (MSN)
First to market doesn’t always equal market leader. Gemini and Claude are pulling away in some areas. Question is…what does Sam do next?
Story 5: China says we (the US) are pulling ahead of them in the AI race. (Bloomberg)
Word of advice: never play the guy who says ‘eh, I’m not really that good of a golfer…you’re better than I am.’
Story 6: I watch The Pitt. It’s awesome.
I said that to get your attention. (And tell you the show is awesome.) However, can you see Dr. Robby, Dana and crew trying to navigate the ER with AI everywhere? Can AI pull out a bougie from their magic bag like Dr. Abbot? Didn’t think so. But that isn’t stopping AI companies from racing to automated healthcare – Anthropic, OpenAI are trying to get their systems integrated into our healthcare system. (Business Insider)
Story 7: And Elon thinks we’ll have AI/robot surgeons. (Fortune)
Well, that’s just one thing he thinks. He also thinks we will live forever and can stop saving for retirement.
Related: Behind the curtain of the AI job replacement machine (Axios)
Five trends to watch to see if the AI job replacement fear is real or hype. (It’s real.)
Story 8: Meet Max Tegmark. I believe him. You should too. (WSJ)
I’ve been following him the past few years, occasionally sharing some of his takes here. I would highly recommend you become familiar with his stance on things.
Story 9: IG head sounds the alarm—AI images outpacing human awareness. (CNET)
This is a surprise, given the source, but more of what we need. We also need the suggestions he’s offering (or some form of them) or else no one is going to trust anymore.
Story 10: AI is speeding up work. Yay! AI is creating more work. Boo! (Axios)
Uh, I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work. Unless…hey, wait a min…did they trick us?
This week, I’m not talking about:
-Ben
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.