The AI Round-up: AI. It's everwhere.

AI news covering...the week of August 10, 2026.

Seems like some tech companies are punking marketers. After almost two years of 'if you want to stand out and have our algo pick you up, write like this', they're flipping the script.

First LinkedIn has a 'slop' button. Now Anthropic has invisible code to show if you're using their product.

Let's recap: We'll copy your writing, make it seem like when you write like yourself, it's AI; then, once you've adjusted your writing to stand out we are going to give people the chance to say it 'seems like AI'...and threaten to expose you if you use our product to edit your writing to play the game.

Damn. What did we ever do to you?

But there is hope. And it's the same hope that has been there from the beginning--own your story.

I learned a long time ago, at Kent State during my JMC days, to write like you talk. 28 years later...that lesson is more relevant than ever.

Write like YOU talk. You. Your culture, your employees, your customers - what story are you telling them? Are you working hard to make sure it sounds like everyone else's? Or are you focusing on the core story strategy first and worrying about the channel second?

This isn't the first...nor is it the last...in this journey.

AI is changing so much of what we do and how we do it. But it doesn't have to change who YOU are. Invest the time and resources to strengthen your foundation, your story and your voice.

Let others copy you.

You be you.

Let’s get to it.

Anthropic brands your content.

And we’re not talking like a cool Yellowstone brand. No, they want everyone to know that your copy is their copy based on your copy it trained on, obtained maybe/somewhat illegally.

Claude Cowork will now sit in Chrome.

And it can now use your browser.

“Who ordered all this bourbon?”

“Claude!!!”

Nerd alert: How OpenAI did that stuff to Hugging Face.

When I was in high school, I was one of those kids who wrote my name on the desk, in the locker, on my book…not because I was trying to be a bad kid, but because I thought it would be cool for anyone who came behind me to be like ‘I had your book/desk/locker!’ Plus I liked looking for those kind of notes on my stuff. Signs of life from those who came before me.

That’s basically what these OpenAI agents did – left little notes for other agents that came along to help them with their quest. Kind of like finding a magic whistle in Super Mario Bros. 3.

Paul Roetzer’s take.

Ethan Mollick’s take.

OpenAI is slowing the release of its Astra model.

Because, you know…it hacks and stuff.

I almost didn’t put this in but hey, you gotta give the people what they want. And the people want to know…what is the real story of AI right now?

Here’s the reason I almost didn’t put it in: the title is obviously clickbait. I expect more from The Atlantic, but I get it. Gotta get eyeballs. And it sounds scary.

But imagine if this thing called Covid was going around. Some people talked about it. Others didn’t. Some warned you about it and said ‘be ready’. Others said ‘it’s a fad; the sniffles…don’t worry’. You saw some people wearing masks and taking precautions. Others were going out of their way to say ‘look at me! Not only am I not wearing a mask but I’m licking this handrail’.

You’d want to know what’s coming right? You’d want to decide how seriously you take this threat and how you prepare for it or not.

We’re humans, after all. We have the right to consume and ignore information whenever we want.

Mark Zuckerberg wrote something about AI, if you want to read it.

I did not.

Based on Casey Newton’s take, we aren’t missing anything.

God I do love Casey’s take on comparing AI to dragons/House of the Dragon.

Andy Crestodina: the two types of content AI can never make.

How human of us.

The AI skills nobody is teaching (and everyone needs).

Simon Sinek interviews Ethan Mollick for his ‘A Bit of Optimism’ podcast.

The Artificial Intelligence Show: If you have time, I’d definitely give Paul and Mike a listen in episode 230. They dig into the Google changes and the OpenAI breakout.

Is AI giving us Imposter Syndrome?

I think so. But you probably know better.

Some Nopes.

Thanks for reading and supporting!

-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.