Monthly Roundup #42: May 2026
At least we probably won’t have another pandemic.

At least we probably won’t have another pandemic.

A new report says X is resurgent — but it may be missing the bigger picture

This is what a lull looks like at this point.

The real recent story of AI has been the background work being done on Cybersecurity, as we process the Mythos Moment along with GPT-5.5, and figure out both how to patch the internet and what our new regulatory regime is going to look like.

In the first episode of the Platformer podcast, Box CEO Aaron Levie makes the case that you'll keep your job — but soon, you might not recognize it

We did reading yesterday.

Reading is the most fundamental thing in education.

What laws does superintelligence demand?

When I started this series, everyone was going crazy for coding agents.

Elon Musk had lots of reasons to make a deal with Anthropic — but he wouldn’t have done it if he were ahead. PLUS: The incredible testimony of Shivon Zilis, and a big new study on school phone bans

A year ago, officials all but sneered at the idea of AI safety. A new frontier model has them reconsidering

First week of Musk v. Altman, OpenAI ends Microsoft legal peril over its $50B Amazon deal, DeepSeek previews new AI model that ‘closes the gap’ with frontier models, and more!

The first step towards recursive self improvement

Our 243rd episode with a summary and discussion of last week’s big AI news!
Think railroads, not crypto. PLUS: The government can't decide what to do about Mythos, and week one of the OpenAI-Elon Musk trial
ChatGPT’s new Images 2.0 model is surprisingly good at generating text , Alibaba Drops Qwen 3.6 Max Preview , SpaceX is working with Cursor
On newsletters in the age of AI automation. PLUS: Musk and OpenAI in court, and China blocks Meta's Manus acquisition


At what point do the financial markets price in the singularity?

Was fire equivalent to a singularity for people at the time?

How much could AI revolutionize the economy?

OpenAI ships GPT-5.4 mini and nano, faster and more capable but up to 4x pricier, DLSS 5 looks like a real-time generative AI filter for video games | The Verge, and more!
We often lack the tools for the job, even if the AI is capable enough

Are there any genies that can be put back in the bottle?

How will timeless minds value time?

DLSS 5 looks like a real-time generative AI filter for video games, OpenAI Reportedly Pivoting to a Focus on Business and Productivity Only, and more!

Will AI cause a political interregnum

Nemotron 3 Super: An Open Hybrid Mamba-Transformer MoE for Agentic Reasoning, Another XAI Cofounder Has Left, Anthropic Sues Department of Defense
Anthropic sues Trump administration in AI dispute with Pentagon, ‘Not built right the first time’ — Musk’s xAI is starting over again, again, Cascade of A.I. Fakes About War With Iran Causes Chaos Onl

OpenAI launches GPT-5.4 with Pro and Thinking versions, Google releases Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite at 1/8th the cost of Pro, Where things stand with the Department of War Anthropic

Where we are right now, and what likely happens next

If Ukraine is the first major drone war, when will there be the first major AI war?

Anthropic officially told by DOD that it’s a supply chain risk, ‘cancel ChatGPT’ trend is growing after OpenAI signs a deal with the US military, and more!

Anthropic releases Sonnet 4.6, Google Rolls Out Gemini 3.1 Pro, Anthropic CEO Amodei says Pentagon’s threats ‘do not change our position’ on AI

What might a superintelligence arcology be like?

Anthropic releases Sonnet 4.6, Google Rolls Out Latest AI Model Gemini 3.1 Pro, Pentagon threatens to cut off Anthropic in AI safeguards dispute
Will AIs be jealous of one another?

It's not just chatbots anymore

An action-packed episode!
Will 2026 be looked back on as the pivotal year for making decisions about the singularity?
