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Meta Freezes AI Hiring After Blockbuster Spending Spree

Key Takeaway: Meta has paused AI hiring and reorganized its sprawling AI org into four units under “Meta Superintelligence Labs” after an aggressive, high-cost recruiting spree drew investor scrutiny.

More Insights:

• Freeze began last week; internal transfers are paused, and exceptions require Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang’s sign-off.

• New structure: TBD Lab (superintelligence), AI products, infrastructure, and long-horizon Fundamental AI Research (largely unchanged).

• AGI Foundations (builder of recent Llama versions) was dissolved after April’s underwhelming release; several members exited around Aug. 15 vesting.

• Zuckerberg personally courted talent with nine-figure packages and equity deals; Meta poached 50+ hires (20+ from OpenAI; 13 from Google; plus Apple, xAI, Anthropic).

• Leadership bets included bringing in Wang (via a $14B stake in Scale AI), Nat Friedman, and Daniel Gross; investors warn soaring stock-based comp could erode buybacks.

Why it matters: The pause signals a shift from “hire at any cost” to proving ROI. Big Tech’s AI arms race now hinges less on headcount and more on turning research into products, profits, and durable shareholder value.

Read more: Zuckerberg Squandered His AI Talent. Now He’s Spending Billions To Replace It.

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You can now talk to Google Photos to make your edits

Key Takeaway: Google Photos now lets you describe edits by voice or text, powered by Gemini, launching first on Pixel 10 in the U.S., with image provenance via C2PA Content Credentials.

More Insights:

• Launch timing: “Edit by asking” available Wednesday; broader rollout to iOS/Android “in the weeks ahead.”

• How it works: Say things like “remove cars”, “restore this old photo”, or even “make it better”, and Photos applies the changes.

• Range of edits: From lighting fixes and distraction removal to creative changes like background swaps or adding items (e.g., sunglasses, party hat).

• Conversational flow: The app proposes suggestions and supports follow-up requests to refine results.

• Transparency: Pixel 10 is Google’s first phone to embed C2PA Content Credentials at the camera level, labeling how images were made, even when AI isn’t used.

Why it matters: Natural-language editing lowers the skill barrier while C2PA raises trust, together signaling a future where powerful, AI-assisted image edits are both effortless and verifiable.

Deal to get ChatGPT Plus for whole of UK discussed by Open AI boss and minister

Key Takeaway: OpenAI’s Sam Altman and UK tech secretary Peter Kyle discussed, but did not pursue a multibillion-pound idea to give all UK residents ChatGPT Plus, underscoring closer public-sector ties amid cost, copyright, and big-tech influence concerns.

More Insights:

• Proposal surfaced in San Francisco meetings; estimated cost up to £2bn and not taken seriously by Kyle.

• In July, a non-binding MoU set the stage for OpenAI tools across UK public services (education, defence, security, justice) with potential access to government data.

• UK is a top-five market for paid ChatGPT; OpenAI says the goal is to “democratise access,” citing a nationwide deal with the UAE.

• Kyle is an outspoken AI advocate who has personally used ChatGPT for work guidance and media choices.

• Backlash brewing: artists oppose opt-out copyright changes; UKAI warns policy favors big tech; government disputes the claims and says the Plus-for-all idea wasn’t progressed.

Why it matters: National-scale AI deals could reshape public services and digital equity, but they also risk costly vendor lock-in and thorny data and copyright trade-offs that will define who benefits from AI and on whose terms.

Other stuff

• The Hobbyist Restorer Who Rocked the Art World With an A.I. Innovation

• Meta partners with Midjourney on AI image and video models

• Musk firms sue Apple and OpenAI, alleging they hurt competition

• Silicon Valley Launches Pro-AI PACs to Defend Industry in Midterm Elections

• The warning signs the AI bubble is about to burst

• Coinbase CEO explains why he fired engineers who didn’t try AI immediately

• Elon Musk tried to enlist Mark Zuckerberg in $100bn bid for OpenAI

• AI browsers like Comet easily allow prompt injection

• We must build AI for people; not to be a person

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