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Hi Team, The future can feel dimmer by the day as large corporations double down on AI to automate and cut costs. In the U.S., anxiety grows as AI reshapes jobs and even relationships, often at the expense of intellectual growth and human connection. Geopolitically, divisions sharpen as China shuts the door on Nvidia, pushing chip makers to choose sides and fragmenting the global supply chain. Let’s dive in—and as always, stay curious.

• China Shuts Out Nvidia

• AI Tools

• AI to Wipe Out Half of All White-Collar Jobs

• AI Guides

• Is AI a Friend or Foe? New Study Reveals Americans Growing Concerns

📰 AI News and Trends

• Exodus of key top executives from xAI has been fueled by disagreements over aggressive financial projections and management by Musk's lieutenants.

• Meta unveils $799 smart glasses with display, AI integration. Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses targeting sports enthusiasts, and the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 with an 8-hour battery life and 3K video recording support

• SoftBank's OpenAI Japan AI joint venture is delayed

• Reddit seeks to strike next AI content pact with Google, OpenAI

• Whitney Houston is going on tour 13 years after her death, thanks to AI

🌐 Other Tech news

• Amazon violated the online shopper protection law

• Lyft and Waymo are partnering to bring robotaxis to Nashville

• Tesla settles two lawsuits on 2019 California crashes related to Autopilot software

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China Shuts Out Nvidia

China has officially banned domestic tech giants like ByteDance and Alibaba from purchasing Nvidia’s AI chips, including the China-specific RTX Pro 6000D, in a move that shuts Nvidia out of the Chinese market, not by the U.S., but by China itself.

This follows earlier U.S. export restrictions and an attempted deal that would have allowed Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China in exchange for 15% of the revenue going to the U.S. government, a plan that hasn’t materialized due to slow implementation. Nvidia had already forecast a $8 billion revenue loss in Q2 due to Chinese restrictions, and this new ban solidifies China’s shift toward domestic alternatives, such as Huawei and Alibaba’s chip divisions. This accelerates China’s push for tech self-reliance, deepens the U.S.-China tech rift, and may split the global AI ecosystem into parallel innovation tracks.

At the same time, Nvidia is shifting investment toward Europe, announcing a $15B AI infrastructure deal in the UK, and the US by investing $5B in Intel, about 4% at $23.28/share. The pair will co-develop PC and data-center silicon; Intel jumped ~25–26% on the news, following Washington’s earlier ~10% stake in Intel.

Chinese chipmakers stand to gain from a surge in domestic demand and government backing. The move signals a new era of strategic decoupling in AI and semiconductor technology, with major implications for startups, global supply chains, and long-term innovation leadership.

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AI to Wipe Out Half of All White-Collar Jobs

According to an interview with Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, AI could potentially eliminate as many as 50% of all entry-level, white-collar jobs within the next one to five years. This could lead to an unemployment rate of 10-20%.

Amodei believes that the government and AI companies need to be more transparent about the potential for widespread job loss, especially in professions such as technology, finance, law, and consulting. He notes that while AI could lead to significant economic growth and breakthroughs, it could also cause major short-term disruptions.

Businesses will eventually transition from using AI for "augmentation" (helping humans with tasks) to full "automation" (replacing human workers). This could happen rapidly, leading companies to stop creating new jobs and instead use AI to fulfill roles currently held by people. Roles like junior software developers, paralegals, and first-year law associates will be among the ones most affected. Many executives are very aware of this, but scared to share publicly about what steps they are taking to automate. Some execs like Mark Zuckerberg believe that AI could soon perform the work of a "mid-level engineer," making such roles unnecessary.

Increasing public awareness about the coming changes to the workforce, encouraging companies and employees to learn how to use AI to augment their current jobs, and getting government officials better informed about AI's impact, as well as debating policy solutions like a "token tax" on AI usage to help redistribute wealth and fund job retraining programs are among some of the solutions shared by Amodei.

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🧰 AI Tools of The Day

Is AI a Friend or Foe? New Study Reveals Americans Growing Concerns

A recent study by the Pew Research Center, titled "How Americans View AI and Its Impact on People and Society," reveals a significant level of public apprehension towards the increasing role of artificial intelligence in daily life. The report, released on September 17, 2025, indicates that a majority of Americans are more concerned than excited about the rise of AI and desire more control over its implementation.

The Human Cost of Automation

The study highlights particular anxiety surrounding AI's potential to diminish human abilities. A striking 53% of U.S. adults believe that the increased use of AI will worsen people's ability to think creatively, while only 16% think it will have a positive impact. Similarly, half of the respondents feel that AI will hurt our ability to form meaningful relationships.

A Cautious Embrace

Despite these concerns, the report shows that Americans are not entirely opposed to AI. A majority are open to using AI for assistance with day-to-day tasks and activities. The public is particularly receptive to AI applications in areas that involve heavy data analysis, such as weather forecasting and the development of new medicines. However, there is strong opposition to AI's involvement in more personal matters, such as religion or matchmaking.

The Pew Research Center's findings paint a picture of a public that is cautiously navigating the complex landscape of artificial intelligence. While the potential benefits of AI are acknowledged, they are overshadowed by deep-seated concerns about its impact on our humanity. As AI technology continues to evolve, this study underscores the critical importance of public discourse and oversight in shaping its future.

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