DeepSeek’s rise is a wake-up call: China isn’t just catching up; they’re proving they can compete, despite fewer resources and U.S. sanctions in place. If the U.S. wants to stay ahead, we can’t just play defense by restricting China’s access to chips and technology; we need to double down on innovation, AI investment and infrastructure, because, in the race for AI dominance, second place isn’t an option. We need to win!
84.5%
Of ChatGPT’s mobile users are guys. With 353 million downloads, there’s a serious gender gap in AI. Women are way more skeptical (not me); about 53% won’t let their kids touch AI, compared to 26% of men. Remember, artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
🇨🇳 Numbers speak: Since DeepSeek was unveiled, OpenAI, which has attracted roughly $15 billion in funding, and Anthropic, with nearly $3 billion behind it, both have seen their valuations dip by up to 20%. DeepSeek led to a massive sell-off in AI tech stocks, with Nvidia losing nearly $600 billion in market value in a single day.
Dress for the job you want: Famous actor John Lithgow took that literally and sent a naked photo of himself to the director of his new film, “Jimpa.” The 79-year-old actor wanted to prove he was game for full-frontal scenes. He’s been nude on stage and screen before and says he likes hanging out.
🧬 Speedrunning evolution: An AI called ESM3 created a protein researchers say would’ve taken nature 500 million years to develop. It’s fluorescent green, similar to those that make jellyfish and corals glow in the dark. Proteins help your body build muscle and fight diseases, so this could lead to the creation of new drugs that target them. Neat!
400 million
Downloads of LibreOffice since 2011. Wowsie! Last year alone, over 35 million folks downloaded the open-source Microsoft Office competitor. I love free, too!
📺 Hotel TVs that don’t suck: Next time you book a stay, ask if they have LG TVs. They’re the first to support Google Cast and Apple AirPlay in hotels. No logins — just scan a QR code to play your shows and music. The connection cuts when you check out. LG didn’t say which hotels got the update, but here are rooms where AirPlay works.
Teenagers have no faith in Big Tech: This is reassuring. In a new study of 1,000 American teens, 64% don’t trust Google, Meta, Apple or TikTok to care about their mental health, and 62% think Big Tech’s profits matter more than their safety. AI isn’t helping, since they know it’s feeding them fake images, inaccurate info and chatbots pretending to be real people.
📚 Spot the bot: Books written by actual humans are getting a special certification. The Authors Guild came up with a way for writers to prove their work isn’t AI-generated. Bonus: You’ll be able to search a public database so you know before you buy.
In security, we trust: DeepSeek’s cybersecurity team left a database wide open, exposing chat histories, API keys, backend details — you name it. And don’t forget their servers are based in China, meaning the communist government is peeking in. Here are my tips to use it safely, if you must.