Monopoly, 911 and an AI MIT Report

Hey Ai5ers,

While AI shows no signs of slowing down with some investors, others remain sceptical. Get insight from the question: Bubble or Breakthrough? From multibillion-dollar data center deals to AI in housing, travel, and even celebrity controversy, this week’s stories highlight the power, promise, and perils of artificial intelligence.

Happy reading!

Today's Ai5:

🫧 Bubble or not, AI continues to draw billions in investment
🤔 What's Going on With the Alleged Taylor Swift AI videos?
🤖 Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmit warns AI models can be hacked: ...
🏠 Most Americans use AI for housing maket data
🏝️ How AI is changing the way we travel

Prompt of the Day 🎨

Today's prompt is an image of my best friend inserted into the movie "Tron Ares." It fits her personality!

The prompt:

"Tron Ares" is a futuristic movie with a technology forward look and feel. Generate an image that represents my friend as a character in the moivie, using the image attached. Have her appear on an electric motorcycle, wearing clothing fitting to the movie. The entire image should be photo realistic.

Bubbles or not, AI continues to draw billions in investments 🫧

OpenAI, a company that hasn’t turned a profit, is spending billions building out data centers to power its artificial intelligence offerings.

On Monday, the company inked a multiyear, multibillion-dollar deal with AMD (AMD) that will see the chipmaker provide next-generation GPUs to OpenAI, which will also have the opportunity to purchase up to 10% of the company. Nvidia (NVDA), in turn, is pouring $100 billion into OpenAI, which is also a major customer.

Meanwhile, tech giants Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft continue to spend billions on their own AI data centers. Then there’s the $40 billion Oracle is spending on Nvidia chips to power OpenAI’s Project Stargate, the Financial Times reported in May.

It all makes for a rather confusing array of deals and moves that continue to raise questions about when exactly all of this spending will turn into profits, not to mention the specter of the dot-com crash of the early 2000s.

Full article by Daniel Howley

What's Going on W the Alleged Taylor Swift AI Videos? 🤔

As with all things related to the launch of any Taylor Swift album, all the components for The Life of a Showgirl were meticulously worked out and in place starting last week, from teaser trailers to release-day events to talk-show appearances. And all went according to plan, except say some Swifties, for one aspect that’s unnerved and angered them.

Timed to the album’s multi-layered kick-off, physical orange doors began appearing in cities around the world, Nashville, London, Las Vegas, among them, each sporting QR codes that connected fans to brief travelogue-style videos evoking those locales. But some Swifties say they’ve noticed odd irregularities in the clips, which can still be found online. A squirrel that, for a fleeting second, doesn’t have a fourth limb. Different fonts used for the same letters in a notepad. A gym treadmill with a mangled display of the word “stop.” Light shining through a window that doesn’t match its shadow on the floor. Dumbbells in a workout room that don’t seem to match.

Full Article by David Browne

Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns AI models can be hacked: ...🤖

(Eric) Schmidt, who served as Google’s chief executive from 2001 to 2011, warned about “the bad stuff that AI can do,” when asked whether AI is more destructive than nuclear weapons during a fireside chat at the Sifted Summit.

“Is there a possibility of a proliferation problem in AI? Absolutely,” Schmidt said Wednesday. The proliferation risks of AI include the technology falling into the hands of bad actors and being repurposed and misused.

AI systems are vulnerable to attack, with some methods including prompt injections and jailbreaking. In a prompt injection attack, hackers hide malicious instructions in user inputs or external data, like web pages or documents, to trick the AI into doing things it’s not meant to do such as sharing private data or running harmful commands.

Jailbreaking, on the other hand, involves manipulating the AI’s responses so it ignores its safety rules and produces restricted or dangerous content.

Full article by Sawdah Bhaimiya

Most Americans use AI for housing market data

🏠

A majority of Americans are turning to artificial intelligence to help them navigate the housing market, with 82% using AI for real estate insights, according to a new survey from Realtor.com.

Despite the rise of technology, consumers continue to view real estate agents as the most trusted and accurate source of information.

Among AI platforms, ChatGPT (67%) and Gemini (54%) lead in popularity, with more than half of survey respondents expressing excitement about how AI can personalize their home searches.

In response to this growing enthusiasm, Realtor.com has launched a new AI-powered search experience, designed to let users find homes in the natural way they talk and type.

Full article by Jonathan Delozier

How AI is changing the way we travel 🏝️

AI is changing how people discover destinations. Instead of generic travel lists, platforms now serve content that feels personal. “AI has turned travel discovery into a personal canvas,” Hamidaddin said. “Platforms like Instagram Reels no longer just show ‘where to go’; they curate journeys that feel tailor-made for each traveller.”

This shift is not just about convenience. By highlighting lesser-known destinations, AI can spread demand and ease pressure on crowded tourist spots. It can also introduce travellers to authentic local experiences that might otherwise remain hidden

The balance between personalization and privacy will shape the next era of travel. As AI systems collect vast amounts of personal data, travelers are more aware of how their preferences, clicks, and searches are used. Hamidaddin stressed that trust is the foundation.

Full article by Muhammad Zulhusni