Anthropic CEO predicts first £800M single-employee company by 2026
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei made a bold prediction at the company’s first developer conference, stating that the first billion-pound company with just one human employee will emerge in 2026. Amodei suggests this will happen first in industries that don’t rely heavily on human interaction or institutional structures.
The prediction comes alongside Anthropic’s launch of Claude Opus 4, which can reportedly work independently for nearly seven hours straight, approaching a full workday without human intervention.
Tech CEOs deploy AI avatars to replace themselves
The automation trend has reached the C-suite, with tech executives now using AI versions of themselves for earnings calls and company communications. Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski appeared as an AI avatar in an 83-second video about Q1 2025 results, whilst Zoom CEO Eric Yuan deployed his AI double for the company’s earnings call.
This development follows Klarna’s broader AI strategy, leading to workforce reductions as the company automates various business functions.
https://www.theverge.com/news/673194/tech-ceos-zoom-klarna-replace-earnings
News publishers slam Google’s AI mode as “theft”
The News/Media Alliance, representing major US publishers, has condemned Google’s expanded AI Mode feature, calling it outright theft. The new interface trades traditional search results for AI-generated responses, potentially depriving publishers of crucial traffic and revenue.
“Links were the last redeeming quality of search that gave publishers traffic and revenue,” said Alliance CEO Danielle Coffey. “Now Google just takes content by force and uses it with no return.”
https://www.theverge.com/news/672132/news-media-alliance-google-ai-mode-theft
The Anthropic CEO’s controversial claims
Dario Amodei has made several eyebrow-raising statements recently, including his assertion that AI models hallucinate less than humans, though he admits they “hallucinate in more surprising ways.” This claim came during discussions about AI’s path to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
Amodei’s comments suggest that hallucination isn’t seen as a limitation on the road to human-level AI systems.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/22/anthropic-ceo-claims-ai-models-hallucinate-less-than-humans/
AI slop infiltrates major newspapers
At least two major newspapers – the Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer – have unknowingly syndicated AI-generated content, highlighting the growing problem of “slop” in traditional media. The AI-generated material passed through multiple human checkpoints without detection.
Researchers describe AI slop as “digital lorem ipsum” – filler content that, like water, seeps into the lowest levels of media distribution.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/05/ai-written-newspaper-chicago-sun-times/682861
Jony Ive takes creative control at OpenAI
Former Apple design chief Jony Ive and his firm LoveFrom are assuming creative and design control at OpenAI, working on consumer devices that could move users beyond traditional screens. The collaboration, which has been ongoing for two years, has explored options, including headphones and camera-equipped devices.
This partnership between a visionary designer and the ChatGPT maker could herald a new era of AI-powered consumer technology.
The PR industry’s AI spam problem
Artificial intelligence is transforming public relations, but not always for the better. An AI tool called PRAI recently generated a hostile pitch that scolded reporters for covering Tesla over cancer research, using the provocative subject line: “You care more about Tesla than a cancer killing thousands.”
The confrontational approach succeeded in generating attention, along with significant hostility from journalists.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/will-ai-empower-the-pr-industry-or-create-endless-seas-of-spam-e79fc77f
Google unveils Flow: AI filmmaking tool
Google has introduced Flow, an AI filmmaking tool built for creatives and powered by the company’s most advanced models – Veo, Imagen, and Gemini. The platform allows storytellers to create cinematic clips and maintain character consistency across scenes.
Users can bring their assets or use Flow’s text-to-image capabilities to generate new creative ingredients, marking another step in AI’s expansion into creative industries.
https://blog.google/technology/ai/google-flow-veo-ai-filmmaking-tool
Microsoft’s Aurora revolutionises weather forecasting
Microsoft’s new AI weather model, Aurora, is already used at one of Europe’s largest weather centres alongside traditional forecasting methods. The system can make accurate 10-day forecasts at smaller scales than many existing models.
Aurora joins AI models from Google, Nvidia, and Huawei in the race to revolutionise weather prediction through artificial intelligence.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/climate/ai-weather-models-aurora-microsoft.html
Volvo first to integrate Google’s Gemini AI
Volvo Cars has announced it will be the first automaker to integrate Google’s Gemini AI chatbot across its vehicle lineup. The system will enable more natural conversations between drivers and their cars, including language translation, navigation help, and answers about vehicle manuals.
Volvo frames this as reducing driver “cognitive load” to keep eyes on the road, expanding its existing partnership with Google’s Android Automotive system.
https://www.theverge.com/news/670954/volvo-google-gemini-ai-cars-android-automotive
Animation industry faces AI disruption
Whilst AI has yet to significantly impact Hollywood broadly, animation appears most vulnerable to transformation. Industry experts suggest AI could make cartoon production 90% cheaper, raising questions about the future of traditional animation jobs.
Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. are still sorting through concerns about AI software development, copyright compensation, and union reactions, but the animation sector stands to gain or lose the most from AI advancement.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/business/media/ai-cartoons-animation.html
The writing industry experiments with AI integration
Media startup Every Inc. has put AI at the centre of its business model, generating $1 million in annual revenue through AI-powered tools and subscriptions. The company encourages writers to use AI for story creation and editing and training tools to help with headline selection.
“All of our writers and editors use AI in some capacity,” says editor-in-chief Kate Lee, representing a different approach from newsrooms that discourage AI use.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/business/media/ai-every-media-startup.html