Anthropic, AI Coding, The American Economy, and Disney Magic
Weekly Review of News in Technology, UX and AI
Here’s the latest news, resources, and use cases from the world of product, UX, AI and technology. Let’s go:
📊 AI Entrepreneurship
💸 Anthropic Settlement
👨💻 AI Coding
📉 Jobs Report
💣 American Economy
💼 AI Linked In
🧞♂️ Disney
Podcast
Unlocking the Secrets of AI Entrepreneurship with Founder Andrew Amann
In this episode of Prodity: Product by Design, Kyle Evans interviews Andrew Amann, CEO and co-founder of NineTwoThree AI Studio. Andrew shares his extensive experience in entrepreneurship, product development, and the challenges of building AI products. We discuss the importance of understanding product-market fit, the patent process, and the journey of founding multiple companies. Andrew emphasizes the significance of focusing on a specific audience and the value of holistic entrepreneurship, where success is measured not just by financial gain but also by personal fulfillment and work-life balance. We also explore the future of AI, its applications across various industries, and the evolving landscape of technology.
News and Useful Reads
Screw the money — Anthropic’s $1.5B copyright settlement sucks for writers
AI companies have pirated just about everything in order to train their models. If you or I pirated that amount of content, we’d be in prison. But for AI companies, they are getting the equivalent of a slap on the wrist while authors and creators are getting a little bit of the money their owed.
Around half a million writers will be eligible for a payday of at least $3,000, thanks to a historic $1.5 billion settlement in a class action lawsuit that a group of authors brought against Anthropic.
Where's the Shovelware? Why AI Coding Claims Don't Add Up
Are AI tools making developers faster or more productive? Most developers say “yes,” but the data seem to show that AI may be slowing developers down. It’s interesting to think about. At the very least, AI isn’t making companies more productive. It may be cutting some costs, but data seem to be mixed.
but also so far AI appears to slow me down by a median of 21%, exactly in line with the METR study. I can say definitively that I’m not seeing any massive increase in speed (i.e., 2x) using AI coding tools. If I were, the results would be statistically significant and the study would be over.
Second Weak Jobs Report Undercuts Trump’s Claims of a Booming Economy
If you’re still struggling to find a job, this week didn’t bring much good news. We continue to see terrible jobs data. And given the current ineptitude of the Trump regime, we’ll likely continue to see a decline in jobs and a rise in prices.
The release of a second consecutive poor jobs report on Friday confirmed the reality that Mr. Trump has been trying to avoid. The labor market is stalling — and the nation is facing real strains — under the weight of his economic agenda.
America is getting the economy we voted for
And it’s not good.
Another thing Trump will try to do is to blame the Fed for the weak labor market. This will gain a lot more traction — even the New York Times says that the latest jobs numbers strengthen the case for rate cuts. So Trump’s next move will be to try to get the Fed to bail him out. And this will probably work; Fed Chair Jerome Powell says that the time has come for rate cuts.
OpenAI is building an AI jobs platform that could challenge Microsoft’s LinkedIn
LinkedIn hasn’t been very good for a long time. So it’s not surprising to see AI companies looking to disrupt it. But given AI’s track record so far, I’m not sure if this will be better or worse.
The ChatGPT maker’s “OpenAI Jobs Platform” will utilize AI to help connect qualified job candidates to companies, which could put it in competition with Microsoft’s LinkedIn.
Other Interesting Finds
5 Tricks Disney’s Parks Use To Seem More Magical
Our family really enjoys the Disney parks and cruises. There is something special about Disney World that we just haven’t found in other theme parks. My wife and I’ve debated some of the reasons for that. I think it has a lot to do with the park itself, as well as the people, both employees and guests. But there is a lot that goes into it, including some things we don’t often think about.
Of course, bringing this enchantment to life requires a massive workforce. Magic Kingdom alone employs 77,000 people, making it the largest single-site employer in the United States. At the heart of this whimsy are Disney’s “Imagineers,” the creative minds who come up with everything from carefully crafted architectural illusions to innovative scent technology.