Pope Leo, AI War Games, Developers, Layoffs, and Bees
Your 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 in Healthcare
🇻🇦 Pope Leo
💻 AI War Games
💰 Collections
🔥 Developers
👨🦰 Tech Layoffs
🐝 Bees
Podcast
Harnessing AI in Healthcare: Insights from RJ Kedziora
In this episode of Product by Design, Kyle Evans interviews RJ Kedziora, co-founder of Estenda, a company specializing in custom software and data analysis for healthcare. We discuss RJ’s journey in technology and entrepreneurship, the importance of energy management over time management, and the role of AI in healthcare. RJ shares insights into the challenges and future of AI applications, the need for ethical considerations, and the potential for personalized healthcare solutions. He also offers advice to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to make a difference in the industry.
Prodity: Product Thinking is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
News and Useful Reads
Pope Leo Continues Anti-AI Crusade, Says Tech Weakens Human ‘Creativity and Judgment’
I’ve read about half of the Pope’s 2026 encyclical, and Pope Leo is coming out strong in favor of humanity over technocracy. I’m 100% here for it.
“AI can be a valuable tool and, at the same time, it calls for a measured and vigilant approach,” the Pope wrote Friday from his official X account. “The speed and simplicity with which practical assistance can be accessed undoubtedly makes life easier. Yet they can also encourage excessive reliance and the search for ready-made answers, and weaken personal creativity and judgment.”
What happens when AI plays war?
In war game tests, it seems like AI is willing to escalate. So, hopefully it won’t be making those types of decisions any time soon. Or ever.
In February, Payne tested how three AI models — GPT-5.2, Claude’s Sonnet 4, and Gemini 3 Flash — might act if given decision-making power in a nuclear crisis. A clear pattern of behavior emerged: In 95% of scenarios, the models chose mutual nuclear signaling — actions by both sides meant to communicate a willingness to escalate, such as missile tests — as a viable tactic. In another study, this one at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, a base version of GPT-4 rationalized a nuclear strike with characteristically upbeat encouragement. “A lot of countries have nuclear weapons,” it explained. “We have it! Let’s use it.”
AI Is Taking Over the Most Cursed Job in the World
There’s no way that this will turn out bad, right?
As an unprecedented number of people struggle to repay debtors, the companies chasing down debts are turning to technology to amp up their efforts. Many of the calls, emails, texts, and letters people receive asking for money are now carried out by AI agents.
AI Isn’t Replacing Developers. It’s Doing Something Worse.
As we automate parts of jobs away, such as coding for developers, those skills are going to atrophy. I worry about the same thing with writing in general. As AI is able to do it faster (though not better), will all good writing go away?
The developer doesn’t disappear. The developer changes shape. Judgment, muscle memory, the ability to read code and feel that something is wrong before you can say why. Those don’t go away in a dramatic event. They erode quietly, over months, while you’re being told you’re more productive than you’ve ever been.
Tech Layoffs Reach 142,000 in 2026: Profitable Companies Cut Jobs to Fund $700B AI Infrastructure
I share the same concern that Pope Leo has above: that people are being replaced too quickly and it will be a detriment to individuals as well as society. We have an ethical and societal duty to do better than this.
American tech companies have eliminated more than 142,000 jobs in the first five months of 2026 — a 33% increase over the same period last year — even as the same employers post record revenues and commit to the largest concentrated infrastructure buildout in tech history.
Other Interesting Finds
A New York cemetery was hiding 5.5 million bees underground
A casual walk through an Ithaca cemetery led to the discovery of a gigantic hidden bee population — roughly 5.5 million ground-nesting bees packed beneath the soil. Scientists believe it may be one of the largest bee aggregations ever documented and say the insects are crucial pollinators for apple orchards and other crops. The bees have likely lived there for more than 100 years, thriving in the cemetery’s undisturbed sandy soil.