CTRL-ALTMAN-DELETE 🤖⬟

👀 TLDR

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover the spectacular fallout between the Department of Defense/War and Anthropic, as well as the backlash against OpenAI for taking the latter’s place. It’s seen Claude reach the top of the App Store as users leave OpenAI in their droves. A PR disaster for OpenAI? We also look at Jack Dorsey’s huge wave of layoffs at Block, new hardware from Apple, the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal, and we have a fishy tale to tell in our App of the Week.

Finally, make sure to check out the latest from the frontlines of AI (down below) and don’t forget to follow 3A’s CPTO Darren Gibney on LinkedIn.

🎬 Our Top Take

🤖🥊 Anthropic – Claude Downloads Surge Amid OpenAI DoW Backlash

We mentioned a few weeks ago that Anthropic was having a breakdown in relations with the newly named US Department of War. The details of the row are complex, but we can broadly say the following: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei reportedly refused to allow its AI systems, including Claude, to be used for weapons of war and for the mass surveillance of US citizens. This prompted criticism from Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth and the White House, but notably, other AI leaders, including Sam Altman, supported Amodei’s firm stance. In the end, the DoW and the Trump Administration jettisoned Anthropic as its AI partner, replacing it with, you guessed it, OpenAI. That has caused a huge furor, with much criticism of Altman’s volte-face, from praising Amodei one moment to signing up OpenAI to replace Anthropic the next. If that all sounds a bit gossipy for What’s Appening, then we can state some of the real-life consequences: Altman sensed the fallout and scrambled to explain that OpenAI’s deal with the DoW was markedly different, but this was greeted skeptically by many. The upshot? ChatGPT uninstalls are up almost 300%, and reports indicate OpenAI is losing many paid subscribers as the “QuitGPT” movement gains steam. As for Anthropic, Claude has rocketed to the no.1 spot in the App Store. We’ll have to see how the dust settles on this, but right now it’s Anthropic as the near-term winner, whereas OpenAI is arguably managing the biggest PR headache in its history. Just a few hours ago, OpenAI announced it had changed the terms of the deal with the Pentagon, but the reputational damage may already be done. #AIWar Read more here.

📲 App of the Week: Fish Doorbell

Not an app, as such, more of a quirky online activity that quietly suggests there is hope for humanity, even in these darkest of times. Fish Doorbell is an online platform that allows users to view live underwater camera feeds of the Oudegracht River in Utrecht, Netherlands. The river has a lock (in the river barrier sense), and when you see a fish, you can press the fish doorbell, which sends a message to the lockkeeper, who will open the gate and allow the fish to swim through, allowing them to reach their spawning grounds and do whatever fish do once they reach their destination. The project has had over 2.7 million users worldwide. It’s strangely addictive, and the platform also offers a host of fishy learning activities. You can find out more – and ring a fish doorbell for yourself – here.

🧐 Stat of the Week: 4K Jobs

📈📉 Block – Jack Dorsey Sheds 40% of Employees in AI Gambit

We know that seeing firms cutting employee numbers due to AI productivity gains has become quite common, but Jack Dorsey’s Block (parent of Square and Cash App) turned heads when sacking almost half of its workforce in one fell swoop. Wall Street loved it, sending Block’s stock into orbit amid Dorsey’s claims that the company would become much more profitable. Those downbeat on AI causing massive job losses in the future were, understandably, quite critical of the move. To be fair to the former Twitter boss, Dorsey reportedly gave each of the 4,000 employees generous severance packages. #AIJobs Read more here.

🗞️ Other Stories

📍 Meanwhile at 3A: From the frontlines of AI.

3Advance CPTO Darren Gibney has been unleashing his latest learnings on AI, and how it’s impacting the product development landscape. His posts speak to the entrepreneurs, the creatives and the builders of digital products in this new age Darren will continue posting on LinkedIn, and we’ll continue to share his insights here. Check out his latest nugget. It’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it…