TLDR 2025-05-14

New research by Google Cloud validates what everyone is feeling: generative AI is now mainstream, and it's present at the vast majority of larger organizations.

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Based on a survey of 500+ global technology leaders, the 2025 State of AI Infrastructure report offers a glimpse into how enterprises are preparing for a new tidal wave of AI adoption — and what it takes to build an AI-ready cloud that's robust, secure, and cost-effective.

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Apple is taking early steps to enable people to control their devices with brain-computer interfaces. It is working on a new standard with Synchron, a company that makes a stent-like device that is implanted in a vein on top of the brain's motor cortex to read brain signals. Early testers have been able to use the technology to control iPhones, iPads, and Vision Pro headsets. Synchron's device has been tested in 10 people since 2019.

SpaceX's Starship has completed a long duration six-engine static fire and is undergoing final preparations for its ninth flight test. The company hasn't yet officially announced a target launch date, but there are signs the launch might happen as soon as next Wednesday. If everything goes to plan, Starship will enter space and fly halfway around the world, reentering in a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX will try to catch the Super Heavy booster again. The company was aiming for as many as 25 Starship test flights this year, but it will now likely fall short of that number.

Brain-computer interfaces are systems that allow direct communication between the brain and external machines. Precision Neuroscience has a device thin enough that it can be implanted into the motor cortex of the brain through an incision less than 1 millimeter wide. The device has been cleared by the FDA for commercial use in patients for up to 30 days. The approval will allow Precision to collect a lot more brain data, which will help the company develop the algorithms it needs to translate users' thoughts into commands for machines. Precision plans to start clinical trials for a fully implanted system in 2026.

Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot looks like it's catching up to the competition. CEO Elon Musk has been telling shareholders that the robot is a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity for the company. Tesla is already using robots in its factories. The company has released a new video showing an Optimus prototype dancing. The video is available in the article along with videos of another humanoid robot from Unitree, a competitor.

For the first time, VS Code, Live! is on-stage at Build, Microsoft's largest developer conference—hosted by Jason Lengstorf (CodeTV) & Burke Holland (VS Code).

Tune in for a vibe-coding showdown between devs from GitHub & VS Code for a look at their AI tools like agent mode, MCP, and more! 🕺

🔔 Get notified when they go live at 1:00PM PST

A common problem when working with distributed systems on top of object storage is figuring out how to remove files from object storage that had been logically deleted either due to data expiry or compaction. This post looks at how to solve this problem using a delayed queue, async reconciliation, or both. It also looks at obvious ways to solve the problem that don't work well in practice, like bucket policies and synchronous deletion. The solution presented in the post is highly scalable, cheap, and easy to reason about.

Google's new Material 3 Expressive will be integrated into Android OS before expanding across the full Google app ecosystem. The redesign is the result of numerous user studies. This article takes a look at the redesign to show readers what to expect from Material 3 Expressive. It includes screenshots and videos showing different aspects of the new UI. Material 3 Expressive is an open design framework, so any of Google's partners can implement it into their Android skins.

OpenAI wants to develop a subscription operating system for AI with models that ingest every experience users have in their lives. The company hasn't figured out what exactly that will look like, and it may take a few attempts before it gets it right. CEO Sam Altman says he hopes that whatever the company develops will enable an unbelievable amount of wealth creation. For now, OpenAI will continue building tons of AI infrastructure and keep making models better.

Airbnb has introduced a new feature that allows travelers to book services and experiences. The new offerings can be added to trips or booked independently. There are currently 10 categories of services available, including catering, photography, massages, personal training, and makeup. The services are available in 100 cities worldwide across eight countries. Airbnb is also launching exclusive experiences that involve celebrity partnerships. It has planned social features for release later this year.

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Microsoft's largest round of layoffs since the elimination of 10,000 roles in 2023 is not related to performance, but aimed at reducing layers of management.

A discussion on how to acquire users and also what to avoid doing.

Missing the removal of signal senders when removing signal handlers (like SIGHUP) can cause services to terminate unexpectedly fleetwide.

Yuga Labs, the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club and other notable NFTs, has sold CryptoPunks to the NODE Foundation, a nonprofit focused on preserving digital art.

Google may be debuting a Pinterest competitor to secure its ads revenue from commercial queries.

Google is developing an autonomous software development agent codenamed 'Codey' and a Pinterest-like visual discovery feature, both of which are expected to debut at the company's I/O conference, which starts on May 20.