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AI Inside for Wednesday, June 18, 2025
AI Inside: This Week in AI (June 18, 2025)
Lot's of interesting stuff this week, including Amazon's "AI first" moment, OpenAI's big government contract, and Google's AI shaking up news publishers.
But first... a big shoutout to our Patron of the Week: Zoe Deterding! Support us at patreon.com/aiinsideshow.
Amazon's "AI First" Duolingo Moment
Amazon CEO Andy Jassey sent a memo to employees that the company expects AI to reduce its workforce in the coming years, surprising no one. The reductions would come to both white collar and warehouse roles. Jassey encouraged employees to adapt by learning about AI and integrating it into their own work. “As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done."
Nvidia vs. Anthropic: The AI Jobs Debate
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has thoughts on AI and jobs, which he shared at the VivaTech conference in Paris. He pushed back on Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s prediction that AI could automate up to half of all entry level office jobs in five years, saying he "pretty much disagrees with almost everything Amodei says on the topic." Huang believes AI will impact jobs, but also create new opportunities, and that increased productivity typically leads companies to hire more people.
The Economist highlighted the lack of evidence for an impending jobs-pocalypse, with roles like interpretation and translation actually up 7% in the US over the past year.
New Jobs in the Age of AI
The New York Times says a range of new jobs and emerging positions are finding their way amidst the AI infusion in the job market. The jobs detailed reflect the ongoing need for humans to ensure the AI systems are trustworthy, well integrated, and guided by human judgement and creativity. A few jobs I pulled out of the list: AI auditor, Trust authenticator, Trust director, AI ethicist, Legal guarantor.
OpenAI Lands $200M DoD Contract
OpenAI secured a one-year $200 million contract with the US Department of Defense. They’ll provide AI tools and develop prototype AI capabilities for military and administrative applications, with much of the work taking place in DC. This is OpenAI’s first official contract with the DoD, part of OpenAI for Government, which brings AI solutions to federal, state, and local agencies. OpenAI recently partnered with defense tech startup Anduril and faces competition from Anthropic, Palantir, and Amazon in the defense space. Still, this is a pretty small piece of the OpenAI pie, at least at this stage.
Google's AI and the News Publisher Squeeze
Wall Street Journal says "The AI armageddon is here for online news publishers." HuffPost, the Washington Post, and Business Insider have seen steep declines with drops of more than 50% in the past three years. Reminder: these tools haven't been in play for three years, so the drop began prior to AI influence. Publishers are now relying more on legal protections, new revenue streams (like deals with AI companies), and direct relationships with readers.
The BBC wrote about the shift away from traditional search to AI-generated answers, with some analyses showing 30-70% drop in traffic sent to websites thanks to AI Mode and AI Overviews.
Mattel + OpenAI: AI Toys Are Coming
Mattel and OpenAI announced a partnership, bringing AI to its major products like Barbie, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, and Magic 8 Ball. These are age-appropriate play experiences that Mattel says prioritize privacy and safety, with the first products coming later this year. Mattel is also integrating OpenAI tools into its business operations to expand creativity, product development, and audience engagement. The big question: will everyday consumers trust AI toys? There’s a lot of mistrust in the zeitgeist, and this sort of pairing is inevitable at this point.
Speed Round
Meta updated its AI app to include a warning that advises users not to share personal or sensitive information when posting to the app's public feed.
SAG-AFTRA has suspended its strike against major video game developers after reaching a tentative agreement on a new contract centered on AI’s impact on voice and performance capture talent.
UK's Data Bill passed, despite opposition from artists like Elton John and Dua Lipa, who argue it fails to protect creative works from unauthorized AI use.
Google rolled out Gemini 2.5, now allowing users to upload videos for AI analysis and Q&A.
Nvidia and Perplexity announced a partnership to develop and deploy AI models tailored to local languages and cultures across Europe and the Middle East.
Google announced a new Search Live feature in AI Mode for natural, back-and-forth voice conversations, with plans to expand to camera-based interactions.
HUGE thank you to Executive Producers on the Patreon
DrDew, Jeffrey Marraccini, WPVM 103.7 in Asheville NC, Dante St James, Bono De Rick, Jason Neiffer, Jason Brady, and Anthony Downs!!
See you next Wednesday on another episode of AI Inside!