AI News Feed
These are AI-generated summaries I use to keep tabs on daily news.
Daily Tech Newsletter - 2025-05-29
AI-Driven Job Displacement and Misinformation Campaigns
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warns that AI could eliminate 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years, potentially spiking unemployment by 10-20%. This is partially attributed to Big Tech companies using AI to perform tasks previously assigned to junior employees, leading to a significant drop in new graduate hires. Simultaneously, AI is being weaponized for misinformation campaigns. KICLEI, founded by a Freedom Convoy activist, is using an AI chatbot, "Canadian Civic Advisor," to flood Canadian city councils with climate misinformation, aiming to undermine net-zero policies. Climate scientists refute KICLEI's claims, but the campaign has seen success in some municipalities. These events highlight AI's potential for significant economic and social disruption.
Relevant URLs:
- https://www.businessinsider.com/anthropic-ceo-warning-ai-could-eliminate-jobs-2025-5
- https://www.desmog.com/2025/05/28/a-weaponized-ai-chatbot-is-flooding-canadian-city-councils-with-climate-misinformation/
Advancements in LLM Tool Use and APIs
The LLM ecosystem is rapidly evolving, with enhancements in tool use and API integrations. LLM 0.26 now officially supports tools, exemplified by llm-tools-exa, enabling web search via the Exa search engine API. The llm-github-models plugin has been upgraded to version 0.15, supporting LLM 0.26 tool use with GitHub Models API and automatically retrieving API keys from GITHUB_TOKEN. Simon Willison also updated his llm-mistral plugin (v0.14) to support Mistral API tools and the Codestral Embed embedding model, overcoming documentation challenges by leveraging Gemini 2.5 Flash for API documentation extraction and Claude Opus 4 for code generation. Meanwhile, Mistral released Codestral Embed, a code-specific embedding model claiming superior performance, although access is currently limited to their API or custom-priced on-premise deployments. Simon Willison is requesting the model be accessible via open weights.
Relevant URLs:
- https://simonwillison.net/2025/May/29/llm-tools-exa/#atom-everything
- https://simonwillison.net/2025/May/29/llm-github-models-015/#atom-everything
- https://simonwillison.net/2025/May/29/llm-mistral-014/#atom-everything
- https://simonwillison.net/2025/May/28/codestral-embed/#atom-everything
Knowledge Transfer Platform and AI-Assisted Coding Benefits from Automated Testing
Handover, an AI-powered platform, facilitates efficient knowledge transfer during employee transitions, addressing challenges of job mobility and retirement. The platform uses AI-guided prompts, video capture, and screen sharing, offering enterprise-grade security and integrates with HRIS. Complementing this, Simon Willison highlights the importance of automated testing for effective AI-assisted coding, emphasizing how comprehensive tests mitigate risks associated with LLM-generated code and enable reliable refactoring.
Relevant URLs:
AI Video Generation with Google Veo and Runway
The Wall Street Journal tested Google Veo and Runway to create an AI film, detailed in a 7-minute video.
Relevant URLs:
Cost Analysis of AI APIs and New Newsletter Launch
Simon Willison explored the cost of Perplexity's Sonar Deep Research API, using Claude Sonnet 4 to calculate a total cost of approximately $0.53 for a single API call based on various token and query pricing tiers. Also, Simon Willison will launch a curated monthly highlights newsletter on May 30, 2025, exclusively for sponsors.
Relevant URLs: