| π¨ Reminder: This is my last newsletter for a bit. I'm heading out on leave to write a book about AI. I'll be back in the fall, and we'll soon be making wonderful tech memories together again. If you really miss me, send some Throwbacks while I'm out! π¨ But before I go: How many steaks can you grill with the energy it takes to make one AI video? π₯© That answer and more in the Big Thing. Then, Anthropic's partial win, Zuck's AI recruiting and Tesla's first robotaxis. Plus, an international travel tip to easily convert currency—so you know how much that Aperol Spritz really costs you. πΈ | | |
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 | | CREDIT: DAVID HALL / WSJ | | |
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| A few months ago, when we started working on that AI film, I wanted to answer a simple question: How much energy were we actually burning to make all those AI video clips? I thought it'd be straightforward—ask a few questions, get a few numbers. Turns out, nope. No tech company wants to talk about how much power it takes to generate AI text, images or video. And they definitely don't want you in their data centers, which suck all the power. I asked. Something about "security" and "trade secrets." So I found another way in. As you'll read in this week's column and see in the video, I found Sasha Luccioni, a researcher who has tested how much power different AI tasks use. Depending on the model and output, there's a wide range. At the high end, two AI videos can burn through about 210 watt-hours—enough to grill a steak on an electric grill. Yes, I tested it. (Watch the video.) To see where all that power is going, I visited one of Equinix's massive data centers in Ashburn, Va.—aka "Data Center Alley." And yes, I got a glimpse at some real, live, loud GPUs. | |
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Anthropic Hit the Books π€ππ€ | | Now the question is: Will the books hit back? Anthropic scored a partial victory this week when a federal judge found that the startup's use of books to train its AI models was legal under U.S. copyright law—at least when it purchased the books. The catch? The ruling doesn't apply to the millions of books Anthropic "pirated." So…while the decision could shape the future of AI litigation, it doesn't mean Anthropic can turn the page just yet. In the next chapter of this story (OK, final pun, promise) the company is set to face a separate trial over its use of pirated works. | | |
Zuck's Cold-Calling Spree ☎️πΈπ | | As part of a frenzied effort to catch up to OpenAI and other rivals, Mark Zuckerberg has been sending hundreds of cold emails and WhatApp messages to recruit top AI talent. In certain cases, Zuckerberg is offering engineers hundreds of millions to join his new superintelligence lab. There are signs Zuck's personal outreach—and his face-melting pay packages—are starting to bear fruit: Meta recently poached three top OpenAI researchers. | | |
Tesla Enters the Robotaxi Race πΊ️π€π | | The electric-car maker finally rolled out its long-awaited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, earlier this month, kicking off a new era of competition in an industry dominated by Waymo. Up to 20 Model Ys will be available to transport a limited number of customers within a geofenced area, though Tesla has outlined more ambitious expansion plans. Waymo, meanwhile, said it makes more than 250,000 paid trips a week across four cities. | | |
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| Heading to Rome for carb-loading? π Or Greece for island hopping? π️Or some other international destination this summer? Great, thanks for inviting me. π Here's a tip, though. With iOS 18, Apple updated the calculator app in a big way and it now includes a built-in currency converter. Just open the Calculator app, tap the icon in the bottom left and switch on Convert. Then tap the arrows next to the numbers, choose Currency and pick your currencies. Boom! Instant conversions between euros, yen, dollars and more. Android's calculator app doesn't have this tool, but you can use the Google app or download a converter from the Play Store. | |
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 | | CREDIT: KAREN LATCHFORD | | |
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| Karen Latchford from Palo Alto, Calif. | |
| Sony Walkman D-E350 CD-R/RW | |
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| So many electronic devices are black and silver. Boring! I was attracted to the bright deep cobalt color. I like it because it provides a simple way to listen to high-quality audio. You plug in headphones or earbuds via a simple jack, pop in a CD and close the cover. Very efficient. No wasted space on the device, either. I listened to a wide range of CDs, such as "Facing Future" by Israel "Iz" KamakawiwoΚ»ole and "Everybody Wang Chung Tonight: Wang Chung's Greatest Hits." I still occasionally use it. | |
| π· Got an idea for a throwback? Reply to this email with a photo of your old tech and tell us why you loved—or hated—it. π· | | |
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| Reply to this email and share your feedback and suggestions. This week's newsletter was curated and written by Joanna Stern and Conor Grant in New York. | |
