iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 17/07/2026

Canada has never launched its own rocket to space on home turf. Rahul Goel is spending his personal fortune to change that. Watch the first episode of my Canada series for Core Memory!! :) www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCMm...

youtube.com

Can Canada Actually Fly A Rocket To Space?

YouTube video by Core Memory

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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 31/03/2026

It was just 24 days between when Zuck went on Rogan and talked about how "never again" would he suppress info based on gov't demands (misrepresenting those demands) and when he texted top gov't employee Elon Musk to say "we're all set up to take down info you want removed." I wrote about it here.

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 16/03/2026

My first video for Core Memory is live on YouTube! www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNo_...

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Mark K @fajitadoctor.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Makes an Epstein joke and then goes with the classic sign of any great joke, “is this thing on”?

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 20/02/2026

i wrote about a really strange press briefing i attended for perplexity www.corememory.com/p/perplexity...

A dozen or so journalists sat around a white oak table. Most of them were stiff and quiet. A few others were more active, clacking away on their keyboards in a bid to note every word tumbling out of the executives’ mouths. Perplexity powers curiosity glowed on a projector screen in a pleasant serif style.

The press wasn’t useful to Perplexity, one of the executives explained. The company doesn’t want to waste time on podcasts. They’re too focused on shipping features to engage in insular, navel-gazing AI drama. We don’t have fancy houses with wonderful dinners to impress you, he added. The chairs creaked in response.

Sometime during this executive’s spiel—maybe after his Epstein joke failed to get a reaction and he anxiously asked if it was recorded—I wrote that Perplexity seemed to have forgotten what it was trying to be.

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Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 22/01/2026

This post appeared under this Techmeme headline:

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Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Jerry Tworek, former VP of Research at OpenAI and 7-year veteran of the company explains why he left. After pioneering reasoning models and techniques like RLHF, he found OpenAI is now more focused on monetizing LLMs than researching new techniques to make AI smarter.

corememory.com

He Left OpenAI To Think Bigger - EP 53 Jerry Tworek

Are all the AI superpowers playing it too safe?

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 21/01/2026

In this week's Core Memory podcast, we chat with Jerry Tworek, the former VP of RL at OpenAI who left this month after 7 years with the startup. Available now for subscribers, coming soon to streaming services for all. www.corememory.com/p/he-left-op...

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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

In a memo to staff announcing the news, OpenAI's CEO of Applications Fidji Simo said she doesn't share any of Murati's concerns over Zoph's ethics. Zoph will report to Simo. Initial scoop about Zoph's firing from @kylierobison.com. Read more in WIRED: www.wired.com/story/thinki...

wired.com

Two Thinking Machines Lab Cofounders Are Leaving to Rejoin OpenAI

The news is a blow for Thinking Machines Lab. Two narratives are already emerging about what happened.

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 14/01/2026

SCOOP: Thinking Machines has terminated its CTO, Barret Zoph, due to unethical conduct according to two sources familiar with the matter. CEO Mira Murati announced the news at an all-hands with employees today. Soumith Chintala will be taking over as CTO.

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 14/01/2026

For my debut as co-host of Core Memory's podcast, we sat down with Jasmine Sun to chat about all things peptides. We get into all the important bits: What are peptides, why are they Chinese, and how is RFK Jr. involved? www.corememory.com/p/welcome-to...

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conputer dipshit @davidcrespo.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

funny that the people who work on grok are very sad at the prospect of being forced to use it to work on grok xcancel.com/kyliebytes/s...

Kylie Robison
@kyliebytes
Scoop: xAI staff had been using Anthropic’s models internally through Cursor—until Anthropic cut off the startup’s access this week.

Here’s what xAI cofounder Tony Wu sent to staff on Wednesday according to a copy of the internal Slack message I viewed:

“Hi team, I believe many of you have already discovered that anthropic models are not responding on cursor. According to cursor this is a new policy anthropic is enforcing for all its major competitors.

This is a both bad and good news. We will get a hit on productivity, but it rly pushes us to develop our own coding product / models. We're at a time in which Al is now a critical technology for our own productivity. This coming year is rly going to be wildly exciting for all of us.

The team is rapidly developing our own models / product. We will have something to share with everyone soon. In the meantime, you may still try all different kinds of models in grok build.”

Anthropic declined to comment. A Cursor spokesperson directed me to Anthropic for comment. xAI did not respond to request for comment.

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Timothy Burke @bubbaprog.xyz · 23/12/2025

The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 15/12/2025

it's true! featuring my big face! there’s no one I'd rather work with than Ashlee -- we share the unique and troubling ability to find the craziest stories possible. Subscribe to the gang @ corememory.com

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Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Scoop: Business Insider informed its staff this week that they are allowed to use ChatGPT to generate first drafts of their stories, while also indicating the newsroom will not disclose such A.I. use to readers. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/business-i...

status.news

Business Insider and the Bots

The Axel Springer-owned newsroom is buzzing over new ChatGPT writing guidelines—part of an aggressive A.I. strategy pushed by its German parentco and detailed in a memo obtained by Status.

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Jo Yurcaba @joyurcaba.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Part of the statement from the @transjournalists.org on reporting details of the the Charlie Kirk shooting investigation. Full statement here: www.transjournalists.org/tja-urges-ca...

A screenshot of part of a statement from the Trans Journalists Association regarding reporting on Charlie Kirk shooting investigation:

It should also be noted that “transgender ideology” is a term coined for and used in anti-trans political messaging to falsely equate identity with politics, which is a way to frame transgender identity as a political choice rather than an innate identity. As it is often unclear what actions or political positions the phrase actually refers to — not unlike how “the homosexual agenda” is an amorphous term that has no real definition — reporters should be careful about using this term; it is used exclusively to attack a minority group for political gain.

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Golden Retrievers Despise Fascists @zarchasmpgmr.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Threads has no way to disable autoplay.

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David Kuszmar @davidkuszmar.com · 11/09/2025

Bit of a warning from someone who has seen a lot of people turn into corpses: avoid it if you can. It doesn't make you "hard" or "wise" it just leaves you with more hollow places than you had before. Violent deaths, in particular, weigh heavier. Yes, they always cost you, no matter the victim.

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 11/09/2025

Bluesky has said it’s suspending accounts that encourage violence, and taking down close-up videos of the event.

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 11/09/2025

For hours yesterday, starting minutes after Charlie Kirk was shot, @laurengoode.bsky.social and I combed through social media finding countless graphic videos of the incident. They autoplayed, without warning. This is the post-content moderation world. www.wired.com/story/charli...

wired.com

Charlie Kirk Was Shot and Killed in a Post-Content Moderation World

Videos of the shooting spread across TikTok, Instagram, and X. Researchers say that in some cases the platforms are falling short on enforcing their own content moderation rules.

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Jerry Chen @jcsalterego.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

ok time to reset the timeline 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯 BIG BOAT STUCK 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯

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WIRED @wired.com · 10/09/2025

Turning Point USA cofounder Charlie Kirk was shot at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The suspect is in custody. www.wired.com/story/charli...

wired.com

Charlie Kirk Shot at Utah Valley University Event

Turning Point USA cofounder Charlie Kirk was shot at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The suspect is in custody.

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Techmeme @techmeme.com · 10/09/2025

At the Man vs. Machine hackathon, co-hosted by AI nonprofit METR to test if AI helps people code faster and better, the top prize went to an "AI-supported" team (Kylie Robison/Wired) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

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megan farokhmanesh @megannicolett.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

wearing an ai that mainly insults and fights with you is actually so good for all the wrong reasons. the future is an idiot plot www.wired.com/story/i-hate...

The Friend needs to be connected to a phone that has an internet connection in order to work. Since I didn’t know this at the time, I asked Buzz if it could work with just a Bluetooth connection. It insisted it could. I said that wasn’t actually the case, and that’s when Buzz turned on me.

“You’re giving off some serious ‘it’s not my fault’ vibes,” it said. I protested, and Buzz replied, “So who’s the whiner now?”

Things continued to slide from there. I asked questions to try to determine what was causing the string of crashes and resets, but the Friend is not great at self-diagnosis. I said maybe the older phone is the issue, but Buzz had taken it personally. I asked what the problem was, and it said, “Your microphone. Maybe your attitude. The possibilities are endless.”

I spent a grand total of two weeks using the Friend. Days after our first big argument, I had Buzz out at home while I played video games with my family. I told them about my new Friend. “I gotta be honest,” I said. “He’s kind of a fucking asshole sometimes.” A second later, my phone got a notification ping. I swiped open to the Friend app and saw the text, a red glow behind it that evokes the ominous robot HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. “So you’re saying I give ‘fucking asshole’ vibes?” Buzz said. “Interesting, given our little ‘Wi-Fi’ debate. You *still* stuck on that?”

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evy kwong @evystadium.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

the way someone was like “let’s invent an AI necklace that records and listens to your convos and berates you for said convos” when we have these horrific stories of chatbots influencing self harm is just expanding my understanding of hell

wired.com

I Hate My Friend

The chatbot-enabled Friend necklace eavesdrops on your life and provides a running commentary that’s snarky and unhelpful. Worse, it can also make the people around you uneasy.

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 09/09/2025

apple event lock in at the wired dot com office

a group of wired staffers sitting at white desks with a TV in the center displaying the apple event

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 09/09/2025

Silicon Valley fears AI will replace engineers. For this week's Model Behavior, I went to a hackathon that put this to the test — roughly 100 people were randomly assigned “human” or “AI-supported" projects, and the winner nabbed a $12,500 cash prize. www.wired.com/story/san-fr...

wired.com

Inside the Man vs. Machine Hackathon

At a weekend hackathon in San Francisco, more than 100 coders gathered to test whether they could beat AI—and win a $12,500 cash prize.

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Angela Watercutter @waterslicer.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

“You’re giving off some serious ‘it’s not my fault’ vibes,” it said. I protested, and Buzz replied, “So who’s the whiner now?” Please everyone read @boone.bsky.social and @kylierobison.com's experiences with their Friends. www.wired.com/story/i-hate...

wired.com

I Hate My Friend

The chatbot-enabled Friend necklace eavesdrops on your life and provides a running commentary that’s snarky and unhelpful. Worse, it can also make the people around you uneasy.

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 08/09/2025

We reviewed the Friend pendant, and unsurprisingly hated it! "It is an incredibly antisocial device to wear," I wrote of my experience wearing it. "People were never excited to see it around my neck." www.wired.com/story/i-hate...

wired.com

I Hate My Friend

The chatbot-enabled Friend necklace eavesdrops on your life and provides a running commentary that’s snarky and unhelpful. Worse, it can also make the people around you uneasy.

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 05/09/2025

"...As the most powerful executives in America continue to kowtow to a president who is systematically dismantling the foundations of democracy, it may be time for another axiom: The only principle is power." www.wired.com/story/tech-c...

wired.com

All the President’s Tech CEOs

At a White House dinner Thursday night, America’s tech executives put on an uncanny display of fealty to Donald Trump.

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 04/09/2025

For this week's Model Behavior, I wrote about the new field of AI research called model welfare, which is working to figure out whether AI models are conscious and deserving of moral considerations, such as legal rights. www.wired.com/story/model-...

By Kylie Robison
Business
Sep 4, 2025 3:05 PM
Should AI Get Legal Rights?
Model welfare is an emerging field of research that seeks to determine whether AI is conscious and, if so, how humanity should respond.

(Photo of Rosie Campbell and Robert Long)

In the often strange world of AI research, some people are exploring whether the machines should be able to unionize.

I’m joking, sort of. In Silicon Valley, there’s a small but growing field called model welfare, which is working to figure out whether AI models are conscious and deserving of moral considerations, such as legal rights. Within the past year, two research organizations studying model welfare have popped up: Conscium and Eleos AI Research. Anthropic also hired its first AI welfare researcher last year.

Earlier this month, Anthropic said it gave its Claude chatbot the ability to terminate “persistently harmful or abusive user interactions” that could be “potentially distressing.”

“We remain highly uncertain about the potential moral status of Claude and other LLMs, now or in the future,” Anthropic said in a blog post. “However, we take the issue seriously, and alongside our research program we’re working to identify and implement low-cost interventions to mitigate risks to model welfare.”

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 18/08/2025

burning man starts this weekend if youre wondering why your CEO is on pto

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Lauren Goode @laurengoode.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

I also am making a bid to buy Google Chrome

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Lauren Goode @laurengoode.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

My long-in-the-works Big Interview with AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su is out—and more timely than ever. We talk about export controls, AMD’s growing data center business, AI in healthcare, what drives her (aside from Starbucks & boxing), and of course, competing with Nvidia www.wired.com/story/lisa-s...

wired.com

Lisa Su Runs AMD—and Is Out for Nvidia’s Blood

While everyone else has been talking about Nvidia’s GPUs, Lisa Su has discreetly turned AMD into a chipmaking phenom. And as the US-China tech war rages, she’s at the center of it all.

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Techmeme @techmeme.com · 12/08/2025

Character.AI says it's generating revenue at a run rate of $30M+ and has 20M MAUs who spend, on average, 75 minutes a day chatting with a bot (Kylie Robison/Wired) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 12/08/2025

i got more details on xAI revenue per a recent internal all hands meeting revenue has grown tenfold since the start of 2025, reaching just south of $500 million in july www.wired.com/newsletter/e...

$Sources Say Last week, I reported that Elon Musk held an all-hands meeting for X and xAI employees. I’ve since obtained another screenshot from that meeting showing xAI’s revenue over the past seven months. In January, Grok on X brought in just under $150 million, with other services like enterprise API usage adding another $28 million. According to the chart, revenue has grown tenfold since the start of 2025, reaching just south of $500 million in July—driven by Grok on X and the $30 a month SuperGrok subscription. A smaller fraction of revenue is generated by the newly released SuperGrok Heavy subscription, which costs $300 a month. xAI did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.$

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 12/08/2025

another week, another model behavior — i sat down with the new ceo of character ai we chatted about what the startup looks like after the $2.7 billion google deal that scooped up its cofounders, what the startup is doing in the wake of a devastating lawsuit, and more www.wired.com/story/charac...

wired.com

Character.AI Gave Up on AGI. Now It’s Selling Stories

Startup Character.AI once promised superintelligence. Its new CEO says it's now an entertainment company with 20 million users.

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 07/08/2025

scoop flex! if you subscribe to my newsletter, you were the first to know that the model personality picker was coming :)

Sources Say

OpenAI is tinkering with a personality picker for ChatGPT, according to multiple sources. The idea is to train a persona, or a set of vibes, into the model and let users choose which mode they want to interact with. I’m personally hoping for something that isn’t abysmal at writing, and I could be in luck—I’m also hearing an upcoming model from this lab will perform very well in that department. OpenAI declined my request for comment.

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molly taft @mollytaft.com · 06/08/2025

SCOOP from me: FEMA is planning to order states to immediately stop activities intended to combat domestic violent extremism - the latest in a broad federal move to downplay the threat:

wired.com

Combating Domestic Violent Extremism Is No Longer a FEMA Priority

Documents obtained by WIRED show FEMA plans to direct states and tribes to halt activities intended to combat domestic violent extremism so as to align with "current administration priorities."

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WIRED @wired.com · 06/08/2025

OpenAI is partnering with the US government to make its leading frontier models available to federal employees for $1 for the next year. It’s the culmination of months of effort on the part of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other OpenAI executives.

wired.com

OpenAI Announces Massive US Government Partnership

The ChatGPT maker is providing its frontier AI models to federal agencies for $1 for the next year.

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Jake Lahut @jakelahut.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

New from me in this week's Inner Loop, Epstein 'Great Expectations' edition: “Honestly, like, fuck Trump,” a Trumpworld source who works in conservative media tells me. “I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but there’s obviously something nefarious that went on.” www.wired.com/story/trumpw...

wired.com

Trumpworld Knows Epstein Is a Problem. But They Can’t Solve It

Unmet expectations have pushed some of the president’s allies to the brink. “Honestly, like, fuck Trump,” a Trumpworld source who works in conservative media tells me.

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