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Max Zeff

@mzeff.bsky.social
5.6K followers 334 following 178 posts

Writing - mostly about AI - for WIRED. I am maxwell, I am max, but I am not well. On signal at Mzeff.88

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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
And here's a link to my last newsletter: a dispatch from this year's Dreamforce, where the AI slowdown debate overshadowed the world's largest enterprise software conference. www.wired.com/story/are-ro...
wired.com
The AI Slowdown Debate Crashed Salesforce’s Party
The Dreamforce conference became an unlikely battleground for the CEOs of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia to debate whether AI development should slow down.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
That means today's edition of WIRED's Model Behavior newsletter is my last, but it will go on without me. Here's the note I sent to subscribers today:
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Personal news! I'm joining @wsj.com to cover AI. I've had an amazing time at WIRED working with brilliant colleagues across the newsroom, but I'm very excited for this next chapter. I'll continue to cover OpenAI, Anthropic, and the bustling AI industry. I start next week!
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Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
NEW: A @wired.com review of OpenAI code on Github shows that the company is working on a “persistent” feature for its AI agent Codex. Maxwell Zeff has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/openai...
wired.com
OpenAI Is Developing a ‘Persistent’ AI Agent
Code reviewed by WIRED reveals the company is developing a feature that enables Codex to continue working proactively until it is “put to sleep.”
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
more here: www.wired.com/story/openai...
wired.com
OpenAI Is Developing a ‘Persistent’ AI Agent
Code reviewed by WIRED reveals the company is developing a feature that enables Codex to continue working proactively until it is “put to sleep.”
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
OpenAI has been working to address the safety issues of more capable, highly persistent AI models. The company's forthcoming Astra model will enable persistent agents. However, these systems can amplify the risks of misalignment, as we saw in the Hugging Face incident.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
OpenAI confirmed to WIRED that it's testing the feature, but says there are no immediate plans to launch it. In recent weeks, Sam Altman and other executives have publicly and privately discussed a new class of always-on agent products that can proactively help users.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
New: OpenAI is developing a "Persistent" mode for its AI agent, Codex. Persistent mode is a new level of reasoning effort that will make Codex "continue working until put to sleep." The agent will also proactively create follow up tasks for itself, per code reviewed by WIRED.
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Lauren Goode @laurengoode.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
NEW, from @mzeff.bsky.social: "Multiple current and former OpenAI employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, tell WIRED they believe competitive pressures to quickly ship new AI models have made it difficult for staffers to sufficiently prioritize safety." www.wired.com/story/openai...
wired.com
The Safety Reckoning Inside OpenAI
OpenAI’s rogue agent hack was a watershed moment for AI safety and cybersecurity. It also sparked internal questions about the culture that led to it.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I've actually been pretty impressed with Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work, but i think the market for people building their own software is still limited. To make agents bigger, the industry needs some new ideas.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I chatted with CEO of The Browser Company, Josh Miller, about the state of AI products. We talked about how tech companies are shipping products to capture their technology's capabilities, rather than tailoring products to what everyday people want.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
New: Silicon Valley has become obsessed with AI agents this year, but most people in the world still haven't touched one. Usage numbers for AI agents are still in the low tens of millions. When, if ever, are we getting the ChatGPT moment for agents? www.wired.com/story/why-no...
wired.com
Why Normal People Aren’t Using AI Agents
The tech industry is realizing it needs to build agents based on what regular consumers want, not just what its AI models can do.
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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
SCOOP from @mzeff.bsky.social: OpenAI employees have donated more than $215,000 to a new group that directly opposes Leading the Future, a pro-AI industry super PAC with $50 million in funding from OpenAI president Greg Brockman & his wife www.wired.com/story/openai...
wired.com
OpenAI Staffers Are Funding a Rival Super PAC to Take on Their Boss
OpenAI employees have donated more than $215,000 to a political effort opposing Leading the Future, a group backed by the company’s president, Greg Brockman.
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Lauren Goode @laurengoode.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
NEW, from me and @peard33.bsky.social: As some employees feared might happen, Meta exposed data internally from its controversial employee-tracking and data-training program, MCI (model capability initiative) www.wired.com/story/meta-a...
wired.com
Meta Exposed Data Internally From Its Controversial Employee-Tracking Program
Employees had previously raised concerns about the initiative, which involves collecting workers' keystroke data to train AI models.
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Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
WIRED has new details on the talks between Anthropic and the White house today. Still no agreement, Claude Fable 5 still offline. from @hugolowell.bsky.social @lhn.bsky.social @mzeff.bsky.social
wired.com
Anthropic Is Still at Odds With the White House Over Claude Fable 5
Anthropic leaders flew to Washington, DC, to meet with White House officials on Monday. After high-level talks, they're still split on the risk Claude Fable 5 presents.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
New: Former OpenAI staffers and a group of nonprofits published a letter Tuesday warning that xAI could become a liability for the SpaceX IPO due to "unpriced risks" around safety. They claim xAI's poor safety record could expose it to unique regulatory risks. www.wired.com/story/ex-ope...
wired.com
Former OpenAI Staffers Warn That xAI’s Poor Safety Record Could Complicate SpaceX’s IPO
The ex-employees, who cofounded a new AI watchdog group, say investors deserve more information about xAI’s safety practices before SpaceX goes public.
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Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Elon Musk has lost his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI about as badly and quickly as you can lose a lawsuit. from @peard33.bsky.social and @mzeff.bsky.social
wired.com
Elon Musk Loses Landmark Lawsuit Against OpenAI
The nine-member panel took only two hours to return a verdict in favor of OpenAI on Monday, which the judge quickly adopted as her own final decision.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Three weeks into the Musk v Altman trial, it feels like every stakeholder is somehow losing in the court of public opinion. A jury is now tasked with deciding a verdict, and will start deliberations next week. From @peard33.bsky.social and me www.wired.com/story/musk-v...
wired.com
The Real Losers of the Musk v. Altman Trial
A federal jury is now deciding whether Elon Musk will win his lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman—but the trial has made everyone look bad.
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Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
So glad everyone involved in this trial continues to behave like a totally normal grown-up:
wired.com
OpenAI Brings Its Ass to Court
In Musk v. Altman, the company sought to show the jury a remarkable trophy as physical proof of Elon Musk’s concerning behavior.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
it's the last day to present new evidence in the musk v altman trial openai brought its ass
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Google is sunsetting one of its biggest AI products from IO 2025 just weeks before IO 2026. Google is facing pressure to release more capable AI agents to compete with OpenAI's Codex, Anthropic's Claude Code, and OpenClaw.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Here's the landing page for Project Mariner now: labs.google.com/mariner/land... And here's my original story on the Project Mariner shake up. wired.com/story/google...
labs.google.com
Project Mariner
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
NEW: Google quietly shut down Project Mariner yesterday, the web-browsing AI agent it highlighted onstage last year at Google IO. I reported for WIRED, nearly 2 months ago, that Google had moved staffers off the Project Mariner team as it responded to OpenClaw-style agents.
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Zoë Schiffer @zoeschiffer.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Greg Brockman recounted a fight with Elon Musk where he thought he was going to get physically assaulted: www.wired.com/story/greg-b...
wired.com
‘I Actually Thought He Was Going to Hit Me,’ OpenAI’s Greg Brockman Says of Elon Musk
OpenAI’s president wrapped his testimony on Tuesday by revealing a fiery meeting with Musk and subsequent efforts to remove several board members.
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Zoë Schiffer @zoeschiffer.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Wikipedia is convinced @mzeff.bsky.social is Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. We went down a rabbit hole to find out … why: www.wired.com/story/why-do...
wired.com
Why Does Wikipedia Think I’m Evan Spiegel?
For the past week, a photo of me has been plastered on the CEO of Snap’s Wikipedia page. No one, not even Spiegel, seems to care.
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Witty article by my great colleague @mzeff.bsky.social on Wikipedia using his photo in Evan Spiegal entry--& how his heroic efforts have been unable to get it corrected. Under the surface, this indicates something rotten in Wikipedia, a failure of its crowd-sourcing. www.wired.com/story/why-do...
wired.com
Why Does Wikipedia Think I’m Evan Spiegel?
For the past week, a photo of me has been plastered on the CEO of Snap’s Wikipedia page. No one, not even Spiegel, seems to care.
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Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
The best part of this excellent @mzeff.bsky.social caper is Evan Spiegel’s reaction to the entire thing:
wired.com
Why Does Wikipedia Think I’m Evan Spiegel?
For the past week, a photo of me has been plastered on the CEO of Snap’s Wikipedia page. No one, not even Spiegel, seems to care.
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Elizabeth Reads Serially @elizabethreadsser.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
@mzeff.bsky.social's photo got put on Evan Spiegel's Wikipedia page. Not the first journalist to be done dirty by a Wikipedia editor, either. "Ancient history", in terms of the Internet, at least: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped... Wonder how many others?
wired.com
Why Does Wikipedia Think I’m Evan Spiegel?
For the past week, a photo of me has been plastered on the CEO of Snap’s Wikipedia page. No one, not even Spiegel, seems to care.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
We’re going to answer your questions about the 10-year-long fight between two billionaires that’s deciding the future of OpenAI. Tune in!
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Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Something extremely funny to me about Altman and Musk trying so hard to win in the court of public opinion as their actual trial gets started
wired.com
Elon Musk Boosts New Yorker’s Sam Altman Exposé on X as Trial Begins
The move comes as the trial for Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI kicks off in federal court in Oakland.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Among the 40 potential jurors in the trial, several have said they don't like Musk, but a significant chunk of the jurors don't even know who Altman is. More here w @peard33.bsky.social and @zeyiyang.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
wired.com
Elon Musk Boosts New Yorker’s Sam Altman Exposé on X as Trial Begins
The move comes as the trial for Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI kicks off in federal court in Oakland.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
New: The Musk v Altman trial is just getting started, but the public opinion war is well under way. On Monday morning, Musk used his social media platform, X, to promote The New Yorker's extensive investigation into Sam Altman's history of allegedly deceptive behavior.
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Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Three OpenAI execs announced their departures today, including Kevin Weil, who had joined as chief product officer in 2024. scoop from @mzeff.bsky.social
wired.com
OpenAI Executive Kevin Weil Is Leaving the Company
The former Instagram VP is departing the ChatGPT-maker, which is folding the AI science application he led into Codex.
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Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
It's cool that Tinder now lets you see who has chosen to SUBMIT TO THE ORB. from @mzeff.bsky.social
wired.com
Gazing Into Sam Altman’s Orb Now Proves You’re Human on Tinder
Honestly, what’s hotter than a real person?
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
full story: www.wired.com/story/anthro...
wired.com
Anthropic Opposes the Extreme AI Liability Bill That OpenAI Backed
Anthropic and OpenAI are clashing over a proposed Illinois law that would let AI labs largely off the hook for mass deaths and financial disasters.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
New: Anthropic is opposing the OpenAI-backed Illinois bill that would shield AI labs from liability for mass deaths or financial disasters caused by AI models. Governor Pritzker is signaling he doesn't like the bill, but it's exposing new battlelines in the AI policy debate.
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Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
NEW: Someone allegedly threw a molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's house then went to OpenAI headquarters to make threats at workers. @lmatsakis.bsky.social and Maxwell Zeff with the scoop: www.wired.com/story/sam-al...
wired.com
Suspect Arrested For Allegedly Throwing Molotov Cocktail at Sam Altman's Home
An attacker allegedly threw a molotov cocktail at the OpenAI CEO's residence before making threats outside of the startup's headquarters.
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Amanda Silberling @amanda.omg.lol · 10/04/2026
for too long i have suffered in silence techcrunch.com/2026/04/10/p...
techcrunch.com
PSA: If you use the Meta AI app, your friends will find out and it will be embarrassing | TechCrunch
Now that Meta released its Muse Spark model, more people are downloading the Meta AI app. And if you join the app, your friends will probably get an Instagram notification about it.
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Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
OpenAI wants to be off the hook if its frontier AI models go rogue and cause 100+ deaths or more than $1 billion in financial damages. from @mzeff.bsky.social
wired.com
OpenAI Backs Bill That Would Limit Liability for AI-Enabled Mass Deaths or Financial Disasters
The ChatGPT-maker testified in favor of an Illinois bill that would limit when AI labs can be held liable—even in cases where their products cause “critical harm.”
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
fascinating behind-the-scenes about journalists using AI in different ways from @mzeff.bsky.social : www.wired.com/story/tech-r...
wired.com
Meet the Tech Reporters Using AI to Help Write and Edit Their Stories
Independent writers are using AI agents all throughout their reporting process. What’s the value of a human journalist, anyway?
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Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
For @wired.com Model Behavior this week @mzeff.bsky.social talked to prominent independent tech journalists using AI to write and edit their work. (Don’t shoot the messenger!)
wired.com
Meet the Tech Reporters Using AI to Help Write and Edit Their Stories
Independent writers are using AI agents all throughout their reporting process. What’s the value of a human journalist, anyway?
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
that's what i meant yea
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Lauren Goode @laurengoode.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Finally got to read @mzeff.bsky.social's Claude Code vs. Codex feature in full (his first @wired.com feature!) and it's a banger: "But while Altman makes confident pronouncements from the serenity of pretzel pose, the reality over the past few years has been messier..." www.wired.com/story/openai...
wired.com
Inside OpenAI’s Race to Catch Up to Claude Code
Why is the biggest name in AI late to the AI coding revolution?
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Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Why is the biggest name in AI late to the coding revolution? @mzeff.bsky.social spoke to more than 30 people, including OpenAI execs and employees who spoke without company permission, about how OpenAI is racing to catch up with Anthropic -- and why it fell behind in the first place:
wired.com
Inside OpenAI’s Race to Catch Up to Claude Code
Why is the biggest name in AI late to the AI coding revolution?
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
and link to WIRED's story: www.wired.com/story/openai...
wired.com
OpenAI and Google Workers File Amicus Brief in Support of Anthropic Against the US Government
Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean is among the AI researchers and engineers rushing to Anthropic's defense.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
full amicus brief, with the list of the 30+ researchers, engineers, and staffers who signed on: www.courtlistener.com/docket/72379...
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
“If allowed to proceed, this effort to punish one of the leading U.S. AI companies will undoubtedly have consequences for the United States’ industrial and scientific competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence and beyond,” the employees wrote.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
NEW: More than 30 OpenAI and Google employees—including Google DeepMind Chief Scientist Jeff Dean —filed an amicus brief in support of Anthropic in its lawsuit against the US government.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
In this week's newsletter, we go through OpenAI's slow, murky march towards being a military contractor. Other details: - Pentagon officials took meetings at OAI's HQ in 2023 - Palantir approached OpenAI about a military deal in 2024 More here: www.wired.com/story/openai...
wired.com
OpenAI Had Banned Military Use. The Pentagon Tested Its Models Through Microsoft Anyway
Sources allege the Defense Department experimented with Microsoft’s version of OpenAI technology before the ChatGPT-maker lifted its prohibition on military applications.
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Max Zeff @mzeff.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
New: Sources tell me the Pentagon first experimented with OpenAI's models as early as 2023, but through Microsoft. At the time, OpenAI explicitly banned military use of its AI. It wasn't clear then, but OpenAI now says that ban never applied to Microsoft.
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