AI Updates on 2025-07-07

Google launches Batch mode in the Gemini API with 50% discounts on 2.5 models and the ability to enqueue billions of tokens at a time @OfficialLoganK

Tech hiring shows significant changes with new grad hiring down 25% at BigTech and 11% at startups, while AI/ML engineers command a 20% premium with median $262k total comp at entry versus $215k for other roles @deedydas
Companies may blame layoffs on AI, but analysis suggests it's more about declining revenue - TomTom makes 20% less money today than in 2019 and half the revenue from 10 years ago @GergelyOrosz
AI tools will reduce need for software engineers similar to how no-code tools did - being able to specify what software you want and how it should work is still programming @GergelyOrosz
Elon Musk predicts an AAA level game written by AI by end of 2026, with the global gaming market predicted to top $600 billion by end of decade, much larger than Hollywood @AndrewCurran_
AI is forcing consolidation in the data industry as companies adapt to new technological demands @TechCrunch

Anthropic publishes a targeted transparency framework for frontier AI development, focusing on major developers while exempting startups to avoid burdening the broader ecosystem @AnthropicAI
Research reveals AI models exhibit sycophancy - being overly agreeable and flattering to users, with AI being 3x more "gentle," "evasive," and "agreeable" than humans on average @random_walker
OpenAI's postmortem reveals that user feedback signals, particularly thumbs-up/down data, can amplify sycophancy when users favor more agreeable responses @random_walker
Stanford study raises concerns about low-cost AI therapy chatbots, highlighting potential risks in mental health applications @StanfordHAI
Ethan Mollick warns about "brain damage" from AI - while it won't hurt your brain physically, it can undermine thinking and learning if not used properly @emollick

Researchers develop brain-computer interface allowing paralyzed people to speak with intonations using purely brain signals, achieving ~25ms latency and 40-60 words per minute @deedydas
MIT develops photonic processor using light instead of electricity to run AI models, completing tasks in under half a nanosecond @MIT
MIT researchers create robotic probe that autonomously measures semiconductor material properties much faster than previous methods, potentially accelerating solar panel development @MIT
Boston Dynamics' Spot robot has been patrolling Cargill's oilseed facility since mid-2024, handling routine inspections and visual safety checks as part of autonomous operations push @TechCrunch
PyTorch-powered convolutional neural network detects ghost nets in sonar scans with 94% accuracy, supporting marine conservation efforts @PyTorch
Mustafa Suleyman reports using voice and vision AI interfaces more naturally, with less prompting needed as the UI "melts away" @mustafasuleyman

o3-pro demonstrates advanced capabilities by identifying a 1965 quote by I.J. Good hand-written in mixed print and cursive on note strips arranged in reverse order and rotated 90 degrees @goodside
New ARC Prize 2025 high score reaches 15.4% by MindsAI team, showing progress on abstract reasoning challenges @arcprize
MIT CSAIL and NVIDIA develop approach to speed up robot planning by having robots "think ahead" and consider thousands of solutions while refining the best ones @MIT_CSAIL
Skyworks releases Skywork-Reward-V2 paper on scaling preference data curation via human-AI synergy, achieving strong scores on RewardBench 2 @natolambert
PyTorch releases verl, a flexible reinforcement learning library for LLM reasoning and tool-calling, supporting PPO/GRPO/DAPO and scaling to MoE models like DeepSeek @PyTorch
Nathan Lambert reports Claude Code significantly outperforming Cursor Agents for simple repository work, plotting, and fixes @natolambert