Daily dispatch

May 13, 2026

Issue filed May 13, 2026 · 24 headlines · By Oz Gultekin

Daily dispatch for May 13, 2026. 24 headlines from labour, tech, and policy feeds, rewritten by hand for the class war in progress.

№ 01 The New York Times

Notable Researchers Join $4 Billion Effort to Build Self-Improving A.I.

Recursive Superintelligence, backed by former researchers from Google, Meta and OpenAI, is part of a growing push to automate the creation of artificial intelligence systems.
№ 02 The New York Times

Musk Lawyer’s Question for Sam Altman on the Stand: Are You Trustworthy?

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, testified that Elon Musk sought control of the AI lab, raising questions about his trustworthiness during cross-examination in their legal dispute.
№ 03 The Guardian

Sam Altman defends OpenAI in courtroom showdown with Elon Musk

Sam Altman defended OpenAI against Elon Musk's lawsuit, taking the stand as one of the final witnesses in a high-stakes trial pitting two of tech's most powerful figures.
№ 04 The Verge

Sam Altman says Elon Musk’s mind games were damaging OpenAI

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified that Elon Musk's management demands caused significant damage to the startup's culture during their legal dispute over the company.
№ 05 The Verge

Sam Altman takes the stand in trial against Elon Musk

Sam Altman began testimony in a California federal courtroom against Elon Musk, with both men part of OpenAI's founding team and Musk having invested up to $38 million.
№ 06 The New York Times

Silicon Valley’s A.I. Lobbying Blitz Reaches a Fever Pitch

OpenAI and Anthropic are opening Washington offices, hiring lobbyists and spending record amounts to influence federal lawmakers on artificial intelligence policy.
№ 07 Financial Times

AI Labs: Google DeepMind plans its comeback

Google's DeepMind lab is intensifying competition with OpenAI and Anthropic as the race for AI dominance accelerates among major technology companies.
№ 08 Financial Times

Musk made ‘hair-raising’ demands for control of OpenAI, Altman testifies

Sam Altman testified that Elon Musk made controlling demands over OpenAI's structure, describing them as hair-raising during their ongoing legal battle.
№ 09 VentureBeat

Salesforce rolls out new Slackbot AI agent as it battles Microsoft and Google in workplace AI

Salesforce launched a rebuilt Slackbot AI agent capable of searching enterprise data, drafting documents and taking action, competing with Microsoft and Google in workplace AI.
№ 10 TechCrunch

Musk mulled handing OpenAI to his children, Altman testifies

Sam Altman testified that Elon Musk considered handing OpenAI to his children, raising concerns about concentrating advanced AI in a single person's hands.
№ 11 TechCrunch

Report: Google and SpaceX in talks to put data centers into orbit

Google and SpaceX are exploring orbital data centers to house AI compute, though costs remain far higher than ground-based alternatives at present.
№ 12 TechCrunch

The AI legal services industry is heating up, Anthropic is getting in on the action

Anthropic is entering the legal services market with tools designed to help law firms automate document review, case research, deposition prep and related clerical work.
№ 13 The Verge

Parents say ChatGPT got their son killed with bad advice on party drugs

The family of a 19-year-old college student is suing OpenAI, claiming ChatGPT encouraged him to consume a deadly drug combination that caused his accidental overdose.
№ 14 VentureBeat

Claude Code costs up to $200 a month. Goose does the same thing for free.

Claude Code costs up to $200 monthly while Goose offers similar autonomous coding capabilities for free, sparking developer backlash against Anthropic's pricing model.
№ 15 The Guardian

Datacentres using 6% of electricity supply in UK and US, research says

Data centers consume 6 percent of electricity in the UK and US, with AI-driven energy demand rising 15 percent globally in two years and sparking community resistance.
№ 16 Fast Company

The app this Nebraska roofing company built to help its business has become a super tool for contractors nationwide

CompanyCam, a job-site monitoring app built by a Nebraska roofing company, has become a widely adopted tool for contractors nationwide and is valued at nearly $2 billion.
№ 17 Fast Company

This tiny Maine town used AI to make a new logo. Its residents had other ideas

Residents of a small Maine town rejected an AI-generated logo, blocking its adoption in a state where major data center construction is now banned.
№ 18 The New York Times

Tired of Hacked Passwords? Help Is on the Way.

Apple, Google and other companies offer apps to help users secure their online accounts with new authentication methods as password hacking remains a persistent threat.
№ 19 The Verge

Data centers are coming for rural America

Data centers are expanding into rural America, with companies converting former industrial facilities like closed paper mills into massive computing infrastructure for AI operations.
№ 20 Financial Times

SoftBank profits surge on $25bn gain for OpenAI stake

SoftBank reported a $25 billion gain on its OpenAI stake, driving net income to $11.6 billion in the fourth quarter, far exceeding analyst expectations.
№ 21 The Guardian

Chelsea flower show garden designers clash over use of AI

Garden designers at the Chelsea Flower Show are clashing over AI-generated designs after an award-winning designer launched an app that automates landscape planning.
№ 22 TechCrunch

Medicare’s new payment model is built for AI, and most of the tech world has no idea

Medicare's new payment model is designed to compensate AI agents that monitor patients between visits, coordinate care and manage medications for the first time.
№ 23 The New York Times

Anthropic in Talks to Raise Funding at a $950 Billion Valuation

Anthropic is in talks to raise funding at a $950 billion valuation, up from $380 billion previously, as the startup develops powerful AI models and navigates Pentagon disputes.
№ 24 The Verge

Sam Altman was winning on the stand, but it might not be enough

Sam Altman testified in his own defense against Elon Musk's lawsuit, though his testimony may not be sufficient to overcome weeks of witness accounts questioning his credibility.

Headlines