We popped off with today’s issue, not gonna lie.

Big news from Apple.

Sad news from Microsoft.

…news…from Zoom.

Here we go.

🤖 Top Stories

😬 Microsoft wants a monopoly on AI

Did Microsoft learn nothing from losing its antitrust case against Netscape?

Guess not.

Backstory: Bing isn’t strictly a Microsoft search engine. Other popular search engines like Yahoo and DuckDuckGo license it. They use its web index as the backbone of their own search offerings.

So, once AI-powered search started to gain steam, the inevitable happened. These companies used Bing’s index to make their own AI.

That isn’t cool, according to Microsoft.

It’s “against their contract.” Contract schmontract.

Here's the problem: there are no alternatives. Google and Bing are the only two companies who index the web. And Google doesn’t license access to theirs.

This isn’t quite like Microsoft’s famous battle against Netscape in the 90s.

Still, though, we’d recommend Satya Nadella be careful what he says in his emails.

👀 Zoom IQ is its (predictable) AI layer for conferencing

Just take a second to guess what AI features Zoom announced.

We bet you can.

Okay, here’s the answer.

Surprised? We aren’t either.

I don’t want to waste your time commenting on this.

This is exactly what we’d expect as an AI layer for a video conferencing company.

What’s interesting is what people will do once they don’t have to write meeting notes, or make agendas.

🤯 Apple makes a move in AI, but not what you’d expect

Well, everyone, it finally happened.

After months of lurking in the shadows, Apple made an AI play.

A new AI model? Certainly not. AI-powered iOS? Not even close.

Functioning Siri? As-if.

Nope. They quietly acquired a startup that uses machine learning for better video compression.

They also didn’t even publicly confirm it. We had to find out through the LinkedIn post of a middle manager at the startup.

Apple’s acquisitions are usually pretty quiet. Some notable exceptions include Beats, Shazam, and Dark Sky. RIP Dark Sky.

So why the buy?

WaveOne accomplishes AI-powered video compression that “knows” what is in a frame. When compressing the video, it prioritizes faces and important objects over background. This can save expensive bandwidth when streaming.

Important to Apple? Undoubtedly. Interesting? Not nearly as much as everything else going on in AI recently.

Like Zoom AI. Now THERE’S a fresh feature!

😎 AI tools, tips, links

1. Bing AI now supports 20 chats. Learn more

2. Custom AI playlists from text prompts. Learn more

3. Alpha on how to use ChatGPT. Learn more

4. Document an earthquake that never happened, using AI. Learn more

5. AI pope fooled a LOT of people. Learn more

It’s too true.

🤖 Got feedback for us?

Head over to our Twitter, @RobotRockDaily, and let us know what you’d like to see more or less of.