🚊 All aboard: The rail system in Japan is amazing. Now, passengers can use facial recognition to pay for tickets. Here’s how it works: Book a seat online and register an image of your face. When you get to the gate, a tablet scans your face and prints out a seat number — no waiting. Don’t be surprised if this tech makes its way to the U.S. for airline tickets.
What you need to know about DeepSeek
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I’ve been saying it for years: The country that masters AI will dominate the world economically, politically and militarily. Since ChatGPT dropped, the U.S. seemed untouchable. Most of us Americans assumed we were a couple of years ahead of China in terms of AI, but the game has changed — and fast.
The latest version of DeepSeek AI, an open-source model out of China, is so good, it tanked U.S. tech stock prices (Nvidia lost $593 billion in value!), shot to No. 1 in the Apple App Store overnight and now has the entire world wondering, “If this is what China is showing us, what’s next?”
Move over, OpenAI
DeepSeek was founded in May 2023 in Zhejiang, China. Its first models were nothing to write home about; the latest release, DeepSeek-V3, is another story.
It was developed in just 55 days, trained on 671 billion parameters and performs as well as (or better than) Meta’s Llama, OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 3.5 in math, coding and reasoning. Let that sink in. It took China just two months to beat the American giants.
The money is where it gets really interesting. OpenAI spent $5 billion on its model in just one year. Google shelled out $50 billion on AI development in 2024. Microsoft has invested $13 billion into AI partnerships.
What about DeepSeek? They spent $5.6 million. It’s a cheap Chinese knockoff.
How’d they do it?
China put together a group of young, ambitious, super-smart engineers and researchers who worked under strict limitations. The official story is they couldn’t use Nvidia’s top-tier H100 chips because of U.S. export restrictions. Instead, they worked with less powerful H800 chips.
Rumors suggest China started with over 10,000 super-powered H100 Nvidia AI chips purchased before the Biden administration’s sanctions kicked in. There are also whispers they stole OpenAI’s code as the foundation for DeepSeek-V3.
But here’s the thing: Even if they took someone else’s code, it doesn’t matter anymore. DeepSeek runs efficiently on far fewer chips, uses less electricity and is cheaper to operate than its American counterparts.
The real game-changer is right here
Why Trump and tech CEOs are together
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This past week, someone called me a “f***ing MAGA c***” in the comments for my newsletter, The Current. That reader didn’t leave a name (surprise) and clearly didn’t appreciate what I said about Stargate: “[The] announcement by President Trump, along with the biggest tech CEOs, is the most consequential technical project of the century.”
Face control on Chromebooks
This is incredible: Google’s new AI feature lets people control Chromebooks using only head and mouth movements. It’ll allow folks with motor impairments to move a cursor, select options and write type emails via text-to-speech. See it in action. So cool.
$2
That’s all an Indiana pizza delivery driver got after delivering a $40 order during a massive snowstorm. A police officer saw him, shared his story on TikTok and started a GoFundMe campaign. The goal was $500, but over $30,000 poured in. Thank goodness, he kneaded the dough. (Oh, that was so bad, it was good!)
It’s a TikTok account with 2.9 million followers that ranks sticks found in nature, from wizard staffs to twisted pieces of wood. It started as an inside joke between two buddies, Boone Hogg and Logan Jugler. They made a TikTok account, and, 12.5 million likes later, even celebs like Lin-Manuel Miranda are in on it.
A grave situation: People are turning to grief apps like Untangle to cope with the loss of loved ones. These apps let you connect with other mourners, share stories and get advice from AI chatbots. But what about data collection? Many of the apps’ developers sell your info to third parties, who could exploit your mental state.
He made a dumb mistake: A 26-year-old man with thinning hair found a drug called Finasteride in an online pharmacy and bought some without visiting his doctor first. Now, he’s dealing with sexual dysfunction and massive depression symptoms, even after quitting the meds. Get all prescription meds from your doctor.
$150 million
Asking price for Tom Brady’s mansion, complete with a basement bunker. The former NFL superstar bought a lot on Florida’s Indian Creek Island for $17 million in 2020. Property costs there skyrocketed thanks to Jeff Bezos, who bought three properties (paywall link) on the manmade barrier island.
Smart homes are getting smarter: Look into the future. New millimeter-wave (mmWave) tech detects movements so subtle, the sensors know when you’re breathing. You’ll be able to program them to dim the moment you plop down on the sofa for movie night. (Yeah, I thought that, too.) I wonder if you stop breathing, will your lights call 911?
Bill Gates swayed back and forth when I interviewed him: That was years ago. Now, the Microsoft co-founder believes he might’ve been diagnosed with autism if he’d been a kid in today’s world. In a recent interview, he explained autism once had a narrow definition but now includes a broader spectrum of conditions. Gates also mentioned his biggest regret: His divorce.
👎 IG snitch: Instagram now shows your friends all the videos you’ve liked. When scrolling through the Reels tab, you’ll notice small bubbles with your friends’ profile pictures and a little heart overlay in the bottom left corner. I’ll keep you posted if they add an option to turn it off.
The clock is TikTokking: President Trump is cooking up a plan to buy TikTok. The U.S. sovereign wealth fund would involve private equity players and taxpayer money. Communist China’s government refuses to include the algorithm with the sale, which is what makes TikTok so valuable. But U.S. tech titans say they can come up with their own.
🤯 Shocking AI news: DeepSeek, a Chinese company loaded with young, ambitious talent, is causing massive panic in Silicon Valley by releasing multiple AI models 50 times more efficient than the best American ones. DeepSeek’s models outperformed Meta’s Llama 3.1, OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 3.5 in everything from complex problem-solving to math and coding accuracy. Here’s the kicker: They built DeepSeek with $5.6 million; OpenAI spent $5.4 billion per year.
410 megapixels
What Canon managed to cram into a 35mm full-frame sensor. For perspective, it has a 24K resolution, 198 times sharper than HD. And no, it’s not coming to the consumer market anytime soon. It’s going to be used for surveillance so photos can be enlarged without losing their detail.
How this wildfire victim reunited with his dog
🎶 You’re simply the best: Tina Turner passed away in 2023, but a new song has been released with the 40th-anniversary edition of “Private Dancer.” The “lost” tune, “Hot for You Baby,” was cut from the original tracklist. Critics say it’s meh, but I think it’s classic Tina Turner and those amazing legs of hers! Take a listen and see what you think.
Isn’t this just cable? We’ve come full circle. Comcast’s new $70 monthly Sports & News TV streaming bundle includes live NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB games; over 50 channels, like ESPN, CNN and ABC; a Peacock subscription; and access to over 100 free streaming channels. If you want it, hit the Xfinity Stream app on your phone (iOS and Android) or smart TV.
✈️ Faster flights? Yes, please: If all goes well, an XB-1 commercial plane nicknamed the “Son of Concorde” will hit Mach 1, or about 767 miles per hour, and break the sound barrier next week. How will it feel as a passenger? No extreme g-forces — just a slight pull as it reaches supersonic speeds. You’ll be finishing your peanuts in the baggage claim!
Keep calm and robot on: This is something. OpenAI’s new Operator AI agent is like having a real personal assistant. Prompt it with something like, “Find me a family-friendly campsite at Joshua Tree this weekend,” and it’ll look up options, select dates, check pricing and even book it for you if you give the OK. Right now, it’s only available with ChatGPT Pro accounts ($200 per month). I’m going to try it next week when I have a spare moment.