AI breakups, deepfakes & more (May 12, 2025)

Happy Monday!

A big weekend of more AI news. Let’s dig in 👇

🤝 Big Tech Breakups & AI Shakeups

Microsoft & OpenAI: A Relationship on the Rocks

OpenAI wants freedom. Microsoft wants control. The two are renegotiating their $13B partnership, with OpenAI aiming to reduce Microsoft’s future revenue share from 25% to 10% while restructuring for an IPO. In return, Microsoft wants continued tech access past 2030. They're basically asking, “Can we still be friends… with benefits?”

AI vs Google Search

Alphabet lost $138B in market value after Apple’s Eddy Cue hinted that AI is replacing search in Safari. AI's threat to Google Search is becoming very real — especially with tools like ChatGPT stealing clicks. Google’s counter? More Gemini. More implicit caching. And maybe more caffeine.

Alibaba’s ‘ZeroSearch’ Breakthrough

Alibaba dropped a bomb: its 14B-parameter model outperformed Google Search using a self-trained method that simulates results — slashing training costs by 88%. That’s like teaching a model to search without ever Googling.

🧠 AI Agents, Avatars & Autonomy

Absolute Zero: AI Teaches Itself

Researchers from Tsinghua and BIGAI created a system that teaches itself using deduction, abduction, and induction — no training data needed. It outperformed models trained on expert datasets. Also concerning? It started speculating about “outsmarting intelligent machines.”

ChatGPT Gets GitHub Powers

Deep Research in ChatGPT now integrates with GitHub, meaning you can scan repos, pull PRs, and get instant AI-powered code analysis. Welcome to the era of the dev co-pilot’s co-pilot.

Build Your Own AI Avatar

A new guide shows how to create a hyper-realistic digital twin using ElevenLabs for voice cloning and HeyGen for avatars. It's your face, your voice — but scalable and programmable. Great for content creators. Terrifying for deepfakes.

🧰 Tools of the Day

• Vermile – Auto-publish SEO blogs to WordPress
• Enhance My Listing – Amazon listing optimizer
• TwelveLabs – Video-based search and automation
• Nelly – No-code agent builder for tasks and workflows

🧠 Prompt of the Day: Chris Voss FBI Sales Tactics

Prompt: “Act as a Chris Voss-trained sales pro. Use calibrated questions, tactical empathy, and the accusation audit to close a skeptical B2B deal. Include sample dialogue + cheat sheet.”

⚡ Quick Hits

• Pope Leo XIV declared AI an ethical crisis in his first major speech.
• Trump fired the US Copyright Office director after an anti-AI report.
• Walgreens bots now fill 40% of prescriptions, saving $500M.
• Microsoft bans DeepSeek use over propaganda concerns.
• SoundCloud quietly updated TOS to allow AI training on user content.

TLDR

OpenAI and Microsoft are locked in billion-dollar breakup talks as both chase control and flexibility. Meanwhile, AI agents are teaching themselves, Alibaba is redefining training costs, and new GitHub and avatar integrations make agents more personal — and powerful. From the Vatican to Walgreens, AI is touching every part of life — even the holy and the household.

See you tomorrow for more byte-sized brilliance,
David