Apple's M5 chip, Walmart's AI power play & more (October 15, 2025)

Good morning,

From Apple’s powerful M5 launch to Walmart’s deepening partnership with OpenAI, today’s stories show how AI is redefining both hardware and retail. Meanwhile, the growing flood of AI-generated “slop” is testing how we measure truth online.

Let's dig in👇

💰 Money Moves

💾 Apple rolls out new devices powered by the M5 chip

Apple unveiled its latest M5-powered lineup, including MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro upgrades. The chip delivers major improvements in AI processing and graphics performance, targeting creative professionals and enterprise users. With this move, Apple strengthens its position in the AI hardware race and pressures competitors across consumer and business markets.

🛒 Walmart on path to a trillion-dollar valuation with OpenAI

A Bloomberg report reveals Walmart’s expanding partnership with OpenAI to integrate generative AI into logistics, marketing, and customer engagement. The collaboration is driving efficiency and new shopping experiences powered by conversational agents and predictive analytics. Walmart’s AI momentum positions it to become one of the world’s first trillion-dollar retailers.

📰 AI slop nears human content on the web

A Futurism report warns that AI-generated “slop” is becoming indistinguishable from human-written content. The flood of synthetic material is overwhelming moderation systems and eroding trust in online media. As detection tools lag, platforms may face mounting pressure to label AI content and restore transparency.

🚀 New Launches

🫣 OpenAI to allow erotica on ChatGPT

OpenAI plans to permit adult-oriented creative content under new consent and moderation rules. The shift reflects growing demand for expressive freedom in AI-generated storytelling. It also signals OpenAI’s evolving balance between user autonomy and responsible guardrails.

🤝 Amazon and Carnegie Mellon University launch strategic AI innovation hub

Amazon and Carnegie Mellon University announced the creation of a joint AI Innovation Hub to accelerate research in generative AI, robotics, NLP, and cloud computing. The partnership is backed by Amazon’s funding and CMU’s interdisciplinary strengths, aiming to translate foundational research into real-world systems. Over time, the Hub could become a major pipeline for future AI breakthroughs and commercial spinouts.

⭐ Perplexity now available as a default search engine on Firefox

Firefox officially added Perplexity AI as a built-in search option, giving millions of users direct access to conversational search. This marks a major leap in AI search adoption and a direct challenge to Google’s dominance. It also reflects a larger trend toward copilots that synthesize information rather than simply index it.

🧰 Tools of the Day

→ Emergent - Advanced AI app builder that ships full-stack apps
→ ツSupercut v1.0 - Blazing fast, AI-powered video messaging for teams
→ Flask - Notion + Loom for video collaboration

✍️ Prompt of the Day

“You’re my editorial strategist. Review this AI-generated article [paste it] and rewrite it to maintain its ideas but sound human, natural, and emotionally engaging. Keep formatting and tone consistent with a professional newsletter.”

⚡ Quick Hits

→ BlackRock and Nvidia lead a $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers
→ HONOR launched its AI-flagship Magic8 series featuring the new YOYO Agent
→ Goldman Sachs plans further job cuts as it pursues AI-driven efficiency
→ Outfront, AWS announce AI partnership to digitize OOH | OUT stock news.

🧾 TLDR

Apple’s M5 chips kick AI hardware into overdrive, Walmart’s OpenAI partnership is redefining retail at scale, and the rise of AI “slop” tests our ability to discern real from artificial. Meanwhile, Firefox integrates Perplexity, OpenAI expands creative freedom, and Amazon builds on campuses. The future of AI isn’t coming, it’s compounding.

Cheers,
David