Welcome back to your daily memorandum talking tech, business, AI, markets, and more. 🗞️

In today’s edition, we are tackling the following:

🧠 Wikipedia pauses AI pilot after editor backlash over hallucinated summaries.
🎮 Nintendo sells 3.5M Switch 2 consoles in just four days post-launch.
🌧️ South Africa declares disaster after floods kill at least 30 in Eastern Cape.
📉 U.S. inflation rises slightly in May as tariffs add price pressure.
🤖 UBTech deploys a humanoid robot swarm for real assembly tasks in China.

TECHNOLOGY

• Wikipedia pauses AI-generated summaries pilot after editors protest

  • Wikipedia halted its two-week AI summary test just one day in, following strong backlash from volunteer editors.

  • The summaries, shown to 10% of mobile users with a yellow ‘unverified’ label, raised concerns over hallucinations and credibility.

  • The foundation remains open to AI features aimed at improving accessibility, despite retracting the current rollout.

• OpenAI releases o3‑pro, a souped‑up version of its o3 AI reasoning model

  • O3-pro brings enhanced capabilities, including real-time web search, file parsing, Python support, memory management, and visual reasoning.

  • Early reviewers rate o3‑pro significantly higher in instruction-following, clarity, and domain-specific accuracy.

  • The upgraded model is now available to ChatGPT Pro and Team users, with Enterprise and Education access scheduled to roll out next week.

• Nintendo sells record 3.5 million Switch 2 consoles in four days

  • Nintendo sold over 3.5 million Switch 2 units within four days of its June 5 launch, marking its fastest hardware debut.

  • The hybrid console features a larger 7.9″ 1080p/120 Hz LCD screen, 4K docked output, and improved Joy-Con 2 controls.

  • Priced at $449.99 and bundled with Mario Kart World, Nintendo aims to sell 15 million units by March 2026.

BUSINESS

• U.S. CPI rises modestly in May, pressure from tariffs

  • U.S. consumer prices climbed 0.1% in May, pushing headline CPI to a 2.4% increase year-over-year.

  • Core CPI (excluding food and energy) rose 0.1% monthly and 2.8% annually, the highest in four months.

  • Economists warn that import tariffs are fanning inflation and dimming hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

• Starbucks’ Howard Schultz backs CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround strategy

  • Former CEO Howard Schultz praised Niccol’s ‘Back to Starbucks’ plan, saying he ‘did a cartwheel’ at its unveiling.

  • Niccol, hired in 2024, is focusing on cafe hospitality, menu revamp, and operational improvements across North America.

  • Schultz’s public endorsement adds credibility as Starbucks aims to reverse recent sales declines.

• China’s rare-earth shortage ripples through global supply chains

  • China’s export curbs on rare-earth elements threaten global industries relying on magnets in EVs, electronics, and defense.

  • U.S. and European automakers warn of potential production delays and consider stockpiling to mitigate supply risks.

  • Critical mineral scarcity is driving trade tensions and accelerating efforts to develop domestic processing outside China.

MARKETS

WORLD

• South Africa declares a disaster as Eastern Cape floods kill dozens

  • Heavy rains triggered flash floods in the Eastern Cape, killing at least 30 people and destroying homes and roads.

  • Rescue operations are underway as officials work to restore power, clear debris, and provide emergency shelter.

  • The provincial government declared a disaster zone and is mobilizing national relief funds and support.

• Northern Ireland sees renewed riots in Ballymena after parade row

  • Riots erupted in Ballymena following a controversial parade, with protesters clashing and setting cars on fire.

  • Police used water cannons and baton charges to disperse crowds angry over perceived cultural provocation.

  • Authorities are imposing temporary curfews and increasing patrols as tensions flare in the unionist community.

• New images reveal $17bn treasure trove aboard sunken galleon San José

  • High-resolution scans of the San José wreck off Colombia show gold, silver, and emerald cargo valued at $17 billion.

  • The images capture cannons and chests scattered across the seabed, confirming the ship’s 1708 sinking site.

  • Colombian authorities plan a preservation strategy that balances historical study with cultural and legal claims.

CONTENT

• Cursor CEO: Going Beyond Code, Superintelligent AI Agents, And Why Taste Still Matters

  • Michael Truell shares Cursor’s journey from false starts to building a tool that could replace programming entirely.

  • He discusses the challenges of scaling, early hiring strategy, and why product ‘taste’ remains a critical differentiator.

  • The episode explores agentic AI, new coding paradigms, and how Cursor aligns with the future of creative software.

• "$100M brands are being built for boring products" – Harley Finkelstein

  • Shopify’s Harley Finkelstein explains how simple products like soap and tea can anchor billion-dollar consumer brands.

  • He emphasizes storytelling, niche focus, and repetition as tools to stand out and scale in saturated markets.

  • The conversation also touches on Shopify's internal AI plans, storytelling as strategy, and longevity as a founder's edge.

• DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis on how AI is reshaping Google

  • Demis Hassabis discusses DeepMind’s latest models and how they aim to solve reasoning, planning, and creativity.

  • He outlines AI’s role in transforming healthcare, education, and work, and predicts what daily life might look like by 2030.

  • The interview also dives into AGI risks, scaling challenges, and how Google is preparing for an AI-first future.

FUTURISM

• Bio-mimetic robotic hand seamlessly integrates tactile feedback

  • The F-TAC Hand uses 17 high-resolution sensors across 70% of its palm for 0.1 mm touch precision.

  • It employs probabilistic algorithms, enabling 19 different grasp styles and adapting within 100 ms to new object shapes.

  • In 600 tests, it improved grasp success from about 54% to 100%, boosting dexterity in real-world handling tasks.

• China orders trial of aged care robots that can provide emotional support

  • China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched trials across 20 locations with at least 200 elder-care robots.

  • Bots will assist with cooking, cleaning, walking support, emotional companionship, feeding, and toileting tasks.

  • The trials aim to alleviate caregiver shortages and enhance elderly well-being in community and institutional homes.

• World’s first humanoid robot swarm tackles complex factory tasks

  • UBTech deployed multiple Walker S1 humanoids in a Zhejiang EV plant to perform assembly, inspection, and instrumentation tasks.

  • Using a 5G-enabled BrainNet AI system, robots share a central ‘super brain’ for task coordination and skill transfer.

  • The fleet marks the world’s first multi-robot, multi-task humanoid collaboration in an industrial setting, accelerating deployment goals for 2025.

EXTRAS

• U.S. government’s vaccine website defaced with AI-generated content

  • A Department of Health vaccine site was hijacked and repurposed to host AI-generated LGBTQ+ spam since at least May 12.

  • The incident is linked to a broader spam campaign that also affected NPR, Nvidia, and Stanford domains.

  • No group has claimed responsibility, and U.S. authorities have not publicly responded or commented on remediation efforts.

• Amazon now offers AI-generated video ads for U.S. sellers

  • Amazon launched a free AI tool enabling sellers to produce 21‑second photorealistic video ads in under five minutes.

  • Features include multi‑scene generation, motion effects, text overlays, music, and image‑to‑video clip creation.

  • The tool also auto‑summarizes existing content into new ads, potentially changing the look of online advertising.

• Disney and Universal sue Midjourney over AI copyright infringement

  • Disney and Universal filed a 110‑page lawsuit accusing Midjourney of generating unauthorized images of iconic characters.

  • The studios seek damages, a jury trial, and an injunction to prevent further AI‑driven copyright violations.

  • They argue Midjourney's model is a ‘bottomless pit of plagiarism,’ demanding accountability for intellectual property misuse.

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