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adh0c.bsky.social
Ad Hoc
@adh0c.bsky.social
18 followers 28 following 170 posts
quintessential nexus of intellectual perturbation & cerebral tumult, wherein the most labyrinthine, intricately convoluted, configurations & architectures of probabilistic uncertainty & stochastic ambiguity, coalesce & converge, to manifest their most...
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Reposted by Ad Hoc
lorak.bsky.social
On X on Jan. 12, 2026, Elon Musk responded to a News from Google / joint statement with Apple that said the two mobile giants had entered into a "multi-year collaboration" where Apple would build AI foundation models on Google's Gemini models and cloud tech to power Apple Intelligence features. Musk's reply said, "This seems like unreasonable concentration of power for Google, given that the [sic] also have Android and Chrome"
January 12, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Ad Hoc
lorak.bsky.social
A seemingly jealous Elon Musk posted on cue after this news:
www.cnbc.com/2026/01/12/a... (see screenshot below)
Apple picks Google's Gemini to run AI-powered Siri coming this year
Google's market value surpassed Apple for the first time since 2019 as it rolls out updated artificial intelligence features.
www.cnbc.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:45 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
Apple has effectively admitted a major failure in internal innovation while prioritizing a lucrative financial relationship over its own branding regarding user privacy. 1. Apple Failed to Innovate in AI The most glaring subtext is that Apple, the world's most valuable tech company, missed the boat on the AI revolution and could not develop its own competitive Large Language Model (LLM) in time. Apple "messed up" and "failed big time," ultimately being forced to pay a competitor for services they could not build themselves. This partnership indicates that the next generation of "Apple Foundation Models" will actually be built on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology, rather than Apple's own proprietary tech. 2. Privacy is a Marketing Tool, Not an Absolute While Apple continues to promise "industry-leading privacy standards" and the use of "Private Cloud Compute," the "quiet part" is the inherent contradiction in partnering with a company "known to spy on all user interactions". The Conflict: Users expressed that they feel Apple is "selling our privacy out to Google" because it is difficult to see how Google won't eventually gain access to phone data if its models are integrated so deeply into the OS. The Incentive: One user pointed out the massive financial incentive: Apple receives a $20 billion check every year from Google just to keep them as the default search engine. This suggests the partnership is driven more by a multi-billion dollar business alliance than by a commitment to the best possible user experience or privacy. 3. Siri was a "Disaster" That Needed a Bailout Siri has been a failure for years. Apple is leveraging Google’s technology to power a "more personalized Siri" because the previous versions lacked "personal context" and "on-screen awareness". For power users, the "ALL NEW Siri" being marketed as "Siri for pros" is seen as a desperate attempt to fix a product that many users had already "turned off" or labeled a "disaster". 4. Apple is Bec…
January 12, 2026 at 9:14 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/02d4...
Alphabet hits $4tn valuation on AI hopes
Deal with Apple fuels investor optimism over Big Tech group’s competitiveness with OpenAI’s ChatGPT
www.ft.com
January 12, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Ad Hoc
uzionmain.bsky.social
This is extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely funny. blog.google/company-news...
Joint statement from Google and Apple
Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google's Gemini models and clou…
blog.google
January 12, 2026 at 6:27 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
The "Personal Semantic Index" A key technical concept behind the revamped Siri is the Personal Semantic Index, which functions as an "information graph" of a user’s entire digital life. Deep Integration: Unlike a simple chatbot, this model will be able to query a user's emails, messages, photos, calendar, and third-party app data (via "App Intents") to perform complex tasks, such as tracking a mother's flight based on info in Mail. The Moat: While Google has the models, Apple's advantage is having all this personal data in one place, whereas Google’s data is often fragmented across separate services like Drive and Gmail. Privacy "Theater" vs. Private Cloud Compute A major point of contention is whether this deal compromises user privacy. Apple's Defense: Apple maintains that Gemini will run on Private Cloud Compute (PCC), meaning the models will be hosted on Apple’s own servers, and Google will reportedly have no access to user data. The Skeptics: Critics describe this as "Apple's privacy theater," arguing that partnering with a "tracking hound" like Google is fundamentally at odds with Apple's brand. Some users are so concerned they have vowed to disable Siri entirely once the update launches. Memorable Quotes and Comparisons The Historical Parallel: Many observers compare this deal to the early iPhone era when Google Maps was the default. One user noted, "Alex, I'll take 'Headlines one never would have read under Steve Jobs' for $2 Trillion". Management Critique: One source suggested Apple management has become an "out-of-control herd of cats with no clear strategy," leading to this reliance on an external provider. The Commodity Argument: Some experts argue this is a "smart move," as it allows Apple to avoid burning "10 years of cash flow" on training costs while maintaining the high-margin user relationship. Projected Launch The Gemini-powered Siri is expected to debut with iOS 26.4, likely seeing a public release in March or April.
January 12, 2026 at 9:03 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
www.macrumors.com/2026/01/12/g...
Google Gemini Partnership With Apple Will Go Beyond Siri Revamp
Apple and Google today announced that Google Gemini will help power not only a more personalized version of Siri, but a range of future Apple Intelligence features. "Apple and Google have entered into...
www.macrumors.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:56 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
4. The iPhone as a "Dumb Terminal" Apple is pivoting from being an innovator of core intelligence to a "premium 'last mile' delivery network" for someone else’s technology. Rather than owning the intelligence, Apple is optimizing the hardware to run distilled versions of Google’s models. This turns the iPhone into a high-end terminal for Google's services, a move some compared to the "Maps all over again" scenario, where Apple initially relied on Google before a disastrous attempt to go independent. 5. Admission of Siri's Decade of Failure By replacing Siri's backend with Gemini, Apple is tacitly admitting that Siri has been "in a state of disrepair" for over a decade. Despite being one of the first assistants on the market, it is frequently described as "utterly awful," an "abomination," and "hilariously bad". Apple could not fix Siri's core functionality—like playing an album or setting a reliable timer—using its own technology, even after 15 years of development. In essence, the partnership is a "brain transplant" performed out of necessity, proving that even with a trillion-dollar valuation, Apple cannot buy its way out of a decade of software stagnation without the help of its "mortal enemy".
January 12, 2026 at 8:53 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
Apple has effectively admitted defeat in the generative AI race and is now forced to "rent the brains" of its biggest competitor to save its most failing product. While the official statement frames the partnership as a "careful evaluation" of the "most capable foundation,"l several uncomfortable truths are behind the corporate rhetoric: 1. Internal Incompetence and Mismanagement Apple’s decision to use Google Gemini is an explicit acknowledgement of internal failure. Commenters note that Apple wasted years and billions on the "Vapour Car project" while missing the AI revolution, leading to a "spectacular failure in project management". Critics argue that Apple lacks the talent, culture, and compute infrastructure required to train a state-of-the-art (SOTA) model, making them "rudderless" without outside help. One source bluntly states that the company simply "isn't capable" of building a competitive Large Language Model (LLM) itself. 2. The "Privacy Theater" Compromise For years, Apple has used privacy as a primary marketing differentiator against Google. However, by powering Siri with Gemini, Apple is partnering with a company described as a "tracking hound" and a "privacy rapist". While Apple claims these models will run on their "Private Cloud Compute," skeptics describe this as "privacy theater" - a way to wrap Google’s data-hungry "brain" in a clean Apple-branded shell. Apple is willing to risk its core brand promise of privacy because Siri has become so "stupendously dumb" that they have no other choice to remain competitive. 3. A Duopoly to Stifle Competition The partnership is seen as a strategic move to maintain the status quo and block AI startups like OpenAI, Anthropic, or Perplexity from gaining a foothold on the world's most valuable mobile real-line. By teaming up, the two mobile OS giants are creating a "new search deal" for the AI era, essentially ensuring that even when Apple "fails" to innovate, it can use its platform power to "win-by-outsourcing…
January 12, 2026 at 8:47 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
arstechnica.com/apple/2026/0...
Apple chooses Google’s Gemini over OpenAI’s ChatGPT to power next-gen Siri
Apple goes with Google's tech despite using OpenAI's ChatGPT elsewhere in iOS.
arstechnica.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:39 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
The "New" Siri Experience Personalized Intelligence: The revamped Siri is expected to launch with iOS 26.4 around March or April. It will feature "on-screen awareness" and "personal context," allowing it to perform actions like finding a mother's flight information based on details from Mail and Messages. Orchestration Layer: A key "moat" for Apple is its Personal Semantic Index and App Intent Layer. This allows Siri to chain actions across first- and third-party apps—for example, querying a flight in a third-party travel app and then routing the user there in Maps. White Labeling: Unlike the previous ChatGPT integration, which felt like an opt-in extension, Gemini will be deeply integrated as the "engine" under the hood. Competitive and Legal Implications Antitrust Concerns: Critics argue this deal reinforces a duopoly between Apple and Google in the mobile OS market, potentially stifling competition from smaller AI labs like OpenAI or Anthropic. The "Maps" Precedent: Many observers compare this to the early days of the iPhone when Google Maps was the default provider. Some speculate this is a stopgap measure while Apple continues to refine its own in-house cloud models. OpenAI's Setback: This move is seen as a blow to OpenAI, which had previously been the primary partner for Apple Intelligence. Some sources suggest OpenAI may have lacked the necessary compute scale to satisfy Apple’s requirements. Community Sentiment Frustration with "Old" Siri: There is a broad consensus that current Siri is "objectively bad" and has regressed over the years, with users citing its inability to handle basic tasks like playing a specific album or setting simple timers without error. Privacy Skepticism: Despite the PCC safeguards, many users remain wary of any collaboration with Google, citing Google's history as a "tracking hound".
January 12, 2026 at 8:38 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
www.theinformation.com/briefings/ap...
Apple Partners with Google for Upcoming Siri Overhaul
Apple has struck a multi-year partnership with Alphabet-owned Google to help the iPhone maker get its artificial intelligence products back on track. Google’s Gemini will power the company’s Apple Int...
www.theinformation.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:36 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
In a significant strategic shift, Apple has officially confirmed that Google Gemini will power the next-generation version of Siri, slated for release later this year. This partnership, described by Apple as a "multi-year collaboration," marks a departure from Apple's typical "Not-Invented-Here" philosophy and positions Google as the foundational engine for future Apple Intelligence features. Strategic Rationale and Financials The "Most Capable Foundation": Apple determined that Google’s technology offers the strongest foundation for its models, largely because Gemini’s large language model is significantly larger than Apple’s own proprietary models. The $1 Billion Deal: While not explicitly detailed in the press release, reports indicate that Apple is paying Google approximately $1 billion per year for this custom version of Gemini. Avoidance of Capex: Experts suggest Apple is pivoting to become a premium "last mile" delivery network for intelligence. By leasing Gemini, Apple avoids the massive capital expenditures (estimated in the billions) required to train "frontier" models from scratch, allowing Google to shoulder the power and hardware costs. Shift in Market Power: Following the news, Google's market value reportedly surpassed Apple's for the first time since 2019, touching $4 trillion. Privacy and Technical Implementation Private Cloud Compute (PCC): To maintain its privacy standards, Apple will run Gemini on its own Private Cloud Compute servers and on-device. Users generally won't be sending their data directly to Google’s servers; instead, the model runs within Apple's infrastructure. On-Device vs. Cloud: Simpler tasks will continue to be handled on-device to maximize privacy and speed, while more complex queries will be routed to the Gemini-powered cloud. Hardware Efficiency: Google’s TPUs (Tensor Processing Units) are noted as a major competitive advantage, providing highly efficient inference that helps lower the cost of running such massive models.
January 12, 2026 at 8:35 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
9to5mac.com/2026/01/12/a...
Apple confirms Google's Gemini will power new Siri features - 9to5Mac
Apple has confirmed that it is teaming up with Google to use Gemini models to power future Siri and Apple...
9to5mac.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:33 PM
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stevekovach.bsky.social
Big win for Google, big loss for OpenAI.

Apple previously said OpenAI had the "best" AI system with ChatGPT, which is why Apple integrated it with Siri. But the Siri-ChatGPT experience is... um... suboptimal.

So now it's Google's turn.

www.cnbc.com/2026/01/12/a...
Apple picks Google's Gemini to run AI-powered Siri coming this year
Google's market value surpassed Apple for the first time since 2019 last week and topped $4 trillion on the news.
www.cnbc.com
January 12, 2026 at 3:39 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
@craignewmark.bsky.social "There is a grim acknowledgement that Craigslist's survival depends entirely on its leadership remaining "uncorruptible" until they die."
3. The "Free" Internet is Dying Behind a Paywall Though praised for being a "free" service, users point out that Craigslist’s decision to start charging for certain posts (like cars and job gigs) significantly damaged its ecosystem. Charging for listings—such as $50 for a service ad—has made the site "pretty much useless" for many small providers, leaving only the most expensive options. Some users argue the site "died when they started charging" because it drove away the casual, "honest" traffic that made the "old internet" feel alive. 4. It is a "Powerhouse" in Sharp Decline While the site remains enormously profitable due to its tiny staff of roughly 50 people, the "quiet part" is its plummeting revenue. Estimated revenue dropped from $1 billion in 2018 to roughly $300 million in 2024. Critics suggest that the current user base is "dying off" and that no one in their 30s knows what the site is, implying that the business model may not survive the next generation. 5. Innovation is Now a Threat The site's refusal to change is its biggest selling point, but it also makes it increasingly fragile. Devotees worry that if the site ever tries to "innovate" or "go AI," it will lose its last remaining reason to exist. There is a grim acknowledgement that the site’s survival depends entirely on its leadership remaining "uncorruptible" until they die.
January 9, 2026 at 7:31 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
@craignewmark.bsky.social "the real freaks come out on Craigslist"; philosophical purity rarely wins against convenience; the "Facebook Marketplace paradox".
Craigslist’s status as a utopian, "ungentrified" relic means that its purity often translates into a lack of utility and safety for the average modern user. While tech enthusiasts celebrate its rejection of algorithms, many everyday users have quietly abandoned it because the very features it lacks - vetting, accountability, and a massive user base - are exactly what they need to get things done. 1. The "Purity" is Code for "Sketchy" While fans call the site "earnest," others admit that "the real freaks come out on Craigslist". The site’s refusal to implement public profiles or rating systems has left it with a persistent stigma of being a haven for scammers, "sketchy" characters, and even serial killers. For many, the lack of a "hidden toll" of data means there is also no "safety net" for verification. 2. We Hate Facebook, But We Use It Anyway The most uncomfortable truth found in user discussions is the "Facebook Marketplace paradox". Users frequently state they "hate social media" and "enshittification," yet they admit that Facebook Marketplace is "straight up easier to use" and has far more listings and responses. On Craigslist, buyers often find that sellers simply don't respond to inquiries. In many regions, Craigslist is described as "not as busy as it once was," with listings being less than half as active as they were 15 years ago. philosophical purity rarely wins against convenience.
January 9, 2026 at 7:29 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
doc.searls.com/2026/01/08/h...
How the Past Models the Future
This is a PageXray of Craigslist.org: I ran it after reading Is Craigslist the Last Real Place on the Internet? by Jennifer Swann in Wired. It shows Craigslist doing no tracking at all. This totall…
doc.searls.com
January 9, 2026 at 7:12 PM
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craignewmark.bsky.social
Very kind article via Jennifer Swann, particularly regarding insights from Jessa Lingel. (I need some way to remind people that the revenue stuff citation is totally sus.)

"It’s a utopian vision of a much earlier, far more earnest internet."

www.wired.com/story/is-cra...
January 8, 2026 at 12:06 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Renee Macklin Good’s wife says she nurtured kindness
On Wednesday, Renee Macklin Good was fatally shot by a federal ICE agent. Becca Good, her wife, shared the following statement with MPR News.
www.mprnews.org
January 9, 2026 at 6:33 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
2020 Academy of American Poets Prize
On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs by Renée Nicole Macklin i want back my rocking chairs, solipsist sunsets, & coastal jungle sounds that are tercets from cicadas and pentameter from the hairy legs of cockroaches. i’ve donated bibles to thrift stores (mashed them in plastic trash bags with an acidic himalayan salt lamp— the post-baptism bibles, the ones plucked from street corners from the meaty hands of zealots, the dumbed-down, easy-to-read, parasitic kind): remember more the slick rubber smell of high gloss biology textbook pictures; they burned the hairs inside my nostrils, & salt & ink that rubbed off on my palms. under clippings of the moon at two forty five AM I study&repeat ribosome endoplasmic— lactic acid stamen at the IHOP on the corner of powers and stetson hills— i repeated & scribbled until it picked its way & stagnated somewhere i can’t point to anymore, maybe my gut— maybe there in-between my pancreas & large intestine is the piddly brook of my soul. it’s the ruler by which i reduce all things now; hard-edged & splintering from knowledge that used to sit, a cloth against fevered forehead. can i let them both be? this fickle faith and this college science that heckles from the back of the classroom now i can’t believe— that the bible and qur’an and bhagavad gita are sliding long hairs behind my ear like mom used to & exhaling from their mouths “make room for wonder”— all my understanding dribbles down the chin onto the chest & is summarized as: life is merely to ovum and sperm and where those two meet and how often and how well and what dies there.
January 9, 2026 at 5:56 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
January 9, 2026 at 5:41 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
January 9, 2026 at 5:40 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
January 9, 2026 at 5:39 PM
adh0c.bsky.social
January 9, 2026 at 5:39 PM