(Preview) A Spring Break Mailbag: RIP Sora, Ads and Surplus, F1 Going in Reverse, Elon Inc., Smartphone Parenting, and More

More from Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

1. 

   17 Apr 2026 · 24 min

   (Preview) Six Questions on Frontier AI Labs, Messaging AI to a Skeptical Public, Amazon (and Apple?) Ramps Up Competition with Elon

   Ben and Andrew begin with six emails on AI, including a question about the future of AI consumer demand, Gemini’s quiet few months, whether compute constraints should lead to price hikes, and divergent approaches to AGI at Anthropic and OpenAI. From there: An extended answer to a question about AI messaging in the face of widespread skepticism, an Einstein AI thought experiment, and extended thoughts on Amazon’s acquisition of Globalstar, Apple’s role, and what Amazon wants from LEO satellites. At the end: Emails on Allbirds and pivots, the ZIRP/NBA cap spike analogy for displaced…

2. 

   10 Apr 2026 · 22 min

   (Preview) Mythos and Project Glasswing, The Year of Anthropic Continues Apace, Q&A on the NYT, Altman, De-globalization

   Ben and Andrew begin with reactions to Anthropic’s Mythos announcement and Project Glasswing, including thoughts on the security risks, the business benefits of keeping this model private, lessons on the “Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and renewed focus on Anthropic’s relationship with the U.S. government. From there: Anthropic’s new deal with Broadcom and Google, a year of stunning Anthropic success that began in 2024, the threats that Anthropic poses to Microsoft, and where AI can and can’t help with taxes. At the end: How the New York Times is adapting to the future, understanding Sam Altman’s…

3. 

   3 Apr 2026 · 21 min

   (Preview) Five Questions on Apple at 50 Years Old, The Axios Hack and AI Security, Q&A on Starlink, AI IPOs, AirPods

   Ben and Andrew begin with Q&A on Apple after 50 years, including thoughts on Steve Jobs weaknesses, putting iTunes on Windows, the best Apple ads, Chinese manufacturing counterfactuals, and tech company Mount Rushmore. From there: Thoughts on Apple’s AI bet and the downside risk, the signs that Cupertino sees AI as a disruptive technology, and extended thoughts on the Axios hack and why why AI will make security issue worse in the short-term, but may be the solution in the long run. At the end: Delta chooses Amazon Leo over Starlink, two questions on Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs, why…

4. 

   19 Mar 2026 · 33 min

   (Preview) OpenAI’s Enterprise Pivot, The Rise of Agents and Bubble Counterpoints, Nvidia Changes Its Inference Story

   Ben and Andrew begin with the news that OpenAI is shifting away from “side quests” and allocating resources to the enterprise space, including Dropbox history to explain OpenAI’s present, lessons in the enterprise space generally (and what you learn in business school), and OpenAI taking cues from 1980s Microsoft. From there: Talking through Ben’s article on Monday, including the implications of agents and questions about integration as durable differentiation for Anthropic and OpenAI. At the end: Nvidia’s new messaging on inference chips and Groq integration, and a word about winters (and…

5. 

   13 Mar 2026 · 18 min

   (Preview) Nerding Out with the Neo, Claude and the Integration Question, The End of Coding Language History

   Ben and Andrew begin with the MacBook Neo, including Ben’s memory needs, Apple’s clever move to repurpose old iPhone chips, and the market for a $599 laptop. From there: A question about VisionOS, Andrew’s notes after six weeks of Vision Pro joy, and an extended discussion of Claude’s differentiation, harnessing, Microsoft’s AI strategy, and the future of integration and AI. At the end: A question on the end of coding language, what went wrong at the Washington Post, and being right points on AI group chats.

6. 

   6 Mar 2026 · 29 min

   (Preview) The Anthropic Mess Continues, Frontier AI and the Uncertain Future of Law, Q&A on Netflix, Dating Apps, F1

   Ben and Andrew react to a week of Anthropic discussion, including Dario Amodei’s leaked memo to employees, why a compromise is still possible, and answering a variety of questions in response to Ben’s article this week. At the end: A terrible AI law for young parents, surveying the implications for Netflix after Paramount wins the Warner Brothers bidding, a dispatch from dating app hell, a question about feeds on chatbots, should Google be the model for ChatGPT ads?, and thoughts on the business of F1 and the new season.

7. 

   9 Oct 2026 · 30 minNew

   (Preview) Two Paths for Apple and Its Users, More on Amazon and Advertising, OpenAI and 722 Mathematical Manuscripts

   Andrew and Ben begin with reflections on Ben’s changing relationship with the Mac and two markets that may ultimately be impossible to serve with one product and operating system. Then: Why Apple’s plans for your living room make sense, reactions to the Duo, and the near-term outlook for humanoid robots in the home. From there: More specifics on why agents put certain types of advertising at risk, thoughts on Amazon adopting a YouTube Premium model, and a question about product pricing that spawns a lesson in advertising, generally. Then: Reactions to OpenAI’s math progress, anxiety among…

8. 

   2 Oct 2026 · 23 min

   (Preview) All About Agents: Dots Arrive, Google and Apple Questions, Muse Follow-Ups, Super Intelligence, and the Mandate of Heaven

   Ben and Andrew begin with a note on VIM and reactions to a confusing product launch from OpenAI at Dev Day earlier this week. Then: Will personal agents be a winner-take-all market? What can Apple and Google do in the consumer agent space? Will normal people take longer than expected to adopt these products? And did Meta’s push into the enterprise break the company’s hot streak? From there: Emails on the future of payments, “super intelligence” branding for AI, America.gov, and firing Dario Amodei. At the end: AI Show & Tell with notes on generational adoption shifts (and Tamagotchis), movie…

9. 

   25 Sep 2026 · 26 min

   (Preview) Three Weeks of Meta Momentum, The Ultimate Muse Upside, A King Kong vs. Godzilla Aggregator War

   Ben and Andrew begin with the Meta Connect keynote and a simple question: is this the first time since 2021 that Meta has been cool? From there, new VR glasses, the Muse Charm, a basketball analogy for Meta Connect in 2026, and the infrastructure and talent investments that have helped Muse resonate over the past few weeks. Then: An emailer shares his Muse epiphany, a potential secondary effect of agents saving users money, why Muse is not sharing user data with Meta, and the ultimate “aggregator of aggregators” upside. Then: Extended thoughts on the Muse vs. Amazon tensions, why Meta’s…

10. 

    18 Sep 2026 · 33 min

    (Preview) Doom Debates Go Mainstream, AI Religion and the Economic Future, Several Vectors of the China Question

    On today’s Ben and Andrew begin with Andrew’s article on AI alarmism, the primacy of the effective altruists in AI risk conversations, and why these discussions are exhausting without more evidence, even as AI risk becomes the biggest story in American politics. From there: A distinction between regulation malaise five years ago and where we are today, the grind of modern software, and questions responding to Ben’s Update on Monday, including thoughts on why OpenAI and Anthropic won’t unilaterally slow down, why Sam Altman and Elon Musk were incentivized to agree with Dario Amodei, and an…

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