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Welcome to The Prompt by Kuro House, your daily AI update. Today, we’re diving into some big moves from Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and the latest in AI labor struggles. Let’s get right into it.
First up, Google is trying to balance AI summaries with a healthy web ecosystem. According to The Verge, Google insists it won’t abandon the classic “10 blue links” search model that drives traffic to billions of publications worldwide. But user preferences are shifting towards contextual answers and summaries, so Google wants to provide those too, while still sending people back to valuable content on the internet. It’s a dynamic space, and Google’s goal is to keep the overall ecosystem healthy despite these changes.
Microsoft just rolled out free Copilot Chat features in its Office apps for all Microsoft 365 business users. The Verge reports this new sidebar in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote helps draft documents and analyze spreadsheets without needing an extra Copilot license. It’s content-aware, tailoring answers to the file you’re working on, and comes at no additional cost for Microsoft 365 users. That said, the premium $30 per month Copilot license still offers faster responses and advanced features like file uploads and image generation. This move makes AI assistance more accessible for businesses right now.
In labor news, WIRED reveals over 200 contractors working on Google’s AI products, including Gemini and AI Overviews, were laid off amid disputes over pay and working conditions. These workers, many with advanced degrees, helped rate and improve AI responses but faced job insecurity and alleged retaliation when trying to organize. Some claim that the company is training AI to replace human raters, while also restricting remote work and banning social channels used for organizing. It’s a stark reminder of the human cost behind AI development and the challenges contractors face in this fast-evolving field.
Over at OpenAI, they just upgraded Codex with a new version of GPT-5, called GPT-5-Codex. TechCrunch reports this model dynamically adjusts its “thinking” time, sometimes spending up to seven hours on complex coding tasks. This results in better performance on coding benchmarks and more accurate code reviews, according to engineers who tested it. It’s now available to all ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Edu, and Enterprise users, with API access coming soon. OpenAI is clearly pushing to keep Codex competitive in the crowded AI coding market.
Finally, at WIRED’s AI Power Summit, leaders from tech, politics, and media debated AI’s disruptive effects on society. There were calls for better policy guardrails to protect journalism and copyright, alongside optimism about AI’s potential to boost innovation and economic growth. Yet media executives warned that AI summaries are already reducing traffic to publisher sites, sparking new tools like Gannett’s own chatbot to keep readers engaged. The conversation highlighted the urgent need to balance AI’s benefits with fair compensation for content creators.
That’s a wrap on today’s top AI stories. The landscape keeps evolving fast, with new tech, labor challenges, and policy debates shaping the future. Thanks for listening to The Prompt by Kuro House. Stay curious, and we’ll catch you tomorrow.
