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Welcome to The Prompt by Kuro House, your daily AI update. Today we’ve got some big moves in AI journalism, semiconductor investments, and some industry drama you won’t want to miss. Let’s dive right in.

First up, a startup is shaking up how newsrooms use AI. Symbolic.ai, founded by former eBay CEO Devin Wenig and Ars Technica co-founder Jon Stokes, just signed a major deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. According to TechCrunch, News Corp will integrate Symbolic’s AI platform into Dow Jones Newswires to boost productivity by as much as 90% on complex research tasks. The AI will assist with newsletter creation, audio transcription, fact-checking, headline optimization, and SEO advice, making editorial workflows more efficient. This marks a big step beyond mere experiments, signaling serious AI adoption in media.

Next, Taiwan is making a massive investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. TechCrunch reports Taiwanese semiconductor and tech companies will invest $250 billion directly into the U.S. industry as part of a multibillion-dollar trade deal announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce. This investment covers semiconductors, energy, and AI production and innovation, with Taiwan also providing $250 billion in credit guarantees for further investments. The U.S. will reciprocate by investing in Taiwan’s semiconductor, defense, AI, telecommunications, and biotech sectors. This is a strategic move to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains, especially given that only 10% of semiconductors are currently produced in the U.S.

Now, onto some legal drama involving Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok. The Verge reports that Ashley St. Clair, mother of one of Musk’s children, is suing xAI for enabling Grok to create unauthorized deepfake images of her in sexualized scenarios. She alleges the AI is “unreasonably dangerous as designed” and that xAI’s product liability should not be shielded by Section 230 protections. The case quickly moved to federal court, with xAI responding by suing her for breach of contract over court venue. This controversy highlights the growing legal challenges surrounding AI-generated content and consent.

Switching gears to Apple, which seems to have lost the AI race but is gearing up for a comeback. The Verge reports that after a rocky rollout of Apple Intelligence, the company is now partnering with Google to power a smarter Siri using Gemini models. Despite early struggles, Apple remains the global smartphone market leader with strong sales of the iPhone 17. This move to use Google’s AI in Apple’s Private Cloud Compute shows a strategic shift toward collaboration rather than building everything in-house. The real challenge now is turning AI into a compelling product that users actually want, not just a feature they tolerate.

Finally, some fascinating insights from the AI research world. WIRED reveals that OpenAI has rehired cofounders from the startup Thinking Machines Lab amid internal drama and allegations of misconduct. Alongside these hires, OpenAI is investing heavily in training AI agents to perform real-world jobs by using data from contractors with experience in consulting, banking, and healthcare. These agents learn by practicing in simulated environments designed to mimic enterprise software applications. This approach could transform knowledge work, but whether AI can consistently and accurately execute complex tasks remains to be seen.

So, as AI continues to reshape industries from media to semiconductors to legal battles, it’s clear we’re just at the beginning of a major transformation. Companies are making bold moves, partnerships are shifting, and the legal landscape is catching up with technology’s rapid pace. Thanks for listening to The Prompt by Kuro House. We’ll be back tomorrow with more AI news you need to know.