OpenAI’s supposedly ‘leaked’ Super Bowl ad with ear buds and a shiny orb was a hoax
As if OpenAI didn't have enough drama around the Super Bowl and advertising, as the game wound down, word spread of a "leaked" ad that actually wasn't leaked at all; it was just a fake. Screenshots of a now-deleted Reddit thread told the tale of a frustrated employee who, while posting about how upset they were because the ad they'd worked on didn't run, accidentally leaked the entire advertisement video, seemingly showing Murderbot star Alexander Skarsgård with what could have been OpenAI's first hardware device, portrayed as a shiny orb that went with some wraparound earbuds.
OpenAI president Greg Brockman commented on X with a tweet cal …
Super Bowl LX ads: all AI everything
Super Bowl LX is nearly here, with the Seattle Seahawks taking on the New England Patriots. While Bad Bunny will be the star of the halftime show, AI could be the star of the commercial breaks, much like crypto was a few years ago.
Last year’s Super Bowl featured a Google Gemini ad that fumbled a Gouda cheese stat, and this year’s game is already slated to include an ad for Anthropic’s AI platform that takes jabs at its competitors, namely OpenAI. AI-generated ads could make an appearance, too.
Super Bowl LX is set to kick off at 6:30PM ET/3:30PM PT on Sunday, February 8th, and is being broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
- Ring advertised its neighborhood surveillance network.
- AI.com promises agents or something.
- Pokémon 30.
- Mr. Beast and Rainbolt pop up with Super Bowl ad contests.
- T-Mobile and Coinbase’s Super Bowl ads used the Backstreet Boys in very different ways.
- Pepsi snags the polar bear for an apparently AI-free ad.
- Anthropic’s Super Bowl ad has a change that made it less directly about OpenAI and ChatGPT.
- OpenAI’s Super Bowl ad claims “You can just build things” with Codex.
- Pixar previews Hoppers.
- SpaceX brings Starlink to the Super Bowl broadcast.
- A space crab made of rocks would die for Ryan Gosling in the final Project Hail Mary trailer.
- From Crypto.com to AI.com.
- Alexa Plus tries to kill Chris Hemsworth in Amazon’s Super Bowl ad.
- Sam Altman responds to Anthropic’s ‘funny’ Super Bowl ads
- Anthropic’s first Super Bowl ad dunks on ChatGPT.
- Don’t expect any Kalshi or Polymarket ads during the Super Bowl.
YouTube Music starts putting lyrics behind a paywall
Free YouTube Music accounts are now seeing their access to lyrics limited, according to multiple reports. Google started testing lyrics as an exclusive feature for Premium users in September, but it appears that it's now receiving a wider rollout. It seems that free users will be limited to viewing lyrics for five songs per month, though we've reached out to Google for confirmation.
Once that limit is reached, users will only be able to see the first couple of lines. Everything beyond that will be blurred out, and they'll be prompted to "Unlock lyrics with Premium." The banner warning users about their limited lyric views remaining appears …
New York is considering two bills to rein in the AI industry
New York's state legislature is set to consider a pair of bills that would require labels on AI-generated content and would put a three-year pause on new data center construction.
The New York Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Requirements in News Act (NY FAIR News Act, for short) would require that any news "substantially composed, authored, or created through the use of generative artificial intelligence" carry a disclaimer. It would also require that any content created using AI be reviewed and approved by a human with "editorial control" before being published.
Beyond that, the bill requires organizations to disclose to newsroom em …
You need to listen to the new Mandy, Indiana record: URGH
Often, I focus on recommending older media that isn't currently getting a ton of attention. But this week, I can't stop listening to the new Mandy, Indiana album long enough to even think about anything else. It's early still, obviously, but URGH is my favorite release of 2026 so far. The band that I fell in love with on I've Seen a Way has found an entirely new gear.
Frontwoman Valentine Caulfield is even more uncompromising. Most of the lyrics are in French, but even if you don't know what she's saying, you can feel the contempt. On "Magazine" she's spitting in your face as she seethes:
Je viens pour toi
Alors vas-y cours
Je n'te …
The iPhone 17e could launch soon with MagSafe and an A19 chip
Almost exactly one year after launching the iPhone 16e, Apple is preparing to launch the 17e, according to Mark Gurman. The iPhone 17e will feature an upgraded A19 chip from the iPhone 17 lineup, plus MagSafe charging, and move Apple's in-house cellular chips. Just as importantly, the company apparently plans to keep the price at $599, despite soaring RAM and storage prices.
Gurman says Apple is planning to pitch the iPhone 17e aggressively in emerging markets and to enterprises. He claims that, with almost no changes expected from the Pixel 10a and Samsung focused on the higher end of the market, Apple sees an opening.
We also expect Appl …
How I Built the Star Trek control panel of my dreams
One of my pandemic hobbies that stuck was home automation. I discovered Home Assistant - the popular open source, extremely customizable home automation platform - and all the intricate things you can do with it to make your home work better.
I have ADHD and have found Home Assistant to be a valuable tool for managing executive dysfunction. I use it for audible calendar reminders, laundry reminders, timers, and monitoring my doorbell camera and my nanny cam for my dog. Its also a great source of pure nerdy joy for me. And I recently took the most joyously nerdy step yet in my home automation fixation.
Home Assistant lets you create custom …
GuliKit’s tiny USB dongle lets you connect your PS5 controller to your Switch 2
Dongles have a well-earned reputation for being a nuisance. They're often costly and annoying to deal with, but for gamers, there's one that I love to recommend that's neither. 8BitDo's $20 USB Adapter 2 lets you wirelessly link controllers to the Switch 2 that would otherwise be unsupported, like the Sony DualSense (complete with rumble and motion controls), Microsoft's latest Xbox gamepads, and more. You can plug it into the Switch 2's dock or use a USB-A-to-USB-C adapter to connect it directly to the console.
It's great to save money, since I can simply use a controller that I already own instead of buying a new one. And I sometimes forg …
Section 230 turns 30 as it faces its biggest tests yet
Thirty years ago today, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a bill credited with creating the groundwork for the modern internet, became law and set off a chain of events that would make it a lightning rod for the techlash.
The statute has survived everything from the dot-com bubble to a Supreme Court challenge that struck down the surrounding text in the CDA. But as it marks this major milestone, Section 230 is facing what could be among its biggest threats to date, as prominent lawmakers plot to bring it down and a mountain of legal challenges give courts the chance to narrow its scope.
Section 230, once dubbed "the twenty-si …
Digital car keys are getting more sophisticated
Last month, over a dozen automobile and smartphone manufacturers gathered in Palo Alto, California, for the 16th annual "Plugfest," hosted by the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) to test out the latest in digital key technology.
Digital keys, which allow vehicle owners to lock, unlock, and start their cars using smartphones or other digital devices, are becoming more commonplace. And the goal of Plugfest was to provide a place for CCC members - ranging from automakers and smart device manufacturers to cloud providers and chip makers - to come together to test interoperability and real-world performance across vehicles, devices, and wirele …