Axios

Our smartphones, electric cars and smart home electronics feel effortless, but behind them sits a dizzying web of interconnected hardware, mechanics and silicon.

A staggering class divide now separates how Americans experience artificial intelligence:

• For frontier power users, AI feels like a revolution: a force capable of conjuring companies, building software and solving complex problems at warp speed.
• For the average person, it feels more like an evolution: a smarter search bar, a faster inbox, an ambient tech layer that saves time — but not much else.

Why it matters: Trillions of dollars in economic value — and the livelihoods of millions of workers — are being staked on a technology that most Americans neither trust nor fully understand.

Fidji Simo is stepping down after taking medical leave because of a worsening chronic illness.

The big picture: Simo's departure removes one of OpenAI's highest-profile executives.

As fresh U.S. strikes hit Iran, President Trump's Truth Social profile became a visual diary of distant violence, distilling the Iran war into shareable clips and memes even as he demanded an end to hostilities.

The big picture: While Trump revels in the video game-like spectacle of raw military power in Iran, Venezuela and the Caribbean on social media, he's also scrambling to find an off-ramp to a war Americans don't support.

OpenAI on Thursday broadly released GPT-5.6, after staggering the powerful new model's rollout per a U.S. government request.

Why it matters: The leading players in AI are all speeding forward at breakneck speed, but the increasing power of the latest models has the Trump administration rethinking its previous hands-off approach.

Microsoft's latest environmental report shows the growing tension between its race to build AI infrastructure and its long-standing climate commitments.

Why it matters: The report mirrors recent disclosures from Google and Amazon, whose emissions and resource use have also climbed alongside AI growth.

Lenovo's pricey FIFA partnership was made possible by the trusted, direct relationship between Lenovo's CEO and his top communicators.

Why it matters: The company is spending big to showcase its tech and innovation as it looks to expand its brand, long synonymous with PCs.

More venture capital dollars were invested in U.S. companies during the first half of 2026 than in any full year, according to data released Wednesday by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.

By the numbers: U.S. companies raised $412.7 billion between January and June, a whopping 29% increase over what U.S. companies raised in all of 2025 and a 15% increase over the all-time record set in 2021.

Facebook's parent company on Thursday updated its Muse Spark large language model and followed through on a promise to make it available to developers.

Why it matters: It's a busy period for model upgrades across the industry, with OpenAI and SpaceXAI also debuting faster models this week.

Anthropic is testing a new Reflection tool that helps Claude users see when they use the chatbot, what they use it for and whether that lines up with their goals.

Why it matters: AI chatbots are becoming work tool, search engine, confidant and coach all at once — raising the same kinds of questions about healthy use that social media did, but with even more intimate data.