tech

8/29/25

Federal workers will now get Grok’s AI chatbot, too

Earlier this month a number of AI companies, including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, announced partnerships with the US government wherein federal workers would get access to their respective chatbots for ludicrously small fees. Notably absent was xAI’s Grok, which missed out on the initiative after it began praising Hitler last month. That no longer seems to be a problem for the government.

Wired reports that the White House earlier this week ordered federal workers to roll out Grok “ASAP.” It’s unclear what caused the about-face. Perhaps xAI and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is back in President Trump’s good graces, after fallouts earlier this summer.

AI companies are hoping that by offering government agencies access to their services for incredibly low prices — $1 per year for ChatGPT and Claude, and $0.47 for Gemini — they’ll be able to hook workers into relying on their products and will eventually be able to eke out more lucrative contracts.

The White House Apparently Ordered Federal Workers to Roll Out Grok 'ASAP'

The White House Apparently Ordered Federal Workers to Roll Out Grok 'ASAP'

Wired reports that the White House earlier this week ordered federal workers to roll out Grok “ASAP.” It’s unclear what caused the about-face. Perhaps xAI and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is back in President Trump’s good graces, after fallouts earlier this summer.

AI companies are hoping that by offering government agencies access to their services for incredibly low prices — $1 per year for ChatGPT and Claude, and $0.47 for Gemini — they’ll be able to hook workers into relying on their products and will eventually be able to eke out more lucrative contracts.

More Tech

An annotated photo of who attended the tech dinner at the White House.

An interactive who's-who of the tech execs at Trump's White House dinner

The White House invited a gaggle of top founders and tech executives for an intimate dinner at the White House.

Apple of my Eye

Apple’s latest phone is betting on looks, while Google looks inward

Apple gets a hardware upgrade. Google gets a software overhaul.

buried treasure

The world’s biggest illegal sports streaming platform just got shut down

Where piracy is concerned, authorities are playing an almost never-ending game of “whack-a-mole.”

Error 404 Page Not Found - Vector Illustration of Website Page 404

tech

7h

Meta: Facebook is for the children, basically

Meta has a youth problem that it keeps trying to fix using old stuff. This time it’s trying to bring back “pokes” — a feature from yesteryear the social media company had buried that allows users to digitally nudge others without having to say anything.

To make the feature shiny and new, the company is adding “counts,” along with a dedicated poke button and page, so users can keep track of who they poked or were poked by and how much.

Meta is hoping the updated feature will lead to more usage from young people, who’ve already started to adopt the practice thanks to previous pushes by Meta. Social media companies, like Snapchat and TikTok, have previously gotten into hot water before for similar gamification elements like “streaks” that critics have said are addictive.

The average age of Facebook users has been ticking up for years as the company loses young people to newer services, including Instagram, which Meta bought more than a decade ago, back when it was still called Facebook. According to the latest data from Pew Research Center, released last winter, teens were way less inclined to use Facebook than TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat.

Facebook is trying to make 'pokes' happen again | TechCrunch

Facebook is trying to make 'pokes' happen again | TechCrunch

Meta is hoping the updated feature will lead to more usage from young people, who’ve already started to adopt the practice thanks to previous pushes by Meta. Social media companies, like Snapchat and TikTok, have previously gotten into hot water before for similar gamification elements like “streaks” that critics have said are addictive.

The average age of Facebook users has been ticking up for years as the company loses young people to newer services, including Instagram, which Meta bought more than a decade ago, back when it was still called Facebook. According to the latest data from Pew Research Center, released last winter, teens were way less inclined to use Facebook than TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat.

tech

9/4/25

OpenAI is working on a “jobs platform” for people who lose their jobs to AI

OpenAI has some good news and bad news for workers. The bad news? AI will probably take your job. The good news? The company will offer AI-powered classes to retrain you, and try to help you get a job as a certified AI pro.

The company announced plans for the OpenAI Jobs Platform, in partnership with Walmart, John Deere, and Accenture, to help workers looking to level up their AI skills, and match them with companies seeking such candidates.

In a blog post announcing the plan, the company wrote:

“But AI will also be disruptive. Jobs will look different, companies will have to adapt, and all of us—from shift workers to CEOs—will have to learn how to work in new ways. At OpenAI, we can’t eliminate that disruption. But what we can do is help more people become fluent in AI and connect them with companies that need their skills, to give people more economic opportunities. “

Using AI-powered instruction, users can receive certification for their training, and OpenAI said it is committing to certifying 10 million Americans on its platform by 2030.

Expanding economic opportunity with AI

Expanding economic opportunity with AI

The company announced plans for the OpenAI Jobs Platform, in partnership with Walmart, John Deere, and Accenture, to help workers looking to level up their AI skills, and match them with companies seeking such candidates.

In a blog post announcing the plan, the company wrote:

“But AI will also be disruptive. Jobs will look different, companies will have to adapt, and all of us—from shift workers to CEOs—will have to learn how to work in new ways. At OpenAI, we can’t eliminate that disruption. But what we can do is help more people become fluent in AI and connect them with companies that need their skills, to give people more economic opportunities. “

Using AI-powered instruction, users can receive certification for their training, and OpenAI said it is committing to certifying 10 million Americans on its platform by 2030.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC.

©2025 Sherwood Media, LLC