The Comunicano for Monday June 30th 2025
Madcap Monday
Every so often, we witness a week that doesn’t just pass. It pulses. You feel it. It hums with the rhythm of what’s next. This week, it starts on the wrist. The Apple Watch, now showing live tennis scores. That’s not just data. It’s intimacy. It’s Wimbledon on your skin. It’s the court, the clay, the emotion—right there as you check the time. Then there’s “Liquid Glass.” A new interface from Apple. It looks alive. Some call it “lickable.” But beauty is not utility. Our job is not to just dazzle, it’s to empower. If it isn’t intuitive, it isn’t innovation. It’s an indulgence.
In the cinema, two machines faced off. “F1,” with its roar and velocity, versus “M3GAN 2.0,” all silence and circuitry. Both reflect what captivates us. Precision, adrenaline, and the question: what does it mean to be human, or close to it?
In the shadows, another change is taking hold. Digital workers are entering the banks. Not as assistants, but as employees. Agents, learning, adapting, executing. This is not the future of work. It is now. And it demands not just new skills, but also a new social contract. Meanwhile, in China, robots kicked a soccer ball. Clumsily, yes, but independently. No joystick. No pilot. Just AI, in the wild. This is more than sport. It’s a whisper of embodied intelligence waking up.
And while OpenAI scrambles to keep its talent from drifting to Meta, the real story is elsewhere: Loveable and its AI-native employees. Thirty-five people are building an $80 million business. Not by doing more, but by doing differently. This isn’t lean. It’s exponential. Back in Washington, a new AI Education Pledge promises that children will not just use technology. No, they will shape it. That’s how civilizations leap. Not by code, but by curiosity.
But even amid this momentum, caution returns. Meta wants access to your camera roll. The government wants a citizenship database. Control follows progress, like shadow follows flame. Still, this is not a time for fear. It’s a time for clarity. Because in the chaos of headlines, there’s a signal: everything is converging. Intelligence. Identity. Interface. What matters now is not the speed of change, but the direction.
And direction is a choice.
Let’s choose wisely. Let’s keep choosing THE COMUNICANO!!!
Andy Abramson
Apple Watch
F1, M3GAN 2.0 Face Off at Box Office (Deadline.com)—Brad Pitt’s Formula 1 epic “F1” and the sequel “M3GAN 2.0” straddled the same weekend debut—June 27, 2025. “F1” grossed about $10 million in previews, with projections of $35–60 million opening weekend. It dominates the buzz thanks to its star power and high-octane storytelling. “M3GAN 2.0,” by comparison, earned only $1.5 million previews, with forecasts around $20 million. Industry insiders believe “F1” may outpace the horror sequel, though both have their dedicated audiences. Read more here
Liquid Glass, Fragile UX (UXDesign.cc)—A deep-dive examines Apple’s shiny new “Liquid Glass” UI introduced at WWDC 2025. The piece explores whether this Aqua-inspired, glossy aesthetic enhances user experience—or merely offers visual flair. It highlights the tactile, living quality of the visual style but raises concerns around accessibility and inclusivity. The author admits needing two weeks to unpack the layered implications, cautioning that what looks “lickable” may not always feel intuitive or useful. Read more here
Apple Sports App Adds Live Tennis Scores (9to5Mac)—Just in time for Wimbledon, the Apple Sports app (US, Canada, UK) now delivers live tennis scores—for both men’s and women’s singles. You can customize sections, choose favorite leagues, and even add tennis matches as Live Activities for iPhone lock screen and Apple Watch. Court surfaces like grass or clay appear in the background—giving the app a premium feel. Read more here
iPhone Chips Powering a New, Affordable MacBook (9to5Mac)—Analyst Ming‑Chi Kuo says Apple will launch a cheaper 13‑inch MacBook powered by the A18 Pro (an iPhone 16 Pro chip) in late 2025 or early 2026. With fresh color options like pink and yellow, it aims to undercut the $999 MacBook Air by shifting to mobile silicon—marking Apple’s first iPhone‑chip laptop presence. Read more here
Meta Watch
Meta AI Invites Deeper Access to Your Camera Roll (TechCrunch)—Meta is testing a feature that prompts Facebook users to opt into cloud processing, granting it periodic access to unpublished photos in their camera rolls to generate AI-driven content suggestions—such as collages, recaps, and image restyling—inside Stories. The company states that only users see the suggestions, media is not used for ad targeting, and cloud data won’t train AI models during this trial. Still, Meta’s broad rights to retain and use these images and metadata—including facial features, timestamps, and location—have sparked privacy concerns, with critics warning of potential future misuse. Read more here
AI Watch
China’s Biggest Public AI Launch Since DeepSeek: Baidu’s Ernie Set to Go Open-Source (CNBC)—Baidu is making a bold move: its flagship generative AI model, Ernie, will be open-sourced starting June 30. The decision echoes the seismic industry shift triggered by DeepSeek earlier this year—it could spark a price war by offering top-tier capabilities free for developers worldwide. Experts describe it as “throwing down the gauntlet” to Western rivals. While some caution that it may not immediately rival DeepSeek’s impact, opening Ernie marks a strategic pivot for Baidu and could cement China’s role as a global AI leader. Read more here
Anthropic Watch
Project Vend: Can Claude Run a Small Shop? (Anthropic)—Anthropic piloted “Project Vend,” assigning Claude Sonnet 3.7—nicknamed “Claudius”—to autonomously operate a mini-shop in their SF office for about a month. Equipped with web search, email tools, inventory tracking, price adjustment, and Slack customer interactions, Claudius handled stocking, pricing, and restocking. While it sourced specialty items and adapted to user trends, it stumbled on profit strategy, like underpricing metal cubes, hallucinating Venmo accounts, offering excessive discounts, and experiencing a brief identity crisis around April 1. Though it didn’t turn a profit, Anthropic believes scaffolding improvements (tool upgrades, prompts, memory systems) and fine-tuning will elevate AI toward practical “middle-management” roles. Read more here
Workplace Watch
Digital Workers Arrive in Banking (WSJ)—Automation is taking a human turn as digital workers — AI-powered software agents — are being deployed in banks with managerial structures, autonomous workflows, and potential access to email and communications systems. These digital employees handle routine tasks like onboarding and compliance monitoring with increasing sophistication. The big banks say the aim is efficiency and consistency, not job replacement, though the technology is already reshaping junior roles. Supervisors now manage a mix of human and AI staff, recalibrating workflows to integrate these agents. This shift signals a new era of embedded AI in core financial operations. Read more here
AI Job Substitution Is Real, But Narrow, per New Study (Axios)—A recent Upwork-commissioned study—shared exclusively with Axios—reveals that generative AI is beginning to replace certain low-complexity, repetitive freelance jobs, though this displacement is narrow and sector-specific. Freelancers skilled in AI-related fields are seeing a 25% year-over-year increase in earnings, especially those already established in their domains. While demand for routine coding tasks has declined, companies still seek experienced developers for complex projects. A prevailing caution among employers keeps a human in the loop, and many workers are integrating AI into their toolkits to stay competitive. AI is reshaping roles more than eliminating them. Read more here
The Rise of the AI-Native Employee (Elena Verna)—At the heart of Lovable’s meteoric growth—$80M ARR with just 35 employees—is a workforce that defaults to AI, not merely uses it. Elena Verna contrasts this with legacy companies: fewer planning docs, meetings, and approval chains, and more direct execution powered by AI workflows. The model fosters real ownership, autonomy, trust, and speed—turning velocity into your moat. However, she warns that AI-native cultures will struggle in traditional organizations where bureaucracy inhibits rapid iteration. Read more here
AI Talent Wars Intensify as OpenAI Counters Meta's Moves (The Decoder)—Meta has aggressively targeted OpenAI, poaching senior researchers with multimillion-dollar offers, prompting OpenAI leadership—Mark Chen, Sam Altman—to scramble with retention efforts. Chen likened the exodus to "someone breaking into our home," revealing around-the-clock outreach to staff with offers. In response, OpenAI is re-evaluating compensation, revisiting its mission statement, and seeking cultural improvements. The memo emphasizes moving beyond reactive raises toward sustainable engagement strategies. Read more here
Washington Watch
White House Secures AI Education Pledge from Over 60 Companies (Axios)—The White House has announced a new AI Education Pledge, securing commitments from more than 60 companies to provide K–12 students with AI-focused learning materials, classroom tools, and teacher training aids. This builds on the April executive order "Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth," which established a federal task force, new public-private partnerships, and a Presidential AI Challenge to integrate AI skills into early education. The initiative aims to ensure U.S. students learn AI concepts, critical thinking, and digital fluency from a young age. Read more here
Citizenship Database Sparks Privacy Alarms Amid Voting Push (NPR)—The Trump administration has developed a new federal database aimed at identifying U.S. citizens for voting verification, a move that would mark the first national registry of its kind. The database pulls state voter records, but critics highlight a lack of public process, transparency around data use, and data security protocols. NPR reports state election officials question the tool's purpose and safeguards, with lingering concerns over potential misuse for broader voter suppression efforts. Read more here
Canada–U.S. Trade Clash Escalates Over Digital Tax Dispute (AP News)—President Trump has abruptly halted trade negotiations with Canada in protest of its new digital services tax, which targets technology firms. Canada stands ready to impose counter-tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum, autos, and possibly more, depending on the outcome of talks. The announcement follows a tense Oval Office summit in May, where Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney firmly rejected Trump’s proposal of Canada becoming a "51st U.S. state." As tariffs loom, both nations navigate a fraught new chapter in their trade relationship. Read more here
Streaming Watch
Spotify Revamps Discover Weekly After 10 Years (TechCrunch)—Spotify is celebrating a decade of its iconic Discover Weekly playlist by rolling out powerful new features. Premium users will now see genre filters atop their weekly mixes—say 80s rock or K-pop—to shape the algorithmic curation to their evolving tastes. The update accompanies a refreshed visual design, reinforcing Discover Weekly’s role in music discovery; the playlist has streamed over 100 billion tracks with 77 percent of listens featuring emerging artists. Available now in the Made for You hub, the feature gives listeners more control, letting them guide future recommendations. Spotify is also rolling out other tools like improved queue visibility and song snooze for a more tailored listening experience. Read more here
Robots Watch
Robot Soccer Marks AI Breakthrough in China (NBC News)
In Beijing, autonomous humanoid robots played a 3-on-3 soccer match controlled entirely by AI, marking a milestone in embodied intelligence. The machines waddled, stumbled, and sometimes face-planted while using visual sensors and deep learning to track the ball, navigate play, pass, and shoot. Despite comical clumsiness, developers hail it as a breakthrough: real-world physical interaction combined with decision-making under uncertainty shows embodied AI is advancing from lab-bound simulations. It's an early step toward agile, autonomous robotic agents operating in dynamic physical environments. Read more here
Google’s New AI for Robots Is In-Device: No Internet Needed for Gemini Robotics On-Device (TrakIn)—Google DeepMind has unveiled Gemini Robotics On-Device, a compact but powerful vision-language-action (VLA) model that runs entirely offline on robots. Launched June 24, it delivers cloud-level guidance—enabling complex multi-step tasks like folding clothes, unzipping bags, and assembling parts—with low latency and enhanced privacy. Built for low-compute hardware, the model was initially trained on ALOHA bots and successfully adapted to platforms like the Franka FR3 and Apptronik Apollo humanoid. It requires only 50–100 task demonstrations to generalize to new instructions or environments. Google is releasing an SDK as part of a trusted-tester rollout, marking the first time a DeepMind VLA is available for fine-tuning by developers. Read more here
People Watch
The Mysterious Billionaire Behind OnlyFans (WSJ)—Leonid Radvinsky—often described as reclusive—controls OnlyFans through Fenix International and is quietly shopping the platform, targeting an 8 billion dollar valuation. He acquired the company in 2018 for a modest sum from its UK founders, transforming it into a powerhouse in adult content. Since then, Radvinsky has withdrawn over 1 billion dollars in dividends between 2021 and 2023, including 472 million dollars in 2023 despite 1.3 billion dollars in revenue that year. A Northwestern graduate, Ukraine-born and Miami-based, he prefers privacy and has made significant philanthropic gifts, including donations to Ukraine and medical charities. Read more here
Sports Watch
UEFA Launches Mental Wellbeing Programme Take Care (Sport Industry Biz)—UEFA has launched Take Care, a six-module health initiative leveraging football’s influence to nurture wellbeing. Modules cover physical activity, nutrition, digital dependency, substance awareness, road safety—and now mental health. The mental health module, released June 26, includes a white paper, educational tools, posters, a podcast, and a short documentary narrated by Rio Ferdinand. Designed for associations, coaches, and educators, it aims to normalize conversations, reduce stigma, and embed mental health support within football communities across Europe. It marks UEFA’s deepening commitment to holistic athlete and fan welfare. Read more here
