After chatting about Ed’s trip to Greece, we turn our sights on the incredible amount of money that Mark Zuckerberg is spending to poach big names from across the tech sector and assemble the greatest crossover event in AI history. What could possibly make this level of investment into creating the Meta Superintelligence Lab a worthwhile endeavor? We lay out the Meta logic as it seems to be playing out.

••• Here’s What Mark Zuckerberg Is Offering Top AI Talent https://www.wired.com/story/mark-zuckerberg-meta-offer-top-ai-talent-300-million/

••• Here Is Everyone Mark Zuckerberg Has Hired So Far for Meta’s ‘Superintelligence’ Team https://www.wired.com/story/mark-zuckerberg-welcomes-superintelligence-team/

••• Zuckerberg Leads AI Recruitment Blitz Armed With $100 Million Pay Packages https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta-ai-recruiting-mark-zuckerberg-5c231f75

••• Meta held talks to buy Thinking Machines, Perplexity, and Safe Superintelligence https://www.theverge.com/command-line-newsletter/690720/meta-buy-thinking-machines-perplexity-safe-superintelligence

••• Meta Wins Blockbuster AI Copyright Case—but There’s a Catch https://www.wired.com/story/meta-scores-victory-ai-copyright-case/

••• 'A Black Hole of Energy Use': Meta's Massive AI Data Center Is Stressing Out a Louisiana Community https://www.404media.co/a-black-hole-of-energy-use-metas-massive-ai-data-center-is-stressing-out-a-louisiana-community/

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)