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This Week in AI:

No jargon, no filler—just the biggest AI developments worth knowing right now. Perfect for quick industry insights, so you can skip the buzzwords and get straight to the good stuff. Let’s dive into this week’s AI shake-ups, just as promised:

Three things stood out this week. First: a major report from The Budget Lab at Yale University suggests that, despite what has been predicted, AI hasn’t yet shaken up the job market wholesale. Second: Microsoft Corporation is rolling out new features in Microsoft 365 Copilot that let non-coders build full apps and automate workflows. Third: Extropic AI introduced a fresh kind of chip architecture, thermodynamic computing, that claims to slash energy use by thousands-fold for AI tasks. In short: job-market reassurances, democratized toolsets, and a hardware bet on change.

Let’s get into it.

In This Issue:

• AI & Jobs: The Reality Check → Yale’s latest work shows little large-scale disruption so far. (link)

• Microsoft Puts App Building in Everyone’s Hands → Copilot adds app builder and workflow automation for regular users. (link)

• Thermodynamic Chips: Extropic’s Bold Hardware Bet → A new chip design proposes massive energy savings for AI models. (link)

🟣 AI & Jobs: The Reality Check

TL;DR:

The Budget Lab’s recent research finds that, since the advent of tools like ChatGPT in late 2022, the U.S. labor market has shown no breakthrough disruption tied to generative AI. The mix of jobs, employment levels and industry shifts are moving at rates similar to earlier technological phases.

Our Take:

It’s tempting to believe we’re seeing an instant transformation when headlines talk layoffs tied to AI. But this study suggests the broader market isn’t flipped overnight. The takeaway? If you’re designing your career, team, or business model around AI, expect change, yes—but not an immediate revolution. That gives time to adapt, build skills and align with what’s coming rather than chase fear.

🟣 Microsoft Puts App Building in Everyone’s Hands

TL;DR:

Microsoft 365 Copilot now includes a feature called App Builder which lets users create and edit full-stack apps using conversational prompts—no deep coding required. It also introduces Workflows to automate tasks across Copilot itself. These features are included with existing Copilot subscription plans.

Our Take:

The tools once reserved for developers are stretching into the hands of everyday users. If your organization depends on internal tools or workflows, this means faster iteration is possible—and the barrier between “worker” and “creator” narrows. The trade-offs? Security, governance, and change-management become more important when anyone can build.

🟣 Thermodynamic Chips: Extropic’s Bold Hardware Bet

TL;DR:

Extropic AI is introducing a chip architecture called Thermodynamic Sampling Units (TSUs) which work on probabilistic sampling, rather than traditional binary logic, to run AI models. The claim: up to 10,000× less energy than current GPUs. They’ve shipped early dev kits and open-source tools for labs to test.

Our Take:

Hardware usually moves slower than models in AI headlines, but sometimes hardware changes unlock the next wave. If these chips deliver at scale, they could shift cost, energy, and even geography of model building (e.g., less need for massive datacenter farms). That opportunity also comes with risk: early tech, bold claims, and a long road to production. Worth watching if you’re involved in compute, AI infrastructure or cost-sensitive deployments.