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This week is steeped in confusion and complexity, the potent cocktail that Big Tech likes to drink before they announce their latest AI model, platform update, or safety rollout. Don’t worry, I do my best to turn that confusion into clarity! This week on the Brief we cover: Anthropic releases Opus 5 claiming it doubles Opus 4.8’s performance, YouTube will generate a thumbnail for you with AI, and TikTok is getting in trouble with minors.
I’m writing this minutes after I wrapped a live filming for Charles Schwab’s “Next Gen Investing” show. My segment was discussing Meta’s earnings. There’s that moment before you go live on a broadcast where for 30-60 seconds you’re just waiting, sitting frozenly still. It’s the definition of the calm before the storm. I can always feel my heart start to speed up a bit, and in cases like this where I haven’t been given the questions before, there isn’t even much prep you can do. You have to be completely present in the moment, actively listening and able to respond instantly (and I mean instantly, because that TV delay is painful if you don’t speak right away).
Those two feelings…pure quiet with no multitasking and distractions, followed by pure focus on a single task with your reputation hanging in the balance, are fleeting moments in 2026. I’d even argue they are moments Big Tech continues to steal away from us. When attention can be harvested and monetized, those sacrosanct moments of quiet, dare I even say… boredom(!) disappear. You have to fight hard to get them back. But I promise, even if those moments only last for a few seconds, they are powerful. So before you reach for Instagram, ask Claude some existential question, or tap that notification you just got on your iPhone, take a moment to embrace a few seconds of nothing. It’s totally worth it.