Feb 27, 2025 5 min read Daily News

Meta's $200B AI Buildout

DeepSeek ignites AI API pricing war with its second major cut.

Hello, AI Enthusiasts!

While Meta and other tech giants are busy expanding their AI data centers to support their large language models, DeepSeek has announced another round of API price cuts. Ironically, Silicon Valley, traditionally synonymous with tech innovation, is now channeling resources into infrastructure development, while Chinese companies - long celebrated as infrastructure powerhouses - are leading the charge in technological breakthroughs and cost-efficient optimizations. The world is becoming an increasingly paradoxical place.

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BUSINESS

Meta Discussing An $200 Billion AI Data Center Project

Recently, Meta has sparked interest with potential plans for a monumental data center project aimed at enhancing its AI capabilities, which could have significant implications for the tech industry and beyond.

Meta's Ambitious Plans: Meta Platforms is reportedly in discussions to construct a new data center campus dedicated to AI projects, with costs potentially exceeding $200 billion.
Target Locations: The company is considering various states, including Louisiana, Wyoming, and Texas, as potential sites for this massive data center, with senior leaders having already visited these locations.
Meta's Spending Commitment: Despite a spokesperson's denial regarding the reported figures, Meta plans to invest up to $65 billion this year to expand its AI infrastructure.
Microsoft‘s Opposite Approach: However, Microsoft is scaling back its AI data center, as CEO Satya Nadella has highlighted the high costs and currently low returns associated with AI development. Recent reports indicate that Microsoft has canceled leases for several hundred megawatts of data center capacity in the US.

Overall, while Meta is embracing the AI wave with significant investments, Microsoft is opting for a more conservative stance, weighing the economic implications of AI development. This divergence illustrates the ongoing debate in the tech industry regarding the best path forward in harnessing AI's potential.

New Research Shows AI Influencer Marketing May Harm Brand Trust

Aitana is a new AI influencer known for her realistic appearance

A study led by Sian Joel-Edgar, Associate Professor in Human-Centered Computing at Northeastern University, investigates accountability dynamics in marketing campaigns using AI-powered virtual influencers within the metaverse. Surveying 255 consumers, the research reveals stark contrasts in blame attribution between human and virtual influencers, with implications for brand trust and ethical practices.

Key Findings

Consumers assign significantly more blame to human influencers (vs. AI virtual ones) for product failures, citing perceptions of greater agency, expertise, and ethical responsibility in human promoters.
Virtual influencers are viewed as "programmed tools," reducing expectations of accountability; blame shifts to brands or developers when issues arise.
Overreliance on virtual influencers may erode consumer confidence, as AI’s perceived lack of autonomy can conflate product dissatisfaction with corporate evasion of responsibility.

While virtual influencers offer brands short-term advantages, their accountability gap poses long-term reputational hazards. Future strategies should balance human influencers (for credibility) and AI counterparts (for reach), coupled with transparency measures to mitigate distrust. Regulatory frameworks may also need to redefine liability standards for AI-driven marketing, ensuring brands cannot hide behind technological neutrality to evade ethical obligations.

Read the research👉

RETAIL

AI Revolutionizes Retail Hiring: Speed vs. Human Touch

AI is transforming retail recruitment, enabling companies like Chipotle, McDonald’s, and FedEx to manage high-volume hiring with unprecedented speed. However, this efficiency often comes at the cost of candidate trust and personalization.

AI chatbots (e.g., Chipotle’s Ava Cado) screen candidates via text, schedule interviews instantly, and slash hiring timelines—Chipotle reduced its process from 12 days to 4.
Retailers leverage AI to handle seasonal spikes (e.g., hiring 20,000 workers for Chipotle’s “burrito season”) and cut administrative costs.
Paradox, a leading AI recruitment platform, reports 98% candidate satisfaction, claiming technology lets managers focus on human interaction.
Errors like miscommunication (e.g., interviews for non-existent roles) and opaque processes alienate applicants. Evalyn Mendoza’s experience with Ava Cado reflects broader concerns about AI depersonalizing job searches.

While AI streamlines hiring for retail giants, its success hinges on balancing speed with empathy. Hybrid models (AI + human oversight) and transparency in AI’s role could mitigate risks. As Andrew Chamberlain, ex-Glassdoor economist, warns: “A poor AI experience can cancel out its benefits long-term.” Retail’s future lies in harnessing AI’s power without losing sight of the people it serves.

Read the story👉

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QUICK HITS

Apple is addressing a glitch in its speech-to-text tool that mistakenly transcribes "racist" as "Trump."
OpenAI's GPT-4.5 research preview is set to launch soon for Pro users, following a recent notification leak.
Unions in Pittsburgh are adapting their contracts to address the impact of AI on job security and workplace safety.
Microsoft now offers unlimited free access to its Copilot Voice and Think Deeper AI features for all users.
DeepSeek is accelerating the launch of its next-gen R2 AI model, originally scheduled for May.

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