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Happy Friday! Most of us open AI tools hoping for instant magic. But Peter Steinberger, the founder of OpenClaw, shared a simpler truth: real progress starts when you stop overthinking and just start playing. Catch this story and more in today’s Top AI News!

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📣 TOP AI NEWS

Peter Steinberger, creator of the viral AI agent OpenClaw, didn’t set out to spark a movement — but he did. The solo project exploded on GitHub, sent shockwaves through the AI community, and led to him being hired by OpenAI just last week to help build the next generation of autonomous agents. Speaking on OpenAI’s new Builders Unscripted podcast, he shared how OpenClaw evolved from casual tinkering into a tool he relied on daily, especially while traveling with limited internet but reliable WhatsApp access. Steinberger argues that working effectively with AI is a skill that takes time, and developers shouldn’t expect instant results. His advice: build for fun, follow curiosity, and let exploration lead the way.

OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap says the company’s U.S. ads for Free and Go tier users will be rolled out gradually, with a strong focus on privacy, trust, and user experience. Speaking at the India AI summit to TechCrunch, he described the ads rollout as an “iterative process” and asked critics to give the company a few months to see how it develops. Lightcap argued that ads, if done right, can be additive to the product experience, but did not confirm whether ads will expand beyond the U.S. anytime soon. The comments come amid public criticism from rival Anthropic and reports of unusually high ad pricing and minimum commitments for advertisers.

Google is rolling out beta AI-powered automations in its Gemini app that can handle multi-step tasks like ordering food or booking a ride, with users watching and controlling each step in real time. The feature initially works with select food, grocery, and rideshare apps and is limited to certain devices, including Pixel 10 models and the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, in the U.S. and Korea. Google is also expanding Gemini-based scam detection for calls and texts and upgrading Circle to Search so it can identify everything visible on a phone’s screen, not just one object.

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⚡️ MIND SPARK

✋ States Hit Pause on the Data Center Boom: Across the U.S., political backlash against AI-driven data center expansion is intensifying, with New York proposing a three-year statewide moratorium on new data center permits. Local bans are already spreading from New Orleans to Madison, as lawmakers cite rising energy costs, environmental strain, and public opposition.

🧠 Rings That Reward Healthy Habits: Wearables startup CUDIS is launching a new health ring featuring an AI “agent coach” that helps users stay on track with fitness, sleep, and recovery goals. Since launching its first wearable in 2024, the company has reportedly sold over 30,000 rings and grown its app to 250,000 users worldwide.

💰 Nvidia’s AI Cash Machine Hits Overdrive: Demand for AI compute has propelled Nvidia to a record $68.1 billion in quarterly revenue, with $62.3 billion coming from its data center business alone, as reported in Nvidia’s Q4 FY2026 results. CEO Jensen Huang said even six-year-old GPUs in the cloud are fully utilized, noting that “computing demand is growing exponentially.”

🤖 Google Pulls Intrinsic Closer to the Core: Alphabet-owned Intrinsic, a robotics software company spun out of Google’s X in 2021, is joining Google while remaining a distinct entity. The move deepens Intrinsic’s collaboration with Google DeepMind and gives it access to Google’s Gemini AI models and cloud infrastructure, signaling a stronger push into physical AI.

⚡ Power Bills Meet Big Tech Pressure: AI data centers plugging into the national grid helped push average U.S. electricity prices up almost 7% over the past year, putting political heat on Washington. In response, President Donald Trump said during his State of the Union address that tech companies should supply their own power so consumer prices don’t rise, urging major firms to build or provide their own electricity for energy-hungry data centers.

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