Okay team, buckle up, because Silicon Valley just picked its first political fight of the AI era — and yup, they’re swinging with a $100 million super PAC.

The group’s called Leading the Future, and it’s backed by a16z, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, and even Perplexity.

And their very first target?

Not Congress. Not the White House. But a New York Assemblymember named Alex Bores, who apparently committed the cardinal sin of… wanting AI companies to have a safety plan.

Yep. That’s the whole plot twist.

So here’s the tea: 

Bores is the main force behind New York’s RAISE Act — basically a “hey maybe don’t unleash world-breaking AI chaos onto the public” bill.

The bill says big AI labs need to:

And if they don’t? The state can fine them up to $30 million.

Like… this is not “ban AI” energy. This is “we require restaurant workers to wash their hands” energy.

And the wild part? Bores didn’t even go full regulatory pitbull.

He met with OpenAI and Anthropic while drafting the bill. The industry pushed back on stuff like third-party audits, so he cut them.

And still — still — the super PAC told Politico they’re prepping a multibillion-dollar effort to sink his congressional campaign.

According to them the bill is: anti-innovation, anti-jobs, anti-America, pro-China.

Which is… a lot of “anti” for a bill that mostly says, “please don’t let your AI get stolen by bad people.”

Meanwhile, Bores is unbothered.

He told reporters he just forwards these PAC attack lines to his constituents. And honestly? If done well, that’s an entire campaign strategy right there.

Zooming out — this is not just a New York drama.

There’s been a huge push to block states from regulating AI at all. A federal preemption clause even got slipped into the national budget earlier this year… before being pulled.

Now folks like… cough Ted Cruz cough… are trying to revive it, because the industry desperately wants one single federal rulebook. Ideally, one they’re comfy with, instead of 50 mini rulebooks.

But here’s Bores’ sweet counter-argument:

For him, states are like policy startups — they move fast, experiment, and figure out what works long before Congress finishes arguing about the name of a subcommittee.

He’s already working with lawmakers in other states to sync safety rules, so yeah  there’s no “patchwork” problem.

And he’s crystal clear: regulation isn’t anti-innovation — it’s how you build trust so AI doesn’t implode under its own hype.

The big takeaway?

This is the opening battle in America’s AI governance saga.

Silicon Valley is throwing money for speed. States want safety. And as for where the future of AI might get decided… well, we’ll have to wait and see for ourselves.

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Squad, Google is straight-up weaponizing holiday travel this year — but like… in a helpful way?

Their new AI Mode in Search now lets you describe your dream trip — think: “I want a cheap flight to Lisbon, lots of pastries, zero stress” — and with one tap on “Create with Canvas”, it spits out a full itinerary like it’s been quietly stalking your Pinterest boards.

We’re talking:

All neatly laid out in this side-panel Canvas doc that feels like the world’s calmest travel planner. And because it’s Google, you can tweak literally anything.

Want budget hotels with decent WiFi? Done. Want museums within walking distance because your feet refuse to suffer this year? Easy. Want activities that don’t require waking up at 6 AM? It’ll fully respect your sleep agenda.

If you’re in the US and opted into AI Mode in Labs, this is already live on desktop — and every itinerary you sketch up gets saved in your AI Mode history so you can pretend you’re definitely taking that Bali trip one day.

And that’s not even the end of Google’s travel glow-up.

AI Mode already handles things like tickets and local appointments, but starting this week, restaurant reservations are rolling out to all US users. Google shows you a list of options and then hands you over to partners like OpenTable, Resy, Tock, Ticketmaster, StubHub, SeatGeek… basically all the usual suspects.

And they’re not stopping there. Google’s teaming up with Booking.com, Expedia, Marriott, Wyndham, and more to bring agentic booking to flights and hotels too.

Plus, they’re rolling out AI-powered Flight Deals to 200+ countries in 60+ languages.

So uh… yeah. Other Travel apps are absolutely sweating right now.

Big picture?

Google’s trying to turn trip-planning into a one-stop, AI-powered command center — and honestly, it’s giving the “future of travel just arrived early.”

So how are you planning your next trip?

With AI or not, well you won’t know the perks (or the chaos) until you try it right?

Transcription tools aren’t just “nice-to-have” — they save hours of typing, boost productivity, help you focus on insights instead of note-taking, and make information easier to share and search. Whether you’re in meetings, creating content, or doing research, having accurate transcripts at your fingertips is a game-changer. 

Here’s a roundup of some of the best options out there:

PS: Want to see which AI tool is best for each task? Check out our AI Spotlight section for a quick guide.

Transcribing audio with AI doesn’t have to be a headache. 

The trick? Pick the right tool, feed it clean audio, and give it a quick human review. 

Here’s how to do it like a pro:

Step 1: Pick Your Weapon:

Different tools shine for different tasks, for example:

Step 2: Prep Your Audio:

Better input means better output. So minimize background noise, use a decent mic, and have people speak clearly at a steady pace. Your AI will thank you.

Step 3: Upload or Capture:

Step 4: Let the AI Work Its Magic:

The AI converts speech to text way faster than you could manually—trust me, it’s smart, but not perfect.

Step 5: Review & Edit:

Check for accuracy. Accents, jargon, or overlapping speakers can trip it up. So yeah always give it a human once-over before calling it official.

Step 6: Export & Use:

Export as TXT, DOCX, PDF… whatever works. Then leverage features in tools like timestamps, speaker IDs, and AI summaries to create meeting notes, action items, or repurpose content for blogs, captions, or newsletters.

And don’t forget: Consent matters, especially for meetings, so always let participants know they’re being recorded.

⚡ Prompts to try:

P.S. This isn’t sponsored, we don’t get paid for these reviews. We just love shining the light on tools that would actually help people work smarter.

Also…

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