Good morning. It's Thursday, March 26, and we're covering OpenAI’s strategic reset, Silicon Valley’s growing AI trust gap, rising pressure to slow down data center expansion, and more.

If you enjoyed this email, share it with a friend. First time reading? Sign up here to keep up with the future of tech.

Lawmakers Push AI Data Center Pause
Lawmakers proposed a moratorium on new AI data centers. The bill, led by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, aims to give time for federal AI safeguards. Supporters cite energy use, rising costs, and environmental risks. Public concern is growing as AI infrastructure expands rapidly. The proposal reflects increasing pressure to regulate AI’s physical footprint.

Google Unveils TurboQuant AI Compression
Google introduced TurboQuant, a new compression method for AI models and vector search systems. It reduces memory use while preserving accuracy, targeting bottlenecks in key-value caches. The system combines PolarQuant and QJL to minimize overhead and maintain performance. Early results show faster processing and lower costs for large-scale AI.

Disney Drops OpenAI Investment Deal
The Walt Disney Company has exited its planned $1B investment in OpenAI after the shutdown of the Sora video app. The deal included licensing Disney characters for AI-generated video. OpenAI is shifting focus away from standalone video products. The move raises questions about AI video’s near-term direction. It also strengthens rivals still active in the space.

Google Expands AI Music Generation
Google launched Lyria 3 Pro, an upgraded music generation model with longer and more customizable outputs. The model creates tracks up to three minutes, improving on Lyria 3’s 30-second limit. It adds finer control over song structure, including intros, verses, and choruses. The tool is rolling out across Gemini, Vertex AI, and other platforms, with access limited to paid users.

It can - if the AI actually knows your brand, content, and compliance rules. Templafy’s Document Agents combine generative AI with governed workflows so professionals across your org generate accurate, polished, on-brand presentations in minutes.

4M+ users. 30% of document time saved. Works inside PowerPoint, Google Workspace, and Salesforce.

Check out Templafy →

Apple has deeper access to Google’s Gemini AI models than previously reported, according to The Information on March 25, 2026. The deal allows Apple to run Gemini in its own data centers and create smaller, task-specific models through “distillation,” including versions that can operate directly on devices.

This could make AI features faster, more private, and less dependent on cloud computing—key for future Siri upgrades. The report also says Apple’s in-house AI efforts remain active but directionally unclear. New Siri capabilities, including memory of past conversations and proactive suggestions, are expected to be unveiled at WWDC in June. → Continue reading here.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is stepping back from direct oversight of safety and security teams to focus on capital, infrastructure, and scaling AI systems, according to a March 24, 2026 report. At the same time, the company has completed pretraining for its next major model, codenamed “Spud,” and is shutting down its Sora video app to free up computing resources.

The shift signals a tighter focus on enterprise tools and core AI capabilities amid rising competition from rivals like Anthropic and Google. A previously announced $1 billion investment tied to a Sora partnership with The Walt Disney Company will no longer proceed. The changes reflect OpenAI’s push to prioritize scalable infrastructure and next-generation models over experimental products. → Read the full article here. (Paywall)

Tech companies are accelerating investments in AI—especially autonomous agents—even as most Americans remain skeptical and largely disengaged. At a recent NVIDIA conference, CEO Jensen Huang projected $1 trillion in revenue through 2028, underscoring industry optimism, while surveys show 65% of Americans don’t use AI at work and distrust regulation.

Meanwhile, Meta is restructuring aggressively to fund AI, reportedly considering up to 20% layoffs and scaling back its metaverse ambitions after $80 billion in losses. The gap highlights a growing disconnect between Silicon Valley’s priorities and everyday economic concerns. The shift suggests AI is becoming the dominant strategic focus across Big Tech, regardless of public hesitation. → Read the full article here.

Lightning V3 introduces a shift in text-to-speech (TTS) design, focusing on real-time conversational performance rather than traditional benchmarks like pronunciation accuracy and audio fidelity. The system is built for voice agents that generate speech incrementally, without full context, addressing issues where otherwise high-quality voices can feel unnatural in dialogue.

The approach emphasizes responsiveness, coherence, and conversational comfort—factors often missed by standard evaluation methods. The release reflects a broader rethinking of TTS objectives as voice interfaces become more interactive and agent-driven. In short, Lightning V3 aims to optimize not just how speech sounds, but how it feels in conversation. → Read the full article here.

Meta Cuts Jobs Amid AI Spending (Paywall): The company is laying off several hundred across sales, recruiting, and Reality Labs as it restructures to fund expanding artificial intelligence investments.

Oregon Lawyer Fined Over AI Citations (Paywall): A court hit attorney Bill Ghiorso with a $10,000 penalty after filings included fabricated case law from AI, underscoring risks of unchecked automated research.

China Blocks AI Founders Amid Meta Deal: Regulators barred Manus co-founders from leaving China during a review of Meta’s reported $2–3 billion acquisition, signaling tighter scrutiny of foreign AI investments.

Reddit Tests Human Checks for Bots: The platform will flag automated accounts and require suspected bots to verify they’re human using passkeys or biometrics, aiming to curb manipulation while preserving user anonymity.

Baltimore Sues xAI Over Grok Images: The city alleges Grok generated nonconsensual sexualized images and misled users on risks, marking a novel municipal case pushing accountability for AI harms.

Thanks for reading. See you next time!

— Matthew Berman, Nick Wentz & the Forward Future Team