Tesla FSD Confronts Rivian While Google Missed AI Opportunities

President Trump recently signed an executive order aiming to centralize AI regulation at the federal level, preventing states from creating their own rules. California Governor Gavin Newsom strongly opposes this, calling the order "patently illegal" and asserting California's right to regulate companies, citing its existing SB53 AI regulation. Meanwhile, the Washington Post launched "Your Personal Podcast" on December 13, 2025, an AI-powered feature creating custom audio briefings. This beta product quickly faced criticism for potential inaccuracies and misattributions, raising concerns from the Washington Post Guild about journalistic standards, even as publishers explore AI podcasts for cost-effective content expansion.In the automotive sector, Rivian held its first AI and Autonomy Day, revealing new silicon chips for Level 4 autonomous driving and a LiDAR sensor for its R2 SUV, expected in early 2026. Second-generation R1 models will receive Universal Hands-Free driving for $49.99 monthly or $2,500 outright, a significantly cheaper option than Tesla's Full Self-Driving. Rivian also introduces the "Rivian Assistant," an AI helper for climate control and app integration, launching in R1 models in early 2026. This comes as Elon Musk warns of an impending "AI hardware war," highlighting Nvidia's next-generation Blackwell chips, expected in early 2025, as a key driver for intensified competition and resource allocation in the AI sector.The Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) released its Olmo 3.1 models, focusing on efficiency and transparency for businesses. These include Olmo 3.1 Think 32B for advanced research and Olmo 3.1 Instruct 32B for conversational tasks, available on Ai2 Playground and Hugging Face. On the energy front, Energy Transfer LP is boosting its role in providing gas infrastructure for AI power needs, with projects like the Lake Charles LNG and Hugh Brinson Pipeline expected to improve future cash flows. Google co-founder Sergey Brin admitted that Google made strategic errors by not investing enough in AI after its 2017 "Attention Is All You Need" paper, allowing OpenAI to capitalize and attract talent like Ilya Sutskever, especially after ChatGPT's late 2022 launch prompted Google to combine its AI divisions.Despite the challenges and competitive landscape, AI holds immense potential for scientific breakthroughs and new ideas, a topic explored in an article published December 13, 2025. Many overlook AI's positive uses, such as its ability to interpret vast amounts of data, uncover hidden patterns, and automate lab work. Examples include discovering new materials, improving weather forecasts with tools like DeepMind's GraphCast, and potentially leading to cheaper drugs, better clean energy, and improved disaster predictions, making researchers more productive.

Key Takeaways

• President Trump issued an executive order to centralize AI regulation federally, blocking states from creating their own rules.
• California Governor Gavin Newsom opposes Trump's AI regulation order, calling it "patently illegal" and affirming states' rights to regulate, citing California's SB53.
• The Washington Post launched "Your Personal Podcast" on December 13, 2025, an AI-powered audio briefing system that faced early criticism for potential inaccuracies.
• Rivian unveiled new silicon chips for Level 4 autonomous driving and a LiDAR sensor for its R2 SUV, with Universal Hands-Free driving for R1 models priced significantly lower than Tesla's Full Self-Driving.
• Elon Musk warned of an "AI hardware war" driven by Nvidia's next-generation Blackwell chips, expected in early 2025, intensifying competition for advanced AI hardware.
• The Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) released Olmo 3.1 models, including Think 32B and Instruct 32B, focusing on efficiency and transparency, available on Hugging Face.
• Energy Transfer LP is expanding its gas infrastructure, including the Lake Charles LNG project and Hugh Brinson Pipeline, to meet the rising power demands of artificial intelligence.
• Google co-founder Sergey Brin admitted Google's strategic error in not investing enough in AI after its 2017 "Attention Is All You Need" paper, allowing OpenAI and ChatGPT to gain a lead.
• AI shows significant potential for accelerating scientific research and generating breakthroughs, such as discovering new materials and improving weather forecasts with tools like DeepMind's GraphCast.

Washington Post launches AI podcast faces accuracy concerns

The Washington Post introduced "Your Personal Podcast" on December 13, 2025, which uses AI to create custom audio briefings from users' reading history. This new feature, currently in beta, quickly faced criticism for potential inaccuracies and misattributing quotes. Bailey Kattleman, head of product and design, stated that future updates will allow listeners to interact and ask questions. The Washington Post Guild expressed concerns that the product might undermine journalistic standards. Publishers like the Post are exploring AI podcasts as a cost-effective way to expand audio content and reach new audiences.

Washington Post introduces AI podcast sparks accuracy debate

The Washington Post launched "Your Personal Podcast" on December 13, 2025, an AI-powered tool that creates personalized audio briefings from users' reading history. This new offering, still in its beta phase, quickly drew criticism regarding its accuracy and potential for misattributing information. Bailey Kattleman, the Post's head of product and design, mentioned upcoming features will allow listeners to interact and ask follow-up questions. The Washington Post Guild voiced concerns that this technology could lower journalistic standards. Many publishers are exploring AI podcasts as a cost-effective method to expand their audio content.

Trump signs order blocking state AI regulations

President Trump signed an executive order that stops states from making their own rules for artificial intelligence. CBS News senior business and technology correspondent Jo Ling Kent reported on this development. This order aims to centralize AI regulation at the federal level.

Rivian unveils cheaper hands-free driving and new AI features

Rivian held its first AI and Autonomy Day, revealing new silicon chips for Level 4 autonomous driving and a LiDAR sensor for the upcoming R2 SUV. The R2 will arrive in early 2026, with advanced tech coming by the end of 2026. Second-generation R1 models will get Universal Hands-Free driving, available for $49.99 monthly or $2,500 outright, which is much cheaper than Tesla's Full Self-Driving. Rivian also announced the "Rivian Assistant," an AI helper for climate control and app integration, launching in R1 models in early 2026.

Ai2 releases powerful Olmo 3.1 AI models

The Allen Institute for AI, or Ai2, launched its new Olmo 3.1 models, focusing on efficiency, transparency, and control for businesses. They updated Olmo 3.1 Think 32B for advanced research and Olmo 3.1 Instruct 32B for tasks like following instructions and multi-turn conversations. Ai2 extended the training for Olmo 3.1 Think 32B, using 224 GPUs for an extra 21 days. These new models are available on the Ai2 Playground and Hugging Face, showing improved performance on benchmark tests. Ai2 continues its commitment to open source and transparency in AI development.

Elon Musk warns of AI hardware war starting with Nvidia

Elon Musk issued a warning about an upcoming "AI hardware war," pointing to Nvidia's next-generation Blackwell chips as a major factor. These powerful chips, expected in early 2025, will significantly boost AI capabilities. Musk believes this will intensify competition and resource allocation in the AI sector. He suggests that control over advanced AI hardware could become a key point of conflict among tech companies and nations.

Energy Transfer boosts AI power with LNG and pipelines

On December 8, 2025, Energy Transfer LP presented at the Energy LIVE Conference in Houston. VP Amy Chen Davis highlighted the Lake Charles LNG project and the company's increasing role in providing gas infrastructure for AI power needs. Energy Transfer's growing projects, including AI-linked infrastructure and the Hugh Brinson Pipeline, are expected to improve future cash flows. This strategic focus aims to meet the rising energy demands of artificial intelligence.

Newsom opposes Trump's order blocking state AI rules

California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke on December 13, 2025, about rebuilding efforts after the LA fires and President Trump's executive order. Trump's order prevents states from creating their own AI regulations. Governor Newsom strongly disagrees, stating that California leads with its own AI regulation, SB53, and believes states have the right to regulate companies. He called Trump's order "patently illegal" and vowed to fight it. Newsom also commented on his former Chief of Staff, Dana Williamson, who faces 23 federal charges and has pleaded not guilty.

AI could spark new ideas and scientific breakthroughs

Published on December 13, 2025, this article explores how AI could help humanity find new ideas and advance scientific research, especially as evidence suggests we are generating fewer breakthroughs. Many people are wary of AI, but its positive uses, like aiding scientific discovery, are often overlooked. AI can help scientists by interpreting vast amounts of data, finding hidden patterns, and even running experiments. Examples include discovering new materials, improving weather forecasts with tools like DeepMind's GraphCast, and automating lab work. This could make researchers more productive, leading to cheaper drugs, better clean energy, and improved disaster predictions.

Google co-founder admits AI investment mistakes

Google co-founder Sergey Brin publicly admitted that Google made strategic errors by not investing enough in AI after its groundbreaking 2017 "Attention Is All You Need" paper. Brin stated that Google was too cautious about releasing chatbots to the public, fearing they might say "dumb things." This hesitation allowed OpenAI to capitalize on the technology, even attracting former Google Brain talent like Ilya Sutskever. Despite these missteps, Brin believes Google still benefits from its long history in AI research and development. After ChatGPT's launch in late 2022, Google regrouped by combining its Google Brain and Google DeepMind divisions.

Sources

• Is The Washington Post's new AI podcast a hallmark of the future?
• Is The Washington Post's new AI podcast a hallmark of the future?
• What comes next after Trump signs order blocking state AI rules?
• Rivian Hands-Free Driving Cheaper Than FSD
• Ai2's new Olmo 3.1 extends reinforcement learning training for stronger reasoning benchmarks
• Elon Musk warns about an all-out war, and it ‘starts’ with Nvidia - The Times of India
• Did Energy Transfer’s AI-Focused LNG and Pipeline Push Just Shift ET’s Investment Narrative?
• Newsom on Trump's AI order, rebuilding after LA fires and former aide facing federal charges
• We’re running out of good ideas. AI might be how we find new ones.
• We Messed Up By Not Investing More Heavily In AI After The Transformer Paper: Google Co-founder Sergey Brin