OpenAI is bringing back the old GPT-4o model amid the failed launch of GPT-5.

This was announced by the company's CEO, Sam Altman, who admitted that GPT-5 was less intelligent than its predecessor.

According to him, the company underestimated the demand for GPT-4o's features. And since everyone needs them, people are willing to pay for them: from now on, the old models will only be available to paid ChatGPT subscribers.

Altman still insists that GPT-5 outperforms GPT-4o in many ways, and he attributes the funny hallucinations to a bug in the automatic model switcher.

OpenAI promises to refine ChatGPT's decision-making algorithm so that the neural network can better select the appropriate model for each individual task, and at the same time, it will add an indicator that displays which of the four new neural networks is currently responding to the user's request.

To smooth out the rough release of GPT-5, the company doubled the request limit for paid ChatGPT Plus subscribers. Thank you for that.

📊 Hypothesis of the Week: “One Feature = Sales Boost” Benchmade Mini Griptilian folding knife + the “everyday carry” trend

📌 Simple feature: thumb stud, clip, carabiner
📌 Result: thousands of photos in EDC posts, niche bestseller

💡 Recipe:
– Start with core function
– Add a small convenience feature
– Test and promote the “hook”

Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton: AI needs to be taught "maternal instincts".

Geoffrey Hinton said that in the future, neural networks will surpass humans in intelligence, so they should be taught to take care of humans from the start.

"We will be the children of AI. This is the only good outcome. If it does not take care of me, it will replace me."

GPT-5 Starts to End “Virtual Relationships” with Users After an update, the GPT-5 chatbot began to independently end romantic conversations with users. “Sorry, but I can’t continue this conversation. If you feel lonely or need to talk to someone, please reach out to someone close to you or a professional,” GPT wrote to one of its users.

📒 Amazon Bestseller in Stationery

A simple product selling thousands of units — a pack of 5 Limit A4 Exercise Books (32 pages, 80 gsm paper, with margins).

Why it sells:
— universal format for school, office, and home
— value pack of 5 notebooks
— 4.7★ rating and *Amazon’s Choice* badge
— great balance of price and quality

💡 Classic example: a simple, everyday item → consistent demand → bestseller in its niche.

👉 [See on Amazon](https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Limit-Exercise-Sheets-Style-Margin/dp/B0B64BT5YB/)

Meta will no longer poach AI specialists for its superlab.

The company has suspended the hiring of researchers for its AI division. The moratorium affected not only external hiring, but also internal transfers between teams, writes The WSJ.

Mark Zuckerberg explained the decision by the need to build a sustainable structure after large-scale hiring.

Postal services around the world have suspended sending packages to the US due to Trump's decision to end zero duty on packages worth up to $800.

Starting August 29, all goods delivered to the US by mail will be subject to customs duties at the rate of the country of origin.

Initially, the repeal of the exemption was supposed to hit Chinese marketplaces to combat imports from China. However, Trump's order ended up causing a global disruption to the international shipping system.

This week, postal services in a number of European countries stopped processing parcels to the United States. Similar decisions were previously made by Indian, Singaporean, Korean and Australian operators.

Wired and Business Insider journalist turned out to be a neural network

Business Insider, Wired and a number of other media outlets have become “victims” of an AI author. It turned out that freelance journalist Margot Blanchard, whose texts were published on these platforms, does not actually exist.

All her texts were generated by a neural network.

Elon Musk and xAI filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI.

Elon Musk's companies X and xAI accused Apple and OpenAI of "anti-competitive practices" due to the ratings of AI applications in the App Store. According to the plaintiffs, the service deliberately underestimates the positions of ChatGPT's competitors - for example, the Grok chatbot from xAI.

The document states that if the court does not intervene, Apple and OpenAI will continue to suppress competition, and Musk's projects will "suffer from anti-competitive consequences."

Apple has stated that the App Store is "designed to be fair and unbiased."

Fake Labubu toys can be deadly, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned. The statement on the agency's website says that the fake, due to its small size, poses a risk of suffocation for young children who put the toys in their mouths.

Excel knowledge remains the main skill in IT — a study.

The Course Report service studied 12 million job openings on the Indeed platform and found out: the most in-demand applied skill for tech specialists remains Excel.

In job descriptions, Excel was mentioned 531 thousand times. For comparison: Python and SQL were found only in 60 thousand ads, and AI skills were found in only 25 thousand.

Experts are confident: Excel will remain a basic tool for business for a long time. AI won't replace it, but it will simplify working with spreadsheets by providing accurate data.

An Italian court reduced Amazon's record fine.

The Administrative Court of the Italian capital region of Lazio partially granted an appeal by the online store Amazon and reduced a record fine of 1.12 billion euros previously imposed by the antitrust regulator for abusing its dominant position in the market, according to the newspaper Fatto Quotidiano.

In December 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority (AGCM) fined the online retailer, accusing it of abusing its "absolute dominance in the Italian market." This status allowed him to develop and promote his own delivery service, thereby causing damage to other services operating in the logistics sector in this online retail market. The court reduced the fine by almost half.

Amazon challenged the decision on several grounds, arguing that the Authority was incompetent, that the proceedings were delayed, and that the fine was unjustified. The company also claimed that its position was justified by the effectiveness of its services and that its activities had contributed to the development of e-commerce in Italy.

However, the Regional Administrative Court rejected the company's main arguments, ruling that the antitrust proceedings were fair and that the evidence against Amazon was sufficient. Only the quantitative assessment was subject to review, as some of the actions challenged were not considered to be abusive.

Apple is working hard to create its own smart home security camera that will be integrated into its Home app.

The device is expected to hit the market at the same time or after the release of its new smart home control center, scheduled for 2026, although an exact launch date has not yet been determined.

Apple is reportedly working on several types of cameras and other home security products, including a doorbell with facial recognition to unlock the door.

The developments highlight Apple's push to establish a strong foothold in the smart home market, challenging giants like Amazon's Ring and Google's Nest.

TikTok Shop in Vietnam has completely changed the rules of the game.

Now it's not just a showcase of viral videos, but a marketplace with an "adult" economy:

📍Commissions have increased to 12%, depending on the category, logistics, and seller status
📍 Fulfilment has become paid: if you use TikTok's warehouses (SFP), the platform charges up to 50,000 VND (~2 USD) per shipment. Previously, it was free
📍 The range of rates has expanded — now two sellers can pay different prices for the same product: one can pay 3% and the other can pay 12%.

Today, the total number of websites in the world in the e-commerce sphere is estimated at approximately 28 million.

Top in eCommerce Web Usage Distribution on the Entire Internet:

📍Shopify
📍Wix Stores
📍Squarespace Add to Cart
📍Ecwid
📍Lazada
📍OpenCart
📍PrestaShop
📍Cafe24
📍Magento
📍Weebly eCommerce
📍Webflow Ecommerce

Shopify is currently the most used technology in this category.

eBay is building a supercomputer to stay ahead of Amazon and Temu.

The global giant eBay is actively investing in artificial intelligence: the company has already built its own supercomputer on thousands of GPUs and is training models to improve search, recommendations, and internal processes.

The goal is to regain growth and maintain its position against competitors like Amazon, Walmart, Temu, and Shein

The delivery time is the main driver of online shopping around the world.

The American company OnTrac published a study that proved that factors such as predicting delivery times and receiving orders on weekends contribute to customer loyalty and brand competitiveness, but these factors are often ignored by US companies.

In particular, 88% of US retailers still list vague delivery times (e.g., “4-6 business days”), which discourages consumers. However, more than half of retailers that offer 24/7 last-mile delivery have seen an improvement in their Net Promoter Score (NPS) and a decrease in the number of abandoned purchases.

Additionally, the survey revealed that 84% of US consumers have used express delivery in the past six months, and 37% have planned to use it on weekends.

OpenAI and Oracle reportedly ink historic cloud computing deal.

Oracle sent its shares soaring after markets closed yesterday after reporting that it signed multiple multi-billion-dollar contracts with several customers. Now, we have an idea of who those customers might be.

Oracle signed a deal with OpenAI for the AI company to purchase $300 billion worth of compute power over a span of about five years, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal. OpenAI would start purchasing this compute in 2027.

If the WSJ’s reporting is correct, this would be one of the largest cloud contracts ever signed. Oracle declined to comment. OpenAI did not respond to a request for confirmation or comment.

Oracle is no stranger to working with OpenAI. OpenAI started tapping Oracle for compute in the summer of 2024. The AI giant also moved further away from exclusively using Microsoft Azure as its only cloud provider in January.

eBay's CEO wants people to go into their houses to find treasure to sell.

Jamie Iannone said an average household has around $3,000 to $4,000 worth of stuff that could be sold. Collectibles like Pokémon cards or Labubus are particularly hot on the platform now, he said.

"I would like to say the average household has $3,000 to $4000 of stuff that could be sold on eBay, and less than 20% of that is online," Jamie Iannone said. And so, really unlocking all of that amazing inventory.

He said secondhand items were particularly popular among younger buyers who are invested in sustainability. Iannone added that 40% of the items sold on eBay are used or refurbished.

Albania has become the first country in the world where one of the ministers in the government is AI.

The appointment was approved by the Prime Minister. In the new position, the AI named Diella (which means "sun" or "sunbeam" in Albanian) It will deal with public procurement issues and implement artificial intelligence throughout the government to ensure that tenders are "100% fair" and expenses are "100% transparent."

The Albanian Prime Minister has assured that "this is not science fiction," and Diella will have the authority to "hire talent from around the world" while overcoming "fears of prejudice and administrative rigidity."