🤖 Perplexity AI is STEALING from The Shortcut
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💸🕵️♂️ 1. Perplexity AI is stealing our content
🕵️ Perplexity AI is stealing content from The Shortcut, Forbes, Wired and others
🤑 At a $1 billion valuation, Perplexity AI has offered us and our peers exactly $0
🔒 Its AI bots are copying hard-paywalled content without proper attribution
🤖 An investigation revealed it’s scraping sites despite being forbidden to do so
🧑⚖️ It’s resulting in a loss of advertising revenue and ability to reach subscribers
🆕 This will lead to Clickbait 2.0 and jeopardize the future of what you read
🙃 Update: Perplexity says it’s “not ignoring [robot.txt],” but “we rely on third-party web crawlers” that do. So its end-product does ignore robot.txt 🤡
Let’s talk about AI at the top of the newsletter because – there’s good AI and bad AI.
😇 Good AI will save you time by working more efficiently and safely. Microsoft CoPilot+ PCs with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips I’m testing now or the Apple Intelligence update I’ll test soon can be on the side of good AI. I also went to a cool AI Arcade made by Gigabyte. AI can multiply compute power and existing assistants can better understand our natural language. Good AI also has the potential to save lives by dreaming up drugs no one has ever seen, according to MIT.
👹 What’s bad AI? Perplexity AI and its CEO Aravind Srinivas are stealing from The Shortcut, Forbes, Bloomberg, CNBC, Wired and other publications – even when the content is behind a hard paywall.
🧾 I’ve come with receipts on The Shortcut
✏️ When I wrote my Rabbit R1 review, I asked the Rabbit R1 (which gets its answers from Perplexity AI) “What do you think of the Rabbit R1?”
🕵️ Since I was the first reviewer to give this half-baked AI gadget a score it read much of my review back to me without attribution.
😮 This is when I realized we were “providing” answers for other tech questions through Rabbit R1 with no sourcing and through the main Perplexity AI platform with minimal sourcing
💸 The price of theft:
The Rabbit R1 costs $199
Perplexity AI Pro costs $20/mo
Perplexity has $1B and could be worth up to $3B, says TechCrunch
Perplexity has enough money to burn on an NBA Finals commercial
🤑 The Shortcut’s cut: $0
🤨 It gets worse with Forbes’ rip-off example
Forbes ran a hard-paywalled investigative story about former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s AI Combat Drones by Sarah Emerson and Richard Nieva.
Perplexity AI copied much of the article without permission and proper attribution.
Perplexity not only lifted fragments of Forbes’ wording (exactly like it did with my Rabbit R1 review) but also sent a push notification to its subscribers, created an AI-generated podcast without crediting Forbes and then turned that into a YouTube video that outranked Forbes in Google Search, wrote Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane.
🙄 What Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said his new AI project – Perplexity Paper – has “rough edges.”
Forbes Executive Editor John Paczkowski responded: “You scraped and repurposed investigative reporting gathered over months, fleshed it out with re-blogs of the same story by other outlets, and do not even bother to name us in your regurgitated post beyond a ‘Sources’ link, which is click to expand.”
🕵️ WIRED finds Perplexity isn’t playing by ANY rules
A WIRED investigation titled “Perplexity is a bullshit machine” revealed that the AI ignores widely accepted web standards known as the Robots Exclusion Protocol (robots.txt), and instead scrapes websites to access areas it’s expressly been forbidden to do so. So we’re powerless.
WIRED also discovered that the AI can be prone to lying, and takes articles published by websites like itself and paraphrases stories, often inaccurately, with minimal attribution.
In response to this investigation, Srinivas told Fast Company that “Perplexity is not ignoring “robots.txt” and then lying about it.” He followed up with: “We don’t just rely on our own web crawlers, we rely on third-party web crawlers as well.” So Perplexity’s end product gathers information ignored by robot.txt.
This is much like the 2000s Napster claiming it wasn’t distributing songs, but saying other people are trading pirated music illegally.
🧑⚖️ Let the AI lawsuits fly
Forbes is now threatening Perplexity with legal action, according to a scoop by Sara Fischer at Axios (see backlinking properly to human journalism isn’t hard). In a letter, Forbes’ general counsel demanded Perplexity remove misleadingly sourced articles and reimburse Forbes for ad revenues Perplexity earned via the infringement.
Angel investor and All-In podcast host Jason Calacanis wrote on his Substack about the New York Times vs OpenAI lawsuit – with similar complaints that Perplexity faces.
Jason proclaimed this was the ChatGPT maker’s Napster and Google moment, and it rings true for what Perplexity AI is doing today:
NAPSTER got smashed because the music industry is savvy and hardcore.
News sites got rolled by Google because publishers are dopey and meek.
Google's position back then was, "If you don't want to be in the index, just tell us not to crawl you in your robot.txt file!"
Publishers caved 25 years ago, just like they could today:
Of course, Google got so big, so fast, that it started sending massive traffic to sites like the NYTimes.
The publishing industry was so fractured and dumb at the time that they never considered how utterly worthless Google would be if the top 500 publications refused to let them index it.
I like this line from Jason because it alludes to today’s increasingly divisive content.
Then Google gutted the publishing industry with its massive advertising platform, creating all kinds of downstream issues for society.
Did you notice that as we all cheapened content and made headlines more “clickable,” society’s ills only increased? It was a mechanism for journalism to survive.
🔮 What will happen if publishers don’t act
As it stands, publishers are set to be roiled again – this time by AI. Cutting deals with AI firms may cut out small publishers and every journalist creating content will remain beholden to a new algorithm, one that answers whole questions without the chance for even a pitch an effective upsell like, “Hey, sign up for my newsletter.”
Bad AI will be worse for journalism than Google’s 10 Blue Links (which, today, seem so innocent) and will be worse than Jason's example of Napster. Let’s contrast the early 2000s music program vs what’s at hand today:
2000s: Napster was at least allowing people to trade stolen songs for free
🆚
TODAY: Perplexity AI is stealing original journalism content and charging users a $20/mo monthly fee for it
🙅♂️ A revenue model eventually is still theft now
Even if reports are true that Perplexity AI plans a revenue share model in the future, as Semafor’s technology editor Reed Albergotti suggested (sounding like a Perplexity AI PR mouthpiece, selling out journalism for a scoop with that weak first sentence), why is it stealing content in the interim?
How does an experienced tech journalist not question that?
That’s like me saying “I'm going to my local NYC bodega tomorrow and taking all of the Skittles. I'll work on a payment model with them later. Don't worry. It's totally cool now!” And then someone writing I have a “first-of-its-kind” rev share model coming.
Albergotti’s excuses that reblogging and aggregation have always existed fall flat for the many reasons I’ve outlined on X. Excuses like his harm future journalists.
🫵 How this will affect you
The worst part: I think journalism and sourcing will get far worse because of this.
⏪ Flashback: Hate Clickbait? Falling ad revenues and pop-up blockers led to a decline in newsroom headcounts and a rise in Clickbait 15 years ago.
☠️ Skelton crews: The desperation of some skeleton crews who remained in journalism would do anything to keep their jobs (and the jobs of those around them). You had to get double the traffic with half the amount of staff. Hence the rise of content farms and today’s awful search results.
🆕 Welcome to Clickbait 2.0: Something far worse will come without a proper monetization model for quality journalism. If Perplexity AI or Google’s Gemini and AI Overviews fully answer questions without clicks, there’s no ad money and no chance to connect with a free or paid subscriber.
😡 Divisive content 2.0: Bigger ads (if you can imagine), more sponsored posts parading as true journalism, and far more polarizing hot takes just to stand out (even if the hot take isn’t true). Mark my words: it’ll lead to more hateful content in order to stir engagement.
😱 My biggest fear about AI stealing original journalism
🤷♂️ Dis-content: If there’s no monetization, who would want to spend time and energy going on campaign trails? Who is going to bother to do local or investigative journalism? It’ll just be stolen content in the end.
👿 Big fear: Bad AI will get “better” at masking where it sources information. AI will be able to mix the stew of sources so well that it’ll be impossible to detect how it was able to synthetically arrive at pilfering a story from humans. That’ll be the “fix” in an AI update in the near future.
🧪 What’s a review? AI could “review” a product from a spec sheet. We still need tech journalists to touch and test the products, yet I’ve outlined how algorithms have started to push the wrong content to the top of Search, including AI-generated nonsense.
In its current state, Perplexity AI adds no value to actual human-led journalism. It’s up to publishers to grow a backbone and loudly reject being indexed by something far worse than Google’s 10 Blue links.
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📆 Your Tech Calendar
🚀 July 10, Wed: Samsung Unpacked rumored
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🎮 July 21, Fri: Asus ROG Ally X release date
🥇 July 26, Fri: Summer Olympic Games begin
🇩🇪 Sept 6, Fri: Tech show IFA begins in Berlin (we’ll be there)
😂 2. WhatsApp reunites the cast of Modern Family for new ads
😁 The cast of Modern Family have reunited for a series of WhatsApp ads
🤩 Familiar faces like Phil Dunphy, Cameron Tucker, and Clarie Dunphy return
📱 The family highlights the ongoing issue some people have when messaging between iOS and Android devices
💰 WhatsApp will have likely spent a lot of money to get the actors onboard
WhatsApp has splashed the cash on a new ad campaign featuring the cast of Modern Family to demonstrate the benefits of using its messaging app. It plays into the problem that some people have when you message between iOS and Android devices.
You won’t see Sofia Vergara or Ed O’Neill in any of the ads, as they probably stretched the company’s budget too far. Or maybe it wasn’t realistic to have an old man like Jay Pritchett talk about how they rely on an instant messaging app.
😎📱 3. XReal Beam Pro is a new Android device that works with its AR glasses
📱 XReal Beam Pro is a new Andorid device built for spatial video and experiences
🥽 It brings apps from Google Play Store into a 3D space via XReal AR glasses
💰 For just $199, enjoy your favorite apps in a 3D-aware AR environment
📸 It features dual 50MP 3D cameras so you can create spatial content
XReal has announced it’s making a phone-sized device that harnesses the power of its AR glasses and spatial content. The XReal Beam Pro will allow you to view Google Play Store apps in 3D space when viewed through the company’s glasses, and also let you enjoy all your entertainment experiences.
Content creators can also use the Beam Pro’s high-res 50MP 3D cameras to shoot spatial video and capture spatial photos. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset and comes with 8GB of memory. Pricing starts from $199.
🏠🔋 4. Cemented: Your home could become a giant battery in the future
🧑🔬 Scientists have found a way to store energy in cement so it can provide power
🤯 It could have a huge impact if it can be scaled up
🚗 A use case could be to create roads that store solar energy, then release it to recharge electric cars as they drive
⚡️ It’s still early days, but it could be the next step to help tackle the energy crisis
Concrete is the most commonly used building material in the world, and one day it could help power your home. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found a way to create an energy storage device using water, cement and a soot-like substance called carbon black – and it could open up some incredible possibilities.
The team at MIT has been able to use a carbon cement supercapacitor to power a handheld gaming device, and they could be used to help decarbonize the global economy.
The researchers at MIT and Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, envisage several applications for their supercapacitors, which could be used to store and release renewable energy so it can be used throughout the home.
🔐 🧠 5. Safe Superintelligence? OpenAI co-founder is creating a 'safer' ChatGPT-like service
👷🏻 Safe Superintelligence is an AI that is focused on safety as opposed to profit
🚀 It’s been launched by Ilya Sutskever, Daniel Gross, Daniel Levy
🤝 OpenAI has recently partnered with Apple and Microsoft, but SSI will not be doing so
OpenAI’s former chief scientist has started a new AI company that is focusing on safety as opposed to “commercial pressures”. Called Safe Superintelligence Inc., the company’s mission statement has been outlined on its website.
SSI is our mission, our name, and our entire product roadmap, because it is our sole focus. Our team, investors, and business model are all aligned to achieve SSI.
We approach safety and capabilities in tandem, as technical problems to be solved through revolutionary engineering and scientific breakthroughs. We plan to advance capabilities as fast as possible while making sure our safety always remains ahead.
🎟️ 6. Netflix House is a Disney-like immersive store, coming to two malls
👩 Netflix is launching two in-person experiences at major US malls
🎬 Netflix House will let you feel like you’re part of shows like Squid Game
🍔 Uniquely themed food and drinks will be available
🤔 The move is similar to Disney’s strategy, which has many experiences for fans
Netflix is taking a page out of Disney’s playbook by launching two immersive mega-stores that let shoppers feel like they’re inside the worlds of the streamer’s hit shows.
Netflix House will launch in two former department stores at malls in Dallas, Texas, and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The company said it chose the two locales because they’re “part of two of the most popular shopping centers in America”. Netflix’s chief marketing office Marian Lee also released the following statement:
“At Netflix House, you can enjoy regularly updated immersive experiences, indulge in retail therapy, and get a taste — literally — of your favorite Netflix series and films through unique food and drink offerings.”
🔞 7. N64 gets adult: Mature-rated games coming to Nintendo Switch Online
🆕 Nintendo has launched a new Virtual Console section
🔞 It focuses on Mature-rated N64 games
🎮 Currently, only 2 games are available:
🦖 Turok
🔫 Perfect Dark
👀 But we’ve listed what other N64 Mature games we can expect to see
One of the biggest surprises from Nintendo’s recent Direct presentation was the announcement of a new Virtual Console section that focuses exclusively on Mature-rated games for the N64.
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers can enjoy two new N64 games: Perfect Dark and Turok Dinosaur Hunter, but what other titles can we expect to see in the future?
The N64 only received 28 mature-rated games in total, and we’ve listed the games we’re likely to see as well as those that probably will never make it to the service
🥽 8. Apple Vision Pro 2 has reportedly been delayed for a cheaper model
✋ Apple has put the Apple Vision Pro 2 on hold
💰 It’s reportedly focusing on creating a cheaper Vision Pro headset
📆 The headset could begin shipping in 2025
🌎 Apple announced the Vision Pro is coming to other countries later this month
Apple is set to release its Vision Pro headset outset the US later this month, but don’t expect an Apple Vision Pro 2 anytime soon. Plans for a revised version of the $3,499 headset have been put on hold in favor of creating a cheaper, more affordable device.
The cheaper Vision Pro, which is also tipped to be lighter, could begin shipping in 2025 as Apple aims to grab a bigger market share of the VR/AR industry. The headset will likely include fewer features to keep costs down but will retain the excellent high-res displays.
🔮 My prediction: Apple will call its cheaper and lighter option Apple Vision Air. Any other name is just silly.
👾 9. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond could be a Nintendo Switch 2 launch title
👾 Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2025
🤔 It could be a cross-gen game and also be released on Nintendo Switch 2
👉 Nintendo followed a similar strategy for Zelda: Breath of the Wild
📆 It’s been 7 years since Metroid Prime 4 was first announced
Nintendo finally showed Metroid Prime 4 in action after seven long years of waiting. The game looks truly impressive, but it’s not due out until sometime in 2025.
It means Metroid Prime 4: Beyond could become a Nintendo Switch 2 game and be released on both Nintendo’s current console and its next system, similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond looks like a great game to easily show the benefits of what the Nintendo Switch 2 could bring, which will likely feature higher resolutions, better performance, and hopefully introduce some unique features that Nintendo is known for.
🔮 My prediction: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will instantly land on our best Nintendo Switch games list – and best Nintendo Switch 2 games list – instantly.
📈 10. Why Nintendo Switch will surpass the PS2 to become the best-selling console of all time
📈 Nintendo Switch is on course to surpass the PS2’s sales record
🏆 A strong showing for the rest of 2024 and early 2025 will help drive more sales
👏 Nintendo just announced a new Zelda, Mario & Luigi, and Mario Party game
😮 Nintendo is also releasing a limited edition Nintendo Switch Lite
The Switch is on track to topple the PS2’s sales record. It’s around 14 million units behind Sony’s most successful console of all time, and the Nintendo Switch has every chance of beating that total.
Not only has Nintendo announced a truly fantastic lineup of games, including the long-awaited Metroid: Prime 4 Beyond, but we also saw a brand-new Legend of Zelda title where you play as the titular princess.
Nintendo also announced a limited edition Nintendo Switch Lite to celebrate the release of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, which is bound to sell well among collectors or those who want to enjoy the best Switch games for less.
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