| Roller coasters can help pass kidney stones. | In 2016, scientists took a 3D-printed model of a human kidney to Disney World’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. They discovered that the combo of vibrations, centrifugal forces, and gravity helped “rattle” the small stones. | What’s in store: | Inside Meta’s mass layoffs. Data centre drama is going down in Utah. Mindstream Picks: Meta just turned Facebook Groups into an AI-powered Reddit clone.
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| | | META | | | On Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg wrote: "AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetimes." | Then his staff felt those consequences. As of May 20th, 10% of Meta’s global workforce — 8,000 people — no longer have a job. | But that’s only part of this story. Let’s rewind to Monday. | Two days before these mass cuts, the C-suite announced that 7,000 workers would be reassigned to AI initiatives. (A move quickly nicknamed “The Draft”.) And to sweeten the deal, anyone who willingly joined the Applied AI team would be protected from the impending layoffs.
Volunteer or get voluntold. | But even if workers didn’t sign up, they’ll still contribute to the cause. In leaked audio from an internal meeting, Zuck explains how tracking devices are feeding employee data to its LLMs. | In other words, Meta’s highly-skilled workers are (potentially) training their digital replacements. | The numbers: | Of Meta’s 78,000 employees, 8,000 were laid off and 7,000 will pivot to AI departments The company doubled their AI budget for 2026, in the ballpark of $125–145 billion Over 1,000 employees have signed a petition against the AI data tracking program
| None of this would be shocking if the company was struggling. But back in March, Meta reported a record-high revenue of $214 billion. | The reason for this restructuring isn’t to fix a problem, but to double down on what’s already working. By reallocating funds from other departments (like advertising and virtual reality), Meta can reinvest in AI initiatives. | History repeats | The AI era is frequently compared to the Industrial Revolution, a time when factory workers were initially displaced. But then the economy adapted, new jobs emerged, and the lightbulb went mainstream. Win! | So if history holds, Meta’s move makes sense… on a spreadsheet anyway. They’re also not alone in this business plan. Cisco, Microsoft, and Coinbase are among recent corporations trimming headcount in favor of AI. Whether the end justifies the means, is still TBD. | Progress has a price. This time, it came with a severance package. | Like I always say, don’t bite the hand that feeds you $214B. - TL | Are Zuck’s tactics justified? | | Vote for live results and see results + opinions from yesterday at the bottom of the email. |
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| | A red house is made of red bricks. A blue house is made of blue bricks. A yellow house is made of yellow bricks. What is a greenhouse made of? | Find the answer at the bottom of the email! |
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| | Essay Grader AI cuts grading time for teachers by automatically scoring essays against custom rubrics, flagging grammar and style issues, detecting AI-written content, and handling bulk uploads across multiple classes at once. | Waitroom runs structured, timed micro-meetings where everyone gets a fair turn to speak, cutting out Zoom fatigue and rambling with a queue format, AI summaries, and Slack and Google Calendar built right in. | WriteMail.ai generates professional, polished emails in seconds by matching your tone and style, with multilingual support and smart suggestions that take the guesswork out of every message you send. | WatchMyCompetitor tracks competitors, regulatory changes, and market shifts in real time, turning the data into ready-to-use reports, presentations, and content with AI assistants trained specifically for competitive intelligence. | Page Pulse is a no-fuss website analytics tool that tracks traffic, conversions, and user behavior through heatmaps and click tracking, with AI-powered insights that automatically spot problems and opportunities on every page. |
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| | | DATA CENTERS | | | What’s bigger than Manhattan, generates 23 atom bombs’ worth of energy, and is backed by a reality TV star? | Answer: Utah’s new data center. | The Stratos Project is set to become the world’s largest AI data facility at 40,000 acres. Lead investor, Kevin O’Leary – aka: Shark Tank’s Mr. Wonderful – says it will establish American AI dominance. Box Elder County residents say, not on their watch.
It took less than five months to greenlight the project. Once word got out, thousands of citizens filed formal complaints and hundreds showed up to the commission meeting. Commissioner Boyd Bingham's response? "For hell's sake, grow up." | It’s easy to paint these protests as anti-AI. But it’s not that black and white. | What the locals are actually fighting: | Heat: temperatures up roughly 2–5°F (1–3°C) during the day and 8–12°F (4–7°C) at night Energy: including 30.2 million tons of CO2 annually, a 55% spike in Utah’s emissions Water: data centers use over 5M gallons per day and increase air toxins in the process
| It’s not over... yet | As of right now, the people still have power. Or at least a fighting chance. The pending citizen referendum could overturn The Status Project approval. | And Utah isn’t the only battleground. Public pushback is rippling across the US, as residents of Virginia, Maine, Texas, New Jersey, and others draw lines in the sand. | The target may be rural America, but the playbook is straight from Silicon Valley. | Move fast and break things. | I like roller coasters, but not in my backyard. You know what I mean? - TL |
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| | Recommended Reading: There's no shortage of people who want to start a company. Just a shortage of ideas. Half Baked fixes that. Every morning. For free. Subscribe here. | Space: SpaceX has launched the first flight of its next-generation Starship V3 rocket, marking a major milestone in the company’s push toward operational missions.
Business: Morrisons plans to close more than 100 loss-making convenience stores, putting hundreds of jobs at risk amid rising costs.
Music: Drake has become the first artist ever to debut three studio albums in the UK Top 10 at the same time, led by ICEMAN at Number 1. | Don’t Miss: Meta has launched a new app called Forum that turns Facebook Groups into a standalone, Reddit-style experience with an integrated AI chatbot. The app lets users browse, search, and ask questions across their groups, with AI-generated answers pulling from community discussions. |
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| | Image of the Day |  | Artwork submitted by Mindstream reader Brendan: “A gold-colored Renault 4 floating in a blue sky” |
| Daily Image Prompt | Empty roadside motel floating above an endless desert at night |
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| Submit your artwork to Mindstream → |
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| | “What's the AI equivalent of a vinyl collector?” | I only use open source models - 37% | I prompt in raw API calls - 16% | I've been using AI since GPT-2 - 40% ✅ | Other - tell us! - 7% | Your Views: | “Probabilistic , the chances of finding that gem in stores when you are looking for it are like having Claude doing things right the first time” - yves | “Like Claude doing things right the first time” is insane stray damage. But also… painfully real.” - auxy | “GUI is for people with inner peace. I need my JSON malformed and my errors personal.” - qeyn | Submit your opinions in our polls to be featured! |
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| Riddle Me This Answer: Glass! | #1090
Free from desire |  | | | |
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