Reading view

Why the A.I. Boom Is Unlike the Dot-Com Boom

Silicon Valley is again betting everything on a new technology. But the mania is not a reboot of the late-1990s frenzy.

© Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg

Ben Horowitz, a major A.I. venture capitalist, in 2019. “The clearest sign that we are not actually in a bubble is the fact that everyone is talking about a bubble,” he said.
  •  

A.I. Deal Making Is Getting Faster

Investors are deciding within 15 minutes whether to shovel millions into A.I. start-ups and taking entrepreneurs weight lifting and rock climbing to get deals done.

© Poppy Lynch for The New York Times

Colin Roberts, left, and Vivek Nair, the founders of Multifactor, an A.I. start-up, fielded interest from more than 250 investors and raised more money than planned.
  •  

Yann LeCun, a Pioneering A.I. Scientist, Leaves Meta

Dr. LeCun’s departure follows a shake-up in Meta’s artificial intelligence efforts, as Mark Zuckerberg pushes his company to keep up in the tech race.

© Victor Llorente for The New York Times

Despite Meta’s efforts to reach A.I. “superintelligence,” Yann LeCun has said that large language models will never be smart enough to be considered superintelligent.
  •  

Meta’s Victory Opens the Way for Silicon Valley to Go Deal Shopping

To avoid regulatory scrutiny, big tech companies had steered clear of buying start-ups outright. Meta’s antitrust win may change that thinking.

© Jason Henry for The New York Times

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, in September. On Tuesday, a federal judge found Meta had not violated antitrust law by buying Instagram and WhatsApp when they were tiny start-ups.
  •  

Are A.I. Therapy Chatbots Safe to Use?

Psychologists and technologists see them as the future of therapy. The Food and Drug Administration is exploring whether to regulate them as medical devices.

© Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

Brittany Bucicchia began using an A.I. therapy chatbot after dealing with mental health struggles.
  •  

How A.I. Is Transforming Dating Apps

Meet your artificial intelligence matchmakers. These A.I. tools are changing dating apps, so users don’t have to swipe through an endless scroll of profiles.

© Olivier Heiligers

  •  

Reddit Accuses ‘Data Scraper’ Companies of Theft

In a lawsuit, Reddit pulled back the curtain on an ecosystem of start-ups that scrape Google’s search results and resell the information to data-hungry A.I. companies.

© Natalie Keyssar for The New York Times

Reddit, which went public last year, has banned scraping of its website and charges companies for access to its data.
  •  

Renting a San Francisco Apartment in the A.I. Boom? Good Luck.

The artificial intelligence gold rush has pushed San Francisco’s residential rents up by the most in the nation, as A.I. companies lease apartments and offer rent stipends to employees.

© Amy Osborne for The New York Times

Roy Lee, Cluely’s chief executive, at his home in Cluely’s office in San Francisco. His start-up has leased apartments for its employees.
  •