Good morning. It’s Thursday, November 12.
Nvidia’s board is reportedly preparing to decide whether Jensen Huang stays as CEO, turning a personal scandal into a governance question at the center of the AI boom. What matters now is whether the independent investigation and Congress reach into Nvidia’s China business.
Today we are covering:
Nvidia‘s board reportedly prepares to decide the future of CEO Jensen Huang after reports of two alleged affairs
Nick Clegg calls Silicon Valley‘s alliance with Trump “a near-total failure” in The Atlantic
Google launches Tabletop, an AI experiment for building group planning tools
Roku exits the smart home business just days after Fox closes its acquisition
An essay argues that even optimistic AI futures leave little room for human self-determination
Let’s dive in
Nvidia Is Preparing to Oust CEO Jensen Huang
By Robbie Whelan via The Wall Street Journal
Nvidia‘s board is reportedly preparing to decide the future of CEO Jensen Huang, with a possible ouster on the table, after reports of two alleged affairs. Huang admitted in an internal statement that he was “unfaithful” to his wife.
One relationship involves Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, whom The New York Times described as close to an alleged Chinese government agent. The other is reportedly with an Nvidia executive who reports to him, and The Times said the two were allegedly filmed at a hotel during a March conference, though it has not seen the video.
Nvidia opened an independent investigation on Sunday and says it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, while China calls the claims “baseless and purely slanderous smears.” House Republicans asked for a closed-door briefing on November 18, and Rep. Brian Mast said he is ready to subpoena Huang.
𝕏: Man the Deep State is doing a full coup of Jensen. They want to ban open source and centralize everything. Removing Jensen is how they pseudo-nationalize NVidia - Beff (e/acc) (@beffjezos)
Silicon Valley’s Trump Bet Was a Failure, Says Nick Clegg
By Nick Clegg via The Atlantic
Former Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg calls Silicon Valley‘s alliance with President Trump “a near-total failure” in an essay published on November 10, a week after the midterms.
He measures the alliance against three goals: beating China in AI, easing public worry about the technology, and resisting foreign regulation. He argues China has narrowed the AI gap, public attitudes have turned more negative than under Biden, and executives mistook Trump‘s reelection for a lasting political shift.
The essay lands as AI and data centers loom over the new political map: an NBC News exit poll found 56% of voters called them a crucial or major factor, and Rep. Greg Casar wants AI company chiefs to testify under oath. David Sacks answered on a podcast that Democrats “want to create a surveillance and censorship state.”
𝕏: Getting too close to Trump was a mistake – how could Silicon Valley have gotten (US) / got (UK) it so wrong? - Nick Clegg (@nickclegg)
The best way to reach new readers is through word of mouth. If you click THIS LINK in your inbox, it’ll create an easy-to-send, pre-written email you can just fire off to some friends.
Google launches Tabletop, an experimental AI platform for group planning
By Jess Weatherbed via The Verge
Google Labs launched Tabletop, an experiment that lets groups build their own planning tools with AI. Users add links, files, and ideas to a shared space, then ask “@tabletop“ to build something.
Examples include trip itineraries, dinner polls, expense splitters, and tournament brackets. The creator shares an invite link in a group chat, everyone edits at the same time like in a Google Doc, and members can ask for changes without starting over, such as turning a game of Pong into “Pickle Pong.”
Tabletop is rolling out in the US to adults aged 18 and over through a waitlist, with new users admitted each week. Google has not said which AI model powers it, and NotebookLM also began as a Labs experiment.
𝕏: we are letting (eligible) people off of the waitlist RIGHT NOW you get 5 invites to use (they do not need to also be on the waitlist) - lizard (@LizzieTao)
Roku is exiting the smart home business
By Janko Roettgers via Lowpass
Roku will make no more smart home products such as light bulbs and switches, and has nearly sold out its existing stock, according to a Lowpass scoop based on an email from a company spokesperson.
The spokesperson said Roku is “sharpening our focus” on its core streaming mission and will wind down smart home hardware sales while continuing to support and service existing products. On its website, all but two products are out of stock, and those two are sold as special offers.
The news comes days after Fox‘s acquisition of Roku closed, though Lowpass says the shift had been underway for months. The two remaining products recently appeared in a listing by RKP Technology, a company that handles surplus asset sales and liquidations.
𝕏: roku smart home lasted about as long as the average side project - foundrceo (@foundrceo)
Handing over humanity
By Ruxandra Teslo via Ruxandra’s Substack
Writer Ruxandra Teslo argues that even optimistic visions of a post-AGI future leave little room for human self-determination, opening with a researcher at a major AI lab who said that once superintelligence arrives, he sees no option other than handing control to it.
She calls the idea “handoverism” and estimates that 30 to 40 percent of the AI safety community outside the labs holds some version of it, with a higher share inside them. She splits holders into enthusiasts who welcome a benevolent superintelligence and resigned believers who think it cannot be stopped.
Her objections are that it undermines democracy and human agency, that alignment cannot be a one-time settlement, and that locking in 2026 values would close off moral change. She concludes that nothing is inevitable and the debate should be broader and faster.
𝕏: What are the visions of the post-AGI future in San Francisco? Many think we’re all going to die, but even the “positive” visions seem rather dystopian. Here, I wrote about “handoverism,” which involves handing control of the future to an AGI God, with humans outside the loop… - Ruxandra Teslo (@RuxandraTeslo)
Trending in AI
Today’s big AI theme: AI agents are becoming both the product and the problem, as airlines ban them, AWS lets them build its tools, and Grok faces lawsuits.
Chinese AI firms rush to secure Nvidia chip capacity as spy scandal stirs fear of US curbs
Teens Are Living in Fear After Grok Sexualized Their Childhood Photos
Google’s Gemini Decision 1 model scores up to 1,000 questions in one API call
AWS gives developers a free local stand-in for its cloud, built from scratch by AI agents
Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit Daily, fueled with highlights for your morning.
I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback, let me know by hitting reply.
Take care and see you tomorrow!
How was today’s email?
