✍️ Wordpress Wars

Hey everybody,

In today’s edition, we’re diving into whether AI will surpass human intelligence, the rise of AI-generated podcasts, and the high costs of running AI companies. Plus, we’ll cover the latest controversy involving Y Combinator, Discord’s evolving data storage, and the WordPress trademark drama.

Quick Links

🤔 AGI is far from inevitable
Is AI about to outthink the human brain? OpenAI and Google DeepMind employees believe it's just a matter of time. But recent research from Radboud University and other experts argues that these predictions are overhyped and might never happen.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts.

🎤 AI generated podcasts are surprisingly good
Google’s NotebookLM is gaining attention with its new Audio Overview feature, generating custom podcasts based on your content. Two AI hosts engage in a surprisingly natural-sounding, 10-minute deep dive discussion, offering a pretty convincing back-and-forth. Check out the example in the article.

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💵 Do AI companies work?
Large language models are incredibly expensive to develop. OpenAI is raising $6.5 billion as it reportedly burns through $7 billion annually on research, new AI services, and staff. Anthropic is set to spend $2.7 billion this year, while Facebook also pours in billions. With costs unlikely to drop, the big question remains, can AI companies stay sustainable? 

💬 Y Combinator is being criticized
PearAI, a Y Combinator startup, sparked controversy after launching its AI coding editor on Saturday. Founder Duke Pan admitted it's a clone of Continue, an open-source AI editor. The real issue? PearAI initially applied a fake closed license, the Pear Enterprise License, written by ChatGPT, violating open-source principles. This move has brought legal concerns and backlash, even spilling onto Y Combinator itself. Duke has since tweeted an apology.

💾 How Discord Stores Trillions of Messages
Back in 2017, Discord detailed their switch from MongoDB to Cassandra in search of a scalable, fault-tolerant database with low maintenance. However, Cassandra didn’t live up to their hopes, requiring significant effort just to maintain performance. Nearly six years later, Discord has evolved, and so has how they store trillions of messages.

The Wordpress Drama Explained

The WordPress community is facing a major conflict between Matt Mullenweg, WordPress founder and Automattic CEO, and hosting provider WP Engine. Mullenweg accused WP Engine of disabling a key feature, revision history, and confusing users with its use of the “WP” brand, calling the company a “cancer to WordPress.”

In response, WP Engine issued a cease-and-desist letter, defending their use of the trademark under fair use and accusing Mullenweg of demanding a revenue-based licensing fee.

The tension escalated when Mullenweg banned WP Engine from accessing WordPress.org resources, preventing users from updating plugins and themes, which led to community backlash. Though the ban was temporarily lifted, concerns remain over trademark control and the future of WordPress as an open-source platform. Developers worry about their reliance on WordPress services as trademark disputes continue to unfold.

WordPress is essentially internet infrastructure, powering around 43% of all websites. WP Engine, founded in 2010, has become a key player, offering prepackaged WordPress hosting services and rivaling WordPress.com, which is run by Mullenweg’s company Automattic. This battle over trademarks could impact the entire ecosystem of websites using WordPress software, whether hosted by WordPress.com or other providers.

More Reading

🆕 New React 19 Features You Should Know (FreeCodeCamp)
🗺️ Display Custom Maps on your site for Free (OpenFreeMap)
👑 The best browser bookmarking system (afewthingz)
🧒 Being Raised by the Internet (Jimmy Miller)

🚨 How to Survive (and Thrive) In This TOUGH Developer Economy

Times are tough, no doubt. In 2023, we saw nearly 300,000 layoffs in tech, and this year, 2024, we’re already nearing 60,000. The big question is: how do we navigate this market? How do we stay relevant, and more importantly, how can we thrive in such uncertain times?

Will things turn around after the recent rate cuts, and if so, when can we expect a shift?

My latest video breaks this down. 👇️ 

Until next week,

Travis.