Focus on the BIG picture.
Sunday, Jul 06, 2025

AI may be artificial, but the hunger for human intelligence is dangerously real

AI may be artificial, but the hunger for human intelligence is dangerously real

This is a global brain grab — where poaching is policy, betrayal is strategy, and loyalty is a liability. "Good artists copy, great artists steal" (Steve jobs). In the war for AI, it’s not survival of the fittest — it’s survival of the fastest to steal.

The lawless hunt for human intelligence to build artificial intelligence has begun. And in this digital jungle, only the most adaptive — and the most ruthless — will survive.


No Rules, No Borders: The Lawless Pursuit of Human Genius to Create Machine Intelligence

In the wild frontier of artificial intelligence, Silicon Valley has gone full Darwin. The noble pursuit of human-level machine cognition has morphed into a ruthless power grab for human minds — a lawless, multi-billion-dollar hunt for elite AI talent where nothing is sacred, and everyone is a target. No patents. No loyalty. No rules. No borders.

And no one is playing harder — or dirtier — than Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has launched the most aggressive brain raid the industry has ever seen.


Inside Meta’s Covert Campaign to Build the Ultimate AI Lab

"Greed is good!" – Gordon Gekko, Wall Street (1987)

Zuckerberg’s latest moonshot, Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), isn’t just a research facility — it’s a war bunker. The mastermind behind Facebook has reportedly assembled “The List” — a secret dossier of the top 1,000 AI researchers across Silicon Valley, many hailing from OpenAI and Google DeepMind. These are the minds that will shape AGI, and Zuckerberg wants them. All of them.

He’s not sending recruiters. He’s calling them directly. Inviting them to his homes in Palo Alto and Lake Tahoe. Offering them up to $300 million over four years, complete freedom, unlimited compute, and the opportunity to make history.

“Steal whatever brilliance you can — everyone else is already stealing from you anyway.”

It’s not a strategy. It’s an arms race. A talent war waged one phone call, one poker game, one yacht dinner at a time. In the AI wars, it’s not who builds better — it’s who steals faster.


From Sushi Bars to Superstars: How AI Became the New Football

Gone are the days of free snacks and quirky office perks. This is Premier League tech hiring. AI researchers — not coders, not product leads — are the Messi and Mbappé of this war. Less than a thousand globally. Most in their early 30s. Nearly all in play.

“Talent theft isn’t betrayal. It’s business. And if you don’t do it, someone else will.”

Today’s top minds are auctioning themselves to the highest bidder. Some move in packs — group defections. Others treat offers as leverage. This week alone, OpenAI’s Noam Brown and Google’s Koray Kavukcuoglu rejected Meta's overtures — but not without extracting value.


OpenAI: The Bleeding Heart of the Revolution

Ironically, the company that triggered the AI boom is now hemorrhaging talent. OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, has seen a mass exodus. Ilya Sutskever, its revered Chief Scientist, walked out to found Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI). Meta tried — and failed — to acquire it.

Next went Mira Murati, OpenAI’s former CTO, who launched Thinking Machines Lab — immediately hiring 19 ex-OpenAI staff and engineers from Google and Character.ai. Meta now wants to buy her startup outright.

And who’s circling them all? AppleGoogleMicrosoft, and yes — Zuckerberg, still dialing.


The Billion-Dollar Bounty for Brains

Forget startups. The big money is in human capital.

  • $2.5B: What Google paid to acquire top developers from Character.ai without touching the company itself.

  • $650M: What Microsoft spent to absorb most of Inflection AI’s team and elevate Mustafa Suleyman to lead its consumer AI division.

  • $14B: The jaw-dropping amount Meta invested to buy 49% of Scale AI — all to get one man: Alexander Wang, a 28-year-old prodigy now leading MSL.

“The only crime in Silicon Valley is not stealing talent fast enough.”


Desperation Mode: Zuckerberg’s Gamble

Meta’s LLaMA 4 model flopped. The next version is delayed. Morale inside Meta's AI division is low. Zuckerberg knows time is against him. His rivals — OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, Google — are deploying production-level models.

So, in a decisive move, he sidelined AI legend Yann LeCun and handed leadership to Wang. The message was clear: the future belongs to the new gods of code.


“Steal from Me and I’ll Steal from You”: The New AI Code of War

"Good artists copy, great artists steal." – Steve Jobs

The game has gotten nastier. Just last week, Meta reportedly hired seven OpenAI researchers — including Zurich team leads and senior staff like Shenjia Zhao and Hongyu Ren — plus DeepMind’s Jack Rae. When the hires went public, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman exploded.

He accused Meta of reckless bonus offers and cultural sabotage. Chief Researcher Mark Chen said it felt like “someone broke into our home and stole something precious.” He begged employees to report Meta contacts and promised major compensation restructuring.

Still, the damage is done. OpenAI’s “recharge week” was canceled out of fear Meta would strike again.


Apple: From Poacher to Seller?

The biggest surprise? Apple may be giving up on developing its own large AI models. According to Bloomberg, researchers are demoralized and prepping for exit. Since 2018, Apple had lured over 36 Google AI experts. Now, it may send them back to the open market.


“From Irrelevant Nerds to the Most Wanted People in Tech”

As Meta launched MSL, Altman posted to Slack:

“We’ve gone from irrelevant nerds to the most wanted people in tech (at least).”

He claimed Meta failed to get their top targets, saying:

“They had to go far down their list. I’ve lost track of how many people they tried to make their Chief Scientist.”

And he closed with this:

“I’m proud of how mission-driven our field still is. Sure, there will always be mercenaries. But missionaries will beat mercenaries.”


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Remains of Seven Missing Workers Found After Northern California Fireworks Warehouse Explosion
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
Texas Flooding Claims Lives and Leaves Youth Campers Missing
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
President Trump Signs 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' Amid Celebratory Military Flyover
Starbucks Faces New Competition as China’s Top Coffee Chain Enters U.S. Market
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
US Eases Chip Software Sales Restrictions to China
Trump Announces New Trade Agreement Between U.S. and Vietnam
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
Mexico Shifts Power to Central Government in Legislative Blitz
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Chinese Astronauts Successfully Return from Tiangong Space Station
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Singapore Police Empowered to Seize Bank Accounts to Combat Scams
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Never forget when Melania Trump OBLITERATED this MSNBC reporter
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Elon Musk Critiques Senate Budget Proposal Over Job Losses and Strategic Risks
Los Angeles Riots ended with Federal Investigations into Funding
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
×