OpenAI Tests Ads in AI Replies

Plus, Nvidia just dropped $20B to eat its rival!

December 26, 2025

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Welcome back, AI Admirers!

Breaking News: OpenAI is exploring ways to bring advertising into ChatGPT, including sponsored content inside AI responses. This could change how people interact with the tool and raise questions about trust and transparency.

Get ready to dive into the latest happenings in AI.

šŸ“¢ Today's Headline:

  • ChatGPT May Favor Paid Content!

  • AI Rich List Explodes in 2025!

  • How a Spanish virus brought Google to MĆ”laga!

  • New York just rewrote the AI rulebook!

  • Latest AI Tools & Resources!

  • Todayā€™s Poll and Results!

Read time: 3.5 minutes!

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Hand-picked News

OpenAI is testing sponsored content inside ChatGPT answers, sparking big questions about trust vs. monetization.

  • Sponsored replies could appear directly in conversations, not just in sidebars.

  • Early mockups show ads labeled clearly, but critics worry about blurred lines between help and hype.

  • OpenAI insists it will design ad formats to protect user trust, yet the move feels like a pivot toward searchā€‘engine economics.

This experiment comes as OpenAI looks for sustainable revenue streams beyond subscriptions, and it could redefine how AI assistants deliver information.

āš ļø If ads start shaping what ChatGPT tells us, the neutrality of AI answers may be at risk.

āœ… Transparency will be key ā€” without it, users may lose confidence fast.

šŸ‘€ Tip: If youā€™re building with AI, think about how monetization models could impact user trust in your own products.

The AI gold rush in 2025 didnā€™t just fuel innovation ā€” it supercharged the fortunes of Americaā€™s richest tech leaders.

  • The top 10 US tech barons added more than $550 billion to their wealth this year.

  • Nvidia, Tesla, Oracle, and Google were the biggest drivers of these gains, riding investor frenzy.

  • Combined net worth of these moguls now sits near $2.5 trillion, up from $1.9 trillion at the start of 2025.

The S&P 500 rose 18% this year, but AIā€‘linked stocks massively outpaced the broader market, cementing AI as the defining economic story of 2025.

āš ļø The concentration of wealth highlights how the AI boom is widening inequalityā€”while investors and founders cash in, questions remain about who benefits from AI beyond Wall Street.

šŸ‘€ Tip: If youā€™re building in AI, track how capital flows into specific sectorsā€”those are the areas where adoption (and competition) will accelerate fastest.

One tiny piece of malware in 1992 ended up pulling Google into MĆ”laga and reshaping Europeā€™s cybersecurity map.

  • Bernardo Quintero traced his career back to a 2,610-byte virus that infected his university PCs.

  • That obsession led him to build VirusTotal, later acquired by Google, anchoring its European cybersecurity hub in MĆ”laga.

  • The virusā€™ author, Antonio Enrique ā€œKikeā€ Astorga, left a hidden anti-terrorist message in the codeā€”his identity only uncovered decades later.

Quinteroā€™s nostalgic hunt for the anonymous programmer revealed not just a name, but a legacyā€”Astorga became a teacher, inspired students, and passed on his passion for computing to his son, now working in cybersecurity.

šŸ‘€ Why it matters: A ā€œmostly harmlessā€ virus turned into the seed of a global security powerhouse. Itā€™s a reminder that small sparksā€”curiosity, challenges, even accidentsā€”can ignite industries and cities. MĆ”laga is now a talent hub because one student decided to fight code with code.

āœ… Quick insight: If youā€™re tinkering with side projects, donā€™t underestimate them. Todayā€™s ā€œharmless experimentā€ could be tomorrowā€™s Google acquisition.

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šŸšØ Quick Poll

Todayā€™s Poll:

Do you think ChatGPT showing ads will make the experience less useful?

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Vote today, see the results tomorrow!

Previous Poll:

Should Japan investigate big AI firms for monopoly risks?

  • A) Yes ā€“ Fair competition matters ā€“ 63%

  • B) No ā€“ Let companies run freely ā€“ 37%

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