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Inference Engineering: The New Tokenomics of AI

The article, a paid newsletter piece, argues that the AI industry is shifting from a training-centric to an inference-centric phase. It explains that as models become more capable, the economic focus moves to the continuous operation of AI across enterprise workflows. The piece details the technical and economic distinctions between prefill (reading) and decode (writing) stages of inference, and introduces concepts like KV cache management, batching, prefix caching, and latency considerations. The author predicts that enterprise inference will become economically as important as pretraining, and that the optimization goal changes from lowest token cost to lowest cost per accepted outcome at required latency. The article is primarily an analytical commentary, not a news report, and is likely paywalled as indicated by 'Subscribe to Premium to Gain Access'.

Earth's Faster Rotation Threatens Global IT Systems

The article discusses the impending decision by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in October 2026 to potentially abolish the leap second due to the Earth's faster rotation. This could necessitate a negative leap second, which has never been tested and poses significant risks to IT infrastructure, including power grids, telecommunications, and satellite navigation. Google and Meta use 'smearing' techniques to smooth time adjustments, but a negative leap second remains a serious concern. Climate change may delay the need for a negative leap second until after 2029, as melting polar ice slows the Earth's rotation. If abolished, a leap hour might be introduced, but rare adjustments could be problematic. The article highlights the fragility of global timekeeping and the potential for widespread system outages.

• The General Conference on Weights and Measures will vote on abolishing the leap second in October 2026.
• A negative leap second has never been tested and could cause outages in power grids, telecom, and satellite systems.
• Google and Meta use 'smearing' techniques to mitigate leap second issues.

Data Agent Kit is now GA: Bring Google Data Cloud to any coding agent

Data Agent Kit is now generally available, enabling integration of Google Data Cloud with any coding agent.

California governor vetoes bill banning 'pervert glasses' secret recording

California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 1130, which would have made it illegal to secretly record people using wearable recording devices like smart glasses. Newsom argued the bill defined wearable recording devices too broadly, potentially causing unintended consequences, and that existing state laws already provide adequate protections. The bill aimed to address privacy concerns amid the rise of always-listening devices from companies like Meta and Snap, which have seen significant sales. If enacted, California would have been the first state to regulate smart glasses, with fines or prison time for violators. The decision comes as other countries, like Norway, are considering similar bans. Critics have dubbed such devices 'pervert glasses' following incidents of harassment. The veto means no new specific regulations for these wearables in California yet.

• California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 1130 on October 1, 2026.
• The bill would have made it unlawful to secretly record people with wearable recording devices, with fines or prison time for violators.
• Newsom cited overly broad definitions and existing legal protections as reasons for the veto.

Colleen DeCourcy Builds In-House Creative at Sonos

Colleen DeCourcy, former CCO of Snap and agency veteran, joined Sonos as CMO in November 2025 to lead the brand's recovery from a botched app redesign. She is eschewing traditional agencies in favor of an in-house creative department and creator partnerships. Her first campaign, 'Feel the System', focuses on emotional benefits rather than specs. Sonos is also opening a 'creative cultural space' in New York for co-creation. DeCourcy aims to rebuild trust and brand recall, which suffered after the 2024 crisis.

• Colleen DeCourcy joined Sonos as CMO in November 2025.
• Sonos lost approximately $500 million in market cap and $100 million in revenue due to the 2024 app redesign crisis.
• DeCourcy's first campaign, 'Feel the System', launched in September 2026.

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