×
The Bose, DJI, Apple tech deals to snag before Amazon’s spring sale ends, as told by a tech editor

The Bose, DJI, Apple tech deals to snag before Amazon’s spring sale ends, as told by a tech editor

Tech-news

Table of Contents

As Mashable’s tech editor, I test the latest products from brands like Apple, Samsung, and DJI. I also get to try cool under-the-radar gadgets that only true tech nerds know about. Officially, the Amazon Big Spring Sale ended last night, but some of the best tech deals are sticking around. So, I hand-picked a fresh batch of deals that are actually worth shopping. I’ve also included some deals from competing retailers — if they have a better price. Since the event is over, it’s worth jumping on any leftover sale prices soon. There’s no telling when they’ll shot back to full price.

Between inflation, a global memory shortage, and overall economic anxiety (trust me — I’m feeling it, too!), you don’t want to miss a chance to save some money.

I’ve personally tested many of these products, and if I haven’t, someone else on my team probably has. I’m only recommending products with genuine discounts, because we all know big retailers like to play fast and loose with the definition of the word “deal.”

Grab Sony headphones on sale

Yesterday Amazon gave Sony headphones the special treatment and we save the previous-gen Sony WH-1000XM5 noise-cancelling headphones drop to $243, a new record-low price. Sadly, this sale price ended with the sale. However, you can still snag the Sony ULT Wear headphones, another Mashable Choice winner, while they’re still on sale for under $150.

$148

$249.99
Save $101.99

 

Amazon always delivers solid deals on Apple products during its big sales, and even though the sale is over, you can score record-low prices on Apple Watches and newly released MacBook Pro laptops. Amazon has quietly discounted the new AirPods Max 2 by $20, and they don’t even come out until April 1. Miraculously, this sale price is still live on select colorways.

Early shoppers cleaned up on the M4 MacBook Air and M3 iPad Air, which are now out of stock — womp, womp. We’re tracking the other worthwhile Amazon Apple deals that are still around, including M4 iPads and M4 MacBooks.

While the 2026 Big Spring Sale’s list of good laptop deals was flooded with MacBooks, Windows laptop steals include the Asus ROG Flow Z13 with a free code for Crimson Desert and the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3X and both of those are still around.

$199
at Amazon

$249
Save $50

 

$59.99
at Walmart

$99
Save $39.01

 

More Apple deals

  • Apple AirTag 1 (4-pack) — $59.99 at Walmart and Best Buy $99 (save $39.01)

  • Apple AirPods 4 — $99 $129 (save $30)

  • Apple Watch SE 2 — $189 $249 (save $50)

  • Apple Watch SE 3 — $219 $249 (save $30)

  • Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) — $299 $399 (save $100)

  • Apple iPad, 11-inch (A16, WiFi, 128GB) — $299 $349 (save $50)

  • Apple AirPods Max Headphones (1st Gen) — $449.99 at Amazon, Target, and Walmart $549 (save $99.01)

  • Apple Watch Ultra 2 (49mm) — $499 $799 (save $300)

  • Apple AirPods Max 2 — $529 $549 (save $20)

  • Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M3, WiFi + Cellular, 128GB) — $549.99 $749 (save $199.01)

  • Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $689.99 $699 (save $9.01)

  • Apple MacBook Air, 13-inches (M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $999.97 $1,199 (save $199.03)

SEE ALSO:

Laptop specs explained: A jargon-free guide to what’s inside your computer

A smart Anker charger with a smile

Anker makes my favorite fast chargers, and I literally use the company’s GaN USB-C chargers every day of my life. However, the next Anker charger I want to try is this little phone charger, which comes with a smart display and fun colors (you can match it to your iPhone, if you’re into that sort of thing).

$29.99
at Amazon

$39.99
Save $10.00

 

More Anker deals

DJI drones on sale starting at $149

Yes, technically, DJI drones are banned in the United States, but they’re still widely available from third-party sellers at Amazon. (It’s complicated.) If you’re a creator, real estate professional, or wedding photographer who wants to take beautiful aerial videos in 4K — or just an aspiring pilot looking to have some fun outdoors — these drones are by far the most popular choice.

And if you’re looking for a premium drone that isn’t sold by a third-party retailer, the new Antigravity A1 Drone, one of the last drones approved for sale prior to the ban, is also on sale at Amazon.

More deals on drones

Please note: Due to the ongoing DJI drone ban, all DJI drones are sold through third-party sellers at Amazon. Do your research into the seller and shop accordingly.

Amazon Echo device deals

As per usual, some of the best deals during the spring Amazon sale were on Amazon’s own products, particularly in the Echo lineup. Sadly, most of those devices are back up to full price today. We’ll likely have to wait until Prime Day this summer to catch those discounts again. However, some lucky Amazon accounts can still snag great deals on the Fire TV Stick 4K Select.

sale price available for select Amazon accounts with code SAVE4K

More Echo device deals

Bose headphones on sale

We waited patiently for this one and it’s still live: Our favorite Bose headphones are discounted even after the Amazon Spring sale. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra (Gen 2), the brand’s current flagship, are supremely comfortable. In fact, our reviewer called them the most comfortable headphones in the world, full stop. And if you need something a little more affordable, their younger sibling is also still on sale.

$399
at Amazon

$449
Save $50

 

$249
at Amazon

$349
Save $100

 

Xreal Smart AR Glasses

As a tech editor, I’ve been very skeptical of the smart glasses trend. However, I like Xreal’s augmented reality glasses precisely because they don’t have cameras, so you don’t have to worry about creeps and bad behavior. I use the Xreal One Pro AR glasses when working on planes, and the new Xreal 1S glasses can project a 500-inch virtual screen for work or entertainment wherever you go. Both pairs sank to their lowest-ever prices during the Big Spring Sale, and today’s they’re both $1 more than their sale price yesterday. We’re still calling that a great sale price.

TV deals

Amazon forgot to turn the TV deals off when the sale ended. Nearly all of my top picks are still sitting at Big Spring Sale prices. Pro tip: Hisense and TCL Fire TVs are often a better value than Amazon’s own Fire TVs. This Big Spring Sale, you can find the 75-inch version of the Hisense U6 Mini-LED Fire TV for $170 less than the 55-inch version of the Amazon Omni Mini-LED Series Fire TV.

You can also still snag new record-low pricing on Samsung QLED TVs released last year, now that the 2026 Samsung QLEDs have been released.

Unfortunately, there weren’t any new price drops on my favorite TV: The Frame art TV from Samsung. Most sizes of the 2025 Frame TV are still on sale, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.

$549.96
at Amazon

$899.99
Save $350.03

 

$597.97
at Amazon

$897.97
Save $300

Lowest-ever price

More TV deals

SEE ALSO:

What to look for when buying a TV, as told through this easy TV specs guide

DJI creator deals

For the Big Spring Sale, Amazon went hard with DJI deals, and they’re almost all still live. You can still find massive discounts on the brand’s popular line of creator gadgets. I personally use the DJI Mic Mini and DJI Osmo Mobile 7P Gimbal when shooting videos for Mashable (check our Instagram story to see my latest).

The cult-favorite DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Vlogging camera, which experienced a rare markdown earlier in this sale, is back up to full price. I’m keeping my eyes out for any after-sale price drops, however. Pro creators and YouTubers are obsessed with this camera (in my review, I wrote, “it should replace whatever vlogging camera you’re using now”).

$79
at Amazon

$99
Save $20

 

$99
at Amazon

$129
Save $30

 

More DJI creator deals

Our favorite affordable stick vacuums

Spring cleaning was a big theme during the Big Spring Sale, from deals on cleaning supply restocks to deals on robot vacuums and cordless vacuums, and it’s not too late to get nice deals.

Our favorite stick vacuum deals are actually from Shark, not Dyson. The $149 Shark Pet IX141 has incredibly strong suction for the price, confirmed by a reporter with a dog. It’s still down at this price after the sale.

Shark Pet Cordless Essential Vacuum Cleaner (IX141)

$149
at Amazon

$179.99
Save $30.99

 

Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Bone Conduction Headphones

The No. 1 best-selling bone conduction headphones are still on sale after the Amazon Spring Sale, with a discount of 22%. You can pick up these athlete-approved running headphones for under $150.

JBL Bluetooth speakers — save 27%

I’m a big fan of JBL’s Bluetooth speakers. In my testing, they’ve beaten out more expensive Bluetooth speakers from brands like Bose and Sonos. They’re also extremely portable, super easy to use, and totally waterproof, i.e., perfect for spring and summer hangouts. Two of my favorite models are still sitting at their Big Spring Sale price today.

$109.95
at Amazon

$149.95
Save $40.00

 

$299.94
at Amazon

$379.95
Save $80.01

 

Fitness trackers on sale

If you’re coming out of a winter funk and looking for some workout motivation, strap on a fitness tracker. You can pick up Fitbit step counters for under $70, or save up to $70 on the latest generation of Apple Watches, which are the same Amazon Big Spring Sale prices we saw yesterday.

$69.96

$99.95
Save $29.99

 

$329
at Amazon

$399
Save $70

 

More fitness tracker deals

SEE ALSO:

We found the best Apple Watch deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale — deals start at $189

Have you heard of the viral gadget, The Brick? This humble little gadget helps to lower your screen time by locking you out of your most time-sucking apps. The only way to unlock them is to physically tap your phone to the Brick, and it works. In her review, Mashable’s Samantha Mangino wrote that the Brick cut her screen time in half and “finally taught me how to be bored again.” The brand is still hosting a spring sale.

$47.20
at Brick

$59
Save $11.80

 

An affordable foldable phone

If you’re an Android user on the fence about getting a foldable phone, this deal could help you decide and it’s still live after the sale. The Motorola Razr Ultra was the most underrated phone of 2025, and I was impressed by its battery life, display, and design during testing. If you miss flip phones that slip easily into your pocket, then you’ll appreciate this one.

This trendy little flip phone is $500 off at Amazon even after the Spring Sale. It’s far more affordable than Samsung’s Z Flip 7, too.

$799.99
at Amazon

$1,299.99
Save $500

 

SEE ALSO:

I’ve been testing phones for 20 years. Check the top unlocked phone deals in Amazon Spring Sale.

Live

Latest Updates


Source link
#Bose #DJI #Apple #tech #deals #snag #Amazons #spring #sale #ends #told #tech #editor

Related Posts

It’s tough shopping for organic bedding. If you don’t know your way around the certification lingo, you might buy something that has just organic materials but doesn’t use an organic process or chemicals to make the bedding you end up sleeping on. One of our favorite brands that checks all the boxes is Naturepedic, which makes some of our favorite organic mattresses and organic sheets. Naturepedic has certifications around the block for its products, from the Global Organic Textile Standard (better known as GOTS) and Oeko Text Standard 100 to Greenguard Gold and Made Safe. You can’t go wrong with Naturepedic’s bedding if you want something high-quality and organic, and we’ve got Naturepedic promo codes and discounts to make it a steal (literally, you’ll steal some pillows).

Shop the Naturepedic Sale

Shopping the Naturepedic sale this month is one of the best ways to save major coin on luxury bedding and mattresses. The Naturepedic sale has limited-time discounts and rotating deals on some of their best-selling items, including latex pillows, organic bedding like duvets and pillowcases, pillows, and crib sets.

Naturepedic Crib Mattress Deals: Save With a Naturepedic Promo Code

Naturepedic’s incredibly supportive and well-crafted beds aren’t just for adults. The Naturepedic Crib Mattress gives parents peace of mind knowing that their little one is sleeping on a non toxic mattress. The Naturepedic organic crib mattress is 100% certified organic, with a wipe-clean waterproof surface, and extra-firm support.

Sign Up and Save 10%: No Naturepedic Promo Code Needed

Even without a sitewide sale, there’s still a way to get a great discount on Naturepedic’s organic bedding. Sign up for Naturepedic’s list and you’ll be able to save 10% or up to $579 on a mattress. You’ll also get early access to new launches and limited-time offers once you’re on the list—Naturepedic’s list members (nicknamed Organic Insiders) get 24-hour early access to all of the brand’s sales.

Enjoy In-Home Setup With Mattress Removal

Need to get rid of your mattress or nervous about lugging your new mattress to your bedroom? I don’t blame you: I worry about the same thing with a bedroom on the third floor. But Naturepedic has you covered with a third-party delivery team that will set up your new mattress in your bedroom, and dispose of your old one, which is huge. You can’t just throw away a mattress anywhere, so that alone is helpful. This is another offer that’s only within the continental U.S. Choosing this option also usually adds about a week to delivery time, but that’s much better than spending a week (or more!) trying to dispose of the mattress you already have.

Free Ground Shipping on All U.S. Orders

No matter if you use these discount codes or not, any shipping in the continental U.S. gets free shipping. Hawaii and Alaska will have shipping fees since they’re outside of that range, but the other 48 states can enjoy free shipping anytime without any promo code needed.

#Top #Naturepedic #Promo #Codes #Free #Pillowscoupons,shopping">Top Naturepedic Promo Codes: Get 20% Off Plus Free PillowsIt’s tough shopping for organic bedding. If you don’t know your way around the certification lingo, you might buy something that has just organic materials but doesn’t use an organic process or chemicals to make the bedding you end up sleeping on. One of our favorite brands that checks all the boxes is Naturepedic, which makes some of our favorite organic mattresses and organic sheets. Naturepedic has certifications around the block for its products, from the Global Organic Textile Standard (better known as GOTS) and Oeko Text Standard 100 to Greenguard Gold and Made Safe. You can’t go wrong with Naturepedic’s bedding if you want something high-quality and organic, and we’ve got Naturepedic promo codes and discounts to make it a steal (literally, you’ll steal some pillows).Shop the Naturepedic SaleShopping the Naturepedic sale this month is one of the best ways to save major coin on luxury bedding and mattresses. The Naturepedic sale has limited-time discounts and rotating deals on some of their best-selling items, including latex pillows, organic bedding like duvets and pillowcases, pillows, and crib sets.Naturepedic Crib Mattress Deals: Save With a Naturepedic Promo CodeNaturepedic’s incredibly supportive and well-crafted beds aren’t just for adults. The Naturepedic Crib Mattress gives parents peace of mind knowing that their little one is sleeping on a non toxic mattress. The Naturepedic organic crib mattress is 100% certified organic, with a wipe-clean waterproof surface, and extra-firm support.Sign Up and Save 10%: No Naturepedic Promo Code NeededEven without a sitewide sale, there’s still a way to get a great discount on Naturepedic’s organic bedding. Sign up for Naturepedic’s list and you’ll be able to save 10% or up to 9 on a mattress. You’ll also get early access to new launches and limited-time offers once you’re on the list—Naturepedic’s list members (nicknamed Organic Insiders) get 24-hour early access to all of the brand’s sales.Enjoy In-Home Setup With Mattress RemovalNeed to get rid of your mattress or nervous about lugging your new mattress to your bedroom? I don’t blame you: I worry about the same thing with a bedroom on the third floor. But Naturepedic has you covered with a third-party delivery team that will set up your new mattress in your bedroom, and dispose of your old one, which is huge. You can’t just throw away a mattress anywhere, so that alone is helpful. This is another offer that’s only within the continental U.S. Choosing this option also usually adds about a week to delivery time, but that’s much better than spending a week (or more!) trying to dispose of the mattress you already have.Free Ground Shipping on All U.S. OrdersNo matter if you use these discount codes or not, any shipping in the continental U.S. gets free shipping. Hawaii and Alaska will have shipping fees since they’re outside of that range, but the other 48 states can enjoy free shipping anytime without any promo code needed.#Top #Naturepedic #Promo #Codes #Free #Pillowscoupons,shopping

know your way around the certification lingo, you might buy something that has just organic materials but doesn’t use an organic process or chemicals to make the bedding you end up sleeping on. One of our favorite brands that checks all the boxes is Naturepedic, which makes some of our favorite organic mattresses and organic sheets. Naturepedic has certifications around the block for its products, from the Global Organic Textile Standard (better known as GOTS) and Oeko Text Standard 100 to Greenguard Gold and Made Safe. You can’t go wrong with Naturepedic’s bedding if you want something high-quality and organic, and we’ve got Naturepedic promo codes and discounts to make it a steal (literally, you’ll steal some pillows).

Shop the Naturepedic Sale

Shopping the Naturepedic sale this month is one of the best ways to save major coin on luxury bedding and mattresses. The Naturepedic sale has limited-time discounts and rotating deals on some of their best-selling items, including latex pillows, organic bedding like duvets and pillowcases, pillows, and crib sets.

Naturepedic Crib Mattress Deals: Save With a Naturepedic Promo Code

Naturepedic’s incredibly supportive and well-crafted beds aren’t just for adults. The Naturepedic Crib Mattress gives parents peace of mind knowing that their little one is sleeping on a non toxic mattress. The Naturepedic organic crib mattress is 100% certified organic, with a wipe-clean waterproof surface, and extra-firm support.

Sign Up and Save 10%: No Naturepedic Promo Code Needed

Even without a sitewide sale, there’s still a way to get a great discount on Naturepedic’s organic bedding. Sign up for Naturepedic’s list and you’ll be able to save 10% or up to $579 on a mattress. You’ll also get early access to new launches and limited-time offers once you’re on the list—Naturepedic’s list members (nicknamed Organic Insiders) get 24-hour early access to all of the brand’s sales.

Enjoy In-Home Setup With Mattress Removal

Need to get rid of your mattress or nervous about lugging your new mattress to your bedroom? I don’t blame you: I worry about the same thing with a bedroom on the third floor. But Naturepedic has you covered with a third-party delivery team that will set up your new mattress in your bedroom, and dispose of your old one, which is huge. You can’t just throw away a mattress anywhere, so that alone is helpful. This is another offer that’s only within the continental U.S. Choosing this option also usually adds about a week to delivery time, but that’s much better than spending a week (or more!) trying to dispose of the mattress you already have.

Free Ground Shipping on All U.S. Orders

No matter if you use these discount codes or not, any shipping in the continental U.S. gets free shipping. Hawaii and Alaska will have shipping fees since they’re outside of that range, but the other 48 states can enjoy free shipping anytime without any promo code needed.

#Top #Naturepedic #Promo #Codes #Free #Pillowscoupons,shopping">Top Naturepedic Promo Codes: Get 20% Off Plus Free Pillows

It’s tough shopping for organic bedding. If you don’t know your way around the certification lingo, you might buy something that has just organic materials but doesn’t use an organic process or chemicals to make the bedding you end up sleeping on. One of our favorite brands that checks all the boxes is Naturepedic, which makes some of our favorite organic mattresses and organic sheets. Naturepedic has certifications around the block for its products, from the Global Organic Textile Standard (better known as GOTS) and Oeko Text Standard 100 to Greenguard Gold and Made Safe. You can’t go wrong with Naturepedic’s bedding if you want something high-quality and organic, and we’ve got Naturepedic promo codes and discounts to make it a steal (literally, you’ll steal some pillows).

Shop the Naturepedic Sale

Shopping the Naturepedic sale this month is one of the best ways to save major coin on luxury bedding and mattresses. The Naturepedic sale has limited-time discounts and rotating deals on some of their best-selling items, including latex pillows, organic bedding like duvets and pillowcases, pillows, and crib sets.

Naturepedic Crib Mattress Deals: Save With a Naturepedic Promo Code

Naturepedic’s incredibly supportive and well-crafted beds aren’t just for adults. The Naturepedic Crib Mattress gives parents peace of mind knowing that their little one is sleeping on a non toxic mattress. The Naturepedic organic crib mattress is 100% certified organic, with a wipe-clean waterproof surface, and extra-firm support.

Sign Up and Save 10%: No Naturepedic Promo Code Needed

Even without a sitewide sale, there’s still a way to get a great discount on Naturepedic’s organic bedding. Sign up for Naturepedic’s list and you’ll be able to save 10% or up to $579 on a mattress. You’ll also get early access to new launches and limited-time offers once you’re on the list—Naturepedic’s list members (nicknamed Organic Insiders) get 24-hour early access to all of the brand’s sales.

Enjoy In-Home Setup With Mattress Removal

Need to get rid of your mattress or nervous about lugging your new mattress to your bedroom? I don’t blame you: I worry about the same thing with a bedroom on the third floor. But Naturepedic has you covered with a third-party delivery team that will set up your new mattress in your bedroom, and dispose of your old one, which is huge. You can’t just throw away a mattress anywhere, so that alone is helpful. This is another offer that’s only within the continental U.S. Choosing this option also usually adds about a week to delivery time, but that’s much better than spending a week (or more!) trying to dispose of the mattress you already have.

Free Ground Shipping on All U.S. Orders

No matter if you use these discount codes or not, any shipping in the continental U.S. gets free shipping. Hawaii and Alaska will have shipping fees since they’re outside of that range, but the other 48 states can enjoy free shipping anytime without any promo code needed.

#Top #Naturepedic #Promo #Codes #Free #Pillowscoupons,shopping

Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you don’t keep up with the latest trends.

If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable
SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 13, 2026

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for May 13, 2026

Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:

Drab.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Vote for your favorite creators today

Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter D appears twice.

Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…

Today’s Wordle starts with the letter D.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL.

The Wordle answer today is…

Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today’s Wordle is…

DOWDY

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.

#Wordle #today #answer #hints">Wordle today: The answer and hints for May 13, 2026 Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you don’t keep up with the latest trends.If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 13, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.What’s the best Wordle starting word?The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.What happened to the Wordle archive?The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers. Is Wordle getting harder?It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though. SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for May 13, 2026 Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:Drab. Mashable Top Stories Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Vote for your favorite creators todayDoes today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?The letter D appears twice.Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…Today’s Wordle starts with the letter D. SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is…Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.Drumroll please!The solution to today’s Wordle is…DOWDYDon’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle. #Wordle #today #answer #hints

Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you don’t keep up with the latest trends.

If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable
SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 13, 2026

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for May 13, 2026

Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:

Drab.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Vote for your favorite creators today

Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter D appears twice.

Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…

Today’s Wordle starts with the letter D.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL.

The Wordle answer today is…

Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today’s Wordle is…

DOWDY

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.

#Wordle #today #answer #hints">Wordle today: The answer and hints for May 13, 2026

Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you don’t keep up with the latest trends.

If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable
SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 13, 2026

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for May 13, 2026

Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:

Drab.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Vote for your favorite creators today

Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter D appears twice.

Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…

Today’s Wordle starts with the letter D.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL.

The Wordle answer today is…

Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today’s Wordle is…

DOWDY

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.

#Wordle #today #answer #hints

After two weeks of hearing from assorted witnesses that he was a lying snake, the jury finally heard from the lying snake himself: Sam Altman. At the end of the testimony, his lawyer William Savitt asked him how it felt to be accused of stealing a charity.

“We created, through a ton of hard work, this extremely large charity, and I agree you can’t steal it,” Altman said. “Mr. Musk did try to kill it, I guess. Twice.”

Altman was fully in “nice kid from St. Louis” mode, and did a passable impression of a man who was bewildered at what was happening to him. When he stepped down from the stand holding a stack of evidence binders, he even looked a little like a schoolboy. He seemed nervous at the beginning of his direct testimony, though he warmed up fairly quickly. Overall, he seemed to give credible testimony — and at times, it seemed like the jury liked him.

Throughout this trial I’ve had some difficulty imagining what the jury is making of all this because I am a little too familiar with the figures who are testifying. I have heard some audacious lies under oath, like when Elon Musk told us all he doesn’t lose his temper. (He then proceeded to lose his temper on cross-examination.) Or like when Shivon Zilis, the mother of several of his children, told us that she didn’t know Musk was starting xAI — which seemed to be directly contradicted by her text messages. Or when Greg “What will take me to $1B?” Brockman told us he was all about the mission. I certainly believe Altman isn’t trustworthy — I mean, The New Yorker published more than 17,000 words about how much he lies. But unlike with Musk, there are contemporaneous documents backing Altman’s version of the story. At least, mostly.

“My belief is he wanted to have long-term control”

After OpenAI’s Dota 2 win, discussions for a for-profit arm started in earnest. “Mr. Musk felt very strongly that if we were going to form a for-profit he needed to have total control over it initially,” Altman said. “He only trusted himself to make non-obvious decisions that were going to turn out to be correct.”

Altman testified that he was uncomfortable with Musk’s insistence on control, not just because Musk hadn’t been as involved as everyone else, but because OpenAI existed so no one person would control AGI. And at Y Combinator, the startup incubator where he was president, Altman had seen a lot of control fights; no one wanted to give up power when things were going well. With structures like supervoting shares, founders could retain control forever. Curiously, Altman’s example was not the most famous one (Mark Zuckerberg at Meta); it was Musk and SpaceX. When Altman asked Musk about succession plans for OpenAI, he got a particularly “hair-raising” answer: In the event of Musk’s death, Musk said, “I haven’t thought about it a ton, but maybe control should pass to my children.”

I don’t know about that. But I do know that I saw a 2017 email from Altman to Zilis in which he wrote, “I am worried about control. I don’t think any one person should have control of the world’s first AGI — in fact the whole reason we started OpenAI was so that wouldn’t happen.” He went on to say that he didn’t mind the idea of immediate control and was open to “creative structures” — which I understood to mean that, in order to placate Musk, Altman was willing to give him control up to specific milestones in company development.

“I read a vague, like, a lightweight threat in there”

“My belief is he wanted to have long-term control and that he would’ve had that had we agreed to the structure he wanted,” Altman said on the stand. This sounds basically right. In later video testimony from Sam Teller’s deposition, we heard that Musk no longer invests in anything he doesn’t control. This also fits with Musk’s long-term fixation on making sure he can’t get booted from his own company the way he got booted from PayPal.

Musk also tried to recruit Altman to Tesla. We saw texts between Altman and Teller, in which Teller told Altman that Musk was committed to beefing up Tesla’s AI no matter what, and that he hoped that Altman, Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever would want to join eventually. “I read a vague, like, a lightweight threat in there, that he’s gonna do this inside of Tesla with or without you,” Altman said. But he felt that Tesla was primarily a car company — allowing it to acquire OpenAI would betray OpenAI’s mission.

Later, in Teller’s testimony, we saw texts Teller sent to Zilis at 12:40AM on February 4th, 2018: “I don’t love OpenAI continuing without Elon,” he wrote. “Would rather disable it by recruiting the leaders.”

When Musk stopped his quarterly donations, OpenAI was operating on a “shoestring” with an “extremely short runway of cash.” OpenAI did have other donors, none of whom have sued it or joined Musk’s suit. (One donor in the exhibit that wasn’t called out to the courtroom was Alameda Research, the firm owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, who is now in prison for fraud and money laundering.) Musk’s resignation from the board meant “people wondered if he was gonna try to take, uh, vengeance out on us or something.” On the other hand, Altman said Musk had “demotivated some of our key researchers” and done “huge damage for a long time to the culture of the organization.” So it sure seems like some people were relieved to be rid of him.

I’ve seen some fairly shoddy lawyering from Musk’s side throughout this trial

We saw a lot of evidence that throughout the time Altman was setting up OpenAI’s for-profit arm, he kept Musk apprised of what was going on, either directly or through Zilis or Teller. At no point did Musk object, and whatever he said publicly about the Microsoft investments, there was plenty of evidence that privately he’d been made aware.

On the cross-examination, we were treated to more than 10 minutes of Steven Molo telling Altman that various and assorted people had called him a liar: Sutskever, Mira Murati, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, Daniela and Dario Amodei (former OpenAI employees and founders of Anthropic), employees at Altman’s first startup Loopt, that recent New Yorker article, a book called The Optimist, etc. Molo did score some points by asking Altman about testimony in the trial, which Altman said he wasn’t paying close attention to. Molo acted as though this was inconceivable. Surely someone had informed Altman of what was said?

It was a little funny and also a little tiresome. Altman kept his cool, though, seeming hurt and confused by the focus on whether he was a liar. It was also the most successful part of the cross, which declined in focus precipitously afterward. I’ve seen some fairly shoddy lawyering from Musk’s side throughout this trial, and today was pretty bad. At one point, when Molo was trying to capitalize on Altman being both CEO and on the company’s board, Altman said — truthfully — that CEOs are almost always on the boards of the companies they run.

(At this point in my notes, I had written, “Boy, Molo is not very good at this.”)

The point of this trial isn’t to win — it’s to punish Altman, Brockman, and OpenAI

There was also an unconvincing argument about fundraising in nonprofits, specifically that if Stanford could raise $3 billion a year, OpenAI should have remained a nonprofit. Okay, let’s just think about that for a minute. Stanford has a donor network of thousands of graduates. It’s a school, which has very different capital requirements. It is not competing with any reputable for-profit companies. But leave that all aside and assume that some fundraising genius took over at the OpenAI Foundation: $3 billion is the initial two Microsoft investments combined, and not enough to scale OpenAI to where it is now. If compute is the main bottleneck on building AI models, then Molo’s line of argument suggests OpenAI never would have managed to be successful as a nonprofit alone. He’s making the defense’s case for them.

But the thing is, Molo doesn’t actually have to be good at this job, because the point of this trial isn’t to win — though I’m sure Musk wouldn’t mind a win. The point is to punish Altman, Brockman, and OpenAI. Musk has done that pretty thoroughly — reinforcing in the public’s mind that Altman is a liar and a snake. This morning, I read an exclusive in The Wall Street Journal that assorted Republican AGs and the House Oversight committee wanted to look into Sam Altman’s investments. References to the trial are peppered throughout the article.

So yes, Altman was convincing on the stand. He may even win the suit. But it sure seems like Musk’s vengeance has just begun.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
#Sam #Altman #winning #standAI,OpenAI">Sam Altman was winning on the stand, but it might not be enoughAfter two weeks of hearing from assorted witnesses that he was a lying snake, the jury finally heard from the lying snake himself: Sam Altman. At the end of the testimony, his lawyer William Savitt asked him how it felt to be accused of stealing a charity.“We created, through a ton of hard work, this extremely large charity, and I agree you can’t steal it,” Altman said. “Mr. Musk did try to kill it, I guess. Twice.”Altman was fully in “nice kid from St. Louis” mode, and did a passable impression of a man who was bewildered at what was happening to him. When he stepped down from the stand holding a stack of evidence binders, he even looked a little like a schoolboy. He seemed nervous at the beginning of his direct testimony, though he warmed up fairly quickly. Overall, he seemed to give credible testimony — and at times, it seemed like the jury liked him.Throughout this trial I’ve had some difficulty imagining what the jury is making of all this because I am a little too familiar with the figures who are testifying. I have heard some audacious lies under oath, like when Elon Musk told us all he doesn’t lose his temper. (He then proceeded to lose his temper on cross-examination.) Or like when Shivon Zilis, the mother of several of his children, told us that she didn’t know Musk was starting xAI — which seemed to be directly contradicted by her text messages. Or when Greg “What will take me to B?” Brockman told us he was all about the mission. I certainly believe Altman isn’t trustworthy — I mean, The New Yorker published more than 17,000 words about how much he lies. But unlike with Musk, there are contemporaneous documents backing Altman’s version of the story. At least, mostly.“My belief is he wanted to have long-term control”After OpenAI’s Dota 2 win, discussions for a for-profit arm started in earnest. “Mr. Musk felt very strongly that if we were going to form a for-profit he needed to have total control over it initially,” Altman said. “He only trusted himself to make non-obvious decisions that were going to turn out to be correct.”Altman testified that he was uncomfortable with Musk’s insistence on control, not just because Musk hadn’t been as involved as everyone else, but because OpenAI existed so no one person would control AGI. And at Y Combinator, the startup incubator where he was president, Altman had seen a lot of control fights; no one wanted to give up power when things were going well. With structures like supervoting shares, founders could retain control forever. Curiously, Altman’s example was not the most famous one (Mark Zuckerberg at Meta); it was Musk and SpaceX. When Altman asked Musk about succession plans for OpenAI, he got a particularly “hair-raising” answer: In the event of Musk’s death, Musk said, “I haven’t thought about it a ton, but maybe control should pass to my children.”I don’t know about that. But I do know that I saw a 2017 email from Altman to Zilis in which he wrote, “I am worried about control. I don’t think any one person should have control of the world’s first AGI — in fact the whole reason we started OpenAI was so that wouldn’t happen.” He went on to say that he didn’t mind the idea of immediate control and was open to “creative structures” — which I understood to mean that, in order to placate Musk, Altman was willing to give him control up to specific milestones in company development.“I read a vague, like, a lightweight threat in there”“My belief is he wanted to have long-term control and that he would’ve had that had we agreed to the structure he wanted,” Altman said on the stand. This sounds basically right. In later video testimony from Sam Teller’s deposition, we heard that Musk no longer invests in anything he doesn’t control. This also fits with Musk’s long-term fixation on making sure he can’t get booted from his own company the way he got booted from PayPal.Musk also tried to recruit Altman to Tesla. We saw texts between Altman and Teller, in which Teller told Altman that Musk was committed to beefing up Tesla’s AI no matter what, and that he hoped that Altman, Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever would want to join eventually. “I read a vague, like, a lightweight threat in there, that he’s gonna do this inside of Tesla with or without you,” Altman said. But he felt that Tesla was primarily a car company — allowing it to acquire OpenAI would betray OpenAI’s mission.Later, in Teller’s testimony, we saw texts Teller sent to Zilis at 12:40AM on February 4th, 2018: “I don’t love OpenAI continuing without Elon,” he wrote. “Would rather disable it by recruiting the leaders.”When Musk stopped his quarterly donations, OpenAI was operating on a “shoestring” with an “extremely short runway of cash.” OpenAI did have other donors, none of whom have sued it or joined Musk’s suit. (One donor in the exhibit that wasn’t called out to the courtroom was Alameda Research, the firm owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, who is now in prison for fraud and money laundering.) Musk’s resignation from the board meant “people wondered if he was gonna try to take, uh, vengeance out on us or something.” On the other hand, Altman said Musk had “demotivated some of our key researchers” and done “huge damage for a long time to the culture of the organization.” So it sure seems like some people were relieved to be rid of him.I’ve seen some fairly shoddy lawyering from Musk’s side throughout this trialWe saw a lot of evidence that throughout the time Altman was setting up OpenAI’s for-profit arm, he kept Musk apprised of what was going on, either directly or through Zilis or Teller. At no point did Musk object, and whatever he said publicly about the Microsoft investments, there was plenty of evidence that privately he’d been made aware.On the cross-examination, we were treated to more than 10 minutes of Steven Molo telling Altman that various and assorted people had called him a liar: Sutskever, Mira Murati, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, Daniela and Dario Amodei (former OpenAI employees and founders of Anthropic), employees at Altman’s first startup Loopt, that recent New Yorker article, a book called The Optimist, etc. Molo did score some points by asking Altman about testimony in the trial, which Altman said he wasn’t paying close attention to. Molo acted as though this was inconceivable. Surely someone had informed Altman of what was said?It was a little funny and also a little tiresome. Altman kept his cool, though, seeming hurt and confused by the focus on whether he was a liar. It was also the most successful part of the cross, which declined in focus precipitously afterward. I’ve seen some fairly shoddy lawyering from Musk’s side throughout this trial, and today was pretty bad. At one point, when Molo was trying to capitalize on Altman being both CEO and on the company’s board, Altman said — truthfully — that CEOs are almost always on the boards of the companies they run.(At this point in my notes, I had written, “Boy, Molo is not very good at this.”)The point of this trial isn’t to win — it’s to punish Altman, Brockman, and OpenAIThere was also an unconvincing argument about fundraising in nonprofits, specifically that if Stanford could raise billion a year, OpenAI should have remained a nonprofit. Okay, let’s just think about that for a minute. Stanford has a donor network of thousands of graduates. It’s a school, which has very different capital requirements. It is not competing with any reputable for-profit companies. But leave that all aside and assume that some fundraising genius took over at the OpenAI Foundation: billion is the initial two Microsoft investments combined, and not enough to scale OpenAI to where it is now. If compute is the main bottleneck on building AI models, then Molo’s line of argument suggests OpenAI never would have managed to be successful as a nonprofit alone. He’s making the defense’s case for them.But the thing is, Molo doesn’t actually have to be good at this job, because the point of this trial isn’t to win — though I’m sure Musk wouldn’t mind a win. The point is to punish Altman, Brockman, and OpenAI. Musk has done that pretty thoroughly — reinforcing in the public’s mind that Altman is a liar and a snake. This morning, I read an exclusive in The Wall Street Journal that assorted Republican AGs and the House Oversight committee wanted to look into Sam Altman’s investments. References to the trial are peppered throughout the article.So yes, Altman was convincing on the stand. He may even win the suit. But it sure seems like Musk’s vengeance has just begun.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Elizabeth LopattoCloseElizabeth LopattoPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Elizabeth LopattoAICloseAIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All AIOpenAICloseOpenAIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All OpenAI#Sam #Altman #winning #standAI,OpenAI

Elon Musk told us all he doesn’t lose his temper. (He then proceeded to lose his temper on cross-examination.) Or like when Shivon Zilis, the mother of several of his children, told us that she didn’t know Musk was starting xAI — which seemed to be directly contradicted by her text messages. Or when Greg “What will take me to $1B?” Brockman told us he was all about the mission. I certainly believe Altman isn’t trustworthy — I mean, The New Yorker published more than 17,000 words about how much he lies. But unlike with Musk, there are contemporaneous documents backing Altman’s version of the story. At least, mostly.

“My belief is he wanted to have long-term control”

After OpenAI’s Dota 2 win, discussions for a for-profit arm started in earnest. “Mr. Musk felt very strongly that if we were going to form a for-profit he needed to have total control over it initially,” Altman said. “He only trusted himself to make non-obvious decisions that were going to turn out to be correct.”

Altman testified that he was uncomfortable with Musk’s insistence on control, not just because Musk hadn’t been as involved as everyone else, but because OpenAI existed so no one person would control AGI. And at Y Combinator, the startup incubator where he was president, Altman had seen a lot of control fights; no one wanted to give up power when things were going well. With structures like supervoting shares, founders could retain control forever. Curiously, Altman’s example was not the most famous one (Mark Zuckerberg at Meta); it was Musk and SpaceX. When Altman asked Musk about succession plans for OpenAI, he got a particularly “hair-raising” answer: In the event of Musk’s death, Musk said, “I haven’t thought about it a ton, but maybe control should pass to my children.”

I don’t know about that. But I do know that I saw a 2017 email from Altman to Zilis in which he wrote, “I am worried about control. I don’t think any one person should have control of the world’s first AGI — in fact the whole reason we started OpenAI was so that wouldn’t happen.” He went on to say that he didn’t mind the idea of immediate control and was open to “creative structures” — which I understood to mean that, in order to placate Musk, Altman was willing to give him control up to specific milestones in company development.

“I read a vague, like, a lightweight threat in there”

“My belief is he wanted to have long-term control and that he would’ve had that had we agreed to the structure he wanted,” Altman said on the stand. This sounds basically right. In later video testimony from Sam Teller’s deposition, we heard that Musk no longer invests in anything he doesn’t control. This also fits with Musk’s long-term fixation on making sure he can’t get booted from his own company the way he got booted from PayPal.

Musk also tried to recruit Altman to Tesla. We saw texts between Altman and Teller, in which Teller told Altman that Musk was committed to beefing up Tesla’s AI no matter what, and that he hoped that Altman, Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever would want to join eventually. “I read a vague, like, a lightweight threat in there, that he’s gonna do this inside of Tesla with or without you,” Altman said. But he felt that Tesla was primarily a car company — allowing it to acquire OpenAI would betray OpenAI’s mission.

Later, in Teller’s testimony, we saw texts Teller sent to Zilis at 12:40AM on February 4th, 2018: “I don’t love OpenAI continuing without Elon,” he wrote. “Would rather disable it by recruiting the leaders.”

When Musk stopped his quarterly donations, OpenAI was operating on a “shoestring” with an “extremely short runway of cash.” OpenAI did have other donors, none of whom have sued it or joined Musk’s suit. (One donor in the exhibit that wasn’t called out to the courtroom was Alameda Research, the firm owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, who is now in prison for fraud and money laundering.) Musk’s resignation from the board meant “people wondered if he was gonna try to take, uh, vengeance out on us or something.” On the other hand, Altman said Musk had “demotivated some of our key researchers” and done “huge damage for a long time to the culture of the organization.” So it sure seems like some people were relieved to be rid of him.

I’ve seen some fairly shoddy lawyering from Musk’s side throughout this trial

We saw a lot of evidence that throughout the time Altman was setting up OpenAI’s for-profit arm, he kept Musk apprised of what was going on, either directly or through Zilis or Teller. At no point did Musk object, and whatever he said publicly about the Microsoft investments, there was plenty of evidence that privately he’d been made aware.

On the cross-examination, we were treated to more than 10 minutes of Steven Molo telling Altman that various and assorted people had called him a liar: Sutskever, Mira Murati, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, Daniela and Dario Amodei (former OpenAI employees and founders of Anthropic), employees at Altman’s first startup Loopt, that recent New Yorker article, a book called The Optimist, etc. Molo did score some points by asking Altman about testimony in the trial, which Altman said he wasn’t paying close attention to. Molo acted as though this was inconceivable. Surely someone had informed Altman of what was said?

It was a little funny and also a little tiresome. Altman kept his cool, though, seeming hurt and confused by the focus on whether he was a liar. It was also the most successful part of the cross, which declined in focus precipitously afterward. I’ve seen some fairly shoddy lawyering from Musk’s side throughout this trial, and today was pretty bad. At one point, when Molo was trying to capitalize on Altman being both CEO and on the company’s board, Altman said — truthfully — that CEOs are almost always on the boards of the companies they run.

(At this point in my notes, I had written, “Boy, Molo is not very good at this.”)

The point of this trial isn’t to win — it’s to punish Altman, Brockman, and OpenAI

There was also an unconvincing argument about fundraising in nonprofits, specifically that if Stanford could raise $3 billion a year, OpenAI should have remained a nonprofit. Okay, let’s just think about that for a minute. Stanford has a donor network of thousands of graduates. It’s a school, which has very different capital requirements. It is not competing with any reputable for-profit companies. But leave that all aside and assume that some fundraising genius took over at the OpenAI Foundation: $3 billion is the initial two Microsoft investments combined, and not enough to scale OpenAI to where it is now. If compute is the main bottleneck on building AI models, then Molo’s line of argument suggests OpenAI never would have managed to be successful as a nonprofit alone. He’s making the defense’s case for them.

But the thing is, Molo doesn’t actually have to be good at this job, because the point of this trial isn’t to win — though I’m sure Musk wouldn’t mind a win. The point is to punish Altman, Brockman, and OpenAI. Musk has done that pretty thoroughly — reinforcing in the public’s mind that Altman is a liar and a snake. This morning, I read an exclusive in The Wall Street Journal that assorted Republican AGs and the House Oversight committee wanted to look into Sam Altman’s investments. References to the trial are peppered throughout the article.

So yes, Altman was convincing on the stand. He may even win the suit. But it sure seems like Musk’s vengeance has just begun.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.

#Sam #Altman #winning #standAI,OpenAI">Sam Altman was winning on the stand, but it might not be enough

After two weeks of hearing from assorted witnesses that he was a lying snake, the jury finally heard from the lying snake himself: Sam Altman. At the end of the testimony, his lawyer William Savitt asked him how it felt to be accused of stealing a charity.

“We created, through a ton of hard work, this extremely large charity, and I agree you can’t steal it,” Altman said. “Mr. Musk did try to kill it, I guess. Twice.”

Altman was fully in “nice kid from St. Louis” mode, and did a passable impression of a man who was bewildered at what was happening to him. When he stepped down from the stand holding a stack of evidence binders, he even looked a little like a schoolboy. He seemed nervous at the beginning of his direct testimony, though he warmed up fairly quickly. Overall, he seemed to give credible testimony — and at times, it seemed like the jury liked him.

Throughout this trial I’ve had some difficulty imagining what the jury is making of all this because I am a little too familiar with the figures who are testifying. I have heard some audacious lies under oath, like when Elon Musk told us all he doesn’t lose his temper. (He then proceeded to lose his temper on cross-examination.) Or like when Shivon Zilis, the mother of several of his children, told us that she didn’t know Musk was starting xAI — which seemed to be directly contradicted by her text messages. Or when Greg “What will take me to $1B?” Brockman told us he was all about the mission. I certainly believe Altman isn’t trustworthy — I mean, The New Yorker published more than 17,000 words about how much he lies. But unlike with Musk, there are contemporaneous documents backing Altman’s version of the story. At least, mostly.

“My belief is he wanted to have long-term control”

After OpenAI’s Dota 2 win, discussions for a for-profit arm started in earnest. “Mr. Musk felt very strongly that if we were going to form a for-profit he needed to have total control over it initially,” Altman said. “He only trusted himself to make non-obvious decisions that were going to turn out to be correct.”

Altman testified that he was uncomfortable with Musk’s insistence on control, not just because Musk hadn’t been as involved as everyone else, but because OpenAI existed so no one person would control AGI. And at Y Combinator, the startup incubator where he was president, Altman had seen a lot of control fights; no one wanted to give up power when things were going well. With structures like supervoting shares, founders could retain control forever. Curiously, Altman’s example was not the most famous one (Mark Zuckerberg at Meta); it was Musk and SpaceX. When Altman asked Musk about succession plans for OpenAI, he got a particularly “hair-raising” answer: In the event of Musk’s death, Musk said, “I haven’t thought about it a ton, but maybe control should pass to my children.”

I don’t know about that. But I do know that I saw a 2017 email from Altman to Zilis in which he wrote, “I am worried about control. I don’t think any one person should have control of the world’s first AGI — in fact the whole reason we started OpenAI was so that wouldn’t happen.” He went on to say that he didn’t mind the idea of immediate control and was open to “creative structures” — which I understood to mean that, in order to placate Musk, Altman was willing to give him control up to specific milestones in company development.

“I read a vague, like, a lightweight threat in there”

“My belief is he wanted to have long-term control and that he would’ve had that had we agreed to the structure he wanted,” Altman said on the stand. This sounds basically right. In later video testimony from Sam Teller’s deposition, we heard that Musk no longer invests in anything he doesn’t control. This also fits with Musk’s long-term fixation on making sure he can’t get booted from his own company the way he got booted from PayPal.

Musk also tried to recruit Altman to Tesla. We saw texts between Altman and Teller, in which Teller told Altman that Musk was committed to beefing up Tesla’s AI no matter what, and that he hoped that Altman, Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever would want to join eventually. “I read a vague, like, a lightweight threat in there, that he’s gonna do this inside of Tesla with or without you,” Altman said. But he felt that Tesla was primarily a car company — allowing it to acquire OpenAI would betray OpenAI’s mission.

Later, in Teller’s testimony, we saw texts Teller sent to Zilis at 12:40AM on February 4th, 2018: “I don’t love OpenAI continuing without Elon,” he wrote. “Would rather disable it by recruiting the leaders.”

When Musk stopped his quarterly donations, OpenAI was operating on a “shoestring” with an “extremely short runway of cash.” OpenAI did have other donors, none of whom have sued it or joined Musk’s suit. (One donor in the exhibit that wasn’t called out to the courtroom was Alameda Research, the firm owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, who is now in prison for fraud and money laundering.) Musk’s resignation from the board meant “people wondered if he was gonna try to take, uh, vengeance out on us or something.” On the other hand, Altman said Musk had “demotivated some of our key researchers” and done “huge damage for a long time to the culture of the organization.” So it sure seems like some people were relieved to be rid of him.

I’ve seen some fairly shoddy lawyering from Musk’s side throughout this trial

We saw a lot of evidence that throughout the time Altman was setting up OpenAI’s for-profit arm, he kept Musk apprised of what was going on, either directly or through Zilis or Teller. At no point did Musk object, and whatever he said publicly about the Microsoft investments, there was plenty of evidence that privately he’d been made aware.

On the cross-examination, we were treated to more than 10 minutes of Steven Molo telling Altman that various and assorted people had called him a liar: Sutskever, Mira Murati, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, Daniela and Dario Amodei (former OpenAI employees and founders of Anthropic), employees at Altman’s first startup Loopt, that recent New Yorker article, a book called The Optimist, etc. Molo did score some points by asking Altman about testimony in the trial, which Altman said he wasn’t paying close attention to. Molo acted as though this was inconceivable. Surely someone had informed Altman of what was said?

It was a little funny and also a little tiresome. Altman kept his cool, though, seeming hurt and confused by the focus on whether he was a liar. It was also the most successful part of the cross, which declined in focus precipitously afterward. I’ve seen some fairly shoddy lawyering from Musk’s side throughout this trial, and today was pretty bad. At one point, when Molo was trying to capitalize on Altman being both CEO and on the company’s board, Altman said — truthfully — that CEOs are almost always on the boards of the companies they run.

(At this point in my notes, I had written, “Boy, Molo is not very good at this.”)

The point of this trial isn’t to win — it’s to punish Altman, Brockman, and OpenAI

There was also an unconvincing argument about fundraising in nonprofits, specifically that if Stanford could raise $3 billion a year, OpenAI should have remained a nonprofit. Okay, let’s just think about that for a minute. Stanford has a donor network of thousands of graduates. It’s a school, which has very different capital requirements. It is not competing with any reputable for-profit companies. But leave that all aside and assume that some fundraising genius took over at the OpenAI Foundation: $3 billion is the initial two Microsoft investments combined, and not enough to scale OpenAI to where it is now. If compute is the main bottleneck on building AI models, then Molo’s line of argument suggests OpenAI never would have managed to be successful as a nonprofit alone. He’s making the defense’s case for them.

But the thing is, Molo doesn’t actually have to be good at this job, because the point of this trial isn’t to win — though I’m sure Musk wouldn’t mind a win. The point is to punish Altman, Brockman, and OpenAI. Musk has done that pretty thoroughly — reinforcing in the public’s mind that Altman is a liar and a snake. This morning, I read an exclusive in The Wall Street Journal that assorted Republican AGs and the House Oversight committee wanted to look into Sam Altman’s investments. References to the trial are peppered throughout the article.

So yes, Altman was convincing on the stand. He may even win the suit. But it sure seems like Musk’s vengeance has just begun.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
#Sam #Altman #winning #standAI,OpenAI

Post Comment