Hey neighbor,
This was one of the most dramatic weeks in AI history. The US government forced Anthropic to pull its most powerful AI offline. ChatGPT lost its majority market share for the first time ever. And your Visa card can now let AI spend your money. Let's get into all of it.
THIS WEEK IN AI
The US government forced Anthropic to shut down its most powerful AI
The US Department of Commerce issued an emergency export control directive on June 12, forcing Anthropic to take its most powerful AI models — Fable 5 and Mythos 5 — offline globally. As of today, June 23, those models are still down.
Here's what happened in plain English: a routine coding request from a foreign company triggered a security review. The US government decided the models were too powerful to risk being accessed by certain foreign entities — and ordered them pulled offline immediately, worldwide, for everyone.
Beijing responded by blacklisting 56 American firms, and Microsoft's CEO warned that letting "a few models eat everything" won't survive politically.
What this means for you: AI is now firmly in the middle of US-China geopolitical tensions. The tools you use every day — Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini — are being treated as strategic national assets. The rules around who can use what, and when, are being written in real time. Expect more of this, not less.
ChatGPT lost its majority market share for the first time in three years
ChatGPT's share of the global AI assistant market fell to 46.4% — the first time it has held less than half the market. Google Gemini rose to 27.7% and Claude reached 10.3%.
This is a significant moment. For three years ChatGPT was synonymous with AI — the default choice for almost everyone. Now real competition has arrived. Gemini is gaining fast and Claude is growing too.
What this means for you: competition is good news for users. When companies compete for your attention they build better products, lower prices, and add more features. The era of one dominant AI tool is over — and you benefit from that.
Visa just let AI spend your money
Visa wired AI directly into ChatGPT, allowing AI agents to spend money on your behalf through your credit card. You can set spending limits and rules — "buy me the cheapest flight to Miami under $300" — and the AI handles the transaction.
This is simultaneously very convenient and worth thinking about carefully. The convenience is obvious. The caution: make sure you understand the limits you're setting and keep an eye on your statements. AI spending your money on your behalf is powerful — and like any powerful tool, it works best when you stay informed about what it's doing.
PLAIN ENGLISH EXPLAINER
Why did the US government shut down Anthropic's AI — and what does "export control" mean?
Export controls are laws that restrict which technologies can be shared with foreign countries. The US has used them for decades on things like military hardware, nuclear technology, and advanced computer chips.
The Fable 5 story now has its full shape: a $100 million investor was flagged as a security risk, Amazon told the White House about a vulnerability, Anthropic's CEO refused an ultimatum, and a government order pulled the world's most capable AI offline.
In plain English: someone with ties to a country the US government doesn't trust tried to use Anthropic's most powerful AI. The government decided the risk was too great and ordered the model taken down globally — not just for that person, but for everyone — until Anthropic can prove it can prevent unauthorized access.
Think of it like a bank vault. If someone tries to break in, you don't just kick them out — you close the whole bank until you've reviewed and upgraded your security systems.
The broader implication: the most powerful AI tools are increasingly being treated like classified technology. As AI gets more capable, expect more government involvement in who can use it and how.
TOOL OF THE WEEK
Try this: Google Gemini — the fastest-growing AI assistant right now
With ChatGPT losing market share and Gemini growing fast, this is a great week to try Google's AI if you haven't yet.
Here are three things to try at gemini.google.com:
→ Ask it to help you plan something — a trip, a dinner party, a home project — and see how it handles multi-step planning
→ If you use Gmail or Google Docs, try Gemini's built-in features — it can summarize your emails or help you write documents directly in Google's apps
→ Ask it the same question you'd normally ask Google and compare the answers — you might be surprised which one you prefer
It's free, no download required, and works on any device.
NEIGHBOR'S THOUGHT
The week AI became undeniably political
This week the US government shut down the world's most powerful AI. China retaliated by blacklisting American companies. Visa let AI spend your money. ChatGPT lost its throne.
AI stopped being a tech story this week and became something bigger — a story about power, geopolitics, money, and control. The same tools that help you write emails and understand documents are now at the center of a US-China standoff that is reshaping global trade policy.
I don't say this to alarm you. I say it because understanding what's happening helps you make sense of the news, ask better questions, and navigate a world that's changing faster than most of us expected.
You're not just reading a newsletter about AI tools. You're staying informed about one of the most consequential technological shifts in human history. That matters.
Stay curious, neighbor.
UNTIL NEXT WEEK
That's your week in AI — Issue #12. Three months in and the news just keeps getting bigger.
If this newsletter has been useful to you, the single best thing you can do is share it with one person in your life. Word of mouth is how we grow — and growing means we can keep doing this for a long time.
See you next Thursday. ☀️
— The AI Neighbor Team
theaineighbor.com