Max Zeff

Personal news! I'm joining @wsj.com to cover AI. I've had an amazing time at WIRED working with brilliant colleagues across the newsroom, but I'm very excited for this next chapter. I'll continue to cover OpenAI, Anthropic, and the bustling AI industry. I start next week!

17 Sept

That means today's edition of WIRED's Model Behavior newsletter is my last, but it will go on without me. Here's the note I sent to subscribers today:

wired.comThe AI Slowdown Debate Crashed Salesforce’s PartyThe Dreamforce conference became an unlikely battleground for the CEOs of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia to debate whether AI development should slow down.

17 Sept

And here's a link to my last newsletter: a dispatch from this year's Dreamforce, where the AI slowdown debate overshadowed the world's largest enterprise software conference. www.wired.com/story/are-ro...

Max Zeff reposted

Andrew Couts

@couts.bsky.social

27 Aug

NEW: A @wired.com review of OpenAI code on Github shows that the company is working on a “persistent” feature for its AI agent Codex. Maxwell Zeff has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/openai...

wired.comOpenAI Is Developing a ‘Persistent’ AI AgentCode reviewed by WIRED reveals the company is developing a feature that enables Codex to continue working proactively until it is “put to sleep.”

27 Aug

New: OpenAI is developing a "Persistent" mode for its AI agent, Codex. Persistent mode is a new level of reasoning effort that will make Codex "continue working until put to sleep." The agent will also proactively create follow up tasks for itself, per code reviewed by WIRED.

OpenAI has been working to address the safety issues of more capable, highly persistent AI models. The company's forthcoming Astra model will enable persistent agents. However, these systems can amplify the risks of misalignment, as we saw in the Hugging Face incident.

wired.comThe Safety Reckoning Inside OpenAIOpenAI’s rogue agent hack was a watershed moment for AI safety and cybersecurity. It also sparked internal questions about the culture that led to it.

27 Aug

more here: www.wired.com/story/openai...

OpenAI confirmed to WIRED that it's testing the feature, but says there are no immediate plans to launch it. In recent weeks, Sam Altman and other executives have publicly and privately discussed a new class of always-on agent products that can proactively help users.

Max Zeff reposted

Lauren Goode

@laurengoode.bsky.social

13 Aug

NEW, from @mzeff.bsky.social: "Multiple current and former OpenAI employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, tell WIRED they believe competitive pressures to quickly ship new AI models have made it difficult for staffers to sufficiently prioritize safety." www.wired.com/story/openai...

wired.comWhy Normal People Aren’t Using AI AgentsThe tech industry is realizing it needs to build agents based on what regular consumers want, not just what its AI models can do.

6 Aug

New: Silicon Valley has become obsessed with AI agents this year, but most people in the world still haven't touched one. Usage numbers for AI agents are still in the low tens of millions. When, if ever, are we getting the ChatGPT moment for agents? www.wired.com/story/why-no...

6 Aug

I chatted with CEO of The Browser Company, Josh Miller, about the state of AI products. We talked about how tech companies are shipping products to capture their technology's capabilities, rather than tailoring products to what everyday people want.

wired.comOpenAI Staffers Are Funding a Rival Super PAC to Take on Their BossOpenAI employees have donated more than $215,000 to a political effort opposing Leading the Future, a group backed by the company’s president, Greg Brockman.

6 Aug

I've actually been pretty impressed with Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work, but i think the market for people building their own software is still limited. To make agents bigger, the industry needs some new ideas.

Max Zeff reposted

Louise Matsakis

@lmatsakis.bsky.social

15 July

SCOOP from @mzeff.bsky.social: OpenAI employees have donated more than $215,000 to a new group that directly opposes Leading the Future, a pro-AI industry super PAC with $50 million in funding from OpenAI president Greg Brockman & his wife www.wired.com/story/openai...

Max Zeff reposted

Lauren Goode

@laurengoode.bsky.social

22 June

NEW, from me and @peard33.bsky.social: As some employees feared might happen, Meta exposed data internally from its controversial employee-tracking and data-training program, MCI (model capability initiative) www.wired.com/story/meta-a...

wired.comMeta Exposed Data Internally From Its Controversial Employee-Tracking ProgramEmployees had previously raised concerns about the initiative, which involves collecting workers' keystroke data to train AI models.

Max Zeff reposted

wired.comAnthropic Is Still at Odds With the White House Over Claude Fable 5Anthropic leaders flew to Washington, DC, to meet with White House officials on Monday. After high-level talks, they're still split on the risk Claude Fable 5 presents.

16 June

WIRED has new details on the talks between Anthropic and the White house today. Still no agreement, Claude Fable 5 still offline. from @hugolowell.bsky.social @lhn.bsky.social @mzeff.bsky.social

wired.comFormer OpenAI Staffers Warn That xAI’s Poor Safety Record Could Complicate SpaceX’s IPOThe ex-employees, who cofounded a new AI watchdog group, say investors deserve more information about xAI’s safety practices before SpaceX goes public.

19 May

New: Former OpenAI staffers and a group of nonprofits published a letter Tuesday warning that xAI could become a liability for the SpaceX IPO due to "unpriced risks" around safety. They claim xAI's poor safety record could expose it to unique regulatory risks. www.wired.com/story/ex-ope...

Max Zeff reposted

wired.comElon Musk Loses Landmark Lawsuit Against OpenAIThe nine-member panel took only two hours to return a verdict in favor of OpenAI on Monday, which the judge quickly adopted as her own final decision.

18 May

Elon Musk has lost his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI about as badly and quickly as you can lose a lawsuit. from @peard33.bsky.social and @mzeff.bsky.social

wired.comThe Real Losers of the Musk v. Altman TrialA federal jury is now deciding whether Elon Musk will win his lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman—but the trial has made everyone look bad.

15 May

Three weeks into the Musk v Altman trial, it feels like every stakeholder is somehow losing in the court of public opinion. A jury is now tasked with deciding a verdict, and will start deliberations next week. From @peard33.bsky.social and me www.wired.com/story/musk-v...

Max Zeff reposted

wired.comOpenAI Brings Its Ass to CourtIn Musk v. Altman, the company sought to show the jury a remarkable trophy as physical proof of Elon Musk’s concerning behavior.

13 May

So glad everyone involved in this trial continues to behave like a totally normal grown-up:

13 May

it's the last day to present new evidence in the musk v altman trial openai brought its ass

6 May

NEW: Google quietly shut down Project Mariner yesterday, the web-browsing AI agent it highlighted onstage last year at Google IO. I reported for WIRED, nearly 2 months ago, that Google had moved staffers off the Project Mariner team as it responded to OpenClaw-style agents.

labs.google.comProject Mariner

6 May

Here's the landing page for Project Mariner now: labs.google.com/mariner/land... And here's my original story on the Project Mariner shake up. wired.com/story/google...

wired.com‘I Actually Thought He Was Going to Hit Me,’ OpenAI’s Greg Brockman Says of Elon MuskOpenAI’s president wrapped his testimony on Tuesday by revealing a fiery meeting with Musk and subsequent efforts to remove several board members.

6 May

Google is sunsetting one of its biggest AI products from IO 2025 just weeks before IO 2026. Google is facing pressure to release more capable AI agents to compete with OpenAI's Codex, Anthropic's Claude Code, and OpenClaw.

Max Zeff reposted

Zoë Schiffer

@zoeschiffer.bsky.social

5 May

Greg Brockman recounted a fight with Elon Musk where he thought he was going to get physically assaulted: www.wired.com/story/greg-b...

Max Zeff reposted

Zoë Schiffer

@zoeschiffer.bsky.social

wired.comWhy Does Wikipedia Think I’m Evan Spiegel?For the past week, a photo of me has been plastered on the CEO of Snap’s Wikipedia page. No one, not even Spiegel, seems to care.

Wikipedia is convinced @mzeff.bsky.social is Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. We went down a rabbit hole to find out … why: www.wired.com/story/why-do...

Max Zeff reposted

Steven Levy

@stevenlevy.bsky.social

wired.comWhy Does Wikipedia Think I’m Evan Spiegel?For the past week, a photo of me has been plastered on the CEO of Snap’s Wikipedia page. No one, not even Spiegel, seems to care.

Witty article by my great colleague @mzeff.bsky.social on Wikipedia using his photo in Evan Spiegal entry--& how his heroic efforts have been unable to get it corrected. Under the surface, this indicates something rotten in Wikipedia, a failure of its crowd-sourcing. www.wired.com/story/why-do...

Max Zeff reposted

wired.comWhy Does Wikipedia Think I’m Evan Spiegel?For the past week, a photo of me has been plastered on the CEO of Snap’s Wikipedia page. No one, not even Spiegel, seems to care.

The best part of this excellent @mzeff.bsky.social caper is Evan Spiegel’s reaction to the entire thing:

Max Zeff reposted

Elizabeth Reads Serially

@elizabethreadsser.bsky.social

wired.comWhy Does Wikipedia Think I’m Evan Spiegel?For the past week, a photo of me has been plastered on the CEO of Snap’s Wikipedia page. No one, not even Spiegel, seems to care.

@mzeff.bsky.social's photo got put on Evan Spiegel's Wikipedia page. Not the first journalist to be done dirty by a Wikipedia editor, either. "Ancient history", in terms of the Internet, at least: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped... Wonder how many others?

wired.comJoin Our Livestream: Musk v. Altman and the Future of OpenAIOn May 8, we’re going live to answer your questions about the Musk v. Altman trial that could determine the fate of OpenAI.

1 May

We’re going to answer your questions about the 10-year-long fight between two billionaires that’s deciding the future of OpenAI. Tune in!

WIRED@wired.com

On May 8, we’re going live to answer your questions about the Musk v. Altman trial that could determine the fate of OpenAI. www.wired.com/story/livest...

Max Zeff reposted

wired.comElon Musk Boosts New Yorker’s Sam Altman Exposé on X as Trial BeginsThe move comes as the trial for Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI kicks off in federal court in Oakland.

27 Apr

Something extremely funny to me about Altman and Musk trying so hard to win in the court of public opinion as their actual trial gets started

27 Apr

New: The Musk v Altman trial is just getting started, but the public opinion war is well under way. On Monday morning, Musk used his social media platform, X, to promote The New Yorker's extensive investigation into Sam Altman's history of allegedly deceptive behavior.

wired.comElon Musk Boosts New Yorker’s Sam Altman Exposé on X as Trial BeginsThe move comes as the trial for Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI kicks off in federal court in Oakland.

27 Apr

Among the 40 potential jurors in the trial, several have said they don't like Musk, but a significant chunk of the jurors don't even know who Altman is. More here w @peard33.bsky.social and @zeyiyang.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Max Zeff reposted

wired.comOpenAI Executive Kevin Weil Is Leaving the CompanyThe former Instagram VP is departing the ChatGPT-maker, which is folding the AI science application he led into Codex.

17 Apr

Three OpenAI execs announced their departures today, including Kevin Weil, who had joined as chief product officer in 2024. scoop from @mzeff.bsky.social

Max Zeff reposted

wired.comGazing Into Sam Altman’s Orb Now Proves You’re Human on TinderHonestly, what’s hotter than a real person?

17 Apr

It's cool that Tinder now lets you see who has chosen to SUBMIT TO THE ORB. from @mzeff.bsky.social

14 Apr

New: Anthropic is opposing the OpenAI-backed Illinois bill that would shield AI labs from liability for mass deaths or financial disasters caused by AI models. Governor Pritzker is signaling he doesn't like the bill, but it's exposing new battlelines in the AI policy debate.

wired.comAnthropic Opposes the Extreme AI Liability Bill That OpenAI BackedAnthropic and OpenAI are clashing over a proposed Illinois law that would let AI labs largely off the hook for mass deaths and financial disasters.

14 Apr

full story: www.wired.com/story/anthro...

Max Zeff reposted

Andrew Couts

@couts.bsky.social

10 Apr

NEW: Someone allegedly threw a molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's house then went to OpenAI headquarters to make threats at workers. @lmatsakis.bsky.social and Maxwell Zeff with the scoop: www.wired.com/story/sam-al...

wired.comSuspect Arrested For Allegedly Throwing Molotov Cocktail at Sam Altman's HomeAn attacker allegedly threw a molotov cocktail at the OpenAI CEO's residence before making threats outside of the startup's headquarters.

Max Zeff reposted

Amanda Silberling

@amanda.omg.lol

10 Apr

for too long i have suffered in silence techcrunch.com/2026/04/10/p...

techcrunch.comPSA: If you use the Meta AI app, your friends will find out and it will be embarrassing | TechCrunchNow that Meta released its Muse Spark model, more people are downloading the Meta AI app. And if you join the app, your friends will probably get an Instagram notification about it.

Max Zeff reposted

wired.comOpenAI Backs Bill That Would Limit Liability for AI-Enabled Mass Deaths or Financial DisastersThe ChatGPT-maker testified in favor of an Illinois bill that would limit when AI labs can be held liable—even in cases where their products cause “critical harm.”

10 Apr

OpenAI wants to be off the hook if its frontier AI models go rogue and cause 100+ deaths or more than $1 billion in financial damages. from @mzeff.bsky.social

Max Zeff reposted

Kate Knibbs

@knibbs.bsky.social

26 Mar

fascinating behind-the-scenes about journalists using AI in different ways from @mzeff.bsky.social : www.wired.com/story/tech-r...

wired.comMeet the Tech Reporters Using AI to Help Write and Edit Their StoriesIndependent writers are using AI agents all throughout their reporting process. What’s the value of a human journalist, anyway?

Max Zeff reposted

wired.comInside OpenAI’s Race to Catch Up to Claude CodeWhy is the biggest name in AI late to the AI coding revolution?

26 Mar

For @wired.com Model Behavior this week @mzeff.bsky.social talked to prominent independent tech journalists using AI to write and edit their work. (Don’t shoot the messenger!)

Max Zeff reposted

Lauren Goode

@laurengoode.bsky.social

12 Mar

Finally got to read @mzeff.bsky.social's Claude Code vs. Codex feature in full (his first @wired.com feature!) and it's a banger: "But while Altman makes confident pronouncements from the serenity of pretzel pose, the reality over the past few years has been messier..." www.wired.com/story/openai...

Max Zeff reposted

wired.comInside OpenAI’s Race to Catch Up to Claude CodeWhy is the biggest name in AI late to the AI coding revolution?

11 Mar

Why is the biggest name in AI late to the coding revolution? @mzeff.bsky.social spoke to more than 30 people, including OpenAI execs and employees who spoke without company permission, about how OpenAI is racing to catch up with Anthropic -- and why it fell behind in the first place:

NEW: More than 30 OpenAI and Google employees—including Google DeepMind Chief Scientist Jeff Dean —filed an amicus brief in support of Anthropic in its lawsuit against the US government.

full amicus brief, with the list of the 30+ researchers, engineers, and staffers who signed on: www.courtlistener.com/docket/72379...

wired.comOpenAI and Google Workers File Amicus Brief in Support of Anthropic Against the US GovernmentGoogle DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean is among the AI researchers and engineers rushing to Anthropic's defense.

and link to WIRED's story: www.wired.com/story/openai...

NEW: More than 30 OpenAI and Google employees—including Google DeepMind Chief Scientist Jeff Dean —filed an amicus brief in support of Anthropic in its lawsuit against the US government.

“If allowed to proceed, this effort to punish one of the leading U.S. AI companies will undoubtedly have consequences for the United States’ industrial and scientific competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence and beyond,” the employees wrote.

5 Mar

New: Sources tell me the Pentagon first experimented with OpenAI's models as early as 2023, but through Microsoft. At the time, OpenAI explicitly banned military use of its AI. It wasn't clear then, but OpenAI now says that ban never applied to Microsoft.