JANUARY 30, 2026

TODAY: Feels like we just started the year, and we've already got a month logged in the books. Before you know it, it'll be Christmas again, and I expect a very different world by then!

That's largely due to the way AI is changing the way that we do our work and live our lives. One of my gifts this year, for instance, was the Meta RayBan Wayfarer 2 Smart Glasses.

They see what I see. Uses I've found for them so far:

• Turn any physical book into an audiobook
• Interact with my phone without having to take off my gloves or remove my hands from my pocket
• Post to social media
• Send/receive phone calls and text messages
• Look up information on the Internet
• Take pictures
• Calorie computations from simply looking at the food on my plate and asking for an estimate, and other practical math applications
• Listen to music and podcasts without jamming anything into my ears

You get the picture. It's already a different world, and with the impact AI is expected to have on jobs (both altering daily tasks and eliminating some jobs altogether), 2026 promises to be transformational.

If you'd like to learn more intensive training re: what to do about it, stay tuned to this newsletter. I'll be offering a virtual session as soon as the registration page is live (probably early next week), and I'd love to meet with you all and help in any way I can. Now, onto today's stories and prompts!

• PromptCraft: Prompts to Write Like Hemingway and Vonnegut; ChatGPT 'Secret Codes'; Plus, a Simpler Way to Prompt
• THE HEADLINES: Zuckerberg Promises Major AI Rollout in 2026; Chrome Gets an AI Glow-Up; Dow to Cut 4,500 Jobs for AI/Automation; Google DeepMind Launches AI Tool to Catch Genetic Markers of Disease; S&P Passes 7,000 for the First Time on AI Optimism; and UK Police to Use Facial Recognition
• Tool Spotlight: minimalist phone Could Kill Your Smartphone Addiction

TRY THESE! Prompts to Write Like Hemingway and Vonnegut; ChatGPT 'Secret Codes'; Plus, a Simpler Way to Prompt

• ​Community thread: most-used prompts with reliable results: Short discussion where users share the single prompt they depend on most. Early examples include “Give me 3 options: one safe, one creative, one unconventional” as a go-to pattern for getting unstuck when brainstorming. (Reddit)
• ​Vonnegut Literary Architect developmental editing system prompt: Turns Kurt Vonnegut’s “8 Basics of Creative Writing” into a structured developmental-editing system. The prompt audits time stewardship, character wants, narrative “cruelties,” and radical transparency, then outputs a blueprint, critique, and sample opening in a Vonnegut-style voice. (Reddit)
• ​ChatGPT “secret code” prefixes for faster prompting: Explains five lightweight prompt prefixes—ELI5, TL;DR, Jargonize, Humanize, and Feynman Technique—that act as mini “modes” for explanation, summarization, professional tone, natural voice, and deep understanding without long system prompts. (Medium)
• ​Argument against over-engineered persona prompts for ChatGPT: Critiques ultra-detailed persona prompts like “Senior B2B SaaS copywriter with 10 years experience.” Suggests a simple template—what you want, relevant context, constraints, output format—and one extra rule: let the model ask questions when it’s missing key information. (Reddit)
• ​Hemingway Engine prompt for ruthless prose minimalism: Shares a heavily-structured “Hemingway Architect” system prompt that strips adverbs, passive voice, and jargon. It rewrites text into short, concrete, rhythmic sentences, then explains the “iceberg” surface facts vs. implied subtext and one key stylistic decision. (Reddit)

HIGHLIGHTS: Zuckerberg Promises Major AI Rollout in 2026; Chrome Gets an AI Glow-Up; Dow to Cut 4,500 Jobs for AI/Automation; Google DeepMind Launches AI Tool to Catch Genetic Markers of Disease; S&P Passes 7,000 for the First Time on AI Optimism; and UK Police to Use Facial Recognition

1. ​Zuckerberg teases agentic commerce tools and major AI rollout in 2026​
2. ​Dow to cut about 4,500 jobs as emphasis shifts to AI and automation​
3. ​Big Tech results show investor demand for payoffs from heavy AI spending; Meta shares surge 9%​
4. ​How to Lip Sync any Audio to Video with any AI Model (Wan 2.6, Omnihuman 1.5, etc…)​
5. ​How Gen Z Uses Gen AI—and Why It Worries Them​
6. ​Palladyne AI Awarded U.S. Air Force Contract to Advance Swarming Capabilities for Integrated Cross-Domain Operations​
7. ​‘AI is the future’: UK launches state’s 1st Bachelor of Science in AI​
8. ​A benchmark of expert-level academic questions to assess AI capabilities​
9. ​AI foundation skills for work​
10. ​Florida couple says scammers used AI-generated picture of missing puppy while trying to steal $2K​
11. ​Keeping your data safe when an AI agent clicks a link​
12. ​Microsoft Profit Jumps 60% As AI Spend Spooks Investors​
13. ​Google begins rolling out Chrome’s “Auto Browse” AI agent today​
14. ​Chrome takes on AI browsers with tighter Gemini integration, agentic features for autonomous tasks​
15. ​Users flock to open source Moltbot for always-on AI, despite major risks​
16. ​S&P 500 breaches 7,000 points for the first time, lifted by AI optimism​
17. ​Tesla profit plunges as sales fall and AI expenses pile up​
18. ​Google DeepMind launches AI tool to help identify genetic drivers of disease​
19. ​Nvidia helped DeepSeek hone AI models later used by China’s military, lawmaker says​
20. ​UK police to use AI facial recognition tech​
21. ​YouTube’s top AI slop channels are disappearing​

minimalist phone Could Kill Your Smartphone Addiction

minimalist phone is a digital wellness launcher for iPhone that turns your home screen into a calmer, text-based layout—helping you reduce distractions and stop doomscrolling by default. It’s built around a simple idea: make essential apps easy to access while removing the visual “pull” of icons and clutter, with smart folders and widgets to keep things organized. If you want your phone to feel more intentional (and less like a dopamine machine), this is an easy, low-friction reset.

Learn More: minimalist phone (iOS)​

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