Hallucination Station: Issue 09

This week's biggest new in AI

Author

Rob Somers
October 03, 2025

🌟 Editor's Note
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🚀 This Weeks Top Stories in AI

🛒 OpenAI Introduces 'Buy It in ChatGPT': A Leap into AI-Powered E-Commerce

  • OpenAI has launched Instant Checkout within ChatGPT, enabling U.S. users to purchase products directly from Etsy and, soon, over a million Shopify merchants, including brands like Glossier and Spanx.

  • The feature is powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol, an open standard co-developed with Stripe, allowing AI agents, users, and businesses to complete purchases securely within the chat interface.

  • Currently supporting single-item purchases, OpenAI plans to expand to multi-item carts, additional merchants, and broader regions in the near future.

🎥 OpenAI Unveils Sora 2: A TikTok-Style AI Video App

  • Sora 2 is OpenAI's new AI-powered video app that allows users to create short, realistic videos from text prompts, featuring synchronized sound and motion.

  • The app includes a cameo feature, enabling users to generate videos with their likeness and voice, and share them within a social feed.

  • Currently in invite-only beta in the U.S. and Canada, Sora 2 is free to use, with plans to expand access and integrate with ChatGPT Pro for enhanced features.

This launch positions OpenAI as a direct competitor to platforms like TikTok and Instagram, aiming to redefine short-form video creation with AI.

🔧 Thinking Machines Launches Tinker: A Game-Changer for AI Model Fine-Tuning

  • Tinker is a Python-based API that simplifies the fine-tuning of large language models (LLMs) like Meta's LLaMA and Alibaba's Qwen, enabling researchers to customize models with minimal infrastructure management.

  • The tool abstracts complex processes such as distributed GPU training, allowing users to focus on model development while Thinking Machines handles the underlying infrastructure.

  • Currently in private beta, Tinker has been utilized by research groups at institutions like Princeton, Stanford, and Berkeley for tasks ranging from mathematical theorem proving to reinforcement learning experiments.

🕶️ Apple Shifts Focus to AI Smart Glasses, Delays Vision Pro Update

  • Apple has postponed the development of a lighter, more affordable Vision Pro headset—codenamed "Vision Air"—to prioritize the creation of AI-powered smart glasses.

  • The new glasses are expected to compete with Meta's Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, featuring integrated AI capabilities and aiming for a 2026 release.

  • This strategic pivot reflects Apple's intensified focus on AI-driven wearable technology, moving away from its initial emphasis on mixed-reality headsets.

🦄 Founders Corner

  • Einride raises $100M for its autonomous truck bet.

  • Are we in an AI bubble? Would it really be that surprising?

  • OpenAI hits an insane $500B valuation following employee share sale.

🔥Meme-while in AI

(Coming next week - send me your favorite AI memes)

🏆Tool of the Week

I recently made the switch from Jira to Linear for my personal projects, and I must say, it’s been a game changer. This isn’t a sponsored post btw - it’s just a really good product!

Linear – Plan and build products

Linear streamlines issues, projects, and roadmaps. Purpose-built for modern product development.

linear.app

Did You Know? The first computer bug was literally a bug—in 1947, Grace Hopper found a moth trapped in a Harvard Mark II computer, coining the term "debugging" in the process.

Till next time,