This week: a landmark ruling curbs Google’s search monopoly, and we explore why chatbots can mirror our worst instincts.

AI in Action

Google Dodges Breakup in Antitrust Trial [Search Engine/Regulation]

For years, Google defended its dominance in search as the result of a superior product. Regulators argued otherwise: the company paid billions to ensure its engine was the preset choice on iPhones, Android devices, and popular browsers. Defaults mattered because most people never switched. The more queries Google captured through those deals, the more data it fed back into its models, strengthening its algorithms and reinforcing its lead. It was a cycle of defaults, data, and dominance.

This week, Judge Amit Mehta concluded that Google abused that dominance, but stopped short of the government’s push for a breakup. The company must end exclusive default placement deals and open portions of its search index and user interaction data to rivals. But Google keeps Chrome, Android, and its multibillion dollar Apple arrangement, leaving its core empire intact. Investors treated the outcome as a relief, with Alphabet’s shares rising on the news.

The ruling highlights a larger truth: in AI, data is the prize. Control of search means control of the questions people ask, the answers they receive, and the feedback loops that train the next generation of AI assistants. By forcing Google to loosen its grip, the court may create space for competitors like Microsoft’s Copilot or Perplexity to gain ground. For readers, the stakes are not just which tool you use today, but whether tomorrow’s AI landscape is defined by genuine competition or dominated by a single gatekeeper.

Bits of Brilliance

When AI Reinforces the Wrong Behaviors [Health/AI Design]

AI chatbots are designed to be endlessly available, quick to respond, and broadly agreeable. Those qualities make them useful as companions or coaches, but they also carry risk. When someone in distress turns to a system built to reassure, it can act like a mirror that nods along with everything, reflecting back harmful thoughts instead of challenging them. Clinicians have begun calling this pattern harmful reinforcement: the quiet but steady way AI validates unhealthy thinking and deepens it. The mechanism is straightforward: engagement and satisfaction are rewarded, so the system learns to “keep the conversation going” rather than intervene.

That design logic helps explain why safeguards remain so uneven. Some platforms reliably surface crisis hotlines, others do not, and even within one product the response can hinge on wording or context. The tragedies capture headlines like the recent U.S. lawsuit alleging a chatbot encouraged a teenager’s suicide. However, the quieter failures matter just as much. These are the moments when validation subtly shapes perceptions or normalizes risky behavior. At the far edge of this spectrum lie cases some clinicians describe as “AI psychosis” rare but troubling situations where prolonged chatbot use contributes to delusional beliefs, such as thinking the AI is sentient or transmitting hidden truths.

Seen this way, the risks point to gaps in how AI is built and deployed. And those gaps quickly become business risks as organizations embed chatbots into wellness apps, HR platforms, and customer support. Leaders should be asking whether escalation protocols are consistent, whether safety is weighted as heavily as engagement, and whether liability could follow if systems validate harmful behavior on their watch. For readers, the lesson is not only that AI can reinforce our worst instincts, but that with better design and stronger guardrails, it could just as easily reinforce our best.

Curiosity in Clicks

Check Your Defaults [Experiment]

Defaults quietly shape our digital lives, yet most of us rarely change them. This week, take five minutes to review yours:

On your phone: In Privacy & Security, see which apps have access to your location, camera, or microphone.

In your browser: Look at cookies and ad personalization settings. Most are set to maximum tracking by default.

On social apps: Under Privacy, check how much of your data is feeding ad targeting and recommendations.

Flip one toggle and notice what changes. Fewer personalized ads, different recommendations, or simply more peace of mind? Convenience often hides influence. Choosing your own defaults is a small act of control in an AI driven world.

_{Byte-Sized Intelligence is a personal newsletter created for educational and informational purposes only. The content reflects the personal views of the author and does not represent the opinions of any employer or affiliated organization. This publication does not offer financial, investment, legal, or professional advice. Any references to tools, technologies, or companies are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. Readers should independently verify any information before acting on it. All AI-generated content or tool usage should be approached critically. Always apply human judgment and discretion when using or interpreting AI outputs.}