Microsoft’s big AI hires, U.S. vs. Apple, and graffiti-fighting drones

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: We peel back the layers of Microsoft's hiring of AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman (above) and colleagues from Inflection AI, and consider the trend of the company striking deals that look a lot like acquisitions, without actually being acquisitions.

• Then, we delve into the U.S. Justice Department’s landmark antitrust lawsuit against Apple, and consider the parallels to the DOJ's prior case against Microsoft.

• And finally, we ponder Washington state's plan to fight graffiti with drones.

Read more and listen here, and subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

Signs of extraterrestrial life: A team led by a University of Washington researcher has verified that a technique for identifying cellular material in ice thrown up from the surface of Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, just might work — and the technique could be put to the test in the 2030s. Read more.

Hot Links:

• Master Chief prevails on TV: The television adaptation of Microsoft’s “Halo” video game franchise on Paramount+ is winning praise after its second season finale. (Kotaku)

• Microsoft is rolling out its Copilot AI assistant to more users on Windows 11, and preparing for a rollout for Windows 10, as well. (Tech Radar)

• Amazon is appealing a $34.6 million fine by French regulators over a system that monitors employee activity and performance, describing the findings as factually incorrect. (Reuters)

Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great weekend. — GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com, and GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com.