It’s been a topsy-turvy couple of months for the AI hype roller coaster, and the ride dipped this past week.

A mass selloff across the stock market overlapped with the aftermath of some earnings results in which AI remained a money sink, a report that Nvidia’s latest chip could be delayed, and other eyebrow-raising news.

The Magnificent Seven stocks—Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla—had lost a collective $653 billion in value as of Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, equivalent to more than Tesla’s market cap.

The uneasiness has been percolating for a while now. Some high-profile reports this summer questioned AI’s money-making potential relative to its enormous cost. Gartner Research has deemed cloud AI services tech to be plunging into the “trough of disillusionment,” the firm’s term for the phase of a hype cycle that follows an emerging technology’s failure to live up to initial expectations.

Big spenders: While most of their earnings results this quarter have largely exceeded analyst expectations on paper, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta didn’t do much to soothe investors seeking temperance in AI capital expenditures.

Keep reading here.—PK

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One of the world’s strongest AI laws went into effect last week, with implications for companies in the EU and beyond.

In the works for years, the EU’s sweeping AI Act will enact new rules around the safety, sustainability, and bias of AI systems, especially those to be used for applications considered high-risk, like law enforcement, hiring, or critical infrastructure. The law took effect August 1, with some provisions to roll out over the next two years.

Like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation before it, the law could have far-reaching effects for tech giants that do business in European markets, as well as set a benchmark for other jurisdictions.

Conformity check: According to a briefing issued by the European Parliament, companies selling AI products determined to be high-risk will have to carry out a conformity assessment before they can offer them in EU markets. That check encompasses “testing, data training, and cybersecurity” requirements, and could also be accompanied by a “fundamental rights impact assessment.”

A May report from the Brookings Institution predicted that AI companies operating internationally will likely choose to comply with those rules to avoid forgoing access to a lucrative market. They could also possibly develop region-specific models.

“Given the importance of the European market, international companies could be expected to align some of their AI governance practices with the AI Act to maintain access to the European Union’s internal market,” Brookings’ authors wrote.

Keep reading here.—PK

Numerous automakers reported strong electrified-vehicle sales in July, according to industry reports, even as overall sales appeared to come in slightly below forecasts.

Kia America reported its best-ever July for electrified vehicles, which made up 18% of sales. And Kia’s EV sales for the first seven months of the year were 99% higher than the same period last year, per a news release.

“Kia anticipated the shifting market trends and we proactively responded by improving our range of sustainable electrified models including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric models,” Eric Watson, VP of sales operations, said in a statement.

Hyundai Motor America noted in a news release that it hit new July sales records for electrified models like the Tucson, Santa Fe, and Elantra HEVs, and that hybrid sales were up 67% YoY. Electrified vehicles made up a quarter of Hyundai’s sales mix for the month. Overall, sales were up 4%.

“Despite a challenging start to July as the CDK disruption began to resolve, Hyundai achieved a solid 4% increase in total sales, fueled by our HEV and EV lineup,” CEO Randy Parker said in a statement. Thousands of auto dealers were affected by a cyber attack on a major software provider in June.

Meanwhile, American Honda’s July sales rose 8% YoY. The Honda and Acura brands’ electrified sales exceeded 27,600 units, up 1.7% from a year ago. Ford’s sales were basically flat from a year ago, but hybrids and EVs were up 47% and 31.2%, respectively.

The latest results come during a bumpy time for the electric transition. Some consumers are holding back from going electric because of concerns about battery range and charging, among other factors, and some automakers are pulling back on EV investments amid slowing demand.

Keep reading here.—JG

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Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech.

Buy now: Purchasing things has somehow never been easier while simultaneously becoming more difficult. It takes but a few taps to get pert near whatever you need delivered to your doorstep.

But the choices! There are so many choices. Who among us doesn’t rely on Wirecutter or Consumer Reports when we have to make a purchase, large or small? Retail Brew has two compelling perspectives on that front that offer insight into how brands leverage whether you open up your wallet:

Why a Wirecutter recommendation can be a game-changer for brands

Why Consumer Reports lifted its decades-long ban on mentioning ratings in ads

Without a trace: The Verge filed a very exciting dispatch for those of us who have absolutely had it with ads. Apple’s forthcoming iOS 18 will include a “Thanos Snap” animation that washes ads away into a dust of pixels.

We’ve got our fingers hovering over the “Software Update” button in anticipation of disappearing annoying ads.