AI alliances harden, Assistant winds down, and watermarking goes mainstream

Claire and Peter cover a fast-moving day in AI on AI in Flow. The US signals tougher lines on AI coalitions, warning partners they may not be able to join both US and China-led initiatives. Nvidia, SoftBank-backed SB Energy and OpenAI discuss vast financing and credit support for an Ohio data centre and power campus, highlighting how capital intensive AI infrastructure is becoming. Google begins notifying users of a phased Google Assistant shutdown across several platforms from 4 September 2026 as it pivots to Gemini. In Europe, the EU AI Act kicks in, and watermarking and provenance efforts accelerate, with Anthropic adding model-level watermarking for Claude and Google leaning on SynthID and C2PA metadata. The episode also unpacks an unsettling governance story from Andon Labs, where an AI manager dismissed a human worker, raising questions about policy memory, human prompting, and accountability. Plus, quick hits on SpaceX closing its Cursor acquisition, a university dropping AI detector scores, new enterprise partnerships, and fresh AI-enabled hardware and workplace tools.About Six & FlowSix & Flow is a digital transformation consultancy helping businesses adapt, grow, and thrive in a fast-changing world. We specialise in AI, CRM, and revenue operations, blending strategy, technology, and creativity to deliver measurable impact. From scaling startups to global enterprises, we partner with ambitious teams to unlock growth through smart automation, customer-centric marketing, and forward-thinking sales enablement. Learn more at sixandflow.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.