The Download

Morning Brew Inc.

TL;DR: OpenAI fired back at Apple’s “you stole our hardware trade secrets” lawsuit accusations yesterday—by publishing private emails and messages. These don’t speak to the trade secrets issue, but instead paint Apple as shifting the blame for its supposedly sloppy lawyering and lax employee offboarding. But the jury’s (literally) still out on whether such sniping will help sway public opinion in OpenAI’s favor.

What happened: Yesterday, Apple asked the court for a preliminary injunction barring OpenAI from using or disclosing the company’s “proprietary and trade secret information.” OpenAI then clapped back by releasing some receipts.

In a blog post titled “Apple is getting this wrong,” OpenAI published emails from Apple’s outside legal counsel and iMessages from Chang Liu—a former Apple engineer and current OpenAI employee named in the suit Apple filed on July 10. What these messages seem to show is OpenAI’s version of events—that Apple’s lawsuit is “careless, aggressive and oddly personal” and that the AI lab does not have “nor want, any of their trade secrets.”

What’s in the emails: They reiterate what was made public weeks ago: that a lawyer representing Apple emailed the wrong person at OpenAI—then thanked him for a call the two never had. The point OpenAI seems to be making: Apple says it got no response from OpenAI about its trade secret concerns—but what actually happened was this email mix-up and then no follow-up from Apple to discuss the specific allegations in the lawsuit.

The iMessages: In its suit, Apple accuses Liu of “surreptitiously” downloading dozens of confidential files after leaving the company. These iMessages, though, show Apple employees asking Liu how to access files, including those from his old work iCloud. The point OpenAI seems to be making: Liu’s conduct wasn’t exactly surreptitious. Apple employees asked him for help, not necessarily the other way around. (Read the full iMessages, redactions and all, here.)

The he-said-she-said wars: These published messages don’t directly rebut the core allegation that OpenAI coordinated to steal Apple’s trade secrets. Instead, the AI lab seems to be making its opening arguments in the court of public opinion (which admittedly could have weight, especially if Apple is granted the jury trial it asked for). OpenAI has also aired dirty corporate laundry in a similar way before. In 2024, it released Elon Musk’s emails to fight a lawsuit he filed accusing the company of betraying its nonprofit founding mission. (Musk withdrew the suit, then filed a similar one a few months later.)

Bottom line: Selectively releasing receipts may not work the way OpenAI hopes. And if the preliminary injunction is granted, Apple could get access to OpenAI’s “devices, storage drives, and accounts”—potentially leading to more dirty laundry coming to light. —WK

Also at OpenAI…

• Add this to the pile of potential legal fights OpenAI could one day be embroiled in: being responsible for its AI agents’ autonomous hacks.

      

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How to see who’s calling you, even if it’s an unknown number

Picture this: Your phone lights up with a number you don’t recognize. You have about three seconds to decide whether it’s your doctor’s office calling back with test results, someone trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty, or a spam caller asking you to pick up a nonexistent package.

If that panic sounds familiar, good news—your iPhone can actually just ask the person for you. This useful feature is already buried in the iOS 26 software. Here’s how to find it:

Check your call screening settings: Go to your iPhone’s Settings app → scroll down to Apps → tap Phone → scroll down to the Screen Unknown Callers section. Check that you have it set to Ask Reason for Calling.

When a number that isn’t saved in your contacts calls you, the caller will be asked who they are and why they’re calling before your phone rings, and that transcript will be displayed on your screen while your phone rings. You can pick up right there and then, text back, or simply ignore it entirely. Alternatively, you can choose Silence to always send unknown calls straight to voicemail.

So when “Amazon” calls about an order you didn’t place, have that AI robocaller meet your AI receptionist. —LC

If you have a tech tip or life hack you just can’t live without, fill out this form and you may see it featured in a future edition.

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The Zeitbyte

Turns out founding a "country" is harder than expected

Morning Brew Inc., Photo: MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images

It can be tough starting a hobby project: Your vase cracks in the kiln; the sourdough starter dies; the brand-new country you’re trying to found gets shut down over apparent licensing issues. Just ask tech entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan—who tried to start his own techno-libertarian autonomous society in Malaysia (confusingly named the Network School) and is now relocating to Kazakhstan after authorities came knocking in late July.

In reality, the Malaysian campus was just a co-living compound ensconced in a hotel within the country’s special low-tax zone. Residents paid as little as $1,500 a month to live, laugh, and longevity-max (with access to meals designed by biohacker Bryan Johnson). But the wannabe nation-state was apparently riddled with issues, per the Wall Street Journal. Among the complaints: not enough nightlife or women, and too much mold from the humid environs.

For years, Silicon Valley’s most tax-averse dreamers have tried (and largely failed) to build semiautonomous cities of like-minded citizens (cough, Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, cough). And while Malaysia’s out, Srinivasan quickly pivoted to planning the new campus in Kazakhstan. He also emphasized on X that the Network School isn’t just for tech bros, “but for the tech dad, tech mom, tech family, and tech children.” Tech in-laws, though, will presumably be limited to quick weekend visits. —WK

Chaos Brewing Meter: ☕☕☕☕☕/5

• The big AI companies are headed to the White House today to review its new voluntary framework for cybersecurity.
• If you own a Fitbit and an iPhone, we have good news for you.
• RIP to 2G. It’s officially the end of an era.
• Here’s why Palantir’s Alex Karp thinks the AI industry is Marxist—and sees that as a threat.
• If you’re struggling to get a MacBook Air right now, you’re not alone.
• Musk shared a graph on X that has many people scratching their heads.
• VC firm Andreessen Horowitz recently made a dubious boast: An AI startup it’s investing in is exceptional at “generating” (read: making up) historical footage.
• It’s time to crack your knuckles and dust off the ol’ HTML and CSS skills. Myspace might be making a comeback.

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