Companies that cut jobs citing AI are hiring a share of them back, according to a Careerminds survey reported by the Washington Post this week: about a third of firms rehired a quarter to half the roles they cut, and more than a third rehired over half. Workers who get the call are asking for higher pay and guarantees, and Gartner forecasts about three in ten AI-displaced workers will be rehired by 2029.

Also this week: Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta each spent more cash than their operations brought in last quarter as AI data-center spending outran booming cloud growth, while Microsoft spent less than it guided; British Psychological Society therapists reported a 49% rise in clients using AI for mental-health support, with more than a third seeing adverse effects; Canada's big banks blocked third-party AI agents from logged-in banking; jury selection began in Los Angeles in the Meta and Snap youth social-media trial; and voters in eight states face at least 39 local ballot measures on data centers.

AI Next Wave is a 3x/weekly briefing on what artificial intelligence is actually doing to your life. Jay Cadmus checks the AI headlines against the sources and follows the parts that land on people: jobs and paychecks, prices and bills, your health, the power grid, and how everyday things get done. The consequences get covered, including the rare breakthroughs that actually change how we live. Separating AI fact from AI fiction. New episodes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The podcast companion to the AI Next Wave newsletter at theainextwave.com. Hosted by Jay Cadmus.