Evening Scan

Markets moved sideways through a slow holiday-week Tuesday. The news cycle offered sharper texture: a papal encyclical on AI, a $640K EV with Jony Ive's fingerprints on it, and an Uber exec publicly questioning whether AI spend translates to shipped features. The throughline was tech credibility under pressure.

Ferrari Unveils the Luce, Its First EV — Co-Designed by Jony Ive

Starting at €550,000 in Italy, the Luce is either the most beautiful EV ever made or the most expensive way to upset Ferrari purists — possibly both. (The Verge)

Uber President Says AI Spending Is Getting 'Harder to Justify'

Andrew Macdonald saying out loud that it's "hard to draw a line" between AI investment and shipped features is the kind of executive candor that tends to make AI vendors nervous. (The Verge)

Pope Leo XIV's First Encyclical Takes on AI and Big Tech Power

A 43-page document warning that AI concentration risks governance "by technocratic thinking presented as inevitable" is no longer fringe critique. It's the opening position of 1.4 billion Catholics. (SiliconAngle)

Star Citizen Hits $1B in Lifetime Funding — Still in Alpha

Fourteen years of development, a billion dollars raised, no release date confirmed. At some point this stops being a cautionary tale and becomes its own category. (Variety)

“It's hard to draw a line between the money we're spending on AI and the features we're actually delivering.” — Uber President Andrew Macdonald