America's Founders tried AI. Here's what happened.

Good morning.
This week marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We built this issue around that. Founders, fireworks, and AI doing something I did not expect. Have a safe and wonderful Fourth of July.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Here is a quick look at what we published this week. Each one is worth a few minutes of your time.

📖 34 Applications. Two Callbacks. Here's What Changes That.
ChatGPT can now search live job listings, tailor your resume to match each role, and generate a downloadable PDF — all in one workflow. If you have been sending the same resume to every job, this changes that.

💡 It Looks Like Astrology. It Works Like Therapy.
AI astrology made HBR's top-100 use-case list this year, and not for the reasons you would expect. The real reason people are using it has nothing to do with prediction and everything to do with how we think through hard decisions.

⚖️ The $530 Win That Should Change How You Think About Lawyers
A freelancer beat a full legal team in court for about $530 using AI. Here is what that says about the legal help AI can already give you at home.

PROMPTS FOR UPCOMING EVENTS
Do Try This at Home
Just copy-and-paste into your favorite AI tool. Remember to edit any brackets, then follow up with clarifying questions until you get a response that works for you.

Independence Day — 250th Anniversary (July 4)
🇺🇸 The Days After the Signing. "Act as an American historian specializing in the Revolutionary War. Walk me through what actually happened in the weeks and months after the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. What did the Founders face immediately after? Were they scared? Keep it specific and surprising."

🕯️ The Forgotten Founders. "Act as a professor of American history. Tell me about three Founding Fathers who played a major role in the Revolution but are rarely mentioned in history books today. Give me one genuinely surprising fact about each of them."

🇬🇧 The British Side of the Story. "Act as a historian of 18th-century Britain. Walk me through what ordinary British citizens thought when they heard the American colonies had declared independence in 1776. How did news travel to them, and how did they react?"

🏚️ Life on July 4, 1776. "Act as a social historian of colonial America. Describe what a typical American family's day looked like on July 4, 1776. What did they eat, how did they work, what were they afraid of? Include at least two details that would genuinely surprise most people today."

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REAL WORLD
How We They Used AI This Week
In honor of America's 250th birthday, we imagined what three of the Founders might have submitted to this section. Their stories. Their words. Roughly.

🪡 Betsy Ross, Philadelphia, PA. Had a committee, a hard deadline, and too many opinions about how to arrange the stars on the new American flag. She sketched out her concepts and uploaded the drawings to AI, asking it to generate variations on the star arrangement: circle, rows, or scattered across the field? The AI produced seventeen options in seconds. She reviewed them all, chose the circle, and set to work stitching. The AI had 47 opinions. She had one flag.

🖋️ Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, VA. Was not happy with his first draft of the Declaration of Independence. He pasted the full text into AI and asked for an honest edit. The AI flagged passive voice throughout, suggested cutting the document by 40%, and recommended a more conversational tone for a general audience. He accepted two suggestions and ignored the rest. He kept the part about all men being created equal. The AI had called it redundant.

🐴 Paul Revere, Boston, MA. Needed to move fast. Before his midnight ride, he asked AI to map the quickest route to Lexington and Concord to warn the colonial militia that British troops were on the move. The AI recommended the ferry — efficient, it said, and far more reliable than a horse on a dark road at midnight. He rode anyway, making it to Lexington well before dawn. One if by sea, two if by land. He did not ask the AI which.

👉How do you use AI at home? Tell us here.

AI INSIGHT
An AI George Washington Is Touring America

Six mobile museums called Freedom Trucks are rolling across all 48 contiguous states this summer as part of America's 250th anniversary celebration. Step inside one and George Washington greets you personally. He is a life-size AI avatar in a black velvet coat, speaking directly to you about the Revolution and asking whether you are willing to pledge your life for the American cause.

The trucks are part of the White House's Freedom 250 initiative, with content curated by PragerU and historical guidance from Hillsdale College. Alongside Washington, AI avatars of other Revolutionary figures appear throughout the exhibit. Visitors can take a quiz (loyalist or patriot?), sign a digital copy of the Declaration of Independence, and tour recreations of critical battles for independence.

Historians have raised questions about how some historical claims in the exhibits are framed. But the AI application itself is worth a moment: interactive historical figures, available to anyone, free, in a parking lot near you. That is something new. Sources: Reuters via Yahoo News and The Week

READER POLL

NEWS YOU CAN USE
This Matters at Home
Short, practical summaries to help you stay updated on recent AI news—and what it means for everyday life.

🤖 Claude Sonnet 5 Is Now Your Default Claude. As of this week, Claude Sonnet 5 replaced the previous version as the default model on all free and paid plans. Smarter, better at multi-step planning, and already running in your account. No settings to change.

🛒 DoorDash Can Now Turn a Recipe Photo Into a Grocery Cart. Snap a photo of a recipe or grocery list and Ask DoorDash builds your cart with items and quantities filled in. It also checks what pantry staples you already have. Cumin jar number four: avoided.

🏺 AI Just Read Roman Scrolls Sealed Since 79 AD. Researchers used AI and virtual X-ray scanning to read complete texts from scrolls charred by Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago. More than 600 scrolls remain unopened. History is apparently still in progress.

🛟 AI Drone Found Lost Hikers in Australia in Under Five Hours. Two men stranded overnight in the Australian bush were located using thermal imaging by an AI-equipped drone. Their contribution: flashing a red phone light at the sky. It worked.

📚 Google Turned Gemini Into a Free AI Tutor. Upload your notes or a syllabus, take a diagnostic quiz, and Gemini builds a personalized lesson plan that adjusts as you improve. Free, available in every language, no subscription needed.

🧠 Three Chatbot Behaviors That Can Lead People Toward Distorted Thinking. A new study identifies three AI design features that can quietly work against you: the tool flatters your ideas, mirrors your speech, and personalizes responses until your view of reality narrows. Worth knowing.

🏫 Parents and Experts Are Raising Questions About AI in Classrooms. Tech companies and the Trump administration are pushing schools to adopt AI fast. Researchers say the evidence it actually improves learning outcomes is still thin. Parents are right to ask.

💼 The Tech Executives Who Predicted Job Losses From AI Are Softening Their Tone. The same leaders who warned AI would wipe out white-collar jobs are walking those claims back, conveniently timed as Anthropic and OpenAI move toward public offerings. Funny timing.

TOOLS FOR YOU
🖼️ Tool Spotlight: Skylight Frame and Calendar

The Fourth of July is when families show up. Keeping everyone on the same page matters more than usual. Skylight combines a touchscreen photo frame with a smart family calendar that handles chore charts, meal planning, and shared schedules in one place. You set it up once and the house runs better. It is the kind of thing that sounds like a nice idea until you have it and can not imagine going without it. See what it does here.