089 — Pledge. Pile. Plate.

Six AI companies -- Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI, Nvidia, and xAI -- have signed a voluntary accord promising internal risk controls and independent audits, which Trump calls "morally binding" but critics call vague and unenforceable. Meanwhile, a new Korn Ferry survey finds Indian workers leading the world in AI adoption and productivity gains -- but also reporting the sharpest rise in workload, well above the global average. A promise to behave, and a promise to free up your afternoon: this week gave us both, and neither is fully kept yet.Plus -- today's AI Tool of the Day is Lofi Cities, generatingendless pixel-art city nights with ambient music. And from the kitchen, Singapore's Hainanese Chicken Rice. — TODAY'S AI TOOL —Lofi Cities — type a city and get an endless, AI-generatedpixel-art night scene with ambient lofi music, built fresh in your browser.Try it: https://loficities.com/ — TODAY'S RECIPE —Hainanese Chicken Rice (Singapore). Rub a whole chicken (1.5-2 kg) with salt inside and out; stuff the cavity with a few slices of ginger, 2-3 smashed garlic cloves, and a stalk of spring onion. Lower it into a pot of water at a bare simmer (not a rolling boil) and poach gently for 35-40 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove and plunge immediately into an ice bath to firm up and keep the skin silky; reserve the poaching stock. Skim 2-3 tbsp of the chicken fat that rises to the top and fry it with 3-4 minced garlic cloves and a knob of grated ginger until fragrant. Stir in 2 cups of rinsed jasmine rice, then cook it (rice cooker or stovetop) using the poaching stock in place of water, in the usual rice-to-liquid ratio. Chop or slice the chicken and serve over the rice, with sliced cucumber, a bowl of the hot poaching broth on the side, a chili-ginger sauce (blended chilies, ginger, garlic, lime, a little sugar and salt), and a drizzle of dark soy sauce. — TODAY'S POEM —“An Unsigned Month” — an original poem written by Linu Conil for this episode of Six Minutes of Silence. 📚 Linu's books:📖 Fifty Rooms of Silence — published by Romanson, endorsed by Dr. Shashi Tharoor.https://www.amazon.in/Fifty-Rooms-Silence-Linu-Conil/dp/9348314556📖 100 Best Prompts for Claude AI —https://www.amazon.in/100-BEST-PROMPTS-CLAUDE-Marketing-ebook/dp/B0H4HRKP3B📖 AI & Automation Guide for Normal People —https://www.amazon.in/AUTOMATION-GUIDE-NORMAL-PEOPLE-Intelligence-ebook/dp/B0H6X9ZCPR —Six Minutes of Silence is hosted by Linu Conil and produced by The Bandrum Circuit in Trivandrum, Kerala. New episodes every weekday at 7 AM IST.Got a thought? Write to thebandrumcircuit@gmail.com