Alan Shimel argues Google has become a "parasite" on the open web — AI Overviews and AI Mode consume publisher-created reporting and expertise, synthesize it into an answer, and eliminate the reason to click through, leaving publishers to fund the work Google monetizes. Then: a federal judge grants final approval to a $1.5 billion class-action copyright settlement between Anthropic and thousands of authors and publishers, the largest copyright recovery in U.S. history — roughly $3,000 per book across 500,000 works, though critics call the payout inadequate relative to Anthropic's size. And Forrester's 2027 Budget Planning Guides find the vast majority of tech and marketing leaders expect budget growth next year, driven by a structural shift to volatile, usage-based AI pricing. Today's Techstrong Gang panel: Alan Shimel, Jon Swartz, Teri Robinson, JP Morgenthal.