‘Uncanny Valley’: Iran War in the AI Era, Prediction Market Ethics, and Paramount Beats Netflix

Zoë Schiffer: Emil Michael, you should turn off your views on LinkedIn because people can see when they look at your phone. Brian Barrett: Yeah, that’s a tip for Emil Michael if you’re listening. And then, if you listen to Uncanny Valleywhich you should. Leah Feiger: And this is really the Trump official that’s kind … Read more

ByteDance’s AI Ambitions Are Being Hampered by Compute Restraints and Copyright Concerns

move over Sora 2, there’s a hot new AI video model in town. In early February, ByteDance unveiled Seedance 2.0, a major upgrade to its flagship video model, which had previously remained fairly obscure. Its powerful capabilities immediately shocked the AI ​​ecosystem in China, even among audiences who had once been skeptical of AI-generated video … Read more

What AI Models for War Actually Look Like

Anthropic might have misgivings about giving the US military unfettered access to its AI models, but some startups are building advanced AI specifically for military applications. Smack Technologieswhich announced a $32 million funding round this week, is developing models that it says will soon surpass Claude’s capabilities when it comes to planning and executing military … Read more

Grammarly Is Offering ‘Expert’ AI Reviews From Your Favorite Authors—Dead or Alive

Do you have fond memories of being a teacher’s pet? Wish you could still get notes from your favorite college professor? Dream about some implacable voice of authority correcting your every word choice and punctuation mark? Well, great news: A certain software company has engineered a way to simulate criticism not just from bestselling authors … Read more

Big Tech Signs White House Data Center Pledge With Good Optics and Little Substance

Several key technology companies signed a nonbinding pledge at the White House on Wednesday that the Trump administration claims will ensure that tech companies do not pass the cost of data centers on to consumers’ utility bills. “Data centers … they need some PR help,” President Donald Trump said at the event. “People think that … Read more

This AI Agent Is Ready to Serve, Mid-Phone Call

Deutsche Telekom, the German mobile provider that is also the majority stakeholder of T-Mobile in the US, is introducing an AI assistant into its phone line. The result of a partnership with the AI-audio company ElevenLabs, the feature is called Magenta AI Call Assistant. It will be available in Germany only, for now, and doesn’t … Read more

What Is That Mysterious Metallic Device US Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia Is Using?

Joe Gebbia, cofounder of Airbnb and the US chief design officer appointed by President Trump, was spotted in San Francisco today using a mysterious metallic device. In a social media posts on He’s wearing metallic buds that bisect his ears, with a matching clamshell-shaped disc in front of him on the counter. After the video … Read more

The Data Centers Have Arrived at the Edge of the Arctic Circle

On the bank of the river that runs through the Swedish town of Borlänge, construction is underway on a sprawling new data center. The site previously housed a paper mill. When the developer, EcoDataCenter, broke ground in September, its CEO Peter Michelson declared“The facility once produced paper, the raw material of the newspaper information age. … Read more

Anthropic Hits Back After US Military Labels It a ‘Supply Chain Risk’

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the Pentagon to designate Anthropic as a “supply-chain risk” on Friday, sending shockwaves through Silicon Valley and leaving many companies scrambling to understand whether they can keep using one of the industry’s most popular AI models. “Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with … Read more

Trump Moves to Ban Anthropic From the US Government

US President Donald Trump declared Friday that he was instructing every federal agency to “immediately cease” use of Anthropic’s AI tools. The move comes after Anthropic and top officials clashed for weeks over military applications of artificial intelligence. “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of … Read more