Employees at Google DeepMind have asked company leaders for clear policies to keep staff physically safe from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while on company premises. The request follows reports of an ICE officer attempting to enter the Cambridge office without a warrant. Leadership, including the CEOs of Google and DeepMind, has not publicly responded. The internal discussion reflects growing tension between AI firms and their workforce over federal immigration actions, especially as many Silicon Valley companies rely on foreign‑national talent. Read more →

Silicon Valley is spending tens of millions of dollars on the 2026 midterm elections through a network of AI‑focused super PACs. The largest, Leading the Future, is backed by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI president Greg Brockman and is running ads against candidates who support state‑level AI regulation. Meta has launched two super PACs to back pro‑AI candidates, while a bipartisan group called Public First is raising money to promote AI safety safeguards. The clash highlights a growing battle over how artificial intelligence will be regulated in the United States. Read more →

Elon Musk is pursuing a damages claim of between $79 billion and $134 billion against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging the AI company breached its nonprofit mission and defrauded him. The figures come from expert witness C. Paul Wazzan, who based the calculation on Musk’s $38 million seed investment in OpenAI in 2015 and the company’s current $500 billion valuation. The lawsuit also targets Microsoft, which holds a 27% stake in OpenAI, for alleged wrongful gains ranging from $13.3 billion to $25.1 billion. Musk’s personal fortune is estimated at around $700 billion, and the case is set for trial in Oakland, California. Read more →

OpenAI has made the largest single investment in Merge Labs, the brain‑computer interface startup founded by Sam Altman and other tech leaders. The seed round, valued at $850 million, aims to develop non‑invasive technologies that connect to neurons using molecules and ultrasound. OpenAI’s involvement includes collaborating on scientific foundation models and AI tools to accelerate research. The move positions Merge Labs alongside other high‑profile BCI efforts such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink, while highlighting OpenAI’s strategy of investing in frontier technologies that could expand human interaction with artificial intelligence. Read more →

Bandcamp announced a policy that prohibits music and audio created wholly or substantially by artificial intelligence. The platform says the move aims to ensure fans can trust that music on the site is made by humans and to protect artists from AI impersonation. The decision arrives amid rising popularity of AI‑generated songs, legal disputes involving AI music companies, and ongoing debates about copyright and the value of human‑made art. Read more →

In the past year, major artificial intelligence firms—including OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, Google, and others—have moved from opposing military use of their technologies to actively collaborating with the U.S. defense sector. Policy changes, lucrative defense contracts, and evolving geopolitical pressures have driven this rapid realignment, normalizing AI applications in warfare and national security. The shift reflects broader tensions between neoliberal tech ideals and emerging techno‑nationalist agendas, as big‑tech companies become integral to the modern military‑industrial complex. Read more →

Theo Baker, a senior at Stanford University, earned the George Polk Award after his reporting led to the resignation of Stanford president Marc Tessier‑Lavigne. His investigative work, which involved hundreds of interviews and extensive field work, has drawn the attention of major studios and publishers. Baker is now preparing to release a book that examines the money‑driven subculture of Silicon Valley venture capital and its impact on university students. The project, based on more than 250 interviews, promises to expose the ways young entrepreneurs are courted and exploited before they have fully formed ideas. Read more →

OpenAI chief Sam Altman sat down with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, using the platform to highlight how ChatGPT has become a personal assistant for new parents. The interview coincides with a broader push by Silicon Valley firms to shape public perception of artificial intelligence through extensive advertising and pop‑up campaigns. Companies such as Meta, TikTok, and others are deploying TV spots and digital ads that frame AI as a helpful, everyday tool, while also addressing regulatory pressures and growing public scrutiny of AI technologies. Read more →

President Donald Trump announced plans to issue an executive order that would prevent individual states from enacting their own artificial‑intelligence (AI) rules. The proposed order would create an “AI Litigation Task Force” to challenge state laws in court and direct federal agencies to assess state regulations deemed overly burdensome. Critics, including lawmakers from both parties and tech industry leaders, argue the move would create a patchwork of federal preemption that could stifle innovation and undermine consumer protections. The debate highlights a clash between federal authority and state autonomy in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Read more →

Lawmakers have dismissed a proposal to block state AI regulations from being included in an annual defense appropriations bill. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Republican leaders will seek other avenues for the measure, a move backed by former President Trump. The effort follows earlier attempts to insert a ten‑year moratorium on state AI laws into a tax and spending bill, which also failed. Silicon Valley supports a federal preemption to avoid a patchwork of state rules, while critics argue that state measures focus on safety and consumer protections and that a ban would hand oversight to large tech firms without federal safeguards. Read more →

The Trump administration, after previously targeting state-level artificial intelligence regulations, has put on hold a draft executive order that would have created an AI Litigation Task Force to contest state AI laws. The move follows a prior effort to embed a ten‑year ban on state AI regulation in legislation that was later removed by the Senate. The proposed order also threatened to withhold federal broadband funding from states with contested AI rules. Reuters reports the order is now stalled, citing likely opposition from both political parties and industry stakeholders. Read more →

Swedish AI coding startup Lovable announced that its annual recurring revenue has reached $200 million, a figure it achieved within four months of surpassing $100 million. CEO Anton Osika credited the decision to remain in Europe, rather than relocate to Silicon Valley, as a key factor in the company’s rapid growth. The firm leveraged strong European talent, recruited engineers from Silicon Valley firms, and benefited from an active open‑source community. Lovable’s latest $200 million Series A round, led by Accel, valued the company at $1.8 billion, underscoring investor confidence in its European‑centric strategy. Read more →

A political action committee backed by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI president Greg Brockman has singled out New York Assembly member Alex Bores as its first target. The PAC, called Leading the Future, was formed with a commitment of more than $100 million to support policymakers who favor a light‑touch approach to AI regulation. Bores, the chief sponsor of New York’s bipartisan RAISE Act, says the group’s tactics are a direct response to his efforts to require large AI labs to adopt safety plans and disclose critical incidents. The clash highlights growing tensions between Silicon Valley and state legislators seeking stronger AI safeguards. Read more →

A growing number of technology executives and investors are publicly aligning with religious narratives, citing a sense of purpose amid rapid AI development. Events have included venture capitalists reciting prayers, CEOs posting biblical verses, and organized groups aiming to merge faith with tech culture. The shift reflects both personal convictions and a broader search for meaning as artificial intelligence reshapes industry and society. Read more →

In a recent Ars Live discussion, Ed Zitron warned that the AI boom is inflating a market bubble, largely driven by Nvidia’s growth. He argued that a slowdown in that growth could trigger a burst, potentially leading to a broader market depression as investors reassess the sustainability of tech’s hyper‑growth. Zitron also criticized OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, labeling him a con artist who has misled the market. The conversation highlighted concerns over AI hype, the risk of inflated valuations, and the possible fallout for Silicon Valley if the bubble collapses. Read more →

At OpenAI’s developer conference, CEO Sam Altman and former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive shared their vision for a new class of AI‑powered devices. While details remain limited, the duo emphasized a focus on redesigning the human‑technology relationship, aiming for products that bring happiness, fulfillment, and reduced anxiety. Ive highlighted a portfolio of compelling concepts, and Altman acknowledged the technical challenges of creating novel form factors. The collaboration builds on OpenAI’s acquisition of Ive’s design firm LoveFrom and its Io project, positioning the company among other tech giants exploring consumer AI hardware. Read more →

Sunshine, the consumer AI startup founded by former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, is closing its doors and selling its assets to a newly incorporated company called Dazzle AI. An email to shareholders on September 17 indicated that 99 percent of shareholders have signed off on the deal. Mayer, the largest shareholder, said the move will allow the roughly 15‑person team to transition to Dazzle. The shutdown follows a mixed product history that included the Sunshine Contacts app and the later Shine photo‑sharing service. Read more →

Silicon Valley dominated headlines this week with massive AI infrastructure deals. Nvidia announced a potential $100 billion investment in OpenAI, while OpenAI revealed plans to add five new Stargate data centers in partnership with Oracle and SoftBank, promising gigawatts of fresh capacity. Oracle financed the effort by selling $18 billion in bonds. At the same time, OpenAI launched Pulse, a personalized morning briefing feature in ChatGPT that currently runs only for $200‑a‑month Pro users due to server constraints. The flurry of investments and product launches raises questions about the balance between costly data‑center expansion and new AI services. Read more →

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel delivered a four‑part lecture series in San Francisco arguing that government attempts to regulate artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies could pave the way for a totalitarian authority he likens to the biblical Antichrist. Drawing on eschatology, existential‑risk scenarios and cultural references, Thiel warned that calls for “peace and safety” may mask a push toward global control over science. The talks, hosted by the Acts 17 Collective, blend theological speculation with a critique of regulatory overreach, positioning Thiel’s viewpoint at the intersection of technology, politics and religion. Read more →

The California state senate gave final approval to SB 53, a major AI safety bill that imposes new transparency requirements on large AI labs, establishes whistleblower protections, and creates a public cloud to expand compute access. The legislation now moves to Governor Gavin Newsom for signing or veto. While some tech firms and venture groups have opposed the bill, others like Anthropic support it as a solid governance blueprint. The bill differentiates reporting obligations based on a $500 million revenue threshold, and has drawn criticism from industry leaders who warn of constitutional and commerce concerns. Read more →