California's attorney general on Friday sent a cease and desist letter to xAI, demanding the company immediately halt the creation and distribution of fake sexualized images of children.
Why it matters:Lawmakers and regulators have raised legal concerns over xAi's editing features, which allow users to create nonconsensual, intimate images and child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including explicit images or videos of minors.
Top MAGA influencers, including Laura Loomer and David Sacks, are picking a public fight with a key GOP lawmaker over who should regulate the sale of AI chips to China.
Why it matters: Legislation from House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.) isn't even out of committee. But the accusations are flying fast.
President Trump is trying to solve a political dilemma with his push for tech companies to fund new power plants: The White House is all-in on AI, but Republicans face blowback as utility bills rise.
Why it matters: Rising consumer electricity costs — which have no single cause — and the need for more power generation are both threats to the AI boom.
There's been a lot of debate over President Trump's penchant for having the U.S. government take equity stakes in private companies, which continued this week with two new deals.
But one thing is indisputable: These investments boost company value, at least in the short term.
Walmart shuffled its executive ranks Friday ahead of incoming CEO John Furner's start next month, promoting leaders with a focus on AI and the growing business of agentic commerce.
Why it matters: The world's largest retailer is all-in on artificial intelligence and the new era of shopping, and the executive changes are a sign that Furner intends to continue growing there aggressively.
Natural gas is filling the biggest role fueling electricity for data centers in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest — the country's AI hotbed — but the region is still staring down a huge shortfall in power.
Why it matters: Society faces the risk of spiking power prices or — worse — no power at all if this gap isn't resolved by either adding more power or fewer data centers.
The AI buildout is turning into a profit engine for the big banks, as the tech giants tap Wall Street to finance enormous capital spending and AI-fueled stock gains lift trading revenues.
Why it matters: Banks are cashing in on the AI boom across debt underwriting, advisory and trading — while largely distancing themselves from concerns that the rally could be forming a bubble.
Almost a quarter (23%) of audiobook fans are hooked on romantasy, the romance-meets-fantasy genre, according to data from Audible.
The big picture: People are forming fandoms and friendships around genres once thought niche — including romantasy, sports romance, LitRPG, cozy mysteries.
The world is on the cusp of a generation-defining construction boom, but the U.S. may not have enough workers to make it happen, BlackRock warns in a new paper first seen by Axios.
Why it matters: This is the new fault line of the global economy — soaring demand for some workers and shrinking appetite for others. It could result in widening financial gaps in the coming years.
This might be our first AI race, but it's not America's first power boom.
Why it matters: The latest boomin power is scrambling our communities, politics and power bills, with Big Tech companies making promises seeking to ease said scramble.
Why it matters: The PR giant's massive annual survey suggests the global trust crisis has crossed a new threshold. Worldwide, people no longer accept the same sources, authorities or even the validity of the act of disagreement itself.
