Axios

There is a growing disconnect between the business and politics of data centers.

Why it matters: Investors may be whistling past the server racks.

The Federal Trade Commission is being urged to investigate AI companies for buying, scanning and destroying books to train AI, per a letter shared first with Axios.

Why it matters: If the FTC agrees, the fight over AI training data may move from copyright into competition.

Vectus Air Defense Systems launched Friday, led by Blackwater founder Erik Prince and backed by drone-collaboration specialist Swarmer.

Why it matters: The company is taking an unorthodox tack, applying the as-a-service model, often associated with software subscriptions, to overhead defenses, like jammers, cannons and interceptors seen on the battlefields of Ukraine and the Middle East.

• "It's clear that the threat is evolving rapidly, and the demand for a private-sector solution is very strong," Prince said in a statement to Axios.

Oil price changes in response to President Trump's social media posts about the Iran war have been shrinking over time, an Axios analysis shows.

Why it matters: Oil price changes ripple throughout the U.S. and global economies, and the conflict has brought unprecedented supply disruption.

America is caught in a historic capital squeeze:

• On one side: Trillions Washington must borrow to pay for the past.
• On the other: Trillions the economy needs to build the future.

Why it matters: The next president will inherit a fiscal reckoning decades in the making. The price it exacts — on taxes, benefits, borrowing and investment — could shape America's prosperity and power for generations.

Nathan Johnson, the Democratic nominee for Texas attorney general, is pitching a plan to examine how existing state laws can be updated to protect constituents from AI harms.

Why it matters: State attorneys general have largely focused on wielding existing law to bring lawsuits against tech companies.

• Johnson wants to go a step further and get the legislature to pass laws that account for the AI age.

CEOs used to talk up AI progress and efficiency by the number of workers it could replace, but with economic worries climbing, they're being more careful about linking AI to job cuts.

Why it matters: Communicators face competing pressures: Investors want proof AI spending is paying off, while employees don't want to hear that leaders are considering replacing them.

Reddit's share of ChatGPT citations has dropped in recent days, according to AI visibility platform Promptwatch.

Why it matters: Communicators trying to influence what AI says about their brands are finding that generative engine optimization is a rapidly moving target.

Two senators are demanding TikTok explain an "experiment" that withheld safety measures for millions of users.

The big picture: The demand comes as a cascade of lawsuits over social media's allegedly harmful and addictive designs are playing out in courts across the U.S., including Meta and YouTube's landmark trial earlier this year.

South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix plans to shower cash on shareholders in an effort to end a two-month-long share slump.

Why it matters: South Korea's stock market has become the epicenter for global AI-related volatility. SK Hynix and fellow chipmaker Samsung Electronics are the key drivers, accounting for roughly 50% of the country's benchmark KOSPI index.