At least eight U.S. telecommunications carriers were compromised during a wide-reaching Chinese espionage campaign, Anne Neuberger, deputy adviser of cybersecurity and emerging tech, told reporters Wednesday.
Why it matters: This is the first time the U.S. has confirmed the number of carriers reeling from the Salt Typhoon campaign — more than three months after news reports started uncovering details about the operation.
Defense contractor Anduril and ChatGPT maker OpenAI Wednesday announced "a strategic partnership to develop and responsibly deploy advanced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for national security missions" with an initial focus on anti-drone systems.
Why it matters: The U.S. now sees AI as a global race, chiefly with China, to dominate the new technology and use it to further national interests. At the same time, debates still rage about AI's reliability and long-term safety.
The D.C. Attorney General's Office (OAG) is suing Amazon for allegedly duping residents in majority Black and low-income D.C. ZIP codes into paying for Prime membership delivery benefits they aren't actually receiving.
The big picture: Amazon has since 2022 secretly withheld its quick delivery service to 48,000 Prime members in Northeast and Southeast ZIP codes that include Anacostia, Kenilworth, Deanwood and Fort Dupont, the OAG alleges in a release Wednesday.
President-elect Trump announced Wednesday that he has nominated Jared Isaacman, billionaire and commercial astronaut, as the next head of NASA.
Why it matters: Isaacman is a close associate of Elon Musk, who has emerged as one of Trump's biggest backers, and his selection is a boon for Musk's company SpaceX.
Why it matters: The new model provides — for the first time — a machine learning-driven method of conducting ensemble-based forecasting, in which the same model is run with many different initial conditions, to generate probability-based projections.
SpaceX is the most valuable defense contractor in the world. Its valuation has reportedly increased by $140 billion — more than the total value of Lockheed Martin — just since June.
Why it matters: Investors aren't necessarily clamoring for SpaceX shares because Starlink has suddenly become more profitable or rocket launches more numerous. Instead, they're buying into Elon Musk's proximity to President-elect Donald Trump.
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday finalized recommendations aimed at simplifying the process for approving medical devices that use artificial intelligence.
Why it matters: Regulators increasingly are evaluating AI-powered medical devices.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning has the potential to improve health care by ingesting real-world data and adapting it to new circumstances in real time.
But ensuring that AI-powered medical devices remain safe and effective is burdensome for both the FDA and manufacturers.
"This guidance is intended to provide a forward-thinking approach to promote the development of safe and effective AI-enabled devices," the FDA memo says.
Zoom in: The first-time guidelines outline that manufacturers can seek approval to make changes to their AI-enabled products without having to file a new submission to show the device is safe and effective.
The plan is submitted to FDA along with a marketing approval application that outlines modifications that will be made and how those changes will be assessed.
Regulators said manufacturers should include descriptions of planned changes to the device, outline the testing needed to make sure the device remains safe and effective, and a risk-mitigation strategy.
FDA proposed initial guidelines in April 2023.
Reality check: The guidelines are recommendations, not legally enforceable requirements.
Amazon announced a new seriesof foundation models that aim to rival those from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta, as part of a slew of AI announcements from the tech giant on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Amazon has been a key player in generative AI largely on the strength of its web services business, but its new moves are designed to give it a larger footprint.
