Scale AI CEO and founder Alexandr Wang and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met this week to discuss global cooperation around artificial intelligence, a source familiar told Axios.
OpenAI will release its GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 models within "weeks" and "months," CEO Sam Altman said in posts on X Wednesday.
Yes, but: Altman's "roadmap update" says that the o3 reasoning model, previewed with fanfare in December, won't get its own independent release, as originally planned, but will instead be integrated into GPT-5.
Scarlett Johansson is calling on the U.S. to outlaw misuse of AI after a deepfake video of her and other Jewish celebrities giving Kanye West, who is now officially known as Ye, a middle finger went viral on Instagram.
The big picture: Johansson has been a critic of AI in recent years, suing an AI app developer for using her name and likeness in an ad and protesting OpenAI's use of a voice that many felt sounded like hers in the movie "Her."
Several of America's largest companies have buckled to the pressures of political and shareholder activists by rolling back their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Why it matters: Calls for ending these corporate initiatives have become more fervent in the past year and have intensified at the start of President Trump's second term.
Google's removal of certain holidays and cultural events from the default settings on Google Calendar has gained more attention this month, even though the company said themoves took place last year.
Why it matters: The removal of events like Pride Month from G-cal comes asPresident Trump has taken aim at diversity, equity and inclusion policies. As a result, major companies have rolled back their DEI efforts.
With artificial intelligence, the opportunities are now way greater than the threats: That was the consistent message inside the majestic Grand Palais in Paris over the last three days.
The big picture: This AI Action Summit aimed to tackle AI's dangers — from job losses to climate impacts — but unlike two predecessor events, it largely celebrated AI's tantalizing potential benefits.
The economic nuances of national security are too often neglected, according to Jonathan Moneymaker, the chief executive at defense contractor BlueHalo.
"It's easy to focus on military and the traditional aspects of it, but I think there's a subplot of economic power that we don't pay quite enough attention to," he told Axios in an interview.
Why he matters: BlueHalo works on everything from laser weapons to space communications. Its arms are used across the globe. And AeroVironment, maker of the Switchblade drone, is buying it for billions.
Why it matters: Additive manufacturing is incredibly attractive at a time when capacity — so often held hostage by specialty parts, single producers and backorders — is king.
President Donald Trump is nominating RNC executive Sean Cairncross as his national cyber director, according to a list of new administration nominations obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: This is the first significant cybersecurity nomination of the Trump administration, and if approved, Cairncross would play a key role in the administration's cyber policymaking and response to major cyberattacks.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claimed Tuesday that Elon Musk — who launched a bid to buy OpenAI a day earlier — seems unhappy and is operating "from a position of insecurity," adding: "I feel for the guy."
Why it matters: The personal feud between the two AI leaders is escalating alongside the broader battle to define the future of AI and wield influence with President Trump. Musk has become Trump's right-hand man, but Trump also effectively crowned Altman's OpenAI as America's national AI champion.
A prominent group of hackers warns that without a fundamental overhaul of current security practices, AI vulnerabilities will continue to pose serious risks.
Why it matters: Well-intentioned hackers say it's still too easy to probe AI systems and tools — and if they can get in, imagine what the bad guys can do.
International law enforcement has arrested four people suspected of leading the 8Base ransomware gang and has seized 27 of their servers, according to a Europol news release today.
Why it matters: The arrests and web server seizures deal a serious blow to the ransomware gang, which has targeted organizations primarily in the U.S. and Brazil, including the United Nations Development Programme.
As Elon Musk and his people weave their way through federal agencies, security experts warn that the team's wide-reaching access poses unprecedented risks — including potential data leaks, insider threats, and violations of federal security protocols.
Why it matters: While Musk and President Trump say the Department of Government Efficiency is focused on uncovering fraud, security experts caution that DOGE's rapid onboarding of employees with access to sensitive government data increases the risk of both intentional and accidental security breaches.
Bain Capital disclosed that it is considering the "option of withdrawing" its hostile $4.2 billion takeover bid for Japanese tech group Fuji Soft, after KKR raised its own offer to $4.3 billion.
The big picture: It wasn't too long ago that U.S. private equity firms were steering clear of Japan, to the point of closing offices.
As Elon Musk and his people weave their way through federal agencies, security experts warn that the team's wide-reaching access poses unprecedented risks — including potential data leaks, insider threats, and violations of federal security protocols.
Why it matters: While Musk and President Trump say the Department of Government Efficiency is focused on uncovering fraud, security experts caution that DOGE's rapid onboarding of employees with access to sensitive government data increases the risk of both intentional and accidental security breaches.
The big picture: Former government officials, security executives and surveillance experts say DOGE's structure and quick pace could exacerbate insider threats.
International law enforcement has arrested four people suspected of leading the 8Base ransomware gang and has seized 27 of their servers, according to a Europol news release today.
Why it matters: The arrests and web server seizures deal a serious blow to the ransomware gang, which has targeted organizations primarily in the U.S. and Brazil, including the United Nations Development Programme.
Driving the news: Security researchers noticed yesterday that 8Base's dark-web data leak site had a seizure notice from law enforcement agencies in Europe, Japan, the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
"This hidden site has been seized," the notice reads.
A prominent group of hackers warns that without a fundamental overhaul of current security practices, AI vulnerabilities will continue to pose serious risks.
Why it matters: Well-intentioned hackers say it's still too easy to probe AI systems and tools — and if they can get in, imagine what the bad guys can do.
Driving the news: Organizers of the DEF CON hacker conference released their first "Hackers' Almanack" last week, detailing key takeaways and findings from the summer's annual hacker gathering.
The report, published in partnership with the Cyber Policy Initiative at the University of Chicago, comes as top AI executives, heads of state, academics and nonprofit leaders gather in Paris this week to discuss a range of AI safety and security topics.
🗳️ About six employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who focused on election security were put on administrative leave last week. (Politico)
🧽 The National Security Agency was directed to scrub websites and internal network content for mentions of 27 newly banned words, including "privilege" — which is also a popular security term that describes what level of access people have to key system data. (Popular Information)
❌ The Senate has banned DeepSeek on its networks and work devices, following a similar move in the House. (Axios Pro)
@ Industry
🚧 Meta issued a memo saying privacy teams will no longer be able to delay product releases, adding that some previous decisions were overly "risk-averse." (The Information)
Should Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey have his way, the U.S. Army's effort to arm troops with futuristic, mixed-reality headsets will involve a consortium of companies pumping out "glasses that look a lot like the Oakleys you wear every day all the way up to things that look like an Iron Man helmet."
Why it matters: Anduril is taking over Microsoft's multibillion-dollar Integrated Visual Augmentation System project, pending government approval. The announcement was made this morning.
OpenAI is not for sale — and particularly not to Elon Musk, CEO Sam Altman told Axios on the sidelines of the AI Action Summit in Paris.
Why it matters: Altman's comments come one day after his increasingly heated rival Musk made a shock $97.4 billion offer for OpenAI's assets, potentially changing the narrative around the technology's future.
