Federal workers reportedly got another email Friday night asking them to document their weekly activities — though so far this time, there's been no explicit threat from Elon Musk they'll lose their jobs if they don't reply.
Why it matters: The Musk-led campaign to slash the federal workforce is accelerating, and the emails may end up being another way to justify cutting thousands of jobs.
Elon Musk defended DOGE's actions, name dropped alleged Jeffery Epstein clients and weighed in on the "Gulf of America" standoff between the Trump administration and the Associated Press in an appearance on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast.
The big picture: The pair, in their three-hour interview, railed against legacy media, discussed what the world would have been like if Twitter wasn't X and explained why DOGE is seen as a threat — though Musk said it doesn't go far in exposing corruption because doing so could get him "killed."
Nearly 30% of parents of kids ages 0-8 say their children have used AI for learning, according to new research from Common Sense Media.
Why it matters: Even the youngest of children are experimenting with a rapidly changing technology that could reshape their learning and critical thinking skills in unknown ways.
Elon Musk's Tesla has become a rallying point for protestors outraged with how the world's richest man has insinuated himself into President Trump's administration and led efforts to slash government agencies.
Why it matters: The #TeslaTakedown protests at Tesla locations nationwide are one of the first signs of grassroots backlash to Musk's role in the Trump administration, targeting his flagship company.
Skype, once the go-to app for making calls on the internet, is shutting down after several key missteps and the rise of more user-friendly competitors.
The big picture: Skype, a big hit during the early 2000s, failed to keep up with competitors and wasn't able to claw back during the pandemic when demand for video calling spiked.
Recent moves by the U.S. and the U.K. to frame AI safety primarily as a security issue could be risky, depending on how leaders ultimately define "safety," experts tell Axios.
Why it matters: A broad definition of AI safety could encompass issues like AI models generating dangerous content, such as instructions for building weapons or providing inaccurate technical guidance.
Recent moves by the U.S. and the U.K. to frame AI safety primarily as a security issue could be risky, depending on how leaders ultimately define "safety," experts tell Axios.
Why it matters: A broad definition of AI safety could encompass issues like AI models generating dangerous content, such as instructions for building weapons or providing inaccurate technical guidance.
But a narrower approach might leave out ethical concerns, like bias in AI decision-making.
Driving the news: The U.S. and the U.K. declined to sign an international AI declaration at the Paris summit this month that emphasized an "open," "inclusive" and "ethical" approach to AI development.
Cuts to the federal cyber workforce are likely to have long-lasting effects on the government's efforts to recruit and retain future generations of talent, experts told Axios at an event Wednesday.
Why it matters: The cybersecurity industry as a whole already had only enough cyber workers to fill 83% of available jobs, according to federal data.
The federal government wasn't immune to the shortage.
What they're saying: "What [the administration] is doing to undermine future generations of people, younger or not, who might be interested in working in a space like the government, it's really scary," Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), a member of House Intelligence and Armed Services committees, told me on stage.
💼 Karen Evans is officially the executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA, putting her in charge of the agency's cyber mission. (CyberScoop)
📲 The Biden administration assured Congress that there were no significant disputes around company information sharing, even though officials were aware of the U.K.'s forthcoming demand that Apple create a back door in its iCloud encryption. (Washington Post)
@ Industry
🤖 DeepSeek is expanding across various products in China, including TVs, fridges and vacuum cleaners, as the country quickly adopts the AI model's technology. (Reuters)
Vice President Vance will give a keynote address at a tech summit in Washington next month, underscoring the Trump administration's focus on artificial intelligence and advanced computing.
Why it matters: Vance, a former venture capitalist, has helped draw Silicon Valley's tech sector more closely than ever to the nation's capital.
A key question about GPT-4.5 is how much better it is than its predecessors — and whether that edge justifies its higher cost. So I asked GPT-4.5 to make the case for itself.
Why it matters: ChatGPT-4.5, unveiled Thursday, costs developers at least 30 times as much as GPT-4o.
GPT-4.5, OpenAI's big new model, represents a significant step forward for AI's industry leader. It could also be the end of an era.
The big picture: 4.5 is "a giant, expensive model," as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman put it. The company has also described it as "our last non-chain-of-thought model," meaning — unlike the newer "reasoning" models — it doesn't take its time to respond or share its "thinking" process.
A grassroots movement's "economic blackout" calls on consumers nationwide to avoid shopping at major retailers Friday in protest of corporate greed.
Why it matters: The 24-hour boycott, organized by The People's Union USA, asks consumers to not spend in stores or shop online to "disrupt the economy for one day."
President Trump and Elon Musk's campaign to shrink the federal government will be felt far outside the nation's capital — in deep red states as well as blue.
Why it matters: Some GOP lawmakers are already hearing from constituents and raising the alarm about the haphazard way federal employees are getting canned.
A federal judge ordered the Office of Personnel Management on Thursday to revoke instructions to fire probationary government workers across several agencies.
The big picture: The ruling fromU.S. District Judge William Alsup, which found that the firings were likely illegal, poses one of the largest hurdles yet to President Trump's goal of shrinking the federal workforce.
