Google's overhaul of the search bar this week washes away one of the last vestiges of the internet's halcyon era — when search tools felt empowering, social media and swiping were novel, and popular disillusionment had yet to set in.
Why it matters: The AI era and the TikTok-ification of social media have produced a digital world that's responsive to the market demands of today and unrecognizable from a decade ago.
America's classic neighborhood watch programs are fading as AI-powered apps turn neighborhoods into digital watch zones.
Why it matters: The automation of neighborhood safety with tools like Amazon's Ring and the Nextdoor app is quietly dismantling one of the country's most basic forms of civic life: neighbors who actually know each other.
A pro-AI super PAC, fresh off a string of GOP primary victories this week, plans to keep spending in Kentucky's Senate race as the AI industry tries to focus the public's attention on AI's possibilities, not its potential pitfalls.
Why it matters: Leading the Future and its affiliated nonprofit, Build American AI, are looking for allies in the next Congress to pass a national AI framework, while selling voters today on AI's economic upside.
Here is the draft executive order on cybersecurity and AI as it stood before President Trump pulled the plug on it Thursday.
State of play: The industry and administration are scrambling to figure out what's next as key questions remain unanswered on the future of government access to top AI models and general AI safety.
The deadline for companies to help remove AI-generated pornography under the Take It Down Act passed this week, but advocates say companies will have to be taken to court to secure strong implementation.
Why it matters: The Take It Down Act is Congress' first attempt to tackle child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual intimate images of adults online — content that has proliferated with AI.
Open-source AI firm Reflection AI is partnering with the Department of Energy to help power the Genesis Mission, a federal scientific research initiative,per an announcement shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: The partnership is a big advancement for a company that's trying to get the U.S. to embrace open-source models.
AI backlash is mounting. Executives are getting booed. Workers are threatening strikes, and protests are frustrating data center development — but that doesn't seem to worry investors who are raining money on companies in the business.
Why it matters: AI hate could slow adoption of the technology, posing an underappreciated risk for investors buying into the current frenzy.
Fusion energy — tapping the power of the stars — is on the cusp of getting new federal rules.
Why it matters: Regulators increasingly view fusion as fundamentally safer than nuclear fission, helping to pave the way for a substantially simpler permitting process than the one faced by conventional nuclear plants.
