MINNEAPOLIS — The nation's most powerful labor unions have a message for potential 2028 contenders for president: It's us or the machines.
Why it matters: AI anxiety dominated much of the conversation at the AFL-CIO's national convention here last week, as leaders from the group's 65 affiliated unions called on politicians to impose significant AI regulations.
President Trump is demanding Congress attach his sweeping voting overhaul to legislation renewing a key U.S. surveillance authority.
Why it matters: Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is among the government's most contested surveillance authorities, long opposed by privacy advocates and supported by security hawks. Its fate now hinges on Trump's unrelated demands for a voting bill.
Senior technical Anthropic staff are in Washington to meet with White House officials to try to fix a dispute that has taken the company's top models offline, a source close to the company tells Axios.
Why it matters: Anthropic is mobilizing quickly to make amends with the Trump administration, after safety concerns resulted in sweeping export controls on its most powerful models, Mythos and Fable.
Anthropic's much-anticipated, powerful Fable 5 AI model lasted just days in the public's hands, after an urgent report from Amazontriggered a scramble inside the White House that ended in a dramatic Friday night takedown.
Why it matters: The episode highlights the administration and industry's reactionary approach to a technology that is moving at breakneck speed.
The Trump administration gave Anthropic 90 minutes on Friday to pull down its most powerful models before imposing a licensing regime on the company, according to an Anthropic source.
Why it matters: It illustrates the mad dash within the government to react to warnings from Amazon and others about the models' capabilities.
2021 marked the first year that weekly releases outnumbered binge drops across major U.S. subscription streaming services, according to data from Parrot Analytics.
Why it matters: Binge watching was critical in ushering broad adoption of subscription streaming. Now, even Netflix recognizes that appointment viewing drives fandom and reduces churn.
Data: Magid; Note: Big 8 general entertainment services include Apple TV, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Prime Video; Mid-tier general entertainment services include AMC+, Cinemax, Discovery+, MGM+, Starz. Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios
Niche streaming services — which include apps like Crunchyroll, BritBox, and BET+ — have 60% higher resubscription rates in the U.S. than big general entertainment services like Netflix and Disney+, according to Magid.
Why it matters: These types of services are episodic, event-driven complements to bigger streamers. While their subscribers are the most likely to churn, they are also most likely to resubscribe.
The third phase of the streaming wars has arrived. Now that most services are scaled (phase one) and profitable (phase two), media companies must use streaming to accelerate other parts of their businesses where they have a competitive edge against Netflix.
Why it matters: Consumer spending on video has plateaued since the pandemic, and ads aren't expected to meaningfully offset those declines in the near term.
The Trump administration is blocking foreign governments, companies and individuals from accessing Anthropic's most advanced AI models — leading the company to cut off all customer access altogether.
Why it matters: The move marks an escalation in Washington's effort to treat cutting-edge AI systems as national security assets.
