Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's announcement that the Fort Hood shooter's execution will be livestreamed reflects a shift toward putting raw, real-world violence on display for unlimited audiences.
Why it matters: The Trump administration has made a show of flexing American power, sometimes with grisly footage. Now, it's preparing to make the government's ultimate punishment available for all to see.
Trump administration officials say they are now mandating that AI companies notify and correct security incidents following Anthropic's "fraudulent" use of government systems.
Why it matters: The administration's approach to AI regulation had been voluntary at least in name — until now.
"This notification and remediation process is not optional,"White House Super Intelligence Force leaders said in a statement shared exclusively with Axios. "It is a critical national security obligation."
Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, FactSet; Chart: Axios/Matt Phillips; Note: Data center construction includes construction costs, such as labor, materials, profits of contractors, architectural and engineering work and miscellaneous overhead, interest and taxes. Does not include servers, racks, chips or memory.
More and more, it seems as if there's the AI economy — and everything else.
Why it matters: The growing chasm between the breakneck growth of the AI world and the slower pace of the economy where most Americans work and live has huge implications, especially for the markets.
Top executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies are privately gaming out scenarios for a public and political revolt after a catastrophic AI event.
Why it matters: These officials anticipate a large-scale event, most likely a cyberattack, that shuts down access to financial services, internet connectivity, or even power and water.
The first example of significant real-world harm caused by unsafe AI would turn an already wary public further against the technology and its leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, as well as President Trump for his reluctance to regulate it.
The Trump administration said Thursday that it was suspending Microsoft froma key program used to sponsor employees for green cards. Later that day, the administration honored the tech giant's CEO with a medal for innovation.
Why it matters: The split-screen day highlights the tension between the administration's championing of Big Tech and its immigration policies, which constrain an industry that has long relied on hiring foreign-born workers.
Tech leaders have said that restrictions on hiring hamper the country's ability to compete — especially at a moment when the U.S. is in a race with China on AI.
