Politics Archive

That was the message to Chinese companies from a confidant of leader Xi Jinping, who’s heading up domestic efforts to overcome Nvidia’s stranglehold on cutting-edge AI chips. Go read this report from the Wall Street Journal that lays out the global stakes and the likelihood that China can repeat the playbook that saw it upending (and then dominating) industries like drones, EVs, display panels, solar, batteries… you get the idea.

With previous import taxes struck down by the courts or set to expire, the Trump administration announced a new set of tariffs ranging from 10 to 12.5 percent on 60 trading partners, including the EU. This time around, the administration is accusing dozens of countries of failing to enforce bans on forced labor as a justification.

The push to solve issues, including the soaring energy demands of AI data centers, using AI, revealed “more than $5 billion in Federal commitments” across 278 awards and 342 institutions in its list of awards.

The former Federal Trade Commission chair under Biden will help lead the city’s Economic Development Corporation, alongside newly announced president Anthony Shorris, who recently worked as a partner at McKinsey.

Michael Kratsios, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director, writes on X that Moonshot accessed Nvidia’s high-end GB300 processors in Thailand, which are subject to strict export controls. Kratsios also accuses Moonshot of distilling Anthropic’s Fable AI model to build Kimi K3, an open-source AI system claimed to rival flagship models from US companies.

Executive agencies including the Department of Labor and Department of Transportation are joining the app once declared a national security threat. Following the close of the deal to bring TikTok US under a US entity, the Justice Department said government employees are free to download it.

Both houses of France’s Parliament voted to approve a new law that could restrict under-15s from social media as soon as September 1st, while also banning cellphone use in high schools. Australia began restricting kids under 16 from social media last year, though a recent study found that many underage users can still access the platforms.

6,600 noncitizens were registered to vote between 2023 and 2024, due to a DMV error. Fewer than 400 voted, and were registered across both parties or unaffiliated (for context, 154 million voted in the 2024 election). Governor Mikie Sherrill (D) ordered their removal from voter rolls and launched an investigation.

Chris Fall was picked to be the Trump administration’s leader of the US Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI, previously called the AI Safety Institute until it was renamed last year) in April, but now CNBC and Reuters report he is out. The reasons for his departure are unclear, as is the role of CAISI in the administration’s constantly shifting priorities around AI.