It’s the first official confirmation, delivered by Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink:
“We are increasing readiness against existing threats, and the United States has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.”
It’s like the race to build self-improving superintelligence before the other guy does, only with space guns. Meink apparently never saw Gravity.
When asked about the flurry of weekend blog posts and tweets from the CEOs of Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft, SpaceX, (and Alphabet’s Hassabis) calling for a coordinated slowdown on the development of advanced AI models, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said, “Fear mongering, confrontation, competition will just disrupt [the] process of global AI governance.”
That partially aligns with Trump’s view that the execs are overreacting and “bringing up things that won’t happen,” but at least Beijing supports international regulation.
According to The Washington Post, the spy agency is set to undergo its largest restructuring in over a decade. Army general and NSA director Joshua M. Rudd is leading the effort. According to the Post:
Rudd’s initiative calls for the creation at NSA’s Fort Meade, Maryland, headquarters of five new organizations inside the agency, in artificial intelligence, China, cybersecurity, combat support or warfighting, and global intelligence. Each will be led by a newly elevated “mission director” …
[The Washington Post]
The ban, announced in July, has caused chaos for many manufacturers of robot vacuums, pool cleaners, lawn mowers, and more. Swedish company Husqvarna has secured the first exception to the rule for its 305v IQ, 310v IQ, 420v IQ, and 440v IQ after the Defense Department decided they don’t pose a national security risk.
Kimmel said he couldn’t air his interview with the Democratic Texas Senate candidate on TV after the FCC “threatened” him. Instead, you can watch it on the the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube channel:
Under AB1709, social platforms can’t provide algorithmic recommendations, infinite scroll, or autoplay features to users under 16 unless they receive parental consent.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of other online safety-focused bills into law as well, including new rules requiring chatbot makers to notify young users that they’re not talking to a human.
[The New York Times]
Answering your Decoder questions about surveillance, AI coverage, and the Nilay rant.
The New York Times delves into Trump’s mental health through the lens of his increasingly unhinged postings on his also-ran Truth Social platform. Here’s how the White House responded to criticisms:
“Truth Social is the most powerful and popular social media platform in the world because it serves as President Trump’s authentic voice, where he communicates directly with the American people and the world without the biased media taking him out of context.”
[The New York Times]
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
