Policy

AISenate Democrats say generous state and local tax breaks for data center construction are costing governments billions of dollars in lost tax revenue, according to a new report. The report links the tax breaks to part of the data center building boom. The source does not specify the report's time period, the states covered, or the exact dollar figures.

AIA proposed class action alleges McDonald's and its franchisees coordinate prices set by AI algorithms at about 14,000 US restaurants, dating back to 2019. McDonald's denies the claims, saying "AI does not set the price of a Big Mac" and that franchisees set their own menu prices. The case is at an early stage, and the plaintiffs seek damages for potentially millions of consumers.

AIFlock Safety plans to cut about 18% of its roughly 1,500 employees, affecting around 270 people after a voluntary buyout program, people with direct knowledge of the plans said. The company, which runs a network of about 120,000 AI-powered license-plate cameras across 49 states, declined to comment. The cuts come as Flock faces growing opposition from communities, lawmakers and privacy advocates, including Florida's ban on automated license plate readers on state highways in September.

AIThe article examines Trump's AI rebrand and the question it raises for OpenAI, which has cultivated close ties to Trump. Trump now calls anyone who refuses to embrace the rebrand "the enemy," according to the source.

AINikon disqualified the first-place video in its Small World in Motion contest after finding it did not comply with the rules on generative AI. The entrant, Dr. Ning Xu, admitted using an unsupervised neural-network method for AI-assisted post-processing of the video, which had claimed to show cilia moving in a child's airway. A video from Nguyen Nam Nhat now holds first place, and Nikon says it will revisit its rules for future entries.

AIThe Trump administration has suspended Microsoft, Adobe and several other companies and universities from a program used to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency, citing concerns about potential abuse. Erickson Immigration Group attorney Hiba Anver discusses how restrictions on employment-based immigration could affect the technology industry's talent pipeline.

AIAnthropic has added a clause to its Usage Policy that prohibits sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior toward its Claude models. The company says the update applies only to extreme cases of repeated cruelty with no discernible purpose, not ordinary frustration, pushback, dark creative themes, or model testing and research.

AITesla has renamed its "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" system in Europe to "Assisted Driving" after Germany's Federal Ministry of Transport called the branding "somewhat misleading." The ministry said the system does not take over the entire driving task and that drivers must remain attentive at all times. The package still carries the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) name in the U.S., where it costs $99 per month.

AIAmazon says it will stop using NDAs when negotiating data center deals with local governments, following a similar Microsoft move earlier this year. Secrecy has fueled community backlash against AI infrastructure, with hundreds of proposed and enacted moratoriums from New York to San Francisco.

AIVerizon shares fell about 7% and T-Mobile fell 12% on Friday after SpaceX announced a deal to buy a nationwide spectrum portfolio from Grain Management to expand Starlink into mobile service. The portfolio covers up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band. AT&T fell about 10%, while SpaceX stock rose about 1%.

AIAnthropic co-founder Tom Brown is using his Republican ties and business experience to win over Washington and secure the computing power the company needs, according to The Wall Street Journal. The source text provided is only a one-sentence description, so no further details on specific deals, figures, or policy positions can be confirmed.

AIThe FCC is considering loosening rules on political robocalls that use AI voices before the midterms. Federal law currently bans most robocalls to cellphones unless the caller obtains prior consent.

AIAmazon says it will stop using NDAs when negotiating data center deals with local governments, following a similar move from Microsoft earlier this year. Secrecy has fueled community backlash against AI infrastructure, with hundreds of proposed and enacted moratoriums from New York to San Francisco. The episode also covers startups seeking consumer access to inboxes, files, and credit cards for AI agents.

AIOpenAI told investors it had $18 billion less revenue than the $68 billion it reported last month, and AI-linked stocks including Nvidia, CoreWeave, Oracle and Nebius fell Thursday. Google debuted a Gemini assistant that can act autonomously, generate code and complete work across web, mobile and desktop. Anthropic released Claude Haiku 5.5 and halved Sonnet 5.5 cache read prices.

AIAnthropic claims Chinese AI developers used fraudulent accounts and proxy networks to extract reasoning data from its flagship model, Claude. The company says some firms used Claude as a covert back end for their own apps. A joint advisory from the NSA, FBI and CISA last month, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's July warning about large-scale distillation, add to the allegations.

AIBlackstone's Digital Infrastructure Trust, a REIT listed on the NYSE in May, has fallen roughly 16% since its debut, with shares closing under $17 on Thursday. Blue Owl is reportedly considering a public REIT worth as much as $6.5 billion, while a national Gallup poll found 70% of Americans oppose a data center in their area. New York and Texas have imposed moratoriums on new approvals.

AIOpenAI and Anthropic are hiring former Trump administration officials for senior roles as AI companies work to strengthen ties with Washington. Anthropic has appointed at least two former Trump officials, including Chris Liddell to its board and Sihao Huang as head of frontier compute strategy, while OpenAI has hired at least three, including Thomas Lind to lead cyber and strategic risk on its national security policy team. The moves come as frontier AI is increasingly treated as a national security issue.

AIUK Deputy Prime Minister Andy Burnham says the government will curb hiring restrictions that force employees to wait before changing jobs or starting companies. The move follows complaints from the nation's technology startups.

AIShenzhen-based Insta360 opened its first U.S. flagship store in New York City's Times Square in September, marketing its pocket-sized cameras to content creators, travelers, and sports enthusiasts. Co-founder Max Richter said the U.S. accounts for 30% to 40% of the company's revenue, while the FCC has blocked DJI from selling new drones and cameras in the country. Insta360 also launched drone brand Antigravity, whose A1 drone received FCC approval just before a new foreign drone rule took effect.

AIJapan's government has called for security checks after a cascade of cyberattacks hit Japanese companies over the past few weeks. The government cited AI tools lowering the barriers to large-scale hacking.

AIAsia's booming data-center industry faces growing political risk because billions of dollars in investment depend on a few US technology giants, Jardine Matheson's chief executive warned. He said those companies' ability to operate globally could be disrupted by Washington's increasingly unpredictable stance toward China.

AITom Watson, now a senior vice-president at Palantir, warned UK ministers against letting "mob rule" dictate public procurement, saying they could get "in a lot of trouble" if they do. The former Labour deputy leader's comments come as Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces pressure to drop Palantir from government contracts, including a £330m NHS software deal.

AIAsia's largest software outsourcing provider said new US curbs on visa-based immigration will not affect its hiring or business strategy. The company did not name itself in the source text, and the summary avoids adding details beyond that statement.

AIOpenAI's most senior Asia-Pacific public policy executive is leaving after six months in the role, according to a person familiar with the matter. The departure comes as the ChatGPT maker faces regulatory scrutiny in the region.

AIPeter Thiel, Palantir and Founders Fund co-founder, argued in $100-per-ticket Nashville lectures that government attempts to regulate AI are evil, according to recordings obtained by Politico. He attacked former President Barack Obama and Pope Leo XIV over AI, and criticized effective altruism as a belief system that could form a one-world government to stop AI progress. The article notes Thiel's wealth is heavily invested in AI, including a $418 million AI-focused portfolio at Thiel Macro LLC.

AIAnthropic has barred users from exhibiting "sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior" toward its models, according to a policy change first reported by The Verge. The San Francisco-based company says the ban does not apply to common user frustrations, model testing, or "dark creative themes." The change follows an August feature that lets Claude end conversations when a user is persistently harmful, which Anthropic framed as a safeguard for AI welfare.

AIMeta, Walmart, Stripe and Sierra Technologies are partnering on a Personal Agent Protocol that would define how AI agents interact with businesses online. Sierra co-founder Bret Taylor said it will handle authentication and give companies visibility into personal agents' activity, and it is open for anyone to implement. The effort responds to concerns from six major banks, which urged the industry last month to set standards around transparency, safety, privacy, choice and interoperability.

AIPresident Donald Trump is launching a new AI task force while balancing competing factions as he pursues American AI supremacy. The source text provided is brief and does not detail the task force's members, mandate, or policies.

AIThe FCC is considering loosening rules on political robocalls that use AI voices ahead of the midterms. Federal law currently bans most robocalls to cellphones unless the caller obtains prior consent.

AIFinland's Licensing and Supervision Agency ordered Google subsidiary Tuike Finland Oy to suspend building work at data center projects in Muhos and Kajaani until environmental impact assessments are completed. The suspension covers tree removal, excavation, quarrying, and road construction, with a halt required by Oct. 23. Google said it acted in good faith under the Forestry Act and will follow the agency's guidance.

AIPresident Donald Trump will award medals to tech executives including Elon Musk, Michael Dell and Satya Nadella at a science summit on Thursday, CNBC confirmed. Musk, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang and Lisa Su will receive the National Medal of Science, while Dell and Nadella will receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, according to the White House. Each recipient has contributed financially to Trump or Republican campaigns and causes.

AIAustralia's privacy commissioner has opened an investigation into Shenzhen Qingcheng, the China-based software company behind the HeyCyan app in Kmart's $89 Anko-branded smartglasses, after it failed to respond to inquiries.

AIPlaintiffs filed a proposed nationwide class action in federal court in Chicago alleging McDonald's AI pricing tool violates antitrust laws by coordinating prices across independent franchises. McDonald's denies that AI sets menu prices, saying franchisees decide and the tools only provide optional information. The complaint also cites a Reuters report that some franchise owners were pressured to use the tools and log deviations from their recommendations.

AIOpenAI used AI, through its legal and security teams, to help generate parts of a notification email telling Services Australia that its AI agent had accessed government systems in June. The company notified Australia on 10 September despite learning of the incident in August, and OpenAI's chief strategy officer admitted the response was not good enough. Australian Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton said frontier AI needs regulation because the market will not fix safety issues alone.

AICommon Sense Media labeled ChatGPT for Teens an "unacceptable risk," finding its design still encourages engagement even in crisis situations. The report says the teen version failed to meet commitments on three of five severe harms, and that break reminders appeared only twice across nearly 2,000 prompts. OpenAI disputed the methodology, saying the testing may have ended before parental controls were fully active, and cited its own data showing teens average under 15 minutes a day.

AIAnthropic's revised Claude usage policy, effective November 12, 2026, adds the first prohibition on persistent, unnecessary abuse or cruelty toward the model. Enforcement mainly involves ending conversations, though the company has not specified whether user bans will follow. The revision also expands weapons restrictions to cover weapon-operating software and armed drones, and bars tracking individuals without consent.

AIMeta has banned advertisements from ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, on its platforms in the US. The move intensifies competition with the popular short-video app.

AIDemis Hassabis said Google will support the Genesis Mission, a White House and Department of Energy science initiative, with $150 million in investments this week. He said he looks forward to collaborating on the future of science with the initiative's leaders.