AI funding rounds, acquisitions, partnerships and leadership changes, plus regulation, copyright lawsuits and big compute deals.
Actor and filmmaker Joseph Gordon-Levitt just launched the Creators Coalition on AI, an initiative aimed at fighting back against the unethical business practices of big AI companies. The coalition is rallying artists and creators across industries to demand fair treatment and protect their work.
The US government just launched "US Tech Force," a new two-year program aiming to hire 1,000 early-career tech and AI workers across federal agencies. Backed by partners like Microsoft and Meta, roles offer salaries up to $195,000 to tackle high-stakes projects from defense drones to intelligence systems.
Merriam-Webster just crowned "slop" as its 2025 Word of the Year, defining it as low-quality digital content churned out en masse by AI. From weird videos to coworker-wasting reports, the label shows how the public mood around AI has shifted from existential dread to collective mockery.
An automated weapon-detection system by ZeroEyes just triggered a code red lockdown at a Florida middle school after mistaking a student's clarinet for a firearm. The system uses computer vision backed by human review centers, but both layers apparently failed to spot the musical instrument. Critics and parents are now pushing for real accuracy data on AI school surveillance.
BBVA just expanded its partnership with OpenAI to roll out ChatGPT Enterprise to all 120,000 employees across 25 countries. The deployment represents a 10x scale-up following pilots where staff saved nearly three hours per week, with the bank also exploring ways to let retail customers interact with banking services directly through ChatGPT.
Donald Trump just signed an executive order aimed at stripping states of their power to regulate AI. The directive instructs the DOJ to launch an AI litigation task force to challenge state-level guardrails and threatens to pull federal broadband funding from states that don't comply. The White House basically wants a single, minimally burdensome national playbook to safeguard American AI dominance.
Disney just slapped Google with a cease-and-desist letter, accusing AI models like Gemini and Veo of "massively" infringing on iconic characters from Frozen, Marvel, and Star Wars. The timing is striking: Disney sent the notice right before sealing a billion-dollar deal granting OpenAI's Sora legal access to over 200 characters. Google pushed back, arguing its models rely on open web data backed by existing copyright tools.
Rivian just revealed custom silicon and a next-generation autonomy platform built for deep vehicle AI integration. The automaker showcased its Universal Hands Free capability, aiming to roll out hands-off and eyes-off driving under controlled conditions on second-generation models in 2026.
Pete Hegseth just rolled out GenAi.mil, an AI platform designed to deliver frontier models directly to American soldiers. The initiative focuses on deploying domestically built technology across the armed forces to significantly ramp up combat capabilities.
OpenAI just partnered with Deutsche Telekom to bring privacy-first, multilingual AI tools to European users starting in 2026. The telecom giant will also deploy ChatGPT Enterprise across its entire workforce to upgrade customer care and automate network operations.
Accenture and Anthropic just announced a major partnership expansion, forming a dedicated business group and training roughly 30,000 consultants on Claude. The consulting giant is also rolling out Claude Code to tens of thousands of its developers, aiming directly at regulated industries like finance and healthcare to move AI experiments into production.
OpenAI just rolled out its first official certification programs, starting with AI Foundations and ChatGPT Foundations for Teachers. The flagship course runs directly inside ChatGPT, turning the chatbot into a tutor and real-time practice sandbox. It is part of a plan to certify 10 million Americans by 2030, feeding into an upcoming jobs platform.
Google just detailed its next phase for Android XR, rolling out beta features like PC Connect for Galaxy XR while previewing new hardware coming next year. The upcoming lineup includes Gemini-powered AI glasses developed with partners like Samsung, alongside XREAL's Project Aura wired glasses.
OpenAI just released its enterprise AI report, showing a massive shift from simple chat to deeply integrated workflows. Over the past year, weekly messages in ChatGPT Enterprise grew roughly 8x, while reasoning token consumption surged 320x per organization. Crucially, 75% of surveyed workers report improved speed or quality, saving 40 to 60 minutes daily.
Google's Gemini is catching up to ChatGPT faster than expected. Fresh Sensor Tower data shows ChatGPT’s global monthly active users grew just 6% from August to November, hinting at saturation around 810 million users. Meanwhile, Gemini surged 30% over the same period, boosted by its Nano Banana image model and native Android integration.
Meta just acquired Limitless, the startup behind the AI memory necklace Pendant and the controversial Mac recording app Rewind. Following the deal, Rewind will shut down screen and audio captures on December 19, while Pendant hardware sales stop immediately. Existing users get free support for a year, though several international regions are cut off right away.
The New York Times just filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against AI search startup Perplexity, accusing it of crawling paywalled articles and reproducing them verbatim via RAG search without compensation. The suit also claims Perplexity hallucinated information and falsely attributed it to the paper. This marks the Times' second major lawsuit against an AI firm following its ongoing fight with OpenAI.
Netflix just struck an $82.7 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming assets, bringing HBO, HBO Max, and franchises like Harry Potter and DC Comics under its roof. The streaming giant plans to maintain current studio operations and theatrical releases once the split from Discovery finishes in 2026. Why it matters: The mega-merger would reshape Hollywood, though it faces fierce antitrust scrutiny before crossing the finish line.
Microsoft has hired Bloomberg Media COO Julia Beizer to spearhead its AI news product development, reporting directly to Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. Beizer is wrapping up an eight-year tenure at Bloomberg, where she previously served as chief product and chief digital officer. Bringing in a top-tier media operator signals Microsoft's serious push to reshape news delivery through AI.
Anthropic just announced the acquisition of Bun, the fast JavaScript runtime and toolkit, to bolster its coding infrastructure. The deal comes as Claude Code reached a massive $1 billion run-rate revenue milestone just six months after launch. Bun will remain open source under the MIT license while supercharging Claude Code workflows.
