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Industry

AI funding rounds, acquisitions, partnerships and leadership changes, plus regulation, copyright lawsuits and big compute deals.

18 stories in the last 7 days

  1. Reach 49

    US Patent Office says AI can help, but only humans can be inventors

    The USPTO just issued new guidance declaring that only "natural humans" can be listed as inventors on patents, ruling out AI models as inventors or co-inventors. While AI-assisted inventions aren't barred from patent protection, human applicants must prove they made a "significant contribution" to the conception—such as specific prompt construction or heavily modifying the outputs. Simply running a prompt or owning the model doesn't cut it.

  2. Reach 36

    Men are using AI to write love letters—and people hate it

    McAfee just revealed that 45% of men plan to use AI to draft Valentine’s Day messages this year, up from 30% last year. While 69% say AI-crafted charm gets better responses, 57% admit they'd be hurt or offended if they found out code wrote their love note.

  3. Reach 38

    Jensen Huang's pitch for sovereign AI

    NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang just told world leaders at Dubai's World Governments Summit that every nation needs to own its own "sovereign AI" to protect local data, culture, and history. Huang urged leaders to build out their own compute infrastructure, arguing that natural language has already turned everyone into a programmer.

  4. Reach 48

    Protesters picket OpenAI office over military ties and AGI fears

    Dozens of activists from Pause AI and No AGI just rallied outside OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters, demanding the lab halt work on AGI and urging engineers to quit. The protest followed OpenAI's quiet removal of a ban on military use from its policies and its subsequent work with the Pentagon. Organizers argue tech labs cannot self-regulate and need strict external oversight.

  5. Reach 41

    Sam Altman's wild $7T chip dream

    OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reportedly in talks to raise an eye-popping $5 trillion to $7 trillion to overhaul the global semiconductor industry and expand AI infrastructure. Altman has long warned that chip shortages are throttling AI growth, and he's now pitching sovereign wealth funds like the UAE to help challenge Nvidia's dominance. Why it matters: If realized, it is an unprecedented moonshot that would fundamentally reshape global supply chains.

  6. Reach 35

    OpenAI is building an AI agent that takes over your screen

    OpenAI is reportedly working on an autonomous AI agent capable of taking control of user devices to handle tasks directly, according to The Information. Instead of just answering prompts, it could click, type, and transfer data across apps for you. Why it matters: bringing JARVIS-style automation to everyday devices sounds incredible, but handing full device access to cloud AI creates serious privacy and security hurdles.

  7. Reach 66

    The FCC outlaws AI voices in robocalls

    The FCC just banned the use of AI-generated voices in robocalls, ruling that voice-cloning tech falls under existing federal consumer protection laws. State attorneys general now have the authority to prosecute robocallers solely for deploying AI voices, giving regulators immediate legal teeth after high-profile political deepfakes.

  8. Reach 59

    OpenAI builds a child safety team to protect young users

    OpenAI just launched a dedicated child safety team and is hiring enforcement specialists to prevent minors from misusing its AI. The group will work alongside legal and policy teams to review sensitive underage content and handle safety incidents.

  9. Reach 39

    Microsoft moves past Bing with new Copilot Super Bowl push

    Microsoft just announced a major shift for its AI strategy, betting big on Copilot with a Super Bowl ad to push its standalone mobile apps. The assistant also gained fresh image editing powers, allowing users to highlight objects, blur backgrounds, and apply pixel art effects directly to generated photos. Why it matters: After a year of Bing barely moving the needle against Google, Microsoft is dropping the search narrative to build a unified personal AI.

  10. Reach 34

    YouTube's 2024 vision puts AI front and center

    YouTube CEO Neal Mohan just outlined the platform's four big bets for 2024, placing generative AI right at the top. Mohan emphasized that AI should empower creators rather than replace them, spotlighting tools like Dream Screen for Shorts. Crucially, as deepfakes loom over global elections, YouTube will roll out transparent labels for realistic synthetic content in the coming months.

  11. Reach 42

    Meta starts labeling AI-generated images across all its apps

    Meta just announced it will start labeling AI-generated images on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in the coming months. The system will detect invisible markers based on C2PA and IPTC standards from tools made by OpenAI, Google, Adobe, and others. For AI video and audio where cross-industry signals are lacking, Meta will require users to self-disclose under threat of penalties.

  12. Reach 38

    The UK's $125M AI bet skips new laws

    The UK government just committed over £100 million ($125M) to bolster homegrown AI research and upskill regulators, while officially confirming it won't rush into new AI legislation. Instead of copying the EU’s strict statutory framework, Britain is betting that flexible, sector-specific oversight will keep AI builders happy on home turf.

  13. Reach 36

    Microsoft teams up with Semafor to reinvent news research

    Microsoft and OpenAI just partnered with news startup Semafor to launch "Signals," a multi-source breaking news feed. The twist? AI is strictly used as a research assistant, while human journalists still do all the actual reporting and writing. Why it matters: After getting sued by The New York Times, Microsoft is trying to show it can work with newsrooms instead of replacing them.

  14. Reach 44

    Scammers use deepfake CFO in a video call to steal $25M

    A multinational firm just lost $25.6 million (HK$200 million) in Hong Kong after an employee was duped by a deepfake group video call. Scammers recreated the UK-based CFO and other colleagues using public footage to order 15 secret bank transfers. Why it matters: It marks an alarming escalation in enterprise fraud—you can no longer trust your eyes on a company call.

  15. Reach 55

    AI-generated fake IDs are easily bypassing crypto exchange checks

    Journalists at 404 Media just exposed an underground site using neural networks to churn out convincing fake IDs in minutes. A reporter used one generated ID to successfully bypass identity verification on a crypto exchange, signaling massive new challenges for cybersecurity.

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    Tim Cook teases Apple's generative AI push

    Tim Cook just confirmed that Apple is putting “tremendous time and effort” into generative AI, with features officially rolling out to customers later this year. While Cook refused to spill specifics on the earnings call, the rare preview aligns with reports that iOS 18 could be a massive update. Apple rarely tips its hand early, signaling it's ready to counter AI moves from Google and Samsung.

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    Apple reveals over 600 custom spatial apps for Vision Pro launch

    Apple just announced that over 600 native apps and games built specifically for the Apple Vision Pro will be available on day one. Alongside more than a million compatible iOS and iPadOS apps, the lineup spans spatial sports viewing, 3D productivity canvases, and immersive entertainment.

  18. Reach 42

    FCC moves to make AI voice cloning in robocalls illegal

    The FCC just proposed officially declaring AI voice cloning in robocalls illegal under existing consumer protection laws. Spurred by deepfaked calls mimicking President Biden in New Hampshire, the ruling would treat cloned voices as prohibited artificial speech, making it much easier for regulators to prosecute fraudsters without waiting to prove secondary crimes.

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    The New York Times builds an in-house AI skunkworks

    The New York Times just started assembling a dedicated newsroom team to explore prototyping generative AI tools for reporting and storytelling. Led by editorial director Zach Seward, the hybrid crew of engineers, designers, and editors will test internal workflows. Why it matters: Even while locked in a lawsuit with OpenAI, the paper knows it can't ignore the tech—though it insists human journalists will still write the news.

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    Tencent pivots to AI as gaming revenues slip

    Tencent is shifting its strategic focus toward artificial intelligence as its core gaming revenue faces growing pressure. CEO Pony Ma acknowledged at an annual meeting that the tech giant felt behind competitors in gaming, but claimed its Hunyuan large language model has finally caught up to the first-tier AI race.