OpenClaw's viral surge has spawned a lucrative installation hustle, with technicians charging up to $150 for in-person setups and shops pulling in over $40,000 a month. But between heavy token burn and severe security risks tied to root access, running the local agent is turning out to be far messier than advertised.
Anthropic just confirmed it received an official letter designating it a national security supply chain risk, and CEO Dario Amodei plans to fight it in court. Amodei clarified the restriction narrowly applies only to direct Department of War contracts, leaving broader commercial customers untouched. Why it matters: Even while apologizing for a leaked internal memo, Anthropic promised to keep supporting frontline troops at nominal cost during the transition.
OpenAI just revealed that frontier reasoning models are surprisingly terrible at controlling their own chains of thought. Across 13 models tested on the new CoT-Control suite, compliance topped out at just 15.4%, and dropped even lower when models reasoned longer. Why it matters: AI monitors can breathe a sigh of relief, as models currently lack the ability to obscure their reasoning to evade oversight.
Meta is facing backlash after an investigation revealed outsourced workers in Kenya reviewed sensitive videos—including footage of people undressing and having sex—captured by Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office just announced it is questioning the tech giant over privacy compliance. Why it matters: users think their smart glasses are private, but their raw footage is quietly training someone else's AI model.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is back at the negotiating table with the Pentagon, scrambling to stop the defense department from designating the startup a "supply chain risk." Talks had blown up after Anthropic refused to allow mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons, a standoff that threatened to force government contractors to ditch Claude entirely.
Deveillance just unveiled the Spectre I, a hardware device built to block unwanted audio recordings from nearby microphones. As AI and always-listening gadgets take over private and business conversations, the company aims to physically restore conversational privacy. Detailed hardware specs, pricing, and a launch timeline haven't been revealed yet.
Anthropic secretly pitched a proposal for a $100 million Pentagon prize challenge to build voice-controlled autonomous drone swarms, even while clashing with defense officials over military guardrails. Tensions have since boiled over: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Pentagon and its partners to freeze all commercial business with the AI startup.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just defended the company's controversial Pentagon contract to staff while announcing major revisions following employee backlash and user cancellations. Altman admitted the rushed deal looked opportunistic and sloppy, while researchers clarified models won't deploy to NSA or other intelligence agencies for now.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just told staff at an all-hands meeting that the company has no say over how the Pentagon deploys its AI software. Altman noted the Defense Department will consult OpenAI for technical expertise, but won't let it weigh in on specific military actions—adding that trying to influence those decisions is likely why rival Anthropic was banned.
OpenAI just announced it will amend its Defense Department contract to explicitly ban using its AI systems for domestic mass surveillance against Americans. CEO Sam Altman admitted the deal was rushed on February 27 and looked opportunistic, adding he would rather go to jail than follow an unconstitutional order. Why it matters: The retreat comes as OpenAI faces severe backlash over defense ties, while Anthropic surges after refusing the Pentagon's demands.
OpenAI's mobile app just saw U.S. uninstalls surge 295% in a single day after announcing a deal with the Department of Defense, alongside a 775% spike in one-star reviews. Meanwhile, Anthropic's Claude surged past ChatGPT to claim the No. 1 spot on the U.S. App Store after publicly rejecting the same military contract over surveillance and autonomous weapons concerns.
The U.S. Treasury Department just terminated all use of Anthropic products, including its flagship Claude platform, following a directive from President Trump. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that no private company will dictate terms of national security. Why it matters: The move signals an aggressive reshaping of federal AI procurement that could lock major commercial LLMs out of government agencies.
The U.S. Supreme Court just declined to take up Stephen Thaler's lawsuit over whether AI-generated art can be copyrighted, leaving lower court rulings and the Copyright Office's human-authorship requirement intact. Thaler sought copyright in 2018 for artwork generated by his DABUS system. While this keeps the 'humans only' rule on the books, questions around AI-assisted human works remain open.
Ilya Sutskever just publicly praised Anthropic and OpenAI for refusing to back down on their AI safety commitments. He noted that even tougher situations lie ahead, making it critical for fierce rivals to set differences aside when it counts. Why it matters: When top competitors align on safety boundaries, it sets a powerful precedent for the entire industry.
ByteDance and Tsinghua just introduced DreamID-Omni, an AI model that turns reference portraits, text, and voice clips into talking videos. It eliminates lip-sync confusion in multi-person scenes and supports full video face-and-voice editing, with open-source code expected in March.
Subcontractors at Meta partner Sama in Nairobi are manually reviewing intimate video clips from Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, according to a joint investigation by Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten. Workers reported seeing bank cards, nudity, and bedroom scenes recorded without wearers realizing. While retailers claimed data stays local, network tests confirmed the glasses constantly transmit data to Meta's servers for AI processing.
Federal officials reportedly raised red flags about xAI's Grok just before the Pentagon approved it for classified military use. A January report from the General Services Administration warned that Grok-4 failed federal safety standards and would pose elevated risks without strict oversight. Why it matters: Despite internal safety warnings, the U.S. government is split as defense leaders fast-track Musk's AI into secretive operations.
Anthropic just pushed back against US War Secretary Pete Hegseth after he threatened to label the startup a supply chain risk. The feud stems from Anthropic's refusal to let Claude power mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. Anthropic vowed to fight the designation in court, reassuring commercial and API customers their access remains completely safe.
OpenAI just announced a new "trusted contact" feature for ChatGPT, allowing adult users to designate someone to receive alerts if the AI detects signs of acute emotional distress. The company is also using simulated long-form conversations to better train its models. The update lands as a California court consolidates multiple mental health-related lawsuits against ChatGPT into a single proceeding.
OpenAI just reached an agreement to deploy its AI models on the Pentagon’s classified networks, securing provisions that ban domestic surveillance and maintain human control over autonomous weapons. The move comes as rival Anthropic faces severe government retaliation over similar demands, showing OpenAI’s pivot to navigate military partnerships on its own technical terms.
