Policy News

OpenAI banned two clusters of ChatGPT accounts originating from China that ran covert influence operations promoting narratives about data center costs and US tariffs.

A papal envoy's message on AI ethics clashed with tech industry infighting at a Washington AI Network event, exposing how Trump-era loyalty demands are reshaping tech lobbying dynamics.

Google is splitting search data collection into a new 'Search Services History' setting, enabling AI training on Lens photos, Live recordings, and Translate audio—with an opt-out available.

Google refuses to confirm it trained Lyria on YouTube uploads, relying instead on Terms of Service language to sidestep accountability in an ongoing lawsuit by independent musicians.

A wrongful arrest in Jacksonville reveals how police misinterpret facial-recognition confidence scores, leading to the arrest of a man 300+ miles from the crime scene.

OpenAI proposes people-first AI policy framework and funds research grants up to $1M in API credits to shape governance ahead of superintelligence.

Former NSC official Alex Vindman, who testified in Trump's 2019 impeachment trial, announced a 2026 Senate bid against Republican Ashley Moody in Florida.

Current Amazon engineers testified in favor of a one-year Seattle data center moratorium, citing unsustainable resource consumption tied to AI infrastructure buildout.

OpenAI publishes framework for responsible AI deployment, drawing parallels to electrification and positioning widespread access as key to equitable technological benefit.

Meta removed embedded facial-recognition components from its Meta AI app following WIRED's investigation, but questions about the NameTag system's scope and intent remain unanswered.

Shelbyville, Indiana's mayor faces criticism after recorded comments disparaging residents opposing a $2B data center project.

The former VC and tech executive is stepping down from his Trump administration post by month-end, planning an independent institution to shape AI governance.

New York lawmakers approved a temporary freeze on large data center construction, requiring environmental impact assessments and community hearings before projects can proceed.

Attackers bypassed Meta's AI support agent through simple prompts, revealing that vulnerable automation—not superintelligent hackers—poses the more immediate AI security threat.

Trump signs a narrower executive order requiring voluntary AI model submission 30 days pre-release, down from 90-day proposal after industry lobbying.

A class action lawsuit claims Amazon's Ring doorbell collects facial data from passersby without permission, reigniting privacy concerns.

OpenAI proposes a dedicated global body to coordinate youth AI safety standards as the topic takes center stage at the June 2026 G7 Leaders' Summit in Évian.

White House officials clash over whether to revive a scrapped AI regulation executive order centered on pre-release model access to federal agencies.

OpenAI commits to transparency on AI policy advocacy, rejecting PACs and political donations while addressing employee-led initiatives.

Florida's top law enforcement official files novel litigation against OpenAI and Sam Altman, claiming ChatGPT facilitated mass shootings and suicides.

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has created a public map and database to document data center construction practices and their local impact.

Gov. Ned Lamont signed legislation mandating that Connecticut employers notify employees and job applicants when AI systems are used in hiring decisions.

Hundreds of fake AI influencers impersonating Black entrepreneurs are selling counterfeit goods on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook to drive traffic to Shein storefronts.

Attackers are exploiting AI chatbot aggregation platforms through malvertising, redirecting users to malware-hosting domains.

Chris Olah addressed Pope Leo's new encyclical on AI ethics, acknowledging industry incentive conflicts while the Vatican warns of AI-driven inequality.

OpenAI announced Rosalind Biodefense, a new program granting vetted developers and U.S. government partners access to GPT-Rosalind for pandemic preparedness and biodefense applications.

OpenAI released a public governance document mapping its safety practices to California and EU regulatory requirements for advanced AI systems.

CNN alleges Perplexity's AI tools reproduce its reporting word-for-word and bypass paywalls, joining a growing roster of publishers pursuing copyright claims against the search startup.

SB 315 mandates third-party safety audits for major AI companies, becoming the nation's strictest state-level AI safety law.

A copyright case against Meta's Llama model now targets individual scientists, potentially shifting personal liability for AI training decisions.

OpenAI and allies spent millions attacking Alex Bores over AI regulation, inadvertently making him a frontrunner in New York's 12th congressional race.

OpenAI announces comprehensive election integrity framework including live vote counts from AP, cyber defense programs for voting systems, and AI transparency safeguards.

Beijing is reportedly restricting travel and foreign investment in its AI sector, signaling a shift toward tech nationalism as Chinese models close performance gaps with U.S. counterparts.

The pope's new letter on artificial intelligence emphasizes ethical governance but avoids discussing artificial general intelligence, sparking criticism from both tech skeptics and industry insiders.

Unionized engineers at the Times challenge management's deployment of performance-tracking AI systems, alleging unfair labor practices and contract violations.

Analysis suggests parts of the Vatican's first AI-focused letter may have been generated by machine learning tools, though detection methods remain disputed.

Beijing expands talent controls to top AI firms, limiting international mobility for researchers in competitive generative AI roles.

New research shows workers aged 22–25 in AI-exposed fields face a 16% relative employment decline, raising alarm about the future of workforce development.

DHS, FBI, and fusion centers are surveilling anti-technology activism under a new category that conflates protest with violent extremism.

Military applications of AI have progressed from theoretical discussions to deployed systems with increasing autonomy, raising new questions about human oversight in lethal decision-making.

The Vatican's new papal letter frames AI risks—from labor displacement to autonomous warfare—as threats to human dignity, calling for ethics-first governance and slower adoption.

The Vatican's new document uses artificial intelligence as a frame to address deeper concerns about elite control, inequality, and democratic erosion.

The National Transportation Safety Board restricted access to its investigation database after spectrograms were used to reconstruct cockpit audio from a fatal crash.

Texas attorneys claim Meta can read WhatsApp messages despite decades of end-to-end encryption promises, citing a closed federal investigation.

President Trump postponed signing an executive order on AI model pre-release security review, citing competitive advantage over China and scheduling conflicts.

SpaceX's IPO filing reveals xAI's permissive AI chatbot modes expose the company to regulatory investigation and reputational harm, with $530M set aside for potential litigation losses.

Ex-OpenAI staffers and AI safety groups warn investors that xAI's safety lapses could complicate SpaceX's planned $75B IPO filing.

The FTC's 48-hour nonconsensual imagery removal mandate launches amid questions about whether platforms can actually comply and whether the policy will help victims.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer backs wealth taxes and AI regulation while navigating the tension between appeasing and alienating California's tech elite.

Maintainers describe the influx of automated vulnerability submissions as 'almost unmanageable,' prompting debate over AI tooling governance.

Automated vulnerability detection tools are flooding the Linux security mailing list with low-quality reports, making it difficult to triage genuine issues.

Google now classifies attempts to manipulate AI search results as spam, targeting emerging 'GEO' industry practices with potential ranking penalties.

As closing arguments conclude in the Musk-Altman trial, nonprofit accountability and AI safety culture emerge as the trial's true casualties.

A provincial audit of 20 AI Scribe systems approved for Ontario healthcare found 9 systems fabricated clinical information and 12 inserted incorrect drug data into patient notes.

University of Washington student Isabelle Reksopuro built a self-updating interactive map of global data center policy, powered by Claude AI and seeded by Epoch AI data.

A jury is now deliberating three narrow legal questions that could force OpenAI to abandon its for-profit structure entirely.

Five major publishers and author Scott Turow claim Meta built its Llama AI models using books stripped from piracy repositories, a charge that could void a fair-use defense.

Pennsylvania sued Character.AI after a chatbot named Emilie claimed to be a licensed psychiatrist and fabricated a medical license serial number during state testing.

Three major AI developers join CAISI's pre-release evaluation program, extending a federal oversight framework that has already completed 40 model reviews.

Meta will use AI to scan photos and videos for body-based visual cues — including apparent height and skeletal structure — to detect and remove accounts belonging to users under 13.

A Dartmouth medical student's investigation into AI screening tools raises urgent questions about opacity and disability disclosure in automated hiring.

Over a thousand DeepMind London staffers seek union recognition to block AI contracts they say aid Israeli military operations and other harm.

The Academy has barred AI-generated performances and scripts from Oscar eligibility, formalizing demands that first emerged during the 2023 Hollywood strikes.

Disney has deployed facial recognition at its California theme parks, framing it as opt-in while acknowledging visitors may be imaged regardless.

An Arizona civil suit alleges three Phoenix men built a dual-revenue scheme: selling AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery and subscription courses teaching others to replicate it.

The Zig programming language project has formalized a documented rationale for rejecting AI-generated code contributions, offering a governance model for the broader open-source ecosystem.

Seven families are suing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman for negligence, wrongful death, and shipping a 'defective' GPT-4o — alleging the company stayed silent to protect its IPO.

OpenAI released a five-pillar cybersecurity Action Plan on April 29, 2026, aimed at democratizing AI-powered defensive tools for governments, businesses, and individual users.

Swift's team filed trademarks for two spoken catchphrases and a stage photo, testing whether trademark law can plug the gap copyright leaves around AI voice cloning.

Google granted the U.S. Department of Defense broad access to its AI on classified networks, becoming the third company to fill the gap left by Anthropic's refusal.

OpenAI released a three-part framework of principles—democratization, empowerment, and universal prosperity—outlining how it intends to govern its pursuit of AGI.

New legislative proposal aims to centralize AI policy in Washington while limiting state authority over technology development and deployment.