World faces crucial choice over AI, says top economist: AI was the big topic at Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative. As CNN's Eleni Giokos explains, not everyone is certain it will do good things for humanity. CNN
Meta AI is ready for war: The Verge reports Meta is letting the US military and defense contractors use its Llama AI model for national security purposes.
Meta permits its AI models to be used for US military purposes: The shift in policy, covering government agencies and contractors working on national security, is intended to promote “responsible and ethical” innovations, the company said. NYT
Election wargames: Tech and politics try their hands at detecting voting threats: ‘Risk games’ hosted by Lux Capital expose the difficulty of identifying technology-related election threats. WSJ
A deepfake showed MLK Jr. backing Trump. His daughter calls it ‘vile.’: WP reports a false video made with artificial intelligence showed MLK Jr., who was assassinated in 1968, praising Donald Trump.
+ “We’re in kind of the ‘throw spaghetti at the wall’ moment of politics and AI, where this intersection allows people to try new things for propaganda,” said Rachel Tobac, chief executive of SocialProof Security, an ethical hacking company. “I think we’re going to see people try anything they can to influence the election.”
Microsoft linked arms with venture capitalist firm and “little tech” advocate Andreessen Horowitz on Friday to promote regulations that favor open-source AI development, according to Politico's Morning Tech newsletter. Read the "AI for Startups" blog post here.
Crypto’s political donation machine is just getting started Bloomberg
CNBC: Crypto’s $245 million campaign finance operation filled airwaves with ads not about crypto
+ The crypto industry raised more than $245 million from a mix of corporations and individual contributors this cycle.
+ The sector accounted for nearly half of all corporate money raised.
+ In pouring money into ads, the groups weren’t focused on informing voters about crypto.
NYT: Bitcoin surges to a record as crypto investors root for Trump win
+ Bitcoin’s price went above $75,000, breaking the record that the digital currency set in March.
Nuclear energy’s AI boom blew a fuse—here’s what could happen next: Regulator’s decision puts one type of contract at risk, but won’t close the door on nuclear power plants looking to sign agreements with data centers. WSJ
Napster’s lessons for the AI age: Lack of consultation has turned potential allies into adversaries, but technology and the creative industries can work together. Verity Harding
Palantir’s shares jump as ‘unwavering demand’ for AI lifts earnings: FT reports Peter Thiel’s data analytics company raises its revenue forecast as growth accelerates.
Nvidia surpasses Apple to become world’s most valuable company: WP reports the AI darling now has a $3.43 trillion market capitalization.
Apple asks Foxconn to produce servers in Taiwan in AI push: But Nvidia demand could limit Taiwanese supplier's capacity, sources say. Nikkei
CNET: Apple offers up to $1 million to anyone who can hack its AI servers
Physical Intelligence, a startup that is developing foundational software for robots, said on Monday it has raised $400 million in early-stage funding from Amazon's Jeff Bezos, OpenAI, venture capital firms Thrive Capital and Lux Capital.
AI startup Perplexity to triple valuation to $9 billion in new funding round: WSJ reports artificial intelligence search company is raising $500 million in its fourth funding round this year.
Apple is exploring a push into smart glasses with an internal study of products currently on the market, setting the stage for the company to follow Meta into an increasingly popular category.
Apple warns investors future products may never be as profitable as iPhone: FT reports analysts say artificial intelligence and virtual reality headsets might have lower margins than smartphones and App Store.
Is your air fryer spying on you? Concerns over ‘excessive’ surveillance in smart devices: UK consumer group Which? finds some everyday items including watches and speakers are ‘stuffed with trackers.’ Guardian
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
