Cat Zakrzewski

The California State Assembly passed a bill on August 28 that would enact the nation’s strictest regulations on artificial intelligence companies, pushing the fierce fight over how to regulate AI toward Gov.

Donald Trump’s allies are drafting a sweeping AI executive order that would launch a series of “Manhattan Projects” to develop military technology and immediately review “unnecessary and burdensome regulations”—signaling how a potential second Trump administration may pursue AI policies favorable to Silicon Valley investors and companies. The framework would also create “industry-led” agencies to evaluate AI models and secure systems from foreign adversaries. The framework—which includes a section titled “Make America First in AI”—presents a markedly different strategy for the booming secto

Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Robert Garcia (D-CA) opened an investigation of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, examining whether the company implemented adequate safeguards to prevent Russia from deploying its Starlink satellite internet service in its war against Ukraine. The lawmakers sent a letter demanding that the company report complaints about potential illegal acquisitions of Starlink terminals, including in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.

After a divisive investigation into the “Twitter Files” that Republicans decried as “harassment,” the Federal Trade Commission has found no evidence that the social network violated the terms of a government order that placed sweeping restrictions on the company’s data security practices. “Longtime information security employees at Twitter intervened and implemented safeguards to mitigate the risks,” the FTC said.

A California lawmaker introduced a bill aiming to force companies to test the most powerful artificial intelligence models before releasing them—a landmark proposal that could inspire regulation around the country as state legislatures increasingly take up the swiftly evolving technology. The new bill, sponsored by Sen Scott Wiener (D-CA), who represents San Francisco, would require companies training new AI models to test their tools for “unsafe” behavior, institute hacking protections and develop the tech in such a way that it can be shut down completely.

The US federal government has stopped warning some social networks about foreign disinformation campaigns on their platforms, reversing a years-long approach to preventing Russia and other actors from interfering in American politics less than a year before the US presidential elections. Meta no longer receives notifications of global influence campaigns from the Biden administration, halting a prolonged partnership between the federal government and the world’s largest social media company.

Powerful tech leaders—including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg—expressed unanimous agreement that the government needs to intervene to avert the potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence (AI). However, there was little apparent consensus about what a congressional framework should look like to govern AI, as companies forge ahead amid a tense industry arms race. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) said Congress’s “difficult job” ahead will be finding ways to enhance the benefits of the technology while minimizing its risks. But Sen.

The Biden administration on Monday told the Supreme Court it should overturn the 5th Circuit Court’s decision to uphold a controversial Texas social media law, calling on the high court to take up a pair of cases that could have broad implications for the future of online speech. At stake are two laws passed in Texas and Florida in response to allegations that tech companies censor conservative viewpoints.