Podcasts about american ai

ByteDance just unveiled Seedance 2.5, a new state-of-the-art AI video model with 30-second one-shot generations, as American AI stalls out and Fable 5 stays down. This week on AI For Humans, China is not just catching up in AI, it is pushing the edge. We break down everything Seedance 2.5 can do and why a 30-second single-pass clip is a real leap, then dig into the American slowdown as Fable 5 stays unusable and the rumor mill points to a big delay week. Plus Theo Von's surprisingly intense anti-datacenter rant, OpenAI's claim that China is behind the anti-datacenter conversation, Meta leaking private employee data across the entire company, and Google teaming with A24 on a 75 million dollar AI filmmaking partnership. We close with AI that actually works, including how Gavin used beehiiv's MCP to build a newsletter survey and Kevin's homemade language-learning app. CHINA IS COOKING. AMERICA IS LOADING. PLEASE WAIT.   Come to our Discord: https://discord.gg/muD2TYgC8f Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AIForHumansShow AI For Humans Newsletter: https://aiforhumans.beehiiv.com Follow us for more on X @AIForHumansShow Join our TikTok @aiforhumansshow To book us for speaking, please visit our website: https://www.aiforhumans.show/ // Show Links // Seedance 2.5 unveiled, coming in July https://x.com/andrewcurran_/status/2069263703569297618 Seedance 2.5 video https://x.com/chrissgpt/status/2069268923002789908 Example: Old Man Eating Sand Seedance 2.0 4K https://x.com/Solopopsss/status/2069400899814875535 Another Seedance 2.5 example https://x.com/IamEmily2050/status/2069295329246347283 Seedance 2.0 4K is in the API https://x.com/BytePlusGlobal/status/2069228410422079665 Rumor mill: OpenAI-5.6 Delayed (unconfirmed scoop) https://x.com/synthwavedd/status/2069432791184650426 Prediction markets on Fable's return (Zvi Mowshowitz) https://x.com/TheZvi/status/2069401055033455042 Funny fake rap from OpenAI's new Bidi-2 model https://x.com/testingcatalog/status/2069440678967345390 Theo Von: Nobody Wants A Datacenter Dude https://x.com/MarcoFoster_/status/2068865231439200585 OpenAI: China-linked influence ops targeting AI debates https://openai.com/index/prc-linked-influence-operations-ai-debates/ Meta leaks private employee data across the company https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-training-data-leak-exposed-employee-activity-across-company-2026-6 Google + A24's $75M AI filmmaking partnership https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/deepmind-a24-research-partnership/ Variety on the Google + A24 deal https://variety.com/2026/film/news/google-a24-ai-filmmaking-tools-1236787297/ AI That Actually Works: Gavin used beehiiv's MCP to build a newsletter survey https://x.com/gavinpurcell/status/2069091462328066518 https://product.beehiiv.com/p/beehiiv-mcp  

The AI hype train keeps shedding wheels this week. KPMG managed to publish a report about the transformative power of AI that was apparently riddled with hallucinations, fake citations, and imaginary products, proving once again that asking a stochastic parrot to do your homework is not a substitute for actual research. Meanwhile, Americans are using AI faster than ever while trusting it less than ever, OpenAI somehow turned $13 billion in revenue into losses that would make a dot-com CFO blush, and Silicon Valley CEOs have quietly stopped promising to replace all workers with AI. Not because they've changed their minds, mind you, just because they discovered that telling employees they're obsolete is terrible for morale and stock prices. Add in protests dogging Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta employees revolting against soul-crushing AI evaluation work, and the message is clear: the future is here, and everyone involved seems miserable.We then return to one of the founding principles of Grumpy Old Geeks: never build your house on somebody else's land. Anthropic learned that lesson the hard way when its AI models reportedly got caught in a geopolitical and regulatory tug-of-war involving Amazon, the U.S. government, and national security concerns. World leaders are now openly questioning whether American AI platforms can be trusted if access can be revoked overnight. The same platform-risk story pops up again as Meta launches AI-powered search across Facebook's oceans of questionable user-generated content. Remember kids: when you pitch your tent in someone else's backyard, don't act shocked when they turn on the sprinklers.From the Injustice Files, the hits keep coming. The Atlantic revealed the staggering scale of copyrighted music used to train AI systems, Hollywood inches closer to becoming a monopoly-themed amusement park, and the DOJ is backing xAI in a pollution lawsuit while reports emerge that Grok-assisted systems played a role in military operations. Elon keeps collecting legal losses, SpaceX buys Cursor for an eye-watering $60 billion, and Trump is threatening French wine over tech taxes while simultaneously promoting crypto through a UFC event at the White House. We wrap with Britain banning social media for kids under 16, hackers stealing entire Roblox games, Fox buying Roku, the return of human narrators at Blinkist, a gloriously anti-social-media flip phone from Commodore, and a reminder that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is still one of the few things keeping the future worth looking forward to.Sponsors:DeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout.Shopify - Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at Shopify.com/grumpyPrivate Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/751Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/iRrbNdVw-pMSHOW NOTESA report on the benefits of AI was reportedly full of AI hallucinationsJust 16% of Americans Believe AI Will Positively Impact Society, Pew Poll FindsExclusive: OpenAI Losses Increased Nearly 8X in 2025, With Spending Hitting $34 BillionThe CEOs are No Longer (Publicly) Threatening to Replace Humans With AISundar Pichai faces boos, walkout at Stanford graduation ceremony over Google's Israel, ICE ties‘Tell Him He's a Piece of Shit': Meta's New AI Unit Is a Total MessAnthropic becomes a cautionary sovereign-AI fableAnthropic Says It's Taking Claude Fable 5 Offline to Comply With US Government OrderCyber experts warn Fable limits aid attackers and hurt defendersAmazon Triggered Claude Fable 5 Shutdown: Investor, Cloud Host, Now RegulatorWorld leaders want American AI. They just don't want America to be able to turn it off.Meta's new ‘AI Mode' on Facebook pulls from public info across its platformsInvestigation by The Atlantic reveals many millions of songs used for AI music trainingJustice Department Decision to Allow Paramount Deal Surprised Staff InvestigatorsJustice Department backs xAI in NAACP lawsuit over data center pollutionPentagon used Elon Musk's Grok AI to fire 2,000 missiles at Iran, official saysxAI's lawsuit accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets has been thrown outSpaceX to acquire Cursor for $60B in stock, days after blockbuster IPOTrump threatens 100 percent tariff on France's wine industry over its tech taxUFC to pay White House fighters in crypto issued by Trump companyUK will ban social media for children under 16Hackers Are Hijacking Entire Roblox Games NowFox is buying Roku for $22 billionApple TV renews comedy horror Widow's Bay for a second seasonDownton Abbey: A New EraDownton Abbey: The Grand FinaleDisclosure DayShrek 5 | Official Teaser TrailerRIDICULOUS - 2026 Special - Trailer #1 - Louis C.K.Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Season 4 Official TrailerCommodore made a social media-banishing flip phoneSnap's Stock Plunges the Moment It Reveals Its Comically Gigantic AR GlassesSo Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal NewportCreator Capitalist by the Category PiratesTrackalotBlinkist pulls back on AI narratorsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Late on Friday, June 12, Anthropic announced it had received a letter from the United States Department of Commerce notifying the company that the government had issued an export control directive forcing it to suspend all access to its AI models Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, whether inside or outside the United States, including Anthropic's own foreign-national employees. To comply, the company disabled access to both models for all its customers. The Wall Street Journal called the episode "one of the most powerful examples yet of US government intervention in the AI race."The White House move has left many experts baffled. And, it is raising alarms in foreign capitals about the wisdom of relying on American AI, suggesting the US will operate ad hoc, with access to advanced models revoked on a case-by-case basis. Against that backdrop, a group of cybersecurity leaders organized by Alex Stamos has urged the administration to reverse course in an open letter. Currently, Stamos is chief product officer at an AI security startup called Corridor. Previously, he was chief security officer at Facebook, before he left to found the Stanford Internet Observatory. Justin Hendrix caught up with him on Tuesday, June 16.

Anthropic and the US government are once again at odds, this time over the Claude Fable 5 model that either is, or is not, or might be, far too dangerous to release to the world. The Verge's Hayden Field explains what's going on with Fable, Mythos, and the whole idea of American AI exceptionalism, before also answering your questions about how WhatsApp and Siri might one day work together, and whether Apple messed up by calling it Siri AI.[10:24 AM] ⁠Inside the fight over Claude Mythos 5⁠ ⁠Anthropic cuts off Fable 5 and Mythos 5 access following government order⁠ ⁠I tried Siri AI, and so far it actually works⁠ ⁠Subscribe to The Verge⁠ for unlimited access to ⁠theverge.com⁠, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ⁠ad-free podcast feed⁠. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. government orders Anthropic to shut down foreign access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models after the Pentagon labels the company a supply-chain risk. David Shipley examines what may be  behind the decision and what it means for countries and businesses that depend on American AI platforms. The FBI also disrupts Outsider Enterprise, a China-based phishing-as-a-service network linked to more than 9,000 fake websites, one million fraudulent URLs, 3.8 million stolen payment-card records and an estimated $1.9 billion in losses. Also in this episode: A critical Splunk vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated attacker to remotely execute code through a PostgreSQL sidecar service enabled by default in some deployments. A former Iowa school IT worker is sentenced after retaining access for 21 months and using it to delete accounts and disrupt school systems. And FortiWatch returns with a critical FortiSandbox command-injection vulnerability that requires no authentication. Cybersecurity Today is hosted by David Shipley. Chapters 00:00 Cybersecurity Today headlines 00:26 U.S. government shuts down Anthropic AI models 02:59 FBI takes down Outsider Enterprise phishing network 04:47 Critical Splunk vulnerability explained 06:31 Former school IT worker sentenced for cyberattack 08:29 FortiWatch: FortiSandbox command-injection vulnerability 10:08 What's ahead this week

In this episode, we unpack the Mythos-inspired executive order "Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security," which the Trump administration issued on June 2 after an initial delay (2:10). We also cover the draft federal AI framework released by Reps. Jay Obernolte and Lori Trahan (14:53) and recent proposals for the U.S. government to acquire shares of American AI companies (24:55).

Greg Belfrage talks to listeners about AI dominance between China and the United States. He also goes over the claim that China is amplifying opposition in the United States to companies building data centers. Most listeners responded with their own concerns about Data Centers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yes, Bernie Sanders, who has always admitted to being a socialist, has called for the government to take equity stakes in American AI companies. And yes, it is a terrible idea. But today on the Capital Record, David does what too few on the right appear willing to do: say why it is a bad idea, and why the right are going to have a very hard time stopping it.               Clip courtesy of Overtime with Bill Maher Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Table of Contents: Updated Group Prayer–List of Current Event Prayer Points–Part 2 Israel (With the blessing of their government) Just Hosted “Pride City” Near Sodom & Gomorrah June 1-4 2026! They Are Planning to make this abomination city permanent! Gen 13:13: “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” Gen 18:20: “And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous…” Gen 19:24: “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven…”… Netanyahu says it was his plan to merge the U.S. and Israeli militaries together as one–99% of Congress has remained silent. NDAA Will Give Israel Co-Command of U.S. Military Forces–THIS WILL ENABLE ISRAEL TO ORDER US MILITARY TO KILL ANY U.S. CITIZEN WHO THEY PERCEIVE AS ANTI-SEMITES OR QUESTION ANY OF THEIR ACTIONS!  Congress is about to codify Israeli access to American AI technology and American data under the guise of national defense! Pentagon raised threat of Israeli spying on U.S. to highest level–sources say VIDEO: IDF Solider Testifies UNDER OATH: ‘Told to Stand-Down’ During Oct 7 Attacks: EXACTLY WHAT WE REPORTED ON THIS WEBSITE AND ON PRIVATE BRIEFINGS!  The Israel Lobby Is Officially Calling On Congress To Repeal The 1st Amendment & Establish A Social Credit Score Digital Dictatorship Over America! ZIONISTS' SATANIC PACT (video): 1926 book about “Secret World Government” as Isreal Rothschild-Pike NWO The Rabbi who owns the largest pornography company in the world explains why: ANYONE CAN JUSTIFY SIN, INCLUDING A RABBI OR PASTOR–The *rabbi* says his goal is to legitimize porn in society, eliminate its taboo and spread porn as far as possible–I remind you that OnlyFans is AIPACs biggest donor Understanding the Modern Day Counterfeit Vile Religious Israeli Synagogue of Satan PDF: Emergency Freedom Alerts 6-8-26 Click Here To Play The Part 1 Audio Source

Andrew Walworth, Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon and RCP Senior Elections Analyst Sean Trende discuss last night's primary results from California, Iowa and New Jersey and look ahead to the effect congressional redistricting will have on the 2026 midterms. Then, they discuss Sen. Bernie Sanders' (D-VT) proposal for a sovereign wealth fund that would take ownership of half the stock in major American AI firms. Also, they chat about President Trump signing an executive order that's designed to make AI companies submit new models for government review, and AI firms pouring money into house elections supporting candidates of both parties who favor federal over state regulation of the industry. Next, they discuss last night's firing of long-time correspondent Scott Pelley from the CBS News program “Sixty Minutes.” And finally, they talk about the White House Correspondents Dinner which is rescheduled for July 24th and this time President Trump says he will attend. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pope Leo has called AI the single greatest challenge facing humanity. Not war, not poverty, not climate change. So we got a panel together to sort out what this encyclical means. Joining Jordan are Tim Hwang, deputy director of the Institute for Christian Machine Intelligence, John-Clark Levin of Kurzweil Technologies, and ChinaTalk's resident Catholic, Aqib Zakaria. We discuss… Why the encyclical's claim that AI cannot truly "understand" is a narrow theological term of art, and why that nuance gets lost on Twitter Pope Leo's call to "disarm AI" and the Holy See's potential role mediating between the US and China and speaking for the global South Tim's pitch for a Vatican alignment lab that buys GPUs and tries to beat Anthropic's benchmarks from Christian first principles Why frontier-lab researchers, including non-believers, are treating the Pope as a moral coordinating signal How Anthropic drifting from deontology toward virtue ethics in training Claude looks like a validation of the Christian approach The provocation underneath all of it: is the American AI stack a Christian AI stack? pope as chicago footwork: https://suno.com/s/1Qb9Ce3Bh6saeF2V Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pope Leo has called AI the single greatest challenge facing humanity. Not war, not poverty, not climate change. So we got a panel together to sort out what this encyclical means. Joining Jordan are Tim Hwang, deputy director of the Institute for Christian Machine Intelligence, John-Clark Levin of Kurzweil Technologies, and ChinaTalk's resident Catholic, Aqib Zakaria. We discuss… Why the encyclical's claim that AI cannot truly "understand" is a narrow theological term of art, and why that nuance gets lost on Twitter Pope Leo's call to "disarm AI" and the Holy See's potential role mediating between the US and China and speaking for the global South Tim's pitch for a Vatican alignment lab that buys GPUs and tries to beat Anthropic's benchmarks from Christian first principles Why frontier-lab researchers, including non-believers, are treating the Pope as a moral coordinating signal How Anthropic drifting from deontology toward virtue ethics in training Claude looks like a validation of the Christian approach The provocation underneath all of it: is the American AI stack a Christian AI stack? pope as chicago footwork: https://suno.com/s/1Qb9Ce3Bh6saeF2V Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stock valuations have almost never been higher.   - The Buffet Indicator is at 233, the highest ever recorded. Market cap to GDP has never been higher.   - The Schiller Adjusted Price to Earnings ratio is the second highest recorded in 145 years. At current valuations, it would take over 40 years to recover the investment through earnings.    - The Bank of America Bull and Bear Indicator is screaming sell again. The past 17 times stocks dropped 2-20% the following 2-3 months.   Companies that have scaled AI are experiencing usage costs that exceed the employees they fired.    - Microsoft invested $5 billion in Claude AI and recently banned their engineers using it due to exorbitant costs.    - Uber blew through their annual AI usage budget by April 2026.   Chinese AI has massively dropped AI usage costs.   - Chinese AI can process about 80% of American AI functions.   - Chinese is up to 95% cheaper than American AI.   - This destroys the American AI profit model.   Tech stock valuations are priced for perfection. This could be the beginning of the end of the AI bubble.   Index (growth) annuities provide:  Double digit potential annual returns on good market years. Grow your money safely, without market risk. Principle is guaranteed. Once gains are locked in, they are guaranteed against market loss.   You don't have to give up strong returns if you want guarantees.

(Presented by Ent.ai: Ent delivers intent-aware security that protects every action, adapts to every workflow, and works for every user. Enterprise threat detection, reimagined.) Three Buddy Problem - Episode 99: Microsoft is now threatening legal action against researchers who drop zero-days. We debate whether it's a fair line against extortion, or amateur-hour PR from a company that already torched its own research community? Costin plays reluctant defender, JAGS says the damage was done years ago, and Ryan reopens the long history of silent fixes and stolen bounties. Plus, on the 10th anniversary of the Shadow Brokers leak, we discuss some enduring mysteries, theories on attribution and an interesting trail that leads to Edward Snowden. We also unpack Rob Joyce's warning that China's cyber explosives are already planted in US infrastructure, and the Pope's warnings about around artificial intelligence. Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Ryan Naraine and Costin Raiu. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introductory banter 2:03 - The Pope's AI paper 3:35 - New sponsor: Brandon Dixon's Ent Security 9:34 - Costin's Chinese-model OSINT rabbit hole 13:34 - Codex, GPT-5.5, and the "American AI welfare state" 23:20 - Microsoft threatens vulnerability researchers 27:06 - Is it extortion or retribution? The disclosure fight 40:48 - How Microsoft's consultant class broke MSRC and MSTIC 48:42 - Silent fixes, stolen bounties, and the marketing machine 1:02:29 - Ten years of the Shadow Brokers 1:14:20 - The Snowden theory 1:32:34 - Rob Joyce: China's cyber explosives are in place 1:53:26 - Shout-outs

On April 29th, the US Senate hosted a panel on the "existential threat" of AI and two of the four panelists worked for the Chinese government. One month earlier, Bernie Sanders and AOC introduced legislation imposing a federal moratorium on American AI data centers. On Bitcoin Policy Hour EP 38, Zack Cohen, Ken Egan, and Zack Shapiro unpack a new Bitcoin Policy Institute report by Sam Lyman exposing the CCP influence operation steering US AI policy. They also cover the Clarity Act vote in Senate Banking, the BRCA fight, and the Digital Asset Parity Act. Sam Lyman's BPI Report: https://www.btcpolicy.org/articles/foreign-influence-in-the-campaign-against-american-ai

This week I'm sharing the fourth and final installment from the day-long conference convened by the Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs (ACF) at Johns Hopkins SAIS on April 3rd in Washington — “The China Debate We're Not Having: Politics, Technology, and the Road Ahead.” The first three episodes featured Jessica Chen Weiss's opening remarks and the panels on what China wants, what the United States wants, and tech rivalry and competing visions of the future. This final installment is a fireside conversation between Henry Farrell and Alondra Nelson, followed by Jessica's closing remarks.Once again, my deep thanks to Jessica Chen Weiss, ACF's inaugural faculty director, for organizing this terrific conference and for so generously letting me share this audio with Sinica listeners.Henry Farrell, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute Professor of International Affairs at SAIS, sits down with Alondra Nelson — Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study and former Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy — for what turns out to be the day's most generative reframing of the AI race. Henry begins by asking how it is that ideas once confined to 1980s science fiction — the singularity, AGI, brains-in-vats — have come to anchor mainstream American AI policy discourse. Alondra traces the genealogy back to the “Californian ideology” and the long history of outré thinking in Silicon Valley, but her real point is that something has shifted: U.S. negative sentiment around AI has been climbing and plateauing high since 2022, even as adoption has spread — the opposite of the usual technology-acceptance curve, and the opposite of what's happening in China, Nigeria, or Brazil.From there the conversation opens up into what I found to be its richest vein: the contrast between a Cartesian, disembodied American conception of AI — “we're working on the brains,” as Sam Altman put it when OpenAI shut down its robotics team in 2022 — and a more embodied approach that integrates the cognitive and the physical, which is part of what's powered China's advances in advanced manufacturing and robotics. Alondra is sharp on the costs of the brain-in-a-vat framing: it treats AI as a state of exception in which existing laws and institutions somehow don't apply, and it lets us float aspirational claims (”AI will cure cancer”) that elide all the clunky institutional stewardship actually required to get from aspiration to outcome.She also offers an incisive reading of the Trump administration's AI policy — which, she argues, is misleadingly described as “deregulatory.” Between export controls, the golden share in Intel, immigration restrictions on STEM talent, and the administration's tight stewardship of who wins and who loses in the AI ecosystem, this is industrial policy by another name — and a narrowing of democratic input over decisions of enormous infrastructural consequence.The conversation closes with Henry asking what a small-d democratic successor administration ought to do, and Alondra's answer is bracingly practical: get rid of the state of exception, take the material supply chain of AI seriously (data centers, electricity, critical minerals, communities), let state-level policy generate evidence about what works, and aim for high-watermark aspirations — North Stars, in the spirit of the AI Bill of Rights — rather than pretending the technology itself will deliver our values.Jessica then offers her closing remarks, thanking the panelists, previewing the ACF Insights Series, and putting out the call for new junior fellows at the Institute.Participants:Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study; former Director, White House Office of Science and Technology PolicyHenry Farrell, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute Professor of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins SAISClosing remarks: Jessica Chen Weiss, David M. Lampton Professor of China Studies and Inaugural Faculty Director, ACFSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0:30 - COVID whistleblower 14:14 - Josh Hawley back and forth with Erdman over Wuhan lab statements 35:51 - The "Tragic 20's" 56:43 - Former foreign correspondent for BBC Channel 4 News and NBC, Ian Williams: China’s theft of American AI tech is becoming more brazen. Ian is also the author of Vampire State. The rise and fall of the Chinese Economy 01:13:11 - Pratt calls into TMZ after hit piece claiming he doesn't live in trailer 01:33:05 - Senior writer at National Review, Noah Rothman, discusses his new book Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence in America - available Tuesday 5/19 01:51:25 - Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, Samuel Moyn, on the The Old Guard and his new book Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It - available June 16 02:12:27 - Tim Stearns, president and founder of TJ Stearns in Arlington Heights, discusses the balancing act between investment risk and FOMO as the market reaches new highs. For more on TJ Stearns tjstearns.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week: AI regulation, dark money and data center backlash. Reed Albergotti (Semafor) helps decipher how the Trump Administration actually feels about AI oversight and it seems like a reversal of the hands-off approach they’ve taken so far. Taylor Lorenz (User Mag) exposes a dark money influencer campaign — one she was personally recruited for — that's paying creators to push pro-American AI, anti-China messaging on behalf of a Big Tech super PAC. And Nitasha Tiku (The Washington Post) reports on the fast-growing, bipartisan movement fighting data center construction in communities across the country. Plus: Sam Altman's leaked texts, 120,000 tech layoffs, and the GPT-5.5 launch party. Additional Reading: So Long Jeeves and Ask.com, Relics of Yesterday’s Internet White House Considers Vetting A.I. Models Before They Are Released | The New York Times A Dark-Money Campaign Is Paying Influencers to Frame Chinese AI as a Threat | WIRED Inside a growing movement warning AI could turn on humanity | The Washington Post ‘The Most Bipartisan Issue Since Beer’: Opposition to Data Centers | The New York Times Download SAILY in your app store and use our code techstuff at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details go to https://saily.com/techstuffSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Progress Software urges customers to patch a critical MOVEit authentication bypass. Washington worries about limited access to advanced AI tools. Paid influencers promote pro-American AI. CISA warns Copy Fail is under active exploitation. The Canvas educational platform suffers a data breach. The Lazarus Group uses ClickFix to target high-value enterprise users. U.S. and Chinese authorities raid scam centers in Dubai. Monday Business Brief. On Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson: Tony Sager, Senior VP & Chief Evangelist, Center for Internet Security, joins Ann to discuss the accelerating pace of technology, AI, and global software dependencies. May the Fourth be with your firewall.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. Afternoon Cyber Tea On this segment of Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson: Tony Sager, Senior VP & Chief Evangelist, Center for Internet Security, joins Ann to discuss how the accelerating pace of technology, AI, and global software dependencies are reshaping the cybersecurity landscape. To hear the full conversation, check out the episode and subscribe where you get your favorite podcasts to listen to past episodes. The show is going on hiatus. Stay tuned for the next chapter soon. Selected Reading ⁠Progress warns of critical MOVEit Automation auth bypass flaw⁠ (Bleeping Computer) ⁠What Was Discussed at Google's White House Meeting About A.I. ⁠(The New York Times) ⁠US Military Reaches Deals With 7 Tech Companies to Use Their AI on Classified Systems ⁠(SecurityWeek) ⁠A Dark-Money Campaign Is Paying Influencers to Frame Chinese AI as a Threat⁠ (WIRED) ⁠CISA says ‘Copy Fail' flaw now exploited to root Linux systems⁠ (Bleeping Computer) ⁠Edtech Firm Instructure Discloses Data Breach Amid Hacker Leak Threats⁠ (SecurityWeek) ⁠Lazarus Targets macOS Users With New “Mach-O Man” Malware Kit⁠ (GB Hackers) ⁠US, China partner on scam center takedown in Dubai⁠ (The Record) ⁠Cloudsmith raises $72 million in Series C funding.⁠ (N2K Pro Business Briefing) Microsoft for Startups (N2K Networks) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry's most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's show, Patrick Gray and James Wilson are joined by special guest-host Dmitri Alperovitch. They discuss the week's cybersecurity news, including: The US government is mad as hell about Chinese firms stealing American AI technology Dmitri has an opinion or two about the US selling Nvidia chips to China Speaking of Chinese AI, Kimi's new 2.6 is very interesting The US sanctions a Cambodian senator for earning mega bucks through scam compounds And a ransomware family is promoting itself as being … quantum-safe? This week's show is sponsored by Trail of Bits. CEO and co-founder Dan Guido chats to Pat about how private inference works and Trail of Bits' audit of WhatsApp's private AI setup. This episode is also available on Youtube. Show notes Exclusive: US State Dept orders global warning about alleged AI thefts by DeepSeek, other Chinese firms | Reuters moonshotai/Kimi-K2.6 · Hugging Face Discord Sleuths Gained Unauthorized Access to Anthropic's Mythos | WIRED Newly Deciphered Sabotage Malware May Have Targeted Iran's Nuclear Program—and Predates Stuxnet | WIRED Hackers deployed wiper malware in destructive attacks on Venezuela's energy sector | The Record from Recorded Future News Mystery Around Venezuelan Cyberattack Deepens, with New Discovery of "Highly Destructive" Wiper Risky Business #819 -- Venezuela (credibly?!) blames USA for wiper attack - Risky Business Media AI Tools Are Helping Mediocre North Korean Hackers Steal Millions | WIRED CISA: US agency breached through Cisco vulnerability, FIRESTARTER backdoor allowed access through March | The Record from Recorded Future News US, UK authorities warn that Firestarter backdoor malware survives patching | Cybersecurity Dive Surveillance campaigns use commercial surveillance tools to exploit long-known telecom vulnerabilities | CyberScoop UK regulator closes loophole that allowed rogue companies to track phone users' location | Reuters US sanctions Cambodian senator for millions earned through scam compounds | The Record from Recorded Future News Vercel says some of its customers' data was stolen prior to its recent hack | TechCrunch Supply Chain Security Incident Update Apple fixes bug that cops used to extract deleted chat messages from iPhones | TechCrunch Kyle Daigle on X: "Wanted to provide more clarity about this. Yesterday, we had a regression in merge queue behavior where, in some cases, squash or rebase commits were generated from the wrong base state, making earlier changes appear reverted in branch history. 2,804 pull requests out of over 4M" / X Securing the git push pipeline: Responding to a critical remote code execution vulnerability - The GitHub Blog One ransomware crew now drives half of all cyber claims: At-Bay | Insurance Business In a first, a ransomware family is confirmed to be quantum-safe - Ars Technica What we learned about TEE security from auditing WhatsApp's Private Inference

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: A new warning from the White House on Iranian mine-laying in the Strait of Hormuz, as officials say clearing them could take far longer than expected. U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon wrap in Washington, even as Hezbollah continues to trade fire with Israeli troops. The U.S. accuses China of running “industrial-scale” operations to steal advanced American AI technology. And in today's Back of the Brief—Republicans take a first step toward funding ICE on their own, aiming to break the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Chapter: Compare every medicare plan call 915-671-5252 today! Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan's contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don't directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact https://Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. DeleteMe: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to https://joindeleteme.com/PDB and use promo code PDB at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans are running out of places to redraw the map, and Florida is quickly becoming their last real shot to claw back seats before the midterms. The pressure is now squarely on Ron DeSantis to deliver a map that could net a handful of gains, but even inside the party there is real disagreement about whether that is possible. The risk is not just that the effort fails, but that it backfires, turning carefully engineered districts into competitive ones if turnout does not break the right way.That is the core problem with aggressive redistricting at this stage. The more you try to maximize advantage by packing and slicing districts, the more you rely on your own voters showing up consistently. If they do not, those same districts can flip. That is why some Republicans are warning that what looks like a smart map on paper could end up being a “dummymander” in practice, especially in an environment where Democratic voters appear more motivated. In fact, this is starting to look risky, it might be more accurate to call this year's elections “dummyterms,” a phrase I'm committed to making stick come hell or high water.Politics Politics Politics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.At the same time, the conflict with Iran is entering a more volatile phase. New mines in the Strait of Hormuz and an expanded U.S. naval response signal that this is no longer just posturing. It's a pressure campaign with real global stakes, especially given how much of the world's oil supply runs through that corridor. The situation is starting to look less like a slow escalation and more like a standoff that will force a decision sooner rather than later.What makes it even more unpredictable is the internal instability within Iran itself. Leadership shakeups, reports about the Supreme Leader's health and — seriously — facial disfigurement, and a broader power struggle all suggest that there is no single, unified voice making decisions. That kind of vacuum makes negotiation harder and escalation easier, because different factions may be pulling in different directions at the same time.The timeline here is being driven by economics as much as politics. With exports constrained and storage capacity nearing its limit, Iran will eventually have to decide whether to halt production or find another way around the blockade. Neither option is easy, and both come with significant costs. That's why this moment feels compressed, with pressure building toward some kind of near term resolution.Finally, a different kind of competition is playing out between the United States and China, this time over artificial intelligence. The Trump administration is accusing China-backed actors of effectively copying American AI systems by extracting outputs and using them to train rival models. It is a technical fight, but the implications are strategic, especially if it allows competitors to replicate advanced systems without the same investment or safeguards.That accusation fits into a broader pattern of technological rivalry, where innovation, security, and economic advantage are all intertwined. If these claims are accurate, it raises serious questions about how U.S. companies can protect their models and whether current safeguards are enough. With a high stakes meeting between Trump and Xi on the horizon, this issue is likely to become part of a much larger negotiation over trade, security, and global influence.Chapters00:00:00 - Intro00:02:16 - Gabe Fleisher on the White House Press Corps and the Supreme Court00:22:41 - Redistricting Fights00:27:31 - Iran00:33:14 - China and AI00:36:29 - Gabe Fleisher on the Permanence of the Trump Administration01:08:56 - Final Thoughts This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/subscribe

"There will be a lot fewer people employed doing existing work in not just insurance, but in all business." Phillip reports from the press pool at Semafor World Economy 2026, where 500 CEOs, a quarter of the US Senate, and 20 G20 finance ministers spent two days in Washington DC sketching out the next decade. Inside: why the AI race is really the electricity race (and why we may have already lost it to China), the $10 trillion and 250 gigawatts Meta says AGI will cost, Senator Mark Kelly on the new commercial space economy, Levi's 50% DTC milestone, Ralph Lauren's experience-economy flex, and why Balzac saw the "exterminator economy" coming 200 years ago. Plus: white smoke from Apple Park. Key Takeaways: Space is getting a concentric-circle economy. NASA hands low-Earth orbit to private industry; the moon is next; Mars is the horizon. Sen. Mark Kelly laid out the vision at Semafor. AGI has a price tag, and it's $10T. Meta's Dina Powell McCormick framed the path forward: trillions in capital, 250GW of power, and geopolitical fallout to match. The AI race is actually the electricity race — and the US lost it five years ago. Chips and lithography aren't the bottleneck. Power is, and China builds more in a year than the US builds in a decade. NIMBY has evolved into BANANA. Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone is the new posture from Virginia to Maine, and the quiet threat to American AI competitiveness. The heritage brand isn't dead; it just needs a thesis. Levi's built a three-layer AI framework — process, product, people — and is posting 16 consecutive quarters of DTC growth to prove the strategy works. Everyone's becoming an exterminator. The age of sovereignty is producing a wave of DIY micro-entrepreneurs using ChatGPT as their back office. Every job AI takes, it seems to hand back, just in a flat-brimmed hat. The American consumer is less bearish than the algorithm suggests. Ralph Lauren, Kickstarter, and Chime all reported data at odds with recession narratives. Spending is healthy, savings are up, and creators are launching. In-Show Mentions: The Commerce Department is a hedge fund now Dispatch from Semafor: Pritzker on what beats fear [POLICY BRIEF] The Halo Effect of the New Economy Future Commerce Podcast: Marcus Collins Associated Links: Check out Future Commerce on YouTube Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

① The United Nations has condemned Israel's strikes across Lebanon. Are the strikes posing a grave risk to the fragile US-Iran ceasefire? (00:55) ② Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of NATO after a meeting with the alliance's secretary general Mark Rutte. What could happen to NATO next? (14:54) ③ Alibaba has cooperated with China Telecom to launch a new data center featuring the tech giant's own AI chips. We explore Chinese firms' accelerating efforts to build domestic alternatives to advanced American AI chips. (24:43) ④ We look at how software updates are giving Chinese EV makers a new edge in global competition. (34:10) ⑤ A report indicates China's small and medium-sized companies are increasingly satisfied with their development environment. How has China improved its business environment for smaller companies? (44:24)

12. AI SMUGGLING AND CIVILIAN-MILITARY FUSION. DAVID SHEDD AND JACK BURNHAM. The guests detail illicit efforts to smuggle Nvidia chips and steal American AI models through "adversarial distillation". They highlight China's strategic plan to acquire Western innovation without the investment. (12) PERSIA

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW SCHEDULE, TUESDAY 4 -7-2026.1521 HORMUZ STRAIT.1. FEDERAL RESERVE'S LIMITED ROLE IN INFLATION. ELIZABETH PEEK. Elizabeth Peek explains that the Fed cannot control supply-shock inflation caused by the Strait of Hormuz closure. She warns that upcoming reports will reflect soaring diesel prices currently affecting Europe. (1)2. REPUBLICAN MIDTERM STRATEGY AND THE ECONOMY. ELIZABETH PEEK. Voter focus has shifted from the border to cost-of-living issues that skyrocketed under current leadership. Peek notes Republicans struggle with messaging despite initiatives to lower healthcare costs and prescription drug prices. (2)3. EUROPE'S ENERGY CRISIS AND THE TRANSATLANTIC RIFT. JUDY DEMPSEY. Judy Dempsey reports on soaring German and French energy costs necessitating diesel subsidies. She highlights European distrust of the American administration and the fraying of traditional multilateral institutions. (3)4. FAR-RIGHT GAINS IN EAST GERMAN ELECTIONS. JUDY DEMPSEY. Dempsey analyzes the AfD's momentum in East Germany, where pacifist sentiment and economic resentment drive support. The far-right party now contests Chancellor Mertz's coalition in upcoming regional state elections. (4)5. DIPLOMATIC STRATEGY IN GLOBAL CONFLICTS. MARY KISSEL. Mary Kissel outlines the State Department's roles in economic diplomacy and humanitarian coordination during global crises. She emphasizes the necessity of consistent messaging between the White House and international allies. (5)6. THE EBB TIDE OF SOCIALISM IN SOUTH AMERICA. MARY KISSEL. Kissel discusses right-of-center political shifts in Venezuela and Chile, crediting Marco Rubio for fostering regional economic growth. She calls for a transition of power to benefit the Cuban people. (6)7. ESCALATION AND IRAN'S REFUSAL TO NEGOTIATE. JONATHAN SCHANZER. Schanzer details the five-man collective governing Iran and their commitment to revolutionary martyrdom. He describes US strikes on infrastructure while questioning if Pakistan is acting as a Chinese proxy. (7)8. THE IDF CAMPAIGN TO DEFANG HEZBOLLAH. JONATHAN SCHANZER. Jonathan Schanzer reports on Israel's efforts to establish a buffer zone in southern Lebanon to prevent rocket attacks. He reveals that the IDF has already destroyed roughly 80% of Hezbollah's arsenal. (8)9. GERMAN ECONOMIC REFORM AND LARS KLINGBEIL. JOSEPH STERNBERG. Joseph Sternberg profiles the Finance Minister's supply-side proposals, including tax reforms and labor law flexibility. These initiatives aim to revive the German economy and reclaim voters from the far-right. (9)10. UK POLITICAL INSTABILITY AND THE KING'S VISIT. JOSEPH STERNBERG. Sternberg discusses Keir Starmer's unpopularity and the upcoming royal visit to America. He suggests the visit offers an opportunity to repair the special relationship despite deep strategic differences over Iran. (10)11. CHINESE ESPIONAGE AND THE ROBOTICS THREAT. DAVID SHEDD AND JACK BURNHAM. Experts examine the Schumer-Cotton bill targeting Chinese robotics, warning that these technologies contain software egress points for data theft. They argue this follows a long-standing pattern of intellectual property larceny. (11)12. AI SMUGGLING AND CIVILIAN-MILITARY FUSION. DAVID SHEDD AND JACK BURNHAM. The guests detail illicit efforts to smuggle Nvidia chips and steal American AI models through "adversarial distillation". They highlight China's strategic plan to acquire Western innovation without the investment. (12)13. Headline: The Gulf Standoff: UN Vetoes, Asymmetrical Tactics, and Iran's Ruling Council (13)Guest: Gregory Copley (14)Summary: John Batchelor and Gregory Copley discuss the Gulf standoff following Russian and Chinese UN vetoes,. They analyze Iran's asymmetrical warfare, use of human shields, and the influence of five uncompromising hardliners currently steering the conflict,,,. (15)14. THE IRANIAN STANDOFF AND STRATEGIC DEADLOCK. GREGORY COPLEY. Gregory Copley compares the conflict to a Korean-style stalemate where Iranian leadership refuses to provide a face-saving exit. Russia and China continue supporting Iran by providing missile propellant and equipment. (16)15. VIETNAM WAR LESSONS FOR MODERN CONFLICT. GREGORY COPLEY. Copley warns that alienation from the government and a lack of defined victory objectives could lead to strategic catastrophe. He notes Trump has alienated allies who previously supported US endeavors. (17)16. KING CHARLES AND THE ANGLO-AMERICAN ALLIANCE. GREGORY COPLEY. Gregory Copley discusses the King's role in mending rifts between unpopular US and UK leaders. The visit celebrates American independence while offering the King a platform to improve diplomatic relations. (18)

This Week in AI sneak peak! If you enjoy the episode find us on Spotify, Apple podcasts and YouTube by looking up "This Week in AI" or by going to thisweekinai.aiThis week Jason sat down with Jake Loosararian and Chris Lattner on Episode 6 of This Week in AI. Jake is the CEO and co-founder of Gecko Robotics, a company deploying purpose-built robots and AI for mission-critical infrastructure inspection across energy, defense, and manufacturing. Chris is the CEO and co-founder of Modular, building a universal software layer that lets developers run AI models across Nvidia, AMD, and Apple silicon without being locked into any single hardware vendor.We explore the GPU shortage, why China's chip smuggling reveals the stakes of the AI cold war, how purpose-built robotics are beating humanoids on ROI, the case for American reindustrialization, and why the next decade could be the best ever for private equity in capital-intensive industries.Purpose-Built Robots vs. Humanoids: Jake has been building mission-critical robots for 13 years. He explains why general-purpose humanoids still have too little ROI for industrial use, and why specialized robots that find and fix problems are winning in the field.The GPU Shortage Is Real: Chris breaks down why you can't just go buy 100 Blackwell chips today, why Nvidia's Cuda creates massive lock-in, and how Modular is building a unified software layer across all major chip architectures.Google TPUs Are the Sleeper: Chris ranks Google as the number one threat to Nvidia's dominance, ahead of Amazon's Trainium and AMD.China's Chip Smuggling & the AI Cold War: A Supermicro co-founder allegedly smuggled $2.5B in Nvidia chips to China using fake serial numbers and a hairdryer. The Best Decade for Private Equity: Jake makes the case that capital-intensive, commoditized infrastructure assets: waste-to-energy, water treatment, old power plants will all generate incredible returns.Self-Driving State of Play: Chris, a former Tesla Autopilot lead, gives his read on Waymo's lead, Tesla's small Austin pilot, and why the real signal is when Tesla starts filing for fully autonomous permits in California.Learn more about Gecko Robotics: https://www.geckorobotics.comLearn more about Modular: https://www.modular.com/This Week In AI is made possible by:*PayPalOpen* - One Platform for all Business: paypalopen.com*Timestamps:*00:00 Welcome & intro to Jake Lu (Gecko Robotics) and Chris Lattner (Modular)01:34 Gecko's 13-year journey & the Cantilever platform05:15 Chris Lattner on Modular: replacing Cuda & unifying AI hardware11:10 Nvidia lock-in, AMD's Rock & why the software stack is broken19:49 The GPU shortage: how real is it?22:13 Who challenges Nvidia? Google TPUs, Amazon Trainium & AMD ranked28:17 China chip smuggling: $2.5B in Nvidia GPUs & the AI cold war37:43 Self-driving update: Waymo, Tesla's Austin pilot & Chris's Tesla history42:20 Figure's humanoid package sorting — real or demo magic?43:47 The best decade for private equity in capital-intensive assets51:04 Reindustrialization, the trades boom & making manufacturing cool58:39 Building tech companies outside Silicon Valley1:06:46 Breaking news: Brett Adcock launches Hark from Figure1:10:15 Closing thoughts: grit over hype, customers over valuationsSubscribe to This Week in AI on Apple: https://thisweekinai.ai/spotifySubscribe to This Week in AI on Spotify: https://thisweekinai.ai/appleThanks for watching!

The General Services Administration has proposed draft contract language that would define the government's relationship with AI service providers in a major federal acquisition program in the aftermath of the fallout between the Defense Department and Anthropic. The proposed language includes terms and conditions for government data use, defines what it means for AI to be unbiased, creates a requirement to use only “American AI,” and establishes a responsibility for contractors to enforce terms and conditions on the AI they deploy. Notably, it also includes language that echoes the very policy at issue in Anthropic's ongoing battle with the Pentagon that led to the company's governmentwide ban and designation as a “supply chain risk.” Under the draft, the government would be granted a “contract for any lawful Government purpose.” According to Anthropic's legal challenge, its dispute with the Defense Department hinged on a policy that the military could make “all lawful use” of the technology. That change, Anthropic says, would have eliminated the company's restrictions on use of its products for “lethal autonomous warfare” and mass-scale surveillance of Americans. A nonprofit advocacy group is suing the Social Security Administration to release records on an agreement DOGE made to share voter data with a non-government source, and other documents regarding the improper use of Americans' data. In a lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Democracy Forward seeks to compel the SSA to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests linked to a “voter data agreement” revealed in a January court filing. That filing from the Department of Justice, which is part of a lawsuit by several labor groups over DOGE's handling and exposure of personally identifiable information, detailed coordination between two members of Elon Musk's tech collective embedded at SSA and an advocacy group seeking “evidence of voter fraud.” The DOJ said in that filing that in March 2025, a political advocacy group asked those DOGE representatives for Social Security data to analyze state voter rolls. Per the filing, the group's “stated aim was to find evidence of voter fraud and to overturn election results in certain States.” One of those DOGE members signed a “Voter Data Agreement” in his capacity as an SSA employee and sent the document back to the group on March 24, 2025. Democracy Forward, which represents the federal unions at the center of that lawsuit, immediately filed a FOIA seeking a copy of the voter data agreement, plus all emails between the parties. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

Marc Cox's Friday show opens with high-energy March Madness coverage, celebrating local wins and Mizzou's evening game, while weaving in humor, fan rivalries, and debates over states seizing unclaimed funds. Hour 2 continues the March Madness theme with Flava Flav in studio, lively discussions on Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories, and Nicole Murray analyzing business news from oil prices to Alibaba layoffs, closing with lighter stories from drones to AI resurrecting Val Kilmer. Hour 3 pivots to global politics, analyzing Iran's attacks and U.S. responses with Jim Carafano, Trump's unpredictable approach with allies, and Nicole Wallace reporting on a DOJ grand conspiracy case, while “Kim on a Whim” revisits unclaimed state funds. Hour 4, branded as the “Capital Beat,” features Rep. Eric Burlison on budget amendments and Homeland Security funding, Doug Kelly advocating for local data centers and American AI competitiveness, the Guns and Hoses Queen of Hearts winner, a debate over Sarah Huckabee Sanders' restaurant incident, and Keith Houser highlighting the Patriot Training Foundation and upcoming Freedom Blast event. The show blends sports, politics, local impact, and patriotism with a mix of insight, humor, and civic engagement. Hashtags: #MarcCoxMorningShow #MarchMadness #KimOnAWhim #FlavaFlav #JeffreyEpstein #NicoleMurray #Trump #MiddleEast #Iran #F35 #NicoleWallace #EricBurlison #AmericanEdgeProject #DataCenters #QueenOfHearts #PatriotTrainingFoundation #KeithHouser #FreedomBlast #StLouisHonorFlight #MissouriPolitics #LocalImpact

Qasar Younis is the co-founder and CEO of Applied Intuition, a $15 billion AI company that adds intelligence to cars, tractors, planes, submarines, and other vehicles—essentially, Tesla or Waymo without the hardware. He was previously COO of Y Combinator, started his career as an engineer at GM and Bosch, and was born on a farm in Pakistan.We discuss:1. Why the biggest AI revolution will play out in mining, farming, construction, and trucking over the next 5 to 10 years, not in software2. Why Qasar intentionally stayed under the radar for nearly a decade while building Applied Intuition, and why most founders shouldn't do that3. The truth about China's AI capabilities and why comparisons to American companies are fundamentally flawed4. The company values that drive Applied Intuition: speed above everything, laugh a lot, half the work is follow-up, never disappoint the customer5. The biggest lessons from Qasar's stint as YC's COO, including that the most successful companies show traction very early6. How reading old books is the best way to build taste—Brought to you by:Omni—AI analytics your customers can trustVanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.Lovable—Build apps by simply chatting with AI—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-most-successful-ai-company-youve-never-heard-of—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Qasar Younis:• X: https://x.com/qasar• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/qasar• Website: https://qy.co• Reading list: https://qy.co/books—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Qasar and Applied Intuition(04:01) The optimistic vision: How AI will create abundance(08:49) Why anxiety about AI comes from misunderstanding—and how to fight fear with knowledge(12:58) The market sell-off explained(16:31) Self-driving cars: Why 30,000 annual deaths prove we need autonomy now(20:22) The spectrum of physical AI(28:00) How AI is coming just in time(33:26) Why comparing Chinese AI companies to American AI companies is a category error(39:12) Why Qasar finally joined Twitter after staying silent for a decade(45:08) Why successful companies almost always show early signs of traction(50:40) Applied Intuition's core values(56:00) Why the company cleans its own office—and never spent a dollar of raised capital(58:50) Quasar's reading philosophy(01:06:14) How to operationalize listening to naysayers(01:12:53) The importance of decisiveness(01:14:55) Removing emotions from decisions(01:19:02) Why most Silicon Valley CEOs don't have great taste—and how to develop it—Referenced:• Applied Intuition: https://www.appliedintuition.com• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn't even started yet: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/marc-andreessen-the-real-ai-boom• Elad Gil's website: https://eladgil.com• Bosch: https://www.bosch.com• Berkshire Hathaway: https://www.berkshirehathaway.com• Naval Ravikant on X: https://x.com/naval• Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com• Waymo: https://waymo.com/• Tesla: https://www.tesla.com• DeepSeek: https://www.deepseek.com• Rivian: https://rivian.com• Crate & Barrel: https://www.crateandbarrel.com• OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai• Sam Altman on X: https://x.com/sama• Peter Ludwig on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwludwig• What Steve Jobs really meant when he said ‘Good artists copy; great artists steal': https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/what-steve-jobs-really-meant-when-he-said-good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal• 7 quotes on the power of reading from Charlie Munger: https://www.neil.blog/articles/7-quotes-power-reading-charlie-munger• Andreessen Horowitz: https://a16z.com• John Doerr on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-doerr-03248211• Gandhi's quote: https://www.azquotes.com/author/5308-Mahatma_Gandhi/tag/truth#google_vignette• Steve Ballmer on X: https://x.com/Steven_Ballmer• General Motors: https://www.gm.com—Recommended books:• House of Huawei: The Secret History of China's Most Powerful Company: https://www.amazon.com/House-Huawei-History-Powerful-Company/dp/0593544633• Maintenance: Of Everything, Part One: https://press.stripe.com/maintenance-part-one• The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley: https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Malcolm-Told-Alex-Haley/dp/0345350685• High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884• The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer: https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography-Cancer/dp/1439170916• Made in America: https://www.amazon.com/Sam-Walton-Made-America/dp/0553562835• My American Journey: https://www.amazon.com/American-Journey-Autobiography-Colin-Powell/dp/0679432965• Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies: https://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-Societies/dp/0393317552• Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed: https://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Societies-Choose-Succeed-Revised/dp/0143117009• SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome: https://www.amazon.com/SPQR-History-Ancient-Mary-Beard/dp/0871404230• A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness: https://www.amazon.com/World-Appears-Journey-into-Consciousness/dp/198488199X—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Yascha Mounk and Dean Ball examine how the fight over autonomous weapons and mass surveillance reveals the impossible choices facing American AI policy. Dean W. Ball served as Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he was the primary staff drafter of America's AI Action Plan. He writes the AI-focused newsletter Hyperdimensional. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Dean Ball discuss the clash between Anthropic and the Department of War over AI usage restrictions, why mass domestic surveillance capabilities make AI governance so challenging, and how to regulate transformative technologies under conditions of radical uncertainty. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following ⁠this link on your phone⁠. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Google⁠ X: ⁠@Yascha_Mounk⁠ & ⁠@JoinPersuasion⁠ YouTube: ⁠Yascha Mounk⁠, ⁠Persuasion⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Europe sleepwalking into American AI dependency? Are we building toward a world where AI genuinely thinks for itself? And as AI becomes the backbone of modern warfare, who's really in control? Join Rory Stewart and Matt Clifford as they answer all of these questions and more. For the full AI series, sign up at therestispolitics.com For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to goalhanger.com Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: James Clayden Producer: India Dunkley Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Senior Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Tom Whiter For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to goalhanger.com Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with the war in Iran and its implications for the PRC. Topics include: Upsides and downsides for China, why US strategy was likely related to Iran and not the PRC, questions about the Strait of Hormuz, the Iran partnership and PRC global leadership, implications for Taiwan, why a Beijing visit from Donald Trump remains likely, and yet another US war in the Middle East… From there: What to watch for at the Two Sessions this week, an exodus at Alibaba, waiting for a new DeepSeek model, and distillation alarm at American AI labs. At the end: Another spy scandal engulfs Labour in the UK, and fun facts about Spider-Man: No Way Home and its failure to clear $2 billion worldwide.

Group Chat News is back with the biggest stories of the week including and update on Drama's dating life, everything going on in Iran, Anthropic exposing China for creating over 24,000 fake accounts to steal American AI technology, Claude just dethroned ChatGPT as the number one app in the U.S. after a wild Pentagon story, Jack Dorsey just announced Block is getting smaller and what that means for the future of Square. A mass shooting on Sixth Street leaves 3 dead and 14 injured with the FBI investigating terrorism ties. Plus the betting market payout controversy that has everyone heated. 

Our Deputy Head of Global Research Michael Zezas and Stephen Byrd, Global Head of Thematic and Sustainability Research, discuss how the U.S. is positioning AI as a pillar of geopolitical influence and what that means for nations and investors.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Michael Zezas: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Michael Zezas, Morgan Stanley's Deputy Head of Global Research.Stephen Byrd: And I'm Stephen Byrd, Global Head of Thematic and Sustainability Research.Michael Zezas: Today – is AI becoming the new anchor of geopolitical power?It's Wednesday, February 27th at noon in New York.So, Stephen, at the recent India AI Impact Summit, the U.S. laid out a vision to promote global AI adoption built around what it calls “real AI sovereignty.” Or strategic autonomy through integration with the American AI stack. But several nations from the global south and possibly parts of Europe – they appear skeptical of dependence on proprietary systems, citing concerns about control, explainability, and data ownership. And it appears that stake isn't just technology policy. It's the future structure of global power, economic stratification, and whether sovereign nations can realistically build competitive alternatives outside the U.S. and China.So, Stephen, you were there and you've been describing a growing chasm in the AI world in terms of access to strategies between the U.S. and much of the global south, and possibly Europe. So, from what you heard at the summit, what are the core points of disagreement driving that divide?Stephen Byrd: There definitely are areas of agreement; and we've seen a couple of high-profile agreements reached between the U.S. government and the Indian government just in the last several days. So there certainly is a lot of overlap. I point to the Pax Silica agreement that's so important to secure supply chains, to secure access to AI technology. I think the focus, for example, for India is, as you said; it is, you know, explainability, open access. I was really struck by Prime Minister Modi's focus on ensuring that all Indians have access to AI tools that can help them in their everyday life.You know, a really tangible example that really stuck with me is – someone in a remote village in India who has a medical condition and there's no doctor or nurse nearby using AI to, you know, take a photo of the condition, receive diagnosis, receive support, figure out what the next steps should be. That's very powerful. So, I'd say, open access explainability is very important.Now, the American hyperscalers are very much trying to serve the Indian market and serve the objectives really of the Indian government. And so, there are versions of their models that are open weights, that are being made freely available for health agencies in India, as an example; to the Indian government, as an example.So, there is an attempt to really serve a number of objectives, but I think this key is around open access, explainability, that I do see that there's a tension.Michael Zezas: So, let's talk about that a little bit more. Because it seems one of the concerns raised is this idea of being captive within proprietary Large Language Models. And maybe that includes the risk of having to pay more over time or losing control of citizen data. But, at the same time, you've described that there are some real benefits to AI that these countries want to adopt.So, what is effectively the tension between being captive to a model or the trade off instead for pursuing open and free models? Is it that there's a major quality difference? And is that trade off acceptable?Stephen Byrd: See, that's what's so fascinating, Mike, is, you know, what we need to be thinking about is not just where the technology is today, but where is it in six months, 12 months, 24 months? And from my perspective, it's very clear. That the proprietary American models are going to be much, much more capable.So, let's put some numbers around that. The big five American firms have assembled about 10 times the compute to train their current LLMs compared to their prior LLMs, and that's a big deal. If the scaling laws hold, then a 10x increase in training compute to result in models are about twice as capable.Now just let that sink in for a minute, twice as capable from here. That's a big deal. And so, when we think about the benefit of deploying these models, whether it's in the life sciences or any number of other disciplines, those benefits could start to get very large. And the challenge for the open models will be – will they be able to keep up in terms of access to compute, to training, access to data to train those models? That's a big question.Now, again, there's room for both approaches and it's very possible for the Indian government to continue to experiment and really see which approach is going to serve their citizens the best. And I was really struck by just how focused the Indian government is on serving all of their citizens. Most notably, you know, the poorest of the poor in their nation. So, we'll just have to see.But the pure technologist would say that these proprietary models are going to be increasing capability much faster than the open-source models.So, Mike, let's pivot from the technology layer to the geopolitical layer because the U.S. strategy unveiled at the summit goes way beyond innovation.Michael Zezas: Yeah, it's a good point. And within this discussion of whether or not other countries will choose to pursue open models or more closely adhere to U.S. based models is really a question about how the United States exercises power globally and how it creates alliances going forward.Clearly some part of the strategy is that the U.S. assumes that if it has technology that's alluring to its partners, that they'll want to align with the U.S.' broad goals globally. And that they'll want to be partners in supporting those goals, which of course are tied to AI development.So, the Pax Silica [agreement], which you mentioned earlier, is an interesting point here because this is clearly part of the U.S. strategy to develop relationships with other countries – such that the other countries get access to U.S. models and access to U.S. AI in general. And what the U.S. gets in return is access to supply chain, critical resources, labor, all the things that you need to further the AI build out. Particularly as the U.S. is trying to disassociate more and more from China, and the resources that China might have been able to bring to bear in an AI build out.Stephen Byrd: So, Mike, the U.S. framed “real AI sovereignty” as strategic autonomy rather than full self-sufficiency. So, essentially the. U.S. is encouraging nations to integrate components of the American AI stack. Now, from your perspective, Mike, from a macro and policy standpoint, how significant is that distinction?Michael Zezas: Well, I think it's extremely important. And clearly the U.S. views its AI strategy as not just economic strategy, but national security strategy.There are maybe some analogs to how the U.S. has been able to, over the past 80 years or so, use its dominance in military and military equipment to create a security umbrella that other countries want to be under. And do something similar with AI, which is if there is dominant technology and others want access to it for the societal or economic benefits, then that is going to help when you're negotiating with those countries on other things that you value – whether it be trade policy, foreign policy, sanctions versus another country. That type of thing.So, in a lot of ways, it seems like the U.S. is talking about AI and developing AI as an anchor asset to its power, in a way that military power has been that anchor asset for much of the post World War II period.Stephen Byrd: See, that's what's so interesting, Mike, [be]cause you've highlighted before to me that you believe AI could replace weaponry as really the anchor asset for U.S. global power. Almost a tech equivalent of a defense umbrella.So how durable is that strategy, especially given that some countries are expressing unease about dependency?Michael Zezas: Yeah, it's really hard to know, and I think the tension you and I talked about earlier, Stephen, about whether countries will be willing to make the trade off for access to superior AI models versus open and free models that might be inferior, that'll tell us if this is a viable strategy or not. And it appears like this is still playing out because, correct me if I'm wrong, it's not like we've received some very clear signals from India or other countries about their willingness to make that trade off.Stephen Byrd: No, I think that's right. And just building on the concept of the trade-offs and, sort of, the standard for AI deployment, you know, the U.S. has explicitly rejected centralized global AI governance in favor of national control aligned with domestic values.So, what does that signal about how global technology standards may evolve, particularly as in the U.S., the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, works to develop interoperable standards for agentic AI systems.Michael Zezas: Yeah, Stephen, I think it's hard to know. It might be that the U.S. is okay with other countries having substantial degrees of freedom with how they use U.S.-based AI models because they could use U.S. law to, at a later date, change how those models are being used – if there's a use case that comes out of it that they find is against U.S. values. Similar in some way to how the U.S. dollar being the predominant currency and, therefore, being the predominant payment system globally, gives the U.S. degrees of freedom to impose sanctions and limit other types of economic transactions when it's in the U.S. interest.So, I don't know that to be specifically true, but it's an interesting question to consider and a potential motivation behind why a laissez-faire approach might be, ultimately, still aligned with U.S. interests.Stephen Byrd: So, Michael, it sounds like really AI is becoming the new strategic infrastructure globally.Michael Zezas: Yeah, I think that's actually a great way to think about it. And so, Stephen, if that were the case, and we're talking about the potential for this to shape geopolitical competition, potentially economic differentials across the globe. And if that is correlated, at least, to some degree with the further development and computing power of these models, what do you think investors should be looking at for signals from here?Stephen Byrd: Number one, by a mile for me, is really the pace of model progress. Not just American models, but Chinese models, open-source models. And there the big reveal for the United States should be somewhere between April and June – for the big five LLM players. That's a bit of speculation based on tracking their chip purchases, their power access, et cetera. But that appears to be the timeframe and a couple of execs have spoken to that approximate timeframe.I would caution investors that I think we're going to be surprised in terms of just how powerful those models are. And we're already seeing in early 2026, these models that were not trained on that kind of volume of compute have really exceeded expectations, you know, quite dramatically in some cases. And I'll give you one example.METR is a third-party that tracks the complexity, what these models can do. And METR has been highlining that every seven months, the complexity of what these models are able to do approximately doubles. It's very fast. But what really got my attention was about a week ago, one of the LLMs broke that trend in a big way to the upside.So, if the scaling laws would hold, based on what METR would've expected, they would expect a model to be able to act independently for about eight hours, a little over eight hours. And what we saw was, the best American model that was recently introduced was more like 15. That's a big deal. And so, I think we're seeing signs of non-linear improvement.We're also going to see additional statements from these AI execs around recursive self-improvement of the models. One ex-AI executive spoke to that. Another LLM exec spoke to that recently as well. So, we're starting to see an acceleration. That means we then need to really consider the trade-offs between the open models and the proprietary. That's going to become really critical and that should happen really through the spring and summer.Michael Zezas: Got it. Well, Stephen, thanks for taking the time to talk.Stephen Byrd: Great speaking with you, Mike.Michael Zezas: And thanks for listening. If you enjoy Thoughts on the Market, please leave us a review wherever you listen. And share the podcast with a friend or colleague today.

We start with details on former President Bill Clinton's testimony to lawmakers in their Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The US ambassador to Israel gave an urgent warning over a potential US military strike on Iran. President Donald Trump made a major move against an American AI company. The father of a teenage Georgia school shooter took the stand in his own defense. Plus, why NASA's plans to put man back on the moon will look differently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The War for the American Dynamo has begun.

We're joined by Brian Chen — policy director at Data & Society — to discuss his new report on the Trump administration's industrial policy for building The Big AI State. We lay out how Trump's is bringing together various forms of intervention to ensure America achieves “global technological dominance.” This includes de-risking the construction of data centers and energy infrastructure, ensuring the American AI tech stack takes over global markets, and even acquiring equity stakes in major private industries in the AI supply chain. We discuss the means and ends of Trump's industrial policy — and how these policy tools should be wielded differently by future administrations. ••• Great Power Antinomies https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/great-power-antinomies/ ••• The Big AI State https://datasociety.net/library/the-big-ai-state/ Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan's book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite ••• Subscribe to Ed's substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble ••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

The U.S. government wants the rest of the world to adopt its artificial intelligence cybersecurity standards, a top official with the Office of the National Cyber Director said Thursday. As part of an effort to advance American AI, the administration will be “undertaking diplomacy efforts to promote American AI cybersecurity standards and norms, establishing industry best practices for secure AI deployment and harnessing the full potential of AI tools,” said Alexandra Seymour, principal deputy assistant national cyber director for policy. Seymour's comments at the 2026 Identity, Authentication, and the Road Ahead Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. partially reflect the Trump administration's AI Action Plan released last summer, which said the departments of Commerce and State would “vigorously advocate for international AI governance approaches that promote innovation, reflect American values, and counter authoritarian influence,” but doesn't explicitly mention international promotion of cybersecurity standards. Some of that effort has already materialized, with internationally oriented guides released in both May and December. The United States also isn't the only one looking to influence international standards for AI security. AI also figures into the yet-to-be-released national cybersecurity strategy that Seymour's office has been developing. And it dovetails with a pillar of the strategy focused on defending federal networks. Seymour said: “While AI is already helping industries enhance security and address the challenge of escalating cyberattacks, this administration will promote the rapid implementation of AI-enabled cyber defensive tools to detect, divert and deceive threat actors who continue targeting our vital systems and sectors on our federal systems. We must get our house in order. They need rapid modernization, and we're working on policies to harden our networks, update our technologies and ensure we're prepared for a post-quantum future.”

The second Trump administration has launched a full-scale effort to achieve “unchallenged global technological dominance.” It is accelerating the construction of AI infrastructure, from opening up federal lands to ramping up energy production. It has invoked AI-enabled “efficiency” in order to replace federal workers, removed agency guidance on algorithmic discrimination,  and supercharged the use of AI in areas including defense and immigration enforcement. The administration has also pursued novel public ownership efforts, such as taking equity  in Intel and critical minerals firms. To what end? Officials say they are now maximizing the “export of the American AI technology stack.” This is not the deregulatory tech agenda predicted by both supporters and critics of President Trump. So what is it?How should we understand the administration's actions when it comes to AI? What dynamics are driving these changes in AI policymaking? What might be the downstream consequences for Americans? And how should we respond?

SHOW 12-17-25 THE SHOW BEGINS WITH DOUBTS ABOUT THE US CONFLICT WITH VENEZUELA... 1926 USS OMAHA IN THE PANAMA CANAL. Colonel Jeff McCausland discusses the US "blockade" of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers and the potential for escalation into a regional conflict involving Colombia. He also analyzes the Pentagon's refusal to release videos of destroyed drug boats, suggesting possible war crime concerns, and notes stalled Ukraine negotiations. Colonel McCausland reports on NATO's eastern flank "digging in," with Baltic states building defensive bunkers and Germany significantly increasing military spending. He highlights a divergence where European allies prepare for existential Russian threats while US leadership may prioritize "strategic stability" and economic cooperation with Moscow. General Blaine Holt warns that integrating Artificial Intelligence into military command increases the risks of deliberate, inadvertent, and accidental escalation. He argues that while AI accelerates decision-making, it lacks human judgment, potentially leading to catastrophic miscalculations if adversaries rely on algorithms during crises. General Holt explains that AI models in war games demonstrate a bias toward violent escalation, often prioritizing "winning" over negotiation, which leads to nuclear conflict. He emphasizes the necessity of keeping humans in the loop and maintaining direct communications between rival nations to prevent automated catastrophe. Simon Constable reports from France on high copper prices and slowing European energy demand. He describes protests by French farmers burning hay to oppose government orders to cull cattle exposed to disease and notes a significant rise in electric vehicle sales across the European Union. Simon Constable discusses the political troubles of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the suspension of a US-UK tech deal due to clashes over AI regulation. He explains that Britain's "Online Safety Act" aims to tax and regulate tech giants, which threatens to stifle American AI companies operating there. Bob Zimmerman highlights a record-breaking year with over 300 global rocket launches, driven largely by private enterprise competition. He notes that Amazon was forced to contract SpaceX for satellite launches due to delays from rivals like Blue Origin and reports on safety concerns involving Russian launch pad negligence. Bob Zimmerman reports on the success of commercial space station company Vast and orbital tug tests that outperformed government efforts. Conversely, he details problems with NASA's Maven orbiter at Mars, which has lost communication, potentially jeopardizing data relays for surface rovers. David Shedd critiques the bipartisan failure of allowing China into the World Trade Organization in 2001, which was based on the false assumption that economic engagement would lead to democratization. Instead, this decision facilitated a massive transfer of intellectual property, fueling China's rise as a predatory economic rival. David Shedd explains how China's Ministry of State Security operates as a massive intelligence entity combining the functions of the CIA, FBI, and NSA. He traces this economic espionage to Deng Xiaoping's 1984 strategy, noting that Chinese officers view theft as repayment for past Western oppression. David Shedd details espionage cases, including an Apple engineer stealing "Project Titan" car schematics for a Chinese competitor. He also describes a Google employee who stole AI data while secretly working for a Chinese firm, highlighting how corporate greed and weak internal security enable intellectual property theft. David Shedd outlines strategies to counter Chinese espionage, advocating for "partial decoupling" to protect critical technologies like semiconductors and AI. He argues for modernizing legal deterrence to prosecute theft effectively and warns that Chinese platforms like DeepSeek harvest user data to advance their "Great Heist" of American wealth. Nury Turkel discusses the plight of Guan Hang, a whistleblower facing deportation from the US despite documenting Uyghur concentration camps. Turkel criticizes the inconsistent enforcement of forced labor laws and highlights new evidence linking Uyghur slave labor to the excavation and processing of critical minerals. Rebecca Grant argues against the planned retirement of the USS Nimitz in 2026, suggesting it should be kept in reserve given delays in new Ford-class carriers. Despite the ship's age, Grant asserts that retaining the carrier offers crucial strategic depth against threats like China's PLA Navy. Rick Fisher analyzes the emerging race to build AI data centers in low Earth orbit, noting advantages like natural cooling and zero real estate costs. While Elon Musk's Starlink positions the US well, Fisher warns that China has detailed plans to use space-based data centers to support expansion into the solar system. Alan Tonelson evaluates China's economic strengths, acknowledging their dominance in rare earth processing and solar panels, often achieved through subsidies. He argues that China's heavy investment in industrial robots attempts to offset a looming demographic crash, while questioning the true market demand for their subsidized electric vehicles.

Simon Constable discusses the political troubles of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the suspension of a US-UKtech deal due to clashes over AI regulation. He explains that Britain's "Online Safety Act" aims to tax and regulate tech giants, which threatens to stifle American AI companies operating there. 1940 THE BLITZ

A billion-dollar check from Disney. A federal crackdown on state AI laws. And a new model from OpenAI that beats human experts 71% of the time. In Episode 186, Paul and Mike unpack the release of GPT-5.2, Disney's strategic pivot to license its IP for Sora, and President Trump's executive order designed to accelerate "American AI dominance" at all costs. Plus: Is the future of data centers in space? Why is Microsoft Copilot struggling in the enterprise? And a look at Time's "Architects of AI." Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here Click here to take this week's AI Pulse. Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Intro 00:03:46 — AI Pulse 00:06:27 — GPT-5.2 and OpenAI Turns 10 00:22:43 — Disney-OpenAI Deal 00:32:41 — Trump Executive Order to Override State AI Laws 00:44:17 — OpenAI State of Enterprise AI Report 00:53:03 — Google Cloud ROI of AI Reports 00:56:14 — Microsoft Lowers AI Sales Expectations 01:02:14 — TIME Person of the Year: The “Architects” of AI 01:06:08 — The Economics of AI and Data Centers in Space 01:14:31 — Shopify SimGym 01:18:37 — Research on Teen AI Usage 01:21:11 — OpenAI Certifications This episode is brought to you by AI Academy by SmarterX. AI Academy is your gateway to personalized AI learning for professionals and teams. Discover our new on-demand courses, live classes, certifications, and a smarter way to master AI. You can get $100 off an individual purchase or a membership by using code POD100 at academy.smarterx.ai. Visit our website Receive our weekly newsletter Join our community: Slack LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook Looking for content and resources? Register for a free webinar Come to our next Marketing AI Conference Enroll in our AI Academy 

You're listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for December 5, 2025. 0:30 We break down a moment that’s quietly shaking the political world — a Christmas message from President Trump that critics and supporters alike weren’t expecting. Standing before the National Christmas Tree, Trump delivered a line that hit with the weight of history: with the birth of Jesus, “human history turned from night to day.” No politics, no polling, no spin — just a call to love one another, serve one another, and remember that every child is made in the image of God. 9:30 Plus, we cover the Top 3 Thing You Need to Know. The US Supreme Court announced they will hear a challenge to President Trump's executive order denying birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens. A federal grand jury refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud this week. Netflix is buying Warner Brothers Discovery. 12:30 Get Performlyte from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20. 13:00 We dig into a stunning new revelation that the media would’ve once treated like a five-alarm fire — but now barely whispers about. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has reviewed just a slice of America’s voter rolls, and what she found is jaw-dropping: hundreds of thousands of dead voters still listed as active, thousands of non-citizens registered for federal elections, and more than a dozen states fighting tooth-and-nail to block transparency. We walk through the numbers, the lawsuits, and the obvious question no newsroom seems interested in asking: why would any state hide its voter data unless there was something to hide? From “most secure election in history” to the growing evidence that the system is riddled with cracks, we break down how fraud becomes a feature — not a glitch — and why trust in elections keeps eroding. 16:00 American Mamas Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson take on a question a lot of families have quietly wondered: why aren’t people doing obituaries anymore? From the rising cost of funerals to the decline of newspapers, from social media replacing the old morning paper to families choosing simplicity over tradition, the Mamas dig into what’s changing — and what might be getting lost. They talk about how obituaries once anchored local communities, how funerals serve the living more than the dead, and how skipping those rituals leaves a hole many people don’t realize is there until it’s gone. With personal stories, sharp humor, and a whole lot of heart, the Mamas break down how our culture handles loss, why those final tributes still matter, and why even in a digital age, remembering someone shouldn’t disappear. If you'd like to ask our American Mamas a question, go to our website, AmericanGroundRadio.com/mamas and click on the Ask the Mamas button. 23:00 We wade into a scandal brewing out of Minnesota — a jaw-dropping scheme where Somali fraud rings siphoned off millions in taxpayer funds meant to feed hungry children, and where, according to new reports, some of that stolen cash ended up flowing straight into Democrat campaign coffers. From Ilhan Omar’s backyard to Attorney General Keith Ellison’s campaign account, we break down how a billion-dollar fraud operation slipped past state officials, how fake nonprofits claimed to feed thousands of kids a day from buildings with no kitchens, and how money funneled through Minnesota wound up in Somalia — and potentially in the hands of Al Shabaab. 26:00 We Dig Deep a headline that sounds almost too wild to be true: did Donald Trump accidentally save the American AI industry from being overtaken by China? According to Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang — one of the most influential figures in tech — the answer is yes. Not because Trump set out to rescue AI, but because he unleashed U.S. energy production with “drill baby drill,” giving America the massive, continuous power supply that AI absolutely devours. From Goldman Sachs warning that AI energy use could explode 160% by decade’s end, to data centers now drawing power like mid-sized cities, we break down why reliable energy isn’t just an economic issue — it’s national security. And we walk through the near-miss that almost kneecapped the entire industry: a last-minute Biden-era “AI diffusion rule” that Trump killed before it could take effect. 32:00 Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20. 32:30 We dig into a stunning move from New York’s mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani — a promise to end homeless encampment sweeps the moment he takes office. In a city once called America’s crown jewel, the new plan means police won’t be allowed to clear tents from sidewalks, parks, or even Times Square. Instead, the mayor says the answer is “connecting people with housing”… even as the real crisis is addiction, mental illness, and a system that can’t compel anyone to get help. From cities like Portland and San Francisco collapsing under the same policies — more crime, more overdoses, more fires, more chaos — we lay out the hard truth: ignoring encampments doesn’t solve homelessness, it supercharges it. 35:30 Plus, it's Fake News Friday! We're putting you to the test with our weekly game of headlines—are they real news, fake news, or really fake news? From CNN fumbling pipe-bomb speculation and climate-change studies collapsing under their own bogus math, to FIFA surprising everyone with a Peace Prize to Chuck Schumer taking a theatrical dive worthy of the World Cup, can you spot the fake news? Play along, keep score, and share your results with us on Facebook page: facebook.com/AmericanGroundRadio. 39:30 We tackle what can only be described as a constitutional earthquake — the Supreme Court’s decision to take up Donald Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants and temporary visa holders. 41:30 And we end today's show with the 21st amendment that was ratified 92 years ago and ended prohibition. Follow us: americangroundradio.com Facebook: facebook.com / AmericanGroundRadio Instagram: instagram.com/americangroundradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's difficult to argue that AI isn't one of the most impressive technological innovations in recent years, but one factor has continued to hinder its progress: energy. Energy Secretary Chris Wright joins Bret to go over President Trump's recent effort to accelerate American AI innovation, explaining how the current administration plans to do so without driving up electricity costs for the average American, and why he believes it is necessary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the last few years, artificial intelligence has become a central focus of geopolitical competition, and especially of U.S.-Chinese rivalry. For much of that time, the United States, or at least U.S. companies, seemed to have the advantage. But Ben Buchanan, a leading scholar of technology who crafted the Biden administration's AI strategy, worries that the United States' AI superiority isn't nearly as assured as many have assumed. In an essay in the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs, Buchanan, writing with Tantum Collins, warns that “the American way of developing AI is reaching its limits,” and as those limits become clear, “they will start to erode—and perhaps even end—U.S. dominance.” The essay calls for a new grand bargain between tech and the U.S. government—a bargain necessary to advancing American AI and to ensuring that it enhances, rather than undermines, U.S. national security. Dan Kurtz-Phelan spoke to Buchanan about the future of AI competition and how it could reshape not just American power but global order itself. You can find sources, transcripts, and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview. 

China continues to show signs that it might not need American AI chips much longer. A weird story about that big recent Tesla trial ruling. Look, AI being too much of a sycophant is clearly becoming a big problem. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Alibaba Creates AI Chip to Help China Fill Nvidia Void (WSJ) Tesla said it didn't have key data in a fatal crash. Then a hacker found it. (Washington Post) Intel gets $5.7 billion from Trump deal as White House says details are ‘being ironed out' (CNBC) Zuckerberg's AI hires disrupt Meta with swift exits and threats to leave (Financial Times) A Troubled Man, His Chatbot and a Murder-Suicide in Old Greenwich (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestions AI Is Eliminating Jobs for Younger Workers (Wired) This Visiting Interstellar Comet Just Keeps Getting Weirder (Gizmodo) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Newt talks with Neil Chilson, current head of AI Policy at the Abundance Institute, about President Trump’s “Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan,” which aims to accelerate AI innovation, build American AI infrastructure, and lead in international AI diplomacy and security. Chilson highlights the importance of AI for U.S. global dominance, emphasizing its potential in various sectors like healthcare and defense. Their conversation also touches on the strategic significance of Taiwan in chip production and the challenges of AI regulation, particularly in Europe. The Abundance Institute focuses on emerging technologies, advocating for a culture that embraces innovation and a regulatory environment that enables it. They conclude with optimism about AI's role in medicine and the potential for a future with greater technological advancements.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.