Understandably, websites are now fighting back for fear that this invasive species—AI crawlers—will help displace them. But there’s a problem: This pushback is also threatening the transparency and open borders of the web. Read the full story.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 The US is not experiencing an AI energy crisis yet
We don’t know how much energy AI will end up needing. We do know fossil fuels are destroying our planet. (The Atlantic $)
+ AI is an energy hog. This is what it means for climate change. (MIT Technology Review)
2 The US and UK refused to sign an international AI declaration
Despite its name, the AI Action Summit seems to have been a lot of talk and not much action. (BBC)
+ Anthropic’s CEO decried it as a ‘missed opportunity’. (TechCrunch)
+ JD Vance used his speech at the summit to rail against Europe’s ‘excessive’ AI regulations. (AP)
+ It seems to have worked—the EU’s already scrapping some proposed new rules. (Sifted)
+ And it’s committing to plow over $200 billion into AI development in a bid to try and compete. (Engadget)
3 DOGE’s latest target is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The fact it was about to start regulating X is inconsequential, apparently. (NPR)
+ How Musk’s companies stand to benefit from his position leading DOGE. (NYT $)
+ Trump is expanding DOGE’s power to cut the federal workforce. (WP $)
+ Privacy advocates and labor unions have filed a lawsuit to try to block DOGE’s data access. (The Verge)
+ What if Trump just…refuses to comply with the law? (New Yorker $)
4 Apple is partnering with Alibaba to launch AI features in China
It decided against DeepSeek, citing a lack of experience. (The Information $)
+ Alibaba’s Qwen powers the world’s top ten open source large language models. (South China Morning Post)
+ Four Chinese AI startups to watch beyond DeepSeek. (MIT Technology Review)
5 A dairy worker in Nevada has been infected with a new strain of bird flu
This marks the first time this new strain is known to have jumped from birds to cows to a person. (Ars Technica)
+ How the US is preparing for a potential bird flu pandemic. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Wikipedia is increasingly having to defend its US editors from attacks
This is what the erosion of free speech really looks like, by the way. (404 Media)
7 Some Temu sellers are using the US Postal Service for free
Counterfeit postage labels are being openly promoted on Chinese social media. (Rest of World)
8 How Meta ended up cancelling its commitment to diversity
Pretty easily, as Zuckerberg never really saw it as a priority to begin with. (The Guardian)
9 The Earth’s inner core is changing shape 🌎
Pretty wild! And it’s possible that it’s linked to changes in the magnetic field. (Scientific American $)
Recent Comments