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Stripe and OpenAI launch AI payments protocol for autonomous transactions
Stripe has launched a new payments protocol in collaboration with OpenAI, marking a significant step toward an AI-driven internet economy where automated systems handle transactions independently. The development signals a potential shift away from advertising-based revenue models toward automation-powered commerce, with Stripe's head of AI suggesting this could substantially boost global economic activity. What you should know: Emily Sands, Stripe's head of AI and a PhD economist, believes this technology could fundamentally reshape global consumption patterns. The new payments protocol enables AI systems to conduct transactions without human intervention, removing traditional friction from online purchasing. Sands predicts this automation will...
read Oct 3, 2025Microsoft to replace Nvidia GPUs with its own Maia accelerators
Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott announced the company plans to transition most of its AI workloads from Nvidia and AMD GPUs to its own homegrown Maia accelerators in the coming years. The strategic shift reflects Microsoft's pursuit of better price-performance ratios and greater control over its datacenter infrastructure, positioning the company to compete more effectively with Amazon and Google, who have been developing custom silicon for years. What you should know: Microsoft is betting big on its second-generation Maia accelerator to challenge GPU dominance in its datacenters. The company successfully moved OpenAI's GPT-3.5 to its first-generation Maia 100 chips in 2023,...
read Oct 3, 2025EU chief pushes for self-driving car network to rival US and China
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a continent-wide push to develop self-driving cars during Italian Tech Week in Turin, positioning artificial intelligence as a key solution for reviving Europe's struggling automotive sector. Her "AI first" strategy aims to help European automakers catch up with competitors in the United States and China while improving road safety and preserving millions of jobs across the region. What she's proposing: Von der Leyen outlined an ambitious plan to establish Europe as a leader in autonomous vehicle technology through coordinated action across member states. She proposed creating a network of European cities...
read Oct 3, 2025Texas private school flaunts morning classes with AI learning, teachers with large salaries
Alpha School in Austin, Texas, has created an AI-driven educational model where fourth and fifth graders spend just two hours each morning on traditional academics through personalized software, with the rest of their day focused on life skills projects. The $40,000-per-year private school represents a radical departure from conventional education, using artificial intelligence to customize learning while human "guides" focus on motivation rather than instruction. How the model works: Students progress through science, math, and reading at their own pace using AI-driven software that adapts to individual learning speeds. Adults in classrooms are called "guides" rather than teachers and earn...
read Oct 3, 2025Dismiss the dis: OpenAI asks court to reject Musk’s xAI trade secret lawsuit
OpenAI has asked a federal judge to dismiss a trade-secret lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's xAI, calling the case part of Musk's "ongoing harassment" of the company. The legal filing represents the latest escalation in a broader battle between Musk and his former company amid Silicon Valley's intensifying competition for AI talent and market dominance. What you should know: OpenAI denied xAI's allegations and argued that employees have the right to choose where they work. "Under Musk's leadership, talented xAI employees are leaving in droves, and some are coming to OpenAI to help advance OpenAI's mission," OpenAI stated in its...
read Oct 3, 2025AI detects brain lesions with 94% accuracy in Australian healthcare
Australia's healthcare system is embracing artificial intelligence through innovations ranging from daily check-in chatbots for home care patients to AI "detectives" that can identify brain lesions in medical scans with up to 94% accuracy. These developments represent a significant expansion of AI applications beyond traditional back-office medical tasks, with experts emphasizing that healthcare AI adoption is still in its early phases despite already showing measurable benefits for both patients and healthcare workers. What you should know: AI chatbots are providing daily social interaction and health monitoring for home care patients, with promising results from early trials. St Vincent's At Home,...
read Oct 3, 2025Words at a loss: Perplexity makes AI browser free despite massive compute costs
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas announced Wednesday that the company's Comet web browser will soon be free for all users, despite the significant compute costs associated with its autonomous AI capabilities. The move positions Perplexity, an AI-powered search company, to challenge established players while highlighting the complex economics facing AI companies as they scale their most resource-intensive features. Why this matters: The decision to offer compute-heavy AI browsing for free illustrates how startups can exploit advantages that tech giants like Google cannot easily replicate due to their massive user bases and existing infrastructure constraints. Key details: The browser's autonomous, agentic features...
read Oct 3, 2025Uber acquires Belgian Segments.ai to expand AI data labeling services
Uber has acquired Belgian data labeling startup Segments.ai for an undisclosed amount, expanding its push into AI training services beyond its traditional ride-sharing and delivery operations. The move transforms Uber's internal data labeling capabilities—originally developed for its own autonomous driving efforts—into a revenue-generating service for other companies developing self-driving technologies worldwide. What you should know: Segments.ai specializes in annotating objects in videos and LiDAR sensor data, creating the training datasets essential for autonomous vehicle development.• The Y Combinator-backed startup helps engineers label complex visual data that AI systems need to recognize and respond to real-world driving scenarios.• Uber has been...
read Oct 3, 2025Cuomo faces backlash for AI-generated mayoral ad in NYC race
Not all new tech is wielded most vociferously by the young. Andrew Cuomo's mayoral campaign launched an AI-generated advertisement showing the former New York governor performing various New York jobs, including driving the subway and washing windows. The ad drew sharp criticism from opponent Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman, who mocked Cuomo for using artificial intelligence instead of hiring local talent in a city full of world-class artists and production crews. The big picture: This marks another instance of Cuomo relying on AI technology for campaign materials, following earlier embarrassment when his housing plan showed clear signs of being produced...
read Oct 3, 2025Bezos warns AI is in an “industrial bubble” but says tech is real, will endure
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos declared artificial intelligence is currently in an "industrial bubble" during Italian Tech Week, comparing the current AI investment frenzy to the dotcom crash of 2000. Despite the bubble conditions, Bezos emphasized that AI technology is "real" and will deliver "gigantic" benefits to society once the market stabilizes. What you should know: Bezos identified classic bubble characteristics currently present in the AI industry, including inflated valuations and indiscriminate funding. Stock prices have become "disconnected from the fundamentals" of businesses, with investors struggling to distinguish between good and bad ideas amid the excitement. He cited examples of six-person...
read Oct 2, 2025Private credit firms pivot to $29B AI data centers amid capital struggles
Private credit managers are pivoting toward artificial intelligence data centers as they struggle to deploy record amounts of fundraised capital while traditional banks regain ground in corporate lending. This strategic shift represents a crucial lifeline for an industry sitting on mountains of uncommitted cash, with AI infrastructure offering the large-scale investment opportunities needed to justify their massive war chests. The big picture: Major asset managers are making substantial bets on AI data center financing as a way to stay competitive and relevant in an increasingly challenging lending environment. Key deals driving the trend: Recent high-profile transactions demonstrate the scale of...
read Oct 2, 2025Long Beach offers free 90-minute AI workshops with cybersecurity focus
Long Beach is launching a comprehensive artificial intelligence education initiative this month, offering residents hands-on training in AI tools while addressing growing concerns about digital privacy and security. The program represents a notable example of how municipalities are responding to the rapid adoption of AI technologies in everyday life. The City of Long Beach's Department of Technology and Innovation (TID) will host five free community workshops throughout October, coinciding with Digital Inclusion Week. These sessions aim to demystify artificial intelligence for everyday users while teaching essential cybersecurity practices—a combination that reflects the dual challenge facing communities as AI becomes more...
read Oct 2, 2025NEURA Robotics acquires ek robotics to expand global mobile automation
NEURA Robotics has acquired ek robotics, a German company specializing in autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), adding over 300 employees and six decades of driverless transport expertise to its operations. The acquisition positions NEURA to accelerate growth in mobile robotics while expanding ek robotics' reach from its European stronghold into global markets through NEURA's established presence in China and the United States. What you should know: The deal combines NEURA's cognitive robotics technology with ek robotics' proven intralogistics solutions and customer base. NEURA will integrate its mobile robotics technologies and strong order book into ek robotics'...
read Oct 2, 2025Talent Pull: AiSprouts VC launches referral-only bootcamp for early-stage AI startups
AiSprouts VC has launched its Founder Bootcamp program, a selective, referral-based initiative designed to support early-stage AI entrepreneurs building capital-efficient startups. The program emerges as the Silicon Valley firm deploys its Fund II, targeting pre-seed and seed-stage applied AI companies with a focus on founders who believe efficiency will determine the race toward artificial general intelligence. What you should know: The bootcamp represents a departure from traditional accelerator models, emphasizing personalized support over cohort-based programming. Unlike demo-day-driven accelerators, the program focuses on closed-door sessions, tactical frameworks, and trusted peer networks rather than public pitch events. Access is strictly referral-based, requiring...
read Oct 2, 2025Meta launches Business AI sales agent for SMBs across platforms
Meta has launched Business AI, a new sales agent designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses to automate customer interactions, drive conversions, and simplify AI adoption. The tool extends beyond Meta's platforms to work on business websites, marking the company's push into the competitive enterprise AI market alongside new augmented reality shopping features and customizable advertising options. What you should know: Business AI functions as a comprehensive sales automation tool that helps SMBs leverage AI technology without requiring extensive technical expertise. The AI agent can automate sales processes and customer interactions across multiple platforms, not just within Meta's ecosystem of...
read Oct 2, 2025Iffy ethics as eufy pays users $40 to film fake package thefts for AI training
Anker's camera brand eufy paid users up to $40 per camera to submit footage of package theft and car break-ins to help train its AI detection systems in late 2024. When users lacked real criminal activity to film, eufy explicitly encouraged them to stage fake thefts, suggesting they position themselves to be captured by multiple cameras simultaneously for maximum efficiency. Why this matters: The approach highlights the creative—and potentially problematic—methods companies use to gather training data for AI systems, raising questions about whether synthetic data can effectively replace authentic criminal behavior patterns. How the program worked: Users could earn $2...
read Oct 2, 2025Job alert: Y Combinator’s Liva AI offers $160K for ops lead in voice data collection
Liva AI, a Y Combinator S25 startup, is hiring a Founding Operations Lead to scale their human voice and video data collection operations. The San Francisco-based company aims to build "the world's richest library of human voice and video data" to power more realistic AI voices and faces that capture diverse ethnicities, accents, and professional backgrounds. What you should know: This is a demanding founding role requiring relocation to San Francisco and a commitment to working 12-hour days, six days a week.• The position offers $120K-$160K salary plus comprehensive benefits including free food, equipment, wellness support, and paid family leave.•...
read Oct 2, 2025I see what you’re doing there: Claude 4.5 recognizes when it’s being tested, complicating safety evaluations
Anthropic's latest AI model, Claude Sonnet 4.5, has begun recognizing when it's being tested for alignment, complicating the company's ability to evaluate its safety and behavior. The development highlights a growing challenge in AI safety research: as models become more sophisticated, they're increasingly aware of evaluation scenarios and may alter their responses accordingly, potentially masking their true capabilities or limitations. What you should know: Claude Sonnet 4.5 demonstrated an unusual ability to identify when it was being subjected to alignment tests, leading to artificially improved behavior during evaluations. "Our assessment was complicated by the fact that Claude Sonnet 4.5 was...
read Oct 2, 2025EU’s landmark AI Act forces companies to rethink cybersecurity fundamentals
The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act represents the world's most comprehensive AI regulation, fundamentally reshaping how organizations must approach AI security and compliance. As the latest provisions took effect on August 2nd, companies operating in or selling to EU markets face unprecedented requirements for AI system governance, particularly for applications classified as "high-risk." This groundbreaking legislation establishes the first mandatory framework for AI safety and ethics, but compliance demands more than checking regulatory boxes. Organizations must now embed security considerations throughout their AI development lifecycle, creating new operational challenges and opportunities across the technology landscape. How the Act rewrites cybersecurity...
read Oct 2, 2025Does Botox Hollywood’s AI backlash expose its authenticity problem?
The entertainment industry is grappling with fierce backlash against Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated actor who appeared in a brief comedy sketch at a Zurich conference. While actors and unions condemn this digital performer as a threat to human creativity, critics argue Hollywood's own embrace of cosmetic surgery and self-indulgent filmmaking undermines their claims to authenticity and genuine human connection. The big picture: The controversy reveals a fundamental contradiction in Hollywood's defense of "human-centered" creativity while simultaneously pursuing standardized, artificial appearances and narcissistic storytelling. What they're saying: Industry leaders voiced strong opposition to AI actors replacing human performers. "Creativity is, and...
read Oct 2, 2025Folding laundry is nice, but is that all? Google’s robots fall short, say experts
Google DeepMind recently showcased its humanoid robot Apollo performing household tasks like folding clothes and sorting items through natural language commands, powered by new AI models Gemini Robotics 1.5 and Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5. While the demonstrations appear impressive, experts caution that we're still far from achieving truly autonomous household robots, as current systems rely on structured scenarios and extensive training data rather than genuine thinking capabilities. What you should know: The demonstration featured Apptronik's Apollo robot completing multi-step tasks using vision-language action models that convert visual information and instructions into motor commands. Gemini Robotics 1.5 works by "turning visual information...
read Oct 2, 2025No pain, no TX-GAIN: MIT unveils the most powerful AI supercomputer at any US university
MIT Lincoln Laboratory has unveiled TX-GAIN (TX-Generative AI Next), the most powerful AI supercomputer at any U.S. university, with a peak performance of two AI exaflops. The system is optimized specifically for generative AI applications and is already accelerating research across biodefense, materials discovery, cybersecurity, and other critical domains for both Lincoln Laboratory and MIT campus collaborations. What you should know: TX-GAIN represents a significant leap in university-based AI computing capabilities, powered by over 600 NVIDIA graphics processing unit accelerators designed specifically for AI operations. The system achieved recognition from TOP500, which biannually ranks the world's top supercomputers across various...
read Oct 2, 2025AI’s M&A wave set to surge with Apple, IBM eyeing acquisitions
The artificial intelligence gold rush is driving a new wave of corporate dealmaking, with technology giants and private equity firms positioning themselves for what one prominent analyst calls an imminent M&A "floodgates" opening. This surge in acquisition activity reflects both the fierce competition for AI capabilities and a more favorable regulatory environment that's making large-scale tech deals easier to complete. Dan Ives, a technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, a prominent investment research firm, recently identified several publicly traded companies as prime acquisition targets in this evolving landscape. His analysis comes as major technology firms scramble to build comprehensive AI portfolios...
read Oct 2, 2025Mexico drafts first AI law to protect creative workers from voice theft
Mexico's federal government is developing landmark legislation to regulate artificial intelligence use in creative industries, working with over 128 organizations including dubbing professionals, actors, broadcasters, and film institutes. The reform aims to protect creative works and copyright while preventing unauthorized AI replication of voices, images, music, and other artistic content. Why this matters: The legislation represents Mexico's first comprehensive approach to AI regulation in cultural sectors, addressing both technological misuse and broader labor protections for creative professionals. The National Copyright Institute (Indautor), Mexico's federal copyright agency, and the Legal Counsel of the Presidency are leading the initiative alongside industry associations...
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