A Robot That Will Never Leave You: China Puts Loyalty on Sale
UBTech's new U1 humanoid is sold as an antidote to loneliness for China's tens of millions of solitary and elderly people. It can hold your hand, learn your habits, and for the right price wear the face and voice of someone you have lost. The pitch is unconditional loyalty; the questions it raises are much harder.
Read full story →Washington's New Message to AI Firms: Obeying the States Could Break Federal Law
Colorado's landmark AI accountability law died before it ever took effect. Now the FTC warns that companies which build in anti-bias safeguards to satisfy state rules may be deceiving consumers. Washington is not just preempting state AI law, it is arguing that following it could be illegal.
Read full story →Sam Altman Floats Handing Washington a 5% Slice of OpenAI
OpenAI has reportedly discussed giving the US government a 5% stake, an idea that borrows from Alaska's oil fund and echoes Bernie Sanders. It is part olive branch to a wary administration, part answer to the question of who should own the wealth AI creates, and part conflict of interest waiting to happen.
Read full story →AI's First Fingerprint on the Jobs Data Is in Tech and Finance
US tech and finance payrolls are shrinking by an average of 28,000 a month, even as the wider labour market keeps growing. Economists caution it is too early to blame AI outright, and some suspect it is cover for ordinary cost-cutting, but the losses are landing exactly where AI arrived first.
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