Author: Frank Salvato

A coalition of prominent technology executives, artificial-intelligence researchers, and startup leaders has urged Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson to halt new tax proposals that they argue could damage the state’s critical technology sector and undermine America’s leadership in AI development. In a letter sent to the governor, the group warned that proposals including a “millionaires tax” on high earners and expanded capital-gains taxes risk driving talent, entrepreneurs, and investment capital out of the state at a moment when global competition for AI leadership is intensifying. The signatories stressed that Washington’s tech economy—anchored by a thriving startup ecosystem and world-class research institutions—depends…

A wave of cyber disruptions and widespread internet outages swept across Iran as U.S.-led airstrikes targeted key locations in the country, highlighting how modern conflicts increasingly unfold on both physical and digital battlefields at the same time. Reports indicate that Iranian networks experienced major connectivity failures and unusual cyber incidents during the military campaign, including hacking operations that flooded popular Iranian mobile apps with anti-government messages and calls for dissent. At the same time, internet monitoring groups observed connectivity across Iran plunge to only a fraction of normal levels, leaving millions cut off from the outside world and struggling to…

A wave of concern over digital privacy and identity tracking has erupted after Discord announced plans to require more robust age verification for certain features, prompting users to explore alternative platforms that emphasize anonymity and decentralized control. The proposed system could involve uploading government identification or completing facial age estimation checks in order to access age-restricted content and settings, a shift that critics argue represents a broader trend toward identity-gated internet platforms. In response, privacy-minded users are increasingly turning toward open-source or decentralized messaging ecosystems such as Matrix, Revolt (now rebranded as Stoat), and traditional Internet Relay Chat networks, which…

A sweeping shake-up in the entertainment industry is underway as Paramount prepares to combine Paramount+ and HBO Max into a single streaming platform following its massive acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal valued at roughly $110 billion. The move would unite two major content libraries under one digital roof, bringing together popular HBO franchises alongside Paramount’s film and television portfolio while positioning the merged company to compete more aggressively with dominant streaming giants. Executives behind the deal argue that combining the platforms will streamline technology, expand global reach, and strengthen the company’s direct-to-consumer business with a subscriber base expected…

A self-described hacktivist collective calling itself “Department of Peace” claims it breached systems associated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and released internal records tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractor relationships, exposing data tied to thousands of companies that have worked with federal immigration enforcement programs. According to reports, the allegedly stolen material—published through a transparency-oriented whistleblower platform—contains information linked to more than 6,000 contractor applicants and vendors that have participated in ICE-related projects, including technology firms, surveillance providers, and defense contractors. The data reportedly includes contract details such as awarded amounts as well as personal contact information…

A new initiative from Stripe is aiming to solve one of the most persistent economic problems facing the artificial-intelligence startup ecosystem: how to make money when the underlying computing costs fluctuate constantly. The fintech firm has previewed a new capability designed to help companies track the real cost of using AI models and automatically pass those costs on to customers—while still layering on their own profit margin. The move reflects a broader shift in the tech industry as startups that rely on large language models from providers like OpenAI or Anthropic struggle to reconcile expensive token-based pricing with traditional subscription…

A courtroom battle over social media’s impact on minors has intensified as internal company materials and testimony reveal that Instagram monitored increasing user engagement metrics while allegedly pursuing strategies aimed at younger audiences. Evidence presented in court indicates that Meta tracked the average amount of time users spent on Instagram, with daily usage reportedly rising from about 40 minutes in 2023 to roughly 46 minutes in 2026. Lawyers representing plaintiffs argue that company leadership celebrated these milestones and pursued internal goals designed to expand the time users spent on the platform even as executives acknowledged that large numbers of minors—including…

A recent psychology study shows that heavy smartphone use and feelings of disconnection feed into each other in a self-reinforcing loop, particularly among first-year college students: when students feel bored or unfocused in meaningful tasks, they tend to reach for their phones for relief, but that extra screen time tends to leave them feeling more disconnected and disengaged the next day, creating a day-to-day “snowball effect” of distraction and detachment that is hard to break without active efforts to replace scrolling with purposeful offline activities. Evidence from the study suggests that this cycle isn’t just a one-off state but a…

Reporting junk mail and suspicious messages on Apple devices isn’t a pointless gesture; according to a recent analysis, these user-submitted spam reports are used by Apple to train server-side machine learning filters to recognize new spam tactics, contribute to domain and sender blocklists, and feed into iMessage and FaceTime filtering systems that can block bad actors at the network level — making the ecosystem safer when enough users contribute data, even though most individual users never see an immediate drop in their personal spam volume and the process lacks transparency. Sources https://9to5mac.com/2026/02/28/security-bite-why-apple-still-needs-your-spam-reports/https://www.letsdatascience.com/news/apple-uses-user-reports-to-improve-spam-0b4592b9https://9to5mac.com/guides/security-bite/ Key Takeaways • Apple uses aggregated spam reports…

Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence research firm once known for its strict safety-first approach, has officially revised its Responsible Scaling Policy to remove a self-imposed pledge to pause the training of AI models when their capabilities outpace safety research, opting instead for a more flexible, nonbinding safety framework that prioritizes transparency and competitiveness in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. This shift comes amid intense market and political pressures, including competitive dynamics with other AI developers, a standoff with the U.S. Department of Defense over ethical guardrails for military and surveillance uses of AI, and a broader industry discussion on how…