Author: Frank Salvato

A growing battle inside the artificial intelligence industry is spilling into American politics as rival coalitions backed by major AI investors, executives, and technology firms deploy tens of millions of dollars through super PACs to influence elections and shape future AI policy. One faction is pushing for stronger federal guardrails, transparency requirements, and tighter oversight of advanced AI systems, while another argues that excessive regulation could cripple American innovation and weaken the nation’s ability to compete with China. The emerging political fight reflects a broader struggle over who will write the rules governing AI development, with congressional races increasingly becoming…

A growing dispute inside Amazon has intensified after several Seattle-based software engineers alleged the company launched internal investigations against them following their public testimony in favor of tighter regulation of large-scale data centers. The employees, who spoke before the Seattle City Council as private citizens and members of a climate-focused employee advocacy group, contend that Amazon’s actions amount to retaliation against lawful political speech. The controversy emerged shortly after Seattle approved a temporary moratorium on new data center development, reflecting increasing public concerns about energy consumption, environmental impacts, infrastructure strain, and the rapid expansion of AI-related computing facilities. Amazon denies…

A growing movement inside the artificial intelligence industry is pushing companies to minimize, rather than maximize, the number of AI tokens consumed by employees and applications as soaring usage costs begin to strain corporate budgets. Earlier in the AI boom, organizations encouraged heavy AI use—sometimes even rewarding employees for consuming more tokens—as a proxy for innovation and productivity. Now, executives are discovering that massive token consumption does not necessarily translate into measurable business value. As a result, firms are implementing usage caps, adopting smaller and more efficient models, optimizing prompts, and demanding clearer return-on-investment metrics. The shift reflects the maturation…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously in favor of Moderna’s investigational mRNA influenza vaccine, mFlusiva, for adults age 50 and older, significantly improving the vaccine’s prospects for regulatory approval later this summer. The vote follows months of scrutiny after regulators initially questioned the company’s clinical trial design before ultimately agreeing to review the application. Advisory panel members concluded that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks, citing evidence that it produced stronger protection than standard-dose influenza vaccines among adults ages 50 to 64 and generated robust immune responses among older adults. If…

The Trump administration has awarded $500 million to SandboxAQ, an AI company backed by major technology investors, in a strategic effort to reduce America’s dependence on China-controlled materials that are essential to semiconductor manufacturing. The initiative focuses on developing alternatives to rare-earth-dependent magnets, PFAS chemicals, advanced catalysts, and battery technologies that currently rely heavily on foreign supply chains. Unlike consumer AI systems built around language models, SandboxAQ uses physics- and chemistry-based quantitative models to accelerate scientific discovery and identify viable domestic substitutes for critical industrial inputs. The investment reflects a broader national-security strategy aimed at strengthening American manufacturing, reducing vulnerability…

President Donald Trump said he no longer views artificial intelligence company Anthropic as a national security threat after recent discussions with company leadership, marking a significant reversal from the administration’s earlier hardline stance. Just months ago, Anthropic had been labeled a national security concern amid disputes over military applications of AI, foreign access to advanced models, and compliance with federal directives. The thaw appears to have followed direct engagement between Trump and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei during international meetings, with Trump indicating that relations have improved and negotiations are proceeding constructively. The development reflects the administration’s broader effort to balance…

President Donald Trump announced that Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and manufacture certain chips in the United States, a move that could represent one of the most significant victories yet for efforts to restore advanced semiconductor production to American soil. While Apple and Intel had not publicly confirmed the full scope of the arrangement at the time of reporting, multiple outlets indicated that a preliminary agreement had been reached after lengthy negotiations. The reported partnership would reduce reliance on overseas manufacturing, strengthen domestic supply chains, bolster Intel’s foundry business, and advance the broader objective of restoring…

There’s a hard truth staring businesses and policymakers in the face: the cybersecurity battlefield is expanding faster than the people qualified to defend it. While headlines fixate on the latest breach or ransomware payout, the deeper crisis is structural—and it’s getting worse. Cybercrime is now projected to cost the global economy more than $10 trillion annually, a figure that would rank it among the largest economic forces on the planet if it were a nation. Yet at the very moment this threat is exploding, the pipeline of skilled defenders is breaking down, hollowed out by misguided education models, regulatory overreach,…

Utah has emerged as the nation’s most consequential testing ground for artificial intelligence in healthcare, launching a first-of-its-kind pilot program that allows an AI system developed by Doctronic to evaluate and process routine prescription renewals for certain medications. Supporters argue the initiative could improve access to care, reduce delays in obtaining needed medications, and help address physician shortages, particularly in rural communities. Critics, including members of Utah’s medical licensing establishment, warn that delegating clinical decision-making to algorithms introduces serious questions about safety, transparency, liability, and oversight. Although physicians currently review AI-generated decisions before prescriptions are finalized, state officials ultimately envision…

Baseten, an artificial intelligence infrastructure startup focused on helping companies deploy and operate open-source AI models, is finalizing a $1.5 billion fundraising round that values the company between $11 billion and $13 billion. The company’s rapid rise reflects a broader shift in the AI marketplace as enterprises push back against the escalating costs associated with premium closed-source models offered by major providers. By providing inference infrastructure and access to computing resources from multiple cloud providers, Baseten enables businesses to run increasingly capable open-source models at substantially lower costs. The development underscores a growing trend in which AI customers prioritize cost…