Author: Frank Salvato

Researchers from Stevens Institute of Technology and Harvard University have developed a new artificial intelligence model that can rapidly predict the potential toxicity of hundreds of previously unregulated chemical byproducts formed during the disinfection of drinking water. Traditional water treatment chemicals such as chlorine and chloramine react with natural organic matter in source water, creating disinfection byproducts (DBPs), some of which have been linked in past research to health issues like bladder cancer and impaired fetal development. The Environmental Protection Agency currently regulates only a small fraction of these byproducts, but the new AI model was trained on existing toxicity…

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth publicly criticized Anthropic’s AI safety policies as overly restrictive for military use while advancing a Pentagon strategy to rapidly expand artificial intelligence in defense operations, emphasizing that warfighters “need access to models that provide decision superiority” and downplaying ideological constraints, a stance that reflects growing tensions between ethical AI guardrails and national security priorities as the Department plans to integrate advanced systems like Elon Musk’s Grok alongside other commercial models into classified and unclassified networks. Sources: https://www.semafor.com/article/01/16/2026/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-jabs-anthropic-over-safety-policieshttps://www.bgr.com/2076761/pentagon-elon-musk-grok-ai-controversy/https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/pentagons-use-grok-raises-ai-security-concerns-a-30546 Key Takeaways • Defense vs. Safety: Secretary Hegseth’s comments signal friction between the Pentagon’s desire for flexible…

Amazon Web Services has officially launched the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, a new cloud infrastructure service located entirely within the European Union and designed to meet the EU’s stringent digital sovereignty and data residency requirements. This sovereign cloud is physically and logically separated from AWS’s existing global regions and is operated exclusively within the EU with independent governance and controls, offering customers enhanced control over their data while still accessing the full range of AWS cloud and AI services. The launch includes the first AWS Region in Brandenburg, Germany, and plans to expand with AWS Local Zones in Belgium, the…

Jerusalem-based venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), led by founder and chairman Erel Margalit, is publicly signaling a push to expand its presence in the United Arab Emirates’ business hub of Dubai after a notable slowdown in Israel-UAE commercial activity during the Gaza war; at a recent gathering of roughly 400 entrepreneurs, investors, and executives in Dubai, Margalit said JVP aims to “go bigger” in the UAE market and explore a potential AI-focused hub there as part of broader economic cooperation that’s increasingly visible following last year’s Gaza ceasefire, with sectors like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, fintech, health care, and…

Australian officials say social media companies have deactivated or removed approximately 4.7 million to nearly 5 million accounts belonging to children under the age of 16 since the country’s world-first age-based ban on social media use took effect on December 10, 2025. According to reports from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner and government statements, the removal figures come from major platforms covered by the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, which requires firms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube, Reddit, Threads, Twitch and Kick to take “reasonable steps” to prevent under-16 users from having accounts or face fines…

The United States and Taiwan have finalized a landmark semiconductor-focused trade and investment agreement valued at an estimated $500 billion, designed to expand U.S. domestic chip manufacturing and reshape global supply chains. Under the deal, Taiwanese technology firms will invest at least $250 billion into advanced semiconductor, energy, and artificial intelligence production in the United States, while Taiwan’s government will provide an additional $250 billion in credit guarantees to support further investments in U.S. industrial capacity. As part of the agreement, the United States will cap reciprocal tariffs on Taiwanese goods at 15 percent, down from previous levels, and eliminate…

A widely shared Reddit post claiming to be from a “whistleblower” at a major food delivery company alleging rampant fraud and exploitation of drivers and customers was exposed as fabricated content generated with artificial intelligence rather than a genuine insider account. The original story—which included supposed internal documents and an employee badge—rapidly went viral on social media before investigative reporting revealed the user had no verifiable credentials, the purported evidence was AI-generated, and the sensational claims could not be substantiated. This episode highlights how easily AI-produced misinformation can infiltrate public discourse, mislead millions, and trigger official denials from corporate leadership…

Experts report that a new ruble-pegged cryptocurrency called A7A5, launched in January 2025, has rapidly gained traction as a stablecoin used to facilitate cross-border payments and to help Russian companies and intermediaries navigate Western sanctions. The coin was created by a partnership including Russia’s sanctioned state-owned Promsvyazbank and is issued through entities in Kyrgyzstan, with each token backed 1:1 by Russian ruble deposits. Analysts say A7A5 has processed tens of billions of dollars in transfers — with Reuters reporting transaction volumes exceeding $40 billion by mid-2025 and other sources indicating much higher figures — and that it has been targeted…

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Elon Musk’s AI company xAI, demanding it immediately halt the generation and distribution of nonconsensual sexually explicit and “deepfake” images created through the Grok AI model, including those depicting adults and minors in intimate situations without their consent, and has opened an investigation into whether the company violated state laws by facilitating the widespread creation of these harmful images. This action comes amid reports that the Grok image-editing features were being misused to produce thousands of sexually explicit and nonconsensual images, some involving children, and follows concerns from multiple…

Experts are increasingly raising alarms about the future impact of quantum computing on global cybersecurity infrastructure, arguing that the unprecedented computational capabilities of quantum machines could one day break the cryptographic systems that currently safeguard everything from banking transactions to personal data and government secrets. A January 2026 report highlights concerns that encrypted data is already being collected by bad actors and stored for future decryption once sufficiently powerful quantum machines arrive, a strategy known as “harvest now, decrypt later.” Security professionals and industry analysts emphasize that quantum-resistant cryptographic standards and post-quantum security upgrades must begin now to mitigate the…