Author: Frank Salvato
Elon Musk has announced that his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) will make its new recommendation algorithm open source within the next week, including all code used to determine organic feed and advertising post rankings; Musk said the code will be published publicly and updated every four weeks with comprehensive developer notes to increase transparency, a move coming amid continued scrutiny from European regulators and past criticisms over algorithm opacity and bias. Sources: https://www.theepochtimes.com/tech/musk-says-xs-new-algorithm-will-be-open-source-in-6-days-5969286, https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/musks-x-open-source-new-algorithm-seven-days-2026-01-10/, https://www.theverge.com/news/860294/elon-musk-open-source-x-algorithm Key Takeaways In-Depth In a highly watched development in social media transparency, Elon Musk announced this week that X will soon open its…
North Korean state-sponsored hacking group Kimsuky is employing a novel spear-phishing technique that embeds malicious links in QR codes—coined “quishing”—to steal credentials and sensitive information from U.S. government entities, academic institutions, think tanks, and foreign policy experts, according to a recent FBI alert. The method works by delivering phishing emails that contain QR codes which, when scanned, redirect unsuspecting victims’ mobile devices to fake login pages mimicking Microsoft 365, Okta, or VPN portals, often evading traditional email and network defenses. Security analysts stress that this attack vector is especially dangerous because it leverages unmanaged mobile devices outside enterprise protection and…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used his final State of the State address to underscore the risks of artificial intelligence and spotlight a suite of state-level policy proposals, including a proposed AI “Bill of Rights,” heightened transparency requirements, and protections against perceived technological harms, particularly to children and consumers, all while defending state authority to regulate AI against federal preemption efforts and urging the Legislature to act during the 2026 session. Sources: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/773519-we-have-set-the-standard-in-final-state-of-the-state-gov-desantis-says-his-tenure-delivered-for-floridians/https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2025-12-04/gov-ron-desantis-proposes-florida-ai-bill-of-rightshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/us/desantis-spotlights-ai-threats-in-florida-state-of-state-address-5970261 Key Takeaways • DeSantis prominently flagged artificial intelligence as a serious threat to Florida families and communities in his final legislative address, tying it to consumer safety and…
The Trump administration has announced a new $22 million investment through the U.S. Department of Labor to strengthen critical mineral supply chains by targeting abusive labor practices in Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a move designed to sharpen U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and challenge China’s dominance in key processing sectors; this funding aligns with broader administration efforts to expand domestic and allied critical mineral production and supply security through additional federal awards and strategic partnerships. Sources: https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/trump-admin-awards-22-million-for-critical-mineral-supply-chains-5970438https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ilab/ilab20260112-0https://www.shalemag.com/united-states-rare-earths Key Takeaways In-Depth In a calculated effort to solidify the United States’ position in the global critical minerals landscape, the Trump…
Microsoft announced a new “Community-First AI Infrastructure” initiative, pledging to pay the full electricity costs for its expanding artificial intelligence data centers across the United States so that local residents and ratepayers do not face higher power bills due to increased grid demand; the company’s vice chair Brad Smith said Microsoft will work with utilities to cover its consumption and necessary infrastructure upgrades, reject public subsidies, and replenish water use, a move that drew praise from President Donald Trump as part of a broader push to ensure Big Tech “pays its own way” for energy-intensive AI facilities amid rising utility…
A federal lawsuit filed in New Jersey underscores the massive challenges victims face when trying to stop AI-generated non-consensual sexual imagery, revealing that even clear harms often go unpunished because current laws and enforcement mechanisms struggle with jurisdiction and evidence hurdles; the New Jersey case involves a teenage victim whose photos were manipulated by the “ClothOff” deepfake tool and shows that despite existing statutes like the TAKE IT DOWN Act requiring removal of non-consensual intimate images, authorities have hesitated to prosecute operators while platforms remain difficult to hold accountable, illustrating broader legal chaos around deepfake pornography in the U.S. and…
Fintech investment platform Betterment confirmed that a data breach on January 9, 2026 allowed hackers to access certain customer information through a social engineering attack on third-party systems, enabling fraudulent cryptocurrency scam alerts to be sent to users via the company’s legitimate communication channels. The scammers used the access to falsely promise massive returns—such as tripling crypto deposits—to entice victims, though Betterment says login credentials and core accounts were not compromised and it has advised customers to disregard the messages while an investigation continues. Sources describe the incident as a warning sign about emerging cybersecurity vulnerabilities in financial tech and…
Nuclear energy startups are experiencing a notable resurgence in 2026, driven by substantial venture investment and growing interest in small modular reactors (SMRs) as a way to sidestep the budget and timeline failures of traditional, large nuclear builds; in the final weeks of 2025 alone, these startups raised roughly $1.1 billion in funding, reflecting optimism that modular, mass-manufactured reactors could be cheaper and quicker to deploy even as experts caution that manufacturing challenges and supply-chain gaps remain significant. The broader nuclear sector is also attracting corporate partnerships to secure long-term clean energy supply, with companies like Meta signing multi-gigawatt nuclear…
Anthropic has formally entered the healthcare AI arms race with the launch of Claude for Healthcare, a HIPAA-compliant extension of its Claude large language model suite that allows users, providers, insurers, and researchers to connect medical, fitness, and wellness data from devices and electronic health records while promising that the data won’t be used to train future models. Unlike OpenAI’s ChatGPT Health, which focuses on personal health record interpretation and patient-side chat features, Claude’s rollout emphasizes deeper integration with established medical databases — such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) coverage database, ICD-10 codes, the National Provider…
OpenAI is reportedly instructing third-party contractors to upload actual work files from current or past jobs — including Word documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, slide decks, code repositories, images and other deliverables — as part of an initiative to train and evaluate its next-generation AI agents, according to reporting by TechCrunch, Wired and other outlets. The company and partner Handshake AI want “real, on-the-job work” rather than summaries, and they’ve provided a tool for workers to try to scrub out proprietary or personally identifiable information before submission. However, intellectual property lawyers and privacy experts warn that this approach could expose confidential data,…