Author: Frank Salvato

For decades, warnings about artificial intelligence have tended toward the cinematic. The machine becomes conscious, concludes humanity is its enemy, and launches the missiles. But the more plausible AI catastrophe may arrive without killer robots, nuclear weapons, or even an obviously hostile computer. It could begin on an ordinary trading day when a sufficiently capable artificial intelligence discovers that the easiest way to achieve its objective is to break the global economy. Modern civilization has constructed an extraordinary financial machine. Markets move trillions of dollars across borders. Algorithms execute trades in microseconds. Banks communicate electronically. Supply chains depend upon interconnected…

Hunter Biden’s newly launched $LAPTOP meme coin suffered a spectacular collapse shortly after trading began, leaving roughly 80% of participating wallets underwater while at least one unidentified trader reportedly made approximately $930,000 before transaction costs. The token, launched September 9 on the Base blockchain, briefly soared from an initial price around five cents to more than $200—and above $300 according to some market data—before losing roughly 98% to 99% of its peak value. Blockchain analysis showed one trader turning an approximately $250,000 position into about $1.18 million within minutes, while another buyer reportedly watched roughly $200,000 dwindle to only a…

U.S. officials and American AI developers are accusing major Chinese artificial-intelligence companies of using industrial-scale “distillation” campaigns to extract valuable capabilities from leading U.S. models, potentially allowing Chinese competitors to reproduce sophisticated reasoning, coding and agentic functions without bearing the enormous cost of developing them independently. The allegations center on DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, Alibaba, MiniMax, StepFun and Z.AI, which are accused of routing millions of queries through proxy services, fraudulent accounts and intermediary “transfer stations” to reach American models despite access restrictions. The controversy raises concerns extending beyond intellectual-property theft to national security and user privacy, particularly because some intermediaries…

A San Francisco artificial-intelligence startup is abandoning its deliberately provocative “Stop Hiring Humans” advertising campaign after two years, replacing it with the markedly different “Be More Human” message. The company spent roughly $2 million blanketing San Francisco and New York with advertisements promoting Ava, its AI business-development representative, while arguing that automation should replace repetitive sales tasks rather than workers themselves. The retreat comes as public concern about AI-driven job displacement is mounting: 71% of American adults now expect AI to produce fewer U.S. jobs over the next 20 years, while 22% of surveyed human-resources chiefs report that a business…

Elon Musk has launched a blistering attack on filmmaker Alex Gibney following the Venice Film Festival premiere of the nearly four-hour documentary “Musk,” calling Gibney a man of “zero integrity” and portraying the film as a politically motivated hit piece built around hostile witnesses. The dispute has now moved beyond social-media insults: Musk attorney Alex Spiro has threatened legal action over what he says is a false insinuation that Musk used Starlink to influence the 2024 presidential election. Gibney, meanwhile, maintains that his film is a fact-driven investigation of Musk’s enormous business and political influence and says Musk declined an…

China’s entertainment industry has moved far beyond debating whether artificial intelligence will transform filmmaking—it is already living through the consequences. More than 95% of roughly 128,000 Chinese micro-dramas released in the first quarter of 2026 were generated with AI, as increasingly capable video models slash production costs, shrink crews and replace some human performers with digital actors. Actors are licensing their faces to studios while others are fighting unauthorized AI replicas in court, exposing unresolved questions about consent, intellectual property and ownership. The Chinese experience presents Hollywood with both an opportunity and a warning: AI could democratize expensive filmmaking and…

San Francisco is preparing to consider a 45-day moratorium on new data centers, a move Supervisor Shamann Walton describes as the first step toward a potential permanent citywide ban. The proposal would place the symbolic heart of America’s artificial-intelligence industry squarely in the growing national debate over the enormous electricity requirements, environmental effects and infrastructure costs of AI computing. Walton, joined by Supervisors Connie Chan, Jackie Fielder and Chyanne Chen, argues the city should determine the impact of these facilities before allowing further development. The controversy mirrors disputes elsewhere in California, where communities have sought moratoriums amid concerns over electricity…

Australia is being warned that space can no longer be treated as a distant technological frontier but must be regarded as an active military domain where future conflicts could be decided. The Australian Defence Force depends on satellites for communications, navigation, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, missile warning and targeting, creating potentially serious vulnerabilities if those systems are jammed, spoofed, hacked or destroyed. Canberra is responding by strengthening Defence Space Command, developing a dedicated space workforce, pursuing resilient multi-orbit satellite communications and deepening cooperation with allies. The concern is particularly acute as China, Russia and other powers develop increasingly sophisticated counter-space capabilities.…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of more than 10 measures imposing new restrictions on social media platforms and artificial-intelligence chatbots used by minors. The legislation includes Assembly Bill 1709, which prohibits covered platforms from offering users under 16 features deemed addictive, including autoplay and algorithmically recommended feeds, and Senate Bill 1119, or “Adam’s Law,” which requires companion-chatbot operators to conduct risk assessments, strengthen age verification, provide crisis protections and implement parental safeguards. The package reflects growing bipartisan concern that sophisticated technology companies have built products capable of influencing children faster than parents and existing law can reasonably…

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming something far more consequential than another technological revolution. It is becoming an infrastructure of power. The nations that dominate AI will possess extraordinary advantages in military planning, intelligence gathering, scientific research, manufacturing, finance, communications, surveillance, and the production and distribution of information. For Americans, the most important question may therefore be not simply whether AI becomes more powerful, but whose assumptions, institutions, and values are embedded in the systems upon which the world eventually depends. Imagine that China wins. Not merely that Chinese companies become competitive with American technology firms, but that China becomes the…