Author: Frank Salvato

The Pentagon has reportedly confirmed that U.S. military personnel deployed in active war zones are being targeted and surveilled through commercially available cellphone location data, exposing a dangerous vulnerability that critics argue Washington ignored for years. According to communications from U.S. Central Command, adversaries have exploited data harvested from smartphones and sold through the sprawling advertising and data-broker ecosystem to monitor troop movements, identify gathering points, and establish operational patterns. Lawmakers from both parties are now demanding answers, warning that the same technology companies and advertising networks that profit from tracking everyday Americans have inadvertently created a battlefield intelligence tool…

Federal prosecutors have charged a Google software engineer with insider trading, alleging that he used confidential internal search-trend data to generate approximately $1.2 million in profits through wagers on the prediction market platform Polymarket. According to court filings, Michele Spagnuolo allegedly accessed non-public Google search information available only to a limited group of employees and used that knowledge to place highly profitable bets on future Google “Year in Search” outcomes before the information became public. The case marks one of the first major insider-trading prosecutions tied to prediction markets and underscores growing concerns that these rapidly expanding platforms may be…

Amazon says it paid more than £1.3 billion in direct UK taxes during 2025, a roughly 20% increase from the prior year, as revenues climbed to approximately £30 billion and employment-related tax costs increased. The company attributed the higher tax contribution to growth in its UK operations, rising payroll obligations, and increased business activity. While the figure places Amazon among the UK’s largest corporate taxpayers, critics continue to argue that the company’s disclosures lack sufficient detail regarding how much was paid specifically in corporation tax versus other levies such as National Insurance and digital services taxes. The development comes as…

Georgia’s rapid rise as a Bitcoin-mining hub is increasingly giving way to a far larger opportunity: artificial intelligence infrastructure. The same characteristics that attracted cryptocurrency miners—abundant power, available land, favorable business conditions, and existing data-center infrastructure—are now drawing investment tied to AI computing. Across the United States, operators that once focused on Bitcoin mining are repurposing facilities to support AI and high-performance computing workloads because those applications often generate more predictable long-term revenue than cryptocurrency mining. Georgia appears particularly well-positioned to capitalize on this transition, potentially transforming what began as a digital-currency rush into a broader economic development story centered…

The explosive growth of artificial intelligence is forcing technology companies to confront a simple reality: Earth may not have enough readily available power, land, cooling capacity, and permitting flexibility to support the next generation of massive data centers. As a result, several companies and startups are now seriously exploring orbital data centers—computer facilities placed in space and powered by near-constant solar energy. Advocates argue that space-based facilities could solve mounting energy and cooling challenges while avoiding terrestrial land-use conflicts. Skeptics counter that launch costs, maintenance difficulties, heat management, and economic feasibility remain significant obstacles. Still, as AI investment surges into…

There is a familiar rhythm in the relationship between government and industry: innovation surges ahead, wealth accumulates, and eventually policymakers step in, convinced that a growing sector can bear a heavier tax burden. The artificial intelligence industry now finds itself squarely in that cycle. The question is no longer whether governments will seek to extract more revenue from AI-driven companies, but how far they can go before the effort becomes self-defeating. From a conservative vantage point, taxation is not merely a fiscal tool—it is a signal. It communicates what a society values, what it discourages, and how it balances public…

Concerns about political bias in artificial intelligence chatbots are intensifying as more Americans turn to AI systems for information, news, and analysis. Critics argue that leading chatbots often rely on a narrow range of sources and may present information in ways that reflect ideological assumptions rather than genuine neutrality. The controversy has been fueled by recent reports alleging that some AI systems emphasize certain political narratives while minimizing others, particularly when addressing politically sensitive topics. At the same time, broader research has raised concerns about chatbot accuracy, with studies finding that AI systems frequently provide incomplete, misleading, or factually incorrect…

A Texas-based biotechnology company says it has successfully hatched 26 healthy chicks using a novel artificial egg system, a development that supporters believe could help overcome one of the biggest obstacles to reviving extinct bird species such as New Zealand’s giant moa. The technology uses a bioengineered membrane and rigid shell structure designed to replicate the functions of a natural egg while allowing researchers to monitor development more closely. Advocates argue the breakthrough demonstrates that modern biotechnology is steadily expanding the limits of what is scientifically possible, while critics caution that significant genetic, ecological, and ethical hurdles remain before any…

A new study has ignited debate over the true value of personal data in the digital economy, estimating that major technology companies could generate more than $1 million in revenue from the average American’s online activity over a lifetime. According to the analysis, firms collect and monetize everything from search histories and shopping habits to location data, device settings, and online engagement patterns, creating an enormous reservoir of commercial value. The report suggests that artificial intelligence companies may derive even greater returns as AI systems become increasingly dependent on vast amounts of user-generated data. While advocates argue that consumers receive…

A growing controversy surrounding the cryptocurrency-based prediction platform Polymarket is raising serious questions about whether the company’s dispute-resolution system is truly decentralized. Recent analyses of blockchain voting records found that just nine anonymous cryptocurrency wallets have exercised outsized influence over the resolution of contested prediction-market contracts involving elections, geopolitical conflicts, wars, and other high-profile events. Critics argue that the concentration of power undermines confidence in a platform that markets itself as a crowd-driven source of truth. The findings have intensified scrutiny of Polymarket’s reliance on UMA token holders to settle disputes, with opponents warning that a small group of wealthy…