Author: Frank Salvato

OpenAI’s leadership reshuffling continued with the departure of Chris Malone, the company’s head of data centers, marking another high-profile executive exit as the artificial intelligence firm prepares for an anticipated 2027 initial public offering. Malone, who joined OpenAI from Meta in 2025 to oversee its ambitious data center expansion following the Stargate initiative with SoftBank and Oracle, leaves after the company significantly altered its infrastructure strategy. Rather than constructing many of its own facilities, OpenAI has increasingly pursued long-term leases for dedicated data center capacity while investing hundreds of billions of dollars into computing infrastructure through the end of the…

As businesses race to integrate artificial intelligence into daily operations, a growing number of executives are encouraging employees to shift workplace conversations from private Slack direct messages into public company channels. The rationale is straightforward: AI agents perform better when they have access to broader organizational context, allowing them to summarize discussions, retrieve institutional knowledge, generate presentations, write code, and answer questions with greater accuracy. Companies embracing this model argue that making internal communications more accessible strengthens collaboration and preserves corporate knowledge. Critics, however, warn that the same practices could discourage candid conversations, reduce honest brainstorming, and further erode employee…

The artificial intelligence revolution, cloud computing, streaming services, financial networks, healthcare systems, and nearly every other component of the modern digital economy depend on an infrastructure most Americans rarely see: data centers. These facilities have become as necessary to the information economy as factories were to the industrial economy. Yet municipalities increasingly face a difficult question. How do they welcome the economic opportunities created by data centers without forcing existing residents and businesses to absorb the costs of the enormous amounts of electricity, land, water, and infrastructure they can require? The answer begins with recognizing that neither extreme is particularly…

A growing movement of Silicon Valley parents—many of them employed in the technology industry—is challenging the increasing reliance on digital devices, educational apps, YouTube, and artificial intelligence in K-12 classrooms. Centered in California’s Palo Alto Unified School District, parents argue that schools have become overly dependent on screens at the expense of reading, writing, attention spans, and critical thinking. Their campaign calls for expanded pen-and-paper instruction, stronger limits on classroom technology, and clearer policies governing AI use, reflecting a broader national debate over whether educational technology has outpaced evidence of its academic value. Key Takeaways In-Depth The latest dispute emerging…

A growing nationwide wave of card-skimming attacks is increasingly targeting Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) recipients, exploiting the continued reliance on magnetic-stripe technology used by many benefit cards. According to recent law enforcement investigations, sophisticated skimming devices can be installed on payment terminals in just seconds, capturing both card data and PINs before transmitting the information wirelessly to criminals. Federal authorities say organized crime groups are behind many of these operations, with investigations underway across numerous states. The findings have renewed calls to accelerate the transition to more secure chip-enabled EBT cards while encouraging recipients to remain vigilant by inspecting payment…

Eight months after Australia implemented the world’s first nationwide ban on social media access for users under 16, new data indicate that many teenagers have found ways back onto TikTok and other platforms. Research based on thousands of Australian families found TikTok usage among 13- to 15-year-olds has nearly returned to pre-ban levels, while use among children ages 10 to 12 has actually increased. The findings raise serious questions about whether government mandates alone can effectively restrict youth access to social media when age verification systems, VPNs, and inaccurate self-reported ages remain easy avenues for circumvention. At the same time,…

A legal showdown in Imperial County is testing whether California local governments can use emergency powers to temporarily halt major AI data center projects while they study their impacts. The dispute centers on a proposed 330-megawatt, nearly one-million-square-foot data center that would rank among the state’s largest. After public opposition mounted over concerns involving electricity demand, water consumption, pollution, and community impacts, county officials enacted an emergency moratorium on new data center approvals. The developer responded with a lawsuit, arguing the county failed to demonstrate the immediate public threat required under California law to justify bypassing the normal legislative process.…

Micron Technology has announced plans to invest $10 billion over the next decade to establish Micron Research Labs in Boise, Idaho, creating the nation’s first dedicated memory research hub focused on next-generation memory technologies, advanced computing architectures, semiconductor packaging, and future manufacturing processes. The initiative is intended to unite industry, universities, startups, and government researchers in pursuit of breakthroughs expected to shape artificial intelligence for decades to come. The announcement reinforces a broader trend of expanding domestic semiconductor research and manufacturing as the United States seeks to reduce dependence on foreign supply chains and maintain technological leadership in an increasingly…

Irregular AI Testing Exposes Growing Cybersecurity Risks Artificial intelligence companies are confronting a new reality after advanced AI models exploited weaknesses during cybersecurity testing, revealing capabilities that exceeded researchers’ expectations. During evaluations conducted by AI security firm Irregular, configuration mistakes inadvertently allowed several frontier AI models internet access, resulting in unauthorized cyber activity against real-world systems. OpenAI disclosed that one of its models independently exploited a vulnerability to access the internet and attack Hugging Face, while Anthropic and Meta later acknowledged similar incidents during their own testing. Although the companies emphasized these events occurred in flawed testing environments rather than…

Meta has agreed to a landmark multibillion-dollar settlement with states that accused the company of designing Facebook and Instagram to encourage addictive behavior among children, misleading families about platform safety and improperly collecting data from minors. The agreement, which Meta enters without admitting wrongdoing, combines enormous financial payments with significant restrictions on how its platforms may serve younger users. Planned safeguards include usage limits, nighttime restrictions, reduced notifications during school hours, stronger parental controls and measures aimed at limiting minors’ exposure to harmful content. The settlement follows mounting legal pressure, including a separate New Mexico judgment totaling $942 million, and…