Author: Frank Salvato

A noticeable shift in public sentiment toward artificial intelligence is emerging in early 2026, as evidence of “AI fatigue” and broader backlash against over-hyped, low-value, or intrusive AI applications mounts across industries. Recent reporting highlights how the flood of AI tools and constant hype is creating confusion, diminishing user enthusiasm, and prompting skepticism about the technology’s real value in everyday life. This trend is not isolated: consumers are openly criticizing major tech initiatives (such as AI-driven product features or forced integrations), banks report customer dissatisfaction with automated experiences in favor of human interaction, and online audiences are reacting negatively to…

A broad new patchwork of internet and technology regulations is taking effect across the United States in 2026, as states move quickly to regulate artificial intelligence (AI), data privacy, right-to-repair, social media usage by minors, and consumer protections at a time when federal policy has lagged and even threatened to preempt state authority. California’s comprehensive AI transparency and safety laws, including SB 53’s mandated disclosures, are now active alongside Colorado and Washington’s expansive right-to-repair rules and protections against cryptocurrency ATM fraud. Other states are introducing age-appropriate design standards, mandatory age verification in app stores, and social media time limits for…

Two former U.S. cybersecurity professionals, Ryan Clifford Goldberg of Georgia and Kevin Tyler Martin of Texas, have pleaded guilty to conspiring to use the ALPHV (BlackCat) ransomware to extort American companies, turning their technical expertise against victims and facing up to 20 years in prison at sentencing scheduled for March 12, 2026. The pair admitted to leveraging their industry knowledge to deploy ransomware against multiple U.S. organizations, including a Florida medical device company that paid over $1.2 million in Bitcoin, plus other attempted extortion efforts across states like Maryland, California, and Virginia. According to reports from multiple outlets, Goldberg and…

UK firms are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to drive productivity and long-term growth, with surveys showing around a third planning to invest in AI tools in 2026 and many prioritising worker training and digital capabilities, even as a persistent shortage of skilled talent threatens adoption and rollout. According to recent data, 33 % of British businesses intend to scale up AI investment next year while 35 % plan to invest in workforce training, reflecting a strategic shift toward technology-enabled growth amid competitive pressures and tight labour markets. However, companies large and small are struggling to find and retain AI…

Rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States is spotlighting vulnerabilities in the nation’s aging electrical grid as data center demand outpaces power generation and transmission capacity; industry groups warn that regulatory roadblocks, insufficient transmission expansion, and grid reliability risks could undermine U.S. technological leadership and threaten energy affordability if planning and investment don’t accelerate. Source reports highlight that America’s largest grid, the PJM Interconnection, is struggling to meet skyrocketing electricity demand from data centers and AI workloads, driving projected rate increases and stressing supply chains; meanwhile, the Solar Energy Industries Association cautions that unstable permitting and an…

China’s National Radio and Television Administration has launched a month-long campaign beginning January 1, 2026 to tighten state control over artificial intelligence–altered videos and other generative content, part of a broader media regulatory push that expands existing AI content rules and censorship efforts. The campaign targets so-called “AI magic editing”—where creators use AI tools to substantially modify films, videos, audio, and images—and instructs platforms and regulators to remove content deemed “vulgar,” “distorting,” or misaligned with officially approved narratives. Officials have emphasized removing AI-generated clips that parody or degrade classic cultural works, harm perceptions of history, or spread “wrong values,” and…

Hackers are claiming to have breached Pickett and Associates, a Florida-based engineering firm that handles mapping, transmission, and design work for several large U.S. utilities, and are offering roughly 139 GB of sensitive operational data from clients including Tampa Electric Company, Duke Energy Florida, and American Electric Power for sale on dark web forums for about 6.5 bitcoin (roughly $585,000). According to reporting, the stolen material reportedly includes LiDAR files, orthophotos, and detailed design documents that could aid infrastructure analysis or pose security risks if misused, prompting ongoing investigations by affected utilities. Independent coverage confirms the claim, noting the substantial…

Big tech companies and space startups are actively exploring the deployment of artificial-intelligence data centers in Earth orbit as a way to circumvent terrestrial energy, space, and regulatory constraints on compute growth. Proponents argue that orbiting facilities powered by constant solar energy could drastically reduce environmental impacts and power limitations that plague ground-based centers, with projects and startups — including Google’s experimental Project Suncatcher and Starcloud’s satellite compute deployments — targeting prototype missions as soon as 2027. However, technical hurdles such as launch costs, radiation shielding, and long-term hardware maintenance still loom large, and experts are divided on whether space…

Researchers have uncovered a surprising connection between descriptive set theory—a branch of mathematics focused on infinite sets—and concrete algorithmic problems in computer science. Mathematician Anton Bernshteyn demonstrated that questions about certain infinite sets can be reformulated as problems about how networks of computers communicate, bridging logical concepts of infinity with algorithmic language and finite computation. This breakthrough, initially published in Quanta Magazine and discussed widely in academic circles, has experts exploring new interdisciplinary methods that use algorithmic insights to solve classic infinite-set problems and, conversely, leverage set theoretic structures to deepen understanding of computation. Experts say this equivalence defies traditional…

The long-anticipated Aliro smart lock standard — a universal protocol for NFC tap-to-unlock and ultra-wideband (UWB) hands-free smart lock access — is now confirmed to launch in early 2026, backed by major tech and lock industry players including Apple, Google, Samsung, Assa Abloy, Qualcomm, and Schlage. Designed to unify how smartphones and wearables act as digital keys across brands and ecosystems, Aliro aims to eliminate app dependencies and cloud access by enabling secure, direct device-to-lock communication using asymmetric encryption even offline. The standard’s adoption could significantly expand interoperable digital door access beyond Apple’s Home Key, bringing Home Key-like convenience to…