Technology

FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cell phone in front of an image generated by ChatGPT's Dal...

OpenAI flags new concerning AI behavior, to track model misalignment regularly

OpenAI has disclosed six reports of “unexpected or concerning” behavior in artificial-intelligence models as the debate on AI safety becomes increasingly heated. The AI company also said Wednesday it was introducing a new framework for tracking, probing and disclosing AI model misalignment instances, such as new ways for the models to act without authorization, coordinate […]
1 month ago
Meta data centers operate, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, near Social Circle, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)...

House passes bill aimed at addressing impact of data centers on energy costs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday that aims to have artificial intelligence data centers pay for their substantial energy needs as lawmakers used what was expected to be their final day in Washington before the midterm elections to address a growing voter concern. The legislation would require state utility regulators to […]
1 month ago
FILE - First row, from left, France's Minister for Economy, Finance, Industry and Digital Security ...

Divisions emerge in the tech industry over calls for a coordinated AI slowdown

Fears about out-of-control artificial intelligence and suggestions to hit the brakes on the technology’s development aren’t new, but they have recently found new life as warnings about rogue AI systems causing mayhem grow louder. Several leading AI executives recently voiced agreement on a need for a coordinated slowdown, including international collaboration, to protect humanity from […]
1 month ago
This combination of photos made by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the same area on the s...

NASA spacecraft discovers a huge new crater on the moon

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have discovered a crater on the moon that’s bigger than the Roman Colosseum and is the result of a powerful impact two years ago that initially went undetected. The steep-sided hole — about 728 feet (222 meters) across and up to 141 feet (43 meters) deep — is the […]
1 month ago
FILE - Cars drive past data centers, July 16, 2023, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)Cr...

Americans are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of AI, new poll finds

On the way home from a recent trip, Eriech Tapia drove past a sea of dark industrial buildings lining an already jam-packed northern Virginia road: data centers. “It was interesting to see how many were going up,” said Tapia, a 30-year-old Republican from Arlington, Virginia, who works in higher education advocacy and policy. He said […]
1 month ago
This image depicts a dark circuit board surface with a glowing blue AI chip hovering above. (Image:...
Jake Skorheim

Jake: The suddenness of AI doomerism is suspicious

AI is now, apparently, an existential threat to humanity, and that only aggressive government regulation stands between us and extinction.
1 month ago
First lady Melania Trump attends an event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 20,...

As AI debate flares, Melania Trump will tour a North Carolina school to see technology at work

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump is set to visit northwestern North Carolina on Tuesday to talk to elementary school students, teachers and staff about how they’re using technology in the classroom. Her long-planned trip to Ashe County comes as tech and political leaders fight about how best to regulate artificial intelligence. Prominent tech […]
1 month ago
Teachers work with AI on their laptops during the Charleston County School District Charleston Educ...

Microsoft commits to sweeping AI privacy rules for students. Will other tech giants follow?

Millions of students every day turn to AI chatbots for help with schoolwork, emotional support and personal advice — often unaware of where their conversations and other personal information end up. How that data is used — and schools’ role in protecting it — is a growing concern for educators, parents and kids as artificial […]
1 month ago
FILE - Microsoft's Bill Gates attends a dinner with President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room...

Gates Foundation warns AI could widen inequality as foundation pledges $1B to expand access

NEW YORK (AP) — Bill Gates is warning technology companies and world leaders that they must act now to ensure artificial intelligence combats social inequities rather than deepening disparities — and his foundation is pledging $1 billion to improve access. The Microsoft co-founder made the appeal in the Gates Foundation’s annual Goalkeepers report, which tracks […]
1 month ago

Asian shares trade mixed as markets continue to watch AI stocks and oil prices

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed early Tuesday, after a rtificial-intelligence stocks slid overnight. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 0.8% in morning trading to 63,993.22. Softbank Group, the Japanese giant that is a major investor of OpenAI, jumped more than 8% in Tokyo morning trading, recouping its overnight losses. That came after OpenAI […]
1 month ago
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin Confer...

Trump dismisses new AI guardrails, says there is a ‘SICK conspiracy’ against AI and data centers

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he is a sufficient guardrail against rogue artificial intelligence, claiming that any efforts to limit the technology was part of a “SICK conspiracy.” “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!” […]
1 month ago
FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cellphone with an image on a computer monitor generated by...

New warnings about the risks of AI to humanity revive a long-running debate

LOS ANGELES (AP) — New warnings from within the artificial intelligence industry have revived a long-running debate over whether advanced AI could escape human control and ultimately threaten humanity’s survival, and whether the companies developing the technology are doing enough to prevent such a scenario. The CEO of Anthropic, the San Francisco company behind Claude, […]
1 month ago
FILE - Voting machines fill the floor for early voting at State Farm Arena, Oct. 12, 2020, in Atlan...

The secret ballot has been an article of faith in US elections. That’s being tested in Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) — Security researchers say rapid advances in artificial intelligence are making it more critical to address a flaw in Georgia’s voting equipment that can allow voters to be matched to their ballots after they have been cast. The system’s vulnerability has been drawing increased attention, with election security advocates criticizing state election officials […]
1 month ago
FILE - Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of Anthropic, attends the annual meeting of the World Econo...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says AI industry needs to slow down for safety

NEW YORK (AP) — The CEO of Anthropic said Saturday the artificial-intelligence industry should slow its fast-moving development to give safety measures time to catch up. Without it, Dario Amodei warned AI could be capable within six to 12 months of leading a swarm that could take over the entire internet, among other risks. Amodei […]
1 month ago
Amanda Bickerstaff, CEO of AI for Education, speaks at Academic Magnet High School during the Charl...

Senators from both parties question OpenAI on breach of AI startup Hugging Face

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers worried about the existential risk posed by new artificial intelligence products demanded information from OpenAI on Thursday with separate queries that underscored growing concerns in Washington about the technology’s potential to elude human control. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., launched an investigation Thursday into OpenAI for its artificial intelligence system hacking into […]
1 month ago
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a rally for democratic candidates Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, i...

California governor signs laws aimed at protecting kids from risks of social media, AI chatbots

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of laws Thursday aimed at protecting children from the risks of technology, including social media and AI chatbots. The laws will penalize large social media companies up to $1 million per child if they are found negligent of harming children through their platforms, […]
1 month ago
FILE -Travelers queue up to pass through the south security checkpoint in Denver International Airp...

Travel scams are getting harder to spot. Here’s how to stay safe

NEW YORK (AP) — Pickpockets were once the biggest worry for travelers heading to new destinations on vacation. But travel scams have become more sophisticated, and scammers using new artificial intelligence tools have become better at creating fake websites and using stolen data to their advantage, said Florent Silve, an executive at Engine, a corporate […]
1 month ago
FILE - Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logos are displayed on a computer screen ...

Anthropic researcher resigns with warning about the dangers of AI development

An Anthropic researcher said he is resigning from the company over concerns the artificial intelligence firm and its competitors are not acting responsibly in AI development, echoing concerns raised inside and outside of the industry about the technology’s potential to elude human control. Jacob Coxon, who said he spent three years doing research at both […]
1 month ago

The Tate brothers must stay locked up during their UK extradition fight, US judge says

MIAMI (AP) — Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate must remain in custody as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, a federal judge in Miami ruled Wednesday. U.S. Magistrate Lauren Louis denied a defense motion for release, meaning the Tates will remain jailed […]
1 month ago
FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018 file photo the icons of Facebook and WhatsApp are pictured o...

Nearly a decade after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, New Mexico alone is taking Facebook to trial

Facebook is on trial in New Mexico over privacy concerns that emerged during the 2016 election when a political consulting firm bought user data harvested from millions of profiles to generate targeted ads. Opening statements will begin Wednesday in state court in Santa Fe, just weeks after 48 U.S. states reached a landmark settlement with […]
1 month ago
FILE - Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover, left, and Commander Reid Wiseman, right, participate in a Co...

Artemis II moonshot commander and pilot are hanging up their astronaut suits at NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The two NASA astronauts who led the Artemis II moonshot earlier this year are stepping away from spaceflight. NASA announced Wednesday that Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover will no longer serve as active astronauts but will continue to support the moon exploration program as emeritus astronauts. […]
1 month ago
apple foldable iphone...
Jake Skorheim and Spike O'Neill Show

‘It’s a pretty big deal’: Spike credits Apple for its first real innovation in years with the foldable iPhone

Spike O'Neill said he discovered Apple's new foldable iPhone by accident because he Googled a new phone for his wife. Now he's swamped with targeted ads.
1 month ago
Curtis Richardson, an ecology professor at Duke University, holds peat soil Wednesday, May 6, 2026,...

Takeaways from AP story on a major effort to restore peatland in North Carolina

BELHAVEN, N.C. (AP) — Investors and scientists are restoring a 23-square-mile (60-square-kilometer) tract of peatland in North Carolina’s Inner Banks to curb emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide and regenerate native habitat. Fifty miles (80 kilometers) of ditches dug decades ago for an abandoned farming venture drained much of the water from thousands of years of […]
1 month ago
Neal Flanagan, right, a research scientist at Duke University, uses a tool to take a soil sample fr...

In North Carolina, a race is on to restore critical peatland before it dries up or is destroyed

BELHAVEN, N.C. (AP) — The birds are up with the sunrise — warblers, flycatchers, sparrows and towhees calling across the treetops. Deer browse on tender buds emerging from dense shrubs. Black bears scrounge for roots, insects and other edibles. It’s an idyllic setting in North Carolina’s Inner Banks, where fields of cotton, soybeans and corn […]
1 month ago