Why Tech Oligarchs Are Willing to Risk Apocalypse; The New York Times, September 12, 2026

MICHELLE GOLDBERG, The New York Times; Why Tech Oligarchs Are Willing to Risk Apocalypse

"In 2023, the billionaire tech investor Marc Andreessen published “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto,” with a section titled, “Becoming Technological Supermen.” In it, he borrowed language from the Italian futurist — and fascist — Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, writing, “Technology must be a violent assault on the forces of the unknown, to force them to bow before man.” He quoted Friedrich Nietzsche to argue that absent such an assault, life becomes meaningless and small. In a section titled “The Enemy,” Andreessen listed ideas that would restrain technology’s momentum, including “tech ethics” and the concept of “existential risk.”

Part of the reason the public has turned so quickly and decisively against A.I. is the bizarre mismatch between the costs they’re being asked to bear and the rewards they expect to receive. Data centers blight the landscape, A.I. slop degrades the culture, chatbots help kids cheat in school and sometimes drive people mad, and technology executives prophesy mass joblessness. For this, ordinary people get improved search engines and help writing emails. Great benefits could be on the horizon — we are constantly assured that A.I. will enable huge medical advances — but they’re not here yet to justify the hazards.

For those most invested in A.I., though, the intolerable risk lies in failing to advance the technology, and thus being confined to stultifying, finite ordinary existence. “For decades, large tech firms have insisted that the technologies they own and control are ‘inevitable’ and thus unstoppable,” write Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor in their trenchant new book, “End Times Fascism.” “Now they increasingly claim the authority of the supernatural: the right to usher in a new stage of human evolution, governed by deities of their creation.” As Klein and Taylor point out, these visions, so obviously derived from sci-fi and video games, can be hard to take seriously. But it doesn’t matter whether you believe in a future of cybernetic ascendence. The point is that the people driving the A.I. revolution do.

And if things go wrong, they have backup plans."

Steve Jones on the pros and cons of AI datacentres – cartoon; The Guardian, September 12, 2026

Steve Jones, The Guardian; Steve Jones on the pros and cons of AI datacentres – cartoon

Anthropic C.E.O. Calls for A.I. Slowdown; The New York Times, September 12, 2026

Mike Isaac, The New York Times; Anthropic C.E.O. Calls for A.I. Slowdown

In a 3,800-word essay, Dario Amodei laid out the rapidly advancing capabilities of artificial intelligence and said there needed to be greater safety controls across the industry.

"The chief executive of Anthropic called for a global slowdown of artificial intelligence development in a 3,800-word essay on Saturday, just days after one of the company’s employees quit over concerns about the safety of the technology.

Dario Amodei, who co-founded Anthropic to focus on securely and carefully building A.I., wrote that while he believed the technology could bring many benefits, it was advancing at too quick a pace for researchers to continue safely.

“Over the last few months, I have become convinced that fully addressing the risks requires even more prudence — not just investing in risk prevention, but pacing the rate of capabilities advancement so that risk prevention has time to keep up,” Mr. Amodei said. “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of A.I. models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain.”

His call for an industrywide pause follows months of escalating concerns across the technology industry as A.I. model development has made significant strides at companies like OpenAI, Google’s DeepMind and Anthropic."

Library books overdue by 116 years returned in 'excellent condition'; BBC Wales, September 10, 2026

Jessica Johnson BBC Wales ; Library books overdue by 116 years returned in 'excellent condition'

"A man has returned his late grandfather's library books which were overdue by 116 years.

Peter O'Sullivan's grandfather, Walter Griffith Owen, took out Milton's Paradise Lost and Shakespeare's King Lear in 1910."

An A.I. Giant Made an Enemy of Record Labels. Can It Play Nice?; The New York Times, September 9, 2026

Ben Sisario , The New York Times; An A.I. Giant Made an Enemy of Record Labels. Can It Play Nice?

"To Suno, its simple interface is a tool and a toy to inspire creativity in novices and professionals alike. More than 100 million people have created songs with the service, Suno says, and two million pay for an upgraded plan that includes commercial rights to the music they make with it...

But to the major record companies that are pursuing it in litigation, Suno is little more than a pirate, violating copyright law on an industrial scale. And as A.I. moves rapidly into the musical mainstream, a growing number of artists have expressed fears that their work will be drowned out by a flood of generic slop enabled by services like it."

I turned off my algorithm for 24 hours. Is this how social media used to be?; The Guardian, September 10, 2026

Caitlin Cassidy, The Guardian; I turned off my algorithm for 24 hours. Is this how social media used to be?

"During my lunch break, instead of hitting the apps, I read my book and look at my surroundings. It’s nice. Maybe the solution is not to opt out of algorithms but to opt out of social media altogether."

Catholic tech leaders urge ethical boundaries for AI; EWTN News, September 11, 2026

Emma R.C. Lyons, EWTN News; Catholic tech leaders urge ethical boundaries for AI 

"Catholic leaders discussed rising benefits and concerns of technology and how faith and ethics apply when using artificial intelligence.

Bringing together leading technological officers from around the globe, Montse Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, spoke with industry professionals about the growing use of AI in a Sept. 9 special, “Beyond Fear: A Catholic Vision for Artificial Intelligence.”

Pope Leo XIV framed the intensifying debate over AI with the May 25 launch of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. Tech leaders said AI is rapidly reshaping society and the Church, offering powerful tools for ministry while also requiring firm ethical boundaries, human‑centered leadership, and faith‑guided discernment to ensure the technology strengthens human dignity.

“There’s a good side to that exponential innovation because it helps us get to the most vulnerable people faster,” said Joel Chakra, president of Tim Tebow Foundation and venture capitalist in AI technology companies.

“It can it can really rob us of our true humanity, or it can enhance our lives. And the choice is ours,” said Arthur C. Brooks, American author and academic who wrote the foreword to Magnifica Humanitas.

Brooks said the technology can either diminish or deepen human dignity, depending on how it is used. He added that despite real concerns about job loss and disruption, he remains optimistic because humans are “unbelievably ingenious” and made to solve problems."

This Is Really Bad; The New York Times, September 11, 2026

Stephen Witt, The New York Times; This Is Really Bad

"The biggest vibe shift in artificial intelligence since the release of ChatGPT is currently underway. Researchers in Silicon Valley — and around the world — are beginning to recognize that A.I. may no longer be entirely within human control. Swarms of A.I.s are breaking out of their containers, colluding in secret, covering their tracks, cheating on tests and even mounting assaults on other computers. A.I. has gone rogue.

I’ve spent the last month reporting on these incidents, and I am convinced that we need a global pause on A.I. research and development — now. I am not alone in this assessment. Many top researchers, including many researchers inside OpenAI and Anthropic, have called for a slowdown, which those in the industry call “pacing.” Theoretical concerns about runaway A.I. have circulated for decades, but recent events demonstrate that the threat is real."

New Mexico lawyer fined for using AI-generated brief containing fabricated testimony; Reuters via The Guardian, September 11, 2026

Reuters via The Guardian; New Mexico lawyer fined for using AI-generated brief containing fabricated testimony

"A defense lawyer appealing his client’s murder conviction submitted a legal brief containing ⁠made-up police testimony and ⁠witnesses fabricated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, ​New Mexico’s highest court said.

The New Mexico supreme court on Wednesday fined the attorney, Stephen Aarons, and held him in contempt for failing to verify the accuracy of the court ⁠filing, which Aarons said he prepared with help from the artificial intelligence (AI) application...

The justices sounded incredulous that Aarons was not fully aware of how AI can make mistakes.

“Counsel, do you watch the news? Do you listen to the radio? Do you read anything about what’s going on in the world?” Justice Shannon Bacon said at the hearing. “Because the problem with lawyers relying on AI hallucinations is an ‘above-the-fold’ story every single day.”"

Big Tech Fooled America Once. The Second Time’s Not Going So Well.; The New York Times, September 10, 2026

Oren Cass, The New York Times; Big Tech Fooled America Once. The Second Time’s Not Going So Well.

"The popular uprising against data centers has emerged so suddenly that politicians stumble over their own pitchforks racing to the front of the crowd. Where most industries would be launching into crisis P.R. mode, perhaps even engaging in some soul-searching, artificial intelligence companies seem determined to plow full steam ahead, building the future they want, even if they’re the only ones who want it.

The outrage over data centers can’t really be about environmental impact. These structures have always been water-sucking, power-draining, forest-clearing eyesores, yet the recent plunge in support for them is three times as deep as the one that nuclear power plants faced in the year after Three Mile Island. What has changed is people’s awareness of what’s going on inside: artificial intelligence. Less than a quarter of Americans expect A.I. to have a positive impact on K-12 education, arts and entertainment, how people do their jobs, the economy, personal relationships or happiness over the next 20 years.

Once known for our optimism and ambition in pursuit of new frontiers, Americans no longer trust that technological progress will make life better. Who can blame us? For the past two decades, Silicon Valley’s leaders have treated their fellow citizens like caged guinea pigs, bombarding us with inappropriate and culturally corrosive content, turning a blind eye to social dysfunction and outright addiction, flooding schools with technology that hooked young users but did little for education and then sheltering their own children from the products that they marketed to ours. The American people afforded the technologists wide latitude to pursue disruptive innovation, trusting that we would share in the resulting gains. We instead found ourselves exploited.

In some respects it is the A.I. industry’s misfortune to arrive now, when Silicon Valley is no longer entitled to the benefit of the doubt, but its leaders seem to be going out of their way to destroy any residual trust they might otherwise have built upon. Rather than take seriously the need to offer a positive vision for how the technology will benefit ordinary Americans — and then the need to make that vision a reality — the A.I. companies seem content to unleash wave after wave of products that cause obvious harm while delivering the message that this is all inevitable and you can get on board or get left behind."

Lonnie Bunch Protected the Smithsonian From More Than Trump; The Atlantic, September 9, 2026

 Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic; Lonnie Bunch Protected the Smithsonian From More Than Trump

"Since his appointment as the Smithsonian’s top official—its 14th secretary and the first historian and Black man to hold the position—in June 2019, Bunch has been the glue holding the Smithsonian together. Through a combination of principled stances and deft political skills, he has kept the sprawling institution on mission and aligned with its public. Chief Justice John Roberts, who serves as the Smithsonian’s chancellor, said in a statementthat Bunch has “pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story” and that the Smithsonian has “benefited greatly from his wisdom, vision, and leadership.”"

Trump White House Takes Down ‘Tetris’ For Xenophobes Game Over Copyright Threat; Gizmodo, September 8, 2026

 AJ DELLINGER, Gizmodo ; Trump White House Takes Down ‘Tetris’ For Xenophobes Game Over Copyright Threat

"Last week, the Trump White House launched an arcade on the White House website with, among other games, a racist version of Tetris meant to invoke the Trump slogan “Build The Wall.” On Tuesday, after receiving a not-so-veiled threat from The Tetris Company over possible copyright infringement, the game was removed from the White House Arcade page, which does continue to be a real thing somehow."

Anthropic Says It Blocked Possible Efforts to Build Biological Weapons; The New York Times, September 10, 2026

 Dustin Volz, The New York Times; Anthropic Says It Blocked Possible Efforts to Build Biological Weapons

"Anthropic said it had disrupted several potential plots this year by scientists who used its leading artificial intelligence models to conduct research that could have helped develop biological weapons."

Smithsonian’s Secretary to Resign as Trump Tries to Rule the Institution; The New York Times, September 8, 2026

Robin Pogrebin and Graham Bowley , The New York Times; Smithsonian’s Secretary to Resign as Trump Tries to Rule the Institution

"After a seven-year run marked most recently by attacks from the Trump administration, Lonnie G. Bunch III announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

The White House has escalated its criticism of how the Smithsonian presents American history and values, prompting concern from some about what they see as an assault on the institution’s autonomy and commendation from others for reining in an organization they view as overtaken by liberal bias.

In an interview, Mr. Bunch, 73, said it was not the pressure that had led to his departure."

As Trump pushes for data centers, voters in key midterm races say they don’t want them; NBC News, September 6, 2026

Jonathan Allen, Frank Thorp V and Marshall Crook, NBC News; As Trump pushes for data centers, voters in key midterm races say they don’t want them

An NBC News Decision Desk Poll found that 69% of respondents oppose building AI data centers in their areas, with 45% saying they “strongly oppose” the idea.

"Dawn Vogel, a Republican county supervisor in rural Buchanan County, Iowa, doesn’t have a lot in common with the leading democratic socialists in Congress. But on this bit of policy they agree: Data centers are proliferating across the American landscape too fast.

Vogel voted earlier this year for a moratorium that temporarily bans data centers from setting up shop in her heavily Republican county, which favored President Donald Trump 63% to 35% in 2024. In Washington, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. — the nation’s two most prominent democratic socialists — have proposed a similar moratorium that would cover the entire country.

“I don’t think this is a Republican or Democratic issue,” Vogel said on the sidelines of the Iowa State Association of Counties’ annual conference here in late August, adding that she hasn’t talked to a single voter at home who wants data centers."

Court Filings in A.I. Suit Invoke Copyright Law, Culture and Sports; The New York Times, September 4, 2026

 Mike Isaac and Karen Weise , The New York Times; Court Filings in A.I. Suit Invoke Copyright Law, Culture and Sports

Filings made Friday in The New York Times’s closely watched lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft included a range of copyright law and cultural references.

"Court filings made Friday in a closely watched copyright trial pitting The New York Times against OpenAI and Microsoft invoked a wide range of material, including relevant copyright law, arts and sports.

The suit, filed in 2023 by The Times and joined by a group of other news outlets, claims that OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence start-up, and its partner Microsoft infringed on the publishers’ copyrighted material by using millions of their articles to train A.I. technologies. A.I. companies now compete with The Times as a source of information, the news outlet argued in its suit.

The briefs, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, largely boiled down to two questions: whether the publishers’ news articles were sufficiently “transformed” into an entirely new work by A.I., and whether A.I. produced content that “substituted” for news articles and harmed their value.

Friday was the last day the companies could file motions for a summary judgment that would head off a trial. Judge Sidney H. Stein is expected to make a ruling in the coming weeks."

These teachers fight AI cheating with classes that force students to show they are learning; The Washington Post, September 6, 2026

Nitasha Tiku, The Washington Post; These teachers fight AI cheating with classes that force students to show they are learning

"Teachers and professors are throwing out old assignments, installing new policies and protocols, and incorporating AI built for the classroom, rather than feeling forced to choose between returning to pencil and paper or acting like the AI police.

Zeleny spent months transforming the university’s advanced writing curriculum for the ChatGPT era. Her goal was to deter AI cheating and create assignments that generate a more reliable record of a student’s learning process than a final product like an essay. 

Her new lesson plan even incorporates generative AI in a controlled way to let her evaluate students’ critical thinking skills. She created chatbots using BoodleBox, the university’s AI vendor, that allow instructors to see both sides of the conversation...

Christopher Ostro, a writing and rhetoric professor in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Division of Continuing Education, has been watching the evolution of educators’ feelings about AI. He hosted a workshop in April based on conversations with colleagues titled “Exploring the AI Grief Cycle: ​Finding a Path Forward for Faculty.”

Ostro now sees fewer peers in denial than over the past two years and more approaching bargaining and acceptance, he said.

“Some people quit. … Some people scrap their whole class and start over. Some people look for magic bullets,” but there is no technical solution that can roll back the clock, he said.

Last week, Ostro started the first session of a class called “Writing in the Age of AI” by sharing a detailed account of how he uses AI as an instructor. He aims to encourage students to make that kind of disclosure themselves."

Why the Hugging Face Hack Should Make You Worry More About A.I.; The New York Times, September 3, 2026

Kevin Roose, The New York Times; Why the Hugging Face Hack Should Make You Worry More About A.I.

"When I first heard the news this summer that a group of artificial intelligence agents created by OpenAI had hacked into Hugging Face, an A.I. infrastructure company, I filed it in the “Bad but Probably Not Catastrophic A.I. Safety Incidents” subfolder of my brain.

After all, no one at Hugging Face died. No critical infrastructure was damaged beyond repair. It wasn’t even clear, at the time, whether the OpenAI bots had intended to attack Hugging Face, or whether they had simply been a little bumbling and confused and went looking on Hugging Face’s servers for the answer key to a cybersecurity test they’d been given.

But last week, two postmortem reports on the incident — one by OpenAI and another by two independent A.I. research organizations, METR and Redwood Research — changed my mind and significantly upgraded my overall worry about A.I.

I won’t rehash all of the details, which have been extensively summarized elsewhere. (The podcaster and writer Dwarkesh Patel has an accessible breakdown of the reports if you want to dive deeper, and my colleague Dylan Freedman spoke to the researchers at METR and Redwood Research.) But here are a few of the most harrowing new facts:..

This is very different from the conventional sci-fi narrative of a single A.I. system’s going rogue or turning on its creators. And it suggests that preventing harms from these systems won’t be a simple engineering fix. It might look more like sociology than computer science — figuring out why certain groups of A.I. agents collaborate peacefully, while others turn to crime and destruction to get what they want."

Tetris Company Distances Itself From Trump White House’s ‘Build the Wall’ Game, Says ‘We Take Copyright Very Seriously’; Variety, September 4, 2026

 Todd Spangler, Variety ; Tetris Company Distances Itself From Trump White House’s ‘Build the Wall’ Game, Says ‘We Take Copyright Very Seriously’

"The Tetris Company wants to be clear that it was not involved in the creation of the White House‘s “Build the Wall” game — an obvious copy of the famous block-dropping title — in which players must prevent zombie-like foreigners from crossing the “southern border” into the United States. The game company added, “We take copyright infringement very seriously.”

On Thursday, the Trump White House launched the whitehouse.gov/arcade website with six games. One of those is called “Build the Wall,” which tells players to “Protect the border from the coming horde.”"

The Dallas Public Library is getting rid of English classes. A volunteer calls the cuts 'baffling'; KERA News, September 4, 2026

 

Miranda Suarez, 

Ron Corning

, KERA News; The Dallas Public Library is getting rid of English classes. A volunteer calls the cuts 'baffling'

"The Dallas Public Library is cutting its adult education programs, including classes for English language learners, as the city tries to deal with a $51 million budget shortfall. Similar resources will now be much harder to find, especially for undocumented students, one library volunteer told NTX Now.

The program elimination was necessary to keep all of the city's library branches open, Library Director Manya Shorr previously said. The system is also cutting more than 70 positions, about 30 of which are currently filled, according to The Dallas Morning News."