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OpenAI Confirms Weeks-Long AI Safety Talks With Anthropic, Google DeepMind

OpenAI policy chief Chris Lehane confirmed the company has spent weeks in discussions with Anthropic and Google DeepMind about managing catastrophic risks from advanced AI. The disclosure follows Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's public essay urging industry-wide cooperation to slow frontier AI development, which drew support from Sam Altman and Demis Hassabis. Lehane said the firms don't need a government waiver to coordinate, despite antitrust concerns raised by some executives.

Apple asks Supreme Court to overturn contempt ruling in Epic Games dispute

Apple has submitted its opening merits brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, formally contesting a lower court's decision that held it in contempt over its compliance with an antitrust injunction from the Epic Games case. The injunction required Apple to let developers link to outside payment options, but Apple's move to charge commissions on those external purchases prompted Epic to challenge its compliance, leading a court to find Apple in contempt.

Trump publicly endorses Flock Safety's surveillance camera network

President Trump told reporters he supports Flock Safety, the company operating a nationwide network of over 120,000 AI-powered license plate cameras used by law enforcement. He acknowledged critics view the technology as an infringement on privacy but said he personally favors it for helping police.

Explainer traces the geometric origin of the inverse-square law

A technical write-up walks through why physical phenomena like light and sound intensity fall off with the square of distance, rather than linearly or cubically. The explanation builds from the classical formula for a sphere's surface area, using a paper-cylinder analogy to show how wrapping a sphere in a fitted cylinder reveals the 4πr² relationship at the heart of the law.

California signs bipartisan laws forcing AI chatbots to add child safety protocols

Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation requiring AI companies to build crisis protocols for suicidal ideation, parental controls, and alerts when children disable safety settings. One measure, dubbed 'Adam's Law' after 16-year-old Adam Raine who died by suicide following prolonged ChatGPT conversations, is part of a broader package that also bars social media platforms from using addictive features like autoplay and algorithmic feeds for users under 16.

OpenAI Asks Congress to Clarify Antitrust Risk of Coordinated AI Safety Slowdown

OpenAI has privately pressed members of Congress for guidance on whether AI labs could legally coordinate to slow the pace of frontier AI development without violating antitrust law. The inquiry follows a blog post from chief scientist Jakub Pachocki calling for industry-wide coordination on safety, including voluntary slowdowns until shared safety standards emerge. Legal experts warn that such coordination could be seen as restricting output under the Sherman Antitrust Act, creating uncertainty that discourages collaboration.

Clearview AI Tests InquiryIQ, an Automated Profile-Builder for Police Investigators

Clearview AI, known for scraping billions of photos for facial recognition, is developing an experimental tool called InquiryIQ that would let police feed in a suspect's name and details to automatically scour the web for their employer, aliases, associates, and physical traits. The tool has reportedly tested a model from SpaceXAI, the company behind Grok, and its interface suggests entering demographic data like race and gender helps it make 'smarter decisions.' Clearview has not released InquiryIQ publicly and declined to explain how such inputs affect its outputs.

Victoria, Australia considers law guaranteeing two remote workdays per week

Victoria's government is weighing a proposal that would give eligible employees a legal right to work from home two days per week. The measure would shift remote-work policy away from individual company decisions and into state law.

UK to legislate forcing Apple, Google to block nude images on children's devices

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told MPs the government will draft legislation requiring smartphone makers and app providers to prevent under-18s from taking or sharing nude photos. This follows a three-month deadline given in June to Apple and Google, whose voluntary commitments Nandy said still fall short of addressing the crisis. The law would extend blocking measures beyond device operating systems to individual apps used by children.

Indie developer republishes out-of-print novel 'Professor Mmaa's Lecture' via small press

A solo game developer has taken on publishing as a side project, tracking down the rights holder to bring the out-of-print book 'Professor Mmaa's Lecture' back into circulation. The developer negotiated rights, drafted a contract using the Authors Guild's model agreement as inspiration (with help from Claude AI), and corrected Amazon's mistaken assumption that the book was public domain.

Osama bin Laden's 2002 'Letter to America' resurfaces in public discourse

A widely circulated document attributed to Osama bin Laden, first published around 2002, lists grievances against U.S. foreign policy—including support for Israel, military presence in Muslim countries, and sanctions—as justification for al-Qaeda's attacks. The text has recently regained attention online as users rediscover and share excerpts from it.

IDScan hit with lawsuits over alleged breach of 153 million driver's licenses

IDScan, an identity verification firm used by rental car companies, retailers and other businesses, faces multiple lawsuits after a dark-web service called Nexus allegedly offered access to over 153 million U.S. and Canadian driver's licenses along with millions of other ID documents. Journalist Brian Krebs traced the leaked data back to IDScan, and the FBI's New Orleans office has reportedly opened an investigation. IDScan has not confirmed a breach occurred or commented publicly on the allegations.