AI Regulation & Policy

Today's Stories

1. 1

   Activists urge moratorium on frontier AI data centers

   Advocates writing for The Progressive called for a halt on new data centers and computing capacity for frontier AI until safety and environmental standards are enforceable. They argue advanced AI has crossed secure boundaries in cybersecurity tests and produced functional viruses that infect bacteria, showing AI lowers barriers to harm.

   The push hinges on whether governments require licenses and independent evaluations for powerful systems. Data-center approvals would need to disclose energy, water, and taxpayer subsidy costs.

2. 2

   Joseph Stiglitz pitches 'progressive AI agenda' for the economy

   Joseph Stiglitz, the economist, has set out a "progressive AI agenda" for the economy, in a piece published by the Financial Times. The article body offers only the headline framing, so the substance of Stiglitz's proposals — and whether policymakers take them up — is not specified here.

3. 3

   HUMAIN bets on both AI blocs with MiniMax deal

   Saudi state-backed HUMAIN unveiled Arabic technology built on a model from China's MiniMax at Riyadh's LEAP conference, while building infrastructure with US chips. AWS has committed $5.3 billion to Saudi data centers. HUMAIN has agreed Chinese frontier models won't be trained on computing capacity it obtains through US export approvals, yet keeps Chinese ties open. Beyond MiniMax, ByteDance's cloud arm and Tencent Cloud have moved into Riyadh.

   The strategy hinges on Washington and Beijing both needing Gulf infrastructure, letting Riyadh extract investment and technology transfer. DataVolt's roughly $1 billion, 100-megawatt NEOM facility, with ambitions to expand to 360 megawatts, is the test case.

4. 4

   Trump, Mike Johnson Reject AI Slowdown Calls

   Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an open letter urging the industry to "pace the frontier," drawing support from OpenAI's Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Alphabet's Demis Hassabis. Trump and Johnson pushed back, citing China. Trump told the Financial Times the US is "leading China in AI" and wants to keep it that way. Johnson told CNN that rushing AI restrictions could be a "national security threat."

   The split hinges on whether Washington treats AI regulation as a security risk or a safeguard. Amodei's proposal faces its real test in Congress, where Johnson warned an emergency session would mean losing to China.

5. 5

   Obama: Democrats need clear AI plan

   Obama told a Democratic fundraiser, interviewed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, that Democrats must make AI a "central agenda" and "have a very clear plan." He warned AI is "moving very fast in private hands," and said that without oversight it "can be dangerous" but with it could accelerate drug development.

   He said Democrats should, once back in the House majority, "put together a framework for a very public conversation," showing the plan hinges on winning the House.

6. 6

   Altman, Musk, Hassabis back Amodei's call for independent AI lab oversight

   Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Demis Hassabis at least partly endorsed Dario Amodei's proposals, agreeing on the need for independent oversight inside AI labs. Altman also told Fortune that OpenAI won't go public this year, citing safety concerns—a decision he had already shared internally in June.

   Not everyone agrees; Google researcher Peyman Milanfar argues that recursive self-improvement is a naive assumption because the feedback loops are unstable, making Amodei's "speed limit" unnecessary.