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January 14, 2026, 11:20 PM
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WeSmirchTop News
| Politico: |
California AG Rob Bonta opens an investigation into xAI over the proliferation of nonconsensual, sexualized images generated by Grok, and urges xAI to act — California Attorney General Rob Bonta is investigating Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI over the proliferation of nonconsensual … | Financial Times: |
UK PM Keir Starmer says X indicated to government officials it was acting to comply with UK laws by restricting the generation of non-consensual sexual images — UK prime minister says xAI will restrict the image generator as billionaire pledges to follow laws in all markets| Karissa Bell / Engadget: |
X updates Grok to prevent the “editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis” and geoblocks it for all users “where it's illegal” — The company is also blocking image generation entirely from non-subscribers.
More: 9to5Mac, Decrypt, BBC, Bloomberg Law, The Independent, Ars Technica, and SFist
X: @safety, @digiphile, @jdpoc, @mweinbach, and @loudmouthjulia. Bluesky: @tatumhunter. Mastodon: @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social
| Raphael Satter / Reuters: |
Elon Musk claims he's “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok” and that Grok's operating principle is to “obey the laws of any given country” — California's governor and attorney general said on Wednesday that they were demanding answers …
More: The Atlantic, BBC, Business Insider, Politico, TechCrunch, CNN, Reuters, Tom's Guide, CBS News, Implicator.ai, The Times, Gizmodo, Euractiv, and Reuters
X: @elonmusk, @elonmusk, @elonmusk, and @cb_doge. Bluesky: @sundersays. Mastodon: @harrymccracken@mastodon …
Forums: r/news, r/technology, r/europe, r/ukpolitics, and Beehaw
| Wall Street Journal: |
OpenAI strikes a multibillion-dollar agreement to buy 750 MW of computing capacity from Cerebras over three years; sources: the deal is worth more than $10B — The ChatGPT-maker is racing to secure more computing power, especially for responding to user queries
More: OpenAI, CNBC, Reuters, PYMNTS.com, TechCrunch, SiliconANGLE, Reuters, The Standard, The Information, Cerebras, WebProNews, New York Times, InsideHPC, Bloomberg, Financial Times, and Pulse 2.0
X: @cerebras, @ericvishria, @benbajarin, @kakashiii111, @ericvishria, @draecomino, @scaling01, @mweinbach, @theo, @yuchenj_uw, and @matthewberman. LinkedIn: Dhiraj Mallick
Forums: r/hardware and Slashdot
| Jacob Krol / TechRadar: |
Verizon says that it resolved “an issue impacting wireless voice and data services” that caused 100,000+ customers to lose reception for 10+ hours on Wednesday — The carrier says the outage is now resolved — While Verizon had a good few months, with the last major outage occurring …
More: NBC News, Engadget, PCMag, AppleInsider, Engadget, MacRumors, WJXX-TV, Reuters, Time, Forbes, New York Times, MarketWatch, 9to5Google, USA Today, New York Post, MacRumors, Mashable, Associated Press, GV Wire, BleepingComputer, FOX 13 Tampa Bay, Bloomberg, PhoneArena, Screen Rant, Benzinga, TechRadar, The Gateway Pundit, Hollywood Life, 9to5Mac, Droid Life, The Verge, WebProNews, KARE-TV, CNN, Android Central, Wall Street Journal, CNET, The Mac Observer, PCMag, Technical.ly, Business Insider, UPI, Barron's Online, XDA Developers, Android Authority, and Pocket-lint
X: @verizonnews, @verizonnews, @verizonnews, @morningbrew, @0xgaut, @alexrkonrad, @pcmag, and @joannastern
Forums: r/verizon, r/PrepperIntel, r/conspiracy, r/hudsonvalley, r/technology, and r/news
| Sabrina Ortiz / ZDNET: |
Google launches Personal Intelligence, a Gemini feature that links to Gmail, Google Photos, Search, and YouTube history to tailor answers, for paid subscribers — ZDNET's key takeaways — Personal Intelligence scans your apps to improve Gemini answers. — The feature is off by default and won't train on sensitive data.
More: The Keyword, The Verge, AppleInsider, CNET, Engadget, TechCrunch, BleepingComputer, Digit, ANI News, eWeek, SiliconANGLE, Financial Times, GSMArena.com, Implicator.ai, The Hindu BusinessLine, MobileSyrup, Ars Technica, Lifehacker, Neowin, CNBC, Forbes, 9to5Google on YouTube, Android Central, Gizmodo, YouTube, SammyGuru, Android Headlines, The Register, Pocket-lint, PPC Land, PCWorld, Thurrott, WebProNews, Search Engine Land, Moneycontrol, The Information, PYMNTS.com, Phandroid, Tom's Guide, Crypto Briefing, TechRadar, Yahoo Tech, Fortune, Digital Trends, 9to5Google, Business Insider, and Android Police
X: @google, @dflieb, @google, @glenngabe, @ai_for_success, @varunkinsights, @royalhansen, @matthewberman, @ai_for_success, @rihardjarc, @demishassabis, @sundarpichai, @dudewhoinvests, @geminiapp, @joshwoodward, @omooretweets, @thisiskp_, and @teksedge
Forums: r/accelerate, r/singularity, and r/Bard
| Kylie Robison / @kyliebytes: |
Thinking Machines parts ways with CTO Barret Zoph, with Soumith Chintala taking over the role; sources say the termination is due to “unethical conduct” — BREAKING: Thinking Machines has terminated its CTO, Barret Zoph, due to unethical conduct according to two sources familiar with the matter. CEO Mira Murati announced the news at an all-hands with employees today. Soumith Chintala will be taking over as CTO.
More: TechCrunch, The Information, and Implicator.ai
| Fidji Simo / @fidjissimo: |
Fidji Simo says Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz are returning to OpenAI from Thinking Machines and the move “has been in the works for several weeks” — Excited to welcome Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz back to OpenAI! This has been in the works for several weeks, and we're thrilled to have them join the team. Barret will report to me; Luke and Sam will report into Barret. More to come on what they'll focus on soon!
| Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk: |
Coinbase pulls support from the US Senate's crypto market structure bill ahead of a key vote; CEO Brian Armstrong says there are “too many issues” with the bill — CEO Brian Armstrong said there were “too many issues” with the bill. — Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange … | Stevie Bonifield / The Verge: |
YouTube now lets parents set time limits on their kids' YouTube Shorts feed, ranging from 15 minutes to two hours, with an option for zero minutes coming soon — Parents will also be able to manually create and adjust child and teen accounts on YouTube.
More: YouTube Official Blog, TechCrunch, Mashable, Moneycontrol, PCMag, CNN, Android Authority, Livemint, and Thurrott
| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Digg, rebooted under original founder Kevin Rose and Alexis Ohanian, launches its open beta; the site had been open to 67,000 users on an invite-only basis — The reboot of the early-internet online community Digg, a one-time rival to Reddit, is moving forward.
More: CNET, Mashable, Digg on YouTube, WebProNews, The Verge, and 9to5Mac
X: @kevinrose, @digg, @alexisohanian, and @kevinrose
Forums: r/digg, r/technology, r/redditstock, and Slashdot
| Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg: |
Trump signs an order to impose a 25% tariff on chips “transshipped through the United States to other foreign countries”, as part of the Nvidia H200 deal — The US imposed a 25% tariff on imports of certain semiconductors, a key step in an agreement blessed by President Donald … | Reuters: |
More: Nikkei Asia, Global Times, Computerworld, CNBC, Tech in Asia, Benzinga, Washington Examiner, WebProNews, Nextgov/FCW, The American Bazaar, Taipei Times, Bloomberg, and The Information
Forums: r/news, r/wallstreetbets, r/worldnews, and r/technology
| New York Times: |
2026 may be the year of the mega IPO, as sources say Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX took early steps to go public, setting up a watershed moment for the AI boom — Call it the year of the mega initial public offering. Or the year of the I.P.O. supercycle. Or the monster listing mania, perhaps.
X: @rohindhar
| Chris Metinko / Axios: |
Novee, which utilizes proprietary AI models to perform automated penetration testing, emerges from stealth with a $43M Series A and an $8.5M seed — Novee, a penetration-testing cybersecurity startup, launched out of stealth with $51.5 million in funding, co-founder and CEO Ido Geffen tells Axios Pro.
More: Business Wire, Pulse 2.0, and CTech
| Natalie Lung / Bloomberg: |
Airbnb hires Meta executive Ahmad Al-Dahle, who led the generative AI and Llama team after working at Apple, as its CTO, as it aims to add more AI to its app — Airbnb Inc. has hired a former Meta Platforms Inc. executive as its new chief technology officer, as the short-term rental company …
More: Airbnb Newsroom, Skift, The Verge, PYMNTS.com, WebProNews, Business Post, Analytics India Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Bloomberg
X: @ahmad_al_dahle, @amasad, @ylecun, @alfred_lin, @sama, @rsalakhu, @markchen90, @_arohan_, and @garrytan. LinkedIn: Brian Chesky
Threads: @david_j_doherty and @jjackyliang
| Sidhartha Shukla / Bloomberg: |
CoinDesk Data: Binance's market share of spot crypto trading fell to 25% in December, its lowest since 2021, and it is also losing ground in derivatives trading — Binance's grip on global crypto trading is weakening as rivals pick up market share and traders shift to new ways of buying and selling digital assets.
More: Benzinga
| Yogita Khatri / The Block: |
Project Eleven, which builds tools to prepare blockchains for post-quantum threats, raised a $20M Series A led by Castle Island at a $120M post-money valuation — Partner offers — Quick Take — Project Eleven has raised a $20 million Series A funding at a $120 million valuation in a round led by Castle Island Ventures.
More: Project Eleven, Project 11, The Quantum Insider, VC News Daily, Pulse 2.0, NFTgators, and Axios
| Luz Ding / Bloomberg: |
Alibaba links Qwen to its online shopping and travel services, including Taobao, Alipay, Fliggy, and Amap, aiming to build a one-stop AI app for its 100M users — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. plans to link its flagship online shopping and travel services to its AI app, taking its biggest step yet …
More: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and AI Proem
| Reuters: |
Bitchat, a P2P messaging app launched by Jack Dorsey, has emerged as a key lifeline for people in Uganda and Iran facing government-imposed internet shutdowns — A little-known offline messaging app launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has emerged as a key lifeline for Ugandans cut off … | The Information: |
Source: Microsoft has become one of Anthropic's top clients and was recently on pace to spend nearly $500M/year for Anthropic's AI to power Microsoft products — OpenAI is Microsoft's most important AI provider and its biggest cloud server customer. — But as OpenAI does more business … | Naureen S Malik / Bloomberg: |
PJM trims summer 2027 peak demand forecast to ~160 GW from ~164 GW because some projects, including data centers, lack firm service or construction commitments — The biggest US grid operator dialed back its forecast for power demand growth, offering a reality check to the frenzy around the artificial intelligence boom.
More: PJM Inside Lines
| Reuters: |
Sources: Chinese authorities told domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software made by ~12 US and Israeli companies due to national security concerns — Chinese authorities have told domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software made by roughly a dozen firms from the U.S …
More: Fox Business, Bloomberg Law, Barchart.com, Modern Diplomacy, Bloomberg, NewsMax.com, and MarketWatch
Bluesky: @sensehofstede.nl. Forums: r/WallStreetbetsELITE, r/hacking, r/cybersecurity, r/news, and r/UnderReportedNews
| Danny Lee / Bloomberg: |
Elon Musk says that Tesla will stop selling FSD after February 14 and will offer it only as a monthly subscription; FSD costs $8,000 upfront or $99 per month — Tesla Inc. will stop selling the advanced driver-assistance system it calls Full Self-Driving, and instead switch to an entirely monthly subscription service.
More: Business Insider, ZeroHedge News, WebProNews, CNET, iPhone in Canada, Digital Trends, CleanTechnica, and Wall Street Journal
X: @elonmusk, @noblebrown, @mikebutcher, @alex_avoigt, @0xethan, @autismcapital, @williamlaurent3, @ryantanaka, @techau, @martingeddes, @fredlambert, and @not_qz
Forums: r/SelfDrivingCars, r/teslainvestorsclub, and r/TeslaLounge
| Financial Times: |
Sources: McKinsey pilots an overhaul in how it recruits its next generation, asking candidates to use its AI tool Lilli to analyze a case study during a test — Candidates in pilot assessed on how they prompted consulting firm's AI assistant and ability to adapt responses| BBC: |
The UK government drops plans for mandatory digital IDs to work in the country, marking a reversal from when the UK first announced the policy in September 2025 — The government has dropped plans requiring workers to sign up to its digital ID scheme in order to prove their right to work in the UK.
More: The Guardian, The Times, Courthouse News Service, and Financial Times
X: @rupertlowe10, @nigel_farage, @thatalexwoman, @bryanglick, @archrose90, @maxkendix, @rupertlowe10, and @jamesmelville. LinkedIn: Matty Shafran. Bluesky: @openrightsgroup.org
Forums: Hacker News, r/uknews, r/technology, r/BreakingUKNews, and Slashdot
| Maya Perez / WebProNews: |
Bandcamp bans music and audio “generated wholly or in substantial part by AI”, hoping to build trust with fans that the music they find “was created by humans” — Bandcamp has banned music substantially generated by AI to uphold human artistry and authenticity …
More: Bandcamp Updates, Dexerto, Tech Times, Engadget, Ars Technica, Billboard, MobileSyrup, TechCrunch, Aftermath, CNET, Screen Rant, The Hollywood Reporter, Stereogum, and BrooklynVegan
X: @danielraffel and @future_of_music
Bluesky: @negativeagent, @mwl.io, @davidgerard.co.uk, @ripridermusic, @nowplaying.cool, @lesterlee, @colinhemphill.com, @2mello.net, @lauramarie, @logicalnuisance, @rrrrroseazerty …, @mmmmmmuhh, and @bandcamp.com
Mastodon: @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, @dallin@writing.exchange, @headfirstonly@mastodon.social, and @n8dly@mastodon.social
Forums: Hacker News, r/BandCamp, r/synthesizers, and Slashdot
| Lucas Ropek / TechCrunch: |
Depthfirst, which provides AI tools for codebase scanning, credential exposure protection, and threat monitoring, raised a $40M Series A led by Accel Partners — Cybercriminals are increasingly using AI in their attacks. At the same time, cyber defenders are also turning to the technology to fight back.
More: FinSMEs, Business Wire, SiliconANGLE, and FinSMEs
| Luz Ding / Bloomberg: |
Z.ai releases GLM-Image, an open-source AI model that it says is China's first state-of-the-art multimodal model to finish training using Huawei's Ascend chips — Chinese AI startup Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC Ltd. released a new multimodal model that it says is the country's …
More: The Register, Z.ai, Z.ai on Hugging Face, Z.ai on GitHub, South China Morning Post, Digit, Decrypt, and The Information
X: @zai_org, @zackabrams, @ivanfioravanti, @garyfung, @teortaxestex, @xianbao_qian, @meowbooksj, @mark_k, @designarena, @jietang, @kimmonismus, and @business
Forums: r/comfyui, r/LocalLLaMA, and r/LocalLLaMA
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