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Techmeme
July 18, 2026, 11:15 AM
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Top News

AI Security Institute:
Analysis: recent open weight models lag frontier closed models' cyber capabilities by 4 to 7 months, a narrower gap than the 6 to 10 months through most of 2025  —  AISI has tracked the cyber capabilities of frontier AI models since 2023.  On our evaluations, the most capable models …
Transformer:
Kimi K3 hype shouldn't alarm the US about “losing the AI race” to China; K3 is a good model but not frontier-level and likely lacks dangerous cyber capabilities
David Shepardson / Reuters:
Memo: the DOJ says federal employees can now download TikTok on government devices, citing TikTok US' transfer of control, lifting a 2022 congressional ban  —  The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday that federal employees can now download the short-video app TikTok on government devices.
Claude / @claudeai:
Anthropic says Claude Fable 5 will be included in Max and Team Premium plans at 50% of limits from July 20 and via usage credits for Pro and Team Standard users  —  Beginning July 20, Claude Fable 5 will be included in all Max and Team Premium plans, at 50% of limits. Pro and Team Standard users will continue to have access to Fable via usage credits, and will receive a one-time $100 credit. Demand for Fable has been challenging to
Reuters:
The grassroots group HumansFirst is organizing protests against the “unaccountable” buildout of data centers across 125 US locations on July 18  —  Opponents of the rapid buildout of data centers plan to hold protests on Saturday in at least 125 locations across the United States …
Minxiao Chang / South China Morning Post:
China's National Data Administration says the country's daily AI token consumption hit 140T in March 2026, up from 100T in December 2025 and 100B in early 2024  —  Every month, a Beijing-based ByteDance employee says he burns through close to a billion units of a new corporate currency - one that cannot buy a coffee or pay rent.
New York Times:
Sources: Meta is in talks to rent computing power from its data centers to Anthropic in a deal that could be worth ~$10B over two years  —  A deal would underline how scarce computing power is for artificial intelligence development, and could create a new business for Meta.
Bloomberg:
Sources: China's National AI Industry Investment Fund gained voting rights in DeepSeek by joining its $7.4B round; other investors like Tencent and JD got none  —  On a video conference call from Hangzhou earlier this year, one of China's hottest startups held a four-hour pitch meeting …

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:15 AM ET, July 18, 2026.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Gene Maddaus / Variety:
In a Truth Social post, Trump endorses a US tax incentive for film and TV production; the MPA has worked with Jon Voight to push for a 20% credit on labor costs

Washington Post:
Sources: the US DOD appointed several conservative influencers to civilian roles without disclosing their assignments as they amplify Pete Hegseth's viewpoints

Zack Sharf / Variety:
Gal Gadot defends acting in Bitcoin, which used AI, saying “you're going to work with it or be out of the game” and her lawyers kept AI from altering actors

More News

Reuters:
Sources: Trump Media pitched a monthly fee of as much as $100K for the Truth API, with fast access to Trump's posts, for banks, algorithmic traders, and others
Reuters:
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index sank ~10% for the week, its largest weekly fall in over a year, and is now down ~20% from its late-June all-time high

Earlier Picks

Robert Booth / The Guardian:
Amazon apologizes after some AWS users received bills as high as $1.5T due to “an issue with unit pricing within the estimated billing computation subsystem”
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple raises the price of Apple Music, with the individual plan up by $1 to $11.99, and some Apple One bundles, citing rising licensing costs
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple and the DOJ are in early discussions about settling a 2024 antitrust lawsuit alleging that Apple violated antitrust laws
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