June 28, 2026

05 Sci-Tech

AI Competition with China Continues to Heat Up | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org

pgnewser April 21, 2026 0

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As major artificial intelligence breakthroughs arrive on what seems to be a near-weekly basis, the race between the US and China continues to intensify. In this post and the next, we will examine the good and bad news for the prospects of American triumph in the battle for AI superiority, a skirmish that could well determine the future of global innovation.

Let’s start with the bad news.

Last week, I attended a hearing of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party entitled “China’s Campaign to Steal America’s AI Edge.” Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) opened the proceedings by asserting that “China’s smuggling of advanced AI chips is a pervasive threat facing law enforcement” and observing that “just last month, the Department of Justice announced a $2.5 billion chip smuggling case, which would be the largest export control violation in US history.”

Moolenaar then asked, “Why is China so desperate to acquire US-designed chips? The reason is obvious. AI is a truly transformative technology. It’s already changing how we fight wars, run our government, and operate companies.” Critically, the chairman contended, “it is essential for the United States to maintain a decisive lead in the AI race. We cannot afford a future where Beijing dominates this technology.”

At the hearing, Dmitri Alperovitch, the founder and chairman of the Silverado Policy Accelerator, echoed Moolenaar, arguing that “we are in a race, and the stakes could not be higher. Artificial intelligence will transform every industry, every battlefield, and every government.” Critically, Alperovitch asserted, “whoever fields the best models running on the best infrastructure will likely win not just the AI race itself but the 21st century. The single most important input to winning is compute—the processing power used to train and run AI models.”

Meta’s Downsizing Continues

pgnewser April 21, 2026 1

The parent company of Facebook, Meta, has announced plans to lay off nearly 10% of its total workforce, 8,000 positions, starting in early May 2026. These layoffs may not be the only layoffs, as more might be announced after May of this year.

Meta Reportedly to Cut 8,000 Jobs in Upcoming Layoffs Amid AI Cost Pressures – MLQ.ai– news.google.com
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Key Points

  • Meta to eliminate about 8,000 positions, roughly 10% of its global workforce of nearly 79,000, starting May 20.1
  • Cuts aim to offset costs of AI infrastructure investments and streamline operations with AI-assisted workers.1
  • Additional layoffs expected in second half of 2026, though details on scale and timing unclear.1
  • Follows earlier reports of potential cuts up to 20% of staff.1
  • Meta declined to comment on the reports.1

 

FISA Court Quashes Spy Tool, Trump Dissents

pgnewser April 21, 2026 0

The Trump administration is fighting a FISA court ruling that prevents the government from specifically searching for individuals online who have merely contacted a foreigner. The administration is challenging the FISA court as the court’s existence comes up for renewal this April 30. The GOP-led House extended the program by unanimous consent vote during a late-night session.

DOJ Reportedly Appealing Ruling That Limits Feds’ Ability to Use Notorious Spy Tool– www.westernjournal.com
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The Trump Department of Justice is appealing a ruling limiting the use of certain tools to collect Americans’ data, according to The New York Times.

Congress is currently weighing an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows warrantless surveillance of foreign nationals’ communications with Americans, as President Donald Trump urges Republicans to renew the program before its authorization expires on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court issued a classified ruling in March extending the program’s ability to collect emails and phone calls through March 2027, though the judge objected to tools analysts use to “process messages,” per The New York Times.

Under the court’s ruling, intelligence agencies like the FBI, CIA, and National Security Agency cannot use filtering systems that refines search results to examine communications of specific individuals who contact foreigners, The New York Times reported, citing a person familiar.

AI is Becoming a Utility

pgnewser April 21, 2026 1

More and more Americans have begun making AI subscription services a part of their essential household budget. Since 2024, paid AI subscriptions have increased by 38%. The paid AI subscription service market is expected to exponentially expand over the next two years.

Generative AI News: US Households Are Carving Out Room in Budgets for ChatGPT and AI Subscriptions – crypto.news– news.google.com
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In the latest generative AI news, CBS MoneyWatch reported that US households are actively making room in their budgets for AI subscriptions, backed by Bank of America Institute data showing the number of paying AI subscribers has surged 38% from the 2024 average.

Summary
  • Approximately 3% of Bank of America households paid for AI services in early 2026, with median monthly spend at $20, up 10.4% year over year, driven by growing use of tools like ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, and Gemini.
  • The share of subscribers paying $21 to $40 per month jumped 50% year to date versus 2024, suggesting consumers are moving up the pricing tiers as they deepen their use of AI tools for daily tasks.
  • Bank of America Research projects the US consumer AI market could scale to $75 billion annually as AI becomes embedded in productivity, search, entertainment, and personal assistant use cases.

Generative AI news has moved from enterprise budgets to household spending lines. Bank of America Institute analysis of nearly 70 million consumer accounts found that the number of households making AI subscription payments is up 38% from the 2024 average, with median monthly spend sitting at $20 for those who pay, up 10.4% year over year.

 

Dirt-Powered Batteries

pgnewser April 21, 2026 1

Researchers from Northwestern University have invented a fuel cell that is powered by microbes found in soil. Northwestern alumnus Bill Yen, who led the work, said of their proof-of-concept, “We need to find alternatives that can provide low amounts of energy to power a decentralized network of devices… we looked to soil microbial fuel cells, which use special microbes to break down soil and use that low amount of energy to power sensors. As long as there is organic carbon in the soil for the microbes to break down, the fuel cell can potentially last forever.”

Scientists develop dirt-powered fuel cell that could replace batteries– www.sciencedaily.com
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Researchers led by Northwestern University have developed a fuel cell that generates electricity using microbes naturally found in soil. The device, roughly the size of a paperback book, produces small amounts of power by capturing energy released as these microorganisms break down organic material in dirt.

This soil-powered system is designed to run underground sensors used in precision agriculture and environmental monitoring. It offers a potential alternative to traditional batteries, which contain toxic and flammable materials, rely on complex global supply chains, and contribute to growing electronic waste.

Feds Sound Alarm Over Warning That Anthropic ‘Mythos’ AI Can Hack ‘Every Major Operating System’– slaynews.com

pgnewser April 20, 2026 0

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Federal officials are scrambling after a powerful new artificial intelligence (AI) model demonstrated the ability to hack virtually every major operating system and web browser, triggering urgent warnings from top government and financial leaders.

AI giant Anthropic’s new system, known as “Mythos,” is being kept under tight restrictions.

However, insiders say the threat is already serious enough that the U.S. government is racing to understand it before it’s too late.

Treasury Rushes to Access High-Risk AI

According to reports, the U.S. Treasury Department is urgently seeking access to Anthropic’s restricted model

How Cheap Drones Are Changing Wars Like the Ones in Ukraine and Iran– www.nytimes.com

pgnewser April 20, 2026 0

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One of the biggest takeaways of the war with Iran is that it has proven itself to be a surprisingly capable adversary against the United States. In addition to its willingness to go on the offensive, Iran has forced the U.S. and its regional allies to confront the rise of cheap drones on the battlefield.

Iranian drones, made with commercial-grade technology, cost roughly $35,000 to produce. That is a fraction of the cost of the high-tech military interceptors sometimes used to shoot them down.

Note: Estimated price of munitions per unit. In practice, multiple interceptors are fired when targeting a drone. For instance, with the $80 bullet fired by the Centurion Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM), 75 rounds are fired in a second. Sources: Department of Defense, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Open Source Munitions Portal, SRC Inc, U.S. Army and U.S. Navy.

Cheap drones changed the war in Ukraine, and they have enabled Iranians to exploit a gap in American defense investments, which have historically prioritized accurate but expensive solutions.

Countering drones has been a major priority for the Pentagon for years, according to Michael C. Horowitz, who was a Pentagon official in the Biden administration. “But there has not been the impetus to scale a solution,” he said.

The US backs a South Africa project to extract rare earths despite a diplomatic clash– abcnews.com

pgnewser April 20, 2026 0

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PHALABORWA, South Africa — Two enormous sandlike dunes at an old chemical processing plant in South Africa are at the center of an exploratory U.S.-backed project to extract highly sought-after rare earth elements from industrial mining waste.

The Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project has U.S. support through a $50 million equity investment by the government’s International Development Finance Corporation and is part of accelerated U.S. efforts to reduce reliance on economic rival China for the minerals crucial for making electronic devices, robotics, defense systems, electric vehicles and other high-tech products.

Countries have identified dozens of minerals, including copper, cobalt, lithium and nickel, as critical because they are essential for new technologies. The 17 rare earth elements are a subset of them.

President Donald Trump has made expanding U.S. access to critical minerals, including rare earth elements, a central policy to counter China. The Trump administration said this year it will deploy nearly $12 billion to create its own strategic reserve.

Risk of ‘megaquake’ in Japan higher after powerful earthquake strikes– www.scientificamerican.com

pgnewser April 20, 2026 0

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On Monday, at 4:53 P.M. local time, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the northeastern shores of Japan’s largest island, Honshu, where the Pacific tectonic plate plunges beneath the North American plate at the deep-sea Japan Trench. Immediately, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) sent out a tsunami warning alert. Although small tsunami waves did soon reach various sections of the coast, no reports of injuries, deaths, or significant damage to homes or infrastructure were reported.

The danger, however, has not necessarily passed. Following the temblor, a JMA spokesperson told the media and those along the affected shoreline that “the likelihood of a new, huge earthquake occurring is relatively higher than during normal times.” Specifically, there is an elevated risk of a “megaquake”—one of magnitude 8.0 or greater—in the coming days.

The odds of an imminent megaquake are very low—around one in 100. “This 1 percent probability is still low in absolute terms, but it’s 10 times higher than normal, which is significant from a risk management perspective,” says Amilcar Carrera-Cevallos, an independent earthquake scientist.

AI makes granular pricing easier, but consumer psychology may make it less profitable– phys.org

pgnewser April 20, 2026 0

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Big data, artificial intelligence and advanced pricing algorithms make it easier than ever for companies to fine-tune prices for individual products to closely reflect their unique value and cost. The conventional wisdom is straightforward: better data, better algorithms and sharper segmentation should produce better profits. But new research suggests that the most profitable answer isn’t always more fine-grained pricing across a product line. In fact, it is fewer, better-chosen price points.

Nine of America’s 15 Safest States Are Constitutional Carry States, NAGR Data Shows– www.usacarry.com

pgnewser April 20, 2026 0

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Key Takeaways

  • The National Association for Gun Rights advocates for nationwide Constitutional Carry, citing data from the safest states without permit requirements.
  • Recent data shows that crime decreased in Florida and Ohio after adopting Constitutional Carry laws, contradicting opponents’ claims.
  • The safest states include Maine, New Hampshire, and North Dakota, all of which permit lawful carry without a permit.
  • Strict gun control states like California and New York report higher death rates compared to Constitutional Carry states.
  • Twenty-nine states now support the principle of carrying firearms without government permission, aligning with Second Amendment rights.

Stanford’s AI Index for 2026 Shows the State of AI– spectrum.ieee.org

pgnewser April 20, 2026 0

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The capabilities of leading AI models continue to accelerate, and the largest AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, are hurtling toward IPOs later this year. Yet resentment toward AI continues to simmer, and in some cases has boiled over, especially in the United States, where local governments are beginning to embrace restrictions or outright bans on new data center development.

It’s a lot to keep track of, but the 2026 edition of the AI Index from Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence center pulls it off. The report, which comes in at over 400 pages, includes dozens of data points and graphs that approach the topic from multiple angles, from benchmark scores to investment and public perception.

As in prior years (see our coverage from 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025), we’ve read the report and identified the trends that encapsulate the state of AI in 2026.

Chinese tech workers are starting to train their AI doubles–and pushing back– www.technologyreview.com

pgnewser April 20, 2026 0

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Internet users have found humor in the idea behind the tool, joking about automating their coworkers before themselves. However, Colleague Skill’s virality has sparked a lot of debate about workers’ dignity and individuality in the age of AI.

After seeing Colleague Skill on social media, Amber Li, 27, a tech worker in Shanghai, used it to recreate a former coworker as a personal experiment. Within minutes, the tool created a file detailing how that person did their job. “It is surprisingly good,” Li says. “It even captures the person’s little quirks, like how they react and their punctuation habits.” With this skill, Li can use an AI agent as a new “coworker” that helps debug her code and replies instantly. It felt uncanny and uncomfortable, Li says.

Even so,  replacing coworkers with agents could become a norm. Since OpenClaw became a national craze, bosses in China have been pushing tech workers to experiment with agents.