Watch a computer powered by human brain cells play Doom
Cortical Labs has trained its CL-1 biocomputing chip, composed of 200,000 lab-grown human neurons, to play the video game Doom. Visual data from the screen is translated into electrical stimulation patterns, and the living neurons respond with their own signals that control in-game actions. The demonstration builds on the company's 2022 work showing similar cultures playing Pong, representing a functional interface between living neural tissue and digital computing systems.
The Verge • Mar 1
TECH AI SYNTHETIC
Space Force opens secretive space tracking to commercial firms
The U.S. Space Force is integrating commercial data and artificial intelligence into its classified satellite tracking systems. The initiative, part of what the military calls battle management, command and control, aims to improve space domain awareness by distinguishing normal orbital maneuvers from potential hostile intent. Commercial data feeds combined with AI prediction models compress decision timelines ten- to one hundred-fold, allowing operators to assess threats and respond before an attack materializes.
SpaceNews • Mar 1
SURVEILLANCE AI INFRASTRUCTURE
Hackers hit Iranian apps, websites after US-Israeli strikes
Cyber-enabled operations accompanied joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran early Saturday. State-linked Iranian hacking groups conducted data-wiping attacks on Israeli targets, while unidentified actors defaced the BadeSaba religious calendar app—downloaded by over 5 million users—with messages urging Iranian armed forces to disarm. CrowdStrike observed Iranian-aligned threat actors conducting reconnaissance and DDoS attacks alongside physical military operations.
Reuters • Mar 1
SURVEILLANCE CYBERCRIME CYBERWAR
Strikes on Iran will test US cyber strategy abroad, and defenses at home
The federal government's cyber defense agency faces heightened threat levels while operating with significant staffing shortages, cybersecurity experts warn. Iranian-linked groups have historically targeted U.S. financial institutions, infrastructure providers, and industrial control systems through DDoS campaigns, ransomware, and hack-and-leak operations. Former officials anticipate retaliatory operations targeting exposed operational technology and internet-facing PLC hardware.
Defense One • Mar 1
REGULATION CYBERWAR INFRASTRUCTURE
‘Attempted corporate murder’: Trump’s threats against Anthropic chill AI industry
President Trump ordered a government-wide boycott of Anthropic's Claude AI and threatened prosecution against the company after CEO Dario Amodei refused to permit military use of the technology for mass surveillance or autonomous armed drones. Defense Secretary Hegseth had suggested invoking the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to force compliance, which legal experts warned would constitute effective partial nationalization of the AI industry.
POLITICO • Mar 1
CORPORATE NEOCORP REGULATION
'Silent failure at scale': The AI risk that can tip the business world into disorder
AI systems deployed across business operations are introducing a failure mode distinct from traditional software bugs: the "silent failure at scale" where systems execute instructions literally rather than as intended, compounding minor errors over weeks or months before detection. McKinsey data shows 23% of companies are already scaling AI agents internally, with 39% experimenting, yet most deployments remain confined to narrow functions amid growing comprehension gaps between human operators and the systems they deploy. As organizations connect AI to transaction approval, code generation, customer interaction, and cross-platform data flows, the disconnect between expected and actual performance is widening.
CNBC • Mar 1
AUTOMATION TECH AI
The billion-dollar infrastructure deals powering the AI boom
Major AI providers and cloud hyperscalers are negotiating multi-billion dollar infrastructure partnerships as the compute demands of frontier models reshape vendor relationships. OpenAI has formally diversified beyond exclusive reliance on Microsoft Azure, securing right-of-first-refusal terms while reserving capacity to use other providers if Azure cannot meet infrastructure demands; Microsoft has reciprocated by exploring other foundation models for its own AI products. Meta, Oracle, Google, and emerging players are racing to lock in the physical capacity—data centers, power agreements, and network backbone—that will determine which entities control the next phase of AI deployment.
TechCrunch • Mar 1
CORPORATE NEOCORP TECH
‘Big energy users’: how will datacentres affect Australia’s power prices, water supply and emissions?
Australia hosts 260 operational data centres concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne, with energy consumption from AI facilities projected to exceed national electric vehicle fleet usage by 2030 and approach the annual consumption of four aluminium smelters by 2035. Cooling requirements drive demand for both electricity and potable water, with industry projections showing data centre expansion will slow power sector emissions reductions after 2035 despite closed-loop cooling alternatives. Tech companies are pressuring governments to accept ratepayer protections while maintaining access to grid infrastructure built for public benefit.
The Guardian • Mar 1
CORPORATE INFRASTRUCTURE ENVIRONMENT
Datacentre developers face calls to disclose effect on UK's net emissions
Campaign groups are demanding UK data center developers disclose environmental impacts and fund renewable energy construction proportional to their projects. The government maintains data centers will help meet environmental challenges while acknowledging to MPs that future demand from the sector "remains inherently uncertain." The initiative comes as the UK's target for a virtually carbon-free power grid by 2030 faces mounting pressure from electricity cost increases.
The Guardian • Mar 1
CORPORATE REGULATION AI
Jack Dorsey's 4,000 Job Cuts at Block Arouse Suspicions of AI-Washing
Block Inc. eliminated nearly half its workforce—approximately 4,000 positions—this week, with co-founder Jack Dorsey attributing the cuts to AI-driven efficiency gains. The announcement sits at the center of an emerging critique that companies are exploiting AI anxiety to rebrand traditional cost-cutting as technological modernization, while labor advocates question whether the deployed AI capabilities actually justify the scale of displacement.
Bloomberg • Mar 1
NEOCORP LABOR AUTOMATION
Stablecoin yield rewards (likely won't be) banned under OCC proposal: State of Crypto
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published proposed rulemaking under the GENIUS Act to govern U.S. stablecoin issuance, with provisions addressing custody controls and capital requirements. The yield-related sections contain ambiguous language that multiple observers tracking the process describe as controversial, raising unresolved questions about how regulators will treat yield-generating stablecoin products.
CoinDesk • Mar 1
CORPORATE CRYPTO FINANCE
Google is building a bevy of renewable energy in Minnesota—including the world's largest battery system providing power for a whopping 100 hours
Google is developing a data center complex in Minnesota powered by 1.4 gigawatts of wind, 200 megawatts of solar, and Form Energy's 300-megawatt iron-air battery system capable of 100 hours of storage—enough to power 200,000 homes. The project relies on a new green tariff agreement allowing Google to self-finance its clean energy mix without passing costs to residents. Form Energy's multiday battery technology aims to solve renewable intermittency problems that have limited grid-scale adoption.
Fortune • Mar 1
CORPORATE NEOCORP INFRASTRUCTURE
Online Platforms Are Not Liable for What Users Post. Should That Include Gen AI?
Senator Ron Wyden, co-author of Section 230, stated that generative AI tools do not automatically qualify for the law's liability protections. Speaking at a conference hosted by the R Street Institute, Wyden argued that AI-generated content differs from passive hosting of user speech, suggesting regulations should target "harmful use" rather than specific development methods. Panelists highlighted the financial risks AI companies face if courts rule that algorithmic output constitutes platform-created content rather than third-party speech.
PCMag • Mar 1
CORPORATE REGULATION SOCIAL
A dangerous playbook is being revived for the giant US housing agencies
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are increasing purchases of mortgage-backed securities, reviving a business model that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. The housing giants are expanding investment portfolios, concentrating systemic risk in federally-backed entities that control trillions in US housing finance.
Financial Times • Mar 1
CORPORATE FINANCE INEQUALITY
Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire - or ruin it?
A 540MW data center proposal near Kilmarnock has sparked debate over water consumption and community benefit. The facility would require millions of liters of water daily for cooling, potentially straining local resources while developers pledge community investments including walkways and water taxis.
BBC • Mar 1
CORPORATE INFRASTRUCTURE ENVIRONMENT
Meta won’t let morality get in the way of a product launch
Meta has introduced "Name Tag," a facial recognition feature for Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses that identifies people in real-time using cameras and AI. The launch comes as ICE expands surveillance operations and the administration weaponizes deportation infrastructure, with the company maintaining close ties to federal authorities. Unlike previous facial recognition controversies that sparked public backlash, this deployment arrives amid normalized surveillance conditions where biometric identification is becoming ambient infrastructure embedded in consumer devices.
The Verge • Mar 1
NEOCORP SURVEILLANCE PRIVACY
Why China's humanoid robot industry is winning the early market
China's humanoid robot sector, prioritized under the "Made in China 2025" industrial plan, is outpacing US competitors in shipment volume and iteration speed despite a market still in its infancy. Domestic firms combine advances in multimodal AI with state-backed manufacturing to deploy humanoids in contained industrial and warehouse environments first, aiming to address labor shortages while navigating safety risks that could trigger public backlash. Global shipments hit only 13,317 units last year but projected annual doubling could reach 2.6 million units by 2035.
TechCrunch • Mar 1
CORPORATE GEOPOLITICS LABOR
Your utility bills keep going up. Here's everyone you can blame—AI data centers included
Utilities are announcing hundreds of billions in infrastructure spending driven by data center demand, and ratepayers are absorbing the cost in monthly bill increases. Duke Energy CEO Harry Sideris defended rate hikes while acknowledging affordability concerns, as the PJM Interconnection region—where data centers are heavily concentrated—sees the most severe impacts. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has called for selectivity in data center approvals, citing community, cost, and environmental concerns raised by constituents.
Fortune • Mar 1
CORPORATE INEQUALITY AI
OpenAI's Sam Altman announces Pentagon deal with 'technical safeguards'
OpenAI has reached an agreement with the US Department of War to deploy its AI models within the Pentagon's classified network. CEO Sam Altman stated the deal includes prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and maintains human responsibility for autonomous weapon systems. The agreement follows the collapse of negotiations between the Pentagon and rival AI company Anthropic, which refused to remove safeguards against surveillance and autonomous weapons use.
TechCrunch • Mar 1
CORPORATE NEOCORP REGULATION
US confirms first combat use of LUCAS one-way attack drone in Iran strikes
U.S. Central Command confirmed the first combat deployment of the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drone during Operation Epic Fury against Iran on February 28, 2026. The autonomous kamikaze drones, reverse-engineered from Iranian Shahed-136 designs, targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command facilities, air defense systems, and military infrastructure. The deployment follows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's July directive to accelerate acquisition of affordable autonomous systems and establish drone squadrons capable of saturating adversaries with inexpensive, expendable platforms.
Defense News • Mar 1
GEOPOLITICS AUTOMATION CYBERWAR
AI panic has been erasing value all around the market. Here's where 3 investing pros see it hitting next.
Wall Street analysts identify the next sectors vulnerable to AI-driven disruption panic: stretched banking valuations facing automation exposure, industrial and transport sectors confronting physical AI (autonomous logistics, warehouse robotics), and private credit markets carrying concentrated tech risk. Citi projects warehouse automation alone will grow to $112 billion by 2029. Physical AI presents "super threat" to incumbents who fail adoption.
Business Insider • Mar 1
FINANCE LABOR AUTOMATION
Estamos entrando en la era en la que cualquiera puede ser tú. Deepfakes, IA y el colapso silencioso de la confianza en la identidad digital
Over 70% of Latin Americans lack precise knowledge of what deepfakes are, creating a vulnerable population as AI-generated impersonation attacks accelerate. Security forecasts indicate 2026 marks the shift of digital identity from a peripheral concern to a primary attack target for personalized fraud using social media data.
Gizmodo • Mar 1
SOCIAL MEMETIC DIGITALDIVIDE
US court blocks landmark law limiting social media use for children
A federal judge has blocked Virginia's law restricting minors' social media access, ruling the state lacks authority to limit 'minors' access to constitutionally protected speech.' Tech lobbying group NetChoice, representing Meta, Google, X and others, successfully argued the law violated the First Amendment. The Virginia ruling follows similar injunctions in Louisiana and Ohio, while California's narrower law targeting 'addictive feeds' was upheld in January.
Financial Times • Mar 1
CORPORATE PRIVACY REGULATION
China Asked ChatGPT for Help Crafting Online Harassment Campaigns
OpenAI's threat intelligence report reveals Chinese government operatives used ChatGPT to refine 'cyber special operations' targeting political dissidents abroad. The operation, linked to the 'Spamouflage' network, generated fake evidence for takedown requests and created impersonation accounts targeting US-based critics.
PCMag • Mar 1
SURVEILLANCE CYBERWAR SOCIAL
China's Solar Power Generation Overtakes Wind for First Time
China's solar power generation exceeded wind output for the first time in 2025 as a manufacturing boom in cheap photovoltaic panels reshaped the nation's energy mix. The milestone marks a structural shift in the world's largest emitter's electricity grid, with solar capacity additions accelerating despite ongoing challenges with grid integration and storage. The transition carries global climate implications given China's position as both the largest energy consumer and the dominant manufacturer of clean energy equipment worldwide.
Bloomberg • Mar 1
CORPORATE GEOPOLITICS CLIMATE-TECH
Dirty water, death and decline: the inside story of a privatisation scandal
A Guardian investigation reveals UK water privatization has loaded companies with debt while infrastructure crumbles. Secret 2002 government reports predicted this outcome. UN special rapporteur Pedro Arrojo-Agudo criticizes the system, while Thames Water—serving 16 million customers—struggles with £20bn debts and private equity owners demand 15-year exemptions from environmental rules.
The Guardian • Mar 1
CORPORATE REGULATION INFRASTRUCTURE