Mental health experts in Iowa have warned that teenagers are increasingly turning to AI chatbots instead of seeking human connection, raising concerns about misinformation and harmful advice.
The issue comes into focus on National Suicide Prevention Day, shortly after a lawsuit against ChatGPT was filed over a teenager’s suicide.
Jessica Bartz, a therapy supervisor at Vera French Duck Creek, said young people are at a vulnerable stage of identity formation while family communication often breaks down.
She noted that some teens use chatbot tools like ChatGPT, Genius and Copilot to self-diagnose, which can reinforce inaccurate or damaging ideas.
‘Sometimes AI can validate the wrong things,’ Bartz said, stressing that algorithms only reflect the limited information users provide.
Without human guidance, young people risk misinterpreting results and worsening their struggles.
Experts recommend that parents and trusted adults engage directly with teenagers, offering empathy and open communication instead of leaving them dependent on technology.
Bartz emphasised that nothing can replace a caring person noticing warning signs and intervening to protect a child’s well-being.
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President Trump has signed an Executive Order to promote American leadership in AI exports, marking a significant policy shift. The move creates new global opportunities for US businesses but also introduces stricter compliance responsibilities.
The order establishes the American AI Exports Program, overseen by the Department of Commerce, to develop and deploy ‘full-stack’ AI export packages.
These packages cover everything from chips and cloud infrastructure to AI models and cybersecurity safeguards. Industry consortia will be invited to submit proposals, outlining hardware origins, export targets, business models, and federal support requests.
A central element of the initiative is ensuring compliance with US export control regimes. Companies must align with the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations, with special attention to restrictions on advanced computing chips.
New guidance warns against potential violations linked to hardware and highlights red flags for illegal diversion of sensitive technology.
Commerce stresses that participation requires robust export compliance plans and rigorous end user screening.
Legal teams are urged to review policies on AI exports, as regulators focus on preventing misuse of advanced computing systems in military or weapons programmes abroad.
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The US tech giant Microsoft is expanding its AI strategy by integrating Anthropic’s Claude models into Office 365, adding them to apps like Word, Excel and Outlook instead of relying solely on OpenAI.
Internal tests reportedly showed Anthropic’s systems outperforming OpenAI in specific reasoning and data-processing tasks, prompting Microsoft to adopt a hybrid approach while maintaining OpenAI as a frontier partner.
The shift reflects growing strain between Microsoft and OpenAI, with disputes over intellectual property and cloud infrastructure as well as OpenAI’s plans for greater independence.
By diversifying suppliers, Microsoft reduces risks, lowers costs and positions itself to stay competitive while OpenAI prepares for a potential public offering and develops its own data centres.
Anthropic, backed by Amazon and Google, has built its reputation on safety-focused AI, appealing to Microsoft’s enterprise customers wary of regulatory pressures.
Analysts believe the move could accelerate innovation, spark a ‘multi-model era’ of AI integration, and pressure OpenAI to enhance its technology faster.
The decision comes amid Microsoft’s push to broaden its AI ecosystem, including its in-house MAI-1 model and partnerships with firms like DeepSeek.
Regulators are closely monitoring these developments, given Microsoft’s dominant role in AI investment and the potential antitrust implications of its expanding influence.
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A group of 12 Democratic US senators unveiled a crypto regulation plan, highlighting the need for bipartisan oversight. The proposal comes in response to Republicans’ plan to advance a market structure bill this month.
The Democrats’ framework outlines seven key pillars, including protections against illicit finance and measures to close gaps in the spot market for digital assets not classified as securities. It also calls for fair and effective regulation, highlighting concerns over the SEC, CFTC, and Treasury Department leadership.
The framework criticised Trump for removing Democratic commissioners and noted his family’s financial ties to crypto projects. Senators urged limits on elected officials and family members profiting from digital assets and reinforced disclosure requirements.
With the House passing the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act regulating stablecoins, the Senate is expected to prioritise crypto market structure legislation. However, Democrats remain uncertain whether Republicans will adopt their recommendations, with a final bill unlikely before 2026.
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A Ukrainian cybercrime suspect has been added to the EU’s Most Wanted list for his role in the 2019 LockerGoga ransomware attack against a major Norwegian aluminium company and other global incidents.
The fugitive is considered a high-value target and is wanted by multiple countries. The US Department of Justice has offered up to USD 10 million for information leading to the arrest.
Europol stated that the identification of the suspect followed a lengthy, multinational investigation supported by Eurojust, with damages from the network estimated to be in the billions. Several members of the group have already been detained in Ukraine.
Investigators have mapped the network’s operations, tracing its hierarchy from malware developers and intrusion experts to money launderers who processed illicit proceeds. The wanted man is accused of directly deploying LockerGoga ransomware.
Europol has urged the public to visit the EU Most Wanted website and share information that could assist in locating the fugitive. The suspect’s profile is now live on the platform.
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Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has announced plans to establish a State Digital Asset Fund to consolidate the country’s position in digital finance. The fund will accumulate a strategic crypto reserve through the National Bank’s Investment Corporation.
Crypto adoption in Kazakhstan has surged, doubling ownership from 4% in 2022 to 8% in 2024. Mining generated over $10 million in taxes, while licensed providers contributed $367,000 in the first eight months 2024.
Tokayev warned of rising online fraud, highlighting the need for anti-fraud centres, biometric ID systems, and enhanced legislation to protect citizens and state finances. He connected digital finance to urban development, unveiling Alatau City, a $7.2 billion fully digitalised smart city with crypto payments.
The initiative positions Kazakhstan as a regional leader in crypto strategy, combining economic growth, technological innovation, and digital infrastructure development.
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Yevgeny Masharov, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, said a national crypto bank would bring vast sums of crypto into the legal economy. He added that lawmakers also aim to ban quasi-legal exchanges while exploring the launch of state-run trading platforms.
Masharov suggested that a crypto bank could be a tool against online fraud, particularly schemes involving ‘droppers’ who launder cash and crypto for criminals. He argued that by keeping transactions within an official system, authorities would have more control over illicit flows.
The initiative follows similar moves in Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed officials to accelerate work on a national crypto bank. Moscow also views such a project as a way to support miners, enable safer cross-border payments, and reduce reliance on Western-controlled financial networks.
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Meta has plans to spend at least $600 billion on US data centres and AI infrastructure by 2028. The forecast, reported by The Information, was shared by CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a dinner with President Donald Trump and other technology leaders.
Capital expenditure is set to rise sharply over the next three years. Meta projects spending of $66–72 billion in 2025, nearly 70% higher than 2024, with another significant increase expected in 2026.
The company said the surge in investment will be driven primarily by the need to expand AI computing power.
Zuckerberg confirmed that Meta aims to deploy more than one million GPUs to train its next generation of AI models.
The company is also investing heavily in talent and infrastructure as it builds a dedicated team focused on developing artificial super intelligence, a concept referring to AI systems with capabilities beyond those of humans.
The spending commitment highlights how major US technology companies are racing to secure computing capacity for AI. Meta is pledging ‘hundreds of billions of dollars’ towards expanding its data centre footprint in the years ahead.
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Uber and Chinese startup Momenta will begin robotaxi testing in Munich in 2026, marking their first public deployment in continental Europe. The trials will start with human safety operators, with plans to expand across additional European cities.
Founded in 2016, Momenta is one of China’s leading autonomous vehicle companies, having tested self-driving cars since 2018. The company is already collaborating with automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW to integrate advanced driver assistance systems.
Uber is broadening its global AV network, which already spans 20 partners across mobility, delivery, and freight. In the US, Waymo robotaxis operate via Uber’s app, while international partnerships include WeRide in the Gulf and Wayve in London.
Competition in Europe is intensifying. Baidu from China and Lyft plan to roll out robotaxis in Germany and the UK next year, while Uber has chosen Munich, Germany, as its engineering base and a strong automotive ecosystem.
German regulators must still certify Momenta’s technology and approve geo-fenced operating areas. If successful, Munich will become Momenta’s first European launchpad, building on its Shanghai robotaxi service and global ADAS deployment.
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Sam Altman, X enthusiast and Reddit shareholder, has expressed doubts over whether social media content can still be distinguished from bot activity. His remarks followed an influx of praise for OpenAI Codex on Reddit, where users questioned whether such posts were genuine.
Altman noted that humans are increasingly adopting quirks of AI-generated language, blurring the line between authentic and synthetic speech. He also pointed to factors such as social media optimisation for engagement and astroturfing campaigns, which amplify suspicions of fakery.
The comments follow OpenAI’s backlash over the rollout of GPT-5, which saw Reddit communities shift from celebratory to critical. Altman acknowledged flaws in a Reddit AMA, but the fallout left lasting scepticism and lower enthusiasm among AI users.
Underlying this debate is the wider reality that bots dominate much of the online environment. Imperva estimates that more than half of 2024’s internet traffic was non-human, while X’s own Grok chatbot admitted to hundreds of millions of bots on the platform.
Some observers suggest Altman’s comments may foreshadow an OpenAI-backed social media venture. Whether such a project could avoid the same bot-related challenges remains uncertain, with research suggesting that even bot-only networks eventually create echo chambers of their own.
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