US Archives | Page 26 of 90 | Digital Watch Observatory

Anthropic debuts AI tools for US national security

Anthropic has launched a new line of AI models, Claude Gov, explicitly tailored for US national security operations. Built with direct input from government clients, top-tier agencies already use the models.

These classified-use models were developed with enhanced safety testing and are optimised for handling sensitive material, including improved handling of classified data, rare language proficiency, and defence-specific document comprehension.

The Claude Gov models reflect Anthropic’s broader move into government partnerships, building on its collaboration with Palantir and AWS.

As competition in defence-focused AI intensifies, rivals including OpenAI, Meta, and Google are also adapting their models for secure environments.

The sector’s growing interest in custom, security-conscious AI tools marks a shift in how leading labs seek stable revenue streams and deeper ties with government agencies.

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China accuses Taiwan of cyber attacks and offers a bounty

Authorities in Guangzhou have placed a secret bounty on more than 20 individuals suspected of launching cyber attacks on Chinese targets, according to state news agency Xinhua.

One named suspect, Ning Enwei, is reportedly linked to Taiwan’s government. While the size of the reward remains undisclosed, officials claim the accused hackers targeted sectors including defence, aerospace, energy, and science—alongside agencies in Hong Kong and Macau.

Xinhua stated that Taiwan’s ‘information, communication and digital army’ has coordinated with US forces to carry out cyber and cognitive warfare against China.

These accusations form part of a broader Chinese narrative suggesting Taiwan is seeking independence through foreign alliances, particularly with US intelligence agencies. State media also claimed the US has trained Taiwanese personnel and helped orchestrate cyber attacks on the mainland.

In response, a senior Taiwanese security official, speaking anonymously, dismissed the claims as fabricated. The official argued that Beijing is attempting to deflect criticism following allegations of Chinese cyber activities in Europe, especially in the Czech Republic.

‘It is typical of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to change the narrative,’ the official said, branding Beijing an international cyber threat instead of a victim.

Taiwan’s government has yet to issue an official statement.

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Cyber attack hits Lee Enterprises staff data

Thousands of current and former employees at Lee Enterprises have had their data exposed following a cyberattack earlier this year.

Hackers accessed to the company’s systems in early February, compromising sensitive information such as names and Social Security numbers before the breach was contained the same day.

Although the media firm, which operates over 70 newspapers across 26 US states, swiftly secured its networks, a three-month investigation involving external cybersecurity experts revealed that attackers accessed databases containing employee details.

The breach potentially affects around 40,000 individuals — far more than the company’s 4,500 current staff — indicating that past employees were also impacted.

The stolen data could be used for identity theft, fraud or phishing attempts. Criminals may even impersonate affected employees to infiltrate deeper into company systems and extract more valuable information.

Lee Enterprises has notified those impacted and filed relevant disclosures with authorities, including the Maine Attorney General’s Office.

Headquartered in Iowa, Lee Enterprises draws over 200 million monthly online page views and generated over $611 million in revenue in 2024. The incident underscores the ongoing vulnerability of media organisations to cyber threats, especially when personal employee data is involved.

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OpenAI turns ChatGPT into AI gateway

OpenAI plans to reinvent ChatGPT as an all-in-one ‘super assistant’ that knows its users and becomes their primary gateway to the internet.

Details emerged from a partly redacted internal strategy document shared during the US government’s antitrust case against Google.

Rather than limiting ChatGPT to existing apps and websites, OpenAI envisions a future where the assistant supports everyday life—from suggesting recipes at home to taking notes at work or guiding users while travelling.

The company says the AI should evolve into a reliable, emotionally intelligent helper capable of handling a various personal and professional tasks.

OpenAI also believes hardware will be key to this transformation. It recently acquired io, a start-up founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive, for $6.4 billion to develop AI-powered devices.

The company’s strategy outlines how upcoming models like o2 and o3, alongside tools like multimodality and generative user interfaces, could make ChatGPT capable of taking meaningful action instead of simply offering responses.

The document also reveals OpenAI’s intention to back a regulation requiring tech platforms to allow users to set ChatGPT as their default assistant. Confident in its fast growth, research lead, and independence from ads, the company aims to maintain its advantage through bold decisions, speed, and self-disruption.

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NSO asks court to overturn WhatsApp verdict

Israeli spyware company NSO Group has requested a new trial after a US jury ordered it to pay $168 million in damages to WhatsApp.

The company, which has faced mounting legal and financial troubles, filed a motion in a California federal court last week seeking to reduce the verdict or secure a retrial.

The May verdict awarded WhatsApp $444,719 in compensatory damages and $167.25 million in punitive damages. Jurors found that NSO exploited vulnerabilities in the encrypted platform and sold the exploit to clients who allegedly used it to target journalists, activists and political rivals.

WhatsApp, owned by Meta, filed the lawsuit in 2019.

NSO claims the punitive award is unconstitutional, arguing it is over 376 times greater than the compensatory damages and far exceeds the US Supreme Court’s general guidance of a 4:1 ratio.

The firm also said it cannot afford the penalty, citing losses of $9 million in 2023 and $12 million in 2024. Its CEO testified that the company is ‘struggling to keep our heads above water’.

WhatsApp, responding to TechCrunch in a statement, said NSO was once again trying to evade accountability. The company vowed to continue its legal campaign, including efforts to secure a permanent injunction that would prevent NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp or its users again.

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Courts consider limits on AI evidence

A newly proposed rule by the Federal Judicial Conference could reshape how AI-generated evidence is treated in court. Dubbed Rule 707, it would allow such machine-generated evidence to be admitted only if it meets the same reliability standards required of expert testimony under Rule 702.

However, it would not apply to outputs from simple scientific instruments or widely used commercial software. The rule aims to address concerns about the reliability and transparency of AI-driven analysis, especially when used without a supporting expert witness.

Critics argue that the limitation to non-expert presentation renders the rule overly narrow, as the underlying risks of bias and interpretability persist regardless of whether an expert is involved. They suggest that all machine-generated evidence in US courts should be subject to robust scrutiny.

The Advisory Committee is also considering the scope of terminology such as ‘machine learning’ to prevent Rule 707 from encompassing more than intended. Meanwhile, a separate proposed rule regarding deepfakes has been shelved because courts already have tools to address the forgery.

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China creates AI to detect real nuclear warheads

Chinese scientists have created the world’s first AI-based system capable of identifying real nuclear warheads from decoys, marking a significant step in arms control verification.

The breakthrough, developed by the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), could strengthen Beijing’s hand in stalled disarmament talks, although it also raises difficult questions about AI’s growing role in managing weapons of mass destruction.

The technology builds on a long-standing US–China proposal but faced key obstacles: how to train AI using sensitive nuclear data, gain military approval without risking secret leaks, and persuade sceptical nations like the US to move past Cold War-era inspection methods.

So far, only the AI training has been completed, with the rest of the process still pending international acceptance.

The AI system uses deep learning and cryptographic protocols to analyse scrambled radiation signals from warheads behind a polythene wall, ensuring the weapons’ internal designs remain hidden.

The machine can verify a warhead’s chain-reaction potential without accessing classified details. According to CIAE, repeated randomised tests reduce the chance of deception to nearly zero.

While both China and the US have pledged not to let AI control nuclear launch decisions, the new system underlines AI’s expanding role in national defence.

Beijing insists the AI can be jointly trained and sealed before use to ensure transparency, but sceptics remain wary of trust, backdoor access and growing militarisation of AI.

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Clean energy projects in the US stall amid tax credit uncertainty

US clean energy companies are facing mounting uncertainty as Congress weighs deep cuts to green energy tax credits. Projects like HIF Global’s proposed $7bn e-methanol facility in Texas are now in limbo, with developers warning that the loss of hydrogen subsidies could stall investment decisions.

The plant would convert green hydrogen and captured carbon into low-emission fuel for global aviation and shipping, but without support, firms may shift focus to other markets.

The Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) had sparked billions in green investment, especially in Republican-led states.

However, the Trump administration’s rollback efforts and proposed budget cuts could sharply reduce or terminate credits for clean electricity, electric vehicles, and energy-efficient home improvements. Agencies have paused or delayed funding while legal disputes continue, worsening industry-wide uncertainty.

Clean energy investment fell for the second consecutive quarter, according to new data, with $6.9bn in battery manufacturing projects cancelled.

Developers now face rising tariffs, high interest rates, and unclear policy direction, leading to declining confidence in the market. Firms are adjusting strategies to appeal to stakeholders beyond climate goals, focusing instead on local benefits and energy security.

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EU says US tech firms censor more

Far more online content is removed under US tech firms’ terms and conditions than under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), according to Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen.

Her comments respond to criticism from American tech leaders, including Elon Musk, who have labelled the DSA a threat to free speech.

In an interview with Euractiv, Virkkunen said recent data show that 99% of content removals in the EU between September 2023 and April 2024 were carried out by platforms like Meta and X based on their own rules, not due to EU regulation.

Only 1% of cases involved ‘trusted flaggers’ — vetted organisations that report illegal content to national authorities. Just 0.001% of those reports led to an actual takedown decision by authorities, she added.

The DSA’s transparency rules made those figures available. ‘Often in the US, platforms have more strict rules with content,’ Virkkunen noted.

She gave examples such as discussions about euthanasia and nude artworks, which are often removed under US platform policies but remain online under European guidelines.

Virkkunen recently met with US tech CEOs and lawmakers, including Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, a prominent critic of the DSA and the DMA.

She said the data helped clarify how EU rules actually work. ‘It is important always to underline that the DSA only applies in the European territory,’ she said.

While pushing back against American criticism, Virkkunen avoided direct attacks on individuals like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. She suggested platform resistance reflects business models and service design choices.

Asked about delays in final decisions under the DSA — including open cases against Meta and X — Virkkunen stressed the need for a strong legal basis before enforcement.

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Chinese tech firms thrive amid US curbs

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has raised concerns that US export restrictions are accelerating the growth of Chinese AI firms, making them more competitive. In a recent interview, Huang highlighted that companies like Huawei — long blacklisted by the US — have become ‘formidable’ rivals.

The restrictions have hit Nvidia hard, with the company projecting an $8 billion revenue loss this quarter due to the limited access to the Chinese market, historically its largest for chips. The Biden administration’s AI diffusion rule, aimed at controlling the spread of advanced AI technologies, had already drawn criticism from Huang before being partially rolled back by the Trump administration in May.

Yet, Nvidia still faces tough restrictions, including a ban on selling even its downgraded H20 chip to China. The company was recently notified that it would need a special license to export the chip, leaving it with no viable alternative for the Chinese market.

Huang warned that efforts to keep cutting-edge AI tech out of China have largely backfired, as Chinese firms are finding workarounds and quickly catching up.

‘They’re doubling or quadrupling capabilities every year,’ he noted, stressing that the performance of Huawei’s latest AI chip now rivals Nvidia’s once-leading H200.

Despite Nvidia’s strong recent performance, Huang emphasised the long-term importance of re-engaging with China, home to the world’s largest community of AI researchers. He urged US policymakers to reconsider their approach, advocating for broader access to American AI technology to maintain leadership and influence in the global AI ecosystem.

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