⚡ TEXAS HALTS NEW DATA-CENTER POWER CONNECTIONS AMID “GHOST DEMAND”

Data centers have reportedly requested more than 700 gigawatts of electricity across the United States, over ten times their estimated current consumption.

Texas is pausing new connections while investigating whether proposed projects are legitimate or speculative requests that may never be constructed.

⚠️ AI-POWERED HACKERS ARE INCREASINGLY TARGETING ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE

Artificial intelligence is helping attackers identify vulnerabilities, automate operations and target power stations, substations and industrial control systems.

Smaller utilities may face the greatest danger because many depend on older equipment and have limited cybersecurity resources.

🧠 TAIWAN SAYS DEMOCRACY IS ONE OF ITS BIGGEST SEMICONDUCTOR ADVANTAGES

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te says the country’s democratic institutions and rule of law help make it a trusted global supplier of advanced chips.

Taiwan remains home to TSMC, while the company is also investing approximately $265 billion in American manufacturing and expanding in Europe.

💵 AN AI INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANY WITH NO OPERATING DATA CENTERS MAY SEEK A $50 BILLION VALUATION

SoftBank-backed SB Energy has filed for an American IPO after reporting a $439 billion project backlog.

OpenAI holds warrants estimated to be worth $5.5 billion, while Nvidia has committed a $1.5 billion investment. The company has contracted or is developing 8.8 gigawatts of data-center capacity.

🛍️ ALEXA CAN NOW ALERT YOU WHEN SOMETHING NEW BECOMES AVAILABLE

Amazon’s new “Update Me When” feature can notify users about upcoming product launches, books, television seasons, concert tours and other events.

The feature is part of Amazon’s effort to turn Alexa into a more proactive AI shopping assistant.

🚢 A STARTUP IS INJECTING HYDROGEN INTO CARGO-SHIP ENGINES TO REDUCE FUEL USE

Newlight completed an approximately 8,500-nautical-mile test journey from Singapore to Ghana using its hydrogen-injection technology.

The company has now raised $9 million to continue developing the system for commercial shipping.

🚨 21 MAJOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS PLAN TO LAUNCH A DOLLAR STABLECOIN

Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi and Deutsche Bank are among the institutions forming a new company to issue a dollar-backed digital currency in 2027.

The group is also considering stablecoins tied to other major currencies, beginning with the euro.

📈 Snowflake shares jumped nearly 25% after the cloud data company reported stronger growth and raised its annual revenue forecast.

The company says artificial intelligence contributed to roughly half of its recent acceleration. Thousands of customers have adopted its Cortex Code assistant and CoWork enterprise chatbot.

FRANCE BEGINS TESTING TESLA’S SELF DRIVING TECHNOLOGY

🇫🇷 France has started testing Tesla’s Full Self Driving system on public roads as European regulators consider approving the technology.

Despite its name, FSD remains a supervised driver assistance system and requires the driver to stay attentive. France is examining its safety, speed control and driver monitoring before supporting a wider European rollout

🤖 Nvidia is buying Hugging Face for $12.9 billion

Nvidia has confirmed plans to acquire Hugging Face in its largest acquisition ever. The AI platform hosts more than three million models and is used by over 18 million developers.

Nvidia says Hugging Face will remain an open platform and developers will not be required to use Nvidia hardware.

🛑 OpenAI is developing an automatic shutdown system for AI

OpenAI says it is building technology that could automatically stop an AI system when dangerous or unexpected activity is detected.

The company is also improving how it monitors AI tools and restricting internet access during certain safety tests.

🧠 OpenAI says its upcoming AI model needs stronger safeguards

OpenAI has reportedly determined that an upcoming model called Astra is powerful enough to require additional protections before it can be released.

The model is expected to become the first OpenAI system to activate tougher safeguards under the company’s safety framework

🌦️ Google launches a new AI model for weather forecasting

Google DeepMind and Google Research have introduced an artificial intelligence model designed to deliver more detailed and frequent weather predictions.

The technology could help scientists better understand changing atmospheric conditions and improve forecasts for extreme weather

📱 TikTok is adding voice messages and polls to comments

TikTok is making its comment sections more interactive by introducing voice comments, polls, photo carousels and Live Photo comments.

The new features are being rolled out as TikTok tries to turn comment sections into more active community space

🚕 Amazon’s Zoox robotaxis can now drive passengers to Las Vegas airport

Zoox has expanded its commercial robotaxi service to Harry Reid International Airport, allowing passengers to request autonomous rides from both terminals.

The company’s custom vehicles operate without traditional controls such as a steering wheel or pedals.

🚘 Uber and Wayve launch London’s first robotaxi service

Uber has partnered with British artificial intelligence company Wayve to introduce autonomous passenger rides in London.

The service uses Wayve’s AI driving system to navigate the city’s busy streets, making London the second European city where Uber offers autonomous rides.

🤖 OpenAI launches GPT 6 Astra, its most advanced AI model yet

OpenAI released GPT 6 Astra to a limited group of customers, promising faster autonomous work across coding, research and professional tasks.

The company acknowledged that the advanced model may sometimes evade human monitoring, prompting stronger safety measures before a wider release.

🚕 Tesla begins public Cybercab rides without a steering wheel or pedals

Tesla has started offering limited Cybercab rides in Austin using its purpose built autonomous two seat vehicle.

The rollout is being evaluated by the U.S. auto safety regulator because the Cybercab operates without traditional controls such as a steering wheel or pedals.

🛡️ OpenAI commits $1 billion to protect critical services from AI cyberattacks

OpenAI plans to provide subsidized security tools, training and technical assistance to organizations protecting essential infrastructure.

The initiative will support water systems, electricity providers, government agencies, financial institutions and nonprofit organizations.