News and What's New in AI

Tim Simmons · December 2025

So cooked

https://bsky.app/profile/moreperfectunion.bsky.social/post/3m7ksr3ubak27

tempo_n_groove · December 2025

@Wobbie

mickeyrat · February 25

ALTNATPARKSERVICE adbook post

Public Service Announcement: The U.S. government is demanding that an AI company loosen its safety protocols so its technology can be used for mass surveillance of U.S. civilians. That is the core dispute now unfolding between the Department of Defense and Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude model.

At the center of the conflict is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has reportedly pressed Anthropic to remove or modify certain safeguards embedded in its AI systems. Anthropic’s published use policy currently prohibits two specific categories of deployment. First, the use of its models in fully autonomous lethal weapons systems operating without meaningful human oversight (“human-in-the-loop” control), and second, the use of its systems for mass surveillance of domestic civilian populations. The company has framed these limits as ethical guardrails meant to prevent irreversible harm and abuse of powerful AI tools.

Pentagon officials argue that AI systems contracted by the military must be available for all national security purposes and that company-imposed restrictions could limit operational flexibility. Defense officials have warned that if Anthropic does not agree to revised terms, the company could face contract termination or designation as a supply-chain risk a move that could significantly damage its ability to do business with the federal government.

Anthropic, for its part, has not opposed military use of AI in general. The company has indicated willingness to support intelligence analysis, logistics, cybersecurity, and other defense applications. What it has resisted is removing explicit safeguards that prevent autonomous kill operations without human decision-making and broad domestic surveillance uses. Company leadership has argued that once such restrictions are lifted, the precedent could normalize AI systems that operate beyond human control in life-and-death decisions or are turned inward on the civilian population.

mickeyrat · February 27

random ai something or other adbook post....

The Pentagon just called Boeing and Lockheed Martin and asked them to audit how much they depend on Anthropic’s Claude.

This is the same Pentagon that put Claude into classified military networks. The same Pentagon that used Claude to capture Maduro. The same Pentagon whose own official said: “The only reason we’re still talking to these people is we need them and we need them now.”

Now they’re calling the defense industry and asking everyone to prepare to cut ties with the AI they themselves declared essential.

Lockheed Martin confirmed the contact. Boeing said it has no active contracts with Anthropic. The Pentagon told Axios it plans to reach out to “all the traditional primes” to map Claude’s footprint across the entire defense industrial base.

This is the first step toward designating Anthropic a “supply chain risk.” That label is normally reserved for foreign adversaries. Huawei got it. Now the Pentagon wants to apply it to an American company whose only offense is refusing to let its AI be used for mass surveillance of American citizens and weapons that fire without a human involved.

Here is the timeline:

Tuesday: Hegseth summons Amodei to the Pentagon and delivers the ultimatum. Remove all restrictions by Friday 5:01 p.m. or face the Defense Production Act and blacklisting.

Wednesday: Pentagon calls Boeing and Lockheed to begin mapping exposure. Preparation for severance is underway before the deadline has even arrived.

And here is the detail that tells you everything: the day before the ultimatum, the Pentagon signed a deal to put Elon Musk’s xAI on classified networks. xAI agreed to “all lawful purposes” without reservation. The replacement was lined up before the threat was even delivered.

Anthropic has $14 billion in annual revenue. The Pentagon contract is $200 million. This was never about the money. Anthropic said eight of the ten largest US companies use Claude. A supply chain risk designation would force every single one of them to certify they don’t use Claude in any military-adjacent work.

The Pentagon is not just threatening one company. It is threatening to make the most capable AI model in the world radioactive to every corporation that touches the defense industry.

All because Anthropic said no to two things.

Halifax2TheMax · February 28

*The following opinion is mine and mine alone and does not represent the views of my family, friends, government and/or my past, present or future employer. US Department of State: 1-888-407-4747.

You think “affordability” is an issue now? Give it 5 years, give or take. And what kind of human being wears a hat that says “Love” across the front during a video call to lay off 40% of their employees? Thank Turtle I’m not starting out in this world.

Block Cuts 40% of Its Work Force Because of Its Embrace of A.I.

About 4,000 workers will lose their jobs as the payments company does more work with new artificial intelligence tools, its top executive said.

Block, the financial technology company that owns Square, Cash App and Tidal, said on Thursday that it was cutting 40 percent of its work force as it embraced new artificial intelligence tools.

About 4,000 employees are expected to lose their jobs, Jack Dorsey, the company’s top executive, said in a social media post.

The cuts, made as Block reported strong financial results for its most recent quarter, are perhaps the most striking example so far of a technology company’s making plans to eliminate employees because of A.I.

Mr. Dorsey wrote in his post that he wanted to act decisively rather than “cut gradually over months or years as this shift plays out.”

“Something has changed,” he wrote. “We’re already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company. and that’s accelerating rapidly.”

While Mr. Dorsey’s post is likely to make rank-and-file tech workers at other companies nervous about their future, investors embraced it. Block’s share price jumped more than 26 percent in after-hours trading.

Whether computer programmers — and white-collar workers in general — will be replaced by A.I. is an increasingly urgent question being asked in Silicon Valley and by politicians such as Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont.

So far, many programmers see A.I. as more of a tool than a replacement. But executives believe that A.I. will continue to rapidly improve, particularly as A.I. code generators automate a wide range of tasks.

Mr. Dorsey appears to be betting that improvement is inevitable, and said he wanted to make a big change now rather than slowly whittle away at his work force.

“Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company,” Mr. Dorsey wrote. “We’re already seeing it internally. A significantly smaller team, using the tools we’re building, can do more and do it better. And intelligence tool capabilities are compounding faster every week.”

Mr. Dorsey said he did not believe that Block was the first company to realize that the rapid developments of A.I. would change businesses — nor that it would be the last.

“I think most companies are late,” he wrote. “Within the next year, I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes. I’d rather get there honestly and on our own terms than be forced into it reactively.”

After the announcement, Mr. Dorsey held an all-hands meeting with employees over a videoconference call, said two employees who took part and shared details on the condition of anonymity.

During the call, dozens of “thumbs down” emoji reactions cascaded down the screen as Mr. Dorsey, who wore a black cap that said “LOVE” on it, explained his decisions and fielded questions from angry employees.

One employee asked Mr. Dorsey if wearing the hat while firing nearly half the company was a good fashion choice, the people said.

Block has grown significantly over the past few years. It had 10,205 full-time employees globally at the end of 2025, according to financial filings. It reported 5,477 at the end of 2020. The company expects the layoffs to cost $450 million to $500 million.

Asked for comment, a spokeswoman for Block shared a link to Mr. Dorsey’s post and his letter to shareholders.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/technology/block-square-job-cuts-ai.html

mickeyrat · February 28

same adbookpagefrom above

🚨 BREAKING: OPENAI SAYS THEY’LL DO THE SAME THING THAT GOT ANTHROPIC BANNED

Sam Altman memo to OpenAI staff:

> “This is no longer just an issue between Anthropic and the Pentagon this is an issue for the whole industry and it is important to clarify our stance”

> “We have long believed that AI should not be used for mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons, and that humans should remain in the loop for high-stakes automated decisions. These are our main red lines.”

Altman on CNBC this morning:

>“I don’t personally think the Pentagon should be threatening DPA against these companies”

>“For all the differences I have with Anthropic, I mostly trust them as a company”

OpenAI is next…

gimmesometruth27 · February 28

i thought the billionaires were the job creators?

all these tech billionaires are cutting jobs and paying hardly any tax. fuck all of them.

Gern Blansten · February 28

I had a thought last night....wondering if there is a deeper reasoning for the DoD wanting this information from Anthropic.

Like maybe they have identified AI that could be a threat to our defense or something.

Could just be paranoia. If WhiskeyPete is in charge of that shit we're fucked

mickeyrat · February 28

Gern Blansten said:

I had a thought last night....wondering if there is a deeper reasoning for the DoD wanting this information from Anthropic.

Like maybe they have identified AI that could be a threat to our defense or something.

Could just be paranoia. If WhiskeyPete is in charge of that shit we're fucked

eould say claude is sooo good it will make a fine ki)ing machine while also monitoring every person in the country .

HughFreakingDillon · February 28

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Block Cuts 40% of Its Work Force Because of Its Embrace of A.I.

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