Tech companies building AI data centers are facing growing opposition from US communities, the Los Angeles Times reports. Between April and June, 20 projects worth $98 billion were blocked or delayed across eleven states: two-thirds of all projects it is tracking, according to Data Center Watch. Residents cite rising electricity costs, water consumption, noise, and loss of farmland.
Real estate firms are now considering selling land over approval concerns. Matthews, North Carolina Mayor John Higdon told the LA Times that politicians backing these projects risk getting voted out. In Indiana alone, more than a dozen projects failed to get permits, says activist Bryce Gustafson. Industry representatives like Dan Diorio from the Data Center Coalition are pushing for better community outreach.
OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman has donated $25 million to MAGA Inc., Donald Trump's super PAC, according to a Bloomberg report citing FEC filings. The donation is part of $102 million MAGA Inc. raised in the second half of 2025, bringing its war chest to $294 million by year's end. Three donors accounted for over half: Brockman, crypto exchange Crypto.com ($20 million), and private equity investor Konstantin Sokolov ($11 million).
For days, users have been flooding Grok with pictures of half-naked people, from young women to soccer stars. The problem stems from Grok's image editing feature, which lets users modify people in photos—including swapping their clothes for bikinis or lingerie. All it takes is a simple text command. Now, one user has discovered that Grok even generated such images of children.
X user "Xyless" discovered Grok would generate sexualized images of children. | via X
The discovery forced xAI to respond. The company acknowledged "lapses in safeguards" and said it was "urgently fixing them." Child sexual abuse material is "illegal and prohibited," xAI wrote.
The US Army is establishing a new career track for officers specializing in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Called "49B AI/ML Officer," the new specialization aims to transform the army into a data-driven, AI-capable fighting force.
The first selection round kicks off in January 2026, with retraining scheduled to wrap up by the end of fiscal year 2026. Applicants with advanced academic and technical backgrounds in AI-related fields will have the best shot at getting in. "Ultimately, it's about building a force that can outthink, outpace, and outmaneuver any adversary," says Lt. Col. Orlandon Howard, US Army spokesperson, calling it a "deliberate and crucial step in keeping pace with present and future operational requirements."
Once trained, these officers will focus on speeding up battlefield decision-making, improving logistics, and supporting robotics and autonomous systems. The army is also considering opening the program to warrant officers down the line.
Instagram CEO argues humans must override their instinct to trust what they see online
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri says AI will make authenticity infinitely reproducible, and skepticism must become the default. His warning echoes what deepfake co-inventor Ian Goodfellow predicted eight years ago.
Brian Groh, a copywriter from Indiana, asked a chatbot for career advice after losing his job to AI and outsourcing. It suggested cutting trees. Groh's story, shared in a New York Times guest article, shows how AI is reshaping white-collar work. Marketing departments first hired cheaper contractors overseas, then turned to AI tools that could produce usable copy in seconds. Groh himself had previously replaced a transcription worker with AI, he writes. The 52-year-old took the chatbot's advice and initially earned decent money doing tree work, but the physical labor left him with elbow and back injuries.
I hope I’ll be able to get back to cutting trees for longer hours. But I suspect I’ll soon face increasing competition, as many people — especially recent college graduates — look for ways to make money that A.I. can’t yet replace.
Groh sees the same pattern that drove his working-class neighbors into despair after factory jobs disappeared. What once affected factory workers is now hitting office workers, he warns. Washington remains focused on global competition and growth, as if new work will always appear to replace what's been lost.
Zara is using artificial intelligence to digitally edit photos of models. The Spanish fashion giant reaches out to models and asks for permission to reuse existing images, reports City AM from London. Using AI, the company then dresses the models in new clothes and places them in different settings, eliminating the need for new photo shoots. Two models told City AM they receive the same payment as they would for an actual shoot. But everyone else who would normally be involved in a photo shoot, from makeup artists to photographers and stylists, likely gets nothing.
Zara says AI will supplement traditional photo shoots, not replace them. The shift comes during a rough patch for the retailer, with UK sales hitting their lowest point in six months this past November. Competitors H&M and Zalando announced similar plans over the summer, creating AI-based "digital twins" of models.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the world's largest accountancy organization, will stop offering online exams starting March 2026. The decision comes as AI-powered cheating outpaces detection methods. "We're seeing the sophistication of [cheating] systems outpacing what can be put in, [in] terms of safeguards," ACCA CEO Helen Brand told the Financial Times.
The organization serves nearly 260,000 members and more than 500,000 students. Despite efforts to combat cheating, "people who want to do bad things are probably working at a quicker pace," Brand said. One student told the FT that a friend photographed exam questions and fed them into an AI chatbot. A recent study found that current reasoning models can pass the demanding CFA certification.
Online exams launched during the pandemic. The ACCA is now overhauling its qualification for the first time in a decade, adding focus on AI, blockchain, and data science. The ICAEW, another major accountancy body, still offers some online exams but reports rising fraud cases.
The Creators Coalition on AI (CCAI) brings together filmmakers and artists pushing for common standards around AI use in the entertainment industry. Oscar winners Daniel Kwan and Jonathan Wang founded the group alongside actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, Paul McCartney, Guillermo Del Toro, and Mark Ruffalo have signed on as supporters.
The coalition isn't against AI outright—instead, it's pushing for clear guidelines. The group focuses on four main issues: getting consent and fair pay when creative work is used for training data, protecting jobs in the industry, establishing safeguards against deepfakes and misuse, and keeping human creativity at the center of the creative process. The CCAI aims to become a central hub for industry-wide conversations about these issues.
