Monday, June 23, 2025

Study: only 32 countries, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, host AI data centers, with the US, China, and the EU controlling 50%+ of the world's top facilities (New York Times)

New York Times:
Study: only 32 countries, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, host AI data centers, with the US, China, and the EU controlling 50%+ of the world's top facilities  —  Only 32 nations, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, have A.I.-specialized data centers.  —  E.U. 28  —  China  —  Other  —  Europe



Sources: Apple is locked in last-minute EU negotiations over App Store changes to avoid fines set for this week, and is expected to offer "steering" concessions (Barbara Moens/Financial Times)

Barbara Moens / Financial Times:
Sources: Apple is locked in last-minute EU negotiations over App Store changes to avoid fines set for this week, and is expected to offer “steering” concessions  —  Tech group must make concessions to comply with Digital Markets Act or be hit by escalating levies from Thursday



How Walmart, seeking to compete with e-commerce rivals like Amazon, built a multibillion-dollar HQ in Bentonville, aiming to attract workers and woo shoppers (Kevin Draper/New York Times)

Kevin Draper / New York Times:
How Walmart, seeking to compete with e-commerce rivals like Amazon, built a multibillion-dollar HQ in Bentonville, aiming to attract workers and woo shoppers  —  The retailing giant is spending billions to attract workers to a new headquarters and woo shoppers with drone delivery and a broader range of items …



Tesla quietly launches its robotaxi service in Austin, with ~10 vehicles and a human safety driver; Elon Musk says customers will pay "a $4.20 flat fee" (Financial Times)

Financial Times:
Tesla quietly launches its robotaxi service in Austin, with ~10 vehicles and a human safety driver; Elon Musk says customers will pay “a $4.20 flat fee”  —  Self-driving technology on which Elon Musk has staked the future of his company debuts in Texas



Sunday, June 22, 2025

Texas enacts legislation, effective September 1, requiring a permit to operate self-driving vehicles, just before Tesla's planned robotaxi trial in Austin (Reuters)

Reuters:
Texas enacts legislation, effective September 1, requiring a permit to operate self-driving vehicles, just before Tesla's planned robotaxi trial in Austin  —  Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has signed legislation requiring a permit to operate self-driving vehicles …



Purism's $1,999 security-focused Liberty Phone, assembled in the US with decade-old specs and some US-made parts, exposes the gaps in US phone manufacturing (Ben Raab/Wall Street Journal)

Ben Raab / Wall Street Journal:
Purism's $1,999 security-focused Liberty Phone, assembled in the US with decade-old specs and some US-made parts, exposes the gaps in US phone manufacturing  —  Despite the president's domestic manufacturing push—and the Trump Organization's launch of an ostensibly U.S.-made phone—the challenges remain massive



A look at the US Army Reserve's Detachment 201, which lets tech executives, like Meta's Bosworth, give advice as senior officers while keeping their day jobs (Steven Levy/Wired)

Steven Levy / Wired:
A look at the US Army Reserve's Detachment 201, which lets tech executives, like Meta's Bosworth, give advice as senior officers while keeping their day jobs  —  Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth and leaders from OpenAI and Palantir have joined a detachment intended to make the US Armed Forces “leaner, smarter, and more lethal.”



Uber, Verne, and Pony.ai launch autonomous rides in Zagreb, making the Croatian capital the first European city where users can book such rides via Uber's app (Anzar Mehraj/Reuters)

Anzar Mehraj / Reuters : Uber, Verne, and Pony.ai launch autonomous rides in Zagreb, making the Croatian capital the first European city ...