One year ago today, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States. Standing alongside him that day were the leaders of the tech industry's most powerful companies, who had donated to him in an unprecedented bending of the knee. In the ensuing year, the companies have reaped enormous rewards from their alliance with Trump, which my colleague Nick Robins-Early and I wrote about last month after Trump signed an executive order prohibiting states from passing laws regulating AI.
In a few short years, artificial intelligence has transformed from what many viewed as a moonshot to the source of countless real-world benefits. At Pinterest, for instance, we're deploying AI to flip the script on social media, using it to more aggressively promote user well being rather than the alternative formula of triggering engagement by enragement. I believe AI can benefit our 600 million users for years to come and at a fraction the cost that many associate with the technology.
Identifying the best global expansion strategies isn't the only step AI companies should take to accelerate business growth and reach new audiences. It may be easier than ever to reach buyers on the other side of the world, but doing so brings its own set of challenges and hiccups. For starters, AI regulations differ by region, meaning that you have to know and abide by the rules in different regions.
AMY GOODMAN: In The Wall Street Journal, you recently revealed that ventures launched since Trump's reelection have generated at least $4 billion in proceeds and paper wealth for the Trump family, that figure based on company statements and security filings. In addition, you've reported how one of the family businesses, Trump Media & Technology, recently announced a $6 billion merger with a firm aiming to build the world's first viable nuclear fusion plant to power AI projects and data centers,
Those affected by the eVisa system's technical failings told Computer Weekly, on condition of anonymity, that the entire experience had been "anxiety-inducing" and described how their lives had been thrust into "uncertainty" by the transition to a digital, online-only immigration system. Each also described how the "inordinate amount of stress" associated with not being able to reliably prove their immigration status had been made worse by a lack of responsiveness and help
Washington became the eighth state to enshrine the right to repair. Several states stepped up to protect the privacy of location data, with bills recognizing your location data isn't just a pin on a map-it's a powerful tool that reveals far more than most people realize. Other state legislators moved to protect health privacy. And California passed a law making it easier for people to exercise their privacy rights under the state's consumer data privacy law.
The poll from FabrizioWard found the national general Congressional ballot currently favors Democrats by a seven-point margin. FabrizioWard is the strategy and consulting firm led by Tony Fabrizio and Bob Ward; Fabrizio is a veteran Republican strategist who served as Trump's chief pollster in 2016, 2020, and 2024. The firm's latest figures were released last week on December 18. It was based on 1,000 registered voters across the U.S.
Although relational AI has potential therapeutic benefits, recent studies and emerging cases suggest potential risks of emotional dependency, reinforced delusions, addictive behaviors, and encouragement of self-harm,
Sam DeBord, CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), emphasized the complex environment that agents, brokers and MLSs already operate within with or without new AI-specific laws layered on top. He said that being ready for the regulations that come next starts with understanding how MLS licensing works and who ultimately controls compliance. Real estate agents get licensed to use MLS data through their relationship with their brokerage, which is the participant in the MLS, DeBord said.
In what's shaping up as a rotation out of technology names, the Nasdaq Composite has been left out of the broader market rally this week. After yesterday's impressive trading session in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both clinched new highs, the broader markets are looking to take more ground while tech remains sidelined. As for the Nasdaq Composite, it is eyeing a 22% gain year-to-date before any potential Santa Claus rally grips the technology sector if sentiment can be reversed.
It was a distinctly clever, if somewhat surprising, choice from Altman who has mostly kept his personal life out of the media spotlight. But Altman is a salesman, and a good salesman understands the optics of good television. So he talked about being a dad and being worried that his son-who wasn't crawling at six months-was developing slower than other children (spoiler: he's not). "I cannot imagine having gone through, figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT," Altman told Fallon. "People did it for a long time, no problem. So clearly it was possible, but I have relied on it so much."
What changed? Republicans long characterized Silicon Valley as a bastion of liberalism. But over the past half-decade, many of tech's wealthiest titans rebelled against the Biden administration's criticism and policing of their industry. Last year, many tech barons threw their support behind the GOP, which they saw as more aligned with their often-libertarian ideals and their companies' economic interests.
