intelligence community

Classified budget estimates indicate the National Security Agency is paying billions of dollars to test artificial intelligence models, according to a new report. The disclosure has drawn attention to the scale of US intelligence spending on AI and raised questions about how spy agencies are evaluating commercial models and what capabilities they are seeking to build.

Data centers are increasingly shaping the physical American landscape, with large-scale facilities being built across the country to meet growing demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The expansion is drawing attention to their land use, energy consumption, and impact on local communities, as commentators debate whether the benefits outweigh the environmental and infrastructure costs.

A 60 Minutes report examines how the race to build artificial intelligence is driving a rapid expansion of data centers across the United States, and the growing resistance from communities where the facilities are being built. Residents have raised concerns over energy demands, water use, noise and strain on local power grids, turning data center approvals into a contested political issue in towns across the country.

Meta has launched Muse, a new AI agent. Details beyond the announcement remain limited, but the news is drawing attention across tech communities as Meta continues to expand its artificial intelligence offerings alongside rivals such as OpenAI and Google. Users are weighing in on what the agent could mean for Meta's apps and the broader AI assistant market.

Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator, has advised startups to use .com domains rather than .ai ones. The venture investor's guidance carries weight in the startup community, where he has long shaped conventions on company naming and branding. His recommendation comes as artificial intelligence startups increasingly adopt .ai domains, making the debate over domain choice a live topic among founders weighing credibility against trendiness.

The California Community Colleges system is asking for $195 million in funding to support artificial intelligence initiatives across its campuses. The request would finance AI tools and training in the largest community college system in the United States. The proposal comes as higher education institutions nationwide weigh how to adopt AI while seeking dedicated state money to pay for it.

Data center developers are discussing the current operating environment for their industry, according to a report from WPXI. The sector has been a major focus as demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence drives rapid expansion of data center construction. Developers' remarks on market conditions are drawing attention from investors and local communities affected by new projects.

Drake University is hosting prominent journalists for its Bucksbaum Business Lecture, where they will discuss the evolution of technology and artificial intelligence and its impact on journalism and business. The event is expected to draw students, faculty and community members interested in how AI is reshaping media and the economy.

A new model focused on cyber open-source intelligence has been released, according to a security researcher announcing it online. The release is being shared among cybersecurity and OSINT practitioners, who are taking note of what a purpose-built model for intelligence gathering could offer. Details on the model's capabilities, creators and intended use were not immediately available.

Nicole Matias, a researcher associated with Social Coop, reshared a message about artificial intelligence, technology and the internet that is circulating among tech communities online. The post, tagged with topics including AI, the web and LinkedIn, drew limited engagement but surfaced in global feeds. Little detail beyond the tags is available, so the substance of the discussion remains unclear.

Pepperdine University has held its sixth annual Human-Centered AI Conference, bringing the academic community together around the ethical and human-focused development of artificial intelligence. The recurring event highlights the university's ongoing role in conversations about how AI can be designed and deployed to serve people responsibly.

A new OSINT-focused artificial intelligence model for cybersecurity work has been released, according to an announcement circulating among hackers and security researchers. The release is being shared in tech and cybersecurity circles, though details about who built the model, what it can do, and how it performs have not been made widely available yet.

Chip startup EVAS has raised $295 million to expand its work on RISC-V-based AI architecture. The funding will support development of open-standard processor designs aimed at artificial intelligence workloads, a growing alternative to proprietary architectures. The announcement is drawing attention from the semiconductor and AI hardware communities tracking investment in open-source chip technology.

The French free-software advocacy group April has published its press review for week 39 of 2026, compiled on LinuxFr. The roundup gathers recent coverage on digital topics including artificial intelligence, the major tech platforms, China, and internet resilience. The weekly reviews are a regular feature of the organisation's work to keep the French-speaking free-software community informed about digital-policy and technology news.

The ransomware group m3rx has published new entries on its leak blog, naming iccsi.com, noonsugar.com and somasolucoes.com among its latest alleged victims. Cybersecurity threat-intelligence monitors flagged the posts, adding the group to tracked victim feeds. The listings imply the affected organisations now face data extortion demands, though the extent of the breaches and the companies' responses are not yet known.