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Anthropic revealed on Monday that it has signed an expanded compute agreement with Google and Broadcom to meet soaring demand for its Claude models. The partnership will bring additional TPU power and 3.5 GW of compute online by 2027, reinforcing the company’s $50 billion pledge to U.S. AI infrastructure. Anthropic Secures Expanded TPU and Compute Capacity from Google and Broadcom The new contract builds on the October 2025 deal that already granted Anthropic more than a gigawatt of Google Cloud TPU capacity. Under the latest terms, Anthropic will: Leverage additional Google Cloud TPUs for Claude model training and inference. Integrate Broadcom‑manufactured AI chips to deliver a total of 3.5 GW of compute. Deploy the majority of the hardware within the United States, aligning with its domestic‑focused strategy. The compute will become operational in 2027, though Anthropic did not disclose exact capacity figures beyond the gigawatt estimate. Scale of the New Compute Commitment: Gigawatts, Funding, and Revenue Growth Financial disclosures highlight the magnitude of the expansion: 3.5 GW of additional compute, as shown in Broadcom’s SEC filing. A cumulative $50 billion investment in U.S. compute infrastructure. Recent $30 billion Series G funding round, valuing Anthropic at $380 billion. Run‑rate revenue now at $30 billion, up from $9 billion at the end of 2025. Over 1,000 enterprise customers each spending more than $1 million annually. Strategic Implications for the U.S. AI Landscape and Enterprise Adoption The expanded compute footprint strengthens Anthropic’s position in a market where U.S. policy and supply‑chain concerns are increasingly influential. Key takeaways include: Reduced exposure to foreign hardware risk, addressing the Defense Department’s earlier labeling of Anthropic as a supply‑chain concern. Enhanced ability to serve large‑scale enterprise workloads, reinforcing Claude’s appeal to high‑spending corporate clients. Potential competitive pressure on rivals such as OpenAI and Microsoft, who are also racing to secure domestic compute capacity. Outlook: How Anthropic’s Compute Expansion Shapes Future AI Competition Analysts expect the new compute resources to enable Anthropic to: Accelerate model iteration, narrowing the performance gap with next‑generation rivals. Offer more customized solutions to enterprise customers, driving higher average contract values. Leverage its U.S.-centric infrastructure to win government contracts and avoid regulatory headwinds. If demand continues its current trajectory, Anthropic could see its revenue run‑rate exceed $50 billion by 2029, positioning it as a dominant player in the commercial AI space.

A controversy has erupted in Toronto's affluent Rosedale neighbourhood over a proposed AI-powered surveillance system aimed at curbing the area's high property crime rates. The plan, championed by resident Craig Campbell, involves installing cameras that scan licence plates to identify suspicious vehicles.The system, developed by US-based company Flock, uses AI to learn which cars belong to residents and which are potentially suspicious. The technology has sparked concerns about privacy, bias, and surveillance. While some residents see it as a necessary measure to enhance safety, others are worried about the implications of such a system.Rosedale has experienced a significant rise in home invasions, with robbers targeting the neighbourhood at a rate more than double the city average. Crime rates in Toronto as a whole have been declining, but residents are seeking solutions to address their concerns. Campbell, who runs a security company and holds the Canadian licensing rights for Flock, proposed the plan as a way to create a 'virtual gated community.'The system would involve an initial group of 100 residents paying a C$200 monthly subscription to access the technology. The cameras collect licence plate data, which is retained for 30 days, and police can only access the data with legal authorization. While the system does not use facial recognition, concerns about AI bias and profiling have been raised.Flock claims its network of over 90,000 cameras has helped reduce crime by up to 70% in some communities. However, the company has faced scrutiny in the US for its collaboration with law enforcement and allegations of mass surveillance. In Canada, privacy laws are stricter, and regulators are likely to view the network as a data collection system subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Pipeda).The Toronto police have acknowledged residents' concerns about safety but have not commented on the legality of the proposed system. The city's privacy commissioner has emphasized the need for companies to inform individuals and obtain consent before collecting and using personal information.

The recent Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina showcased the thrilling use of high-speed camera drones, bringing viewers up close to the action. However, this technology has a darker side, as it is also being used in the US military's drone strikes in Iran. The seamless transition from drone-supplied footage of Olympic excellence to drone-supplied footage of war crimes has felt genuinely jarring. The connection between drone racing and drone strikes is not coincidental. Professional drone racing emerged around a decade ago, with the Drone Racing League (DRL) being a prominent competition. The US air force was a longtime sponsor of the DRL, using the competition as a scouting ground to recruit new pilots. The league's emphasis on high-speed, first-person view drones has contributed to the development of technology now used in military contexts. The current conflict in Iran highlights a disturbing trend: the militarization of sports culture. The Trump administration's approach to the war, including the use of Hollywood and gaming imagery in its videos, reflects a broader cultural shift. The US military's actions are being presented as a form of entertainment, with two-minute video montages of "stuff blowing up" being used to brief the president on the war's progress. This phenomenon is not limited to the administration; the language of sports is increasingly being used in discussions of war. Politicians like Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth are using sports-like terminology to describe military actions, reflecting a degeneration of language in global diplomacy. The Trumpian trash talk has degraded the discourse, with the president's tweets about the war being characterized by their usual boorishness. The article concludes that the culture of sports is central to the chaos unfolding across the Middle East. The blurring of lines between war and sport reflects a deeper societal issue, where the values of competition and entertainment are taking precedence over human life and dignity. As the world teeters on the edge of a military and economic catastrophe, the need for a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between sports, technology, and warfare has never been more pressing.

Tens of thousands of people have been hired by Scale AI – a firm 49% owned by Meta – to train artificial‑intelligence models by scraping Instagram accounts, harvesting copyrighted artwork and transcribing pornographic soundtracks, according to the Guardian.Scale AI promotes its Outlier platform as a flexible, expert‑driven marketplace, recruiting professionals from medicine, physics and economics to "become the expert that AI learns from."Workers, however, say the reality diverges sharply from high‑level model refinement. They describe tasks that involve massive personal‑data scraping and content that many find morally uncomfortable.Outlier is managed by Scale AI, which holds contracts with the U.S. Pentagon and other defense companies. Its chief executive, Alexandr Wang, is hailed by Forbes as the world’s youngest self‑made billionaire, while former managing director Michael Kratsios served as science adviser to former President Donald Trump.One contractor noted that users of Meta platforms would be shocked to learn their photos and friends’ images are being harvested for AI training, with workers manually reviewing profiles to extract data.The Guardian interviewed ten Outlier contributors – many also journalists, graduate students, teachers or librarians – who took the gig work out of economic desperation. One said, "A lot of us were really desperate" and felt compelled to accept the unstable, low‑pay assignments.These gig workers, dubbed “taskers,” often feel they are training their own replacements, expressing “internalised shame and guilt” over contributing to the automation of creative professions.Law firm Clarkson, representing AI gig workers, estimates that hundreds of thousands of people worldwide now labor on platforms like Outlier. Taskers report bait‑and‑switch recruitment tactics, where advertised high salaries are replaced by lower‑paid projects after onboarding.All contributors are monitored through a tool called Hubstaff, which can screenshot browsers to verify work. While Scale AI claims the software is only for accurate payment, workers describe it as constant surveillance.Assignments have ranged from transcribing pornographic audio and labeling photos of dead animals or dog faeces, to annotating diagrams of infant genitalia and violent police scenarios. One doctoral student recounted being promised “no nudity” only to receive explicit porn clips.Scale AI says it shuts down any task flagged as inappropriate and does not accept projects involving child sexual‑abuse material or pornography, though workers note that publicly available images of minors have been used for training.Social‑media scraping tasks required workers to tag individuals by name, location and age, sometimes pulling data from accounts of users under 18. One task asked contributors to order Facebook photos by the subject’s age, prompting ethical unease.In addition to personal data, taskers were asked to harvest copyrighted artwork, with strict instructions to avoid AI‑generated images and select only hand‑drawn pieces. Scale AI maintains it does not ask workers to violate copyright standards.Scale AI’s client list includes major tech firms such as Google, Meta and OpenAI, as well as the U.S. Department of Defense and the government of Qatar, highlighting the growing demand for labelled data as AI models scale.Some workers reported interacting with ChatGPT and Claude, and speculated they might be training Meta’s upcoming model, code‑named “Avocado.”OpenAI announced it ended its partnership with Scale AI in June 2025, citing its supplier code of conduct that mandates ethical treatment of all workers.Despite irregular pay, occasional mass layoffs and the unsettling nature of many tasks, many taskers remain on the Outlier platform, hoping the AI future will eventually improve conditions. One said, "I have to be positive about AI because the alternative is not great."In response, a Scale AI spokesperson stated, "Outlier provides flexible, project‑based work with transparent pay. Contributors choose when and how they participate, and we regularly hear from highly skilled contributors who value the flexibility and opportunity to apply their expertise on the platform."

The risograph printer, a Japanese innovation from the 1980s, has captured the hearts of artists and creatives globally. This compact machine, produced by Riso Kagaku, allows for small print runs with a distinctive, handmade feel.Gabriella Marcella, a Scottish-Italian designer, fell in love with the risograph while studying at New York's Pratt Institute. She now curates Riso Club, a non-profit program promoting artists who use risographs. The club sends postcards featuring work from international cities, showcasing the riso community's global reach.The exhibition at Glasgow's Glue Factory Galleries celebrates the Riso Club's 100th issue with works from design heroes like Nathalie Du Pasquier and Peter Shire. Marcella hopes to demonstrate that design can be accessible, social, and connect people through print.Artists like Mari Kinovych and Kinda Ghannoum have used the risograph to showcase their cities, Kyiv and Damascus, in a unique and personal way. The risograph's political roots and ability to produce affordable prints have made it a staple in the art world.

The Escalation of Cyber-Kinetic Threats in the Middle EastIran’s military has signaled a dangerous escalation in the ongoing regional conflict by explicitly targeting critical AI infrastructure. In a video released late last week, Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari warned that if the United States proceeds with threats to strike Iranian civilian assets, Tehran would retaliate against U.S. energy and technology infrastructure across the region. The video, which went viral on Sunday, explicitly zoomed in on the Stargate data center in the United Arab Emirates, stating that "nothing stays hidden to our sight, though hidden by Google." This marks a significant shift from previous threats, which were largely abstract, to specific, high-value targets.Targeting the Stargate InitiativeThe focal point of the threat is the Stargate project, a monumental $500 billion joint venture announced in January 2025 between OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle. The initiative, originally hampered by funding troubles and tariff costs, is currently seeking to expand its international footprint. The Iranian warning suggests that the war in the region is no longer limited to traditional military assets but is spilling over into the digital backbone of the global economy. This comes at a precarious time for the project, which is attempting to solidify its status as a global leader in AI compute power.Financial and Strategic Implications for Tech GiantsThe threat carries severe financial and operational risks for major technology entities operating in the region. The conflict has already resulted in physical damage to cloud infrastructure, with Iranian missiles striking Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in Bahrain and an Oracle facility in Dubai. Furthermore, the Iranian military has previously named Nvidia and Apple as potential targets, indicating a broad strategy to disrupt the supply chains and data processing capabilities of Western tech giants. For a project like Stargate, which relies on uninterrupted power and secure facilities, these threats pose existential challenges to its operational continuity.Redefining Data Sovereignty in Conflict ZonesThis development fundamentally alters the landscape of data sovereignty and cloud computing. Historically, data centers have been viewed as neutral commercial zones, but the recent attacks demonstrate that they are becoming legitimate targets in geopolitical warfare. The targeting of Stargate, a project backed by some of the world's most powerful AI companies, implies that the global race for AI dominance is now subject to the volatility of military conflict. This creates a new layer of risk for international investors and tech firms, forcing them to reassess the security of their assets in volatile regions.The Future of AI Infrastructure Under Geopolitical DuressLooking ahead, the convergence of AI infrastructure and military conflict suggests a turbulent period for global technology. We can expect a surge in security expenditures as companies attempt to harden their data centers against physical and cyber-attacks. Additionally, there may be a strategic shift away from locating critical AI infrastructure in high-risk zones like the Middle East, potentially leading to a reconfiguration of the global AI supply chain. The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz and the threat to Stargate signal that the next phase of the conflict will likely involve a battle for control over the digital networks that power the modern world.

Apple is escalating its legal war with Epic Games by petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to review the court's ruling on App Store fees. This move signals a critical juncture in the tech giant's defense of its revenue model, as it attempts to overturn a decision that limits its ability to charge developers for external payments. The Strategic Shift to the Highest Court After losing its appeal at the Supreme Court in a previous phase of the case, Apple is now taking its fight to the highest level of the U.S. judiciary. The tech giant filed a petition to review the Ninth Circuit Court's ruling, which found Apple in contempt for charging a 27% fee on external payments—a slight discount from its standard 30% fee. Current Status: Apple secured a temporary stay on the Ninth Circuit's ruling on April 6, 2026, effectively pausing the enforcement of the lower court's decision. Epic's Response: Epic Games immediately challenged this stay, arguing it is merely a delay tactic to prevent the court from establishing permanent bounds on Apple's fees. Legal Timeline: The battle began in 2020 when Epic bypassed Apple's fees, leading to a 2021 ruling where Apple was not deemed a monopoly but was ordered to allow external payment links. The Economics of the 27% External Fee The core of Apple's legal strategy revolves around the justification of its fee structure. While Apple reduced its commission to 27% for external transactions, Epic argues this effectively defeats the purpose of the court order, as developers still do not save significant money due to processing fees. Apple's Stance: The company argues the fee covers more than just payment processing; it includes hosting, discovery, software, and developer tools, reflecting the value of the ecosystem. Competitor Benchmark: Google settled with Epic Games last month, dropping its Play Store commissions to 20%, highlighting the pressure Apple faces to lower its rates. Developer Impact: Only a few developers, including Spotify, Kindle, and Patreon, have been willing to utilize the external payment links due to Apple's aggressive tactics. Erosion of the App Store Moat This legal battle represents a significant threat to Apple's primary revenue stream. If the Supreme Court upholds the lower courts' rulings, it could force Apple to lower its commissions or abandon its current fee structure entirely. Market Dynamics: As consumers increasingly turn to AI chatbots and agents for transactions, the traditional gatekeeper role of the App Store is being challenged. Regulatory Pressure: The court's decision will set a precedent for how tech giants can regulate commerce within their ecosystems, potentially opening the door for more developer freedom. A High-Stakes Legal Verdict Looking ahead, the Supreme Court's willingness to hear this case is uncertain. The Court previously declined to hear a similar appeal regarding Apple's monopoly status. If they reject this petition, the Ninth Circuit's decision stands, and Apple will be forced to comply with the lower fee structure. However, if the Court agrees to hear it, Apple will push to convince judges that courts should not have the authority to limit the fees it charges for its services, potentially reshaping the digital economy for years to come.

Limited‑Time Ticket SavingsStarting today and ending at 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, April 10, the event offers a discount of up to $500 per ticket. Assuming a standard ticket price of roughly $1,500, the discount represents a 33% price reduction, a significant incentive for early registration.Event OverviewDate: October 13–15, 2026Location: Moscone West, San FranciscoExpected Attendance: 10,000 founders, investors, and operatorsStartups Exhibiting: 300+Key Competition: Startup Battlefield 200 with a $100,000 equity‑free prizeKey HighlightsThree days of roundtables, Q&A sessions, and fireside chatsSide events hosted by official Disrupt partners to extend networking beyond the main agendaOpportunity for emerging companies to win a substantial cash prize that can fund product development without equity dilutionFeatured Speakers & ParticipantsPast line‑ups have included industry leaders such as Matt Mullenweg (WordPress co‑founder), Vinod Khosla (venture capital legend), and co‑founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni of Phia, alongside executives from Google Cloud, Netflix and Waymo.How to RegisterVisit the official event site to lock in the discount before the deadline. The limited‑time offer ensures that early registrants secure the maximum savings, while ticket prices will rise as the conference approaches.

The Shift from Silent Infrastructure to Political FlashpointFor years, data centers operated as the silent backbone of the digital economy, largely unnoticed by the communities they served. However, recent polling data suggests this era of quiet expansion is ending. A growing wave of local opposition is turning data centers into a contentious political issue, forcing tech companies to confront the reality that their infrastructure is no longer welcome in everyone's backyard.Discrepancies in Public Sentiment: Harvard/MIT vs. QuinnipiacThe debate is split, with conflicting data highlighting the complexity of public opinion. A Harvard/MIT poll conducted in November offers a moderate view, finding that 40% of respondents supported the construction of a data center in their area. However, this support drops significantly when compared to industrial facilities, with 32% opposing the idea.Harvard/MIT Poll (Nov): 40% support data centers; 32% oppose.Quinnipiac Poll (March): 65% oppose AI data centers; 24% support.A fascinating insight from the Axios report notes that public preference shifts dramatically based on the facility type: more people would rather have an e-commerce warehouse than a data center.The Economic Trade-off: Jobs vs. Power CostsThe core of the conflict lies in the perceived benefits and drawbacks of these facilities. While data centers promise economic growth, a significant portion of the population is skeptical. Two-thirds of respondents in the Harvard/MIT survey expressed concern that a new data center would nudge electricity prices higher.Conversely, e-commerce warehouses are viewed more favorably, likely due to the tangible promise of local jobs and economic stimulation. However, analysts warn that this sentiment may be short-lived, as most data center projects employ very few people once operational, unlike the labor-intensive nature of warehousing.From Local Zoning to National Policy: The Future of Data Center RegulationThe divergence in polling numbers—from the moderate 40% support to the sharp 65% opposition—suggests that the data center debate is far from settled. As these facilities continue to proliferate, the discontent is likely to spill over into politics.With the "quiet" era of data center expansion effectively over, we can expect a surge in local zoning battles and potential federal regulation aimed at managing the energy consumption and community impact of AI infrastructure.