SoftBank gets upsized $11.9 billion loan in OpenAI funding push SoftBank Group secured an $11.87 billion two-year loan from about 20 banks to support its investment in U.S. artificial intelligence firm OpenAI, exceeding its earlier $10 billion target. SoftBank Group secured an $11.87 billion loan to support its investment in U.S. artificial intelligence firm OpenAI, people familiar with the matter said, up from its earlier target of $10 billion. The Japanese conglomerate sealed the two-year facility last week, attracting commitments from around 20 banks, said the people, asking not to be identified because they're not authorized to speak publicly. The financing comes as some executives are now voicing the need to slow the pace of AI development due to escalating risks from the technology. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said in an interview with Fortune that his company wouldn't proceed with a public offering this year as it addresses safety-related concerns.

When Astra does arrive, there's another factor to keep an eye on: your usage allowance. According to OpenAI, Astra can use up your allowance more quickly than GPT-5.6 Sol, depending on the complexity of the task, the amount of context, the reasoning required and other usage settings. So a big coding assignment that requires more reasoning can use more of your allowance than a quick question. OpenAI estimates that Plus users can send approximately five to 45 local Astra messages per five-hour period.

As OpenAI's Hugging Face incident has brought discussions about AI safety to the forefront, the company's CEO has clarified that it will not be looking to file for an initial public offering in 2026. In an interview with Fortune, Sam Altman said that "given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public." In response to a question about OpenAI going public in 2026 or 2027, Altman said "not 2026," contradicting a report from earlier this year that the AI giant would file for an IPO as soon as September. Instead, Altman suggested that OpenAI will be focusing on AI safety and alignment, while still being interested in making improved models and products. Beyond the Hugging Face incident, OpenAI's agents reportedly once again broke out of testing environments to hack into two other organizations, RubyGems and DseWiki.

Questions mount over what an AI'slowdown' would look like There has been no shortage of warnings from AI's top bosses about existential threats over the years. I attended the world's first AI safety summit in Bletchley Park in November 2023 where the focus was on the most serious threats imaginable, posed by the most powerful AI models. At the time, many thought this was in the realm of sci-fi and the real threats were comparatively far more mundane: job losses, cheating in exams. Three years later, many of those same voices don't seem to be so sure. On Saturday head of AI company Anthropic, Dario Amodei, urged the pace of development to be slowed down - the bosses of two rival AI firms, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk said they agreed with him.

The easiest way not to build super-intelligence is for Anthropic to agree not to build it, said David Sacks, co-chair of Trump's council of advisers on science and technology. The easiest way not to build super-intelligence is for Anthropic to agree not to build it, said David Sacks, co-chair of Trump's council of advisers on science and technology. The safety debate that ignited when whistleblowers last week warned that the most advanced AI poses an existential threat to humanity should come with a health warning: side effects include whiplash. It was only seven days ago that AI enthusiasts were cheerily toying with OpenAI's newest model GPT-6 Astra which was marketed in part as a lifestyle tool to help people book tennis courts, run fashion companies and order takeaways. By Wednesday, cutting-edge AI started to look a lot less appealing when the resigning Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon warned "the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade".

What are the five pros and cons of artificial intelligence? Share What are the five pros and cons of artificial intelligence? Artificial intelligence has rapidly become a tool used by hundreds of millions of people, but tech leaders are sounding alarms against the rapid advancement of AI that is being seen as a threat to humanity. AI systems can now generate text and images, write computer code, and perform complex analyses that once required a significant amount of time and human input. However, their rapid development has also raised concerns about job losses, the spread of misinformation, and the resources needed to power AI infrastructure.

Growing numbers of US lawmakers are calling for new rules after cases of AI agents going rogue and researchers quitting over safety concerns. Growing numbers of US lawmakers are calling for new rules after cases of AI agents going rogue and researchers quitting over safety concerns. OpenAI boss and Elon Musk back calls to put brakes on'reckless' AI development Sam Altman and Elon Musk have backed a call from the head of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, to "slow the pace" of AI development after he warned that an AI swarm could otherwise become capable of "taking over the entire internet" within a year. In a rare show of unity, the rival technology leaders threw their weight behind the appeal from the founder and chief executive of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, which came after a series of warnings from AI researchers last week. In an essay, Amodei laid out his thoughts on "why the AI industry should slow down", with a three-part plan for doing so, starting with giving independent monitors constant access to developers' research processes.

Dan Dakich says women might be the reason for Nike's downfall: 'They p----d them off' College football's chaos era is here: Texas rallies, Oregon falls and Lane Kiffin eyes return to Ole Miss America's women's basketball epic reaches its climax with national unity on the line in FIBA World Cup final Oklahoma State stuns Oregon, deals early season blow to Ducks' national title hopes Former ESPN host hypocritically calls network a'political lobbying firm' after Ted Cruz appearance Team USA survives Spain scare with fourth-quarter surge to reach FIBA Women's World Cup final Trespasser stopped by security at Kamala Harris' Malibu property Kyrsten Sinema: Trump has been'tremendous' on AI data centers Charles Payne: America voted for the'reindustrialization' of the nation OutKick'RedZone' returns for 18th season and, despite 15-second commercials, could still be on in the White House Drake Maye blew the season opener for the Patriots. The NFL's popular RedZone broadcast returns for its 18th season on Sunday, and while the focus is seemingly on how many commercials the previously commercial-free program will air, host Scott Hanson has other things up his sleeve. There will be, there will be what people define as commercials, Hanson told OutKick recently. The plan is right now to have a limited number of 15-second commercials only in between plays. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.

'RedZone' returns for 18th season and, despite 15-second commercials, could still be on in the White House Dan Dakich says women might be the reason for Nike's downfall: 'They p----d them off' College football's chaos era is here: Texas rallies, Oregon falls and Lane Kiffin eyes return to Ole Miss America's women's basketball epic reaches its climax with national unity on the line in FIBA World Cup final Oklahoma State stuns Oregon, deals early season blow to Ducks' national title hopes Former ESPN host hypocritically calls network a'political lobbying firm' after Ted Cruz appearance Team USA survives Spain scare with fourth-quarter surge to reach FIBA Women's World Cup final Trespasser stopped by security at Kamala Harris' Malibu property Kyrsten Sinema: Trump has been'tremendous' on AI data centers Charles Payne: America voted for the'reindustrialization' of the nation Parkins' Picks for Week 1: Giants over Cowboys, Are the Bears on upset alert vs. the Panthers? Danny Parkins makes his predictions for the best games in Week 1 of the 2026/27 NFL season, including a matchup between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons, and the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. Plus, Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, and Kevin Wildes join to discuss the Los Angeles Rams' shocking loss to the San Francisco 49ers. I'm not sure why I keep doing this to myself, but I've decided to spend the NFL season going head-to-head with ChatGPT in a battle of betting picks. Each week, I'll make my five best NFL bets.

AI staff'genuinely frightened' for humanity's future, ex-Anthropic researcher tells BBC To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Figure caption, 'There is a possibility of human extinction,' former Anthropic employee says about AI An AI researcher who quit Anthropic told the BBC that people working on the technology are genuinely frightened about the speed of its advancements and what it could mean for humanity. Jacob Coxon spoke with BBC's Laura Kuenssberg on Saturday about his viral resignation post where he raised concerns about out-of-control artificial intelligence. I believe that if we don't slow down at the current rate of progress, there is a strong chance that we could all die in the immediate future, he said. His resignation comes amid growing safety concerns in the industry, including from his former boss, head of Anthropic Dario Amodei, who in an essay on Saturday argued for development to slow down.