The first anti-AI protester to be jailed has a message for OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta: 'Regain your humanity' Wynd Kaufman, 69, chained and locked the front doors of OpenAI's headquarters last year with members of StopAI A n activist who blocked the entrance to one of the world's biggest AI companies is believed to have become the first person jailed for protesting against artificial intelligence as supporters dub her the "Rosa Parks of AI risk". Wynd Kaufman, 69, surrendered herself on Friday to authorities in San Francisco . She was found guilty by a jury for her role in an action last year that saw members of the group StopAI chain and lock the front doors of OpenAI's headquarters in protest against the pursuit of artificial superintelligence. The retired teacher from Berkeley, California, refused to move from a sit-in protest in February 2025 and pleaded not guilty to multiple misdemeanor charges. She was convicted in June of interfering with a business, trespassing with intent to interfere with a business, unlawful assembly and refusal to disburse a riot.

A Massachusetts teenager accused of killing his mother and younger brother is being held without bail as authorities investigate a double-murder case that prosecutors say is connected to his use of ChatGPT. Arjun Aravind, 17, appeared on Thursday morning for his arraignment in Concord district court, where a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf to murder and several additional charges. Authorities allege Arjun killed his mother, 45-year-old Sudha Venkatesan, and his 14-year-old brother, Siddharth Aravind, inside the family's home on Tuesday. The investigation began after the teenager's tutor arrived for a scheduled appointment at the home on Tuesday and "was unable to make contact with residents upon arrival", prosecutors said. The teen's father, who had last spoken with his wife before leaving for work that morning, then contacted police.

The property was originally listed for $88m and sat on the market for only about five months. The property was originally listed for $88m and sat on the market for only about five months. A luxury Lake Como-inspired estate in the San Francisco Bay Area has sold to a buyer "in the AI world" for a record $70m, in the latest sign of a new tech wealth boom that's pushing home prices to extraordinary heights in the region The property south of San Francisco not only becomes the most expensive sale in its affluent town of Hillsborough, doubling a previous record, but is also the most expensive sale in northern California this year, according to listing agent Jennifer Gilson of Golden Gate Sotheby's International Realty. Gilson declined to share any details about the buyer, other than that the new owner of 3000 Ralston Avenue is a man in the AI industry. It is the latest sign of a housing boom across Silicon Valley being driven by AI wealth.

Estimates suggest AI will create close to £370bn in cumulative value for fossil fuel companies between 2026 and 2030. Estimates suggest AI will create close to £370bn in cumulative value for fossil fuel companies between 2026 and 2030. AI's potential climate benefits outweighed by role in boosting fossil fuels, study finds AI-driven productivity gains enable more planet-heating pollution from fossil fuels than they avoid from renewables, a study has found. Researchers modelled the technical potential for AI to boost clean power generation along with projections for how it can help produce coal, oil and gas. Across 64 scenarios, they found net yearly carbon pollution rose by 0.47-1.8

A scientist holds an agar plate containing a bacteriophage, which can be used to treat patients with persistent infections. A scientist holds an agar plate containing a bacteriophage, which can be used to treat patients with persistent infections. Scientists have made the first viruses designed by artificial intelligence in a milestone that raises hopes for new medicines but also concerns over how to ensure the technology remains safe. The viruses are specific kinds known as bacteriophages, which only infect bacteria and are used around the world to treat patients with persistent infections. In lab tests, a cocktail of the AI-designed viruses killed bugs that were resistant to natural bacteriophages.

Trump administration says 15 agencies will get $5bn in'AI for science' effort The US will spend $5bn to tackle longstanding scientific problems across multiple fields using AI, the Trump administration said in a statement on Wednesday. The agencies will use the funding to identify the root causes of chronic diseases, accelerate drug discovery and develop longer-lasting building materials, among other tasks, according to the statement. Scientists will have access to the Department of Energy's supercomputers, AI and specialized datasets, along with other components needed to run experiments using algorithms, said Michael Kratsios, chief technology adviser to Donald Trump, in an interview with Reuters. Fifteen federal agencies will be involved in the project, including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Energy, Transportation, Defense and Interior. "The White House is helping bring together all of the different agencies that work on different domains to make them part of this larger effort on AI for science," Kratsios said.

Advocates and lawmakers rally in support of a moratorium on new datacenters in New York at the capitol in Albany in May. Advocates and lawmakers rally in support of a moratorium on new datacenters in New York at the capitol in Albany in May. New York became the first US state to enact a moratorium on new datacenters on Tuesday. Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order mandating a one-year statewide pause on the large facilities used to power artificial intelligence products, which she signed at a mid-morning press conference. "As datacenter development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it's my responsibility to take action and lead," Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Children watch as smoke billows in the background near the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza on 19 June. Children watch as smoke billows in the background near the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza on 19 June. Israel identified about 1,000 potential targets a day during the first two years of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon with its command and control system, according to a presentation by the country's largest arms supplier, Elbit Systems. A total of 850,000 targets were detected in real time by the Israeli Tzayad digital army programme across all the military's theatres of war between 7 October and the end of 2025, the company said at a military conference in London. It describes the number of people, vehicles and other objects detected in real time for possible follow-up attack from land, sea or air, and illustrates the high intensity of the deadly wars fought by Israel over the last three years.

People participate in a march to protest against the opening of AI datacentres in Vancouver, Canada, on 27 June 2026. People participate in a march to protest against the opening of AI datacentres in Vancouver, Canada, on 27 June 2026. We can live without AI, but can we live without clean water? Readers respond to an article about Erin Brockovich's battle against datacentres and voice their fears for the environment What are the benefits obtained from AI's massive use of electricity and water ( 'We're up against forces that have all the money in the world': Erin Brockovich on her battle against AI datacentres, 29 June)? Analysis shows that the top four uses of AI are "therapy/companionship", "technical assistance and troubleshooting", "fun and nonsense", and "fan fiction and storytelling". AI use for therapy, and due to loneliness, appears not to reduce loneliness.

ICE agents detain a suspect during a targeted enforcement operation in Lyons, Illinois, on 26 January. ICE agents detain a suspect during a targeted enforcement operation in Lyons, Illinois, on 26 January. 'We should be worried': report sheds light on ICE's booming arsenal of hi-tech surveillance tools Spending on government contracts with tech firms that use AI-powered tools to track immigrants has soared to record levels under Trump 2.0, report says A new report sheds light on the unprecedented growth of the US government's immigration surveillance arsenal, revealing fresh details about how spending on technology and AI tools to find and track migrants has soared to record levels during Donald Trump's second term. They found the money awarded to these firms doubled from 2024 to 2025, to just over $310m - and in 2026, that number soared to a record $513m. Researchers traced these contracts as far back as 2013, when they hovered under $50m, and found a steady increase over time - with a bigger jump over the last two years.