Trump's Crazy AI Rebrand Was a Loyalty Test for Tech Execs--and It Worked But they meekly went along when Trump cancelled the term. Seventy years ago last summer, a group of scientists met at Dartmouth College to discuss a wild idea--that machines might one day be capable of human-like thought processes. One of those scientists, John McCarthy, had suggested a name for the new field: artificial intelligence . When you search Google Scholar for "artificial intelligence," approximately 7,420,000 results appear. The term is utterly ubiquitous. Even for people who despise AI, the least of their worries is what we call it.

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President Donald Trump faces significant obstacles in his quest to regulate mail-in voting before 2028, legal experts say, after the Supreme Court upheld an injunction.

With AI models from major companies all recently breaking out of their constraints, California's governor proposed creating a "kill switch" as part of a comprehensive solution. In an executive order signed by Gavin Newsom on Friday, California will convene national experts to create new recommendations for AI safety during a two-month time frame. "We're going to speed up our work on substantial and responsible AI oversight before it's too late," Newsom said in a press release. "We're going to do this thoughtfully but with urgent velocity; the stakes are too high to wait or delay action." The panel of experts will be tasked with submitting recommendations to Newsom's office, which would then update state laws surrounding AI safety.

Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney asked President Donald Trump to rename Lake Erie to "Lake Pennsylvania," following the president's order to rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America."

Creator Playbook Trending Now Say More Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Switch Off Mashable Voices Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List In My Bag All Series A disclosure alleges USPS rushed an untested ballot-screening tool that can reject thousands of votes over a single error. Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and . A whistleblower working inside the United States Postal Service (USPS) has told Congress that a brand-new system for screening mail-in ballots -- built in a matter of months, against the advice of the agency's own staff -- is so rushed and untested that it risks mass rejection of legitimate ballots just as the 2026 midterms approach.

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Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Look Up Say More Switch Off Creator Playbook Mashable Voices Trending Now Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List In My Bag All Series Trump's executive order has Google making changes to the map once again. Donald Trump has changed Lake Ontario to Lake America. Are you visiting the Great Lakes before the end of summer? You may notice something odd when planning out the trip on Google. Lake Ontario is no more.

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Google Maps Now Shows'Lake America' Instead of Lake Ontario After Donald Trump's executive order demanding the name change, Google is the first major online maps provider to flip the switch. Lake Ontario is no more on Google Maps in the US. Google changed the name of easternmost of the Great Lakes to "Lake America" late Saturday, days after President Donald Trump ordered its rebranding in official government databases. Trump issued the executive order on Thursday as part of an ongoing feud over tariffs with Canada, whose capital province is called Ontario. It followed a similar order he issued in January 2025 to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America as part of a fight with the US trading partner to the south.