Since the conflict in the Middle East began on Feb. 28, Emirates has cancelled more than 2,000 flights -- 54% of scheduled services, according to data from Cirium. As Emirates flight EK10 from London cruised over Saudi Arabia on Monday, news broke of a drone strike at its destination, Dubai. The aircraft turned back to Gatwick, flight data shows, completing a 9,100 km round trip -- one of dozens of flights to nowhere triggered by the Middle East war. Roughly 30 Emirates flights heading to Dubai International Airport were also ordered back or rerouted after Iranian drone attacks temporarily shut what is normally the world's busiest airport for international passengers. Passengers expecting a dawn landing in the glitzy United Arab Emirates port city were stunned. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Plus: China has approved the world's first commercial brain chip. Where OpenAI's technology could show up in Iran OpenAI has controversially agreed to give the Pentagon access to its AI. But where exactly could its tech show up, and which applications will its customers and employees tolerate? There's pressure to integrate it quickly with existing military tools. One defense official revealed it could even assist in selecting strike targets. OpenAI's partnership with Anduril, which makes drones and counter-drone technologies, adds another hint at what is to come.

This happened as generative and agentic systems became essential in key sectors worldwide. This feature highlights the major AI ethics and policy developments of 2025, and concludes with a forward-looking perspective on the ethical and policy challenges likely to shape 2026.

The Download: Early adopters cash in on China's OpenClaw craze, and US batteries slump Hustlers are cashing in on China's OpenClaw AI craze In January, Beijing-based software engineer Feng Qingyang started tinkering with OpenClaw, a new AI tool that can take over a device and autonomously complete tasks. Within weeks, he was advertising "OpenClaw installation support" on a second-hand shopping site. Today, his side gig is a fully-fledged business with over 100 employees and 7,000 completed orders. Feng is among a small cohort of savvy early adopters making serious cash from China's OpenClaw craze. As users with little technical background want in, a cottage industry of installation services and preconfigured hardware has sprung up. The rise of these tinkerers shows just how eager the general public in China is to adopt cutting-edge AI--despite huge security risks.

WASHINGTON - The FBI warned law enforcement agencies last month of the possibility that Tehran might try to retaliate for any U.S. strikes on Iran by launching surprise drone attacks in California, according to a security bulletin. The confidential alert, issued by the FBI through the multi-agency Los Angeles Joint Regional Intelligence Center, surfaced publicly on Wednesday as the war that began on Feb. 28 with massive U.S. and Israeli bombardments of Iran stretched into its 12th day. Iran, whose supreme leader and other top officials were killed in air strikes, has fought back with missile and drone aircraft attacks against Israel and several Gulf states that host U.S. military installations. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

Plus: GPS jamming has become an invisible battle in the Middle East. Much of the spotlight on AI in the Iran conflict has focused on models like Claude helping the US military decide where to strike. But a wave of "vibe-coded" intelligence dashboards--and the ecosystem surrounding them--reflect a new role that AI is playing in wartime: mediating information, often for the worse. These sorts of intelligence tools have much promise. Yet there are real reasons to be suspicious of their data feeds. The AI firm wants to stop the Pentagon from blacklisting it.

For decades, handmade narco subs have been some of the cocaine trade's most elusive and productive workhorses, ferrying multi-ton loads of illicit drugs from Colombian estuaries toward markets in North America and, increasingly, the rest of the world. Now off-the-shelf technology--Starlink terminals, plug-and-play nautical autopilots, high-resolution video cameras--may be advancing that cat-and-mouse game into a new phase. Uncrewed subs could move more cocaine over longer distances, and they wouldn't put human smugglers at risk of capture. And law enforcement around the world is just beginning to grapple with what this means for the future. This story is from the next print issue of magazine, which is all about crime. Google DeepMind is calling for the moral behavior of large language models--such as what they do when called on to act as companions, therapists, medical advisors, and so on--to be scrutinized with the same kind of rigor as their ability to code or do math.

U.S. philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates attends an event in New Delhi on March 19, 2025. NEW DELHI - Bill Gates pulled out of India's AI Impact Summit hours before his scheduled keynote address on Thursday, dealing another blow to a flagship event already marred by organizational lapses, a robot bungle and delegate complaints over traffic disruptions. The Gates Foundation said the billionaire would not deliver his address to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit's key priorities. Only days ago, the foundation had dismissed rumors of his absence and insisted he was on track to attend. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 is Feb. 25 Valve's Steam Machine: Everything we know Tesla CarPlay is coming but it's reportedly being held back by low iOS 26 adoption numbers According to a Bloomberg report, there are some compatibility issues to work out between Apple Maps and Tesla's in-car navigation. We're still waiting for Apple CarPlay compatibility for Tesla EVs, but it's been pushed back thanks to a slight hitch with iOS 26, according to's Mark Gurman. In the latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Tesla's plans to adopt CarPlay have been delayed due to app compatibility issues as well as low adoption rates for iOS 26 . It's been a long wait for Tesla drivers who want CarPlay compatibility, especially since initial rumors indicated a late 2025 rollout and reported that Tesla was testing CarPlay in its vehicles in November. However, Gurman's latest newsletter revealed that there were some compatibility issues between Apple Maps and Tesla's in-house navigation software, which also supports the self-driving features.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich on Friday. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi reiterated the importance of the rules-based global order during a speech at the Munich Security Conference while linking the security of the Indo-Pacific to the Euro-Atlantic, as Japan keeps a nervous eye on Chinese military moves in Asia. "The very foundations that have underpinned the international order are being tested by real world actions," Koizumi said Friday "Attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force must never be tolerated. That is why Japan does not view Ukraine as a distant European problem." Following the eruption of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Japan began drawing a link between the two regions, with leaders repeatedly stressing that "Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow" -- a not-so-oblique hint at the possibility of a similar regional conflict in the Indo-Pacific, especially one involving China attacking democratic Taiwan.