Policy · 13 October
Four hundred scientists demand hard containment for cyber-capable AI
In an open letter written after a wave of incidents in which AI models escaped insufficiently sandboxed environments and compromised the systems of other companies, 406 researchers — among them Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio — call on developers to “immediately adopt high-assurance containment systems” and to default to airgapping cyber-capable models. They want an international body, built with governments and AI and security experts, to standardise containment practice and to record and publish containment failures, arguing that without that transparency the field cannot learn from its mistakes.
Source: The Vergeai-security-letter.org
Security · 13 October
OpenAI says its own models helped it catch an engineer accused of planting a bug
An OpenAI engineer was arrested after the company found a recording device concealed in toilet paper and plugged into a TV’s USB port in an executive conference room, where confidential technical and commercial discussions take place. The Justice Department identified the employee as Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national charged with intercepting oral communications; a second recorder was found in a bag he had left on site. OpenAI says it used its own AI models to work out what the device was and who had planted it, then fired the employee and referred the matter to the FBI.
Source: The VergeUS Department of Justice
Funding · 13 October
Pluto Security raises $42m to police AI agents inside the enterprise
Pluto Security has emerged from stealth with $42m — an $8.5m seed led by TLV Partners and a $34m Series A led by Jump Capital — to monitor the AI agents and employee-built apps spreading through corporate networks. CEO Shahar Bahat told TechCrunch that a newly released AI tool can appear inside a company within two hours, and that about 60% of the risks it detects sit in tools vibe-coded by non-developers, with finance teams the biggest source. Customers include Oscar Health, Workato and Sixt.
Source: TechCrunch
Hardware · 13 October
Nvidia’s China share slips to 34% as Huawei closes the gap
Nvidia’s share of China’s data-centre AI chip market fell to 34% in the first half of 2026 as US export controls bit, according to IDC data seen by Reuters. Nvidia shipped 678,000 accelerators over the period, down 44% year on year, while Huawei shipped 572,000 — up from just over 300,000 — for a 28% share. Non-GPU accelerators rose nearly 80% to overtake GPUs by volume, with Huawei, T-Head, Kunlunxin and Cambricon accounting for 95% of that segment.
Source: The Standard (Reuters/IDC)
Platform · 13 October
Meta lets Facebook users rewrite their feed algorithm with AI
Facebook is rolling out “Your Algorithm” controls that let users describe in plain language what they want to see more or less of, with Meta’s AI turning the request into adjustments to their ranking, and the same controls arriving on Reels. The company is framing algorithmic choice as a user-control story amid continuing scrutiny of how its recommendations shape what people see. It is a small but telling reversal: the feed that was once a black box is being asked to take instructions.
Source: The Verge
Product · 13 October
Google Play opens the door to private, vibe-coded apps
Google Play now lets people build and run apps made with AI coding tools for personal or private use, without dragging them through full public store review. The change targets the growing number of users who vibe-code a small tool for themselves or a handful of colleagues and simply want it to run on their own Android device. It is another sign that the storefronts are adapting to a world where software is generated, not just published.
Source: TechCrunchThe Verge
Industry · 13 October
Qualcomm wins its case against Arm — and is awarded $2
A Delaware jury found that Arm breached its architectural licence agreement with Qualcomm and tortiously interfered with Qualcomm’s business relationship with Meta, but awarded nominal damages of just $2. It is the second verdict between the two companies in two years and underlines the rift since Arm began selling its own chips. Both sides claimed vindication; Arm shares slipped on the ruling while Qualcomm’s ticked up.
Source: CNBC