AI wars. (Literally)
Covering the week of March 2, 2026
The AI Round-up: Year 4, Issue 8
Did you ever think we’d be listening to the Secretary of War/Defense talk about Claude’s role in attacking our enemies?
If you read this newsletter, listen to the voices I feature here the answer is actually…yes, you did. Well, maybe not that specific. But the case has been made, mainly by the source of our first story, that if there aren’t guardrails put on this technology these are the kinds of things that will continue to happen.
It’s the future. And we’re here.
Let’s get to it.
10 stories – Here we go.
Story 1: The Artificial Intelligence Show, episode 200
I mentioned it in a LinkedIn post earlier this week but I’m going to let Paul and Mike do the heavy lifting on the topic of Anthropic, OpenAI, the Pentagon and Iran.
Mike does a tremendous job laying out the timeline and Paul is such a professional as he shares perspectives from both ‘sides’ of the story. It’s a must listen as we all try to understand what this means.
Story 2: Where does Anthropic go from here? (Casey Newton/Platformer)
Story 3: Well, Anthropic could try again? (Financial Times)
That might be a little tough…since, you know…well, because…
Story 4: …Dario Amodei says Trump is a dictator. (Futurism)
Story 5: Is AI eating the labor market? Well-known economist weighs in (Hard Fork) I know what you’re thinking – two podcasts this week? Well listen, if you have time to kill in the car or are trying to get your steps in, throw this one on because you won’t be disappointed. Want a ‘real’ take on what AI is doing to the economy? You will want to listen to Anton Korinek, who joins the Hard Fork pod for a fast-paced and info-packed 40ish minute interview.
Story 6: There are 6M K-12 educators in the U.S., and Google has committed to providing all of them with AI training. (Google)
A bold statement but admirable. See, educators your jobs aren’t going anywhere!
Story 7: Muck Rack rolls out AI visibility badges (Muck Rack)
Guest POV from Ellen Presutti, senior consultant and AI Council member at Akhia.
Muck Rack rolled out AI Visibility Badges this week, highlighting which journalists and outlets show up most frequently as cited sources in AI responses. My first thought as a communicator was “Great! Now we know exactly who to pitch.” My second thought, about 30 seconds later, was “Wait…so does everyone else.”
Story 8: Perplexity to discontinue running ads. (Financial Times)
The company feels the ads are hurting its credibility. (Nah. But your product is! Oh burn!!!)
Story 9: No human author? No copyright. (Shelly Palmer)
The “decision” that came from the case that wasn’t heard has told us all we need to know about protecting something made by AI (or with AI for that matter).
Story 10: More companies are increasing spending on AI. Few are reinvesting the saved time. (Axios)
Of those company leaders in this story, only 8% are putting their time back into improving their business.
I know. Shocker.
4 Nopes.
1. Google is being charged in a wrongful death suit. (Story contains news of a suicide) – CNBC
2. Do you cross your heart and hope to die? President Trump makes AI big boys promise not pass on energy costs to us. -- Shelly Palmer
3. Didn’t think we had to say it, but don’t trust AI to file your taxes – The New York Times
4. “I turned AI into my therapist. The results were pretty disquieting.” We just don’t use the word ‘disquieting’ enough anymore. – The Guardian
-Ben
As a reminder, this is a round-up of the biggest stories, often hitting multiple newsletters I receive/review. The sources are many … which I’m happy to read on your behalf. Let me know if there’s one you’d like me to track or have questions about a topic you’re not seeing here.