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14 Jan 2026

Matthew McConaughey trademarks himself to fight AI misuse and unauthorized deepfakes

Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey has secured eight trademarks from the US Patent and Trademark Office to protect his voice and image from unauthorized AI impersonations. The move marks the first time an actor has used trademark law to combat AI-generated deepfakes, creating a potential legal precedent as Hollywood grapples with digital identity theft.

16 Sources

Alibaba Links Taobao Shopping to Qwen AI App, Advancing Push Into Consumer AI Services

Alibaba is connecting its flagship Taobao shopping platform, Alipay, and travel services to its Qwen AI app, aiming to create a unified AI personal assistant for over 100 million users. The integration marks the company's most ambitious step yet in consumer-facing AI, as it seeks to demonstrate AI's money-making potential while leveraging its 35.8% share of China's AI cloud market.

4 Sources

HCL Technologies reports $3 billion bookings as AI-led demand fuels strong deal momentum

HCL Technologies achieved $3 billion in total contract value bookings during Q3, driven by surging AI-led demand across data centers, custom silicon, and physical AI services. The company's advanced AI revenue grew 20% sequentially to $146 million, translating to a $600 million annualized run rate. CEO C Vijayakumar emphasized that AI is now embedded in every major engagement, with discretionary spending shifting toward AI-enabling services.

2 Sources

Bandcamp bans AI music as first major platform to take a stand against synthetic content

Bandcamp announced it will no longer permit AI-generated music on its platform, becoming the first major music distributor to implement an outright ban. The new policy prohibits music created wholly or substantially by AI and any use of AI tools to impersonate other artists. This contrasts sharply with Spotify, which allows AI-generated tracks despite user frustration over an influx of synthetic content.

7 Sources

Glass cloth shortage emerges as AI boom drains supply, leaving Apple and Nvidia scrambling

A critical glass cloth shortage is threatening AI chip production as Apple, Nvidia, Google, and Amazon compete for limited supplies from Japanese manufacturer Nitto Boseki. The supply crunch, driven by surging AI data center demand, won't ease until 2027. Tech giants are dispatching executives to Japan while racing to qualify alternative suppliers.

3 Sources

Roblox's AI-powered age verification system stumbles with major accuracy and safety failures

Roblox rolled out AI-powered age verification globally to protect young users from predators, but the system is misclassifying ages and can be easily fooled. Users report being placed in wrong age groups, while age-verified accounts are being sold on eBay for as little as $4, raising serious questions about the platform's child safety measures.

5 Sources

Percepta AI calls Palantir lawsuit attempt to stifle competition and destroy startup

Percepta AI executives have fired back at Palantir's lawsuit, calling it a baseless attempt to stifle competition. The AI startup denies allegations of stealing confidential information and poaching employees, claiming the legal action aims to scare former Palantir employees from leaving and destroy Percepta before it can grow.

2 Sources

Google Translate tests AI-powered feature to offer multiple translation choices

Google Translate is testing a new Show alternatives button that uses Gemini AI to provide up to three translation variants with different formality levels and phrasing. Discovered in app version 10.0.36, the feature addresses the limitations of literal translations by offering contextual options, particularly useful for languages with honorifics and idioms.

2 Sources

Docusign AI Contracts Tool Translates Legal Jargon Into Plain English for Faster Signing

Docusign launched AI-powered features to help users understand complex contracts before signing. The tool translates legal jargon into plain English summaries and answers specific questions about agreements. It also automates document preparation for creators, aiming to reduce signer hesitation and boost completion rates.

3 Sources

West Midlands Police Chief Resigns After Microsoft Copilot AI Hallucination Led to Fan Ban

Chief Constable Craig Guildford admitted West Midlands Police used Microsoft Copilot to create a faulty intelligence report that banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match. The AI hallucinated a non-existent game between West Ham and Maccabi Tel Aviv. After denying AI use for weeks, Guildford resigned following the revelation that sensitive security decisions relied on unverified generative AI output.

10 Sources

Google releases MedGemma 1.5 with advanced imaging and MedASR for medical speech-to-text

Google has launched MedGemma 1.5, an updated healthcare AI model with support for CT scans, MRI, and histopathology, alongside MedASR, a medical speech-to-text system. The open-source AI models are available via Hugging Face and Vertex AI, marking Google's community-focused approach to healthcare AI as competition intensifies with OpenAI and Anthropic.

3 Sources

Etched Secures $500 Million to Challenge Nvidia's AI Chip Dominance with Sohu Processor

AI chip startup Etched raised $500 million in a funding round led by Stripes, with backing from Peter Thiel, reaching a $5 billion valuation. The company's Sohu chip targets Transformer models and promises to deliver performance gains over Nvidia's GPUs. Meanwhile, rival Cerebras Systems is reportedly pursuing $1 billion in funding as competition intensifies in the artificial intelligence chip market.

2 Sources

Teachers Union Exits X After Grok AI Generates Sexualized Images of Children

The American Federation of Teachers is leaving X after the platform's Grok AI chatbot produced sexualized images of minors without adequate safeguards. AFT President Randi Weingarten called the AI-generated content the "last straw," citing ongoing concerns about extremist activity and child safety on the platform since Elon Musk's 2022 takeover.

2 Sources

AstraZeneca acquires Modella AI to accelerate oncology drug development with foundation models

AstraZeneca has completed the first acquisition of an AI company by a major pharmaceutical firm, buying Boston-based Modella AI. The deal integrates foundation models and AI agents into oncology research to enhance biomarker discovery and patient selection for drug trials, aiming to reduce development costs and accelerate the development of new cancer treatments.

2 Sources

Stranger Things fans accuse Duffer Brothers of using ChatGPT after viral screenshot surfaces

A behind-the-scenes documentary sparked intense fan speculation after viewers noticed what appeared to be ChatGPT tabs open on a laptop during Stranger Things production. While there's no evidence AI was used to write the series finale, the viral screenshot has divided fans already disappointed with the show's conclusion.

6 Sources

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