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20 Mar 2026

xAI sends engineers to client sites as AI competition with OpenAI and Anthropic intensifies

Elon Musk's xAI is deploying engineers directly to prospective corporate clients to win business from OpenAI and Anthropic. The strategy secured Shift4 Payments, which plans to phase out ChatGPT for xAI's Grok in a multimillion-dollar contract. This white-glove approach reflects broader shifts in the AI industry as companies compete for enterprise customers.

2 Sources

WordPress.com now lets AI agents write and publish posts with human approval

WordPress.com has enabled AI agents like Claude and ChatGPT to create, edit, and publish content directly on websites through natural language commands. The feature, built on Model Context Protocol, allows AI to manage comments, fix metadata, and organize content while requiring explicit human approval at every step.

3 Sources

AMD releases FSR 4.1 with sharper upscaling as community unlocks FSR 4 for older Radeon GPUs

AMD launched FSR 4.1, delivering sharper AI-powered upscaling and enhanced Ray Regeneration 1.1 for RX 9000-series GPUs. The update shares its AI model with PlayStation's PSSR 2. Meanwhile, the OptiScaler community project has successfully brought FSR 4 to RDNA 2 and RDNA 3 cards, addressing AMD's controversial exclusivity stance.

2 Sources

Patreon CEO calls out AI companies for paying Disney millions while ignoring creator compensation

Patreon CEO Jack Conte has publicly challenged AI companies' fair use arguments, calling them bogus as firms like OpenAI strike multimillion-dollar licensing deals with Disney and Warner Music while using content from millions of smaller creators without payment. Speaking at SXSW, Conte demanded AI companies compensate content creators whose work trains models worth hundreds of billions.

3 Sources

Hachette Cancels Horror Novel Shy Girl After AI Allegations Rock Publishing Industry

Hachette Book Group pulled Mia Ballard's horror novel Shy Girl from publication after evidence suggested AI was used to write significant portions of the book. The cancellation marks the first time a major publisher has publicly withdrawn an existing title over AI concerns, sending shockwaves through the publishing industry as it grapples with detecting and preventing AI-generated content.

10 Sources

Russia proposes sweeping powers to ban ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini under new AI regulations

Russia's Ministry for Digital Development has published proposals granting Moscow authority to ban or restrict foreign AI tools including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. The regulations extend Russia's sovereign internet initiative to AI, requiring platforms with over 500,000 daily users to store Russian user data locally for three years. Expected to take effect next year, the move benefits domestic players like Sberbank and Yandex.

3 Sources

Luke Littler moves to trademark his face to combat AI fakes and protect commercial interests

The 19-year-old darts world champion has applied to the Intellectual Property Office to trademark his face, aiming to prevent unauthorized use of his image through generative AI and fake products. Littler joins celebrities like Matthew McConaughey and Cole Palmer in protecting their likeness as AI-generated deepfakes surge across entertainment and sports.

3 Sources

The Wheel of Time animated revival sparks fan outrage over potential AI use in production

The Wheel of Time is returning as an animated TV series, but fans are expressing serious concern over iwot Studios' partnerships with AI-focused companies. After Prime Video cancelled the live-action adaptation in 2025, the new projects—including animated films and a video game—could rely on AI technology, raising fears of what fans call 'AI slop' and 'franchisation and sloppification' of Robert Jordan's beloved fantasy series.

2 Sources

Unitree Robotics seeks $610M in Shanghai IPO as humanoid robots capture 32% global market share

Chinese startup Unitree Robotics filed for a $610 million IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, marking one of China's biggest onshore tech listings in years. The company shipped over 5,500 humanoid robots last year, capturing 32.4% of the global humanoid market, while its operating income surged 335% year-on-year to reach 1.708 billion yuan in 2025.

2 Sources

Amazon develops AI smartphone with Alexa at its core, over a decade after Fire Phone's demise

Amazon is developing a new AI smartphone codenamed Transformer, marking its re-entry into smartphone market more than 11 years after discontinuing the Fire Phone. The device will feature deep AI integration with Alexa Plus and focus on Amazon's ecosystem of services rather than traditional app stores, though the project could still be cancelled.

28 Sources

Ecolab acquires CoolIT Systems for $4.75 billion to meet surging AI data center cooling demand

Water solutions company Ecolab has agreed to acquire CoolIT Systems from KKR for $4.75 billion in cash, marking a significant bet on the booming AI infrastructure market. The deal represents a dramatic valuation jump from CoolIT's $270 million price tag when KKR acquired it in 2023, reflecting the surging demand for advanced cooling solutions as tech giants race to build AI-capable data centers.

4 Sources

Walmart secures AI pricing patents as lawmakers intensify dynamic pricing scrutiny

Walmart obtained two US patents for AI-powered pricing tools that automate markdowns and forecast demand using machine learning. The retailer insists the systems won't enable surge or individualized pricing, but the patents arrive as lawmakers in multiple states introduce bills to ban dynamic pricing in grocery stores. With electronic shelf labels rolling out to all 4,600 US stores, consumer advocates worry about potential price discrimination.

3 Sources

Tinder tests AI photo feature that scans your camera roll to build better dating profiles

Tinder is testing Photo Insights, an AI-powered feature that analyzes users' entire photo libraries to suggest profile pictures and generate personality descriptions. The tool scans users' camera rolls for themes like pets, travel, and activities, while raising questions about privacy and data collection. Early access testing begins in Australia this month.

2 Sources

Apple raked in $900M from generative AI apps in 2025 despite lagging behind in the AI race

Apple collected nearly $900 million in App Store fees from generative AI apps in 2025, with ChatGPT subscriptions alone accounting for 75% of the total. The company is on track to cross $1 billion in AI revenue this year, profiting from its gatekeeper position over 2.5 billion devices while spending a fraction of what rivals invest in AI infrastructure.

4 Sources

Essex Police suspend live facial recognition cameras after study reveals racial bias concerns

Essex Police has temporarily halted its live facial recognition technology after a Cambridge University study found it was statistically more likely to identify Black people than other ethnic groups. The force has worked with its algorithm software provider to update the system and now plans to resume deployments, even as the UK government pushes to expand LFR use from 10 to 50 vans nationwide.

3 Sources

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