No. 1AI safety
Fired OpenAI safety researchers deny misconduct, warn of chilling effect
Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak and Mikita Balesni, fired last week, published an open letter rejecting OpenAI's claim that they mishandled sensitive information. They also deny leaking to The Information and say they never worked with outside parties beyond their jobs. Wang says she was told she was fired for accessing an executive's email. She says that access was delegated for recruiting, IT never removed it, and she reported opening a sensitive email by mistake within minutes. OpenAI cites a "pattern of misconduct" but did not say which policies were broken. An internal memo denies retaliation for raising safety concerns. OpenAI has not formally answered the letter.
Why it mattersYou should watch this because how a leading AI lab treats safety staff who work with outside evaluators shapes how much outside scrutiny frontier models get.
Full story at TechCrunch →No. 2Telecom
SpaceX buys low-band spectrum to become a major US mobile carrier
SpaceX has acquired low-band spectrum licenses, including up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band. It says this will let Starlink Mobile signals penetrate walls and buildings, a weak spot for satellite service. The plan is to combine its satellite constellation with a terrestrial network and compete directly with T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon. It still needs FCC sign-off on the deal. SpaceX previously bought 2GHz spectrum from EchoStar, and the FCC has approved 15,000 next-generation Starlink Mobile satellites. SpaceX claims those offer over 100 times the bandwidth of the current generation.
Why it mattersYou may eventually get a fourth serious option for phone service, though this is a company announcement and the approval isn't done.
Full story at The Verge →No. 3Security
Senator questions Trump Mobile's FCC authorizations after customer data breach
Sen. Maggie Hassan wrote to Trump Mobile CEO Patrick O'Brien, saying the company apparently lacks required authorization for its international calling service. She says an FCC filing system search suggests it has no Section 214 authorization, though it advertises calls to more than 230 countries and territories. Hassan also says it doesn't appear to have filed a required robocall-fighting plan. Its partner Liberty Mobile Wireless filed a robocall database entry, but an incomplete one. Her letter cites a report that hackers stole data on 3,615 customers, and a ransomware group's claim that the company said "we have no team to handle this." The article doesn't include a response from Trump Mobile.