{"id":7076,"date":"2026-07-21T13:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/portal\/2026\/07\/21\/the-download-chinese-ai-divides-the-white-house-and-a-record-copyright-payout\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T13:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:00:25","slug":"the-download-chinese-ai-divides-the-white-house-and-a-record-copyright-payout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/portal\/2026\/07\/21\/the-download-chinese-ai-divides-the-white-house-and-a-record-copyright-payout\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: Chinese AI divides the White House, and a record copyright payout"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is today’s edition of <\/em>The Download<\/em><\/a>, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

China\u2019s AI models have Trump\u2019s AI world at war with itself<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Last weekend, several current and former advisers to President Donald Trump on AI publicly lobbed insults at the country\u2019s leading AI companies. David Sacks branded Anthropic\u2019s models \u201clobotomized\u201d and \u201cwoke.\u201d Emil Michael, a top Pentagon official, called OpenAI\u2019s new head of strategic futures a \u201csupreme village idiot.\u201d<\/p>\n

It began because no one can agree on what to do about Kimi, a free, open-source model that Chinese AI company Moonshot launched last week. It appears to rival the intelligence of models from OpenAI and Anthropic, which are very much not free. <\/p>\n

Every time a new smart, free model from China gets released, US companies see less reason to fork out money for models from Anthropic or OpenAI. That\u2019s creating economic and political problems for the president\u2014and dividing the top AI strategists in his orbit. <\/p>\n

Read the full story on why no one can agree what to do about Kimi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014James O’Donnell<\/em><\/p>\n

This <\/strong>article<\/strong><\/a> is from The Algorithm, our weekly AI newsletter. <\/strong>Sign up<\/strong><\/a> to receive it in your inbox every Monday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

1 Anthropic’s record $1.5 billion copyright settlement has been approved<\/strong>
The plaintiffs said Anthropic used pirated works to train Claude. (Reuters<\/a> $)
+ And won the largest known copyright payout in history.<\/em> (Engadget<\/a>)
+ Yet many authors and creators still don\u2019t view it as a win.<\/em> (TechCrunch<\/a>)
+ But AI copyright anxiety could limit creativity. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)
 
2 The Trump administration is weighing a ban on Chinese AI models<\/strong>
The launch of Kimi K3 has revived calls for restrictions. (Axios<\/a>)
+ But officials are divided on the proposals.<\/em> (Fast Company<\/a>)
+ China\u2019s bet on open-source is paying off. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)
 
3 China is mulling tighter export controls on AI models and chips<\/strong>
It wants to stop the West from acquiring its tech and startups. (FT<\/a> $)
+ Beijing has held talks with tech firms about potential restrictions<\/em>. (Reuters<\/a> $)
 
4 Trump\u2019s AI safety head has resigned after just three months<\/strong>
Chris Fall had led CAISI, the federal AI Safety Institute, since April. (Axios<\/a>)
+ No reason was given for his exi<\/em>t. (CNBC<\/a>)
 
5 Google is working on a new chip to run Gemini models more efficiently <\/strong>
The chip, called \u201cFrozen V2,\u201d may be deployed in 2028. (Information<\/a> $)
+ Alphabet stock popped on the report. <\/em>(CNBC<\/a>)<\/p>\n

6 New Orleans police have explored arming drones with weapons<\/strong>
A draft drone manual paves the way for weaponised quadcopters. (404 Media<\/a>)
+ Shoplifters could soon be chased by drones. <\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)
 
7 The EU has handed AliExpress a record fine over unsafe product sales<\/strong>
The \u20ac550 million fine is the largest-ever under the Digital Services Act. (BBC<\/a>)
+ Alibaba has vowed to appeal the fine.<\/em> (SCMP<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 Election advice from AI chatbots is \u201cinaccurate and unreliable\u201d<\/strong>
That\u2019s the conclusion from tests in Hungary earlier this year. (Guardian<\/a>)<\/p>\n

9 Red light therapy is showing promise for healing and healthy aging<\/strong>
Better skin and reduced vision loss are also on the cards. (Economist<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

10 Neill Blomkamp\u2019s new horror clip is all AI-generated\u2014and it sucks<\/strong>
The acclaimed director wants to make \u201ca full feature in this format.\u201d (Gizmodo<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis would be a terribly self-defeating form of intervention if it were to happen.\u201d <\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u2014Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya slams plans to restrict Chinese AI models in a post on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One More Thing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Surveillance<\/p>\n
AKILAH TOWNSEND<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n


Inside Chicago\u2019s surveillance panopticon<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Early on the morning of September 2, 2024, four people were shot and killed on a westbound train in Chicago. Police swiftly activated a digital dragnet\u2014a surveillance network that connects thousands of cameras across the city\u2014and arrested the suspect just 90 minutes later.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement and security advocates say this vast monitoring system protects public safety and works well. But activists and many residents say it’s a surveillance panopticon that creates a chilling effect on behavior and violates guarantees of privacy and free speech.<\/p>\n

Go inside the surveillance network that\u2019s dividing Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Rod McCullom<\/em><\/p>\n

We can still have nice things<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? <\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

+ NASA has shared a stunning timelapse video<\/a> of the Psyche spacecraft’s view of Mars.
+ This comparison of American and European Urbanism<\/a> shows good city design is a choice.
+ Musician Luca Stricagnoli recently performed a marvellous acoustic guitar medley of Prodigy songs<\/a>.
+ Two Australian paddleboarders saved a stranded wallaby after it was swept out to sea\u2014and caught the whole rescue on video<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. China\u2019s AI models have Trump\u2019s AI world at war with itself Last weekend, several current and former advisers to President Donald Trump on AI publicly lobbed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[67],"class_list":["post-7076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mit-feed","tag-mit-tech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7076\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}