ACM TechNews
OpenAI says an advanced internal AI model produced a proof that the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations can develop a finite-time singularity, potentially solving a $1 million Millennium Prize problem. The breakthrough has sparked controversy over research credit and whether OpenAI’s models may have benefited indirectly from unpublished work by New York University mathematician Tristan Buckmaster and Anthropic researcher Levent Alpöge. OpenAI says it did not access their specific user data, but cannot rule out indirect effects from de-identified data.

From "OpenAI's Historic Math Solution Overshadowed by Credit Controversy"
Axios (09/08/26) Madison Mills
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U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate ballot-marking devices that use bar codes or QR codes, questioning whether they provide reliable records for manual audits. Critics say the digital codes theoretically could be manipulated, while election integrity experts note there are no known examples of such manipulation affecting an election.

From "DHS Asks for Inquiries into Voting Machines"
The New York Times (09/04/26) Alan Feuer; Nick Corasaniti; Alexandra Berzon
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The U.S. Department of Commerce has finalized $100 million CHIPS Act agreements with D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, and Quantinuum, totaling $300 million in federal funding. Each deal gives the government a minority, non-controlling equity stake in exchange for research and development support. D-Wave will develop larger-scale quantum systems, while Rigetti will focus on advanced superconducting quantum hardware, cryogenics, and chip fabrication. Quantinuum will support trapped-ion quantum computing and domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

From "U.S. Secures Equity Stakes in D-Wave, Rigetti, Quantinuum Through CHIPS Act"
Quartz (09/08/26) Cris Tolomia
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The September 2026 TIOBE Index shows little movement among the top programming languages, with Python remaining No. 1 despite its usage falling to 17.76% of surveyed programmers. The biggest movement in the index comes from Julia, which rose to No. 21 with a 0.74% rating. TIOBE CEO Paul Jansen said Julia is gaining ground in numerical and scientific computing, modeling, and data processing, while remaining concentrated in specialist fields.

From "Python Drops Below 18% as Julia Nears Top 20 in Latest Tiobe Index"
TechRepublic (09/07/26) Liz Ticong
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Hackers stole about $320 million worth of Bitcoin from blockchain platform Liquid Network, taking 4,000 Bitcoin, or roughly 95% of the platform’s Bitcoin reserves. The attackers returned most of the stolen funds after Liquid’s maintainers patched the vulnerability that allowed the hack, keeping 598 Bitcoin worth about $47 million as a purported “bounty” for exposing the flaw. The hackers reportedly exploited a vulnerability in Elements, the open-source technology underlying Liquid’s sidechain and its transaction approval system.

From "Hackers Steal $320M in Bitcoin from Liquid Network, Return Most of It After Patch"
SiliconANGLE (09/07/26) Maria Deutscher
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Toronto has emerged as a major global AI hub, boasting the world’s third best tech talent market, according to an analysis by commercial real estate firm CBRE. Tech giants including Google, Nvidia, Meta, and Microsoft have established operations there, while startups have attracted significant investment due to educational institutions like the University of Toronto, and public-private research institutes like the Vector Institute, co-founded by ACM A.M. Turing Award laureate Geoffrey Hinton (pictured) to help commercialize AI breakthroughs.

From "Toronto Emerges as One of the World’s Top AI Hubs"
CNN (09/04/26) Clare Duffy
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Hollywood increasingly portrays Big Tech as a source of concentrated power, ethical problems, and social disruption rather than as a force for progress. New shows are exploring issues like corporate rivalries, AI, privacy, and the influence of technology companies. These productions focus on current technology and tech executives. The shift is notable as technology companies have become increasingly important players in Hollywood itself, creating a complicated relationship between the industries.

From "Hollywood’s New Shows Take Aim at Big Tech"
The Wall Street Journal (09/03/26) Joe Flint
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The IFM research institute in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), released six K2 Horizon AI models with their training data, methods, model weights, software code, and intermediate checkpoints. IFM founder Eric Xing said the initiative aims to establish a standard for truly open AI development and to demonstrate transparency can coexist with strong performance.

From "Abu Dhabi AI Institute Releases Fully Open-Source Models with Training Data, Code"
Asharq Al-Awsat (09/03/26)
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Medical equipment supplier Boston Scientific said a late August cyberattack disrupted systems supporting pacemakers and other cardiac devices. As a result, the company warned that newly implanted pacemakers and other cardiac rhythm management devices could not currently connect to remote monitoring systems. Separately, healthcare company McKesson confirmed unauthorized access to third-party applications resulted in data exfiltration involving some customers.

From "Pacemaker Monitoring Disrupted by Cyberattack"
Computing (U.K.) (09/02/26) Dev Kundaliya
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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and autonomous vehicle technology company Motional said their new Concept-Wrapper Network (CW-Net) AI system was designed to help humans understand and predict decisions made by self-driving cars. The technology translates complex, opaque machine-learning processes into understandable concepts, such as “approaching stopped vehicle” or “close to cyclist,” while preserving the vehicle’s original driving performance. Tests on a private track and in simulations showed CW-Net improved passengers’ ability to anticipate unexpected self-driving vehicle behavior.

From "System Helps Humans Predict When Self-Driving Cars Will Make Mistakes"
MIT News (09/02/26) Adam Zewe
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Brazil’s top electoral court established new standards for defining AI-generated deepfakes in political advertising ahead of the country’s October elections. The court described deepfakes as realistic synthetic or manipulated content created with AI or similar technology that alters the image, voice, or speech of living, deceased, or fictional people. The ruling followed a case involving Flávio Bolsonaro, whose campaign used an AI-generated version of his imprisoned father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, endorsing his candidacy.

From "Brazil’s Electoral Court Sets New Standards for AI Deepfakes"
Associated Press (09/02/26) Mauricio Savarese
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Asia’s datacenter boom, fueled by surging AI demand, is triggering growing public opposition over electricity use, water consumption, land clearing, and neighborhood impacts. In Australia, residents are protesting gas-fired power plants supporting new facilities, while activists in India have challenged Google’s $15 billion project over environmental and resource concerns. South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan are also seeing stronger community resistance and tighter oversight.

From "Datacenter Boom Fuels Public Backlash Across Asia"
Nikkei Asia (09/02/26) Tsubasa Suruga; Shaun Turton; Ananta Agarwal
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The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has banned generative AI access for all students using district-issued devices, following the implementation of a new screen-time policy for the 2026-27 school year. Previously, students aged 13 and older could use approved AI tools after completing digital citizenship training and acknowledging responsible-use guidelines. An ad hoc committee has begun meetings to develop recommendations for future AI policies, with proposals expected by the end of the school year.

From "Generative AI Banned on LAUSD-Issued Devices for Students"
NBC Los Angeles (09/02/26) Karma Dickerson; Karla Rendon
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