From MIT Technology Review · · 3m
Silicon Valley's midterm miscalculation and Nvidia's chip tracking
Tech leaders backed Trump weeks before the midterms despite AI opposition, while Nvidia privately confirmed it could track chips to prevent smuggling to China.
In brief
Tech leaders backed Trump weeks before the midterms despite AI opposition, while Nvidia privately confirmed it could track chips to prevent smuggling to China. Silicon Valley tech leaders misjudged the political landscape by endorsing Trump's AI agenda before the midterms, and Nvidia privately told Congress it could…
Tech leaders backed Trump before midterms
Five weeks before the midterms, Silicon Valley executives gathered at the White House to pose with Trump and endorse his Super Intelligence agenda, despite growing opposition to AI and data centers.
A catastrophic political miscalculation
Their decision to support Trump was a catastrophic misreading of the political landscape. They have jeopardized their companies' fates and raised questions about their vision and judgment.
Why Silicon Valley's visionaries missed the mark
The self-styled visionaries of Silicon Valley have built careers claiming to see the future. Yet many failed to read the political landscape correctly before the midterms.
Nvidia confirms chip tracking is possible
Nvidia representatives told Illinois representative Bill Foster that it was possible to implement anti-smuggling measures called for in the Chip Security Act, despite industry claims they were infeasible.
What the Chip Security Act would do
The act would introduce geotracking requirements to verify the location of advanced AI chips and prevent their smuggling to China. Foster, a Democrat, is a cosponsor of the legislation.
Nvidia's leadership crisis deepens
The act is drawing renewed attention following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's resignation and reported affair. The tracking measures could reshape how the company operates.
Brain implant volunteers seek more rights
Scientists have developed brain implants that can control robotic limbs and computers. Volunteers in trials are now demanding more autonomy and access to their own brain data.
Ian Burkhart pushes for ethical guidelines
Ian Burkhart, who had a brain implant in his own brain back in 2014, has been working on guidelines for ethical trials to respect participants' autonomy and data access.
Microsoft outage disrupts global services
A major Microsoft outage has disrupted Outlook, Teams, and Copilot worldwide. Traders were forced to conduct business by phone and fax during the disruption.
Advocacy groups sue frontier AI labs
Advocacy groups have sued five frontier AI labs including Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and SpaceX to stop development. Anti-AI protests are increasing across the country.
Norway builds world's deepest subsea tunnel
Engineers are constructing the world's longest and deepest subsea road tunnel beneath Norway's fjords. The sixteen point six mile highway will sit one thousand two hundred eighty feet below the sea at its deepest point.
The short version
Silicon Valley tech leaders misjudged the political landscape by endorsing Trump's AI agenda before the midterms, and Nvidia privately told Congress it could implement chip-tracking measures the industry publicly claimed were infeasible.
