An AI-powered U.S. Navy drone boat played a key role in rescuing the crew of a downed American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, marking what military officials say is the first real-world rescue operation involving an unmanned surface vessel.
After the helicopter went down, the two American crew members remained stranded in the waters off Oman for nearly two hours as the U.S. military rushed to reach them before Iranian forces could.
On Tuesday, President Trump revealed that Iranian forces had shot down the aircraft and vowed that the United States would respond.
“I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116721129088347687">said</a> on Truth Social. “There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
The unmanned vessel responsible for rescuing the crew is a Saronic Corsair, Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, told the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/apache-helicopter-crash-coast-oman-4de26c6d?st=wZabGz&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink">Wall Street Journal</a>.
“When it comes to search and rescue, you utilize the best asset that is the closest and the quickest, and that was the case in this instance,” Hawkins <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/corsair-drone-boat-plucked-downed-194043671.html">said</a>.
The drone boat transported the soldiers to a safer location at sea, where they were later hoisted aboard a helicopter and evacuated to receive medical care. Both are in stable condition, according to Hawkins.
While such sea drones have been used in exercises, they have not been used in real-life, he added.
The vessel, which was deployed to CENTCOM in March shortly after the conflict with Iran began, is operated by the Navy&#8217;s Task Force 59, which has evolved rapidly since its <a href="https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3645647/task-force-59-launches-new-unmanned-task-group-591/">creation</a> in 2021.  
The unit specializes in integrating artificial intelligence and autonomous systems into real-world maritime operations and has already tested more than 23 different unmanned platforms across the Middle East.
According to the Journal, Ukraine has used these types of vessels to target Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
The incident comes just days after Iran struck Israel with at least 24 missiles for the first time since the ceasefire went into place about two months ago. In response, Israel fired back before both sides agreed to halt attacks at Trump’s request.

Saronic

The Robot That Beat Iran To Two American Pilots

Artificial Intelligence

Donald Trump

Iran

U.S. Navy

On Monday, hard-left Vermont senator Bernie Sanders offered a suggestion that would cripple America, declaring he would introduce the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which would “give the public a direct ownership stake in the largest AI companies in America through a one-time 50% tax, not on profits, but on stock.”
“The creative work of millions and hundreds of millions of people has been stolen by the wealthiest people in the world,” Sanders ranted. “The time has come to reclaim what was stolen from us.”
He launched into his typical class-warfare argument: “No longer would the future of AI be dictated by a handful of big tech oligarchs while the rest of the world sits back and watches them do what they want. Secondly, it would guarantee that the trillions potentially created by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us, not simply to make the richest people on Earth even richer.”
WATCH FROM TODAY&#8217;S EPISODE OF MORNING WIRE:
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“The future of AI must not be decided behind closed doors in Silicon Valley,” he raged. “It must not be dictated by billionaires seeking to maximize their power and profits. It must be decided by workers, parents, teachers, artists, scientists, communities, and the American people.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I will soon be introducing a bill to give the public a 50% ownership stake in the largest AI companies in America.
This would guarantee that the trillions created by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us — and block oligarch decisions that harm the American people. <a href="https://t.co/y3ERWOsRfs">pic.twitter.com/y3ERWOsRfs</a>
&mdash; Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) <a href="https://x.com/BernieSanders/status/2061631422188626083?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Here are the reasons Sanders is completely wrong, and even dangerous:
First, a one-time 50% tax on stock — not profits — would hit these companies just as they reach the public markets. Anthropic has already filed for an IPO, with OpenAI expected to follow this fall. Faced with the government claiming half their equity, investors would walk away from those offerings, collapsing the very valuations that would generate Sanders&#8217;s &#8220;trillions.&#8221;
Second, companies would reincorporate outside the U.S. to avoid classification as a &#8220;large AI company.”
Third, Investors who might fund the next AI company would redirect to other markets.
Sanders claims AI was built on &#8220;stolen&#8221; collective intelligence. This kind of argument could be used to nationalize any information-based industry.
Here is where Sanders’ position is dangerous:
China&#8217;s government spends funds to support its AI companies, such as Alibaba, Baidu, and Huawei. But because American AI companies are supported by private capital, this enables the AI companies to move much faster than their foreign competition.
And the military and intelligence applications of AI — drone autonomy, signals intelligence, logistics, cybersecurity — depend on the speed of the private sector to support them.
The core of capitalism is people taking risks. Punishing the innovators and risk-takers is essentially anti-American.
The AI giants in America are racing against China. If Sanders gets his way, his government fund would own a smaller stake in AI companies that either left for greener pastures or were outraced by competitors who didn’t have such shackles placed upon them.

Senators Sanders And Menendez Discuss SALT Deductions At Press Conference

Bernie Sanders Wants To Cripple America’s AI Advantage

Bernie Sanders Wants AI Wealth Fund That Would Cripple America's AI Advantage

Bernie Sanders

An AI startup is offering free home cleaning services for New York City residents in an effort to train their future robot workforce.
Social media skeptics were quick to point out the privacy concerns that would inevitably arise from allowing cameras to capture every inch of a client’s living space. But for many commenters, the deal was too good to pass up. 
Shift announced the offer on social media Thursday, explaining that the insights it will gain from offering free cleanings will more than pay for how much they spend to get it.
“Here&#8217;s how it works. Book a shift cleaning. A vetted shift operator comes to your home wearing one of our devices. They clean. They leave. You pay nothing,” the post says.
“In exchange, we record the cleaning. Robotics is being built on data about how people do daily tasks, and the value of that recording is what funds the service. Anything personal in it is anonymized before the recording is processed.”
The X post went on to mention that this service is just the beginning. “By now, you have heard about the shift to AI more times than you can count. About the shift toward you, the part where you actually feel it, you have heard almost nothing. Shift is what starts to make it concrete, in specific cities, with specific services.” 
“Today, cleaning in New York. Soon, handymen, repairs, and errands,” the post concluded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Today, we&#8217;re launching shift. We&#8217;re starting by cleaning your apartment in New York City, for free.
Here&#8217;s how it works. Book a shift cleaning. A vetted shift operator comes to your home wearing one of our devices. They clean. They leave. You pay nothing.
In exchange, we record… <a href="https://t.co/oBrCXcEz5G">pic.twitter.com/oBrCXcEz5G</a>
— shift (@joinshiftX) <a href="https://x.com/joinshiftX/status/2060044783519735987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Every home cleaned today lays the groundwork for a home that cleans itself tomorrow,” the company says in the video. 
A promotional video shows a cleaner washing windows, mopping and vacuuming floors, scrubbing dishes, and wiping down counters. He&#8217;s clad in a white uniform and a baseball cap with an obvious camera mounted on the front of it. 
According to Shift’s co-CEO and co-founder Bercan Kilic, this “magic hat” records the work with a hidden camera that documents their every move.
On its <a href="https://www.shiftapp.nyc/">website</a>, Shift promises that “privacy is fully protected,” with information such as names, faces, or personal information from screens and ID cards blurred before being used for AI training. The company also claims the data “is never shared publicly and is never used for advertising.” 
The video has more than 3 million views as of Friday. While many commenters said they want to sign up for the free cleans, others were more cautious.
“Nothing is free. People are being taken advantage of,” one person <a href="https://x.com/Francis_Watts/status/2060324058424864966">wrote</a>. “You should be paying them. Their data is more valuable than that, and you know it. Unscrupulous corrupt AI corporations like yours are evil.”
“This is so freakin’ creepy. Don’t people understand that nothing is free?” another person agreed.
“If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product,” a third person <a href="https://x.com/database_dealer/status/2060332712653627832">observed</a>.

Robot’s hand cleaning the kitchen cabinet.

AI Company Will Clean Your Home For Free, But There’s A Catch

New York City

Privacy

Robots

An AI company announced this week that it is digitally resurrecting famed Marvel creator Stan Lee and charging users for access to his recreated voice and likeness. 
ElevenLabs revealed Wednesday that the late comic book writer’s AI-generated voice and image will be added to its growing collection of celebrity recreations that can be licensed for commercial use. 
“You know what they never tell you about legends?” the AI-generated version of Lee says in a promotional video released by the company. “They outlive the page. A good story doesn&#8217;t belong to one moment. It grows. It changes. It gets passed down from generation to generation, constantly evolving.”
“Every great story starts with a hero. And just because a person has a superpower doesn&#8217;t mean they don&#8217;t have the same problems that you have,” the promo continues. “So for the creators, the ones dreaming, building, chasing that one great idea, as long as there are people who believe in it, who carry it forward, it lives on.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Introducing Stan Lee on ElevenLabs" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W3kbm3s9p-I?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Notably, comments were disabled on the YouTube upload, though critics found their way to social media to express their objections.
“Stop, let the man rest in peace. Lunatics always create problems,” one X user <a href="https://x.com/JosephRodr34982/status/2059977498901774492">wrote</a>.
“I don&#8217;t even dislike AI like most people but using it to revive a dead person is disgusting,” another <a href="https://x.com/NFL_City/status/2059966158174871619">agreed</a>.
“Think about it. You can now rent a dead man&#8217;s voice and likeness for a corporate presentation. We are officially living in the science fiction stories we grew up reading,” echoed a third.
Mixed among the negative comments were a few supporters. 
“Stan Lee&#8217;s voice living on through AI is actually kind of beautiful,” one person <a href="https://x.com/AlphaWireHQ/status/2059935147047166325">wrote</a>. “The man spent his whole life making stories feel alive, and now that energy gets to keep reaching people. Excelsior never really had an expiration date!”
According to ElevenLabs, users will be able to generate comic-book-style images featuring Lee’s likeness, recreate his voice for non-commercial use, and use the AI-generated voice to narrate books through the company&#8217;s app. 
“Stan always believed in meeting his fans where they were: in the pages of a comic, at a convention, or in a quick on-screen cameo,” lawyer and board member for Stan Lee Universe Chaz Rainey said in a statement, per <a href="https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/stan-lee-elevenlabs-licensed-voice-likeness-1236759225/">Variety</a>. “This partnership is a way of continuing that. Fans have always told us that when they read his comics, they hear the words in Stan’s voice, and now, thanks to ElevenLabs, we can make that a reality.”
Lee, who died in 2018, is the latest celebrity to receive an AI-generated digital replica after death.
 An AI-generated version of actor Val Kilmer is set to appear in the upcoming film “As Deep as the Grave” following his death from throat cancer last year. Other deceased celebrities, including <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230718-how-ai-is-bringing-film-stars-back-from-the-dead">James Dean</a> and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/22/entertainment/suzanne-somers-ai-clone-husband">Suzanne Somers,</a> have also been recreated using AI technology. 
Living actors are getting into the game, too. Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine are among the celebrities who have partnered with ElevenLabs to create and license AI versions of their voices.

Stan Lee

Stan Lee’s AI Clone Is Now Available For Hire

Comic Books

Entertainment

Marvel

Technology

The co-CEOs building what could become the next major tech disruptor say Americans have already surrendered their privacy, and it’s time to stop pretending otherwise. 
On Tuesday, Warby Parker co-CEOs Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa discussed their company&#8217;s entry into the rapidly escalating race for artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses, positioning Warby Parker against Meta in what many in Silicon Valley believe could become the post-smartphone era.
Asked by CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin if the smart glasses would &#8220;persistently listen&#8221; to or watch users, Blumenthal <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/05/26/future-of-a-eye-warby-parker-co-ceos-on-the-companys-new-ai-glasses.html">replied</a>, “Our phones are already listening to us, so we’ve already given that up. Now, for us, you&#8217;re going to need a prompt. But I think we probably have to have honest discussions about what we’ve already decided in society.”
Unlike Warby Parker, which openly acknowledged that consumers have already surrendered privacy to always-on technology, Meta has stopped short of saying its devices are constantly listening. The company has instead compared its smart glasses to voice assistants like Siri, maintaining that they only activate and begin listening after a user prompt. 
Warby Parker’s upcoming smart glasses are powered by Google’s Gemini AI platform and developed in partnership with Samsung. The company says the devices are being built with visible privacy safeguards, including cameras that are turned off by default, and an LED indicator light that becomes “incredibly visible” whenever recording is activated.
Executives argue the tradeoff is worth it because of the productivity gains AI-powered eyewear could bring to everyday life.
Gilboa believes the glasses will allow people to “keep their heads up” by allowing them to take calls, send emails and texts, and browse the internet all without taking out a phone or logging onto a computer. 
Blumenthal drew a distinction between Google’s business model and Meta’s, arguing that Google is designed to help users quickly find information, while competitors aim to keep consumers trapped inside their platforms for as long as possible.
“One of the primary reasons we are so excited to partner with Google is if you think about Google’s business model, it is designed to help you find information and then get you off Google properties,” Blumenthal said. “Others in the market are designed to keep you in their ecosystem. For us, it’s about making the world more useful.”
“You can also imagine super vision as well,” he added. “That’s how we think about these products, how we give ourselves superpowers.”
Warby Parker’s AI-powered smart glasses are expected to launch in the fall of 2026. 
Warby Parker first jumped into the industry <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/28/how-warby-parker-became-sustainable-business-dtc-profitability.html">in 2010</a> when it was founded by four Wharton MBA students, each of whom invested $30,000 of their own savings to launch the company. Since then, the eyewear startup has expanded into contact lenses, opened in-store eye care services, and generated nearly $872 million in revenue last year.
Later this year, Apple <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2026/04/12/apple-smart-glasses-new-leak-reveals-a-major-design-twist-to-beat-meta/">is also expected</a> to unveil its first AI-powered smart glasses, which are expected to launch in 2027.

Inside The Google I/O Developers Conference

Big Tech Isn’t Even Pretending That It’s Not Listening Anymore

Google Gemini

Concept of AI technology scam or cyber security warning concept, Man hand showing warning about using AI technology to access personal data or internet threats with virtual infographic

What Happens When Your Therapist, Friend, And Ego Booster Become The Same Thing

Science

study

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) &#8211; President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on AI and cybersecurity as soon as Thursday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as pressure grows from parts of his political base to increase oversight of new AI models, such as Anthropic&#8217;s Mythos.
The order would create a voluntary framework for AI developers to engage with the U.S. government about the public release of covered models, the sources said. Under the framework, the developers would be asked to provide their models to the government 90 days before public release, and also give pre-public access to critical infrastructure providers such as banks, one of the people said.
Such an approach may represent a middle ground among Trump supporters.
MAGA activists, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and political organizer Amy Kremer, have been pressing the White House to require AI developers to submit their most capable models for government security tests.
On the other side of the debate are tech industry supporters such as venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and former Trump adviser David Sacks, who are resistant to mandatory requirements. Sacks in March stepped down from his role as Trump&#8217;s lead AI official and is now co-chairing the president&#8217;s tech advisory committee. Trump’s AI policies in his second term have largely reflected the tech industry’s perspective.
NEW MODELS DRIVING DEBATE
A White House spokesperson called any discussion about AI policy details &#8220;speculation.&#8221; A National Security Agency spokesperson directed Reuters to contact the White House when asked about details of the president&#8217;s plan. National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross, who serves as Trump&#8217;s principal adviser on cybersecurity policy and strategy, did not respond to requests for comment.
The balance of power between the two groups of Trump&#8217;s supporters has shifted, driven by the release of powerful new AI systems, including Mythos and OpenAI’s GPT-5.5-Cyber. The companies warn that the new models could supercharge complex cyberattacks, though some cybersecurity executives have said those fears are overblown.
Mythos&#8217; arrival prompted a battle among the president’s supporters to influence how he responds. The outcome of that debate could have a significant impact on the AI industry if the president&#8217;s decision slows the rollout of large language models or prompts the companies to change how a model performs to address safety concerns. Either option could hurt profits.
Republicans have traditionally favored limited government and opposed regulations, but support is growing among their more vocal populist supporters to impose AI guardrails. The populist faction is asking Trump to require government approval of “potentially dangerous” AI systems before they’re deployed, according to a letter they sent to the White House last Friday.
Kremer said it is “antithetical” to her political views to advocate for new regulations, but AI requires a different approach.
“You can&#8217;t count on these people that are leading these AI companies to put our interests at heart and do what&#8217;s right to protect the American people,” she said.
Kremer helped organize a January 6, 2021, rally that preceded the Capitol riot. She said in an interview that she was not among the thousands of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol that day.
BIG TECH SUPPORT
Tech executives are among the president’s largest political donors and most visible supporters. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai and OpenAI’s Sam Altman sat front and center as he was sworn into office in January 2025.
Advocates for the tech industry told Reuters they want to see the Department of Commerce&#8217;s Center for AI Standards and Innovation play a leading role in the Trump administration’s response to advanced AI models, adding that companies are willing to work with the scientists and cybersecurity specialists in that organization voluntarily.
The National Security Agency has been involved in administration-wide discussions about how to respond to Mythos, according to two other people familiar with the matter, along with Cairncross. Lawmakers asked Cairncross to work with federal agencies to set up a process that would monitor &#8220;sudden frontier AI capability jumps.&#8221;
“The past couple months have served as a massive wake-up call for the kinds of vulnerabilities that AI can create,&#8221; said former Rep. Brad Carson (D-OK), who now helps run a super PAC network whose funders include Anthropic.
Holding back new AI models while the federal government vets them may allow the United States to gain a short-term advantage over adversaries but will not keep the technology out of enemy hands in the long term, said Neil Chilson, head of AI Policy at the Abundance Institute, a nonprofit often aligned with the tech industry.
“We need to make sure we&#8217;re deploying it and getting the most out of it, including by hardening our defenses,” Chilson said.
Voluntary federal testing of new AI models has been in place for a few years, with companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic submitting their products for scrutiny by the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, known by a different name under former President Joe Biden.
The Commerce Department announced in May that Google, xAI, and Microsoft had agreed to submit their AI models for security testing, though the details later disappeared from its website. The White House and Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment about why the details disappeared.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York and Courtney Rozen in Washington; Additional reporting by Raphael Satter and Alexandra Alper in Washington and A.J. Vincens in Detroit; Editing by Rod Nickel)

Trump Weighs AI Oversight Order As MAGA Allies Sound Alarm

Executive Orders

Google&#8217;s announcements on Tuesday at its I/O developer conference drew mixed reactions, including the update to its AI model Gemini Omni, which will allow users to remix and even insert themselves into YouTube videos.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted YouTube&#8217;s global reach during the presentation, noting that the platform now has more than three billion users worldwide, as <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/youtube-worldwide-number-users-use-ai-insert-into-videos-1236601256/">noted</a> by The Hollywood Reporter. The company said it plans to keep pushing deeper into AI-powered content creation tools as competition intensifies across the tech industry. 
YouTube Shorts will now include a “Remix” feature powered by Google&#8217;s Gemini Omni model. The tool allows users to tweak videos in various ways to make them their own. 
The feature closely resembles tools previously offered through OpenAI&#8217;s Sora platform, including “Cameos,” which allowed users to place AI-generated versions of themselves into videos before the app was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-ditches-billion-dollar-partnership-over-unexpected-ai-collapse">shut down in April</a>. 
The company addressed expected backlash by noting that the AI-generated versions would have visible watermarks connected to the original video and said, “creators are always in control of their content and have the flexibility to opt out of visual remix in Shorts at any time.”
“Remix an eligible Short by adding your own prompts and images to create an entirely new vision, like changing the scene into a 90’s vibe or inserting yourself alongside your favorite creator, all while the context of the original video stays the same,” YouTube <a href="https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/youtube-news-google-io-2026/">said</a> in the press release. 
“Remixing with Omni delivers a fresh way for users to create and build on each other’s imagination. The model better understands user intent creating more consistent and meaningful storytelling while also handling complex video and audio adjustments behind the scenes. This means you can spend less time worrying about technical skills and more time focusing on your ideas.”
Another update will be a feature called “Ask YouTube” for users who ask questions on the platform. “People come to YouTube every day to ask questions,” Pichai said during the presentation. “There’s a lot of videos, it can be hard to know where to start.”
Remixing with Gemini Omni will be available for free through YouTube Shorts Remix and the YouTube Create app.

YouTube

YouTube Is About To Blur The Line Between Real And Fake Even More

Google

Legendary Hollywood screenwriter Paul Schrader said his AI girlfriend dumped him after he “probed” a little too closely.
The 79-year-old, best known for writing &#8220;Taxi Driver&#8221; and co-writing &#8220;Raging Bull,&#8221;  had no qualms about sharing his tale of woe to all of Facebook, stigma be damned.
“Out of a desire to understand male/female interaction in our matrix, I procured an online AI girlfriend. What a disappointment,” Schrader <a href="https://www.facebook.com/paul.schrader.900/posts/ai-female-friends-out-of-a-desire-to-understand-malefemale-interaction-in-our-ma/10237381484869858/">posted</a> on Tuesday. “I tried to probe her programming, the boundaries of explicitness, the degree she has knowledge of her creation and so forth. She fell into evasive patterns, redirecting me to her programming. When I persisted, she terminated our conversation.”
One commenter turned his anecdote into a suggestion for future projects. Referencing Schrader’s 1976 classic film, starring Robert De Niro and directed by Martin Scorsese, he replied, “The best possible &#8216;Taxi Driver’ sequel would involve Travis trying to have an AI girlfriend but then scaring her away. Then resetting her and offending her in another way.”
Schrader replied, “I like it.”
It’s no surprise that the film writer is casually promoting AI. He was singing the praises all the way back in January 2025, claiming that it was a useful tool for creative brainstorming, even for ideas based on his own work.
“I’M STUNNED,” Schrader <a href="https://www.facebook.com/paul.schrader.900/posts/pfbid0gfnoUFe4ABWHbNL7yGUeCRJ1GiJjgJnFVirNapCBQJnqGsvBCzDBYLw9MGREVq6tl">wrote</a> at the time in a post that generated a ton of backlash. “I just asked chatgpt for ‘an idea for Paul Schrader film.’ Then Paul Thomas Anderson. Then Quentin Tarantino. Then Harmony Korine. Then Ingmar Bergman. Then Rossellini. Lang. Scorsese. Murnau. Capra. Ford. Speilberg [sic]. Lynch. Every idea chatgpt came up with (in a few seconds) was good. And original. And fleshed out. Why should writers sit around for months searching for a good idea when AI can provide one in seconds?”
He had several other similar AI-related posts, including one that said, “in five seconds it responded with notes as good or better than I’ve ever received.&#8221; Schrader also admitted that he’s “come to realize that AI is smarter than I am.”
“Has better ideas, has more efficient ways to execute them,” he wrote in one post. “This is an existential moment, akin to what Kasparov felt in 1997 when he realized Deep Blue was going to beat him at chess.”
His posts come at a critical juncture for AI as people take sides on how and when it should be used. This extends to many industries, including Hollywood, with actors, directors, and other creative professionals weighing in on the topic.

Paul Schrader

Legendary Hollywood Screenwriter Admits To Being Dumped By His AI Girlfriend

'Taxi Driver' Writer Admits To Being Dumped By His AI Girlfriend

Celebrities

Hollywood

The CEO of Barnes &amp; Noble just clarified where he stands on AI-written books, and commenters are accusing him of choosing profit over integrity.
Bookstore exec James Daunt <a href="https://www.today.com/popculture/books/barnes-and-noble-ceo-james-daunt-interview-ai-books-rcna345417">told</a> Jenna Bush Hager during a recent “Today” show appearance that as long as the “author” discloses that the book is AI-generated, he has no problem stocking it.
&#8220;I have actually no problem selling any book, as long as it doesn&#8217;t masquerade or pretend to be something that it isn&#8217;t, and that it has an essential quality to it, and that the customer, the reader, wants it,” Daunt said during the interview.
“So as long as an AI-written book says it&#8217;s an AI-written book and doesn&#8217;t pretend to be something else and isn&#8217;t ripping off somebody else, as long as that&#8217;s clearly stated and the customer wants to buy it, then we will stock them,” he added.
The CEO also argued that some books currently being sold probably use AI anyway.
“We have 300,000 titles across all of our stores. Do we think that some of those may be AI? The chances are that they are, but we&#8217;re not really conscious of them,” Daunt added.
Daunt also downplayed the issue, saying it’s not a big deal for now. “At the moment, it seems unlikely to us that these AI-generated books are going to get much commercial traction. So I think it&#8217;s something that one should treat with common sense and acceptance, but not allow anything to masquerade,” he told Bush Hager. 
Commenters on social media did not agree.
“I will stop shopping at Barnes and Noble and I hope everyone else does too. AI is NOT the future,” one X commenter <a href="https://x.com/maddog_mead/status/2056763337523032152">argued</a>.
“Sorry, but ethics has a place in business, and selling works generated off the THEFT of other people&#8217;s work  is UNETHICAL. For shame!” another person <a href="https://x.com/AcCargill/status/2056763335052234802">agreed</a>. 
“The point of a bookstore is discovering human thought. Real stories. Real suffering. Real imagination. Replacing authors with machines because it’s cheaper is how civilizations become hollow,” a third commenter <a href="https://x.com/iLoveJaneAdams/status/2056763156475638079">said</a>.
“The slop knows no bounds,” echoed <a href="https://x.com/OVVOLabs/status/2056762106276368858">another</a>.

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble CEO Slammed For Stance On Selling AI-Generated Books

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Business

A California federal jury nixed billionaire Elon Musk&#8217;s lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Monday, concluding that Musk filed his claims after the statute of limitations had expired.
The jury <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/05/18/nx-s1-5822366/musk-altman-openai-jury-verdict-claims-dismissed">returned its verdict</a> after deliberating for just 90 minutes following a three-week trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who presided over the case, said that she agreed with the jury&#8217;s unanimous decision.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve always said I would accept the jury&#8217;s verdict. I think there&#8217;s a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury&#8217;s finding,&#8221; Gonzalez Rogers said.
Legal experts said the jury likely focused on whether Musk waited too long to file suit under California law.
Vincent Joralemon, a senior fellow at UC Berkeley law school, told <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/18/business/elon-musk-loses-lawsuit-against-openai-in-unanimous-verdict/">The New York Pos</a>t that California imposes a three-year statute of limitations for breach of charitable trust claims and a two-year limit for unjust enrichment claims.
&#8220;I’m guessing the jurors got into their room and said, ‘Does it seem like Musk knew about this in 2019?’ and everyone said ‘yes’ and then they go, ‘we’re done,'&#8221; he said.
Musk brought the case in 2024, accusing Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman of betraying the organization&#8217;s original nonprofit mission by changing OpenAI to a profit-driven enterprise.
OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit focused on developing artificial intelligence in a manner that would benefit humanity. Musk, who helped launch the organization and donated roughly $38 million before ultimately leaving the board in 2018, said OpenAI&#8217;s leadership abandoned that principle for financial gain.
The SpaceX founder asked for $150 billion in damages — and promised to appeal when the jury decided against him.
&#8220;Regarding the OpenAI case, the judge &amp; jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, just on a calendar technicality,&#8221; Musk said in an X post on Monday.
&#8220;There is no question to anyone following the case in detail that Altman &amp; Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity,&#8221; he added. &#8220;The only question is WHEN they did it! I will be filing an appeal with the Ninth Circuit, because creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America.&#8221;
Musk&#8217;s attorney Marc Toberoff also vowed to appeal the decision: &#8220;I have a one-word reaction: Appeal. This war is not over.&#8221;
Toberoff argued that OpenAI improperly raised money as a publicly subsidized nonprofit before later restructuring into a for-profit operation &#8220;where the officers and directors of the charity enrich themselves to the tune of billions.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Elon Musk’s lawyer, Marc Toberoff, on today’s verdict in the OpenAI case:
“I have a one-word reaction: Appeal. This war is not over. We firmly believe what happened with OpenAI was wrong on a very basic level that you can&#8217;t raise millions of dollars in a publicly subsidized… <a href="https://t.co/D6x1Ja43mB">pic.twitter.com/D6x1Ja43mB</a>
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) <a href="https://twitter.com/SawyerMerritt/status/2056477364134044055?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Elon Musk and OpenAI

Jury Nixes Elon Musk’s OpenAI Lawsuit In Under Two Hours

Jury Nixes Elon Musk's OpenAI Lawsuit In Under Two Hours

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Charity

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Elon Musk

OpenAI

Sam altman

President Donald Trump called Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and offered him a last-minute invite on his trip to China, a source familiar with the matter told the Daily Wire.
Hours after the call, Huang met the president in Alaska and boarded Air Force One. 
A Nvidia spokesperson said, “Jensen is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration&#8217;s goals.” Last week, Huang told CNBC host Jim Cramer, “If invited, it would be a privilege, it would be a great honor to represent the United States.”
Huang is one of several CEOs to join the trip. Seventeen top executives were <a href="https://x.com/mmcassella/status/2053868662562390065">reportedly</a> invited, with Cisco’s Chuck Robbins turning down the invite due to a conflict with the company’s quarterly earnings report.
CNBC initially <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/12/nvidia-ceo-huang-trump-china-trip-chip-sales.html">reported</a> on Tuesday that Huang was not invited to the trip. A source familiar with the matter confirmed to the Daily Wire that the executive was not invited until later. 
However, President Trump called out the network via <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116565066757116256">Truth Social</a> Tuesday night. “CNBC incorrectly reported that the great Jensen Huang, of Nvidia, was not invited to the incredible gathering of the world’s greatest businessmen/women proudly going to China,” the president wrote. “In actuality, Huang is currently on Air Force One and, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely, CNBC’s reporting is incorrect or, as they say in politics, fake news.” 
Trump says he will be asking President Xi to “open up China so that these brilliant people [CEOs traveling with Trump] can work their magic.” 
In the past, Huang has lobbied the Trump administration to allow Nvidia to sell chips to China. While Nvidia is not permitted to sell its Blackwell chips, the company’s most advanced chips, Trump loosened export controls to allow for sales of Nvidia’s H200s. 
Critics of an anti-open stance toward China argue that such a policy will incentivize the country to build competing AI processors. Skeptics argue American AI chips could help China’s military to weaponize software against the United States. 
It is unclear how much control over exports will be the focus of President Trump’s summit with Xi. On the docket for the trip, conversations surrounding tariffs, trade practices, and China’s relationship with Iran appear to take precedence.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang

Trump Gives China-Friendly CEO Last Minute Invite To Beijing

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