AI Political Warfare, Microsoft Ditches OpenAI, Pentagon Contract Disputes, Meta’s Digital Afterlife

News and Updates:

• Anthropic launched a $20 million super PAC to support AI regulation, countering OpenAI-backed groups in a political battle over the future of industry safety guardrails.
• Microsoft AI lead Mustafa Suleyman confirmed plans to develop in-house frontier models by 2026, signaling a major strategic shift away from total reliance on OpenAI.
• The Pentagon threatened to cancel Anthropic’s $200 million contract after the startup blocked its AI from being used for autonomous weaponry and mass domestic surveillance.
• Meta patented "grief tech" AI capable of simulating deceased users' activity, though the company claims it has no immediate plans to roll out the feature.