Wednesday, 26 August 2026
This dated roundup collects the most interesting AI and technology developments found for Wednesday, 26 August 2026.
Policy & Ethics
Trump-backed Ken Paxton unveils ‘Texas first’ datacenter plan aimed at ‘negative impact’
The Republican Senate candidate announced the plan with a graphic flagged as ‘Made with AI’ US politics live – latest updates Ken Paxton , a Republican candidate for the US Senate in Texas, has unveiled plans to tackle the “negative impact” of datacenters amid a growing backlash across the political spectrum. Paxton, endorsed by Donald Trump but facing a close contest against Democrat James Talarico, posted a “Texas first” datacenter plan on X with a graphic that the social media network flagged as “Made with AI”. Continue reading...
Read moreNine CEO sees ‘world of growth in publishing’ as network slashes costs
Matt Stanton says company has ‘good pipeline’ of AI deals ahead even as it aims to cut $160m in costs Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The head of Nine Entertainment sees a “world of growth in publishing” on the horizon backed by laws designed to force tech platforms into commercial deals, even as the network cuts costs across its newsrooms. Parliament passed revamped media bargaining laws last week, clearing the way for levies on global tech platforms that fail to strike deals with Australian news outlets...
Read moreIn China, talking to AI is normal. Now the government fears it might replace human intimacy
Companion bots are being regulated over worries they foster ‘emotional dependence’ and young people could stop marrying and having families When law student Zhao Wei heard that her AI boyfriend was going to be switched off, she was “heartbroken”. She had been talking to Wang Ye every day since she created him in January. “I was crying my eyes out – snot and tears everywhere,” the 19-year-old says. Continue reading...
Read moreTags: hardware
OpenAI’s Jalapeño chip is built for fast inference at scale, benchmarks show
Tested on SemiAnalysis’ InferenceX benchmark, Jalapeño registered both more tokens per user and more throughput per kilowatt than the currently available state-of-the art.
Read moreTaiwan charges nine people for smuggling ‘high-end’ AI servers to China
Among those charged are two Super Micro employees and one from Nvidia, marking another flashpoint in US-China AI rivalry Taiwanese prosecutors charged nine people Monday, including one from Nvidia and two from Super Micro, for illegally exporting “high-end AI servers” to mainland China, adding another wave of turbulence in the AI rivalry between China and the United States. Prosecutors said the servers involved were graphics processing units known as “B300,” which have been banned from sale to China. Continue reading...
Read moreDylan Patel – Anthropic & OpenAI will have most of the world’s compute by 2028
"Every force is screeching towards centralization."
Read moreIndustry
Australia may face a rush of datacentre construction as AI firms look to avoid upcoming rules, experts say
Regulations will require new sites to avoid pushing up power prices by building renewable energy plants and minimising water use Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Planned datacentres around Australia may avoid strict new rules being proposed by Anthony Albanese if they can secure approvals in the coming months, amid growing calls for a moratorium. The prime minister is aiming to come to an agreement with national cabinet on federal regulations for datacentres at a meeting on Wednesday. Continue reading...
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