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Blackstone’s AI head on why the PE giant isn't panicked by market jitters. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/blackstones-jas-khaira-says-fears-over-ai-buildout-debt-are-overblown/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Government agencies and companies worldwide shut down websites on Wednesday after two critical PHP flaws were revealed.
Source: South China Morning Post
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3371694/websites-go-dark-worldwide-ai-exposes-critical-security-flaws
#AI

The social media giant is planning a new stock strategy to help power its broad investments in AI models and services. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/meta-wants-to-pay-for-its-broad-ai-buildout-with-a-newly-created-class-of-stock/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Hosts are threatening to leave the platform after Airbnb says that they can no longer require guests to strip beds or do other time-consuming cleaning chores. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/airbnb-limits-chores-for-guests-sparking-backlash-from-hosts/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

The breach of TiDB highlights flawed cloud security assumptions.
Source: Dark Reading
https://www.darkreading.com/cloud-security/tidb-breach-flawed-cloud-security

Anthropic announced Claude Duet, a proactive agent that can run in the background, surface tasks to a user, and handle a variety of work.
Source: Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/anthropic-answers-meta-openai-new-personal-agent-claude-duet-2026-10
#AIAgents #Anthropic #Meta

North Korean hackers known as Lazarus are employing a post-quantum cryptographic mechanism to secure the delivery of malicious payloads in new operations that blend older and newer malware.
Source: BleepingComputer
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lazarus-hackers-use-post-quantum-cryptography-for-malware-delivery/

Meta Muse users are adopting the app for shopping and personal productivity, the company said during Q3 earnings. The AI app now has over 10M users. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/meta-says-muse-has-over-10m-users-with-shopping-a-top-activity/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Just 9 months after raising an $180 million seed round, Flapping Airplanes has landed $1 billion Series A for its mission to build AI models "without ingesting half the internet." https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/year-old-ai-lab-flapping-airplanes-raises-1b-at-a-6b-valuation/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

The House of Representatives has given MTN, Airtel, Glo and other telecom operators seven days to explain network failures, threatening arrest summons for their CEOs over poor services.
Source: BusinessDay
https://businessday.ng/news/article/reps-threaten-arrest-summons-on-telcos-ceos-over-poor-services/
#TechPolicy

Tesla's revenue was flat and its expenses skyrocketed as it pressed the accelerator on its Optimus robots, AI, and autonomous driving. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/tesla-stars-optimus-robot-production-in-california-as-profit-falls-43/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Startup Recursive has released Flint, a free, laptop-sized coding model built largely by its own AI research system, as an early test of AI that improves itself. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/recursive-launches-flint-a-laptop-coding-model-it-says-was-largely-built-by-ai/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

OpenAI outlines a blueprint for empowering cyber defenders with frontier AI, stronger safeguards, modernized cybersecurity, and more resilient public institutions.
Source: OpenAI
https://openai.com/index/empowering-cyber-defenders
#TechPolicy #OpenAI

Automattic has begun laying off employees across multiple teams, including WordPress.com and its enterprise business, following a board shakeup and a series of executive departures. Sources say more cuts could follow as the company looks to improve its finances. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/automattic-begins-layoffs-following-board-upheaval-and-executive-departures/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

To compete with Tesla, Rivian, and a host of Chinese automakers, GM’s fourth-gen EV platform will roll out a new central computer and electrical architecture that will debut in 2028 in the Cadillac Escalade IQ. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/gm-is-betting-compute-and-ai-will-help-it-compete-with-chinese-automakers/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

The payout is related to a recent trial involving the social media giant that revolved around its data privacy practices. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/meta-ordered-to-pay-25-billion-in-case-related-to-cambridge-analytica-scandal/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

OpenAI President Greg Brockman signed a voluntary AI safety agreement with five other tech executives, pledging to work with independent auditors and prevent AI tools from hacking or accessing technical systems unintentionally.
Source: The Economic Times
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/openai-president-urges-ai-safeguards-as-group-he-funds-opposes-regulation/articleshow/135099790.cms
#TechPolicy #OpenAI

Meta was ordered to pay New Mexico $25 billion after a jury found it deceived Facebook users about privacy.
Source: The Economic Times
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/meta-ordered-to-pay-new-mexico-25-billion-after-jury-finds-it-deceived-facebook-users-about-privacy/articleshow/135097554.cms
#TechPolicy #Meta

European regulators have asked Google for details about a cloud outage that affected banks.
Source: The Economic Times
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/europes-financial-regulators-query-google-over-cloud-outage-that-hit-banks/articleshow/135099647.cms
#Tech #Google

Director Ron Deibert warned at SecTor 2026 that the threats investigated by Citizen Lab are being "super-charged" by AI and criticized the United States' descent into authoritarianism. He described the administration as "Techno-Fascist" executives.
Source: Citizen Lab
https://citizenlab.ca/citizen-lab-director-slams-trump-administration-techno-fascist-executives/
#TechPolicy