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OpenAI has quietly switched on marketing cookies by default for free ChatGPT users, according to Wired. The move lets the company track user behavior across the web with one clear goal — converting those free accounts into paying subscribers. It's a familiar trade, your data for a free service, though users can opt out if they know where to look.
Shifting to defense, the Pentagon has declared the United States military will become an, quote, AI-first fighting force, signing eight new contracts with major tech companies to expand artificial intelligence capabilities across its operations. It's a significant commitment, and it raises the kind of questions about accountability and autonomous decision-making that won't be answered in a press release.
And in Britain, a company called iLamp is embedding Nvidia chips into solar-powered street lamps, essentially turning lampposts into miniature data centers distributed across city streets. The idea is clever — using existing infrastructure to push computing power closer to where it's needed. But the BBC reports that security vulnerabilities and questions about scaling remain very much unresolved.
Those are the stories driving the conversation today. Keep surfing. Tech Beat out.
