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SAP, one of the largest enterprise software companies on the planet, has frozen most travel and new hiring — not because of a downturn, but because artificial intelligence costs have simply grown too large to absorb. The company is making exceptions only for AI-related work, which tells you something about where the money is actually going right now.
That tension between AI investment and real-world consequences runs through another story worth watching. ICE has significantly expanded its DNA collection program, gathering samples from people with no criminal convictions — including children — with that data flowing directly into an FBI database where it sits indefinitely. Civil liberties groups say the program has grown quietly, with almost no public accountability.
And on the surveillance front, Flock Safety, the license plate reader company that markets itself heavily to local police departments, is now facing scrutiny after its own promotional YouTube videos highlighted four departments whose officers have since faced allegations of misusing that very technology. It raises a pointed question about what it means to celebrate your customers before you truly know how they're using your tools.
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