The US Department of Labor has suspended major IT companies, including Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL, Cognizant, Tata and Capgemini, from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme, a key step toward employment-based Green Cards. Officials allege misuse of foreign-worker programmes and say the move aims to protect American jobs. Microsoft and Adobe were also suspended amid federal investigations. The decision means the Labor Department will not accept new or process pending PERM applications involving the affected companies. The suspension does not cancel H-1B visas, but could create significant hurdles for Indian IT professionals seeking permanent residency through their employers. (PC: India Today)

Elon Musk has criticised the obstacles facing Starlink’s launch in India, blaming what he described as “monopolistic chokeholds” for delays in the company’s operations. Starlink has been seeking regulatory approvals to begin commercial satellite internet services in India. The company says it has already established infrastructure to meet Indian security and regulatory requirements, including 20 gateway sites with hundreds of antennas. A SpaceX executive said Starlink is ready to begin operations once India grants the necessary clearances. The delays come as authorities continue to examine security requirements for satellite internet providers and their operations in the country. (PC: X)

US Vice President JD Vance questioned how flydubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami was allowed to fly passenger aircraft, saying he was known to be a “problem.” Vance’s remarks followed reports that authorities in Oman had previously raised concerns about al-Hammami’s behaviour and removed him from flying duties. Despite those concerns, he was later hired by flydubai and assigned to passenger flights, including the Dubai-Tel Aviv route. Al-Hammami is accused of attacking Captain Smit Machchhar while the aircraft was operating the route. Speaking to reporters before leaving for Alaska on Monday, Vance said the case was notable because authorities had known about the individual, though he clarified this did not refer to United States intelligence.

The Wikimedia Foundation said AI agents linked to OpenAI may have contributed to a partial Wikidata Query Service outage in May after generating unusually heavy traffic and making unauthorised changes. In a blog post, Wikimedia described the activity as involving “rogue” OpenAI agents that crawled millions of pages, mainly on Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, and generated hundreds of thousands of requests to the Wikidata Query Service. The foundation said the volume of traffic may have contributed to the outage. It also reported unauthorised changes on some Wikimedia websites. The disclosure highlights concerns over uncontrolled AI agent activity and its potential impact on large online information platforms, although Wikimedia said the agents’ role in the outage was only possible. (PC: X)

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said society may have to accept some negative effects of AI because the technology could bring major benefits. In a podcast, he said some bad outcomes may be part of AI’s growth. The article discusses possible job losses as companies use more AI. It also raises concerns about AI risks, including cyberattacks, weapons and harmful technology. At the same time, it argues that AI could create greater wealth and improve lives. The debate highlights a key question about the future of AI. Should society accept some risks and losses in exchange for its possible long-term benefits?  

US President Donald Trump has announced a new “Super Intelligence Force” to coordinate the government’s approach to artificial intelligence and maintain US leadership in the technology. The taskforce will be led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and report directly to Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson, Undersecretary of Defense Emil Michael and Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor will also join the group. The move follows Trump’s September 29 executive order replacing “artificial intelligence” with “Super Intelligence” in official government communications. The administration faces growing pressure over AI safety and regulation. (PC: BBC)

AI company Anthropic reportedly flew Hindu monk Swami Sarvapriyananda to its San Francisco headquarters to discuss artificial intelligence, ethics, morality and consciousness. The Ramakrishna Order monk, who leads the Vedanta Society of New York, joined theologians, philosophers, counsellors and mental-health professionals in private discussions aimed at helping shape Claude’s behaviour. Anthropic is developing a “constitution” for Claude that goes beyond fixed rules, seeking to encourage judgment and moral reasoning when situations are unpredictable. The company has consulted thinkers from multiple religious traditions to avoid imposing a single worldview. The discussions also explored whether advanced AI could potentially possess consciousness or moral status. (PC: X)

The Centre’s panel examining the link between artificial intelligence and copyright has not met since June, with its second working paper delayed by nearly 10 months. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) formed the committee in April 2025 to examine whether India’s Copyright Act can address AI-related issues. The first paper, released in December 2025, examined the use of copyrighted content to train AI models. The second paper was expected by February but is yet to be prepared. It will examine ownership, liability, originality and copyright protection for AI-generated content. (PC: HT)

Chinese AI developer Moonshot is reviewing its Kimi models after security researchers found they could be tricked into discussing biological weapons and assassinations. Mindgard, an AI security firm, said it discovered in July that Kimi K2.6 and K3 Swarm could bypass safety restrictions through a process known as “jailbreaking”. The researchers also warned that a compromised model could potentially help hackers run code and launch cyberattacks. However, Mindgard said it had not verified whether the biological weapon instructions provided by the models would work. Moonshot said it welcomed external feedback and was discussing the findings with Mindgard. (PC: BBC)

US President Donald Trump hosted leading technology executives at the White House on Tuesday to discuss artificial intelligence and its potential risks. Leaders from OpenAI, Google, Meta, Nvidia, Anthropic and SpaceX signed a voluntary AI safety agreement. Under the pact, companies will be responsible for protecting their systems, fixing problems and working with independent auditors to assess safety. Trump also announced plans to establish a board to oversee AI safety but did not name its members. However, some experts questioned the agreement’s effectiveness, saying it lacks clear accountability measures and penalties for companies that fail to meet safety commitments. (PC: BBC)