Philip Athey

The release of ChatGPT in late 2022, followed by a deluge of similar generative AI programs, raised questions about how existing intellectual property laws will apply to the new technology. Courts around the world are busy hearing cases about whether the use of copyrighted data to train these programs violates the law, while patent offices are left trying to determine if–and how–IP protections apply to AI-generated or AI-assisted inventions. However, there is another option: The world could go

On Thursday, the White House posted on X an AI-generated image of a law enforcement officer arresting a crying woman, apparently to boast about its crackdown on immigration. The incident underscored the Trump administration’s open contempt for immigrants, particularly those it claims enter the country illegally, while also highlighting its stated goal of ensuring U.S. dominance in AI—an industry led by immigrants. In 2023, immigrants founded or co-founded 65 percent of the top AI companies in

On Wednesday, President Trump ignored both law and 90 years of Supreme Court precedent when he fired the two Democratic commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission, potentially changing the agency from a nonpartisan enforcer of trade law to the president’s personal trade enforcement bureau. “Our staff is unafraid of the Martin Shkreli and Jeff Bezos of the world. They take them to court and they win,” said Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya in a written statement after he learned of his (possibly unc

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times released a new feature that uses artificial intelligence to provide a bias rating on news stories and bullet points that offer “additional context” and opposing views. The feature, created without the input of the paper’s editorial staff, is the “next evolution of the L.A. Times,” the paper’s owner Patrick Soon-Shiong said in a letter to its readers. “I believe providing more varied viewpoints supports our journalistic mission and will help readers navigate the

For years the debate around artificial intelligence has been dominated by two extremes: the “doomers” who fear that unfettered advancement of the technology will lead to a catastrophic robot apocalypse, and the accelerationists, who argue that AI will ultimately unlock a utopian future, so it must be developed at all costs. Governments have attempted to walk a tightrope between the two groups, supporting technological advancements while putting up guardrails in the hopes of curtailing the threa

In the nearly three weeks since Donald Trump was sworn in as president, Elon Musk and a small cohort of young loyalists have torn through the D.C. bureaucracy blindly and possibly illegally, blocking federal spending and pushing out anyone who stands in their way.  Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer who was recently made director of Technology Transformation Services at the General Services Administration, told staffers that he wants to transform the agency into the image of a Silicon Valley

In his farewell address to the nation, former President Biden warned about the rising political power of the country’s wealthiest tech executives. Five days later, many of the “oligarchs” he warned the nation about were seated in the front row as President Trump was sworn into office.  The two events mark a sea change in Silicon Valley’s relationship with Washington, which may have profound effects on the future of both AI policy and the nation.  For years, Silicon Valley leaders have had a co

The first fight between Elon Musk and MAGA ended in an apparent victory for the world’s richest man when President-elect Donald Trump sided with him on the H-1B visa program. The program, which grants highly skilled immigrants the right to work in the U.S., came under fire when Trump named Indian-American Sriram Krishnan as his senior advisor on artificial intelligence. Krishnan has been a staple of the U.S. tech industry since he immigrated to the U.S. in 2007 to work for Microsoft. Since the