News linked to both this project and an event.
: OpenAI began rolling out its new flagship model, GPT-6 Astra, on Thursday, stating that it has made significant progress in commercial tasks such as financial modeling and engineering design. The model is initially available only to select institutions, including organizations participating in OpenAI's Daybreak Access cybersecurity program, and will later be rolled out to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users, as well as users via the API and Amazon Web Services. OpenAI stated that GPT-6 Astra has achieved notable improvements in computer operations, software programming, and professional work, and has reached top-tier performance on the FrontierMath Tier 1 mathematics benchmark, the ARC-AGI 3 reasoning test, and the ExploitBench cybersecurity test. Greg Brockman, co-founder and president of OpenAI, said that the timeline for achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI) has always been somewhat ambiguous, but "looking back a few years from now," this milestone "may fall precisely within this period, right around this model." GPT-6 Astra is priced at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens, which is 2.5 times the price of the previous flagship model, GPT-5.6 Sol. OpenAI stated that the AI industry may shift toward charging per task rather than per token in the future. Brockman said at the launch event: "Welcome to the age of AGI." (Jin Shi)
According to Decrypt, Build American AI, an advocacy group under the super PAC "Leading the Future" backed by Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, has announced it will invest millions of dollars in advertising across Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin to strongly support data center construction. However, a recent poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center shows that 61% of U.S. respondents oppose building new data centers locally, a significant rise from 49% earlier this year. A majority opposed the projects across all major political affiliations, with Democrats at 69%, Republicans at 54%, and Independents at 53%. President Trump commented on the matter, stating that communities resisting data centers would be "backward and poor," and warned that China is eager to see this backlash. Currently, New York has imposed a moratorium on hyperscale data centers, Texas has halted approvals, and multiple cities have followed with bans. According to Data Center Watch, approximately $130 billion in projects faced obstacles or delays in the first quarter of 2026.
Odaily News: OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman reposted the open letter, with over 100 institutions including Anthropic, AWS, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Oracle jointly calling for strengthened global cyber defense to address the rapidly evolving threat of AI-powered cyberattacks.The open letter states that AI-driven cyberattacks are expected to become more prevalent and sophisticated in the coming months, posing higher risks to critical systems such as hospitals, water treatment facilities, and internet infrastructure. All parties should seize the current window of opportunity in which AI can equally enhance defensive capabilities, accelerate the closure of long-standing security vulnerabilities, and prioritize AI tools with cybersecurity capabilities for critical infrastructure defense teams.The open letter also calls on companies, cybersecurity firms, governments, and frontier AI companies to jointly invest tools, funding, and technical support to strengthen threat intelligence sharing, vulnerability remediation, and continuous security monitoring.
据 The Block 报道，德克萨斯州州长 Greg Abbott 本周一下令要求公用事业委员会（PUCT）及电网运营商 ERCOT 对州内所有在队列中的数据中心项目展开审计，ERCOT 随即暂停了原定本月公布结果的"Batch Zero"大型用电审批流程。目前数据中心申请占 ERCOT 474GW 互联队列的约 90%。 Bernstein 分析师在周二发布的客户报告中指出，此次监管审查将抑制投机性开发、压缩新增电力容量供给，从而提升已获批电力容量的稀缺价值，利好现有比特币矿企及 AI 运营商。报告点名 Cipher Digital（CIFR）、CleanSpark（CLSK）及 Core Scientific（CORZ）受审计影响较大，因其近期扩张计划依赖德州电网接入；而 Terawulf（WULF）因电力资产分布于肯塔基、马里兰及纽约等多州，抗风险能力较强；Riot Platforms（RIOT）和 IREN 则因已在 ERCOT 拥有大规模获批运营资产而受益。
documents filed by Protect Progress PAC, an affiliate of the crypto-focused political action committee Fairshake, with the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) show that as of Tuesday, it has spent over $986,000 to support current Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District and oppose challenger Donavan McKinney. The expenditure occurs two weeks before the August 4 Democratic primary, which will determine the party’s nominee for the November general election. Protect Progress PAC spent approximately $1 million in 2024 to support Thanedar, who received 54.9% of the vote in that year’s Democratic primary and went on to secure 68.6% of the vote in the November general election. Fairshake and its affiliated organizations report having a $191 million war chest to influence key elections. Other crypto industry-related political action committees include the Fellowship, backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, and the Blockchain Leadership Fund, supported by Anchorage and Chainlink Labs. Protect Progress PAC has also spent over $100,000 to support Arizona Representative Greg Stanton’s re-election. Meanwhile, Defend American Jobs PAC has spent over $65,000 to support Amanda McKinney, the Republican candidate in Washington’s 4th Congressional District.
According to The Block, Yuga Labs, the developer behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection, has appointed Michael Figge as its new CEO, while former CEO Greg Solano has transitioned to Chairman of the Board. Solano stated that Figge joined the company in 2021 and has served as CEO for several weeks, previously holding the role of Chief Product Officer. This leadership reshuffle coincides with Yuga Labs’ ongoing development of its metaverse project, Otherside. The company describes Otherside as a metaRPG platform enabling players to own digital assets and engage in real-time multiplayer interactions. Moving forward, Solano will continue contributing to creative direction, writing, and the development of new ideas.