EU AI Act Rolls Out on Schedule
The European Commission has confirmed that its landmark AI Act will proceed exactly on its legal timeline, rejecting calls from major tech firms and some member states to delay enforcement. Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier declared, “There is no stop the clock. There is no grace period. There is no pause,” underscoring Brussels’ resolve to maintain strict regulatory guardrails.
Under the Act, obligations for general-purpose AI models take effect in August 2025, followed by rules for high-risk AI systems in August 2026. The Commission plans targeted simplifications later this year to ease reporting burdens on small companies while preserving robust safety and transparency standards.
Senate Rejects State AI Moratorium, Setting Stage for Federal Standards
On July 3, the U.S. Senate voted nearly unanimously to remove a proposed 10-year moratorium on state-level AI regulations from a major budget reconciliation bill, signaling bipartisan resistance to federal preemption of local oversight.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/2025/07/03/artificial-intelligence-moratorium-future-regulation
With more than 20 states already enacting AI legislation and public polls showing strong support for nationwide rules, advocacy groups say Congress now faces mounting pressure to craft a unified federal framework addressing privacy, safety, and intellectual property in AI systems.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/2025/07/03/artificial-intelligence-moratorium-future-regulation
Publishers File EU Antitrust Complaint Over Google’s AI Overviews
A coalition led by the Independent Publishers Alliance has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, accusing Google of leveraging its dominance to promote AI-generated summaries above traditional search results. Publishers argue the “AI Overviews” feature siphons traffic and ad revenue, with no realistic opt-out without sacrificing visibility.
Google maintains that AI Overviews drive billions of clicks daily, but independent publishers and regulators in the EU and UK alike are scrutinizing whether the feature undermines journalism’s financial foundations and distorts competition.
Meta Stakes $15 Billion on ScaleAI and Talent War Heats Up
Meta has committed $15 billion to acquire data-labeling pioneer ScaleAI, appointing founder Alexandr Wang as Chief AI Officer to co-lead the newly formed Meta Superintelligence Labs alongside Nat Friedman. The deal underscores Meta’s aggressive push to secure cutting-edge AI infrastructure and expertise.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-openai-board-member-companies-poach-meta-new-ai-hires-2025-7
The move has drawn scrutiny from industry observers who warn that competitors will target Meta’s hires and that internal politics could hamper integration. Even OpenAI’s Sam Altman has criticized the strategy of massive sign-on bonuses as a potential recipe for cultural disruption rather than sustainable innovation.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-openai-board-member-companies-poach-meta-new-ai-hires-2025-7
Microsoft Trims Workforce Amid $80 Billion AI Push
On July 2, Microsoft announced plans to cut approximately 9,100 jobs—around 4 percent of its global workforce—as part of a broader cost-containment effort tied to an $80 billion capital expenditure pledge for fiscal 2025 focused on AI and cloud expansion.
The company also intends to streamline management layers and refine its product portfolio to offset margin pressures caused by soaring AI infrastructure costs. Similar headcount reductions have been seen at Meta, Google, and Amazon as tech giants race to scale AI capabilities.
Record-Breaking Cloud Pact: OpenAI and Oracle Ink $30 Billion ‘Stargate’ Deal
OpenAI has secured a $30 billion-per-year cloud computing agreement with Oracle, leasing 4.5 gigawatts of data-center capacity under its “Stargate” infrastructure initiative. This multicloud strategy complements existing partnerships with Microsoft Azure, CoreWeave, and Google Cloud to meet surging model-training demands.
Read more: https://www.ft.com/content/b4324903-ff53-48c2-bf71-4151cd4f68d0
The deal has driven Oracle’s stock to record highs and paves the way for new hyperscale facilities, including a 1.2 GW “Supercluster” campus in Abilene, Texas, plus expansions in Michigan and Georgia. Oracle plans significant investments in advanced AI chips to support the next wave of large-scale innovation.
Read more: https://www.ft.com/content/b4324903-ff53-48c2-bf71-4151cd4f68d0
The Great AI Talent War: Meta’s $100 Million Hires and $65 Billion Budget
Meta has lured three top researchers from OpenAI’s Zurich lab—Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai—with signing bonuses rumored to exceed $100 million, as part of its newly unveiled Superintelligence Labs initiative. Such high-profile defections highlight the intensifying battle for premier AI talent.
Backed by a $65 billion AI investment plan, Meta is placing unprecedented financial bets to outmaneuver rivals like OpenAI and Google in the race toward artificial general intelligence. CEO Mark Zuckerberg insists that attracting top researchers is critical to shaping AI’s future, even as skeptics question the long-term viability of lavish hiring incentives.
Tomorrow’s Workforce: AI Agents ‘Join’ the Office in 2025
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts that 2025 will mark the arrival of autonomous AI agents capable of initiating, executing, and completing complex tasks—effectively “joining the workforce” and transforming business productivity. These agents could handle research, scheduling, and preliminary design, reshaping knowledge-driven roles.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-sam-altman-predictions-how-ai-could-change-the-world-2025-1
While Altman emphasizes the need for robust guardrails to manage ethical and societal impacts, he remains optimistic that AI agents will usher in an era of “shared intelligence,” enabling humans to focus on higher-level creative and strategic endeavors.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-sam-altman-predictions-how-ai-could-change-the-world-2025-1
