Hashtag Trending

A $20 YouTube promotion becomes a reported $118,000 company credit card bill. Canada's Cohere tackles a gap in AI data security. And could realistic scenarios help us understand—and prevent—an AI-enabled catastrophe?
Jim Love hosts Hashtag Trending for Friday, September 18, 2026.
A father says his nine-year-old ran up $118,000 advertising Minecraft and Roblox videos over roughly three weeks. We examine how a shared Google account and saved company card enabled the spending—and what that could mean for AI agents given purchasing authority.
Cohere adds confidential computing to Model Vault to protect sensitive enterprise information while AI processes it. We explain why a promise not to train on your data doesn't address exposure in working memory, and how the technology is designed to block access even by Cohere and its cloud providers. Plus, Cohere signs a merger agreement with Germany's Aleph Alpha, subject to regulatory approval.
Then, "Rumours of Our Death": CNN explores four AI extinction scenarios involving engineered pandemics, autonomous robots, nuclear weapons and control of infrastructure. What could AI contribute? What physical barriers remain? And what does our response to climate change suggest about our ability to agree on effective safeguards?
CHAPTERS
00:00 Headlines and introduction
00:40 Father reports $118K in YouTube ad charges
01:31 Spending controls and AI agents
02:53 Cohere's Model Vault privacy protection
04:22 How confidential computing works
05:01 Cohere–Aleph Alpha merger agreement
05:29 Could AI wipe out humanity?
06:16 Four AI extinction scenarios
09:18 Current AI capabilities and misuse
10:24 Would we act to prevent catastrophe?
11:53 Could AI help us assess the risks?
12:16 Wrap-up and subscribe
Subscribe for daily technology news, and join us Saturday for Project Synapse, where we take a deeper look at the week's AI developments.
What safeguards would you require before giving an AI agent access to company data or spending authority? Leave a comment below.
Contact Jim through the Contact Us page at technewsday.ca or technewsday.com.

On the 2,500th episode of Hashtag Trending (Thursday, September 17), host Jim Love welcomes former hosts and tech journalists Brian Jackson and Alex Coop. Brian previews Tech Trends 2027, warning CIOs about rising insider threats enabled by AI wearables and prediction markets, faster AI-assisted vulnerability exploitation that makes weekly/monthly patching obsolete, and geopolitical uncertainty affecting procurement of frontier AI services. Alex highlights SAS's second annual Data and AI Impact Report, showing organizations with strong governance, data quality, and auditability achieve at least double the AI ROI, while only 19.3% of Canadian respondents expect strong returns despite a rising AI trustworthiness index and growing compliance concerns. Jim also discusses research suggesting Americans spend about eight hours online daily and offers tactics to reduce screen-time triggers, followed by an afterword conversation reflecting on the show's origins, production challenges, milestones, and what the hosts do now.
00:00 2500th Episode Kickoff
01:18 Tech Trends 2027 Preview
02:11 Insider Threats and Wearables
03:31 AI Vulnerability Management
04:44 Geopolitics and Procurement
05:35 SAS Trust and ROI Report
07:51 Online Time and Attention Economy
11:24 Reclaiming Screen Time
12:15 Social Media Reflections
13:40 Afterword Trending Origins
19:51 Favorite Memories and Mishaps
24:01 Where They Are Now
29:15 Final Sign Offs

Who pays if the AI investment boom falls short—and who benefits if development slows down? Jim Love examines the money, motives and economic assumptions in this special AI Panic edition of Hashtag Trending.
MIT Technology Review explores the risks behind roughly $750 billion in expected spending by the biggest cloud companies. We examine debt financing, competition from cheaper models such as DeepSeek, recurring chip replacement costs, and potential exposure for pension funds, life insurance investments and electricity customers.
Business Insider questions the conveniently timed calls for an AI slowdown. Could safety regulations also protect established companies from competition? We discuss OpenAI ruling out a 2026 IPO, Anthropic's continuing listing plans, and the publicity surrounding researcher Jacob Coxon's resignation.
Finally, we examine Anthropic's economic scenarios—including an extreme case in which US GDP reaches roughly 32% above its no-AI baseline by 2030. That is a scenario, not a prediction, and it comes with substantial unemployment, difficult retraining questions and significant gaps in what the model covers.
CHAPTERS
00:00 AI Panic Edition: Headlines
00:42 The $750B AI Data Centre Gamble
03:32 AI Debt Risks: Dot-Com Bust or Another 2008?
05:24 Who Benefits From an AI Slowdown?
07:24 Jacob Coxon's Resignation and Safety Lobbying
09:23 Anthropic's 2030 GDP and Jobs Scenarios
11:46 Wrap-Up and How to Reach Us
Can AI deliver real economic gains while its biggest investors lose money? And can safety concerns be sincere while also serving corporate interests? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Subscribe to Hashtag Trending for technology news with Jim Love. Contact us through technewsday.ca or technewsday.com.

AI safety concerns are growing, but agreement on what to do remains elusive. Can governments establish effective oversight amid U.S.–China rivalry, industry self-interest and questions about transparency?
On Hashtag Trending for Tuesday, September 15, 2026, Jim Love examines the push to slow AI development—and why both industry proposals and rushed legislation deserve scrutiny.
Also in this episode:
• Why companies postpone database upgrades. A Percona-sponsored survey produces a startling 97% headline, but the sample and meaning of "outdated" matter. We explore compatibility failures, testing costs and the difference between older software and software without security patches.
• Frank Shaw's Microsoft departure. The longtime communications chief will leave at the end of December after helping shape Microsoft's message across the Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and Satya Nadella eras.
• A Canadian teenager puts AI to work for others. Toronto Grade 11 student Nathan Yizhou Han is developing an app to help people experiencing homelessness navigate housing, shelters and support services. His award-winning robotics experience offers a hopeful perspective on purposeful AI education.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Today's Tech Headlines
00:38 AI Safety: The U.S.–China Standoff
03:05 Who Can We Trust on AI Safety?
03:59 AI Regulation: Making the Rules Work
05:03 Why Companies Run Outdated Databases
05:40 Database Upgrades: Costs and Compatibility
07:58 When Older Software Becomes a Security Risk
09:14 Frank Shaw Is Leaving Microsoft
10:50 Canadian Teen Builds AI Tool for Homeless Support
12:05 Robotics Awards and Canada's CanCode Programme
14:08 AI in Schools: Creativity and Compassion
15:20 Closing and Subscribe
What would meaningful AI oversight look like to you? Leave a comment below.
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https://technewsday.ca
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Sam Altman and Dario Amodei back slowing AI development as researchers raise fresh safety concerns. Microsoft brings Grok to Copilot, and a Flock camera investigation triggers more police arrests and firings.
Jim Love covers these stories on Hashtag Trending for Monday, September 14, 2026:
• AI safety and regulation: Former Anthropic researcher Joe Benton and former Google DeepMind researcher Josh Engels speak out following Jacob Coxon's resignation. OpenAI rules out a 2026 IPO, California advances independent AI oversight, and Bernie Sanders and Greg Casar propose restrictions on superintelligence.
• Microsoft adds Grok: Copilot expands model choice in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. We examine Grok's pricing, workplace agents and Microsoft's growing range of alternatives to OpenAI.
• Flock camera misuse: USA TODAY's reporting prompts arrests, firings and investigations. Communities suspend camera use or change suppliers—but who monitors how police use surveillance technology?
• AI in Yemen: Houthi opponents allege a cloned voice circulated a false retreat order. Its authenticity and battlefield impact remain unverified. Separately, Anthropic reports that a weapons-development cell in northern Yemen used Claude for missile-guidance software and test analysis before its accounts were blocked.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Today's tech headlines
00:57 AI researchers warn about loss of control
02:26 Altman, Amodei and the AI regulation push
04:53 Can the world agree to slow AI?
05:27 Microsoft adds Grok to Copilot
05:42 Grok pricing, Tesla and Starlink
07:17 Grok's AI teammates and Microsoft's strategy
08:14 Flock camera investigation triggers arrests
10:30 Who holds police surveillance accountable?
11:21 Yemen's alleged AI-generated retreat order
11:53 Anthropic uncovers Claude-assisted weapons work
13:19 Closing and sign-off
Subscribe to Hashtag Trending for technology news with Jim Love. Share your thoughts in the comments: what would meaningful oversight of AI and surveillance technology look like?
Contact us through the Contact Us page at technewsday.ca or technewsday.com.