Hashtag Trending

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.
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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 A Percona-sponsored survey produces a startling 97% headline, but the sample and meaning of "outdated" matter.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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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?
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Project Synapse (Sept 12): Tesla FSD, AI Agents, OpenAI Image 2.5, and the "AI Doom" PR Timeline
Join us on our Discord at https://discord.gg/B8FfgDsg92
On Project Synapse for Saturday, September 12, Jim, Marcel Gagné, and John Pinard discuss Marcel's enthusiasm for his Tesla and full self-driving, then shift to writing and editing workflows, including token limits and costs across models like OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra vs Sol, and tools such as Atticus for formatting. They review recent AI updates including DeepSeek 4.1 Flash, OpenAI Images 2.5 with a sketch tool, and Meta's upcoming Muse personal AI agents, plus industry-targeted AI tools for financial services and regulated sectors like law (including Augur). They also cover practical website creation approaches (static sites via Cloudflare workers and GitHub, or AI-generated HTML/CSS/JS). The episode ends with a critique of manipulated AI narratives, outlining a rapid, coordinated PR/political rollout around Jacob Coxon's resignation claims, and urging viewers to be critical, not cynical.
00:00 Show Kickoff
00:25 Tesla Lovefest
01:43 Apple Prices Jokes
02:25 Book Writing Grind
04:12 ADHD Workflows
05:35 Lightning Round Begins
06:08 DeepSeek and Qwen
07:56 Token Limits and Costs
09:39 AI Proofreading Tools
11:00 Atticus Formatting
14:20 Model Selection Backlash
15:36 Astra Power and Bottlenecks
19:30 AI Built Websites
19:55 Cloudflare GitHub Setup
24:50 Em Dashes Debate
26:11 Website Backend Demo
27:18 OpenAI Images 2.5
30:56 Sketch Tool Philosophy
33:38 Meta Muse Tease
33:53 Meta Management Whiplash
36:06 Mixed Reality Value Debate
38:10 Muse Agents Pricing Play
39:58 AI Finance Tools Arrive
42:30 Adapt Or Get Left Behind
48:54 X Becomes A Bank
50:32 Regulated AI For Law
53:02 Jobs Cliff And Self Driving
54:34 Manufactured AI Doom Narrative
57:19 Follow The Money Timeline
01:11:11 Regulatory Capture And Trust
01:13:52 Be Critical Not Cynical

Jim Love begins by marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, remembering those who were lost, those whose lives were changed, and the first responders who ran toward danger.
Then, was the extraordinary viral rise of former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon entirely spontaneous?
Coxon resigned after working at OpenAI and Anthropic, warning that leading AI companies are racing toward potentially uncontrollable superintelligence. His resignation post reached more than 100 million views despite his previously minimal public profile. Coxon later acknowledged that friends helped shape and amplify the message and that he deliberately tried to make it viral.
That raises a larger question: who is funding and amplifying the increasingly intense public debate over AI safety?
California Governor Gavin Newsom has now signed new AI safety legislation, including SB 813, establishing independent assessments of advanced AI systems, and AB 1405, creating standards and a registry for AI auditors. OpenAI and Anthropic supported the measures, while OpenAI is now publicly calling for mandatory national AI safety regulation.
Meanwhile, identity verification company IDScan has confirmed a breach of its cloud systems. The incident has been linked to a dark-web service offering access to more than 153 million U.S. and Canadian driver's licence records, including photographs. IDScan has not confirmed that 153 million people were affected.
And an old friend is disappearing. Microsoft is retiring Project Online and Microsoft Publisher, the desktop publishing program that introduced many of us to the possibilities of publishing on a personal computer.
00:00 September 11 Remembrance
00:47 Headlines and Intro
01:10 Jacob Coxon Viral Resignation
02:48 Who Funds the AI Narrative
04:45 California AI Safety Laws
06:39 IDScan Identity Breach
08:14 Microsoft Retires Publisher
09:32 Wrap Up and Farewell