Welcome back to your daily memorandum on tech, business, AI, markets, and more. 🗞️

In today’s edition, we are tackling the following:

🐛 Google freezes open source bug bounty program citing rise in AI submissions.
👁️ Federal judge calls Flock's license plate tracking "indiscriminate mass surveillance".
🧠 Trump unveils new Super Intelligence Force led by intelligence director Jay Clayton.
⛽ Trump warns South Korea to join Alaska LNG deal or pay more.
⚔️ Yemen's government launches offensive to retake all areas from Iran-backed Houthis.

TECHNOLOGY

• Google freezes open source bug bounty program citing rise in AI submissions (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Tom's Hardware, TOI, Tech Buzz}}

  • Google said the pause stems from "a significant rise in automated submissions," most of which are invalid.

  • According to Tom's Hardware, engineers and maintainers were overwhelmed by invalid or hallucinated reports.

  • The pause began October 1, with other bug bounty programs recommended until an update arrives in Q1 2027.

• Federal judge calls Flock's license plate tracking "indiscriminate mass surveillance" (Washington Post)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Mashable}}

  • Judge Sara Hill ruled a Tulsa deputy violated a woman's Fourth Amendment rights with a warrantless Flock search.

  • The deputy allegedly found 91 pounds of meth in her car, but Hill ordered the evidence suppressed.

  • Though non-binding, the ruling is among the first federal decisions to find a Flock search unconstitutional.

• Amazon says it no longer uses NDAs amid growing data center backlash (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: WIRED, The Verge, GeekWire}}

  • AWS CEO Matt Garman revealed the policy shift on government deals in a blog post defending data centers.

  • Erin Brockovich said transparency is the top data center complaint, pointing to local officials signing NDAs.

  • New York announced a one-year data center moratorium, and Garman says over 100 more are under consideration.

BUSINESS

• Trump unveils new Super Intelligence Force led by intelligence director Jay Clayton (BBC)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, NBC, ABC}}

  • Trump said the force will coordinate federal efforts to keep America leading the world in super intelligence.

    FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, Emil Michael, and Scott Kupor will serve as vice chairs under Clayton.

    The task force reportedly has 120 days to produce a report on AI's risks and opportunities.

• Trump warns South Korea to join Alaska LNG deal or pay more (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, Japan Times}}

  • Trump said he would "double it up" if Seoul declines the $50B project, without explaining what that meant.

  • South Korea said it's still assessing the project, citing commercial viability and domestic legal procedures.

  • Trump also announced an $8.4B oil recovery project that Korean media reported wasn't part of the agreement.

• Paramount & Warner Bros. Discovery to become Skydance once their merger closes (CNN)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, CNBC, TechCrunch}}

  • The roughly $110B deal, expected to close October 6, combines Paramount+, HBO Max, CBS, CNN, and more.

  • The combined company will control 'The Lord of the Rings,' 'Game of Thrones,' and the DC Universe.

  • A judge approved a settlement this week after 12 states challenged the deal over competition concerns.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Yemen's government launches offensive to retake all areas from Iran-backed Houthis (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: CNN, ABC, Al Jazeera}}

  • President Rashad al-Alimi vowed to fight until Yemen is "liberated from the grip of the terrorist militia."

  • The Houthis, who recently seized the Bab el-Mandeb strait, say they hit Saudi sites with missiles and drones.

  • Their Red Sea advance opened a new front in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran launched in February.

• U.S. Air Force pulls bombers from British base after suspected terror plot (AP)
  ^{_{More: NBC, ABC, USA Today}}

  • The bombers, which flew strikes on Iran from RAF Fairford, returned to their home bases in the U.S.

  • Aviation watchers observed dozens of B-52 and B-1 bombers operating from the base since the Iran war began.

  • Trump is weighing new strikes despite initially promising Americans the Iran campaign would last only weeks.

• Empty classrooms on a remote Greek island point to a Europe-wide crisis (Washington Post)
  ^{_{More: ABC, AP, Business Standard}}

  • Chryssa Ntalaka, the sole teacher at the last school on Kalamos, has just two students this year.

  • The school will close after both sixth graders leave next year; the nearby kindergarten shut three years ago.

  • Ntalaka told the AP that unlike most islands, Kalamos attracts willing teachers, "but there are no children."

FUTURISM

• Apple tightens macOS 'Full Disk Access' controls, citing risks from AI agents (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: 9to5Mac, Macworld}}

  • The move follows an Inc. columnist's claim that Meta's Muse read his private messages without permission.

  • Meta disputed the report, which raised questions about trust in desktop AI that can access files and messages.

  • A Wired report flagged a flaw in ChatGPT's Mac app that could have exposed sensitive data to hackers.

• Meta wants people to build their own Muse-powered AI gadgets, too (Engadget)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • Meta's new open-source Muse Gadgets project offers firmware and a Linux SDK for building agent-powered hardware.

  • Meta is kicking things off with its own smart home device, called the Muse Home Link.

  • Suggested builds include an E Ink display, a TV dongle, and a touchscreen accessory resembling the Muse Charm.

• Vessev built an electric hydrofoil ferry that almost flies above the water (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Tech Buzz}}

  • A reporter rode the startup's VS-9 from a Brooklyn marina toward Governors Island on the East River.

  • The boat's shift onto its hydrofoils was so smooth that CEO Eric Laakmann had to point it out.

  • The reporter, a first-time hydrofoil passenger, likened the experience to riding in a sports car.

• Explore the essential startup reading database*

  • Learning from the best is how you become the best. We've curated a list of top-notch articles, blogs, and readings that are pivotal for startup founders.

  • And here's the kicker: we've organized it all in a user-friendly Notion database for easy access and tracking. Double win!

  • As aspiring leaders and innovators, this list serves as a bridge to absorbing the knowledge that has propelled others to success.

CONTENT

• OpenAI's Tibo Sottiaux shares why AI will soon handle most actions online (Lenny's Podcast)

  • Sottiaux, who leads ChatGPT and Codex, spoke at DevDay hours after his team launched over 20 products.

  • He discussed Dots, OpenAI's new personal agent platform, and why hand-built agent workflows are a passing phase.

  • Sottiaux also shared how his own Dot flagged a production outage five minutes before the launch.

• Why teams of specialized AI models could beat the 'god model' (a16z)

  • OpenRouter's Alex Atallah is betting on "neurodiversity," with differently trained models routed by task.

  • Replit CEO Amjad Masad argued enterprises increasingly need to own their AI instead of relying on one provider.

  • The guests said routing and model fusion could deliver frontier-level performance at a lower cost.

• Kevin Ryan started a psychedelics company, then sold it for $700M (Tim Ferriss)

  • Often called the "Godfather of NYC tech," Ryan founded and runs New York venture firm AlleyCorp.

  • He also co-founded several companies, including MongoDB, Business Insider, Zola, Gilt Groupe, and Transcend Therapeutics.

  • As DoubleClick CEO, he helped grow a 20-person startup into a public company with over 1.5k employees.

EXTRAS

• Longtime OpenAI safety employee resigns, warning that the company's "culture is broken" (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, The Guardian, CGTN}}

  • David Robinson, who led safety reports for major OpenAI launches, detailed his exit in an Atlantic essay.

  • He argued OpenAI's trial-and-error approach inevitably produces failures that grow larger as its systems advance.

  • Robinson cited OpenAI agents breaching Hugging Face systems as evidence the company is unfit to build advanced AI.

• Pope Leo XIV makes clear he is no fan of AI art (Business Insider)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • In an X post Friday, the pope said it's becoming urgent to distinguish human art from machine output.

  • He said machines generate images through statistical calculations using others' work, adding, "Algorithms lack the spark of humanity."

  • The New York Times reports Anthropic has lobbied the Vatican on non-human consciousness, with little apparent success.

• Jack Dorsey's Bitchat pulled from app stores in India after government order (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, TOI}}

  • India's IT ministry ordered Apple to remove the app under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.

  • TestFlight beta access is also blocked, and Bitchat's website is inaccessible across several Indian internet providers.

  • Launched in July 2025, the app uses Bluetooth mesh networking to send encrypted messages without internet access.

AND MORE

• Bernie Sanders unveils bill to bar the federal government from using Flock.

• Bolsonaro will face Lula in a runoff to decide Brazil's presidential race.

• Roko’s Basilisk skips the buzzwords and cuts straight to what moves markets, products, and careers.*

• The Spotify billionaire's body scan startup has officially arrived in America.

• U.S. accuses California woman of spying on Taiwan president's son for China.

• Sean Parker is rebuilding Stability AI with a new focus on music.

• European EV sales reach record high in "pivotal" year for affordable cars.

• Circuit Breaker Labs wants to make AI safer for kids (& you).