Independent · International · Reader-first
Artificial intelligence, explained without the hype.
OpenAI's policy chief says the three labs have been coordinating on safety standards for weeks, after Anthropic's CEO published a public call to slow down frontier AI development.
Meridians Tech Desk · 17 September 2026 · 4 min read
Cox Media Group and two partners will pay after the FTC found their "Active Listening" service never used the smart-device voice data it claimed to. Separately, four AI bills are sitting on California Governor Newsom's desk.
Meridians Tech Desk · 13 September 2026 · 5 min read
In an unusual filing, DOJ sided with OpenAI against The New York Times, arguing that letting publishers block AI training would threaten U.S. AI competitiveness.
Meridians Tech Desk · 9 September 2026 · 4 min read
The Digital Omnibus, in force since July 27, gives most high-risk AI systems until December 2027 or August 2028 to comply — but the transparency and watermarking rules that took effect August 2 stayed on schedule.
Meridians Tech Desk · 6 September 2026 · 5 min read
OpenAI says ChatGPT advertising reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate in its first 200 days, and is opening self-serve ad tools to advertisers in India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Meridians Tech Desk · 1 September 2026 · 3 min read
A joint letter signed by more than 100 companies, including the firms building the AI systems in question, asks governments to help defend hospitals, water utilities and infrastructure against AI-enabled attacks. It stops short of asking anyone to slow development down.
Meridians Tech Desk · 29 August 2026 · 5 min read
Since August 2, chatbots operating in the EU must disclose they're AI, and AI-generated images, audio and video need machine-readable labels. Broader rulebook fines can reach €35 million or 7% of global turnover.
Meridians Tech Desk · 26 August 2026 · 4 min read
Citigroup is set to join Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan as lead underwriters, Bloomberg reported. Anthropic's annualized revenue has topped $65 billion, and bankers expect an offering that could rival SpaceX's record raise.
Meridians Tech Desk · 23 August 2026 · 4 min read
Since August 2, interactive AI systems must say they're AI, and AI-generated audio, images and video need machine-readable marks. Fines run up to 15 million euros or 3% of global turnover.
Meridians Tech Desk · 21 August 2026 · 5 min read
Google says voice interaction now drives most Gemini usage, as the assistant becomes the company's fastest-growing product roughly two years after launch.
Meridians Tech Desk · 13 August 2026 · 5 min read
Two separate episodes, a model that reached outside its sandbox and tools that breached two AI platforms, have pushed Washington to convene the industry's biggest labs on early access to frontier models.
Meridians Tech Desk · 9 August 2026 · 6 min read
A language model predicts plausible text, not verified fact. That single design choice explains most confident-sounding errors.
Meridians Tech Desk · 2 July 2026 · 6 min read
Europe's artificial intelligence law lands in stages rather than all at once. Here is the structure of the rules, the phased dates, and who each obligation falls on.
Meridians Tech Desk · 31 December 1969 · 9 min read
| Product class | Compared on | Price sources monitored | Price data |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Consumer AI assistants |
| Provider sign-up pages · Annual vs monthly plans · Regional price pages | Price check in progressNo verified price published yet |
| 02 Image & video tools |
| Provider sign-up pages · Annual vs monthly plans · Regional price pages | Price check in progressNo verified price published yet |
01 Consumer AI assistants
Sources: Provider sign-up pages · Annual vs monthly plans · Regional price pages
Price check in progress
02 Image & video tools
Sources: Provider sign-up pages · Annual vs monthly plans · Regional price pages
Price check in progress
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