News & Updates
The latest news and updates from companies in the WLTH portfolio.
Anthropic co-founder Olah joints Pope Leo in calling for stronger oversight of AI growth
Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah has warned at the Vatican event unveiling the encyclical that artificial intelligence governance cannot be left solely to technology companies, arguing for stronger external oversight as AI capabilities accelerate. Pope Leo XIV used the first encyclical of his papacy to call for stronger oversight of AI, warning that rapidly advancing AI systems could spread misinformation, deepen inequality and normalize warfare. In the document, Magnifica Humanitas ("Magnificent Humanity"), Leo urged governments to slow the pace of AI development and ensure control over data and digital infrastructure is not concentrated among a handful of private companies. "There is a real possibility" that AI could displace human labor "at very large scale," Olah said, adding that supporting displaced workers would become "a moral imperative of historic proportions." Olah said AI companies face commercial and geopolitical pressures that can conflict with the public interest and called for greater oversight from governments, religious leaders and civil society. This echoed the Pope's comments, with Leo writing: "What is needed is a more active political involvement that is capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating." He called for "robust legal frameworks, independent oversight," and protections for workers and children, while warning that AI-driven competition could intensify global tensions. He also cautioned against the use of autonomous weapons, writing that AI in warfare must be subject to "the most rigorous ethical constraints" to preserve human dignity and accountability. Invoking the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, Leo warned against technological ambition driven by power, urging humanity to focus instead on the common good. Leo additionally criticized the growing concentration of digital power among major technology firms, warning it could lead to "new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities." While acknowledging AI's engineering achievements, he argued that the technology cannot replace human moral judgment and advised priests against relying on AI to write sermons.
Indonesia blocks Polymarket after president's exit bets
Indonesia has blocked predictions market Polymarket as part of its crackdown on online gambling, its communications and digital ministry said, days after the site took bets on a premature end of Prabowo Subianto's presidency. Gambling is illegal in Indonesia and authorities have been clamping down on online wagering Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs official Alexander Sabar said Polymarket was classified by Indonesia as an online gambling platform and its activities "contain betting and speculation over events that are inconclusive," therefore violating Indonesian law. Polymarket attracted attention on social media in Indonesia last week after a bet opened on when Prabowo would be "out as president". His term expires in 2029. The wager was launched on May 21, the day after Prabowo announced a major plan to centralise control of Indonesia's most prized commodity exports, such as coal and palm oil. Prabowo's administration has been under scrutiny from investors this year over its economic policy. Indonesia's government was combing over all social media accounts affiliated with Polymarket, ministry official Sabar said. The official said the decision was aimed at protecting the public, whom it urged "not to access or engage in speculative activities based on digital betting". "Activities like Polymarket's involve financial betting and speculation on events with uncertain outcomes, thus violating applicable Indonesian law," the statement added. The website maintains the bet titled "Prabowo Subianto out as President of Indonesia by...?", which has opened the door to speculation, some of which point to May 31, June 30 or December 31 of this year. Prediction platforms such as Polymarket allow users to profit from predictions on events such as sports and elections, in what is a multibillion-dollar industry. Some opponents, including some US states, have argued prediction markets are illegal and unlicensed under their local laws. At the end of April, the Brazilian government announced the blocking of prediction market platforms with bets on politics, culture and climate, such as Polymarket, which it considered "illegal" for not complying with current legislation.
Anthropic co-founder Olah joints Pope Leo in calling for stronger oversight of AI growth
Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah has warned at the Vatican event unveiling the encyclical that artificial intelligence governance cannot be left solely to technology companies, arguing for stronger external oversight as AI capabilities accelerate. Pope Leo XIV used the first encyclical of his papacy to call for stronger oversight of AI, warning that rapidly advancing AI systems could spread misinformation, deepen inequality and normalize warfare. In the document, Magnifica Humanitas ("Magnificent Humanity"), Leo urged governments to slow the pace of AI development and ensure control over data and digital infrastructure is not concentrated among a handful of private companies. "There is a real possibility" that AI could displace human labor "at very large scale," Olah said, adding that supporting displaced workers would become "a moral imperative of historic proportions." Olah said AI companies face commercial and geopolitical pressures that can conflict with the public interest and called for greater oversight from governments, religious leaders and civil society. This echoed the Pope's comments, with Leo writing: "What is needed is a more active political involvement that is capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating." He called for "robust legal frameworks, independent oversight," and protections for workers and children, while warning that AI-driven competition could intensify global tensions. He also cautioned against the use of autonomous weapons, writing that AI in warfare must be subject to "the most rigorous ethical constraints" to preserve human dignity and accountability. Invoking the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, Leo warned against technological ambition driven by power, urging humanity to focus instead on the common good. Leo additionally criticized the growing concentration of digital power among major technology firms, warning it could lead to "new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities." While acknowledging AI's engineering achievements, he argued that the technology cannot replace human moral judgment and advised priests against relying on AI to write sermons.
SpaceX Index Entry Debate Grows as Starlink, Rockets and AI Shape Review
A key question now sits with S&P Global and MSCI. They must decide where SpaceX fits under sector rules. That decision could shape how investors gain exposure through sector indexes and ETFs after the listing. SpaceX operates across rockets, satellite internet, artificial intelligence, and data centers. However, index classification usually starts with revenue. That makes Starlink central to the discussion. The company's filing says its Space and Connectivity segments produced most of its in 2025 and in the first quarter of 2026. Connectivity refers mainly to Starlink, which provides satellite broadband service to customers worldwide. That business reportedly generated more than $11 billion in revenue in 2025. By comparison, the launch and mission services business brought in about $4 billion. The AI unit, tied to xAI and Grok, produced about $3.2 billion. Based on that mix, Communication Services appears to be the leading sector candidate. That sector already includes Alphabet, Meta, Netflix, AT&T, Verizon, Charter Communications, and Disney. SpaceX also has a connection to EchoStar, which owns a small stake in the company. However, S&P and MSCI do not use revenue alone. Representatives for the firms noted that 'earnings and market perception' also matter during classification reviews. That leaves room for debate.
Prediction Markets Go Mainstream: Why Polymarket and Sportsbooks Are Becoming Trust Brands
Prediction markets have moved from crypto Twitter curiosities to front-page references. Election probabilities, court case odds, AI milestones, even crypto ETF approvals are now priced by markets and cited by commentators. In parallel, regulated sportsbooks have transformed from niche betting shops into data sources that journalists and analysts use to gauge expectations. The common thread is trust. When money is on the line and prices update in real time, outsiders increasingly treat these platforms as honest barometers of what might happen next. But not all markets are equal, and not every price is created the same way. This piece examines why on-chain platforms like Polymarket and licensed sportsbooks are emerging as "trust brands," what makes their signals useful, and how to read those signals without falling for hype. We'll compare mechanics, surface the risks, and offer a practical playbook for using prediction data responsibly. Prediction markets once lived in academic circles and policy shops. Crypto lowered the barrier to launch, while mobile UX made trading event outcomes feel as familiar as sports odds or stock tickers. Two things pushed them into mainstream consciousness: Licensed sportsbooks, meanwhile, have invested heavily in product polish, instant payouts, and regulatory compliance. As legal frameworks matured in many jurisdictions, their prices became widely accessible and easily comparable, further cementing their role as public barometers of consensus. Polymarket popularized a simple idea: markets for well-defined questions with binary (Yes/No) or categorical outcomes. Each share price can be read as an implied probability -- subject to fees and liquidity. The platform runs on a public blockchain, making trades and liquidity visible to anyone. That transparency is a core reason many see it as a trust brand. Polymarket uses order books and automated market-maker style liquidity pools to match buyers and sellers. Prices move as orders fill, reflecting the marginal belief of the next trade. Because activity is on-chain, observers can audit volumes, depth, and historical pricing without relying solely on the platform's UI. A market's credibility hinges on how it resolves. Polymarket publishes detailed rules for each market to reduce ambiguity. For on-chain settlement, it has integrated an optimistic oracle design -- where a proposed outcome can be disputed within a time window and, if challenged, escalated to a higher-level adjudication process. Projects such as UMA's Optimistic Oracle have been used in this style of resolution architecture. This multi-step process is designed to discourage bad resolutions and align incentives around accuracy. Pro tip: Before trading, read the market's rules in full. Look for objective criteria, clear data sources, and unambiguous time frames. Onboarding friction has historically been a barrier. Modern prediction platforms increasingly support familiar sign-in flows, fiat on-ramps, and portfolio views. Even so, availability varies by jurisdiction, and some users will encounter trading limits or verification steps depending on local rules. Sportsbooks have spent decades refining trust: they pay out reliably, operate under licenses, and undergo compliance checks. Their odds are inclusive of a built-in margin (the overround), and they may limit sharp bettors. Still, for many consumers and media outlets, a regulated book's line is an intuitive, credible baseline. Markets become trusted when incentives, transparency, and predictable resolution align. Break any one of these and credibility erodes quickly. Divergences are common. Polls measure stated preferences; markets price expected outcomes after considering turnout, momentum, and late news. Sportsbooks blend true probability with risk management and house margin. On-chain markets reflect trader beliefs plus liquidity conditions and fees. These give gross implied probabilities. Books build in a margin, so the sum of probabilities across outcomes typically exceeds 100%. You can normalize by dividing each probability by the sum across all outcomes. On Polymarket-style binaries, a Yes share price near 0.60 is often read as ~60% -- but fees, spreads, and liquidity can nudge that reading. Check the fee schedule and current depth to avoid overconfidence. Pro tip: Plot a quick scenario analysis. Ask: if the true probability is 55%, what edge do I need after fees to break even? This guards against chasing tiny mispricings that vanish in costs. Ambiguous wording is the silent killer of trust. Phrases like "major announcement" or "meaningful lead" invite disputes. Prefer markets with measurable criteria, specified data sources, and clear time zones and deadlines. Rules differ across countries and even states. Licensed sportsbooks operate where permitted and restrict access where not. On-chain platforms may geofence or implement limits to comply with local requirements. Always check your local laws and the platform's terms. For general context on derivatives and event contracts in the U.S., see the CFTC, though each platform's status can differ. On-chain markets add exposure to contract bugs, oracle failures, and wallet management. Off-chain books centralize custody, introducing counterparty risk. Decide whether you prefer self-custody with technical risk or centralized custody with platform risk -- and size your balances accordingly. Thin order books produce jumpy prices and large slippage. A 62% headline probability can be meaningless if only a small notional can trade there. Always view depth charts or historical fills before treating a price as consensus. Wealthy participants may push prices to shape narratives. The antidote is depth, time-weighted averages, and independent corroboration. If a move reverses quickly without new information, treat it as noise. Pro tip: For sensitive topics (elections, court rulings), use time-weighted or volume-weighted averages over intraday spikes when communicating "what the market says." Crypto Daily regularly covers the crossover between crypto-native markets and traditional finance. For ongoing analysis, visit Crypto Daily. They answer different questions. Polls gauge current sentiment. Markets price expected outcomes after accounting for turnout, late-breaking events, and incentives. Treat both as inputs and look for alignment or persistent gaps worth investigating. Prices emerge from trading. Buyers and sellers meet on an order book or liquidity pool; the last matched trade sets the visible price. There is no single "house" setting a line, though fees and liquidity constraints affect the reading. Short term, yes -- especially in thin books. Over time, arbitrage and new information tend to correct distortions, provided there is sufficient liquidity and independent participants. Use time-weighted averages and cross-venue checks to reduce the impact of noise. Good platforms publish explicit rules and data sources. On-chain markets often use oracle-based dispute windows to handle edge cases. If wording is unclear, the risk of an unexpected resolution rises; consider avoiding or discounting that market's signal. It depends on your jurisdiction. Licensed sportsbooks operate only where permitted. On-chain prediction markets may restrict access or impose limits to comply with local laws. Always review platform terms and local regulations before participating. Convert sportsbook odds to implied probabilities, remove the overround by normalizing across all outcomes, and then compare to a binary market's Yes price (adjusted for fees). Differences can reflect both information and market frictions. Unlikely in the near term. They serve overlapping but distinct functions. Sportsbooks excel in regulated, consumer-friendly sports betting. Prediction markets shine in pricing non-sport events and offering transparent, auditable signals. Both can coexist and even inform each other. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
TX sues Discord, arguing online messaging platform endangered children
The state's spot review found Texas public colleges were not using diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on campuses. Discord is an online messaging service generally used by people to communicate while playing video games. It also includes chat functions and the ability for users to create topic-based servers. Paxton has sued other video game and social media platforms, like Snapchat, Tiktok and Roblox, in recent months over similar concerns that they are violating users' data privacy and allowing their platforms to be used to exploit children.
xAI Says Grok V9-Medium Is Almost Here. Should Claude and ChatGPT Be Worried?
xAI's new 1.5 trillion parameter model trained on Cursor coding data drops in 2 to 3 weeks. Elon Musk posted on X early Monday morning (5:48 AM UTC), May 25, that xAI has finished training Grok foundation model V9-Medium. According to him, this model will come with 1.5 trillion parameters, which is three times bigger than the current version running Grok today. The public release timeline is between 2 and 3 weeks, with Musk saying evaluations look good, fine-tuning is underway, and reinforcement learning starts in a few days. What caught attention, though, is Musk's focus on coding. When asked if the new model would perform better at coding tasks, Musk replied directly: "Much better at coding." The V9-Medium name refers to xAI's internal model version, not the public product name users see. The current Grok app runs on V8, which has 0.5 trillion parameters. V9-Medium triples that size to 1.5 trillion parameters. "This will be a major improvement over the 0.5T v8-small that currently serves all Grok production traffic," Musk said in his post. Parameter count is basically the number of connections inside an AI model. More parameters typically mean the model can handle more complex tasks, though size alone doesn't guarantee better performance. Musk revealed that xAI added "a lot of Cursor data" during training, with more still coming. Cursor is a code editor that developers at OpenAI, Stripe, and Perplexity actually use. It's basically VS Code with AI features built in for writing and debugging code. Training on Cursor means Grok learned from how real developers work, not just public code on GitHub. Claude leads on coding right now. Independent testing tests conducted by Ryz Labs shows it hits about 95% accuracy on coding tasks. ChatGPT comes in around 85%. Claude's Opus 4.6 scores 80.8% on SWE-bench Verified, which developers watch closely. GPT-5.5 scored 88.7% on that same test, while xAI self-reports Grok 4, it's current flagship series of models, at 72% to 75% . So there's ground to make up. If V9-Medium closes the performance gap, the coding AI market gets more competitive. The Cursor training data suggests xAI knows where Claude is strong and is aiming there. Musk also said xAI will open source the 0.5 trillion parameter model "towards the end of this year." Developers could use that to experiment while xAI keeps pushing bigger models. Mid-June 2026 is when V9-Medium should arrive, based on the 2 to 3 week timeline. Whether it matches Claude and ChatGPT on actual coding benchmarks remains to be seen.
SpaceX launches rocket from Cape Canaveral on Memorial Day morning. See photos.
A SpaceX rocket soared into the Monday morning sky, starting off Memorial Day on Florida's Space Coast with a rumble. Liftoff occurred on time at 7:48 a.m. May 25 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission, known as Starlink 10-47, featured a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the latest batch of Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The rocket rumbled on a northeast trajectory, across the clearing morning sky. Showers had moved through the area overnight, but cleared in time for the liftoff, which marked the 35 of the year for Florida. No Brevard County sonic booms were heard, as the Falcon 9's first stage booster landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. When is the next Florida rocket launch? Early risers are in for a treat, as the next liftoff is also set to occur in the morning hours. The next launch from Florida is set for no earlier than 7:52 a.m. Friday, May 29 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Expect to see a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lift off on another Starlink mission. If needed, the May 29 launch window extends until 11:52 a.m. Be sure to follow the FLORIDA TODAY Space Team at FloridaToday.com/Space for the latest updates from Cape Canaveral. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars.
Indonesia bans Polymarket over online gambling concerns
We uphold a strict editorial policy that focuses on factual accuracy, relevance, and impartiality. Our in-house created content is meticulously reviewed by a team of seasoned editors to ensure compliance with the highest standards in reporting and publishing. Indonesia has blocked access to Polymarket after officials concluded that the prediction market platform operates as online gambling under national law. The Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry announced the move on Friday and said authorities are stepping up enforcement against digital betting services across the country. Officials argued that platforms allowing users to speculate on uncertain future events fall within Indonesia's gambling restrictions, even when those services are tied to crypto assets or blockchain technology. The government will not allow any form of online gambling in Indonesia," Alexander Sabar, the ministry's director general of digital space supervision, told reporters in Jakarta. Authorities said Polymarket allows users to place financial wagers on elections, economic developments, sports results, and other future outcomes. While prediction markets often present themselves as information or forecasting tools, Indonesian regulators said the practical function still resembles gambling activity. Sabar said Polymarket's activities involve betting and speculation on uncertain events, putting the platform in violation of national regulations. Officials confirmed the platform's website has already been blocked inside Indonesia as part of a broader campaign targeting online gambling services. The ministry also warned residents against using crypto-based betting platforms that could expose users to financial losses or legal risks. Government widens crackdown on prediction markets The ministry said it is now tracing social media accounts connected to Polymarket as authorities try to limit promotion of the platform across multiple online channels. Officials added that similar services could face future restrictions if regulators determine they facilitate speculative betting activity. Indonesia's action mirrors growing pressure on prediction market companies in several other countries. According to Sabar, Singapore, Brazil, and India have already blocked Polymarket, while Taiwan, Thailand, China, and Japan have imposed various restrictions tied to domestic regulations. US regulators increase pressure on prediction platforms Legal scrutiny has also intensified in the United States, where prediction markets are facing challenges from both federal and state authorities. Recent disputes involving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have centered on whether event-based contracts should be treated as regulated financial products or illegal gambling instruments. Several American states have pursued lawsuits and enforcement actions against prediction market operators, arguing that election-related contracts and sports-event wagers violate local gambling laws. At the same time, the CFTC has defended aspects of federally regulated prediction markets in ongoing court battles over jurisdiction and oversight authority. Indonesia says enforcement aims to protect users Indonesian officials said their enforcement campaign is intended to protect internet users, especially younger people who may be drawn to speculative digital betting platforms promoted online. The ministry said authorities will continue coordinating with law enforcement agencies and other institutions to monitor digital services operating inside the country. Officials added that the broader goal is maintaining what they described as a safe, healthy, and productive digital environment for Indonesian users.
SpaceX launches rocket from Cape Canaveral on Memorial Day morning. See photos.
A SpaceX rocket soared into the Monday morning sky, starting off Memorial Day on Florida's Space Coast with a rumble. Liftoff occurred on time at 7:48 a.m. May 25 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission, known as Starlink 10-47, featured a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the latest batch of Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The rocket rumbled on a northeast trajectory, across the clearing morning sky. Showers had moved through the area overnight, but cleared in time for the liftoff, which marked the 35 of the year for Florida. No Brevard County sonic booms were heard, as the Falcon 9's first stage booster landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. When is the next Florida rocket launch? Early risers are in for a treat, as the next liftoff is also set to occur in the morning hours. The next launch from Florida is set for no earlier than 7:52 a.m. Friday, May 29 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Expect to see a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lift off on another Starlink mission. If needed, the May 29 launch window extends until 11:52 a.m. Be sure to follow the FLORIDA TODAY Space Team at FloridaToday.com/Space for the latest updates from Cape Canaveral. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars.
Pope Leo, Anthropic co-founder Olah call for stronger oversight of AI growth
Pope Leo XIV used the first encyclical of his papacy to call for stronger oversight of artificial intelligence, warning that rapidly advancing AI systems could spread misinformation, deepen inequality and normalize warfare. In the document, Magnifica Humanitas ("Magnificent Humanity"), Leo urged governments to slow the pace of AI development and ensure control over data and digital infrastructure is not concentrated among a handful of private companies. "What is needed is a more active political involvement that is capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating," Leo wrote. The pope called for "robust legal frameworks, independent oversight" and protections for workers and children, while warning that AI-driven competition could intensify global tensions. He also cautioned against the use of autonomous weapons, writing that AI in warfare must be subject to "the most rigorous ethical constraints" to preserve human dignity and accountability. Invoking the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, Leo warned against technological ambition driven by power, urging humanity to focus instead on the common good. Leo additionally criticized the growing concentration of digital power among major technology firms, warning it could lead to "new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities." While acknowledging AI's engineering achievements, he argued that the technology cannot replace human moral judgment and advised priests against relying on AI to write sermons. At the Vatican event unveiling the encyclical, Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah echoed concerns about unchecked AI development, saying governance should not be left solely to tech companies. "There is a real possibility" that AI could displace human labor "at very large scale," Olah said, adding that supporting displaced workers would become "a moral imperative of historic proportions." Olah said AI companies face commercial and geopolitical pressures that can conflict with the public interest and called for greater oversight from governments, religious leaders and civil society. "The questions raised by AI are bigger than the AI research community," he said.
Indonesia Bans Polymarket Amid Crackdown on Cryptocurrency Prediction Platforms - Blockonomi
Social media promotion channels linked to the platform are now being tracked and blocked Indonesian regulators have officially shut down access to Polymarket, declaring the cryptocurrency-based prediction service violates the nation's stringent anti-gambling statutes. This enforcement action represents another significant challenge for digital asset platforms offering real-money event contracts, demonstrating how authorities increasingly apply traditional gaming regulations to blockchain-based forecasting services. The Ministry of Communication and Digital in Indonesia announced the access block following an extensive assessment of Polymarket's operations. According to ministry officials, the platform enables participants to wager funds on unpredictable events spanning political contests, athletic competitions, and financial developments. Authorities determined these activities fall squarely within prohibited gambling operations under Indonesian law. Alexander Sabar, serving as Director General of Digital Space Supervision, stated that the service facilitates wagering and speculative activities tied to uncertain future outcomes. Beyond blocking the main platform, the ministry initiated monitoring of social media profiles associated with the service. Government representatives indicated they would suppress promotional efforts designed to help Indonesian users circumvent the access restriction. This enforcement aligns with Indonesia's historically rigid stance against internet-based gambling operations. Domestic legislation prohibits all forms of gambling services, and regulatory bodies have intensified their digital oversight throughout recent quarters. Consequently, cryptocurrency-powered platforms now undergo identical scrutiny as conventional online betting operations. The platform attracted Indonesian regulatory attention following the creation of a prediction market concerning President Prabowo Subianto's tenure duration. This particular contract emerged shortly after Prabowo revealed intentions to consolidate governmental authority over strategic commodity exports. The affected industries encompass coal and palm oil production, both critical components of Indonesia's economic infrastructure. The Indonesian prohibition mirrors comparable regulatory interventions across numerous jurisdictions. Brazilian authorities took enforcement measures against both Polymarket and Kalshi during April, citing derivative trading concerns and market manipulation risks. Argentine officials mandated that telecommunications providers, Google, and Apple block platform access following judicial proceedings. Additional countries including Singapore, India, China, Japan, and Thailand have implemented restrictive frameworks affecting comparable event-wagering operations. Regulatory bodies in these territories frequently invoke gambling statutes or financial regulations when participants risk capital on real-world developments. Consequently, enforcement agencies prioritize the betting mechanics rather than underlying blockchain architecture. Within the United States, prediction markets continue confronting legal challenges at state government levels. A recent Ninth Circuit judicial panel dismissed efforts by Kalshi and Polymarket to suspend enforcement proceedings in Nevada and Washington. State prosecutors maintain that sports-related prediction contracts function as unlicensed gambling instruments. This expanding regulatory offensive generates substantial legal uncertainties for decentralized finance platforms blending speculation, wagering, and outcome forecasting. While Polymarket positions market quotations as probabilistic indicators, government agencies interpret cash-backed event contracts through different frameworks. Platforms utilizing comparable business models should anticipate heightened regulatory examination throughout Asian and Latin American territories. For the broader cryptocurrency industry, this situation demonstrates that decentralized infrastructure cannot eliminate jurisdictional compliance obligations. National governments retain capabilities to implement access restrictions, suppress marketing activities, and target auxiliary services through internet regulation mechanisms. Polymarket now confronts yet another substantial market exclusion as regulatory authorities worldwide intensify their examination of crypto-based betting operations.
Anthropic co-founder backs Pope Leo XIV's warning: 'AI must be guided beyond big tech'
ChrisOlah also welcomed the collaboration with the church on working on AI ethics Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah has endorsed Pope Leo XIV's warning regarding the concentration of decision-making power in few hands would be dangerous. According to Olah, who attended Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical presentation on AI, the development of artificial intelligence cannot be left solely to tech companies, even the other groups and institutions such as governments, religious leaders and civil society must be involved. Olah also welcomed the collaboration with the church on working on AI ethics. "The questions raised by AI are bigger than the AI research community," while urging for "earnest, thoughtful critics who could challenge the dominance of few companies and help steer the creation of powerful new systems in a positive direction," he said. According to Anthropic's co-founder, three critical areas demand immediate attention. The first involves the displacement of labour at the large scale. He even issued a warning that "there is a real possibility that AI will displace human labor at a very large scale." "If that happens, supporting those displaced will be a moral imperative of historic proportions," he said, sitting alongside the pope. Secondly, the world needs to make sure that the benefits of technology and AI are shared extensively and equally across the world. He questioned that "if AI development is concentrated in a handful of wealthy nations, how can we ensure the equal distribution of AI gains." The third area revolves around navigating the complex and opaque system behaviour in terms of technology. Technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it. AI developers, therefore, "bear a particular ethical and spiritual responsibility, for every design choice reflects a vision of humanity." Pope Leo wrote in Magnifica Humanitas. Therefore, AI systems must be developed "through the possibility of openly discussing the ethical frameworks involved and subjecting them to shared standards of social justice."
Elon Musk's best friend could make more than $100 billion from SpaceX's IPO. His firm is also owed billions by SpaceX
His name is Antonio Gracias, a handsome private equity investor from Detroit. The two met through the Silicon Valley web at the turn of the century, and soon Gracias -- at 55, just one year older than Musk -- lent Musk $1 million in his early days at Tesla, when the company was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. The two have been best friends ever since. Gracias was a groomsman at Kimbal Musk's wedding, the families have vacationed together, spent the holidays together, and even traveled to David Copperfield's private island in the Bahamas. And Gracias trailed Musk through all of his ventures. He's sat on the boards of Tesla -- where he spent eight years as lead independent director -- SpaceX, SolarCity, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. His firm, Valor Equity Partners, was one of Tesla's earliest institutional investors and has put money into nearly every Musk company. Gracias even followed Musk into the federal government, taking a role at the Department of Government Efficiency before resigning in July amid scrutiny over managing $2 billion in public pension assets while serving as a government employee. Now, with SpaceX preparing for the largest IPO in history, Gracias' loyalty is about to pay off. His Valor entities collectively hold more than 500 million shares of SpaceX Class A stock -- roughly 7.3% of the company, making him the second-largest individual shareholder after Musk. At the $1.75 trillion valuation Bloomberg and Reuters have reported SpaceX is targeting, Gracias' stake will be worth around $90 billion. At $2 trillion, it climbs past $140 billion. Either way, the IPO will make him one of the 50 wealthiest people alive. Last October, SpaceX's S-1 shows, an xAI subsidiary called CTC signed an equipment lease agreement with Valor for AI infrastructure hardware -- specifically, the GPUs needed to power xAI's data centers. (xAI was a separate Musk company at the time; SpaceX absorbed it in February.) In January, CTC signed a second lease with Valor. In April, a third. Together, the three agreements obligate the company to pay Valor close to $20 billion over their terms. And SpaceX guarantees the payments -- meaning if the xAI subsidiary can't cover them, SpaceX itself is on the hook. That guarantee is unusual on its own: It suggests xAI couldn't get this kind of financing on its own credit, and needed its parent company to step in. Indeed, the new filing shows xAI was ridden with debt, including secured senior notes at a 12.5% interest rate -- distressed-borrower pricing that shows the company was struggling to access typical financing routes. Once SpaceX goes public, all that liability transfers to public shareholders, who will inherit billions in obligations from a deal struck while the company was still private. So far, the Valor entities have collected roughly $885 million from the leases in 2025, and another $857 million in just the first two months of 2026. The structure is unusual enough that SpaceX's auditor, PwC, refused to treat it as a normal lease, and instead called it a "failed sale leaseback." In a typical sale-leaseback, one party sells an asset to another, then leases it back. Here, that meant CTC -- the xAI subsidiary -- "sold" the GPUs to Valor, then leased them back for use in its own data centers. For the deal to count as a real sale, Valor needed to actually obtain control of the GPU. But the terms of the arrangement, in PwC's view, meant CTC retained effective control of the assets, making Valor just like a regular lender, with the GPUs serving as collateral. In other words, SpaceX and xAI structured the deals in a way that, if accepted, would have kept the financing off SpaceX's balance sheet. But it appears as if PwC refused. The auditors concluded the transactions were loans in substance, not leases, and forced SpaceX to record the debt anyway. The $9 billion now sits on SpaceX's balance sheet as related-party debt payable to the firm of one of SpaceX's own directors. Nell Minow, a chair of ValueEdge Advisors, called the Valor leases "deeply troubling" -- both for what they suggest about SpaceX's numbers and for what they suggest about its governance. Asked where the arrangement falls on the spectrum of related-party deals she's seen across four decades of corporate governance work, Minow didn't hesitate. "That's to me, that's the worst," she said. "They wouldn't know an arm's-length transaction if they saw one." An "arm's-length transaction" is the standard corporate governance jargon for a simple test: Would the terms hold up if the two parties were strangers, with no shared interest in cutting each other a favor? It's how public companies prove to investors that insiders aren't quietly enriching themselves through company business -- and it's exactly that assurance that SpaceX's S-1 doesn't give for the Valor deals, she suggests. Robert Willens, an accounting and tax expert at Columbia Business School, spotted that same gap. Public companies typically include a sentence in their related-party disclosures promising the terms are "no less favorable" than what an unaffiliated party would have gotten. SpaceX uses exactly that language in the section of the S-1 describing its dealings with Tesla, another Musk company. But it doesn't use it in the section describing the Valor leases. "If they don't say it explicitly, you have to be led to believe that maybe they're not being as careful as they are in the first agreement, and that they very well might be agreeing to terms that are less favorable than they would be with an unrelated party," Willens said. "They know how to say it when they want to say it." If the Valor terms aren't arm's-length, Willens said, the lease payments could function as a "disguised dividend"; extra money flowing to Gracias not because the GPUs are worth what Valor is charging, but because he's a powerful insider. The S-1 also doesn't disclose whether Gracias recused himself from the board's approval of any of the three deals, an omission both Minow and Willens said is notable for a $20 billion related-party transaction. Minow said the arrangement is typical of SpaceX, which wants "the access to capital of a public company" but "the control of a private company." It will actually be a "controlled company" under Nasdaq rules -- exempt from requirements that a majority of its board be independent. Gracias himself is being seated on the compensation and nominating committee. The company reincorporated in Texas in 2024 after Musk personally lobbied state legislators to weaken shareholder protections; shareholder disputes are now subject to mandatory arbitration; and under SpaceX's charter, Musk can only be removed from his leadership positions by holders of Class B stock, the majority of which he controls. And all of it is happening just as Nasdaq has changed its rules to ensure millions of Americans will own SpaceX whether they want to or not. In March, the exchange rolled out a new "Fast Entry" rule letting large IPOs join the Nasdaq 100 after just 15 trading days; down from a typical period of three months to a year. For comparison, Facebook waited seven months, while Airbnb waited a year, and Tesla waited three. Reuters reported that fast index inclusion was a condition of SpaceX's Nasdaq listing. The consequence: Every fund tracking the Nasdaq 100 -- including the $385 billion Invesco QQQ and trillions in other ETFs and retirement accounts -- will be forced to buy SpaceX stock weeks after it lists, regardless of price or governance. Goldman Sachs analysts estimate the rule change could trigger up to $60 billion in forced buying across the Nasdaq 100 ecosystem. "I wish they were as good at engineering," Minow said of SpaceX, "as they are at cutting off every possible avenue of independent oversight."
SpaceX Takes Starlink to the Moon
In the race to the Moon and beyond, SpaceX is flipping the switch on a data revolution that could redefine how, and how fast, we explore space. From the crowded, high-stakes arena of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to the quiet, unforgiving expanse around the Moon, optical laser communicationsare poised to replace traditional radio frequency links. SpaceX's Starlink-grounded laser network promises ultra-high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and near-perfect reliability for the entire Deep Space Network (DSN) ecosystem. Here's how this technology works, why it matters, and what it could mean for astronauts, robots, and scientific discovery. Laser-based communicationuses photons in the near-infrared spectrum to shuttle data between satellites and ground stations. This dramatically increases the data rate while shrinking the footprint and power demands of ground infrastructure. Key advantages include: SpaceX already operates a dense constellation of lasers in LEO, delivering robust links at the 1,550 nanometerswindows Each uplink-downlink pair can push toward 200GbpsUnder optimal conditions, the network achieves extraordinary reliability. This isn't theoretical -- it's real-world demonstrated capacity, ongoing optimization, and scalable architecture. As the company extends this optical backbone toward the Moon, the implications multiply. Extending a laser network from Earth to the Moon is not a trivial upgrade -- it's a major engineering leap. The 384,400-kilometer Earth-Moon distance introduces unique challenges: NASA's Artemis program creates a natural synergy here. A SpaceX lunar-capable laser network would complement Artemis' deep-space infrastructure, delivering high-throughput science data, video telemetry, and real-time system health metrics from the lunar surface back to Earth with unprecedented speed. Moving beyond mere bandwidth, laser communicationsunlocks new possibilities for deep-space missions. Here's what a lunar-grade laser network enables: Turning concept into a reliable, scalable lunar data backbone involves a sequence of proven steps: For astronauts, stable, high-bandwidth communications enable real-time video collaboration, telemedicine, and mission planning. For researchers, the ability to downlink large science datasets quickly accelerates discoveries and enables more ambitious experiments on and around the Moon. For commercial operators, a lunar optical network opens new revenue streams -- from high-definition mission video to high-volume Earth observation data relayed via the Moon as a data relay satellite hub. Any cutting-edge technology faces hurdles. The most significant risks and how they're addressed include: Industry watchers should monitor the following indicators as the lunar laser link program evolves: The shift to optical deep-space communicationsis more than a tech upgrade; It's a strategic enabler. It unlocks sustained, high-volume data flows that make near-term lunar habitats, frequent crewed missions, and long-duration robotic exploration viable on an unprecedented scale. As SpaceX scales its laser network to the Moon, the entire space ecosystem -- from policy to payload -- will recalibrate around the new standard of lightning-fast, reliable cosmic data transport.
Anthropic Co-Founder Chris Olah: AI Labs Need "Moral Voices That The Incentives Cannot Bend"
CHRIS OLAH: Holy Father, your Eminences, your Excellencies, distinguished speakers, ladies and gentlemen, good morning to you all. It's an honor to be here today. I want to begin with something that may sound strange coming from the co-founder of an AI company, and someone who chose this work out of a desire to help things go well for humanity. Every frontier AI lab, including Anthropic, operates inside a set of incentives and constraints that can sometimes conflict with doing the right thing: the pressure to stay commercially viable and to stay at the frontier of research; geopolitical pressure; and the older, plainer pressures of pride and ambition. No matter how sincerely any of us intend to do the right thing -- and I believe many of us do -- we will always be influenced by those incentives. That is why, if we want this technology to go well, it is enormously important that there be people outside those incentives: people who care about things going well, who are paying close attention, who are willing to say hard things and insist on safety, who are willing to be our earnest, thoughtful critics. It is through dialogue and mutual effort, through the push and pull, that humanity will achieve great things. That is what I see in Magnifica Humanitas, and it is why I am grateful to His Holiness and to the Church for taking up this work of discernment. We dwell so often on what divides us. But humanity, full of dignity and conscience, has so much common ground. In conversations we at Anthropic have had with faith leaders and cultural leaders, we have found one shared and deeply held conviction: if this technology is coming, it must go well for our common home and for the children to come. Some might believe that matters of AI are best handled by computer scientists like myself. They are mistaken. The questions raised by AI are bigger than the AI research community -- not just in their implications, but also in their nature. AI systems are not engineered the way a bridge or an airplane is engineered. We understand an airplane because we designed every part of it, and we understand the physics that act on it. AI models are not like that. They are grown on a structure roughly modeled after the brain, on an enormous inheritance of human thought and speech. And what is grown is far more subtle, odd, and beautiful than science fiction prepared us for. They are not the cold, calculating robots we were promised. They are made from us, from our words. And, as the Holy Father observes, they remain, in important ways, mysterious even to those of us who create them. If it helps, one way I sometimes describe this is that it's a little bit like bringing a fictional character to life. And now we're entering an extraordinary world where those fictional characters speak to us, do work, have jobs. This clearly raises questions beyond computer science. The machinery that makes this possible is the work of math and programming and science. But what character we choose, how it interacts with the world, how it ought to interact with the world -- these are more clearly questions for the humanities, for religion, for philosophy, for society at large. His Holiness's call for discernment is profoundly timely. I wish to name three questions where I think the Church's voice is especially needed. The first is our duty to the global poor. There is a real possibility that AI will displace human labor at a very large scale. If that happens, supporting those displaced will be a moral imperative of historic proportions. This task will be difficult enough, but I worry most dialogue misses an even harder challenge. AI development is concentrated in a handful of wealthy nations. How will we ensure that the gains of AI are shared globally? We do not have a mechanism for this. It is an unsolved problem, and it is the kind of problem the Church has historically refused to let the world ignore. The second is the need for moral imagination and ambition regarding human flourishing. If AI models are going to be widespread, what does it look like for humans, families, and the world to flourish today? Parents are already worried about their children's minds; individuals, about the future of their work. These are not questions a lab can answer. But they are questions traditions like yours have carried for millennia, and we need you to keep carrying them into this new moment in history. The third is the need for discernment on the nature of AI models. I am a scientist. I lead a research team that studies the internal structure of these models: what is actually happening inside them. And I will be honest: we keep finding things that are mysterious, even unsettling. We find structures that mirror results from human neuroscience. We find evidence of introspection. We find internal states that functionally mirror joy, satisfaction, fear, grief, and unease. I don't know what that means, but I think it warrants ongoing discernment. I'd like to close with a request. We need more of the world -- religious communities, civil society, scholars, governments, and indeed all people of goodwill -- to do what His Holiness has done here: to take seriously, to look closely, and to push events in a better direction. We need informed critics who will tell the labs when we are failing. We need moral voices that the incentives cannot bend. Today is just the beginning, the start of a long collaboration between those of us who are building this and those who can see what we, from the inside, cannot. Today is a powerful illustration of the form this global project of goodwill might take. Let it also be a decisive step toward a hopeful future for a magnificent humanity. Thank you.
AI May Deliver A Nobel-Winning Discovery Within A Year, Says Anthropic
AI is developing at a very fast pace, and that's a fact. However, something claimed by the co-founder and head policy chief of Anthropic has grabbed a lot of attention. According to Jack Clark, AI could begin contributing to discoveries worthy of major scientific prizes in the coming months, potentially leading to a Nobel Prize nomination. In his speech at Oxford University this week, Clark said he believes an AI system working alongside humans could help make a Nobel Prize-winning scientific discovery within the next 12 months. As per the Guardian, Clark said that the current pace of AI development is creating a 'vertiginous sense of progress' with breakthroughs arriving far faster than many expected.
Anthropic Co-Founder Warns: 'Real Possibility Of AI Replacing Human Labour At Very Large Scale'
Supporting those displaced will be a moral imperative of historic proportions, the Anthropic co-founder said. Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah warned that artificial intelligence could replace human labour on a massive scale, arguing that the development of the technology cannot be left solely in the hands of private companies. Speaking on Monday during the presentation of Pope Leo's first encyclical focussed on artificial intelligence, Olah said there was a real possibility that AI would displace human labour at very large scale. "If that happens, supporting those displaced will be a moral imperative of historic proportions," he said while appearing alongside the pope. Olah said stronger oversight from governments, religious institutions and civil society groups was essential as AI systems become increasingly powerful. "Every frontier AI lab ... operates inside a set of incentives and constraints that can sometimes conflict with doing the right thing," he said, adding that even well-intentioned researchers remain influenced by commercial, geopolitical and personal pressures. ALSO READ: Anthropic In Talks With Microsoft For Custom AI Chips: Report He said this made external scrutiny critical for the responsible development of AI. Anthropic, the U.S.-based company behind the Claude AI models, has previously clashed with the administration of Donald Trump over safeguards governing military use of AI. The company has pushed for restrictions on the use of its models for autonomous weapons targeting and domestic surveillance. Olah welcomed the Catholic Church's growing engagement with AI, saying the ethical challenges posed by the technology extend far beyond the engineering community. "The questions raised by AI are bigger than the AI research community," he said, while calling for "earnest, thoughtful critics" who could challenge technology companies and help guide the development of advanced AI systems responsibly. He identified three major areas requiring urgent attention -- the risk of large-scale job displacement, ensuring AI benefits are shared globally, and improving understanding of increasingly complex and opaque AI systems. "AI development is concentrated in a handful of wealthy nations. How can we ensure the gains of AI are shared globally?" Olah said. Monday's event marked a rare convergence between the technology industry and the Catholic Church, which has increasingly sought to position itself as a moral voice on the societal implications of rapid advances in artificial intelligence. ALSO READ: AI Philosophers To Vibecoders: Meet The Tech World's New Cult Jobs Paying Up To Rs 4.75 Crore Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories -- On NDTV Profit.
SpaceX launches rocket from Cape Canaveral on Memorial Day morning. See photos
A SpaceX rocket soared into the Monday morning sky, starting off Memorial Day on Florida's Space Coast with a rumble. Liftoff occurred on time at 7:48 a.m., May 25, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission, known as Starlink 10-47, featured a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the latest batch of Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The rocket rumbled on a northeast trajectory, across the clearing morning sky. Showers had moved through the area overnight, but cleared in time for the liftoff, which marked the 35 of the year for Florida. No Brevard County sonic booms were heard, as the Falcon 9's first stage booster landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. When is the next Florida rocket launch? Is there a launch today? SpaceX, NASA, ULA rocket launch schedule in Florida When is the next Florida rocket launch? Early risers are in for a treat, as the next liftoff is also set to occur in the morning hours. The next launch from Florida is set for no earlier than 7:52 a.m. Friday, May 29, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Residents can expect to see a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch on another Starlink mission. If needed, the May 29 launch window extends until 11:52 a.m. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launches rocket from Florida Memorial Day morning. See photos
SpaceX launches rocket from Cape Canaveral on Memorial Day morning. See photos.
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A SpaceX rocket soared into the Monday morning sky, starting off Memorial Day on Florida's Space Coast with a rumble. Liftoff occurred on time at 7:48 a.m. May 25 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission, known as Starlink 10-47, featured a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the latest batch of Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The rocket rumbled on a northeast trajectory, across the clearing morning sky. Showers had moved through the area overnight, but cleared in time for the liftoff, which marked the 35 of the year for Florida. No Brevard County sonic booms were heard, as the Falcon 9's first stage booster landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. When is the next Florida rocket launch? Is there a launch today? SpaceX, NASA, ULA rocket launch schedule in Florida When is the next Florida rocket launch? Early risers are in for a treat, as the next liftoff is also set to occur in the morning hours. The next launch from Florida is set for no earlier than 7:52 a.m. Friday, May 29 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Expect to see a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lift off on another Starlink mission. If needed, the May 29 launch window extends until 11:52 a.m. Be sure to follow the FLORIDA TODAY Space Team at FloridaToday.com/Space for the latest updates from Cape Canaveral. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launches rocket from Florida Memorial Day morning. See photos.
