AI’s Plot Twists Keep Coming—Moratorium Halved, Robotaxis in Hot Water

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From courtroom compromises to billion-dollar bets, this week’s AI headlines prove that the future is anything but predictable—strap in for a wild ride.

⚙️ WHAT’S NEXT

GOP Senators Water Down Controversial AI Moratorium
Republican lawmakers trimmed a proposed 10-year ban on state AI rules to a five-year penalty scheme—denying $500 million in federal funding to non-compliant states but carving out child-safety and likeness protections. businessinsider.com

Abridge Raises $300 Million at a $5.3 Billion Valuation
Healthcare AI startup Abridge secured its largest round yet, led by a16z and Khosla Ventures, to expand automated clinical note-taking and billing workflows. techstartups.com

Tesla Robotaxi Service Under Federal Scrutiny
Multiple videos of erratic Tesla robotaxi driving in Austin prompted the NHTSA to open a formal safety investigation—underscoring the limits of “full self-driving” with humans still at the wheel. aibusinesshelp.co.uk

OpenAI Introduces GPT-4.1 Mini for All Users
The new GPT-4.1 mini model, now replacing GPT-4o mini, promises faster, smarter instruction following and coding on paid and (soon) free ChatGPT plans. help.openai.com

 🤖AI IN ACTION

Saving Giraffes with Microsoft’s AI Vision
Conservationists deploy Microsoft’s AI models to sift through drone and camera footage—automatically identifying and tracking endangered giraffes across vast African reserves. ts2.tech

MammAlps Monitors Alpine Mammals
EPFL researchers released MammAlps, a multi-view video dataset that trains AI to recognize wild mammal behaviors in the Swiss Alps—paving the way for smarter biodiversity monitoring. phys.org

🎥 AI REEL

Viral Tesla Robotaxi Crash Compilations

A montage of shaky robotaxi dashcam clips flooded X this week. “We have initiated a formal investigation,” NHTSA spokesperson Diane Goodman tweeted. reuters.com

🌟 AI OF THE WEEK

Amazon’s DeepFleet: AI Traffic Cop for 1 Million Robots

Amazon rolled out DeepFleet, a generative AI foundation model that’s boosting fleet efficiency by 10% and marking the deployment of its one millionth warehouse robot—think R2-D2 meets traffic control. aboutamazon.com

📊 INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

• AI Moratorium Scaled Back: Five-year funding penalties replace a decade-long ban on state rules. businessinsider.com

• $300 M for Abridge: Healthcare AI leader expands clinical note automation. techstartups.com

• Robotaxi Watch: Autonomous taxi trials in Austin trigger NHTSA probe. reuters.com

• Model Swap: GPT-4.1 mini debuts in ChatGPT, retiring GPT-4o mini. help.openai.com

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