• Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt co-authored a paper warning the US about the dangers of an AI Manhattan Project.
• In the paper, Schmidt, Dan Hendrycks, and Alexandr Wang push for a more defensive approach.
• The authors suggest the US sabotage rival projects, rather than advance the AI frontier alone.

Some of the biggest names in AI tech say an AI "Manhattan Project" could have a destabalizing effect on the US, rather than help safeguard it.

The dire warning came from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Center for AI Safety director Dan Hendrycks, and Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang. They coauthored a policy paper titled "Superintelligence Strategy" published on Wednesday.

In the paper, the tech titans urge the US to stay away from an aggressive push to develop superintelligent AI, or AGI, which the authors say could provoke international retaliation. China, in particular, "would not sit idle" while the US worked to actualize AGI, and "risk a loss of control," they write.

The authors write that circumstances similar to the nuclear arms race that birthed the Manhattan Project — a secretive initiative that ended in the creation of the first atom bomb — have developed around the AI frontier.

In November 2024, for example, a bipartisan congressional committee called for a "Manhattan Project-like" program, dedicated to pumping funds into initiatives that could help the US beat out China in the race to AGI. And just a few days before the authors released their paper, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the country is already "at the start of a new Manhattan Project."

"The Manhattan Project assumes that rivals will acquiesce to an enduring imbalance or omnicide rather than move to prevent it," the authors write. "What begins as a push for a superweapon and global control risks prompting hostile countermeasures and escalating tensions, thereby undermining the very stability the strategy purports to secure."

It's not just the government subsidizing AI advancements, either, according to Schmidt, Hendrycks, and Wang — private corporations are developing "Manhattan Projects" of their own. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, has said he loses sleep over the possibility of ending up like Robert Oppenheimer.

"Currently, a similar urgency is evident in the global effort to lead in AI, with investment in AI training doubling every year for nearly the past decade," the authors say. "Several 'AI Manhattan Projects' aiming to eventually build superintelligence are already underway, financed by many of the most powerful corporations in the world."

The authors argue that the US already finds itself operating under conditions similar to mutually assured destruction, which refers to the idea that no nation with nuclear weapons will use its arsenal against another, for fear of retribution. They write that a further effort to control the AI space could provoke retaliation from rival global powers.

Instead, the paper suggests the US could benefit from taking a more defensive approach — sabotaging "destabilizing" AI projects via methods like cyberattacks, rather than rushing to perfect their own.

In order to address "rival states, rogue actors, and the risk of losing control" all at once, the authors put forth a threefold strategy. Deterring via sabotage, restricting access of chips and "weaponizable AI systems" to "rogue actors," and guaranteeing US access to AI chips via domestic manufacturing.

Overall, Schmidt, Hendrycks, and Wang push for balance, rather than what they call the "move fast and break things" strategy. They argue that the US has an opportunity to take a step back from the urgent rush of the arms race, and shift to a more defensive strategy.

"By methodically constraining the most destabilizing moves, states can guide AI toward unprecedented benefits rather than risk it becoming a catalyst of ruin," the authors write.

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Republicans across the country have launched initiatives mirroring the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency to root out so-called "waste" and "fraud" within state budgets.

Why it matters: While they cheer Elon Musk's chainsaw, some of those same officials worry how those deep cuts at the federal level will affect their states, which take in more federal money than they send to Washington.

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• Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who established DOGE-OK via executive order last month, acknowledged that reality to Politico, noting that as DOGE is "trying to cut $2 trillion out of the federal spending … a lot of money from the feds goes to the states."
• He suggested state officials can help guide DOGE when considering state aid.

Driving the news: Stitt is not alone as the DOGE drive trickles down to the state level.

• Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry's DOGE-like initiative preceded Trump's inauguration by creating a "Fiscal Responsibility Program" in December with the goal of downsizing the state budget.
• New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte's first executive order established a Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE), "to streamline government, cut spending, and ensure we're doing everything we can to create value for taxpayers."
• In North Carolina, lawmakers formed an "interim House 'Select Committee on Government Efficiency,'" which is authorized to "look at DEI policies, excess state property, and other potential wastes of taxpayer dollars."
• Georgia's Senate recently passed a bill likened to a "state-level DOGE" backed by Lt. Governor Burt Jones to curb regulatory burdens.
• And in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis launched a Florida DOGE task force, with university spending a prime target.

Yes, but: The Trump administration's slash-and-burn style of budget busting worries some GOP lawmakers.

• "If you're making [final] decisions without involving local representatives, you're making a mistake," House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters when discussing cuts to a key National Weather Service facility in his district.
• Landry and other Louisiana officials asked the Office of Management and Budget "to develop a responsible runway to untangle us from any unnecessary and egregious policies without jeopardizing the financial stability of the state."
• Several lawmakers have pressed the administration to act with "compassion" and treat the federal workforce "with dignity" as mass federal layoffs take a toll far beyond D.C.

State of play: States' initiatives so far have not echoed the dramatic disruptions Trump and Musk's DOGE triggered.

• Layoffs have hit thousands of employees across the government, from NOAA to National Parks to the IRS, as the administration guts federal agencies and slashes contracts deemed wasteful.

Reality check: To make the vast $2 trillion reduction Elon Musk has floated, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and defense cuts would mathematically be a likely necessity.

• And how the federal government does its math — considering tax and spending cuts — could shake up state-level budgets.

Go deeper: Trump stares down early economic potholes

A House Republican said Thursday he will force votes on kicking dozens of Democratic colleagues off of their committees for chanting and singing on the House floor over the objections of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Why it matters: The incident came in response to Republicans and nearly a dozen Democrats voting to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) for disrupting President Trump's speech to Congress.

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• As Johnson read out the resolution censuring Green, dozens of House Democrats, primarily Black Caucus members and progressives, stood in the well of the House singing "We Shall Overcome."
• Johnson repeatedly banged the gavel and said, "The House will come to order," before putting the House in recess until the disruption subsided.

What they're saying: "Today, a group of House Democrats broke decorum during the censure of Rep. Al Green and, after multiple warnings, refused to heed [Johnson's] order," Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) said in a post on X.

• Ogles said he is drafting privileged resolutions — which any member can force to a vote with or without support from leadership — to "remove each of them from their committees."
• "If you want to act like a child in the Halls of Congress, you will be treated like a child," Ogles said.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Rep. Al Green represents Texas (not Arizona).

• Military leaders argue AI has an important role in future warfare.
• There's been a shift in industry collaboration with the Department of Defense on AI and autonomy.
• AI in military tech must adhere to ethical frameworks, Snowpoint Ventures' Doug Philippone said.

Nobody wants "killer robots," so making sure artificial intelligence systems don't go rogue is the "cost of doing business" in military tech, the founder of a venture capital firm said during a Wednesday discussion of AI technology on the battlefield.

"You have to be able to make AI that can work within an ethical framework, period," Doug Philippone, co-founder of Snowpoint Ventures, a venture capital firm that merges tech talent with defense issues, said during the Reagan Institute's National Security Innovation Base Summit.

"I don't think anybody is, you know, trying to have killer robots that are just running around by themselves," he said.

Philippone explained that companies working in the military technology space that are worth making an investment in must have "thought through those problems and work in that ethical environment." He said these aren't limitations on development. Instead, they're requirements.

Autonomous machines tend to cause a certain degree of apprehension, especially when such tech is applied to the DoD's "kill chain." While military leaders maintain that the systems are critical for future warfare, they also pose ethical concerns about what machine autonomy might ultimately mean.

Times are changing

The defense-technology space appears to be experiencing a major shift in perspective. Last month, Google reversed course on a previous pledge against developing AI weapons, prompting criticism from some employees. The move seemed to reflect a greater willingness among more tech companies to work with the Defense Department on these technologies.

Throughout Silicon Valley, "there's been a massive cultural shift from 'no way we're thinking about defending America' to 'let's get in the fight,'" said Thomas Robinson, the Chief Operating Officer of Domino Data Lab, a London-based AI solutions company.

He said at Wednesday's event that "it is just a palpable difference between even a few years ago."

There has been a sharp rise in smaller, more agile defense technology firms, such as Anduril, breaking into areas like uncrewed systems and autonomy, spurring a view among some defense tech leaders that the new Trump administration could create new DoD contract opportunities potentially worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars.

Part of that cultural shift has spurred concerns around "revolving doors" of military officials heading to the venture capital tech realm after retirement, creating possible conflicts of interest.

US military leaders have increasingly prioritized the development of AI capabilities in recent years, with some arguing that whichever side dominates this tech space will be the winner in future conflicts.

Last year, then-Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the US is locked in a technological arms race with China. AI is crucial, he said, and "China is moving forward aggressively."

The Air Force has been experimenting with AI-piloted fighter aircraft, among other AI-enabled tools, as have other elements of the US military and American allies. "We're going to be in a world where decisions will not be made at human speed," Kendall said in January. "They're going to be made at machine speed."

Certain areas of armed conflict, including cyber warfare and electronic warfare, are likely to be dominated by AI technologies that assess events happening at unimaginably fast speeds and unimaginably small dimensions.

AI with guardrails

That makes AI a top investment. During Wednesday's discussion, US congressional representative Ro Khanna of California expressed support for a proposal from 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, which called for shifting 15% of the massive Pentagon budget to advanced and emerging tech.

As the nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth committed to prioritizing new technology, writing that "the Department of Defense budget must focus on lethality and innovation." He said that "technology is changing the battlefield."

But ethical considerations remain key. Last year, senior Pentagon officials, for instance, discussed guardrails put in place to calm fears that it was "building killer robots in the basement."

Understanding exactly how an AI tool's algorithms work will be important for ethical battlefield implementation, Philippone noted, and so will understanding the quality of data being absorbed — otherwise, it's "garbage in, garbage out."

"Whether it's Tyson's Chicken or it's the Department of the Navy, you want to be able to say 'this problem is important," he explained. "What is the data going in?"

"You understand how it flows through the algorithms, and then you understand the output in a way that is auditable, so you can understand how we got there," he said. "And then you codify those rules."

Philippone said the opacity of some AI companies' proprietary knowledge is "BS" and a "black box approach" to technology. He said that companies should instead aim for a more transparent approach to artificial intelligence.

"I call it the glass box," he said. Understanding how the inner workings of a system work can help avoid hacks, he said, "this is really important from an ethics perspective and really understanding the process of your decision in your organization."

"If you can't audit it," he said, "that leaves you susceptible."

• Notable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts Apple's foldable iPhone could launch in late 2026 and cost over $2000.
• The first foldable iPhone would likely be a luxury offering, balancing Apple's lower-priced models.
• CEO Tim Cook has said "there's a lot of innovation left on the smartphone."

Chatter around the long-rumored foldable iPhone is picking up.

If it turns out to be true, the device sounds expensive — and impressively high-end.

To be clear, Apple hasn't confirmed plans to build a foldable iPhone. However, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities published a note on Wednesday with more details on a foldable iPhone design that he had previously heard about.

Kuo, known for his Apple predictions and supply-chain sourcing, described the mysterious project as a "top-tier iPhone" with a "crease-free inner display" and an expected retail price of over $2000. The device could begin mass production in the last quarter of 2026, Kuo said.

Such a price tag would make it more expensive than any of its predecessors and many MacBook models, but Kuo said the iPhone's "must-have" status would attract a strong demand for a premium device if the quality is up to par. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is currently the priciest smartphone Apple offers starting at $1199.

"A phone with such a high price point affords Apple a true higher-end luxury offering to balance out the push on lower-priced alternatives like the iPhone 16e," Dipanjan Chatterjee, a Forrester analyst, told Business Insider.

Apple is currently facing fierce competition in the smartphone market as Chinese competitors offer lower-cost phones and high-end models with novel form factors.

However, it's important to note that Apple could always change course and not release such a device. It's not unusual for Apple to put significant resources behind big projects and ultimately scrap them. The tech industry buzzed with talks of an Apple Car for years until the tech giant reportedly scrapped the project.

"I definitely believe it's under development. I'm less sure it'll ever see the light of day," Morningstar analyst William Kerwin told BI of the foldable iPhone.

Kuo said the foldable iPhone would bring back Touch ID to potentially replace Face ID, but this time the button would be on the side of the device. It'd have a "book-style design" and a 7.8-inch inner display, he added. Apple is also pursuing a "crease-free" display, according to Kuo — something other phone makers like Samsung are also chasing.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

While both Bloomberg and The Information have reported that Apple is planning foldable screen devices, Kuo's predicted timeline should be taken with a grain of salt. A Kuo note in 2023 said that foldable iPads would hit shelves in 2024, for example, which has yet to materialize.

A bet like a foldable iPhone, in an area where competitors like Samsung and Huawei have already ventured, is a "significant gamble" that could result in a device with low demand, similar to the $3500 Vision Pro, said Jacob Bourne, an analyst at BI sister company EMARKETER.

"Apple's better bet might be to focus on other emerging technologies rather than chasing a form factor that may not maintain its appeal long-term," Bourne told BI.

Rumors of smart glasses, AI-powered home devices, and robotics swirled around Apple in 2024. Apple was late to the artificial intelligence race last year with Apple Intelligence launching months, or years, after competitors' similar software.

CEO Tim Cook told investors that he felt "optimistic" about Apple's product pipeline during its fiscal first-quarter 2025 earnings call.

When asked about the future of the iPhone's form factor and where Apple sees opportunities to innovate, Cook didn't go into detail but hinted that there's more to come.

"I think there's a lot of innovation left on the smartphone," Cook said.

• "Value," "nostalgia," and "innovation" are the biggest buzzwords for fast-food chains in 2025.
• Boneless, crispy chicken will continue to be a trend this year after multiple new releases in 2024.
• Gen Z consumers are also customizing their orders with fun dipping sauces.

Gen Z is driving fast-food trends with its love of crispy chicken, dipping sauces, and bold, international-inspired flavors.

Seemingly every fast-food chain is trying to win over Gen Z, who have more spending power than previous generations and an estimated $360 billion in disposable income, Rubix Food wrote in its NEXT Flavor Report, which was released in November.

To identify the biggest trends for fast-food menus, especially among the Gen Z crowd, Business Insider spoke to leaders from chains like Wingstop and Taco Bell about their visions for 2025.

We also examined the Rubix report, which collected data on Gen Z cravings through group and one-on-one interviews and social media polls. It analyzed the responses of nearly 16,000 Gen Z consumers between December 2023 and November 2024.

Here are the biggest fast-food trends for 2025, shaped by Gen Z's appetite.

An instructor at the US Army Mountain Warfare School breaks down every piece of gear a mountain soldier would carry on a cold-weather mission, including tactical gear, mountaineering equipment, and avalanche rescue tools. Sgt. 1st Class Tim McLaughlin explains why each item is integral to the mission of the mountain soldier, who must traverse near-vertical terrain in extreme cold-weather conditions to move troops safely in and out of battle. The US Army trains soldiers for mountain warfare at the Army Mountain Warfare School at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho, Vermont.

• Blake Lively has sought an enhanced protective order in her legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
• An attorney for Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, suggested Baldoni's camp may leak.
• "There is an insatiable appetite for any information about this case," the lawyer said in court.

Blake Lively's lawyer is trying hard to keep some evidence away from Justin Baldoni and, by proxy, the press.

Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds' lawyer suggested Baldoni and his camp may leak sensitive information amid their ongoing legal fight.

The couples' lawyer, Merly Governksi, raised the alarm Thursday as she made her case to a Manhattan judge about why she believes an enhanced protective order is needed to protect the discovery process in the dueling lawsuits between them and Baldoni.

"There is an insatiable appetite for any information about this case no matter how salacious it is. We've seen even the most benign and routine information become tabloid fodder," Governksi told US District Judge Lewis Liman during a virtual court hearing.

The lawyer said she knows there will be subpoenas to "third parties involving third parties" and "we think that there is a significant chance of irreparable harm if marginally relevant communication with high-profile, third-party individuals who are unrelated to the case were to fall into the wrong hands."

Lively sued Baldoni — her director-costar in "It Ends With Us" — in December, accusing him of sexual harassment on the movie set and of engaging in a retaliatory online smear campaign against her. Other defendants in the lawsuit include Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer Studios, his fellow producers, and his publicists.

Baldoni, who has denied the allegations, then countersued Lively and Reynolds in a defamation complaint. The two cases have been consolidated into one.

Governksi argued on Thursday that a more robust protective order with an "attorneys eyes only" category for confidential and sensitive discovery material is needed in the case to not only protect people not directly involved in the case, but also to keep medical information and the security measures of those involved out of the public eye.

The lawyer said one example that she imagines would be subject to discovery and would pose irreparable harm to disclose would be the specific security measures that Lively and Reynolds "have taken in order to protect themselves and their families from this retaliatory campaign."

"We don't see any reason why the parties themselves need to know the specific details about Mrs. Lively and Mr. Reynolds' security measures that they put in place," Governksi said.

In a letter to the judge last month about the proposed protective order, Lively and Reynolds' attorneys said that Lively, her family members, and others who have spoken out in support of her have already received "violent, profane, sexist, and threatening communications."

Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, argued during Thursday's court hearing that the judge's protective order is sufficient as it is.

"I think it's rather offensive that anyone would suggest that we would disregard a protective order," Freedman told the judge. "In fact, we're in favor of the court's model protective order. We think it's sufficient to protect the parties."

Freedman called it "nonsense" that Baldoni's legal team would even care about how Lively and Reynolds handled their security.

"No one is interested in what somebody's security is doing," Freedman said.

Governksi said that if that's Freedman's position, he should withdraw the subpoena he served on the celebrity couple's security firm "for all documents and communications concerning Lively and Reynolds and to Lively and Reynolds."

A spokesperson for Lively told Business Insider in a statement after the hearing: "All of the parties agree that there is sensitive information in this case that should be shielded from public disclosure—the Wayfarer Parties' proposed order would do that."

"The dispute is about whether a narrow category of already non-public information should be accessible only to attorneys rather than the parties," the spokesperson said, adding, "This additional protection would ensure that the defendants who have committed to spending $100 million to destroying Ms. Lively and her family do not have access to information that only attorneys need to see."

Baldoni's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment by BI.

• Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto fraudster serving a 25-year sentence, spoke with Tucker Carlson.
• Bankman-Fried is bunking near Sean "Diddy" Combs, who is facing sex trafficking charges.
• Bankman-Fried said he's made friends and they play chess.

Sam Bankman-Fried talked about life behind bars in a wide-ranging prison interview with Tucker Carlson.

Between crypto chatter and sharing his strategies for making friends in prison, Bankman-Fried also opened up about living alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center where both men are being held.

"He's been kind," Bankman-Fried said of Diddy. The rapper was arrested last year and is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Bankman-Fried, meanwhile, was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy in late 2023 at a criminal trial that dissected the fall of FTX, his defunct cryptocurrency exchange.

"I've made some friends," Bankman-Fried told the former Fox News anchor. "It's a weird environment. It's sort of a combination of a few other high profile cases and then a lot of, you know, ex gangsters, alleged ex gangsters."

Carlson posted a video of the 40-minute interview on social media on Thursday. He called Bankman-Fried and Combs "two of the most famous prisoners in the world," asking Bankman-Fried what it's like living in such close quarters.

"I've only seen one piece of him, which is Diddy in prison. He's been kind to people in the unit. He's been kind to me. It's a position no one wants to be in. Obviously, he doesn't, I don't," Bankman-Fried said. "It's kind of a soul crushing place for the world in general, and what we see are just the people that are around us on the inside rather than who we are on the outside."

Bankman-Fried turned 33 on Thursday but downplayed the milestone to Carlson.

"You're not going to tell Diddy it's your birthday tomorrow? I don't believe you," Tucker joked during the interview, which was apparently filmed Wednesday.

"Someone else might, but I'm not," Bankman-Fried replied.

Aside from life in prison — where Bankman-Fried said he plays chess with and loses to accused armed robbers and hoards muffins as a form of currency — he discussed his thoughts on foreign aid, crypto, and having children.

Bankman-Fried says he expects to be in his late 40s when released from prison — if he's not pardoned first.

When Carlson asked whether he thinks he'll make it that long, the ex-crypto mogul said he didn't know.

The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on Bankman-Fried's interview.

This story will be updated.

• Dolly Parton's husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, died on March 3 at the age of 82.
• Parton thanked those who reached out to pay their respects in her first statement since his death.
• Parton also referenced her hit song, "I Will Always Love You," in her post.

Dolly Parton thanked loved ones and fans for their sympathies on Thursday in her first public statement since announcing the death of Carl Dean, her husband of 58 years.

Dean died on Monday at the age of 82. In an Instagram post announcing his death on March 3, Parton wrote that he would be "laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending."

On Thursday, Parton shared another statement expressing gratitude to those who had reached out to express their condolences.

"This is a love note to family, friends, and fans. Thank you for all the messages, cards, and flowers that you've sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl," Parton wrote on Instagram. "I can't reach out personally to each of you, but just know it has meant the world to me."

"He is in God's arms now, and I am okay with that. I will always love you," the post continued, referencing Parton's 1973 single that the late Whitney Houston later recorded for the "The Bodyguard" soundtrack.

Throughout their nearly six-decade marriage, Dean remained out of the public eye despite serving as the inspiration behind hits such as "Jolene" and her latest bestselling album, "Rockstar."

Award shows and stages weren't Dean's forte, but the couple did share a love of Taco Bell and Southern cooking, Parton previously told Business Insider.

Scottie Scheffler's dry sense of humor was on display following his opening round at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday that he is in favor of denuclearization among global powers.

Key student loan and aid programs may be eliminated or restructured if Trump follows through with cutting the Department of Education.

The next team to relocate its franchise to Las Vegas will have the same team president as the last team to make the move.