Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we’re exploring several significant developments, including Google’s decision to quietly remove its pledge not to build AI weapons for surveillance, the unauthorized access granted to the U.S. Treasury payments system by representatives of Elon Musk and DOGE, researchers who successfully recreated a premium “reasoning” model for $50, and more. Let’s dive into the details.

Elon Musk and DOGE’s Access to U.S. Treasury System

Representatives of Elon Musk and DOGE were granted “full access” to the U.S. Treasury payments system, which is used to disperse trillions of dollars to Americans each year. Senator Ron Wyden warned that Musk’s access to the system poses a “national security risk.” This is the latest reported effort by Musk to infiltrate the inner workings of the federal government. In response, U.S. Democratic Representative Mark Pocan proposed a bill called the Elon Musk Act, which aims to ban special government employees from having federal contracts. The bill also seeks to eliminate the workforce of DOGE, including top executives like CEO Marc Whitten, as the company prepares to shut down operations. What remains of the autonomous vehicle company will move under General Motors. For more information, read the latest updates.

X Sues More Advertisers

This comes after the alleged “boycott” on the platform. The amended complaint includes Nestlé, Abbott Laboratories, Colgate, Lego, Pinterest, Tyson Foods, and Shell. For more information on X’s lawsuit, read the latest updates.

Analysis

The Biggest Breach of U.S. Government Data

We’re experiencing the biggest breach of U.S. government data, with Elon Musk’s DOGE taking control of large swathes of Americans’ private information held by the U.S. government. Despite questions about their security clearances, cybersecurity practices, and the legality of Musk’s activities, DOGE staffers are not the only ones to blame. Acts of subterfuge, espionage, or ignorance could produce the same outcome: exposure or loss of the nation’s sensitive datasets. For more information on this developing story, read the latest updates.