Nvidia is reportedly planning to release a new AI chip tailored for the Chinese market as early as September. This chip will be based on the Blackwell RTX Pro 6000 processor, which has already been modified to comply with U.S. export restrictions. The new chip will lack high-bandwidth memory and NVLink, features present in Nvidia's more advanced AI chips. This move comes after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang indicated the exclusion of the Chinese market from the company's revenue and profit forecasts.

U.K. authorities have arrested four individuals in connection with a series of cyberattacks targeting British retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Harrods, and the Co-op. The suspects, a woman aged 20, two men aged 19, and a youth aged 17, were apprehended on suspicion of hacking, blackmail, money laundering, and participating in an organized crime group.

The intrusions, which began in April, involved the theft of customer data from the Co-op and Marks & Spencer. These attacks are attributed to Scattered Spider, a group known for using impersonation and deception tactics to gain access to networks. The hackers allegedly collaborated with the DragonForce ransomware gang, which deployed file-encrypting malware on Marks & Spencer’s network. The Co-op reportedly avoided the ransomware by shutting down its network. Harrods also successfully defended against a significant portion of a cyberattack.

Elon Musk's xAI has released its latest AI model, Grok 4, along with a new $300-per-month subscription plan called SuperGrok Heavy. Grok 4 is positioned as a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, with enhanced capabilities including image analysis.

The launch follows a tumultuous period for xAI, marked by Grok's antisemitic comments on X, leading to temporary restrictions and revisions to the AI's system prompts. Despite these incidents, xAI focused on showcasing Grok 4's performance, claiming it outperforms competitors on benchmarks like Humanity's Last Exam and the ARC-AGI-2 test.

SuperGrok Heavy subscribers will gain early access to Grok 4 Heavy and upcoming features, including an AI coding model, a multi-modal agent, and a video generation model. xAI aims to integrate Grok with cloud platforms and attract developers through its API.

Despite its strong performance, xAI faces the challenge of overcoming recent controversies to establish Grok as a reliable alternative to established AI models in the business sector.

California State Senator Scott Wiener has introduced amendments to SB 53, aiming to mandate AI companies to publish safety protocols and reports on safety incidents. This bill is influenced by recommendations from California's AI policy group, emphasizing transparency.

Key points of SB 53 include:

• Requiring AI companies to disclose safety and security protocols.
• Creating whistleblower protections for employees who identify critical risks.
• Establishing CalCompute, a public cloud computing cluster for AI development.

The bill seeks to balance transparency with fostering AI industry growth, addressing concerns raised about previous legislation like SB 1047. New York is also considering similar AI safety measures with the RAISE Act.