• Satya Nadella says he changed his mind on AI alignment, or ensuring AI aligns with human values.
• Nadella said he previously thought alignment would just happen as AI capabilities improved.
• "I no longer believe that," Nadella said on the 20VC podcast.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says he has changed his mind about the idea that alignment would naturally emerge as AI systems became more capable.

On a new episode of the 20VC podcast, host Harry Stebbings asked Nadella what he'd changed his mind about over the past year. The CEO said he had previously assumed that as AI became more capable, alignment — ensuring AI behaves in line with human values and goals — would automatically follow.

Instead, he said, while scaling has played out as he expected and the models' capabilities have continued to improve, alignment remained a challenge.

"I used to always think that alignment would just fall out," Nadella said. "I no longer believe that. I think this alignment thing may be a harder, different problem."

The Microsoft CEO previously warned about the risks of AI and argued for greater external controls in a post on X on October 10. Nadella said companies should treat AI models as insider threats and assume they are "compromised."

"We need to surround non-deterministic models with strong, deterministic system design, human controls, and reliable operating procedures, and establish industry standards where existing ones are insufficient," Nadella wrote.

His belief that AI's increasing capabilities won't automatically ensure human control is in line with warnings of other tech leaders. Both OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have warned about the threats of AI. A letter signed by more than 1,000 AI workers in July warned that AI capabilities could advance faster than people's ability to understand or control the systems.

• Microsoft is offering buyouts to about 60,000 employees.
• The offers are individualized to each employee based on their level, location, and tenure.
• Business Insider reviewed offers to show what employees get when they leave the company.

As Microsoft sends out its buyout offers to more than a quarter of its workforce, specific offers reviewed by Business Insider reveal exactly what employees get if they choose to leave the company.

The offers are individualized for each employee based on their level, location, and tenure. Those reviewed by Business Insider confirm that the US buyouts align with the company's US standard severance offers. A Microsoft spokesperson said about 60,000 employees would be eligible for the buyout.

Microsoft uses a levels system to represent seniority, from entry levels starting at 59 to senior levels at 70, or vice president. The company offered buyouts to employees on select teams in the US, Canada, India, and the UK at level 70.

Offers reviewed by Business Insider show employees at internal levels 64 and below were offered one week of base pay per six months of service, and employees at levels 65 to 67 were offered two weeks of base pay per six months of service.

Buyout offers also include continued regular stock vesting and health insurance. The standard stock-vesting severance offer is six or 12 months for levels 67 and below, based on years of service.

Eligible employees will have until early December to decide whether to take the offer and exit at the end of the year, and there are no plans for another buyout at this time, a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Standard severance is capped at 39 weeks of base pay for levels 67 and below, while the standard severance offer for level 68 includes 12 months of salary.

Earlier this year, Microsoft rolled out a voluntary retirement program for employees. About 7% of Microsoft's US workforce, or about 8,750 people, were eligible at the time. As Business Insider previously reported, Microsoft's voluntary retirement program offer also aligned with the company's standard severance offer, including continued regular stock vesting for six or 12 months, based on years of service.

Earlier this year, another tech giant, Google, offered buyouts to staff in its business unit, Business Insider previously reported.

As more tech companies offer buyouts, some human resources professionals previously told Business Insider that this approach could soften job cuts, and also that when they're made available to workers of all tenures, companies risk losing talent.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at astewart@businessinsider.com or Signal at +1-425-344-8242. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Instacart is shuttering its team focused on smart shopping carts.
• The company will wind down its Caper cart division by the second quarter of 2027, it said Monday.
• The smart shopping carts were "the future of grocery shopping," Instacart's former CEO said in 2024.

Instacart is carting away a technology it once said would play a key role in shopping.

The grocery delivery company will wind down the team that develops its Caper smart shopping carts, it said on Monday. The move, approved by Instacart's board of directors, will be completed by the second quarter of 2027.

A wind-down will cost the company between $55 million and $80 million, including the costs of terminating some employees and contracts, it said in a filing with the SEC. Instacart will reinvest savings from the decision into "strategic growth initiatives."

Caper carts were one of the most visible of Instacart's retail technology efforts. The company began as a delivery-focused startup in 2012, but diversified into selling technology to retailers over the last several years.

Equipped with cameras and sensors, Caper carts could weigh fruit, track what customers placed inside or removed from them, apply coupons, and accept payments when customers were done shopping. Instacart also saw an opportunity to serve users tailored ads on the carts' screens.

In early 2024, Instacart said it planned to roll out "thousands" of the Caper carts to stores. Then-CEO Fidji Simo said: "We really believe that it's going to be the future of grocery shopping."

Amazon, which makes a similar smart shopping cart, said at the start of 2026 that it planned to start using a new version at Whole Foods Market stores.

Do you have a story idea about Uber? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Instagram is opening its arms to long-form video again.
• Adam Mosseri, Instagram's top exec, said longer videos will help the app stay "relevant."
• Instagram is testing tools for creators making episodic content. But will it pay for them?

Instagram's top executive, Adam Mosseri, has a plan to keep the platform "culturally relevant" — by making it more like YouTube.

Meta-owned Instagram unveiled an overhaul of long-form video features on Monday, including a test of horizontal videos called "Features." Taken together, the changes make the app feel a lot more like YouTube.

"We want to be the most culturally relevant platform," Mosseri said in an interview with content creators and founders of Press Publish, Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry. "To do that, we just need to show up where people are."

The context: YouTube has become a major hit on TV screens, and there's a growing appetite for Instagram-native shows with recurring episodes.

"Subway Takes," hosted by Kareem Rahma, is a prime example of Instagram's strengths and limits. The show started in 2023 as a short-form interview series and, as it grew, expanded with longer-form cuts on YouTube and the streaming platform Tubi. Instagram, however, is where Rahma's show still has its largest audience of 2.4 million followers.

Instagram doesn't want people to go to YouTube or Tubi to see longer versions of shows like "Subway Takes." That's leaving ad revenue and user engagement on the table. Its new tools are designed to entice creators and viewers to stay on its platform.

Here are Instagram's latest video tools and how creators can use them:

• "Features" keep viewers within the Instagram ecosystem. Instead of leaving Instagram to watch the extended version of an interview or episode, it'll be relatively seamless to stay on Instagram and watch that longer-form content. Instagram's "Features" can be as long as 90 minutes, although the new format is, for now, only available to a limited number of creators in the US and Brazil.
• Instagram is feeding more content to its TV apps. Instagram is also pushing its "Instagram for TV" app further. The app will feature various video content on TV services like Samsung, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, and now Apple TV. People can now watch a feed of content their friends are also liking or resharing on TV.
• Instagram-native shows can label their episodes more clearly with "Series." Within the main Instagram feed, Instagram is testing a way for shows on the app to seamlessly connect episodic content. Eligible creators can add videos to a Series, and a label appears over the content indicating that there are additional episodes. People can then watch those episodes in order from the start. This test is expanding to more countries through the end of the year.
• Clips can directly drive engagement back to the original video. Instead of clipping content and praying that the audience will go the extra mile of clicking on an account and finding the original, longer-form video, Instagram is letting creators link up to 8 clips to one long video.

This isn't Instagram's first time dabbling in long-form content.

In 2018, it launched IGTV, a long-form video format and stand-alone app. In 2020, Instagram rolled out a program that let creators earn money from those videos on IGTV. Four years after launching, the company sunset the IGTV app and shifted its video efforts to Reels.

There are a few key elements missing from Instagram's big leap (back) into long-form video.

You can't watch the video while continuing to scroll through Instagram, or multitask by opening other apps while keeping the Instagram content in a picture-in-picture pop-up. There also aren't automated transcripts and subtitles yet. A spokesperson for Meta told Business Insider that there are plans for these features.

Will creators get a slice of the ad revenue pie?

For creators, one key question and pain point looms: Will Meta share the honeypot?

Mosseri told Rosenblum and Chaudry that Instagram is thinking about ways to test pre-roll and mid-roll ads that could lead to a revenue split. However, he said previous attempts by Instagram to build a creator monetization system comparable to YouTube's Partner Program didn't prove beneficial for the platform.

"We spend more money than we make back by a long shot," Mosseri said of Instagram's previous efforts at broad revenue-sharing programs.

Mosseri said that in its previous iterations of content monetization, creators typically didn't produce more content than they already did for free, and the content they did create tended to be lower quality.

Still, Instagram will need to "figure it out" as it tries to crack longer-form content, Mosseri said.

"I don't think of platform payments or performance-based incentives or bonuses as a revenue driver," Mosseri added. "I'd be psyched to scale them up for any of these formats — as long as we're breaking even."

• The feds seized Anthropic shares last year from Sam Bankman-Fried's associates.
• Several months later, the government sold them for $627 million.
• If Anthropic IPO'd in November at $1.5 trillion, those shares would be worth nearly $4 billion.

Last year, the federal government made a windfall of $627 million when it sold Anthropic shares it had seized from associates of crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

If it had held on to that stake, its windfall could have been a lot bigger.

The federal government last year sold shares of Anthropic that had belonged to Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh, two co-conspirators in the FTX fraud case. The proceeds went to compensate victims of the fraud, a Justice Department spokesperson told Business Insider.

Anthropic's S-1 filing on Monday revealed how much the federal government made from the sale of those shares. The prospectus doesn't name Ellison and Singh specifically. It says the government in October 2025 sold 4,453,900 Series B shares of Anthropic that "had been forfeited by former holders in legal proceedings to which we were not a party."

The figure matches up exactly with the combined $50 million in shares that Singh and Ellison purchased for $11.2261 each in Anthropic's 2022 fundraising round, and later forfeited to the government.

The shares represent about a quarter of a percent of Anthropic today. But given the company's explosive growth, they are still worth a fortune.

Anthropic hasn't yet announced the stock price for its expected November initial public offering. At a $1.5 trillion valuation, the shares would be worth a total of about $3.94 billion. That would be six times as much as the government sold the shares for a year ago.

"One of the Justice Department's top priorities is returning forfeited funds to victims through the asset forfeiture program whenever the law allows," the DOJ spokesperson said.

The feds' stake in Anthropic

How the federal government came to own a chunk of Anthropic in the first place is a story involving a notorious fraudster and a complicated criminal forfeiture process.

Bankman-Fried participated in Anthropic's 2022 Series B fundraising round with Singh and Ellison. Singh purchased $40 million of the Series B shares, and Ellison acquired $10 million.

Singh and Ellison later pleaded guilty to crimes related to their work with Bankman-Fried and testified against him at his Manhattan federal criminal trial. The jury found Bankman-Fried guilty, and a judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison. The federal government took ownership of Singh's and Ellison's Anthropic shares by April 2025.

The US Marshals Service sold Singh's and Ellison's shares, rather than hold on to the red-hot Anthropic stock, Business Insider previously reported. The US Marshals Service Complex Assets Unit is typically tasked with dispensing shares of private companies acquired through criminal forfeiture.

Now we know that Anthropic purchased the stock from the feds in October 2025 at the price of $140.9676 per share, which is the same price Anthropic set for its Series F-1 stock in a fundraising round a month earlier.

Anthropic resold the shares to nine investors at the same $627 million total price it paid to purchase them from the federal government, so it didn't make a profit from the sale, according to the S-1 filing. It's not clear which nine investors purchased the shares originally owned by Singh and Ellison. Representatives for the US Marshals Service didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Anthropic shares owned by Ellison and Singh took a different path than the $500 million in Series B shares owned by Bankman-Fried himself. His shares ended up as part of FTX's bankruptcy estate, which sold them in 2024 to a few dozen buyers for a total of $1.3 billion.

The federal government sent the proceeds from the sale of Ellison's and Singh's shares to the FTX bankruptcy estate, the Justice Department spokesperson said. Bankruptcy court filings show that the Justice Department transferred $638 million to the bankruptcy estate in late 2025.

The money has gone to repaying creditors, including FTX customers and investors who were scammed by the former crypto wunderkind.

Update: October 26, 2026 — This story has been updated to include a comment from the Justice Department.

Correction: October 27, 2026 — The federal government transferred the proceeds of the sale of Caroline Ellison's and Nishad Singh's Anthropic shares to the FTX bankruptcy estate, according to a DOJ spokesperson. An earlier version of this story misstated whether the funds had been transferred.

• Anthropic's IPO filing offers a look at a workplace where Claude does much of the coding.
• The company said it grew from 940 employees to 5,300 in less than two years.
• "Low ego" is a cultural ideal, and keeping top AI talent is a key challenge.

Anthropic is rapidly growing head count, concerned about retaining top talent, and trying to build a "low-ego" culture.

Those are among the workplace insights in the Claude maker's IPO filing released Monday.

The more than 200,000-word document reveals what it takes to thrive as an employee — or an "Ant," as staffers are called — and why the company is so focused on retaining its top talent.

Here's a look at three workplace themes in Anthropic's S-1:

Head count is booming, but could be higher without Claude

Anthropic said its workforce grew from about 940 employees at the end of 2024 to about 5,300 as of late September.

The more than fivefold spike in head count in less than two years is notable on its own. Yet, without Claude, it could have grown more. Anthropic said the tool is helping its staffers take on work that would traditionally have required much larger teams — something many tech companies are looking to do to become more nimble.

Most Anthropic employees work in research, engineering, and product development. The company said its strategy is to use Claude to grow the business "without growing head count linearly, resulting in extraordinary contributions per employee."

One place where that's evident is in software engineering. The company said these workers increasingly direct and review Claude's output rather than write code line by line. Claude wrote more than 90% of the contributions to the company's codebase in September, while average daily code contributions per engineer in the third quarter were more than 45 times their average daily level in 2024, Anthropic said.

Recruiter Martha Heller said it's little surprise to see Anthropic talking up its use of Claude. "Of course they're going to eat their own dog food," she said. In any case, Heller said, the company still needs people to provide oversight of AI's activities.

Yet the gap between staffing levels and output could grow, said Aaron Cleavinger, an executive recruiting partner at Flatiron Search Partners.

"Head count is becoming a less meaningful measure of organizational capability," he said. Cleavinger said it's not yet clear what the new measure will be, though Anthropic's approach suggests companies might put greater emphasis on workers' productivity and business impact.

It describes retention as paramount

Despite having significantly upped its employee count, Anthropic said it's highly dependent on its senior leaders and key technical team members. The company warned that their departure could disrupt operations and slow innovation.

While that's true for any employer, Anthropic faces additional challenges. It's a fast-growing startup in a booming industry, where few people have the right technical skills — and those who do are being heavily courted by competitors.

Winning the war for talent is half the battle. Anthropic is also part of an industry where some workers have quit and issued dire public warnings about the dangers of increasingly powerful AI.

For example, safety researcher Jacob Coxon resigned from Anthropic last month, saying the company and his former employer, OpenAI, were moving too quickly toward increasingly powerful AI without a sufficient plan to control it.

"That's not garden-variety turnover," said Liane Davey, an advisor on team effectiveness to executives at companies such as Amazon and Google.

If employees determine that their work poses an existential threat, no bonus can simply erase moral qualms, Davey added.

In its S-1, Anthropic said many key technical workers are motivated by its mission and by the chance to tackle specific AI problems. However, if their beliefs change, or another organization seems more aligned with their personal beliefs or professional goals, "we may face increased difficulty retaining such personnel," Anthropic said.

The company's internal data suggests that, at least for now, turnover isn't a significant problem. It said it experienced only about 1% "regrettable attrition" in a 12-month period ending on September 30.

However, Anthropic may have a thinner pipeline of junior technical talent to elevate. The company said in a recently released internal report that it has been hiring for a "smaller share of junior technical positions" as AI agents have been deployed across the firm to write code, fix bugs, and handle other tasks.

Anthropic is betting on a "low-ego" workforce

Anthropic touts a "low-ego" or "ego-light" culture, meaning all employees are expected to prioritize what's best for the company over personal status, credit, or seniority. It uses similar language on its website in a section describing its values.

In the S-1, the company went further, saying the arrangement allows for an "unusually short" distance between a research insight and a released product. Anthropic also said a shared purpose, paired with low ego, translates directly into less organizational friction and greater impact per employee.

"Our teams operate in a truth-seeking environment where the best argument wins, not the loudest voice or the most senior title," Anthropic said.

Jamie Shapiro, an organizational psychologist and CEO coach, said that logic makes sense because good ideas can come from anyone within an organization, especially those who directly interact with customers.

"An organization that has idea meritocracy is going to get the best ideas," she said.

However, as Anthropic grows, the more challenging task will be ensuring its hiring, recognition, promotion, and accountability systems reinforce its ideals — rather than allowing exceptions that undermine them.

"The bigger the organization, the harder it is to make sure everyone is living and breathing the culture it wants," said Shapiro. "Culture is defined by the worst behaviors you allow."

• I set out to see if Anthropic used Claude to draft its S-1 paperwork.
• The filing is, according to the AI detector tool Pangram, 92% human-written.
• Is that a good or bad thing? I'm not even sure!

Anthropic's much-awaited S-1 filing landed today, revealing all sorts of interesting things about the company's plans and current finances.

But the biggest question I had wasn't "does Anthropic think that accidentally destroying humanity is a business risk?" (yes) or "how much money are they losing?" (lots) or "does it feel weird to be part of the 50% of employees who don't do the pledge to donate some of their equity for the greater good?" (still wondering — if this is you, let me know).

My question was: Did they use AI to write this thing?

To find out, I ran the whole 335-page S-1 filing through Pangram, a service that checks for signs of AI-writing. Ok, well technically I tried to run it through myself, but ran into some problems with such a massive file. I reached out to Pangram CEO and cofounder Max Spero, and he ran the full file for me.

(I also reached out to Anthropic for comment about the tool's results. I haven't heard back — I suspect it's a busy day for them.)

And before you ask me why I didn't use Anthropic's official AI watermarking system to check, it's not available to normies yet.

Here's what Pangram's result was for the full 259,031 words on the S-1 filing:

Well, well, well!

So there was a tiny bit of AI use, per Pangram. It flagged some sentences and passages it said with a "high" degree of confidence contained AI use, things like: "The pace of AI development is extremely rapid, with successive versions of models emerging in compressed timeframes, often measured in months rather than years."

"My read on a result like this is that it indicates light AI editing or AI usage at the sentence level," Spero told me. "It does not seem like any significant sections of the document are fully AI-generated."

This is one of the limitations of something like Pangram, which isn't 100% perfect, and the way that people use AI tools these days for editing and proofreading might affect results.

My colleague Aki Ito ran all her LinkedIn posts and published articles here on Business Insider through Pangram as an experiment, and ended up with a tiny surprise: one sentence in one article was flagged as AI-written. When she looked back at it, she saw that ChatGPT had suggested she rephrase her original, human-written sentence, and she accepted the new wording. (I use Grammarly, an AI-powered grammar tool that mainly helps with my repeated crimes against commas, but occasionally suggests rewording, which I sometimes accept and sometimes reject, though I worry that this may get flagged as AI).

So it would appear Anthropic still had real humans — slow, expensive, fallible meatsacks — write this massive document, with just a little assist from Claude in the editing. That might be par for the course these days for IPO teams and S-1's, or at the very least the S-1's for literal AI companies. (If you're a banker who works on S-1s, shoot me an email!)

I can't tell if I think this is a good sign or a bad sign for Anthropic (and the world)?

On one hand, shouldn't Anthropic be eating its own dog food, so to speak, and proudly use its own AI for something like this? An S-1 filing is full of the kind of boilerplate, charmless, technical-ish writing that you'd assume AI would be perfect to replace a human for. If Anthropic is going to the hassle of having real (presumably highly paid humans) write out each of the 250,000+ words here, well, where is its faith in its own product? I you can't trust Claude to write your S-1, can you trust it to cure cancer?

On the other hand, thank god this isn't 100% AI-written. The stakes are pretty high when the SEC is poring over every word. If you're going to tell people your company is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, at least have a human show up and type it out, eh?

I guess bankers everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief.

Nearly 30 million Americans are on GLP-1 drugs

An emergence in working-class turnout delivered Lula a historic fourth presidential term, and that outcome signals a shift in climate policy and Latin American integration.

The 2026 Brazilian presidential election ended in a runoff, determining the leadership of Latin America’s largest nation for the next four years.

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According to official data released by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party (PT) secured a fourth non-consecutive term after defeating Senator Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party.

The TSE’s final official count showed that Lula da Silva received 64,256,232 votes, representing 51.79 percent of the total valid votes. Flávio Bolsonaro garnered 59,826,041 votes, accounting for 48.21 percent of the valid ballots cast.

Voter turnout and participation figures underscored the civic engagement across the country, with total reporting reaching 100 percent of polling stations nationwide.

This electoral result marks a significant political milestone, occurring against a backdrop of intense political polarization in Brazil and the growing political influence of the far right across Latin America.

Lula’s victory sparked a wave of strong emotion in Brazil’s streets, eliciting a wide range of reactions, both positive and negative, to the outcome. In this in-depth article, we explore the discourse that has emerged following the confirmation of Lula da Silva’s win, which secures him a fourth term in office.

The text reads, “Lula’s electoral victory in Brazil redefines the geopolitical landscape and the balance of power in Latin America. Do you think Lula’s win could shift the political equilibrium in the region?”

Domestic Mobilization and National Reactions to the Election Outcome

Brazil’s highest electoral authority, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), announced the results of the presidential election runoff held this Sunday, October 25.

Following the official declaration, various reactions emerged within Brazil, reflecting the country’s political landscape.

Social organizations, trade union federations, and grassroots community networks gathered in major urban centers, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte, to await the election outcome.

Once the results were known, union leaders and civil society representatives emphasized that these elections, and Lula’s victory, demonstrate public support for the social welfare programs, minimum wage adjustments, expansion of public housing, and labor protections established during the current administration.

National media outlets highlighted the narrow electoral margin between the two candidates and its implications for the executive power exercise.

Market analysts noted that investor attention will focus on fiscal discipline targets, the management of public spending, and upcoming ministerial appointments for the new presidential term.

Is important to highlight that civic mobilization during the three-week interval between the first and second rounds played a decisive role in shaping voter participation.

Campaign committees focused on reducing voter abstention in metropolitan suburbs and organizing localized voter outreach efforts. Youth organizations and community groups conducted door-to-door awareness campaigns, while labor unions like the Unified Workers’ Central (Central Única dos Trabalhadores) coordinated transportation logistics to facilitate polling access for working-class voters in distant municipal sectors.

The national reaction also reflected broader debates regarding institutional stability and social cohesion. Differences emerged among religious organizations; even before the elections, the Catholic Church had issued statements noting that Flávio Bolsonaro’s proposals diverged from the Church’s social doctrine. Conversely, evangelical leaders have supported the claims of the defeated candidate by calling for the election results to be annulled.

Flávio Bolsonaro Response and Political Posture of Conservative Forces

In the immediate aftermath of the vote tabulation, Flávio Bolsonaro addressed his supporters and members of the press regarding the election results.

Bolsonaro and his campaign team requested that the TSE review procedures for voting hours at polling stations and the transmission of digital vote tallies in certain municipalities.

Candidate Flávio refused to acknowledge the election results that declared Lula the winner, stating: “It is impossible to recognize the outcome of these elections given the circumstances under which these events took place. We are going to request their annulment.”

Political analysts note that this post-election reaction aligns with common strategies used by conservative political groups in the region. Rather than immediately accepting the preliminary results, opposition leaders signaled their intention to maintain rigorous scrutiny over electoral authorities and administrative procedures.

Furthermore, Liberal Party representatives said that they will form an organized opposition bloc in the National Congress to oversee government actions, exercise legislative oversight, and challenge proposed changes to public policy throughout the legislative term.

The Executive Victory Address and Focus on Institutional Integrity

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva delivered his victory address in São Paulo before supporters, party leaders, and domestic and international news agencies.

Lula’s speech outlined the strategic direction for his upcoming presidential term, focusing on national unity, poverty alleviation, re-industrialization, and democratic institutions’ preservation.

A central focus of the president’s address was digital communication, social media platform operations, and election administration. President Lula highlighted the impact of algorithmic distribution networks and automated messaging systems during political campaigns, asserting that digital platforms must adhere to national legal frameworks to prevent the spread of disinformation.

Lula said: “Brazil is no one’s backyard. We will change the way we run this country; we will make people participate more in the decision-making process.”

In his speech, President Lula emphasized the urgency of implementing updated regulatory guidelines for foreign technology companies operating within Brazil.

Lula stated that national sovereignty encompasses digital infrastructure, data protection, and the integrity of public communication channels.

The administration announced plans to work within the National Congress and regulatory bodies to draft legal frameworks addressing content moderation standards, corporate transparency, and digital network accountability during future democratic processes.

International Reactions and Global Perspectives

International leaders and foreign governments issued statements following the announcement of the TSE election results. Despite the rejection of the results by Flávio Bolsonaro, leaders from Latin America, North America, and Europe weighed in on the outcome.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum congratulated President Lula and the people of Brazil. Meanwhile, Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi spoke with Lula by phone to congratulate him on the democratic process.

Even presidents with openly right-wing leanings, such as Noboa in Ecuador, Fujimori in Peru, and Kast in Chile, commented on the results and congratulated Brazil on Lula’s victory.

A common theme among these different heads of state was their emphasis on the importance of regional cooperation, economic integration through platforms like CELAC, and a shared vision regarding environmental sustainability.

In the United States, lawmakers such as Senator Bernie Sanders celebrated the election result, describing it as a reaffirmation of democratic governance and citizen participation in the hemisphere.

Meanwhile, Europe and Asia also reacted to the election result. French President Macron congratulated Lula on his fourth electoral victory and urged the deepening of the bilateral partnership between the two nations.

Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez described the win as a great victory via his social media channels, while Costa, the president of the European Council, spoke with Lula by phone to reaffirm the bloc’s ties with Brazil.

Additionally, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Beijing’s full readiness to foster mutual development. Russian President Putin also sent his warmest congratulations via an official statement.

Legislative Challenges and Regional Implications for Latin America

President Lula’s fourth term will be shaped by institutional dynamics and broader regional shifts. Domestically, the executive branch faces a conservative-majority National Congress, where conservative and center-right coalitions hold substantial parliamentary seats.

Pushing forward key agenda items, such as tax reform, social welfare expansion, fiscal adjustments, and climate conservation policies, will require building broad legislative alliances across party lines.

For their part, followers and supporters of Lula da Silva have announced that they will be monitoring the promises Lula made during his campaign, such as safeguarding the Family Allowance (Bolsa Família) program, strengthening food security, and increasing the real minimum wage.

Regionally, Lula’s victory consolidates left-of-center leadership in two of Latin America’s largest economies, Brazil and Mexico. This alignment provides institutional support for regional integration efforts, sustainable development initiatives in the Amazon basin, and coordinated strategies on international trade and environmental governance.

The election outcome signals sustained continuity for progressive policy frameworks while requiring pragmatic negotiation to navigate economic constraints and political polarization both domestically and internationally.

Sources: Brasil de Fato – Agência Brasil – Gov.br – O Globo – Folha de S.Paulo – O Estado de S.Paulo – El País – CNN Brasil – EFE – Instituto Tricontinental – La Base América Latina – Diario Red – TeleSUR – Al Jazeera

Student representatives dismissed the measures as insufficient and confirmed further protests and blockades.

On Monday morning, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu met with some students to brief them on measures he will announce during an afternoon meeting with high school student associations. The meeting, however, turned into a political setback for the administration of President Emmanuel Macron.

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Student representatives said Lecornu was attempting to divide the protest movement by holding a meeting attended by people who lacked legitimacy and did not represent the movement.

The prime minister announced a reform of the university admissions system, with partial implementation in 2027 and more far-reaching changes in 2028. However, implementation of the proposal will depend on the government that emerges from the April-May presidential election.

Lecornu pledged to create 15,000 places in higher education, establish a 1-billion-euro investment plan to renovate high schools, and provide 4 billion euros in loans.

The text reads, “In Bordeaux, protesters raise their hands to show they pose no threat; the police charge at them and brutally gas them. Across France, the grassroots movement has gained further momentum. Massive crowds have taken to the streets to demand a price freeze, the repeal of the Parcoursup system, wage increases, and the inclusion in the budget of the 10 billion euros requested by high school and university students to address their demands.”

These measures come against the backdrop of a government seeking to gradually reduce the maximum number of students in high school classrooms to 28 and implement an emergency plan that will affect students in the country’s most disadvantaged areas.

Student representatives who questioned the legitimacy of the morning meeting stressed that their demands were more ambitious and dismissed the announcements made in advance as “crumbs.”

They are calling for the repeal of the current university admissions system, which they describe as opaque, and the creation of 250,000 places in higher education. “Our demand is clear: We want 10 billion euros and 10 measures that we have been calling for in various ministerial meetings,” they also emphasized.

Student representatives confirmed plans for protests on Oct. 31. Later, on Nov. 2, when classes resume after the school holidays, students will continue their high school blockades. On Nov. 5, student organizations will also join the general strike called by France’s main labor unions.

The text reads, “’10 billion, 10 measures—no more, no less,’ declares Sabrine Kharbach, spokesperson for the Student Union. Representatives of high school and university students speak during a press conference held ahead of a meeting at Matignon.”

What French Students Are Demanding

In recent weeks, the High School Union (USL), the Student Solidarity collective, the National Union of Students of France (UNEF) and the Federation of General Student Associations (FAGE) have been the most determined groups in organizing mobilizations across France. They are demanding that the Macron administration implement the following 10 emergency measures:

1. An Emergency Plan to Renovate Schools and Universities

Launch an emergency plan to renovate dilapidated and unsanitary school and university buildings. Adapt educational institutions to the effects of climate change by installing air conditioning and cooling systems to cope with heat waves, as well as appropriate insulation and heating systems to withstand cold spells.

Ensure that every institution has the human and material resources necessary to maintain its facilities and provide clean, functional restrooms.

2. Mass Hiring of Education, Health, Support and Guidance Staff

Launch a large-scale recruitment plan for National Education personnel to guarantee, at a minimum, the following staffing levels at every institution: One nurse for every 500 students. One psychologist for every 500 students. One guidance counselor for every 500 students.

Create additional teaching positions rather than relying on contract workers, so that every class has a teacher and inequalities between institutions are eliminated. Also establish a formal employment status for support staff for students with disabilities (AESH) and create 800 additional positions.

3. Rethink School and University Schedules

Undertake a comprehensive overhaul of school schedules, building on the work of the Citizens’ Convention on Children’s Schedules for the National Education system, and launch a similar process for higher education to better respect students’ needs and well-being.

In particular, guarantee a lunch break of at least 1 1/2 hours so that every student can eat under appropriate conditions. Reverse the reforms of the baccalaureate and high school system.

4. End Selection Through Parcoursup and Mon Master. Create 250,000 Higher Education Places.

Eliminate selection through the Parcoursup and Mon Master platforms and create 250,000 additional places in higher education starting with the next academic year. This would allow high school students to access programs in their chosen fields without being subject to algorithmic selection and enable all students who wish to do so to continue their studies at the master’s level.

Retain centralized national application platforms to make available programs easier to identify, but eliminate selection. A high school diploma must guarantee access to a bachelor’s degree program, and a bachelor’s degree must guarantee access to a master’s program.

5. Overhaul High School Student Democracy to Ensure Genuine Participation in Decision-Making

Introduce list-based elections for the High School Student Council (CVL) and the Academic High School Student Council (CAVL) to ensure union representation, with representatives elected directly by all high school students in the relevant area. Increase the number of high school student seats on school boards. All high school students must be able to vote in CSE elections.

6. Increase Scholarships and Reinstate and Raise Housing Assistance for Everyone

Increase student scholarships by 200 euros per month, distribute them over 12 months and allow an additional 300,000 students to qualify for the scholarship system. Ultimately, establish a student autonomy income of 1,337 euros per month to guarantee every student the material resources necessary to pursue their studies. Abandon budgetary measures that reduce housing assistance for young people. Reinstate housing assistance (APL) for international students. Increase APL benefits and abandon changes to the calculation method that would deprive 147,000 students of this assistance.

7. Guarantee Effective Access to 1-Euro Meals for All Students

Guarantee effective access to 1-euro meals for students and provide the university services network with the resources necessary to meet demand.

8. Repeal the Welcome to France Plan, Which Introduces Differential Tuition Fees for International Students, and Eliminate the CVEC

Abolish the Welcome to France plan and its differential tuition fees for non-European students, which introduce a national-preference policy and a racist approach to higher education. Eliminate the Student and Campus Life Contribution (CVEC).

9. Freeze CROUS Rents, Make Rent Controls Permanent, and Massively Renovate and Build CROUS Housing

Reinstate the freeze on CROUS rents based on the rents frozen before 2023. Renovate unsanitary CROUS residences. Begin construction of 15,000 CROUS housing units starting in 2027. As an emergency measure, 10% of students must be able to obtain accommodation through CROUS.

10. End Repression and Police Violence Against the High School and Student Movement

End all forms of repression related to the high school and student movement. Ensure that law enforcement officers responsible for violence are prosecuted. Guarantee that absences related to mobilization are neither counted nor penalized.

More broadly, abandon all forms of repression in educational institutions and guarantee young people freedom of expression and freedom to organize, in direct contrast to the repression carried out in the struggle against the genocide in Palestine.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE – Union Etudiante

• Spark Capital is mentioned more than 50 times in Anthropic's S-1 filing, released Monday.
• The reason Spark gets the most mentions is because partner Yasmin Razavi has a board seat.
• Spark led the $450 million Series C round at a $4.5 billion valuation in May 2023.

Spark Capital's Yasmin Razavi has a reputation for refusing to make gut calls. Her methodical decision to invest in Anthropic is now set to generate one of the biggest fortunes in Silicon Valley history, as Anthropic prepares to IPO.

Many venture firms, including Lightspeed and Menlo Ventures, are major Anthropic investors, but Spark is the only traditional VC firm named in the filing. And it's not just a few mentions. Spark is named more than 50 times.

The reason Spark gets the most ink is because Yasmin Razavi has a board seat after being the first institutional investor in the company, leading the $450 million Series C at a $4.5 billion valuation in May 2023.

This was just six months after ChatGPT was released to the public, and the jury was out on whether a rival like Anthropic could catch up. Many balked at the price, calling it too expensive.

"It was a big leap of faith, but this was the team that built GPT-3," Razavi told Forbes.

The filing says that Spark has invested $777 million in Anthropic across six financings since then, including $75 million in the first pivotal round at $11.22 per share.

Spark was already known for making early bets on Postmates and Discord, but it was the Anthropic investment that transformed the firm's Silicon Valley reputation from a good venture firm to a great one.

Razavi said she has been continuously wowed by CEO Dario Amodei.

"Every year, he puts out outrageous numbers, but somehow they magically become true," Razavi told Forbes. "Dario never misses."

Soon, Amodei will face a greater test: the public markets.

Please send along your tips. Email Ben or Katie anytime or contact them on Signal at benbergman.11 and kroof.26. Sign up for Business Insider's weekly VC Insider newsletter here.

Pedro Marcelino, natural de Olhão e doutorado em Machine Learning pelo Instituto Superior Técnico, é um dos autores do livro “110 Vozes sobre IA Generativa, Bots, Agentes e Robôs – Lições e Crónicas de Uma Revolução”, uma obra dedicada aos desafios e oportunidades da Inteligência Artificial, que chega às livrarias esta terça-feira, 27 de outubro.

A publicação, uma iniciativa do ISCTE Executive Education editada pela Oficina do Livro, reúne mais de uma centena de autores de diferentes áreas profissionais e académicas, convidados a refletir sobre o impacto da Inteligência Artificial na sociedade.

Entre os temas abordados estão as transformações no mundo do trabalho, os novos modelos de aprendizagem, as questões éticas, a cidadania e os desafios que esta tecnologia coloca ao futuro.

Investigador de Olhão analisa papel da Inteligência Artificial na educação

No capítulo que assina, intitulado “O problema de Bloom foi resolvido, mas continuamos a falar de futebol”, Pedro Marcelino explora o potencial da Inteligência Artificial enquanto tutor individual, analisando as possibilidades de utilização desta tecnologia nos processos de ensino e aprendizagem.

O autor apresenta também o método que utiliza para aprender com recurso à Inteligência Artificial, defendendo uma abordagem que privilegia a compreensão e a aquisição de conhecimentos, em vez da utilização destas ferramentas apenas para obter respostas ou resumos.

“Quem pede à IA o resumo de um livro recebe um resumo. Quem a usa para aprender o livro, fica com o livro”, afirma Pedro Marcelino.

A reflexão do investigador centra-se, assim, nas possibilidades de personalização da aprendizagem através da Inteligência Artificial e na forma como estas tecnologias podem ser utilizadas para aprofundar o conhecimento.

Livro reúne líderes empresariais, académicos e especialistas

A obra integra a coleção “Vozes” do ISCTE, que inclui outras publicações dedicadas a temas de interesse social e económico, como “85 Vozes pela Liderança” e “108 Vozes pela Habitação”.

Entre os participantes encontram-se Ana Figueiredo, presidente executiva da MEO, Ricardo Martinho, presidente da IBM Portugal, e Pedro Santa Clara, professor catedrático da Nova SBE.

A publicação reúne contributos de líderes empresariais, investigadores, juristas e profissionais de diferentes setores, procurando apresentar diversas perspetivas sobre a evolução da Inteligência Artificial e as suas consequências para a sociedade.

O livro estará disponível nas livrarias a partir de 27 de outubro, numa edição da Oficina do Livro.

Pedro Marcelino desenvolve projetos ligados à tecnologia e à educação

Além da investigação académica, Pedro Marcelino está ligado à criação e ao desenvolvimento de projetos empresariais e educativos na área tecnológica.

O olhanense é fundador da xval.ai, empresa dedicada ao desenvolvimento de conteúdos educativos com recurso à Inteligência Artificial.

É também fundador da SmartRoads, uma startup que venceu o programa europeu EIT Jumpstarter 2025, distinguindo-se no âmbito de uma iniciativa de apoio ao empreendedorismo e à inovação.

O seu percurso inclui ainda a criação da TreeTree2, organização dedicada ao desenvolvimento de talentos nas áreas da Ciência, Tecnologia, Engenharia e Matemática.

Com a participação nesta obra coletiva, Pedro Marcelino junta a sua experiência nas áreas da tecnologia e da educação às reflexões de mais de uma centena de especialistas sobre as transformações associadas à Inteligência Artificial e o seu impacto na aprendizagem e na sociedade.

Leia também: Ciclista de Tavira conclui volta ao mundo em bicicleta e tem receção emocionante no regresso a casa

Si è spento nella sua abitazione di North Hollywood, a Los Angeles, Walter Koenig, l’attore che ha interpretato Pavel Chekov nella serie originale di Star Trek e in sette film della saga. Aveva 90 anni. Una carriera lunga oltre sessant’anni, tra fantascienza, teatro e televisione.

Dalla plancia dell’Enterprise al ruolo di Alfred Bester in Babylon 5: una vita tra cinema e televisione

Walter Koenig è morto a 90 anni, per cause naturali, nella sua abitazione di North Hollywood, circondato dalla figlia e dalla nipote. A confermare la scomparsa dell’attore americano, celebre per aver interpretato Pavel Chekov in Star Trek, sono stati i suoi rappresentanti.

Koenig era entrato nell’equipaggio dell’Enterprise a partire dalla seconda stagione della serie originale, dando vita al giovane ufficiale russo addetto alla navigazione. Un personaggio introdotto anche per conquistare il pubblico più giovane, con un’acconciatura ispirata a quella di Davy Jones dei Monkees. Chekov divenne uno dei volti più riconoscibili della saga, anche grazie alle sue battute sulla presunta superiorità sovietica nelle grandi invenzioni della storia.

L’attore tornò a interpretarlo in sette film di Star Trek, ottenendo particolare spazio in Star Trek II – L’ira di Khan, uscito nel 1982. Nel 2015 vestì nuovamente i panni di Chekov in Star Trek: Renegades, questa volta con il grado di ammiraglio. Aveva inoltre contribuito alla serie animata scrivendo l’episodio The Infinite Vulcan, pur non partecipando al doppiaggio per ragioni di budget.

La fantascienza gli regalò anche un altro personaggio molto apprezzato. Tra il 1994 e il 1998 interpretò Alfred Bester, il temibile agente della Psi Corps in Babylon 5, comparendo in dodici episodi della serie ideata da J. Michael Straczynski.

Walter Koenig, gli inizi della carriera e il legame con George Takei

Nato a Chicago nel 1936 da una famiglia di origini ebraiche russe, originariamente chiamata Koenigsberg, Koenig si era inizialmente orientato verso gli studi medici. Dopo il trasferimento alla Ucla, dove conseguì una laurea in psicologia, decise di dedicarsi alla recitazione, frequentando la Neighborhood Playhouse di New York. Tra i suoi compagni di formazione figuravano Christopher Lloyd, James Caan e Dabney Coleman.

Il debutto televisivo arrivò nel 1962, seguito da partecipazioni a serie come The Untouchables, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour e I Spy. Dopo Star Trek continuò a lavorare per il piccolo schermo, comparendo anche in Colombo, Ironside e Futurama. Parallelamente si dedicò al teatro, alla regia e all’insegnamento della recitazione, oltre a scrivere romanzi, sceneggiature e fumetti.

Tra i rapporti più significativi della sua carriera ci fu quello con George Takei, interprete di Sulu in Star Trek. Dopo alcune tensioni durante le riprese della serie originale, i due diventarono grandi amici. Nel 2008 Koenig fu anche testimone al matrimonio di Takei con Brad Altman.

L’attore lascia la figlia Danielle Koenig, attrice e sceneggiatrice. Il figlio Andrew, anche lui attore e montatore, era morto nel 2010.

L’ultimo premio e il ricordo dei rappresentanti: “Il suo talento ha lasciato un segno indelebile”

Koenig aveva continuato a recitare anche in età avanzata. Tra i suoi lavori più recenti figura il cortometraggio Mr. Fleischmann, che gli è valso il Platinum Award come miglior attore agli Independent Shorts Awards del 2026.

Nel lungo messaggio diffuso per annunciarne la scomparsa, i suoi rappresentanti hanno ricordato anche il rapporto che l’attore aveva costruito con gli appassionati di Star Trek attraverso convention e incontri pubblici: “Oggi piangiamo la scomparsa di Walter Koenig, il cui talento, calore umano e interpretazioni memorabili hanno lasciato un segno indelebile in generazioni di fan in tutto il mondo. Si e’ spento per cause naturali la scorsa notte, nella sua casa di North Hollywood, circondato dalla figlia e dalla nipote. Noto soprattutto per il suo ruolo iconico di Pavel Chekov in ‘Star Trek: La serie originale’, Walter ha saputo ispirare il pubblico con il suo ottimismo, il suo umorismo e il suo spirito avventuroso. Oltre a ‘Star Trek’, la sua lunga e illustre carriera ha messo in luce la sua versatilita’ come attore e il suo amore sincero per la recitazione. Il suo straordinario talento ha continuato a brillare anche in eta’ avanzata; tra i suoi ultimi lavori, spicca l’interpretazione nel cortometraggio ‘Mr. Fleischmann’, che gli e’ valsa il Platinum Award come miglior attore agli Independent Shorts Awards del 2026: un giusto riconoscimento per una vita dedicata alla sua arte. L’eredita’ di Walter va ben oltre lo schermo. Attraverso innumerevoli partecipazioni a convention e incontri con i fan, ha saputo trasmettere la sua gentilezza, la sua arguzia e la sua gratitudine a chiunque abbia avuto la fortuna di incontrarlo. Comprendeva profondamente il significato di ‘Star Trek’ per le persone e ha accolto con calore la comunita’ che si e’ sviluppata attorno alla saga. A nome di tutti noi, porgiamo le nostre piu’ sentite condoglianze alla famiglia di Walter, ai suoi amici, ai colleghi e ai milioni di fan le cui vite ha toccato nel corso dei decenni. Grazie, Walter, per i ricordi, per l’ispirazione e per esserti spinto con coraggio la’ dove pochi altri erano arrivati prima”.

LEGGI TUTTE LE NOTIZIE DELLA SEZIONE MEDIATECH

L'articolo Star Trek dice addio al suo Chekov: morto Walter Koenig, aveva 90 anni proviene da Affaritaliani.it.