A group of 23 Democratic US senators urged the top federal regulator overseeing prediction markets to avoid intervening in pending court cases concerning the legality of offerings on these platforms, according to a letter sent on Friday. The senators' request comes as prediction markets, which allow users to wager on real-world events, have surged in popularity, attracting both mainstream interest and ethical and legal scrutiny.
The platforms have become a magnet for ethical and legal controversies as they have expanded. On Thursday, Israeli authorities announced that two people had been arrested on suspicion of wrongdoing related to these markets, according to Source 1. These markets allow users to bet on outcomes ranging from geopolitical conflicts to fashion choices and even the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, Singapore is embracing artificial intelligence to future-proof its economy. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong cited DBS and Grab as role models during his budget address on Thursday, according to Fortune. The country is establishing a new AI council, led by Wong himself, to oversee national AI missions in areas such as advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance, and healthcare. "Harnessed well, AI will be a strategic advantage for Singapore," Wong said during his Feb. 12 budget address.
In related news, the US deputy health secretary, Jim O'Neill, who oversees a department with a budget of over a trillion dollars, described his plans to increase human healthspan through longevity-focused research supported by ARPA-H, a federal agency dedicated to biomedical breakthroughs, according to MIT Technology Review. O'Neill signed the decision memorandum on the US's new vaccine schedule.
Fifteen years ago, Marc Andreessen predicted that software would eat the world, and in February 2026, his prophecy was fulfilled in a manner that even the biggest bulls failed to predict, according to Fortune. Software did indeed eat retail (Amazon), video (Netflix), music (Spotify), and telecommunications (Skype) just as Andreessen predicted.
In other developments, research shows that the ideal size for a productive real-time conversation is only about 4 to 7 people, according to VentureBeat. As groups grow larger, each person has less opportunity to speak, increasing their frustration.
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