Enrique Abeyta:

Federal Surveillance Tech Becomes Mandatory in New Cars by 2027

Your next car purchase comes with an unwelcome passenger: a federal mandate requiring surveillance technology that monitors your every blink, glance, and head nod.

Thanks to Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, NHTSA must finalize rules forcing all new passenger vehicles to include “advanced impaired driving prevention technology” – essentially turning your dashboard into a judgment-free zone that’s anything but judgment-free.

Infrared cameras and sensors create a constant biometric assessment of driver alertness and sobriety.

The tech involves infrared cameras mounted on steering columns or A-pillars, tracking eye movement, pupil dilation, and drowsiness patterns. Unlike the breathalyzer ignition interlocks from DUI convictions, these systems operate passively – no blowing required. Your car simply watches and decides whether you’re fit to drive.

If the AI determines you’re impaired (blood alcohol ≥0.08% or showing fatigue), it can prevent ignition startup or limit vehicle speed. Think Minority Report, but for your morning commute.

The surveillance rollout targets late 2026 to 2027 for all new passenger vehicles.

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Chris Campbell:

The Pentagon's Banned Bitcoin Bible

Admiral Sam Paparo runs U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) – the largest combatant command in the American military, covering everything from the West Coast to the Indian Ocean. Last week, he told Congress – casually – that the U.S. military is running a Bitcoin node for cybersecurity.

Paparo didn't invent the idea. He inherited it. In 2023, a Space Force major named Jason Lowery published a 400-page MIT thesis called Softwar: A Novel Theory on Power Projection and the National Strategic Significance of Bitcoin.

The argument: Bitcoin is a new form of physical power projection – a way to impose real-world energy costs on digital attacks, the same way antlers impose biological costs on rival bucks.

The strange part: Within only five months of Lowery releasing the book, Lowery tweeted that he’d been “ordered to take SOFTWAR down & asked to stop talking about the subject publicly.”

Three years later, the four-star running INDOPACOM admits he’s testing Bitcoin. Not because of blockchain magic – because it's the only timestamping system on Earth no adversary state can corrupt, rewrite, or take offline.

For the broader market – it changes the political center of gravity. The monetary case for Bitcoin was always going to win some hearts. The national security case is what begins to change the conversation.

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Greg Guenthner:

A Tale of Two Capex Increases: Why Investors Are Responding to Google and Meta So Differently

When Alphabet and Meta reported first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, both exceeded already high expectations on revenue and profit – and both said their already massive AI spending will climb even higher.

The Google parent raised its 2026 capital expenditure outlook to between $180 billion and $190 billion, up from $175 billion to $185 billion. Meta, meanwhile, increased its 2026 capex forecast even more, up to $125 billion to $145 billion, from $115 billion to $135 billion.

Investors reacted very differently: Alphabet shares are up about 8% on the day, while Meta has fallen roughly 9%.

So, why the different reactions? Google is not only making high-end tensor processing unit AI chips for internal use, but it also confirmed that it will begin delivering those chips to other companies this year, in what analysts have estimated could be a $900 billion business. Meta is reportedly already among its customers.

In other words, Google is positioning itself to profit from the broader AI ecosystem, including its rivals. Meta, meanwhile, is building inference-optimized chips primarily to lower its own costs. While Meta remains largely a renter of infrastructure, Google is becoming a landlord.

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