• Hello and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter for Verge subscribers covering the broligarchs, the influencers, and the (potentially conscious) artificial intelligence models scrambling for power in Washington. • If you’re not a subscriber yet, assert your humanity against the will of the machines by signing up here. • Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon AI bro squad includes a former Uber executive and a private equity billionaire Defense officials Steve Feinberg, the founder of Cerberus Capital Management, and Emil Michael, the former No. • 2 at Uber, were reportedly at a heated Pentagon meeting with Anthropic. • Defense officials Steve Feinberg, the founder of Cerberus Capital Management, and Emil Michael, the former No. • 2 at Uber, were reportedly at a heated Pentagon meeting with Anthropic.

Article Summaries:

  • In a high‑stakes Pentagon meeting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth convened with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to renegotiate a contract that the department has flagged as a “supply‑chain risk.” The discussion included senior officials such as former Uber executive Emil Michael-who served as Uber’s second‑in‑command and is now Pentagon CTO-and Steve Feinberg, founder of private‑equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. Both men bring controversial private‑sector backgrounds: Michael was ousted from Uber amid harassment allegations, while Feinberg has a history of high‑profile investments and political ties. The Pentagon’s push signals a serious effort to tighten its AI procurement terms.

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