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Is Purdue a MUST-WIN Game for Illinois This Weekend?
Facing a defensive crisis and coaching shakeup, Bret Bielema’s squad must secure a homecoming victory to stabilize a chaotic season and reclaim momentum in the Big Ten.
Farm SOS partners with Illinois FFA to promote mental health resources
The mental health specialist with Farm SOS, formerly the Farm Family Resource Initiative, says a partnership with the Illinois FFA Association is helping spread the message of farmer mental health. Rachel Brown says the organization has once again awarded grants to chapters across the state aimed at promoting mental health in agriculture. “We call them Bend […]
Armor expanding, plans to increase size of Arnold facility
Armor Equipment, an Arnold-based sewer, street and waste management equipment company, on Sept. 1 bought the Dakota Truck Co. in Lakeville, Minn., allowing the business to expand its reach to Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Illinois Fighting Illini Still Projected to Reach Bowl Eligibility
As rough as the past week has been for Illinois, the Illini are still .500 and widely projected to reach the postseason.
9,300 noncitizens in Illinois to lose Medicaid benefits due to changes by federal government
The new federal eligibility changes mean immigrants seeking asylum and those who entered the country through humanitarian parole will also lose health coverage.
Illinois high school flag football playoff scores, schedule
Here are the latest Illinois flag football scores and schedules for the 2026 postseason.
Illinois flag football rankings: USA TODAY Sports Super 10, Week 6
As the regular season concludes and the postseason, here's where Illinois' flag football teams stand.
Ill. gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey addresses cuts to Choate Mental Health & Developmental Center
Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey made a stop in Anna on Monday, September 28.
Quentin Coleman Projected to Be Illinois’ Second-Leading Scorer
Freshman five-star Quentin Coleman is expected to make an immediate impact for Illinois, with Bart Torvik projecting him to be the Illini’s second-leading scorer.
WIU Joins HL7’s Inaugural Break the Code Cohort
Western Illinois University’s School of Computing, Data, and Mathematical Sciences is proud to partner with HL7 International’s inaugural Break the Code program, giving WIU students a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience with the technologies shaping the future of healthcare.
Bailey hopes to keep Choate Mental Health Center open
Gov. Pritzker says Illinois should move away from state-owned developmental centers.
UI computer science professors discuss growing AI safety concerns
Artificial intelligence industry experts are expressing increasing concern in recent weeks about the growth of AI, calling on governments to slow down development and increase safety measures. Gov. JB Pritzker announced Tuesday the creation of an Illinois AI Cabinet to assess possible risks. The main concerns are rogue AI agents, such as the Hugging Face...
SCOTUS rules in Trump's favor, allowing an expanded online screening tool to purge some voters
What does this ruling mean for voters in Illinois ahead of the midterms? What does this mean for voting in the future?
Bret Bielema Shows Urgency With Bobby Hauck Decision
Dismal defensive rankings forced an abrupt mid-season firing, proving the Illini head coach values immediate results over pride as he fights to save a crumbling season.
<em>CASNews</em> faculty spotlight: Dr. Megan VanGorder
Meet Dr. Megan VanGorder, assistant professor in the Department of History.
<em>CASNews</em> staff spotlight: Dr. Jay Ansher
Meet Dr. Jay Ansher, general education lab coordinator in the Department of Physics.
Illinois Defensive Coordinator Bobby Hauck Departs from Fighting Illini
Bret Bielema and the Illini are moving on from their defensive coordinator after just two games.
U of I Extension announces new center focused on food, nutrition, health
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — A center focused on nutrition research and health is coming to the University of Illinois campus. It’s called the Center for Food Systems, Nutrition Security an…
No. 7 Buckeyes beat Illinois 42-19
Another home game, another record for Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith.
FanDuel: Illinois opens as 9.5-point favorite against Purdue
The sportsbooks like the Illini.
American Business Club to donate more than $126,000 to 55 Springfield charities
ABC will present the donations at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Monday, Sept. 28, at 4:30 p.m.
Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith Delivers Heisman-Worthy Masterpiece vs. Illinois
Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith put together a historic, record-setting game in the Buckeyes' win over Illinois.
Jeremiah Smith sets Ohio State record against Illinois on Saturday
Jeremiah Smith set an Ohio State record on Saturday.
Illinois Just Passed a Tough New AI Law. Even Small Businesses Should Pay Attention
Illinois’s new AI law may target frontier developers, but it offers every business a preview of where AI regulation is headed.
College football on TV today: Sept. 26
Let’s have a day. Saturday, Sept. 26No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee | 12 p.m. | ABCIllinois at No. 7 Ohio State | 12 p.m. | FOXSam Houston at No. 11 Texas Tech | 12 p.m. | TNTWake Forest at No. 16 Louisville | 12 p.m. | ESPNColorado at Baylor | 12 p.m. | […]
3 offensive keys for Ohio State vs Illinois
The Ohio State offensive has struggled at times this year and that needs to change. Here are three keys against Illinois.
Five Bold Predictions For Ohio State vs. Illinois
We haven't hit on many over our bold predictions, but Ohio State vs. Illinois gives us another opportunity! Who steps up this week?
Illinois measles cases hit 23 in 2026, most from Douglas, Moultrie counties outbreak
Wisconsin senator introduces bill to ban ICE, CPB agents from polling locations
Sen. Tammy Baldwin said the legislation sends a message to the president that lawmakers are watching, even if there’s no chance the bill passes before Election Day.
Key Illinois Pass Catcher Doubtful for Ohio State Game
One of Illinois' keystone offensive players is unlikely to make his season debut against Ryan Day and company .
Illinois State Police Recognizes the Hidden Crime Fighting Heroes During Forensic Science Week
For Immediate Release - September 24, 2026 Illinois State Police Recognizes the Hidden Crime Fighting Heroes D...
How the Illinois Offense Can Give Ohio State Problems
Quarterback Katin Houser leads a ball-control strategy designed to neutralize the Buckeyes' pass rush and keep their explosive offense anchored to the sideline through sustained drives.
5-Star Dallas, Texas Forward Announces Illinois Basketball Visit Date
A five-star high school forward from Dallas, Texas is set to take a close-up look at Illinois basketball soon.
No. 7 Ohio State faces Big Ten opener against Illinois
With three important October road tests on the horizon, Day is seeking more balance on offense
SIH holds health fair in Marion, Ill.
Junior high students got an up-close look at what it’s like to work in the medical field at a fair in Marion, Illinois.
POLITICS Christian Mitchell talks about Gov. Pritzker, Ulysses S. Grant and the fight for marriage equality
Christian Mitchell—a former Illinois state representative and deputy governor—is on the statewide election ticket alongside Gov. JB Pritzker in a bid for lieutenant governor, as his running mate seeks a third term. (Outgoing Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is running for the U.S. Senate.) Mitchell graduated from the University of Chicago in 2008, and planned on […]
Computer science student embraces opportunity and aims high as Bone Scholar
Senior computer science major Neer Jain is one of 14 Illinois State University students named Robert G. Bone Scholars for 2026-27.
ISP recognizes the hidden crime fighting heroes during Forensic Science Week
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) -As Governor JB Pritzker proclaims September 20-26, 2026 as Forensic Science Week in Illinois, the Illinois State Police (ISP) is honoring the dedicated professionals who collect, examine,
State’s Attorney: IDHS delays Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center closure plans
Union County State’s Attorney Tyler Tripp shared the Illinois Department of Human Services’ update on their plan to close psychiatric hospital beds at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center.
Illinois Offensive Weapon Grows in Confidence After Position Switch
An Illinois football offensive weapon is making strides ahead of the Ohio State game according to a position coach.
Can Illinois’ offense keep up with Ohio State?
The Illini need to stick with what works in order to best the Buckeyes.
Duckworth slams Trump for ‘cozying up’ to Xi as Illinois waits on China trade
The Illinois senator says promised Chinese purchases of U.S. farm goods and Boeing aircraft have been slow to materialize as Trump prepares to host Xi Jinping at the White House.
Florida Chamber’s free-enterprise roadshow rolls into Illinois
Gov. JB Pritzker finishes behind Zohran Mamdani for a tongue-in-cheek economic development honor.
Ayo Dosunmu Challenges Andrej Stojakovic to Become an All-American
Illinois legend Ayo Dosunmu has high expectations for Andrej Stojakovic, challenging the Illini star to become an All-American during his senior season.
Kate McKenzie interview - Illinois Times, the capital city's source of news, politics, arts, entertainment, culture
Tony Stang sits down with Kate McKenzie, CEO of Local Journalism Matters, to talk about the behind-the-scenes world of journalism, the stories reporters carry with them, and what the future of local news might look like at Illinois Times. It is a conversation about journalism, community and why telling the stories of a place still matters.
Democrats differ over campaign funding flap - Illinois Times, the capital city's source of news, politics, arts, entertainment, culture
My associate Isabel Miller and I told subscribers earlier this month that Democrats for the Illinois House had been suddenly cut off from the Democratic Party of Illinois’ lucrative postage discount program, which can save as much as a third to a half of campaign postage costs. Afterward, an extraordinary interaction occurred between the executive […]
JB Pritzker Says He Used GLP-1s to Lose 80 Pounds
Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, widely seen as a potential presidential candidate, revealed in an interview on “CBS Mornings” that he had been on a GLP-1 regimen since 2024.
Illinois business highlights boy's stop-motion animation
Click here to view this video from wpsdlocal6.com.
Illini stifle Salukis; Ohio State preview
Can Illinois translate anything from their win over SIU to their matchup with Ohio State?
Parental rights group questions student data, portal tied to mental health screenings
(The Center Square) – An Illinois parental-rights organization is raising concerns about how student information could be handled through BEACON, a state behavioral health portal that Awake Illinois describes as
Three Takeaways From Illinois' 48-10 Win Over Southern Illinois
The Fighting Illini improved to 2-1 on the season, heading into Big Ten play.
Arkansas volleyball drops final nonconference match before SEC play
The Arkansas volleyball team saw its five-match win streak end Saturday, losing to Illinois in straight sets in the Arkansas State Invitational in Jonesboro.
Sports Extra: Friday Night Highlights & Final scores from the Gridiron
Highlights from Friday Nights action in Illinois, Missouri, & Iowa
Southern Illinois business hires 12-year-old to create stop-motion animation ad
PMR Automotive hired a 12-year-old from North Carolina to create a stop-motion animation commercial for them, highlighting not only the business but the boy’s creativity.
Gov. Pritzker Launches Illinois Reproductive Health Care Hub
New website centralizes resources for reproductive care in Illinois, connecting site visitors to medical providers, affordable care options, and helpful information
Illinois' 2nd-largest government union spent 38 times more on politics than member representation
New federal LM-2 reports reveal SEIU Illinois spent 72% of its 2025 budget on politics and less than 2% representing members.
Illinois Basketball Gets National Title Hype From Big Ten Analyst
Illinois basketball could win the 2026-27 NCAA Tournament according to a former Purdue star and Big Ten analyst.
Choate workers’ union files lawsuit to block state from gutting mental health facility
Choate workers' union is suing Illinois to block plans to cut beds and roughly half the workforce at the facility.
Illinois Fighting Illini 2026 Football Preview
Some of the more headscratching losses over Nebraska’s lost decade have come at the hands of the Illini. Start with Mike Riley’s throw-the-ball-into-a-gale debacle in 2015, the “field a punt at the goal line” mistakes of 2021 or the Dylan Raiola in full retreat overtime offense in 2024. Almost as bad as against Minnesota; we […]
Illinois State University partnership advances AI innovation in healthcare
Through a partnership with Healthy Tray, Illinois State University faculty and student researchers are helping transform how hospitals measure and manage patient nutrition.
Capitol News Illinois | Illinois asks FEMA for aid after August storms
Illinois is asking the federal government for help recovering from August storms that left a trail of destruction through Chicago’s south suburbs and several central Illinois counties.
Leaving a legacy - Illinois Times, the capital city's source of news, politics, arts, entertainment, culture
Seven charitable organizations that help women in need have received a total of $1.21 million in grants from the newly created Justice Benjamin K. Miller Charitable Fund. Justice Benjamin K. Miller was the first Springfield native on the Illinois Supreme Court, serving from 1984-2001, and was chief justice from 1991-1993. Miller was highly respected in […]
Doing the job - Illinois Times, the capital city's source of news, politics, arts, entertainment, culture
We live in dread of the robot brains, haunted as we are by our exchanges with chatbots that are smarter than any actual person we’ve ever known. More perfect AI is likely to make obsolete jobs by the millions. (On the upside, that will include lots of dreary jobs that talented and ambitious people don’t […]
Bret Bielema: College Football NIL Disparities 'Never Been Seen Before'
Illinois coach Bret Bielema says that NIL salary discrepancies are now at a level that college football has never seen.
Illinois Women’s Basketball 2026-27 Schedule Tracker
Who will the Fighting Illini face off against this season?
Illinois health officials report summer spike in rabies exposures, calls
The CDC is warning of a summer spike in rabies exposures, and the state of Illinois is experiencing similar issues
WIU Research Opportunity Helps High School Student Reach National Competition
Through the Bellott Research Group in Western Illinois University's School of Natural Sciences, high school students are gaining hands-on research experience and developing real-world laboratory skills alongside WIU students and faculty.
Denny Hamlin Recalls Story of NASCAR’s Most Caution-Filled Race
Denny Hamlin reflected on what led to the single most cautions in a NASCAR Cup Series race. The 2005 Coca-Cola 600 saw a record 22 caution flags, due in large part to a track surface adjustment prior to the race weekend.Last Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway saw 18 caution periods, coming […] The post Denny Hamlin Recalls Story of NASCAR’s Most Caution-Filled Race appeared first on HEAVY.
4 thoughts ahead of Wisconsin Badgers clash against Eastern Michigan
The Wisconsin Badgers are days away from kicking off Week 3 against the Eastern Michigan Eagles at home at Camp Randall Stadium. Wisconsin won big against Western Illinois in Week 2 with the 36-9 victory, but the win still left some fans unsatisfied with the team. The Badgers were forced to settle for three field [...]
Tauja Catchings inducted into Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame
The women’s basketball great becomes part of the Class of 2026.
Illinois alerts more than 700,000 people they will or could lose public health insurance
The state has mailed letters to thousands of Medicaid enrollees with low incomes or a disability. They could lose coverage as soon as Oct. 1 due to legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law last year.
Editorial: Illinois farmers are farming the government for cash
The fall harvest is looming, and you might think Illinois’ farmers and landowners would be preoccupied with bringing in the corn and soybean crops. But they’re also focused on reaping
Supreme Court rejects Trump’s mail ballot curbs for midterms
Illinois is among the states that challenged the restrictions.
UnityPoint Health creates new rural health leadership role
UnityPoint Health has named Jenn Crimmins executive director of rural health partnerships, a newly created role focused on strengthening access to health care in rural communities in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. Crimmins will develop and lead partnerships aimed at expanding access to local, high-quality and financially sustainable healthcare. She most recently served as vice president…
Kickoff time set for Illinois’ road matchup at Ohio State
The Illini will look to take down the Buckeyes for the first time since 2007.
Get to know Beckman: Ngoc Nguyen, research engineer
Research engineer Ngoc Nguyen reflects on his career path, his new role at the Beckman Institute and the joys of life in central Illinois.
McCuskey agrees to resign as LIG - Illinois Times, the capital city's source of news, politics, arts, entertainment, culture
You may know that embattled Legislative Inspector General Michael McCuskey has agreed to resign his post by the end of September. But this sorry saga shouldn’t end there. The Legislative Ethics Commission should immediately launch an investigation into why so many women over the years have said they believed they were mistreated and even belittled […]
How Quincy and Hannibal Households Budget for Entertainment
Across West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri, the way people spend a free evening rarely follows a script. A Quincy resident might grab tickets to a show at the Oakley-Lindsay Center one weekend, then spend the next weekend keeping things low-key at home. A Hannibal couple might split the difference — dinner downtown on Friday, then...
Kyle Larson Survives Gateway Chaos to Reignite Championship Hopes
Kyle Larson needed a win. Instead, he got one of the wildest victories of his career. Larson survived a chaotic Gateway race Sunday to win the Enjoy Illinois 300. He beat Alex Bowman in overtime for a Hendrick Motorsports 1-2 finish. The victory ended Larson’s 51-race winless streak. It also launched him into second place…
Gateway Turns the Chase Upside Down After Larson Victory
The NASCAR Cup Series Chase just got a whole lot more interesting. Kyle Larson won a chaotic Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway on Sunday. The victory moved Larson to second in the championship standings. It also ended a 51-race winless streak. Larson beat teammate Alex Bowman in overtime by 0.333 seconds. That Hendrick Motorsports 1-2…
Illinois High School Football Rankings: Top 25 Teams
Things remain fairly static at the top of the state of Illinois rankings per The Massey Ratings. There was some movement towards the bottom of the top ten though and the No. 2 spot in the state changed:
Arizona football opens as five-touchdown favorite vs. Northern Illinois
Arizona football hasn’t covered the spread in its first two games of the season, but that didn’t stop oddsmakers from setting a large spread for the Wildcats’ game against Northern Illinois. Arizona has opened as a 35.5-point favorite over NIU, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is 50.5 points. The game kicks off Saturday at […]
Nurses to sympathy strike, picket on September 15 at five Prime Healthcare hospitals in four states
Registered nurses at three Prime Healthcare hospitals in Nevada and California, as well as nurses and health care workers at an additional hospital in California, will hold a sympathy strike for one day on September 15 in solidarity with nurses at Olympia Fields Hospital in Illinois who are striking on the same day to protest the suspension of six nurses at Olympia Fields Hospital.
Five takeaways from Wisconsin football’s win over Western Illinois
The Wisconsin Badgers' football team got back in the win column Saturday night, defeating Western Illinois 36-9 in its home opener.
Major investments, changes coming to central Illinois business
As the state works to phase out coal-fired power plants, a gas-fired facility will be built in central Illinois.
Major investments, changes coming to central Illinois business
As the state works to phase out coal-fired power plants, a gas-fired facility will be built in central Illinois.
Journal Sentinel reporters analyze Wisconsin football's Week 2 win
Journal Sentinel beat writers John Steppe and Mark Stewart share their thoughts following Wisconsin's 36-9 win over Western Illinois.
Wisconsin records lowest home football opener attendance since 1990s
Wisconsin football made the wrong type of history with the crowd size in the Badgers' 36-9 win against Western Illinois.
Joey Logano Smacks NASCAR Cup Field With Gateway Pole
Joey Logano earned the pole for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway, the Enjoy Illinois 300, after he and Blaney topped practice.
NASCAR Cup Series Starting Lineup: Enjoy Illinois 300 At Gateway
The NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway is officially set. Joey Logano will lead the field to the green flag after setting the fastest time in qualifying. Kyle Larson will start alongside Logano on the front row, while Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell will start […] The post NASCAR Cup Series Starting Lineup: Enjoy Illinois 300 At Gateway appeared first on Stadium Rant.
Wisconsin vs. Western Illinois: Picks, predictions, and odds
The Badgers should roll on Saturday.
Judge shields more Catholic health providers as Illinois assisted suicide law takes effect
A federal judge on Sept. 11 temporarily blocked Illinois from enforcing the state's physician-assisted suicide law for Catholic entities that challenged it.
Duke-Illinois Links Run
Nate Sheppard is off to a great start. What will he do at Illinois?
CCHD: Dr. Chad Anderson Awarded With Emerging Health Leader Award
The Christian County Health Department’s (CCHD) Public Health Administrator, Dr. Chad Anderson, has been honored with quite the accomplishment, as he was recently nominated, and awarded with the Emerging Public Health Leader Award by the Illinois Public Health Association (IPHA). Hart Media Group recently […]
Three last-minute Wisconsin vs. Western Illinois Week 2 predictions
Coming off an expected, but still deflating Week 1 loss, the Wisconsin Badgers have a chance to redeem themselves.
The politics and possibilities of ‘AI could kill us all’
I found myself fielding a lot of questions from folks who don’t usually talk much about AI this week. They were mostly along the lines of “do you think AI is going to kill us all?” or “how worried should I be about this human extinction stuff?” Motivating this wave of existential anxiety was the highly dramatic resignation of now-former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon, who quit his job while publicly sharing his concerns about safety practices at the leading AI companies. More specifically, he declared that almost everyone at OpenAI and Anthropic, the leading AI labs, believes that there’s a decent chance the AI systems they’re producing could “kill us all” by the end of the decade, and the companies aren’t “acting responsibly.” Other AI safety researchers, including those still employed at Anthropic and OpenAI, all confirmed that yes, Coxon is correct, they’re all worried that their company’s products might prove fatal for the entire human race as well. Two more AI employees quit and joined the chorus. Now, the warning shot has been covered everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to Fox News to WIRED to the Guardian. I understand why all this sounds scary, but my response to those who have asked, has generally been: No, you don’t need to worry that AI will kill go rogue and kill us all. But that does not mean we shouldn’t worry, period. Far from it. The companies building AI products are now among the wealthiest and most powerful entities in the world. And they very much are building enormous engines of mass surveillance, extraction, and automation. They can and have allowed their AI systems to carry out felony hacks of other companies, provided the government with autonomously generated kill lists, and sold enterprise technology to firms around the world that is explicitly intended to replace jobs. But “AI” has done these things not because they have all-powerful minds of their own but, ultimately, because people have programmed, calibrated, and directed them to. In other words, it’s not AI we need to worry the most about. It’s the people and corporations working to profit from and gain power by deploying it. The technology is sophisticated, sure, and, especially in cybersecurity contexts, potentially disruptive to plenty of existing systems. But if we want to stop this predatory, profiteering, and extractive form of AI—and it’s worth noting that at this point, most people do—we absolutely can. A quick note/plea: I can only do all of this with the support of readers like you, so if you find value in independent, critical tech journalism and analysis, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. I want to keep as much of this un-paywalled as absolutely possible, and I need your support to do so. Many thanks to all who continue to chip in, it’s very much appreciated. Onward. Subscribe First, some context: AI industry folks like Coxon have been discussing the prospect that AI will destroy humanity for years. Even before the beginning of the AI boom, many working in the industry, from the executive staff to the rank and file researchers, have obsessed over ‘x-risk’, or the possibility that AI will become sentient or semi-sentient and move one way or another to exterminate humanity. This is ostensibly why Elon Musk bankrolled OpenAI in the first place, and is the grounds for his lawsuit alleging OpenAI betrayed its charter by abandoning its nonprofit status to become a commercial enterprise. Many AI engineers and startup founders have calculated their own personal p(doom), or the probability that the tech product they are working on will initiate an actual humanity-extinguishing apocalypse. 10-25% p(doom)s are pretty common. (I wrote about a long weekend I spent among these folks at one of their top conferences here, to give you an idea of their ideas and belief systems.) Sam Altman himself drove the narrative of the imminent rise of a super-powerful AI, or artificial general intelligence, to prominence by declaring that the technology he was building posed an existential risk to humanity. This idea is in other words baked into the DNA of modern AI companies and into the products they engineer. It’s also why the industry is routinely accused, by myself and others, of “doom marketing,” ie, using such proclamations and framings to impart the sheer power of the technology behind your product onto investors, partners, consumers, and the state. Some ambient understanding of this tendency may have helped prevent the press from repeating the claim every time one of the x-risk folks made it over the years, including when they quit their jobs at AI companies while doing so. Yet Coxon’s AI x-risk alarm has broken containment, as they say, and has exposed the idea to the mainstream media once again. This has happened, I think, for a number of reasons. First, when AI CEOs were going around saying AI might kill everyone in 2023, their companies were well-capitalized, but not nearly to the extent they are today. They were more easily dismissed as eccentric geeks of the sort that Silicon Valley is supposed to produce. Now, not only do their products have much greater market saturation, but people are more aware of a) the often unethical ways the executives and companies comport themselves b) the other adverse impacts of AI that have already arrived, and c) the physical cost of building these systems, particularly when it comes to data centers. Finally, toss in the constant stream of headlines in 2026 about AI models going rogue or potentially upending the world’s infrastructure. [ ](https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/with-the-backlash-to-data-centers) [ With the backlash to data centers, Flock and AI glasses, a mass opposition to big tech is underway. Silicon Valley is in denial. ](https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/with-the-backlash-to-data-centers) Brian Merchant · Aug 27 [ Read full story ](https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/with-the-backlash-to-data-centers) As a result, general sentiment was already overwhelmingly skeptical of AI and its overlords, so the table was pretty well set for someone to come along and say ‘just a reminder, the companies that are building the product that promises to take your job and leave a data center in your neighborhood also think that it might exterminate the human race’ and get a strong reaction from the media and the public. The question is: Should we understand this stuff as hype, strategically fanned to feed already swelling valuations? Is it doom marketing? Genuine cause for alarm that the infrastructure that undergirds modern life is facing a novel threat vector? Or reason to be sincerely worried that AI companies are amassing too much power, and that their products are genuinely dangerous? The answer, I’m afraid, is “yes.” Let me try to untangle all of this a bit, because arguments over how to navigate this moment are extremely heated right now, as they are essentially arguments over how to approach the politics of AI at a moment where there may be a unique opening for action. Those sympathetic to AI alignment concerns and x risk arguments—which increasingly includes a faction on the left who want to shut down AI over safety concerns—argue that people who dismiss AI as all hype have their heads in the sand. Meanwhile, critics of the x-risk narrative—which I might note includes a cadre of investors and tech folks on the right, too—argue that it is hype and can be used to further inflate valuations or for pursuing regulatory capture. The challenge is that many feel that dismissing AI as just hype or purely marketing also diminishes the urgency of taking on the AI industry as the novel and threat to labor, civil society, and the public sphere it is; others that by accepting the industry’s own terms, we imbue it with undue power and enable it. But let’s be clear: Declarations that AI is so powerful it might end the world are a kind of marketing, and anyone who says otherwise is just as off base as those who say that’s all that it is. If you don’t think that these sub-trillion dollar companies have higher-ups who noticed that when their founders talked about super-powerful dangerous AI they got spikes in media interest and phone calls from investors, or that those founders didn’t notice that themselves, and lean into certain narratives to advantage their products, then I don’t know what to tell you. Not all marketing is a Pepsi ad campaign with a celebrity spokesperson. Yet confronting the AI industry should certainly be considered an urgent project. Do I share the x-riskers’ fear that out-of-control, super-intelligent AI agents might end the world? I do not. I’ve read a good deal of AI extinction literature over the last couple of years and I have not come across a credible, step-by-step documentation of how exactly AI might move from self-recursively improving AI to killing every single human on the planet. Most of what I’ve read seems predicated on a sort of reverse Ian Malcolmian logic: Eventually, it becomes smart enough and AI, uh, finds a way (to exterminate humanity). Are the AI companies also overstating and dramatizing what their products can do? Yes, pretty much all the time. They’re in a knife fight for market share and are trying to win customers and government contracts before their investors come knocking. And yet. They have concentrated enormous amounts of compute, have extensive data collection and surveillance capacities, have inserted themselves into the state in numerous capacities, including military kill chains, and they are being run by egomaniacal billionaires who are rushing to monopolize an entire new market. The way I think about their most recent frightening-seeming exploits is not as a “swarm of rogue AI agents building a new civilization” or whatever, but as corporations with a hitherto-unimaginable amount of compute at their disposal recklessly experimenting with automation programs, completely unafraid of any repercussions because we have been unwilling or unable to impose any on them. So I think we should welcome any newfound imperative to hold them accountable. I also think that ultimately, the AI critics, Pause AI folks, leftists, doomers, effective altruists, and, honestly, most of the public, want a lot of the same things: legitimate checks and limits on AI companies’ power, actual transparency into what the companies are doing, and for more of AI to be under public control. (Ultimately, a lot of what animates the x-risk fears are rooted in just that: a fear of losing control.) How we move towards all this, exactly, is the question of the day, and while there’s much to be argued over in terms of building a viable political platform to challenge the AI industry’s power, I do want to cast a vote against one particular approach. Not to pick on Chris here, as there are a lot of folks out there proposing stuff like this, and the policy ideas actually stem from AI safety groups. But not only would this be challenging to land politically (I can already hear the ‘China will beat us to AGI’ calls) and all but unworkable in practice, this approach is a) far too limiting, b) fails to address the current harms caused by AI and c) would likely only wind up serving Anthropic and OpenAI; it’s what regulatory capture looks like in action. Full model transparency is the floor for what should be on offer here. If these companies believe their products will kill us, the very least we deserve is to know how. It’s in the public interest. I would also argue we might get a lot of the way to stopping any currently envisioned robot apocalypse simply by forcing AI companies to assume liability, and to submit to the full brunt of the law. If Sam Altman were liable to be charged with a felony for approving the hack on Hugging Face1, if Google was forced to pay defamation fines each time it published a false and injurious AI Overviews, these companies might suddenly find cause to restrain their models’ output, and we might hear less about rogue AI. We would need to introduce new frameworks and available tools for tracking automated lawbreaking, to be sure, but I’d wager that little would frighten the AI companies more than actually being held accountable for what their products enable. To that end, Illinois has passed an AI liability law, which the industry fought tooth and nail, and Florida is considering one. The next steps would be towards moving AI under public control; again, it’s only reasonable, since everyone, not just AI insiders, should get a say over how a technology whose developers say might kill us is developed and deployed. Dismantling the whole industrial project as currently structured should be on the table, too, pending democratic input. But that’s for another post. For now, suffice to say that while I won’t be losing any sleep about an AI-enabled extinction event, Mr. Coxon and co. have given us an opportunity to underscore the urgency of the clear and present damage AI companies are doing, the extreme power they wield and the extent to which they hold themselves unaccountable, and the abundance of political capital there is out there for taking them on. Subscribe 1 Purely speculative! I do not know if he did or not.
Gameday Live Overtime Correspondents Sept. 11, 2026
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Week four of the high school football season was action packed with a ton of great games across central Illinois. Steve Suess and Jonathan Michel join Kurt Pegler and Ryan Risky to break down Normal Community’s thrilling 56-35 win over Notre Dame and Normal West’s big 47-6 win over Bloomington.