While the White House hosted tech luminaries this week to sign a voluntary agreement on AI safety standards, the Federal Trade Commission opened a broad investigation into AI labs over potential safety risks their products may pose to consumers.

Plus, a nearly four-hour documentary on Elon Musk is stirring up controversy over whether social media platforms will run ads for it.

We’ll get into it on today’s “Bytes: Week in Review.”

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We've been hearing a lot about the threat of out-of-control of AI in recent weeks; mostly, from the people making the technology. There was the Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon, who publicly quit and kicked off the whole discussion. Others, including that company’s CEO Dario Amodei, chimed in with alarming appraisals of AI's existential risk.

Making sense of all this as an outsider can sometimes feel like decoding an unfamiliar civilization. So, we called Spencer Kaplan, a PhD candidate at Yale, who studies anthropology and researches AI workers.

The AI industry appears to be getting more serious about safety.

Leaders of top companies signed a non-binding agreement at the White House Sept. 30, laying out standards and best practices for responsible development of advanced AI. OpenAI delayed the release of its latest model due to safety concerns. And Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on the sector to slow things down and "pace the frontier."

Wall Street initially wasn't too happy about that push and stocks related to the AI buildout took a momentary tumble.

But Jordan Nanos, at the chip research and consulting firm SemiAnalysis, argues that greater investment in AI security could actually drive more demand for computing power.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman and his wife recently backed out of a planned $25 million donation to Leading the Future, an artificial intelligence-focused political action committee.

Brockman said the PAC had become a “distraction” at OpenAI. But only after the executive had already given an initial $25 million.

AI-focused PACs are spending big to shape competing visions for AI policy in the midterm elections.

Brendan Glavin, Director of Insights at OpenSecrets, explains how these PACS are looking to influence elections this year.

Meta's new Muse AI assistant is having a moment — and it's kind of adorable. Meta announced a slew of new integrations for its AI assistant at a company event this week, including a customizable furry lil’ avatar and a Tamogatchi-like wearable device for interacting with it.

Plus, Wall Street is betting billions on growing demand for cybersecurity in the age of AI and social media platform Discord enters its age-gating era.

Anita Ramaswamy at The Information is here to help us unpack the week in tech.

More on this:

I Gave My Life Over to Meta’s A.I. Agent and Was Blown Away — New York Times

Meta Tests Muse AI Agent Calls That Are Actually Made By Humans in a Call Center — 404 Media

CrowdStrike and Okta Trade at Big Premiums Despite Unproven AI Payoff — The Information

Discord’s age-verification era is upon us, despite community backlash — Tech Crunch

The AI smart speaker market is getting crowded. This year, Amazon, which is a Marketplace underwriter, rolled out a large language model-powered version of its classic voice assistant.

You can still talk to Alexa+ using Amazon echo devices, but it also operates as a text chatbot, replacing the old Rufus AI. It's capable of conversational searches, managing to-do lists and even generating podcasts.

Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Echo, broke down what's new with Alexa+.

More on this:

“I’ve Been Testing Alexa for a Decade. Here’s My Take on How Alexa+ Compares.” from Wirecutter

“Amazon's Alexa+” from Amazon

Content creator Manny Marotta has gone viral in recent weeks for his X feed recounting the news of 25 years ago as if it's happening now.

His minute-by-minute account of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, attracted hundreds of thousands of new followers. And the 27-year old is posting day-by-day accounts from 50 and 100 years ago, as well.

Marotta says it's become a time-consuming hobby alongside his job as a law clerk for a non-profit.

Further proof — in case you need it — that AI data centers aren't very popular: A new survey from the Pew Research Center shows 60% of Americans aren't comfortable welcoming one to the neighborhood.

And concerns have grown since the beginning of the year across every demographic group, making the backlash a key issue in the midterm elections. Scott Brennen, director of NYU's Center on Technology Policy, recently published a report on how data centers could better work with communities.

More on this:

“Americans’ views of data centers have turned more negative” from Pew Research Center

“Collective Goods but Local Harms: How Data Centers Can Earn Community Support” from Center on Technology Policy

“Residents voice concerns as Hobart City Council approves Amazon data center” from WGN9

“More Americans concerned about AI, even as it drives economy” from Marketplace