Shopify has launched Canvas, an AI-powered site builder that allows merchants to create and customize online stores through natural language conversation with an AI agent called Sidekick, with real-time visual feedback. The tool represents a shift toward conversational interfaces for e-commerce platform development.
Source: TechCrunch
Apple is reportedly reducing its internal AI spending for engineering teams. The company is said to be significantly cutting budgets allocated to artificial intelligence tools used by its developers. Source: TechCrunch
AI industry political action committees spent millions of dollars during the 2026 midterm elections in an attempt to influence congressional outcomes, achieving mixed results. Political groups focused on AI policy are already preparing strategies for the next election cycle. Source: TechCrunch
OpenAI's Chris Lehane has proposed AI-centered policies for the 2028 election, framed as a new social contract intended to benefit Americans while potentially advancing OpenAI's commercial interests. The proposal reflects broader efforts by major AI companies to influence regulatory and political frameworks governing artificial intelligence.
Meta has acquired Conductor, an AI coding startup that enables software engineers to deploy multiple AI agents to work on different project aspects simultaneously. The acquisition represents Meta's continued investment in AI-assisted software development tools. Source: TechCrunch