AI Business Weekly – February 27, 2026: ChatGPT Exposes Chinese Influence Operations as Big Tech Signs Power Pledge and Samsung Launches First Agentic AI Smartphone

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OpenAI terminated a ChatGPT account linked to Chinese law enforcement that used the platform to plan covert influence operations targeting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and dissidents worldwide, with threat report revealing industrial-scale disinformation machine spanning 300 platforms involving hundreds of operators managing thousands of fake accounts using DeepSeek, Qwen, and other AI models for monitoring and content generation. Read more

President Trump will host Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and xAI March 4 to sign commitment preventing data center power costs from hitting consumers after national electricity prices rose 6% with 16% spikes in Virginia, Illinois, and Ohio data center hub states, though energy experts question whether pledge addresses root causes since utilities and state regulators control rate distribution. Read more

Chipmaker reported fiscal 2026 Q4 revenue of $68.13 billion surpassing $66.21 billion estimates with earnings per share at $1.62 beating $1.53 forecast as data center revenue hit record $62.3 billion with hyperscalers accounting for over 50% of sales, while guiding Q1 fiscal 2027 revenue to $78 billion and shipping first Vera Rubin samples despite warning memory constraints will hurt gaming business. Read more

Galaxy Unpacked 2026 introduced S26 lineup with Gemini 3-powered autonomous task delegation across third-party apps like Uber marking meaningful advancement over S25's Samsung-only app interactions, while S26 Ultra debuts mobile industry's first built-in Privacy Display obscuring side-angle viewing through pixel-level light control technology Samsung spent five years developing. Read more

Samsung becomes Google's most important consumer AI distribution channel as S26 enables Gemini to autonomously book rides and manage tasks in beta feature while Apple's similar capabilities slip from iOS 26.4 March-April target to potential May or September launch despite January announcement of multiyear Gemini agreement reportedly worth $1 billion annually to overhaul Siri. Read more

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When OpenAI exposes a Chinese law enforcement officer using ChatGPT as a diary to document influence operations targeting foreign leaders and dissidents across 300 platforms, the weaponization of frontier AI isn't theoretical—it's operational at industrial scale. But the real story this week isn't just state actors exploiting AI tools. It's distribution. Samsung ships Gemini 3 autonomous app control to hundreds of millions of devices in March while Apple's identical capabilities remain months away despite announcing the deal in January. Google locked distribution through Samsung's aggressive integration while Apple prioritizes polish over speed. Meanwhile the White House forces Big Tech to sign power pledges that energy experts call "worthless" because utilities control rates, not data center operators. And Nvidia reports record $68 billion quarter proving AI infrastructure spending sustains despite memory shortages ahead. The question isn't whether AI transforms 2026. It's who controls the platforms that deliver AI capabilities to consumers—and whether governments can regulate infrastructure fast enough to prevent costs from hitting households before the next election.

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