Axios

A new pro-AI political operation is jumping into this year's midterms with a plan to spend more than $100 million, the latest push by a big-money group to promote a deregulation agenda.

• The group, dubbed Innovation Council Action, has the blessing of tech mogul and Trump AI adviser David Sacks. It's distinct from other pro-industry groups in that it's focused on boosting President Trump's priorities.

Why it matters: The AI lobby is on course to be a colossal player in the 2026 elections — bankrolling allies who advocate for deregulation and punishing critics who support tighter rules.

Over a third of engaged couples now use artificial intelligence in their wedding planning — a share that nearly doubled in just one year, according to new data from The Knot.

Why it matters: You can do a lot with AI, like generate custom images, moodboards and yes, even vows. But you can't add a human touch to your event.

Washington, D.C. — As policymakers grapple with how to regulate AI, the hardest questions around copyright and fair use are being punted to the courts, according to governance, creator, and technology experts at an Axios expert voices roundtable.

The big picture: With Congress moving slowly and disagreements over policy, judges are becoming the primary deciders of how AI and the creators work together — or don't.

• That's partly by necessity: "Fair use is incredibly complicated — case by case, fact specific," News/Media Alliance president and CEO Danielle Coffey said.
• "Each case that we get … we start to get these new guideposts," Jones Walker partner Graham Ryan said.
• Ryan said they expect at least three fair use decisions this year that will have implications for the broader AI-artist ecosystem.

Axios' Maria Curi and Ashley Gold moderated the March 25 discussion, which was sponsored by Adobe.

What they're saying: Legal uncertainty remains. For example, two courts within the same district, and during the same week, differed in the reasoning behind their rulings on similar matters of fair use and AI.

• "There is a current, live controversy over … the extant understanding of the fourth factor in fair use, which is: Does the copy replace the market for the work?" said Kevin Bankston, senior adviser for the Center for Democracy & Technology.
• Still, "we have been trying to support the process through the courts, because we think there is a really strong framework in copyright law for protecting artists right now," according to Public Knowledge president and CEO Chris Lewis.

The bottom line: "This is about creative labor and about human creativity as much as it is about technology," Americans for the Arts CEO Erin Harkey said.

• There is an "importance of policy in this conversation, and not to just leave it up to market forces."

Content from the sponsor's remarks:

"We've spent the last 40 years building these products and driving this creativity," Louise Pentland, chief legal officer and executive vice president of legal and government relations at Adobe, said in her introductory comments.

• "We don't strip the internet. We don't train on non-licensed IPs," Pentland added.
• "The future of AI depends on giving creators more clarity [and] more control."

House Speaker Mike Johnson met with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg immediately after the company was hit with two stinging legal defeats over harms to children, drawing backlash from parents who say they've been unable to get a meeting with him for two years.

Why it matters: Pressure is mounting for Capitol Hill to finally act on kids' online safety bills following a series of court losses for Big Tech companies.

Apple said Friday that it has hired Google executive Lilian Rincon to lead AI product marketing as it prepares a delayed overhaul of its Siri assistant.

Why it matters: Apple is racing to reset its AI strategy, with a revamped Siri central to competing against fast-moving rivals.

HOUSTON — Tom Taylor, president and CEO of the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund, lacks a climate background.

• But he brings business and engineering experience — and, crucially, Jeff Bezos experience — to the role.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom told Axios he doesn't believe artificial intelligence will lead to an apocalypse for humanity.

• "I'm not a 'doomer.' I can't live like that," he said during an interview for "The Axios Show."

Why it matters: Newsom, a potential contender for president in 2028, has a more optimistic view of AI than many in the Democratic Party's left wing, but wants to shape the future of tech through regulation rather than trying to halt the development of AI — or let it run amok.

Meta's court losses this week are adding urgency to lawmakers' push to pass legislation that could reshape how social media platforms are designed.

Why it matters: Plaintiffs in New Mexico and Los Angeles successfully tested a new legal theory that treats social media more like products that can cause harm — rather than protected speech — and chips away at tech's long-standing liability shield.

A federal judge on Thursday paused the Trump administration's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk, marking an early legal victory for the embattled company.

Why it matters: Anthropic argued that the designation was causing immediate and irreparable harm as business partners rethink their contracts and federal agencies remove Claude.

As Anthropic's negotiations with the Pentagon were collapsing, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees he was trying to "save" his competitor, according to internal Slack messages seen by Axios.

• At the same time, Altman privately vented that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei had spent years trying to undermine him.

Why it matters: The messages reveal Altman's conflicted thinking as OpenAI swooped in to secure a Pentagon contract Anthropic had just lost — portraying himself as a peacemaker even as his company emerged as the primary beneficiary.