Your bank vs. your AI agent

AI / MACHINE LEARNING • YESTERDAY

Your Bank May Soon Lock Out the AI Agent Using Your Login

If an AI tool logs into your bank as you, that may stop working soon. Axios reported Thursday that Morgan Stanley has started blocking third-party AI agents. JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi are restricting them too.

Banks say they're spotting agents inside customer accounts that nobody authorized. Some have reportedly phoned call centers on their own. Often, a bank can't tell whether an agent works for you or slipped in. Morgan Stanley says it hasn't seen rogue agents on its platforms.

Most banks are heading toward read-only access, so an agent can look at your data but can't act on it. Chase's advice is simple: don't share your username and password with anyone. It's a good week to check which of your apps sign in as you.

Sources: Axios

CONSUMER TECH • YESTERDAY

Australia Tells Apple to Open the iPhone to Other App Stores

A federal judge in Australia ruled that Apple must let iPhone users there download apps from other stores and websites by March 1, 2027. Developers also get to offer their own payment options.

Apple keeps its security checks, and the judge turned down Epic's bid for a worldwide order. The court also ordered Fortnite back into Apple's Australian App Store at Epic's request. Apple says it'll appeal.

If you sell apps to Australians, start pricing a checkout without Apple's cut now.

Sources: 9to5Mac, SMB Tech

ROBOTICS / HARDWARE • YESTERDAY

Micron Workers in Taiwan Walk Out Over Bonuses

Workers at Micron's Taoyuan plant held a one-day strike Thursday. It's the first strike in Taiwan's chip industry. Of the union's 2,258 members, 1,994 voted for it.

They want 15% of Micron's operating profit paid out as quarterly bonuses. So far, no one has reported a hit to production. A second union, in Taichung, signed a deal with Micron on Wednesday.

A longer walkout would squeeze memory supply, and Micron already warns the shortage could run into 2028. Buying servers or PCs soon? Plan for tight memory.

Sources: The Next Web, 24/7 Wall St., AI Weekly

PRODUCTS / LAUNCHES • YESTERDAY

Walmart Lets AI Agents Shop for You. Amazon Won't.

Walmart launched Agent Gateway on Wednesday. Approved AI agents, including ChatGPT, Gemini and Meta's Muse, can now search Walmart and place orders for you.

You stay in charge. Approve each order, or set a spending limit. Next month, agent orders get their own profile in your account, and you don't need Walmart+. Amazon, meanwhile, has started blocking agents. Trying it? Start with a small limit.

Sources: TechCrunch

SPACE / DEFENSE • YESTERDAY

Trump Reportedly Asked Musk to Lift Ukraine's Starlink Limits

The Wall Street Journal reports Trump called Elon Musk and asked him to lift limits on Ukraine's military Starlink service. Trump says Musk restored access, but he won't say whether he made the call.

Ukrainian officials told the Journal service is faster but not fully back. Zelenskiy says speeds still aren't restored. The limits hurt Ukraine's drone missions. Rubio says the decision rests with SpaceX, not the White House.

One company controls a battlefield link, and no one in government says it's their call. If your business runs on one vendor's network, keep a backup.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, The Moscow Times

CRYPTO / WEB3 • YESTERDAY

SoFi Now Pays 4.4% on a Tokenized Bank Deposit

SoFi launched SoFi Earn, a tokenized deposit paying 4.4% APY. Each token equals $1 held at SoFi Bank, and it's FDIC-insured up to the usual limits. SoFi says no other US national bank offers this to individuals.

It's rolling out to SoFi's crypto members through November. You can swap it for SoFiUSD, SoFi's stablecoin, but that one isn't FDIC-insured. Know which one you're holding.

Sources: SoFi, The Block

ROBOTICS / HARDWARE • YESTERDAY

Unitree's New Robot Lifts a Car and Faces Down a Knife

Unitree posted a demo of its H2-X humanoid on Wednesday. In staged scenes, it disarms a man with a knife, lifts a car to reach a trapped dummy and pushes a mannequin out of a car's path.

We don't know how much of it runs on its own, and the scenes look scripted. There's no price, no release date and no spec sheet, just a claim of about eight hours of operation. Unitree also says to stay 2 to 3 meters back. Enjoy the show, but treat it as a demo.

► Watch the video

Sources: Unitree on YouTube, Interesting Engineering