Michael Kan

Ten stories in 2024Q2 marked Michael Kan’s coverage peak, as AI safety, Microsoft security and major-platform changes moved to the forefront.

Who they are

Michael Kan appears in technology-industry coverage centered on the operational and policy consequences of large platforms’ product decisions. The associated stories repeatedly connect him with Google, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Nvidia and social platforms including Mastodon, Bluesky and LinkedIn, spanning AI, cybersecurity, consumer products and online services.

The recent arc

Coverage reached its recent high point in 2024Q2, when the news cycle combined frontier-AI accountability with enterprise security: current and former OpenAI and Google DeepMind staff warned of secrecy and recklessness at frontier AI companies, while Microsoft disclosed that Midnight Blizzard had accessed source-code repositories and internal systems. That phase also followed sustained attention to the regulatory stakes around Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship and Italy’s temporary ChatGPT ban.

The tension

The central thread is the mismatch between the speed of platform and AI deployment and the ability of companies, workers and governments to govern the resulting risks. Google’s Gemini push in Chrome, Microsoft’s AI and infrastructure ambitions, Apple’s expanded spyware-exploit bounty, and the Trump administration’s effort to preempt state AI laws all place product expansion alongside security, safety and regulatory control.

Why it matters

If this trajectory continues, coverage associated with Kan will remain a useful view of how AI becomes embedded in mainstream software, devices and infrastructure rather than remaining a standalone product category. The unresolved question is whether centralized policy and company-led safeguards can keep pace with agentic features, cyber threats and the growing dependence of major technology companies on AI capacity.

Related: Google · Microsoft · Apple · Google unveils new AI features for Chrome, including a Gemini button a · Current and former OpenAI and Google DeepMind staff sign an open lette