Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is pushing for independent safety evaluations of powerful AI models as part of the Mass Wins economic development bill. Her proposals call for tech companies to report serious safety incidents earlier and rely on third-party reviews rather than company self-assessments alone. California, New York and Illinois have already passed similar frontier AI laws, setting a precedent that Massachusetts may follow.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has also weighed in on AI policy, calling for regulation rather than a pause on development. Speaking at an event on September 18, 2026, Shapiro emphasized that governing AI responsibly is preferable to halting its progress.
On the financial side, global AI funding surged from $56 billion in late 2025 to $242 billion in early 2026. OpenAI expanded its work across software control, scientific reasoning and financial services during this period. Investors are backing companies across the entire AI stack, though researchers continue to warn about potential misuse.
Coherent reported record quarterly revenue of $2.05 billion, a 42% year-over-year increase driven by strong demand for AI data center infrastructure. The company's non-GAAP gross margin hit a record 40.2%, and analysts maintained a Buy rating despite a broader sector selloff that dropped shares over 8%.
Three U.S. AI infrastructure stocks are drawing attention as data center spending continues to grow. MACOM Technology Solutions, with a $19.23 billion market cap, makes analog semiconductors for AI data centers. MongoDB, valued at $30.32 billion, runs a database platform for AI workloads. Flex, at $39.86 billion, builds hardware and cooling systems and plans to spin off its Cloud and Power Infrastructure division.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced a $200 million pledge to support skilled trades programs in the United States. The initiative aims to attract younger workers, particularly Gen Z, as AI reshapes the job market. A panel on The Big Money Show highlighted the growing attention skilled trades are receiving in response to these shifts.
A Pew Research poll across 37 countries found that 46% of people believe AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates, while only 9% expect the opposite. In the United States, 71% of respondents predicted fewer jobs, up from 64% two years ago. Young adults showed the most anxiety about AI's employment impact and its potential to worsen economic inequality.
AI agents used in financial markets could strain blockchain capacity, according to The Block. Bart Smith, CEO of Avalanche Treasury Company, spoke at the Avalanche Summit in New York about how surging transaction demand could make block space scarce. Networks like Solana, Avalanche and Ethereum will need to address security, data protection and scalability as this demand grows.
Researchers also developed a new pipeline that uses LLMs to profile users at bank scale. Instead of processing each user individually, the system analyzes transaction histories across three phases — Resolve, Profile and Tag — shifting inference from per-user to per-transaction-pattern. The pipeline is deployed at a major Japanese bank profiling tens of millions of users, and the code is publicly available.
Key Takeaways
- Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey pushed for independent AI safety evaluations and earlier incident reporting in the Mass Wins Act.
- Global AI funding jumped from $56 billion in late 2025 to $242 billion in early 2026.
- Coherent reported record revenue of $2.05 billion, up 42% year over year, driven by AI data center demand.
- Three U.S. AI infrastructure stocks — MACOM ($19.23B), MongoDB ($30.32B) and Flex ($39.86B) — are highlighted as data center spending grows.
- GM pledged $200 million to promote skilled trade careers, targeting Gen Z workers as AI changes the job market.
- A Pew Research poll found 46% of people across 37 countries believe AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates.
- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called for AI regulation rather than a pause on development.
- AI agents in financial markets could strain blockchain capacity, warns Bart Smith of Avalanche Treasury Company.
- A new LLM-based pipeline profiles users at bank scale at a major Japanese bank, with publicly available code.
- California, New York and Illinois have already passed frontier AI laws that may influence Massachusetts legislation.
Massachusetts governor pushes for AI safety rules in Mass Wins Act
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey called for independent safety evaluations of powerful AI models and earlier reporting of serious safety incidents. She sent a letter to the Mass Wins Act conference committee with these recommendations. The Mass Wins economic development bill is currently being negotiated by the Legislature. Healey wants the final law to protect residents while still supporting innovation in the state.
Mass. governor urges independent AI evaluations in new bill
Gov. Maura Healey pushed for AI safety and transparency protections in the Mass Wins economic development bill. Her plan calls for independent reviews of the most powerful AI models instead of relying only on company self-assessments. It also requires tech companies to report serious safety incidents sooner. California, New York and Illinois have already passed similar laws governing frontier AI systems.
Coherent reports record revenue on AI hardware demand
Coherent reported record quarterly revenue of $2.05 billion, a 42% increase year over year. Growth was driven by strong demand for AI data center infrastructure. The company's non-GAAP gross margin reached a record 40.2%. Despite a sector-wide selloff that dropped shares over 8%, analysts rated the stock a Buy due to its strong growth and low forward P/E of 21x.
AI agents could create blockchain block space shortage
The broad use of AI agents in financial markets could cause a surge in trading volume and stretch blockchain capacity, according to The Block. Bart Smith, CEO of Avalanche Treasury Company, spoke at the Avalanche Summit in New York. He said block space could become scarce as transaction demand grows. Security, data protection and scalability will become critical factors for networks like Solana, Avalanche and Ethereum.
New pipeline profiles users at bank scale using LLMs
Researchers built a pipeline that uses LLMs to profile users based on transaction histories instead of processing each user individually. The pipeline runs in three phases: Resolve, Profile and Tag. It shifts inference from per-user to per-transaction-pattern, cutting targets by nearly three orders of magnitude. The system is deployed at a major Japanese bank profiling tens of millions of users. The code is publicly available.
OpenAI Expands as Global AI Funding Hits $242 Billion
OpenAI announced new developments in software control, scientific reasoning, and financial services. Global AI funding rose from $56 billion in late 2025 to $242 billion in early 2026. Investors are backing companies across the entire AI stack. Safety concerns grew as researchers warned about misuse, while AI also showed promise in genomics research for disease diagnosis.
GM Invests $200M to Promote Skilled Trade Careers
General Motors CEO Mary Barra called for better messaging about trade careers. GM pledged $200 million to support skilled trades programs in the United States. The initiative aims to attract younger workers, particularly Gen Z, to these jobs. A panel on The Big Money Show discussed the growing attention skilled trades are receiving as AI changes the job market.
Most People Globally Fear AI Will Eliminate Jobs
A Pew Research poll across 37 countries found that 46% of people believe AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates. Only 9% thought AI would create more jobs. In the United States, 71% of respondents predicted fewer jobs, up from 64% two years ago. Young adults showed the most anxiety about AI's impact on employment, and many also worried AI would worsen economic inequality.
Josh Shapiro Calls for AI Regulation Rather Than Pause
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, urged regulation of AI instead of stopping its development. He spoke at a recent event on September 18, 2026. The live coverage also noted that the U.S. Postal Service paused work on a system tied to limiting mail voting. The article covered multiple national news updates from that day.
3 U.S. AI Infrastructure Stocks to Watch as Data Center Spending Grows
Rising interest rates have not slowed AI data center spending. Three stocks highlighted are MACOM Technology Solutions, which makes analog semiconductors for AI data centers with a $19.23 billion market cap. MongoDB runs a database platform for AI workloads with a $30.32 billion market cap. Flex builds hardware and cooling systems for data centers with a $39.86 billion market cap and plans to spin off its Cloud and Power Infrastructure division.
Sources
- Healey calls for strong AI safety and transparency protections in ‘Mass Wins Act'
- Mass. governor pushes for independent AI evaluations
- Coherent posts record $2.05B revenue as AI hardware demand fuels growth despite sector jitters
- AI Agents Could Spur Trading Boom, Creating a Shortage of Blockchain Block Space
- From "Who Is This User?" to "What Does This Purchase Mean?": A Deployed Pipeline for Semantic User Profiling at Bank Scale
- This Week in AI: Capability, Capital, and Consequences
- Skilled trades gain attention as AI reshapes jobs
- Pessimism Reigns Over AI and Jobs, Pew Poll Finds
- Live updates: Josh Shapiro presses for AI regulation instead of pause in development
- 3 US AI Infrastructure Stocks Worth Watching As Data Center Spending Rises
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