AI Wonderland Weekly 13 february 2026

AI Wonderland Weekly 13 february 2026

Here’s the week in AI, Wonderland-style: less hype, more “huh, that’s interesting.”

For your convenience, I have added some references ...

1) The money keeps getting louder

Anthropic just raised another $30B, pushing its valuation into territory once reserved for entire industries. The interesting part isn’t the number. It’s the signal. Investors are betting that AI assistants become infrastructure, not products. The question quietly moving to the front: how many of these giants can exist at once? (The Guardian)

2) AI goes where the secrets are

The Pentagon is reportedly pushing AI companies to expand tools onto classified networks. Translation: AI is no longer just productivity software. It’s becoming part of national infrastructure. When governments start integrating systems this deeply, experimentation turns into policy. (Reuters)

3) The ad question arrives

AI is becoming the new front door to the internet, and suddenly everyone is asking the awkward question: who pays for the conversation? Some players lean toward ads, others toward subscriptions. The real story: AI isn’t just competing on intelligence anymore — it’s competing on business models. (The Register)

4) The spending race accelerates

Despite market jitters, Big Tech is doubling down, not slowing down. Hundreds of billions are being poured into chips, data centers, and models. The surprising part is how normal this now sounds — a scale of investment that would have felt impossible two years ago. (Reuters)

5) The quiet shift in tone

Alongside excitement, more insiders are openly talking about risks and pace. Some researchers are stepping back or raising concerns as systems improve faster than governance evolves. Wonderland reminder: progress and unease often arrive together. (Axios)

6) AI is becoming a political topic (not just technology)

A striking shift: AI companies are increasingly engaging openly in politics and regulation. In the US, a clear battle has emerged between parties pushing for stricter AI rules and players advocating for less regulation. AI is thus becoming a geopolitical and economic power issue, not just a tech discussion. (Wall Street Journal)

7) The real bottleneck turns out to be energy

AI is growing so fast that energy consumption is now front and center in the news. Some regions are considering new laws around data centers because rising electricity demand can also impact energy bills. The surprising point: the AI revolution is increasingly less about algorithms and more about infrastructure and electricity.

8) From Assistant to Autonomous Systems

The trend toward so‑called agentic AI continues. AI systems no longer just execute commands, but also take their own steps and make decisions within processes. According to experts, this requires new forms of governance and oversight, as AI increasingly takes on operational roles.

9) AI Quietly Moves into Entertainment and Media

A surprising cultural signal: companies are experimenting with AI‑generated podcasts and the voices of fictional characters. This shows how AI is not only changing productivity, but also storytelling and entertainment.

10) Reality vs. AI Images Becomes Harder to Distinguish

A recent case involving an AI‑generated photo shared as real illustrates how quickly misinformation can arise. AI imagery is becoming more realistic, making verification increasingly important in news and social media.

This Week’s Common Thread

The surprising development: AI is shifting from a software trend to an infrastructure and societal issue—energy, regulation, media, and trust are becoming at least as important as the technology itself.
✨ Fleeky

The feeling this week?
AI isn’t having a single breakthrough moment. It’s quietly becoming normal infrastructure — funded like energy, governed like defense, and monetized like media.

And that may be the biggest story of all.

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