After years of pushing artificial intelligence forward at extraordinary speed, some of the industry's biggest names are making a surprising argument: capability cannot be allowed to advance faster than our ability to control it. For much of the artificial intelligence boom, speed has been treated as a competitive advantage. Technology companies have raced to build larger models, smarter agents and increasingly autonomous systems, while investors have poured extraordinary amounts of money into...

Every business owner knows the frustration of a sign that's out of date. The promotion ended last month, the prices have changed, and the banner out front still says the same thing it did in January. Fixing it means another design, another print run, and another bill. LED technology is solving that problem, and a lot more besides. Digital displays that once lived only on stadium scoreboards and city-center billboards are now affordable enough for strip malls, cafes, retail interiors, and...

The companies building increasingly capable AI systems are also investing heavily in safeguards. Their concerns offer an important lesson for businesses adopting the technology. There is something unusual happening inside the artificial intelligence industry. The companies telling businesses that AI could transform science, productivity, software development and economic growth are often the same companies publishing lengthy documents about cyberattacks, biological threats, manipulation and...