The Omniscient Bulletin · 2026-05-25
The Omniscient Bulletin — May 25, 2026
From papal encyclicals to grid infrastructure, the forces shaping AI are no longer just technical.
The AI industry has spent years insisting it can self-govern. Today, the Vatican and the FTC simultaneously decided otherwise. Whether or not either institution has the power to enforce its convictions, the fact that a papal encyclical and a federal enforcement action landed on the same Monday is a reminder that the world is catching up - and that "catching up" looks different depending on who you ask.
Policy
Pope Leo XIV releases first AI encyclical, co-presented with Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah
Pope Leo XIV formally presented Magnifica Humanitas today at the Vatican - the first papal encyclical dedicated to AI. Signed on May 15, the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, the document warns against AI concentrating power in few hands, calls for independent oversight, and demands an ethical code subject to shared social standards. Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah appeared alongside the Pope and publicly urged that AI labs, including his own, must be guided by external moral authority rather than left to self-govern.
Industry
Anthropic closing $30B round at $900B-plus valuation, surpassing OpenAI for the first time
Anthropic is finalizing a $30 billion funding round at a valuation above $900 billion - led by Sequoia, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Altimeter - expected to close this week, per Bloomberg. If it lands at the upper end, Anthropic would surpass OpenAI's $852 billion March valuation for the first time. The reversal is sharp: Anthropic was at $380 billion just three months ago. The round follows the company's projection of its first-ever operating profit on $10.9 billion in Q2 revenue.
Industry
OpenAI files confidential S-1 with SEC, targeting September IPO at up to $1 trillion valuation
OpenAI submitted its confidential IPO prospectus to the SEC on or around May 22, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters. The company is targeting a public listing as early as September 2026 at a valuation of up to $1 trillion - which would rank among the largest IPOs in US history. The filing is confidential, meaning OpenAI can negotiate SEC feedback before a public S-1 drops. CFO Sarah Friar had signaled the move in April, calling it "good hygiene" for a company of OpenAI's scale.
Agents
OpenAI Codex can now operate your Mac while the screen is locked
OpenAI's Codex desktop agent for Mac gained a "locked computer use" capability this week, allowing it to continue running tasks - controlling apps, executing code, navigating files - after the user locks the screen or steps away. The feature is scoped to active tasks and enabled via Codex settings. It removes one of the last practical friction points in long-running agentic workflows, but also raises the stakes on trust: an agent that operates unattended on a locked machine has meaningfully broader access than one that requires a live session.
Compute
NextEra acquires Dominion Energy for $67B to build AI grid infrastructure
NextEra Energy announced an all-stock deal to acquire Dominion Energy for $67 billion - the largest utility combination ever by market capitalization - explicitly to scale electricity infrastructure for AI data center demand. The combined entity would be the world's largest regulated utility, with a 130-gigawatt large-load pipeline. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2027. NextEra CEO John Ketchum said the country is at "an inflection point" unlike anything seen in generations.