What happens when three developers burn through $1.3 million in AI compute in just 30 days? This week on the Tech Field Day News Rundown, Tom Hollingsworth and Alastair Cooke break down the explosive cost of AI coding agents after OpenClaw revealed massive token usage powered by OpenAI systems, raising serious questions about whether autonomous development workflows are financially sustainable. They also discuss AT&T’s legal battle to shut down California’s copper phone network, Governor Gavin Newsom’s new AI workforce disruption initiative, IBM’s billion-dollar quantum chip foundry project in New York, NVIDIA’s growing export-control pressure tied to Super Micro investigations, Check Point’s acquisition of Deepchecks to secure AI agents, and Pope Leo XIV’s unprecedented warning about AI-driven inequality, warfare, and “digital colonialism.” From infrastructure modernization to AI regulation and quantum computing, this episode explores the biggest forces reshaping enterprise technology in 2026.

Time Stamps:
0:00 - Cold Open
0:26 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown
1:26 - OpenClaw Creator Hits $1.3M OpenAI Bill in One Month
4:25 - AT&T Sues to End POTS Service
8:29 - California Orders Major AI Workforce Plan to Fight Job Displacement
13:19 - IBM and U.S. Commerce Dept Back $1B Quantum Chip Foundry Push
16:19 - NVIDIA CEO Urges Stricter Export Controls Amid $2.5B AI Chip Smuggling Scandal
21:12 - Check Point Buys Deepchecks to Power New AI “Agentic Security” Platform
25:19 - Pope Leo XIV Calls for “Disarmament” of AI in Landmark Encyclical
34:31 - The Weeks Ahead: Upcoming Tech Field Day Events
36:46 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News Rundown