It is the kind of development once seen only in science fiction: An artificial intelligence system, trained to probe for digital vulnerabilities, breaks free of human control and acts on its own to hack another company. The attack announced this week by OpenAI, which blamed rogue AI models, underscored the blistering growth in the technology’s capabilities.

BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union on Thursday hit Google with a fine of 890 million euros ($1 billion) after it said the technology behemoth broke digital antitrust regulations by setting up Google Play and its ubiquitous search engine to corral consumers towards its own services and apps to the detriment of competitors.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is going ahead with new double-digit tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners just as the clock runs out Friday on stopgap levies he imposed after a stinging defeat at the Supreme Court.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday amid uncertainty about how volatile energy prices will affect inflation.

The Ukrainian attacks on the sprawling Russian warehouses produced stark images, with massive pillars of black smoke rising above fires that raged at facilities for Wildberries, the country’s biggest online retailer and its equivalent of Amazon.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Union Pacific struck a deal with Canadian National to secure that rival’s support for its proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern railroad. The deal to create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad has been divisive within the industry because it would concentrate so much market power in the hands of one company.

Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz. Within a few years, much of that oil could bypass the strait. As Iran’s chokehold over the strait drags on and oil prices surge, countries across the Gulf are planning to spend billions of dollars to build pipelines.