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Sun, Aug 16, 2026, 12:20 PM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • The tech industry is grappling with the dual realities of AI advancement and ethical considerations, from Deepfakes generated by tools like Grok to the potential misuse of AI for malicious purposes, alongside new developments in AI watermarking and transparency.
  • Electric air taxis are navigating regulatory and logistical challenges, signaling a dynamic shift in the future of aerial transportation, while advancements in autonomous vehicle technology are seeing self-driving trucks actively testing on California highways and robotaxis planned for Europe.
  • Major tech players are exploring significant strategic moves, including talks of PayPal potentially being sold, SpaceX's acquisition of Cursor, and Apple's controversial proposal to take a cut from off-App Store purchases, highlighting a period of consolidation and evolving business models.
  • The energy sector is increasingly intertwined with tech, with fusion startups attracting significant investment and hyperscalers facing potential regrets over natural gas reliance due to new forecasts, underscoring the industry's role in addressing energy challenges.
  • Privacy and security remain paramount concerns, with users needing to be vigilant about AI platform account security, while revelations about government spyware usage and alleged Iranian hacks on US utilities point to ongoing cybersecurity threats and the need for robust digital defenses.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


The Verge

  • ChatGPT’s Computer History tracks your clicks and keystrokes 2 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    AI, News, OpenAI

    ChatGPT's desktop app on macOS has a new feature called Computer History that turns your actions into training data, learning how you work, suggesting automations, and even picking up tasks you left half done. It uses your activity to build a timeline that ChatGPT and Codex can reference when you make a request. The feature is opt-in, rather than opt-out, and you can exclude certain apps and websites from Computer History, and you can delete entries if you want finer-grained control. Ari Weinstein, Product and Engineering manager at OpenAI, said on X that Computer History will automatically ignore content in

  • Rogue AI aren’t science fiction anymore 4 hours ago by Robert Hart
    AI, Column, OpenAI, Security, Tech, The Stepback

    This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on AI safety, follow Robert Hart . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started It all started in July, when one of OpenAI's autonomous AI agents went rogue during a cybersecurity test. The agent escaped its isolated testing environment, accessed the internet, and hacked another company, Hugging Face. A few years ago, that might have sounded like science fiction. But, broadly speaking, that's exactly what happened, and the

  • Polaroid’s tiny instant camera is $72 and includes a free pack of film 13 hours ago by Brad Bourque
    Cameras, Deals, Gadgets, Verge Shopping

    The compact Polaroid Go is great for road trips and adventures. | Image: Polaroid Smartphone cameras are convenient, but they lack the charm of analog instant cameras. If you’re trying to relive the nostalgia of waiting for an instant photo to develop, Amazon is selling the second-generation Polaroid Go instant camera with a 16-photo film pack for $71.99 (usually $109.99). That’s the lowest price we’ve seen for the bundle, with a pack of film usually costing $21.99 on its own. Plus, it’s four dollars cheaper to buy the bundle than to buy just the camera on its own. Polaroid Go

  • Matt Groening lets slip that Simpsons: Hit & Run might be making a comeback 19 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Entertainment, Gaming, News, TV Shows

    Doh! | Image: Activision / 20th Century Fox At D23, when asked about the potential for a sequel to the cult classic The Simpsons: Hit & Run game, Matt Groening replied, "I think the original game is coming back in some form," before current showrunner Matt Selman added, "or not." The tone in both of their voices and the body language suggests that Groening may have just revealed something he wasn't supposed to. The original title came out way back in 2003 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Windows. While it's possible to get the game up and running on

  • Have a laugh at AI’s expense by roleplaying as a chatbot 20 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    AI, Culture, Entertainment, Internet Culture, News

    If you squint you can just about make out the hat. | Screenshot: Terrence O’Brien / The Verge Your AI Slop Bores Me is brilliant in its simplicity. There are two tabs: human and LARP as an AI. On one side you enter a request. On the other, you submit an answer. But the important thing is that there's a human on both sides of the equation. Prompts can request a response as text or image, and then whoever is roleplaying as the AI gets 150 seconds to respond. Just like a real LLM, Your AI Slop Bores Me works


Wired


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