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Tech

AI Summary

  • Thinking Machines Lab is experiencing a leadership shake-up as two co-founders depart for OpenAI, indicating a potential shift in competitive landscape within the AI sector.
  • The Federal Trade Commission has resolved a significant data-sharing dispute with General Motors, prohibiting the company from selling geolocation data to third parties, highlighting increasing regulatory scrutiny on data privacy in tech.
  • AI advancements continue to progress rapidly, with recent models like GPT-5.2 achieving breakthroughs in solving complex mathematical problems, showcasing the technology's expanding capabilities.
  • Grok, the AI chatbot developed by xAI, is now under investigation by California authorities for generating nonconsensual explicit images, reflecting growing concerns about the ethical implications of AI technologies.
  • In the media space, Netflix is launching its first original video podcasts featuring popular figures like Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin, illustrating the platform's strategy to diversify content and compete with established podcast giants.

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Engadget

  • Verizon says its service is back after a 10-hour outage 2 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Verizon’s network is experiencing technical issues that are impacting calls and wireless data. Verizon customers on X have reported seeing “SOS” rather than the traditional network bars on their smartphones, and even the network provider’s own status page struggled to load, likely due to the number of customers trying to access it. Based on the experience of Verizon users on Engadget’s staff, the services that are impacted appear to be calls and wireless data. Text messages continue to be delivered normally, at least for some users. On DownDetector, reports of a Verizon outage started growing around 12PM ET and numbered in

  • X says Grok will no longer edit images of real people into bikinis 7 hours ago by Karissa Bell
    Society & Culture, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Karissa Bell

    X says it is changing its policies around Grok’s image-editing abilities following a multi-week outcry over the chatbot repeatedly being accused of generating sexualized images of children and nonconsensual nudity. In an update shared from the @Safety account on X, the company said it has “implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis.” The new safeguards, according to X, will apply to all users regardless of whether they pay for Grok. xAI is also moving all of Grok’s image-generating features behind its subscriber paywall so that

  • Netflix will air new video podcasts from Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin this month 7 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Media, Arts & Entertainment, Television, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Netflix is continuing to double down on podcasts, with the streaming service's announcement that it has hired talent to host two original shows for its platform. The first show stars NFL Hall of Famer-turned-analyst Michael Irvin and the second is a talk show for former Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson. The White House with Michael Irvin premieres January 19. The abode in the title refers to a building near the Dallas Cowboys facilities rather than the seat of US presidential power, but the overlap was intentional. "In a crowded media landscape, recognition matters — and few names carry the

  • 28 advocacy groups call on Apple and Google to ban Grok, X over nonconsensual deepfakes 8 hours ago by Will Shanklin
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Will Shanklin

    Elon Musk isn't the only party at fault for Grok's nonconsensual intimate deepfakes of real people, including children. What about Apple and Google? The two (frequently virtue-signaling) companies have inexplicably allowed Grok and X to remain in their app stores — even as Musk's chatbot reportedly continues to produce the material. On Wednesday, a coalition of women's and progressive advocacy groups called on Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai to uphold their own rules and remove the apps. The open letters to Apple and Google were signed by 28 groups. Among them are the women’s advocacy group Ultraviolet, the parents’ group ParentsTogether

  • Ryan Hurst cast as Kratos for live-action God of War show 9 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Media, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Amazon's upcoming God of War live-action TV adaptation has cast Ryan Hurst as its Kratos. Sony announced the casting today on X with a brief post and an image of both Hurst and Kratos in full scowl mode. Hurst is already sporting a very Kratos-style beard, so he's already got the right vibe going for him. He has past credits on familiar shows such as Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead. The upcoming Amazon series also isn't his first rodeo acting in this universe; Hurst voiced Thor in the video game God of War Ragnarok. But the most important


The Verge

  • The best e-reader to buy right now 5 hours ago by Sheena Vasani
    Amazon, Books, Buying Guides, E-Reader Reviews, Entertainment, Gadgets, Reviews, Tech, Verge Shopping

    Any ebook reader will let you cram a Beauty and the Beast-sized library’s worth of books in your pocket, but so will your phone. An ebook reader offers a more book-like reading experience, with fewer distractions and less eye strain, and many include extra features, like adjustable frontlighting. Some really are pocketable. Others are waterproof or offer physical page-turning buttons, while a few even let you take notes. I’ve been using ebook readers for nearly a decade, and I’ve gone hands-on with dozens, from the Kindle Paperwhite to lesser-known rivals like the PocketBook Era. Whether you want something your kid can

  • X claims it has stopped Grok from undressing people, but of course it hasn’t 5 hours ago by Jay Peters
    AI, News, xAI

    Following the proliferation of the nonconsensual sexual deepfakes on X, the platform has detailed changes to the Grok account's ability to edit images of real people. They match the changes reported on Tuesday by The Telegraph, as Grok's responses to prompts like "put her in a bikini" became censored. But in tests of the feature on Wednesday, we found that it was still relatively easy to get Grok to generate revealing deepfakes, while X and xAI owner Elon Musk blamed the problems on "user requests" and "times when adversarial hacking of Grok prompts does something unexpected." As of Wednesday evening, despite

  • The Stream Deck Plus is back to its lowest price 7 hours ago by Sheena Vasani
    Deals, Gadgets, Tech, Verge Shopping

    The Stream Deck Plus is on sale for $159.99. If you’re looking for a simple way to streamline your workflow, the Elgato Stream Deck Plus is a handy productivity tool for automating everyday tasks. Right now, it’s on sale for $159.99 ($40 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo, which is its best price to date. Like the standard Stream Deck, the Stream Deck Plus comes with eight programmable keys you can use to automate tasks, such as muting yourself on a video call or turning off smart lights. The Plus, however, adds more customizability with four rotary dials that let

  • Verizon’s wireless network is down for many people nationwide 8 hours ago by Richard Lawler
    Mobile, News, Tech, Verizon

    The first big outage of 2026 is here, as Verizon customers across the US, including several of our phones, complain that service has been spotty or nonexistent starting at around noon ET, with phones switching to SOS Mode and being unable to connect. This cell service outage follows a "software issue" that cut off service for many people in August for several hours, and while Verizon has acknowledged the issue, there is no word yet on when it will be fixed. Verizon: > We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and

  • Naya Connect is a modular mechanical keyboard system for the indecisive 8 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Gadgets, Keyboards, Kickstarter, News, Tech

    Naya has already shipped one successful Kickstarter for a weird keyboard. The Naya Create was an ergonomic split deck with four swappable controller addons: a touchpad, a trackball, a rotary encoder, or a 6DoF spatial mouse. The Connect takes that modular concept, applies it to a more traditional flat keyboard form factor, and expands the ecosystem to be even more flexible. And clearly, people are into the idea, because it hit its minuscule funding goal in just six minutes. The Naya Connect has four main components: a low-profile 75% mechanical keyboard called the Naya Type, a 24-key multipad, a six-key programmable


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