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Thu, May 21, 2026, 7:34 PM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • SpaceX's IPO filing has revealed significant details regarding its valuation and financial strategies, including a substantial payment from Anthropic for data center access and investments in gas turbines for AI infrastructure.
  • Waymo has encountered setbacks with its autonomous vehicle services, pausing operations in Atlanta due to issues with robotaxis in construction zones and flooding, raising concerns about the reliability of current self-driving technology in varied conditions.
  • Spotify is actively integrating AI into its platform, striking deals for fan-made AI covers and remixes, and launching AI-powered features for podcasts and audiobook creation, signaling a new era of AI-enhanced audio content.
  • Elon Musk's influence continues to expand, with reports suggesting he will hold significant power at SpaceX post-IPO and potentially a substantial financial benefit, alongside ongoing discussions about AI regulation and his involvement in OpenAI.
  • The tech industry is grappling with the increasing power and potential misuse of AI, as evidenced by law enforcement shutting down a VPN service used by ransomware gangs, reports of AI-generated content raising ethical questions, and ongoing debates about AI's role in security and content creation.

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The Verge

  • Anker’s new earbuds are the first with its AI chip that boosts noise reduction 35 minutes ago by Andrew Liszewski
    Audio, Gadgets, Headphones, News, Tech

    The Liberty 5 Pro Max feature a larger touchscreen with more controls and the ability to record meetings without a phone. | Image: Anker Anker has announced a new version of its Soundcore Liberty Pro earbuds: the new Liberty 5 Pro . These are the company's first earbuds featuring the Thus AI audio chip Anker announced last month , here being used to bolster noise reduction capabilities and help ensure the user's voice can be clearly heard during calls, even in noisy environments. They're the first new Soundcore Liberty Pro earbuds since the 2024 version that launched with a charging

  • Anker’s new earbuds have the best call quality I’ve ever heard 35 minutes ago by John.Higgins
    Headphone Reviews, Reviews, Tech

    The Liberty 5 Pro series are Soundcore’s most ambitious earbuds yet. Soundcore, Anker's audio brand, has mostly lived in the budget-to-midrange world, but with its new Liberty 5 Pro earbuds, it's aiming at the big guys. The two new earbuds - the Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max - use Anker's new Thus chip , which has more processing power than previous Soundcore earbuds to try and compete with the chips found in Apple, Sony, and Bose products. And that extra processing power gives the Liberty 5 Pro the best in-call noise canceling I've heard in any earbuds.

  • States ask judge to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster an hour ago by Lauren Feiner
    Antitrust, Entertainment, Policy

    A federal judge is officially being tasked with deciding whether to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster. More than 30 states are asking Judge Arun Subramanian to order a sale of the ticketing giant, a "sufficient number" of large amphitheaters, and limit its ability to tie access to its remaining amps to the use of its promotions services. In April, a jury found that the company is an illegal monopolist , after more than a month of trial. The initial remedies proposal doesn't include a further breakup of some other parts of Live Nation's business that California Attorney General Rob Bonta told

  • All of the updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s battle over OpenAI 3 hours ago
    AI, Elon Musk, Law, News, OpenAI, Policy, Tech, xAI

    Sam Altman and Elon Musk are facing off in a high-stakes trial that could alter the future of OpenAI and its most well-known product, ChatGPT . In 2024, Musk filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of abandoning its founding mission of developing AI to benefit humanity and shifting focus to boosting profits instead. After nearly a month, with the trial featuring testimony from Musk, Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman, former OpenAI board member and mother of several of Musk’s children Shivon Zilis, and a few others, the jury deliberated for a couple of hours before returning to

  • Firefox is working on a rounded redesign with easy-to-find controls for privacy and AI 3 hours ago by Stevie Bonifield
    News, Tech, Web

    Firefox is getting a drastic visual overhaul with a redesigned Settings section that will make it easier to find and use privacy settings, including the switch for turning off all present and future AI features . Mozilla calls the redesign "Project Nova" and plans to begin rolling it out later this year. It features rounded UI elements throughout, including bubble-like tabs, along with a refreshed, fire-inspired color palette. Mozilla says it's also updating icons so they're more visually consistent across light and dark themes. Firefox's AI features and models aren't downloaded to your computer unless you choose to use them,


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