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Sat, Aug 15, 2026, 11:20 PM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • Concerns are rising around AI misuse, with incidents ranging from the generation of explicit imagery from personal photos to debates about AI's role in drug discovery and its potential impact on mental health.
  • AI ethics and safety are under scrutiny, as seen in discussions about OpenAI's internal reckoning, Mark Zuckerberg's AI vision, and the proposed regulation of 'marrying' chatbots.
  • The tech industry is navigating complex legal and regulatory landscapes, including Apple's proposed App Store commission changes, ongoing antitrust concerns, and government use of spyware.
  • Autonomous technology is making tangible progress, with self-driving trucks testing on California highways and robotaxis planned for Europe, signaling a shift towards widespread adoption.
  • Data center energy consumption is becoming a significant environmental concern, with new forecasts suggesting hyperscalers might regret their reliance on natural gas.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


The Verge

  • Polaroid’s tiny instant camera is $72 and includes a free pack of film 42 minutes 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 6 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 7 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

  • Don’t overlook Elektron’s budget electronic music instruments 11 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Entertainment, Gadgets, Hands-on, Music, Reviews, Tech

    They’re far more powerful and fun than their bargain price suggests. | Photo: Terrence O’Brien / The Verge When I'm asked what to buy if you want to get into making electronic music, I often recommend Elektron's budget-minded Model:Samples and Model:Cycles grooveboxes. They don't grab headlines the way Teenage Engineering's gear or the Telepathic Instruments Orchid do, and even compared to the company's higher-end and more niche musical offerings like the Digitakt , Octatrack , or Tonverk , they're often overlooked. But as my collection has grown to include fancier and far more expensive instruments, I still find myself coming

  • Switched on Pop’s Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding love fresh vegetables and guitar pedals 13 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Entertainment, Interview, Music, Report

    They’re the Lennon–McCartney of overanalyzing pop music. | Image: Daniel Randall As if you needed more reason to love Carly Rae Jepsen's " Call Me Maybe " beyond its pop perfection, it is also, according to lore, the genesis for Switched on Pop , one of the best music podcasts out there. Cohosts Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding obsessively dissect pop songs, from the theory behind their musical choices to their production techniques. If you're a student of pop music, then this is a must-listen podcast. Sloan is a composer and professor of musicology at USC Thornton School of Music,


Wired


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