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Tech

AI Summary

  • Artificial intelligence is rapidly expanding into new applications like robot brains, social networks for AI agents, and 3D world generation, driving massive investments but also raising significant ethical and legal concerns around data privacy, copyright, and content moderation.
  • The private space industry is a hotbed of activity, with SpaceX's potential IPO generating buzz and Blue Origin pivoting its focus towards lunar missions, while Elon Musk reportedly eyes a merger of his space, auto, and AI ventures.
  • Autonomous vehicle technology is seeing increased real-world deployment, including Waymo's airport services and Uber's substantial investments in robotaxis, but the sector is also facing challenges with safety incidents and public trust.
  • Big tech firms are intensely focused on mergers and acquisitions, particularly in AI, and are increasingly under scrutiny for their data collection practices, content policies, and political influence, as seen with legal battles and internal employee activism.
  • Venture capital and funding trends are evolving, with notable shifts in how startups are supported and successful public market entries for some tech companies, contrasting with market jitters, like gaming stock dips, caused by new AI capabilities.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • NASA used Claude to plot a route for its Perseverance rover on Mars 13 hours ago by Igor Bonifacic
    Science, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Igor Bonifacic

    Since 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover has achieved a number of historic milestones, including sending back the first audio recordings from Mars. Now, nearly five years after landing on the Red Planet, it just achieved another feat. This past December, Perseverance successfully completed a route through a section of the Jezero crater plotted by Anthropic's Claude chatbot, marking the first time NASA has used a large language model to pilot the car-sized robot.     Between December 8 and 10, Perseverance drove approximately 400 meters (about 437 yards) through a field of rocks on the Martian surface mapped out by Claude. As you might

  • Rivian made an electric ambulance for Grey's Anatomy 14 hours ago by Will Shanklin
    Media, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Will Shanklin

    America’s once-promising EV transition may have taken a U-turn, but at least some in Hollywood are trying to do their part. Rivian partnered with Grey’s Anatomy to make a custom electric ambulance for the long-running series. The ambulance is a modified version of Rivian’s Commercial Van. The custom “vanbulance” serves a dual purpose: preventing on-set exhaust fumes (which could harm the cast and crew) and integrating a green storyline. “As an added benefit, the elimination of engine noise brought a welcome quiet while cameras were rolling,” Rivan wrote in a blog post. Among other modifications, it has rear double doors instead of

  • Sundance doc 'Ghost in the Machine' draws a damning line between AI and eugenics 16 hours ago by Devindra Hardawar
    Science, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Devindra Hardawar

    The Sundance documentary Ghost in the Machine boldly declares that the pursuit of artificial intelligence, and Silicon Valley itself, is rooted in eugenics.  Director Valerie Veatch makes the case that the rise of techno-fascism from the likes of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel is a feature, not a bug. That may sound hyperbolic, but Ghost in the Machine, which is built around interviews with philosophers, AI researchers, historians and computer scientists, leaves little room for doubt. If you've been following the meteoric rise of AI, or Silicon Valley in general, Veatch's methodical deconstruction of the technology doesn't really unearth anything new. The

  • Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026: The Galaxy S26 lineup and everything else we expect 16 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Smart Phones, Technology & Electronics, Handheld & Connected Devices, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Samsung’s 2025 was filled with new foldables, an ultra-thin new form factor and the launch of Google's XR platform. After making some announcements at CES 2026, the company is expected to host its first Galaxy Unpacked of the year in February to introduce the Galaxy S26 lineup. Engadget will be covering Galaxy Unpacked live, and we'll most likely have hands-on coverage of Samsung's new smartphones soon after they're announced. While we wait for an official invite, here's everything we expect Samsung will introduce at the first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026. WHAT IS UNPACKED 2026 TAKING PLACE? But first, when is Unpacked going

  • Google's Project Genie lets you create your own 3D interactive worlds 16 hours ago by Igor Bonifacic
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Igor Bonifacic

    This past summer, Google DeepMind debuted Genie 3. It’s what’s known as a world world, an AI system capable of generating images and reacting as the user moves through the environment the software is simulating. At the time, DeepMind positioned Genie 3 as a tool for training AI agents. Now, it’s making the model available to people outside of Google to try with Project Genie. To start, you’ll need Google’s $250 per month AI Ultra plan to check out Project Genie. You’ll also need to live in the US and be 18 years or older. At launch, Project Genie offers three


The Verge

  • The latest Instax printer is a pricey but worthy upgrade 2 hours ago by Thomas Ricker
    Accessory Reviews, Reviews, Tech

    Taping Instax Mini Link+ photos into a journal is just one use for the tiny prints. FujiFilm's Instax Mini Link 3 printer is a much-loved $100 accessory in my travel journal kit. I often tape a printed image next to my handwritten thoughts to preserve a moment in time. The prints produced by the instant film can, however, be soft and muddy - something the new $169.95 Instax Mini Link+ promises to improve. The big upgrade is a new Design Print mode. It's supposed to make text and intricate illustrations crisp and legible, but I didn't see much of an improvement, despite

  • Senate passes budget with two more weeks of Homeland Security funding 7 hours ago by Tina Nguyen
    Law, Policy, Politics

    Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on January 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. | Getty Images The Senate voted on Friday evening to pass the federal budget, funding everything except for one entity: the Department of Homeland Security, which was given a two-week funding extension in order to negotiate new guardrails around Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). If no agreement is reached, DHS funding will lapse and the department will face a shutdown. The agreement - the result of frenzied negotiations between a united Senate Democrat caucus, their

  • Jeffrey Epstein was permanently banned from Xbox Live 9 hours ago by Sean Hollister
    Gaming, Microsoft, PC Gaming, Tech

    Would it surprise you to learn Microsoft booted Jeffrey Epstein from its online gaming platform? As spotted by XboxEra, the latest batch of Epstein's emails shows that in December 2013, he was "permanently suspended due to harassment, threats, and/or abuse of other players." But it appears the real reason may be simpler: A second email from Microsoft to Epstein the very same day shows he was banned because he was a registered sex offender, and because Microsoft was among the companies that agreed to purge registered sex offenders from their systems. While Epstein became a registered sex offender years earlier, another email

  • Peloton lays off 11 percent of its staff just a few months after launching its AI hardware 10 hours ago by Stevie Bonifield
    Fitness, Gadgets, News, Tech, Wearable

    Peloton said on Friday that it's cutting around 11 percent of its staff, mostly impacting "engineers working on technology and enterprise-related efforts," reports Bloomberg. Last August, Peloton laid off six percent of its workforce and told investors it would continue layoffs globally in 2026, in an attempt to cut at least $100 million of annual spending by the end of the fiscal year. Peloton's latest strategy shift to reverse the effect of its pandemic-era boom stalling out has also brought new hardware with Peloton IQ AI features. The Cross Training Series that debuted last October includes a new Bike, Bike Plus, Tread,

  • Video game company stock prices dip after Google introduces an AI world-generation tool 11 hours ago by Jay Peters
    AI, Entertainment, Gaming, Google, News, Tech

    The stock prices of some major video game companies, including Take-Two Interactive, Roblox, and Unity, had notable declines on Friday, just a day after Google announced its Project Genie tool that lets users prompt AI to generate interactive experiences, Reuters reports. Take-Two's stock price closed at $220.30 (down 7.93 percent from yesterday), Roblox's closed at $65.76 (down 13.17 percent), and Unity's closed at $29.10 (down 24.22 percent). Other AI tools have received significant pushback from artists and creators over allegations of theft of their work to train the underlying AI models, AI's water and electricity usage, and what this … Read the


Wired


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