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Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 1:33 AM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • Sam Altman's World project is expanding its human verification efforts, now partnering with Tinder and Zoom to identify users through methods like eye-scanning orbs.
  • OpenAI is undergoing a period of significant staff departures, including key figures like Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles, as the company reportedly refocuses on core AI development.
  • The tech industry is seeing a surge in AI-focused investments, with companies like Sequoia raising substantial funds and startups like Cursor reportedly seeking large valuations.
  • Cybersecurity remains a critical concern, with reports of hackers exploiting unpatched Windows vulnerabilities and discussions around the expiration of US spy laws.
  • Several tech giants are integrating AI more deeply into their products, with Google enhancing its AI Mode for product searches, Netflix exploring AI for recommendations, and Anthropic launching Claude Design for visual creation.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • 15 years after 'Video Games,' Lana Del Rey has an actual video game song 8 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Music, Media, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    The James Bond franchise has a long history of getting pop stars to record its theme songs (perhaps most memorably with Live and Let Die), and it looks like that tradition will now extend to video game adaptations about the fictional spy. IO Interactive has announced that Lana Del Rey co-wrote and performed the theme for 007 First Light, the developer's playable James Bond origin story. "First Light" is written and performed by Lana Del Rey and composer David Arnold, and like the moody and abstract opening credits released alongside the song, could vaguely gesture at the themes of the game.

  • The PBS Artemis II documentary is streaming on YouTube 9 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Science, Space & Astronomy, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission have safely returned to Earth, but if your Moon fever has yet to break, or you're curious to get a big picture view of how the second of a planned five Moon missions was pulled off, PBS has a new documentary you'll want to watch. The hour-long Return to the Moon was produced for PBS' NOVA and aired on TV on April 15, but you can view the episode in its entirety on YouTube right now. Return to the Moon covers the history of NASA's Artemis program, and specifically the planning and preparation that

  • A lot of you panic-bought PCs to avoid RAMaggedon 2026 10 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Sectors & Industries, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    The specter of price hikes caused by the current AI-driven demand for memory and storage appears to have convinced a fair share of people to buy a new computer. According to data analyzed by Counterpoint Research, global PC shipments grew around 3.2 percent year-over-year in Q1 2026, "driven by pre-emptive buying before memory-led price increases hit the retail level" and Microsoft forcing some customers to upgrade by ending support for Windows 10 last year. Sales hit 63.3 million units during the first quarter, Counterpoint says, and were particularly concentrated in five high-end PC makers: Lenovo, ASUS, Apple, HP and Dell. Of

  • Sam Altman's 'human verification' company thinks its eye-scanning orbs could solve ticket scalping 13 hours ago by Karissa Bell
    Software, Media, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Karissa Bell

    Sam Altman's cryptocurrency turned identity verification startup Tools for Humanity is offering a new set of perks to people who scan their eyes at one of the company's orbs. Among them, is a new tool called Concert Kit that could help bands and artists fight back against ticket scalping bots.  The new feature relies on the revamped World ID, the orb-based verification system that scans users eyeballs and faces to create a "proof of human" signature that lives on users' mobile devices. "It's basically like a little human passport for the internet that lets you prove on apps and websites that

  • Bluesky blames DDoS attack for server outages 14 hours ago by Kris Holt
    Internet & Networking Technology, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Kris Holt

    Bluesky is once again having a wobble. The platform said some of its systems are down and that it’s “investigating an incident with service in one of our reginos” (that’s Bluesky’s typo, not mine). The issue appears to have started at 1:42AM ET and was still persisting as of 11AM when this story was originally published. Since then, the site has been experiencing intermitent interuptions, including at times to its status page where users should be able to monitor outages. At 7:47PM ET, the platform explained that it’s been attempting to mitigate “a sophisticated Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack, which intensified throughout


The Verge

  • OpenAI’s former Sora boss is leaving 9 hours ago by Jay Peters
    AI, News, OpenAI

    Last month, OpenAI gave up on its Sora video generation tool, and on Friday, the Sora team's leader, Bill Peebles, announced that he is leaving the company. OpenAI has been shifting its priorities as part of an effort to avoid "side quests," and Peebles' departure is just one of many recent changes as the company moves to focus more on coding and enterprise use. As part of a note Peebles posted on X, he said: > I am immensely grateful to Sam, Mark, Aditya and Jakub for fostering a research environment that allowed us to pursue ideas off-the-beaten path from the company's

  • Should you stare into Sam Altman’s orb before your next date? 10 hours ago by Stevie Bonifield
    AI, News, Tech

    Tinder users who prove they're a real person by visiting an identity-verifying orb will soon be able to get five free boosts in the app - and it's just the latest service to embrace the orb. World, which was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, initially tested Tinder verification using its facial scanning orbs through a pilot program in Japan last year. It's now expanding the service to "select markets, including Japan and the United States." To verify that they're not a bot or an AI agent, users have to physically visit one of World's orbs in person. According to World,

  • Anthropic’s new cybersecurity model could get it back in the government’s good graces 10 hours ago by Hayden Field
    AI, Anthropic, News, Policy

    The Trump administration has spent nearly two months fighting with AI company Anthropic. It's dubbed the company a "RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY" full of "Leftwing nut jobs" and a menace to national security. But some of the ice may reportedly be melting between the two, thanks to Anthropic's buzzy new cybersecurity-focused model: Claude Mythos Preview. Anthropic's relationship with the Pentagon soured quickly in late February after the company refused to budge on two red lines: using its technology for domestic mass surveillance or lethal fully autonomous weapons with no human in the loop. Anthropic's tech has in the past been used

  • Betting on the news raises ethical questions for journalists 12 hours ago by Mia Sato
    Business, Policy, Report, Tech

    Prediction market exchanges have created an environment where just about any piece of information is potentially monetizable: How well will BTS's new song perform this week? How hot will Los Angeles get? Will Donald Trump be impeached? Users can wager on all of that and, on some platforms, more gruesome and violent outcomes in the real world. The rapid rise and expansion of Polymarket and Kalshi have put newsrooms in a strange position. Prediction market evangelists often claim that their odds are more trustworthy and accurate than polls and traditional media - effectively positioning the industry as a replacement for news.

  • This charming gadget writes bad AI poetry 13 hours ago by Allison Johnson
    AI, Gadgets, Hands-on, Reviews, Tech

    I kind of wish it just took pictures. I've never been as charmed and frustrated by one gadget as I have with the Poetry Camera. It's a delightful object. White and cherry red with a color-matched woven strap, it looks playful and adorably lo-fi. If I saw it on a store shelf, I'd absolutely pick it up. But aside from obviously appealing, I'm not exactly sure what it is. I mean, I know what it is. It's a camera that makes AI poems instead of photos. You take a picture, and instead of printing a photo, you get an AI-generated poem inspired by


Wired


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