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Tech

AI Summary

  • Artificial intelligence is rapidly expanding across industries, driving significant venture capital investment, integrating into major products like Apple CarPlay and WordPress, and sparking ethical debates around its impact on users and jobs, while also causing a strategic shift for companies like NVIDIA.
  • Tech giants, particularly social media platforms like TikTok, are facing increased regulatory scrutiny and legal challenges over "addictive" design features and their broader societal effects, leading to demands for changes in user experience.
  • The electric vehicle and climate technology sectors are seeing both new product innovations, such as Ford's teased electric truck, and market consolidation, alongside historical controversies regarding past investment practices.
  • Cybersecurity threats continue to be a significant concern, with reports of state-sponsored hacking targeting international businesses and ongoing discussions about government surveillance practices and the reliability of facial recognition technology.
  • The entertainment industry is embracing AI for content creation and advertising, as seen in Super Bowl campaigns and Meta's new AI-generated video app, while also adapting popular video game franchises into TV shows and navigating evolving streaming service features and content availability.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • How to watch the Opening Ceremony at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics rebroadcast tonight 7 hours ago by Liz Kocan
    Celebrities, Olympics, Sports & Recreation, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Liz Kocan

    The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Winter Games will re-air tonight on NBC. (Gabriel BOUYS / AFP via Getty Images) GABRIEL BOUYS via Getty Images The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony has concluded. The festivities featured performances from Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli, 3,000 athletes walking in the Parade of Nations, and not one but two Olympic cauldrons being lit. (One at Milan's Arco della Pace, since Milan is serving as the main hub for this year's Games, and the other in the Alpine city of Cortina d’Ampezzo, where events like skiing are taking place.) If you missed out on

  • The Crypto.com guy bought AI.com (and a Super Bowl ad) 8 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Arts & Entertainment, Social & Online Media, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Kris Marszalek, CEO and co-founder of crypto and stock trading platform Crypto.com, has bought an expensive website. In this case it's AI.com, valued at one point at $100 million, which will serve as the online home for his new company of the same name. The website launch is being paired with a Super Bowl ad that will air this Sunday. AI.com's main offering is an AI agent that "operates on the user’s behalf — organizing work, sending messages, executing actions across apps, building projects, and more." It's a similar concept to what companies like OpenAI, Anthropic and Google are promising with

  • Apple will reportedly allow third-party AI assistants in CarPlay 10 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Software, Mobile Apps, Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Apple plans to allow third-party voice-controlled AI apps in CarPlay, Bloomberg reports. Siri is the default voice assistant for things like controlling music and looking up directions, but future AI apps in CarPlay could handle the complicated, open-ended requests Siri can't answer. The expanded support would let developers like OpenAI or Google offer versions of their ChatGPT and Gemini apps for CarPlay. Similar functionality is possible just by connecting a smartphone to a car over Bluetooth and using an AI app's voice mode, but CarPlay support would presumably make the process a little more seamless.  Not so seamless that it replaces Siri,

  • Disney+ loses access to Dolby Vision in some European countries 11 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Internet & Networking Technology, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Disney+ subscribers in some European countries have lost access to advanced HDR features like Dolby Vision, TechRadar and FlatpanelsHD report. The issue was first spotted by German Disney+ subscribers on Reddit, but currently also impacts subscribers in Portugal, Poland, France and the Netherlands, according to FlatpanelsHD. "Dolby Vision support for content on Disney+ is currently unavailable in several European countries due to technical challenges," Disney said in a statement. "We are actively working to restore access to Dolby Vision and will provide an update as soon as possible. 4K UHD and HDR support remain available on supported devices." If the issue is

  • How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl on NBC: Patriots vs. Seahawks channel, where to stream, start time, and more 12 hours ago by Liz Kocan,Danica Creahan
    American Football, Sports & Recreation, National Football League, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Liz Kocan

    The New England Patriots are headed to the 2026 Super Bowl. (Lauren Leigh Bacho via Getty Images) Lauren Leigh Bacho via Getty Images The countdown is on, and Super Bowl LX, between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, is nearly here. This weekend, the Big Game will be held at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The NFL Championship Game kicks off at 6:30PM ET this Sunday, Feb. 8. Pre-game coverage starts at 12PM ET. Like all other Sunday Night Football games this season, the Super Bowl will be broadcast on NBC, and will stream live on Peacock. Here's everything you


The Verge

  • We found 20 Verge-approved gifts on sale ahead of Valentine’s Day 9 hours ago by Sheena Vasani
    Deals, Gadgets, Tech, Verge Shopping

    Digital photo frames like the Aura Aspen are down to some of their best prices. Valentine’s Day is coming up fast, and if you haven’t started shopping yet, there are a lot of great gifts on sale that should still arrive in time if you order soon. Several Verge-approved gadgets are seeing some of their best discounts since the holidays, with options we think will appeal to a wide range of interests, from thoughtful picks like digital photo frames to e-readers, smart speakers, smartwatches, massagers, and even practical stuff like vacuums. While some are bigger-ticket items, quite a few cost under

  • Apple might let you use ChatGPT from CarPlay 10 hours ago by Stevie Bonifield
    AI, Apple, Cars, Tech, Transportation

    CarPlay users could soon be able to use their chatbot of choice instead of Siri. As Bloomberg reports, Apple is working to add support for CarPlay voice control apps from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others. Previously, users who wanted to access third-party chatbots in the car would need to go through their iPhone, but soon they may be able to talk with ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini directly in CarPlay. However, Apple reportedly "won't let users replace the Siri button on CarPlay or the wake word that summons the service." So, users will need to manually open their preferred chatbot's app. Developers

  • This is the Trump Phone 10 hours ago by Dominic Preston
    Gadgets, Mobile, Phones, Report, Tech

    This is the final(ish) design of the T1 Phone, though it’s going to lose the T1 logo. | Screenshot: Dominic Preston / The Verge Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. This time, surprisingly, we received a response - and an interview. The Trump phone is real - maybe, sort of, soon? - and I've seen it. Not in the flesh, but during an hourlong video call with two Trump Mobile executives who showed me a phone, and told me more about why it

  • There isn’t even a cynical explanation for Jeff Bezos destroying The Washington Post 13 hours ago by Tina Nguyen
    Amazon, Policy, Politics, Tech

    300 journalists have lost their jobs at The Washington Post. Over 300,000 readers have canceled their subscriptions. Owner Jeff Bezos, who purchased the legendary publication in 2013, has driven his reputation into the ground by using his vast empire to churn out content designed to make President Donald Trump happy: Amazon MGM Studios spent $40 million to produce a fawning documentary about Melania Trump, which premiered days before the Post sent out mass layoff notices. And yet, he's gotten nothing out of his attempts to suck up to Donald Trump - at least, nothing that's a net positive to his

  • The Jeffrey Epstein Fortnite account is fake 13 hours ago by Emma Roth
    Fortnite, Gaming, News, Policy, Politics, Tech

    Fortnite developer Epic Games says the account some people believed to be linked to Jeffrey Epstein is a "ruse." In a reply on X, the developer writes, "an existing Fortnite account owner changed their username" to "littlestjeff1," an alias spotted in several emailed receipts from YouTube in the Epstein files. The email suggests that "littlestjeff1" may have been connected to Epstein's YouTube account, prompting online sleuths to search for the username on other platforms. Users later uncovered a "littlestjeff1" account on Fortnite, along with a 2019 email that mentions purchasing VBucks in Fortnite - though the sender and recipient are red


Wired


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