Minimalist News

Simply the latest news, updated on the hour.

Tech

AI Summary

  • New York is advancing legislation to legalize robotaxi services statewide, but New York City is notably excluded from this initiative.
  • Microsoft is expanding its AI infrastructure with the establishment of new data centers while ensuring that energy costs will not increase for local residents.
  • Concerns have arisen from consumer watchdogs regarding Google's AI shopping protocol, suggesting it could lead to consumers being charged more, a claim Google disputes.
  • Meta is restructuring its operations by cutting jobs in its Reality Labs division as the company shifts focus from metaverse initiatives to AI hardware development.
  • Legislation has passed that empowers victims of non-consensual deepfakes to take legal action against creators, reflecting growing regulatory attention on AI and digital rights.

Powered by OpenAI

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • Meta has closed three VR studios as part of its metaverse cuts 7 hours ago by Karissa Bell
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Karissa Bell

    Several of Meta's VR studios have been affected by the company's metaverse-focused layoffs. The company has shuttered three of its VR studios, including Armature, Sanzaru and Twisted Pixel. VR fitness app Supernatural will no longer be updated with fresh content. Employees at Twisted Pixel, which released Marvel's Deadpool VR in November, and Sanzaru, known for Asgard's Wrath, posted on social media about the closures. Bloomberg reported that Armature, which brought Resident Evil 4 to Quest back in 2021 has also closed and that the popular VR fitness app Supernatural will no longer get updates. “Due to recent organizational changes to our Studio,

  • Roblox's age verification system is reportedly a trainwreck 7 hours ago by Will Shanklin
    Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Will Shanklin

    Roblox's age-verification system was designed as a response to allegations it has a child predator problem. Less than a week in, how's it going? Well, Wired reported on Tuesday that, in some cases, it's classifying children as adults and adults as children. So, not so great! Last week, Roblox made age verification mandatory for anyone using the platform's chat feature. That process involves either submitting a facial age estimate via selfie or (optionally for anyone 13 or older) uploading a government ID check. After verifying, you can only chat with groups of players around your age. The move came after reports grew

  • Instagram wants you to personalize your Reels algorithm for 2026 7 hours ago by Karissa Bell
    Media, Arts & Entertainment, Social & Online Media, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Karissa Bell

    Last month, Instagram began rolling out a new set of controls that allowed users to personalize the topics recommended to them by the Reels algorithm. Now, Meta is making that feature available to all English users of the app globally, along with the ability to highlight their top topics for the coming year.  The feature begins with a selection of topics Meta's AI thinks you're interested in based on your recent activity, and has controls to remove them or add new categories. There's also a separate field for identifying what you want to see less of, and a new "build your

  • Senate passes Defiance Act for a second time to address Grok deepfakes 8 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Politics & Government, Government, Legislative Branch, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    The Senate has passed the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE ) Act with unanimous consent, according to the bill’s co-sponsor Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). The bill lets the subjects of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes take civil action against the people who create and host them. Deepfakes are a known issue online, but without the proper protections, easy access to AI-powered image and video generation tools has made it possible for anyone to create compromising content using another person's likeness. This has become a particular problem on X, where the integration of Grok, the AI assistant created by X's

  • Proposed legislation opens the door to robotaxi services in New York 10 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Politics & Government, Government, Transportation, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving car company, tested its autonomous vehicles in New York City in 2025, and as part of proposed legislation from New York Governor Kathy Hochul, the company could soon offer its services across the state, Wired reports. Governor Hochul's proposed legislation was formally announced during a State of the State address covering policy proposals for the upcoming year. The new law, if passed, would loosen the state's restrictions on self-driving car companies by forming a pilot program that would allow for "the limited deployment of commercial for-hire autonomous passenger vehicles outside New York City." Applicants to the pilot program


The Verge

  • Inside the White House shitposting machine 6 hours ago by Tina Nguyen
    Column, Policy, Politics, Regulator, Social Media, Tech

    Screens at the White House display AI-modified videos of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that were shared on social media by President Donald Trump. | Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images Hello and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter for Verge subscribers about the technology, broligarchs and brainrot rapidly transforming politics and civic society. Not subscribed to The Verge yet? You should! It can materially improve your life. Last week was a grim reminder that no matter what sort of horror is being perpetrated or how many people end up dead, the Trump administration's knee-jerk response

  • WeatherTech founder might be the newest US consumer protection official 7 hours ago by Lauren Feiner
    News, Policy, Politics

    President Donald Trump made an unconventional pick for his nomination to the Federal Trade Commission: WeatherTech founder and CEO David MacNeil. MacNeil founded the company, which makes weather-resistant car floor mats, in 1989, according to its website, and he owns 100 percent of the company. WeatherTech has made it a mission to keep its manufacturing and workforce in the US. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson congratulated MacNeil on X and called him an "outstanding businessman and great patriot," sharing a clip from a news segment where MacNeil shared his commitment to manufacturing in the US. If confirmed, MacNeil become the third member

  • I tested several cases for the Switch 2 and these are the best 8 hours ago by Cameron Faulkner
    Buying Guides, Gadgets, Gaming, Nintendo, Tech, Verge Shopping

    Our picks include carrying cases and ones you can leave on during handheld and docked play. | Image: The Verge, Getty Images You might find it kind of sad to put your hard-earned Switch 2 into a protective case. To me, it’s freeing. Sure, it can take away from the slick design. But using a case relieves me of the worry that the console will accumulate tons of little scratches, or worse. I’ve tested several types of cases on the Nintendo Switch 2 since it launched in June, including flimsy shells that snap or slide onto the Switch 2 to provide

  • The Bone Temple turns 28 Years Later into a terrifying crisis of faith 8 hours ago by Charles Pulliam-Moore
    Entertainment, Film, Movie Review

    Because there was such a long gap between the releases of 28 Weeks Later and 28 Years Later, it was surprising to hear that writer-director duo Alex Garland and Danny Boyle already had plans for their latest collaboration to be the first chapter of a new horror trilogy. Sony seemed keen on fast-tracking the pair's idea, as 28 Years Later and its sequel began shooting back to back. But it also felt like the studio wanted to bring a different kind of energy into the franchise when it tapped Nia DaCosta to direct the new film. That energy and its distinctness

  • Senate passes a bill that would let nonconsensual deepfake victims sue 8 hours ago by Lauren Feiner
    AI, News, Policy, Politics, xAI

    The Senate passed a bill that could give people who've found their likeness deepfaked into sexually-explicit images without their consent a new way to fight back. The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act), would let victims sue the individuals who created the images for civil damages. The bill passed with unanimous consent - meaning there was no roll-call vote, and no Senator objected to its passage on the floor Tuesday. It's meant to build on the work of the Take It Down Act, a law that criminalizes the distribution of nonconsensual intimate images (NCII) and requires social


Wired


Looking for more? Search Google News