Meta confirms Reality Labs layoffs and shifts to invest more in wearables
Meta confirms Reality Labs layoffs and shifts to invest more in wearables Around 10 percent of Meta’s Reality Labs division, which develops its XR products and services, will be laid off beginning on Tuesday, as reported by Bloomberg. Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton confirmed the layoffs in a statement to The Verge: “We said last month […]
Microsoft scrambles to quell fury around its new AI data centers
Microsoft scrambles to quell fury around its new AI data centers It looks like the wave of campaigns against data centers are getting under big tech companies’ skin – and Microsoft is the latest giant to promise to address frustrations on the ground in communities around their data centers. The company announced a five-point plan […]
What Apple and Google’s Gemini deal means for both companies
What Apple and Google's Gemini deal means for both companies For years, Apple and Google have had a will-they-won’t-they type of relationship, as far as which AI company Apple would pick to underpin its Siri virtual assistant and give it new AI-fueled personalization and agentic capabilities. Apple has spent the last year or two playing […]
Google brings buy buttons to Gemini and AI search
Google brings buy buttons to Gemini and AI search Google turned up the heat in the AI shopping wars this weekend, announcing plans to turn Gemini into a merchant and launching an open-source standard built together with major retailers including Shopify, Walmart, and Target. The move comes as companies like OpenAI, Amazon, and Perplexity jostle […]
Google pulls AI overviews for some medical searches
Google pulls AI overviews for some medical searches Earlier this month, The Guardian published an investigation that showed Google was serving up misleading and outright false information via its AI overviews in response to certain medical inquiries. Now those results appear to have been removed. According to the original report: In one case that experts […]
Google’s AI Inbox could be a glimpse of Gmail’s future
Google's AI Inbox could be a glimpse of Gmail's future This week, Google announced a new AI Inbox view for Gmail that replaces the traditional list of emails with an AI-generated list of to-dos and topics to track based on what’s in your inbox. It’s not widely available yet, but I have access, and in […]
The latest on Grok’s gross AI deepfakes problem
The latest on Grok's gross AI deepfakes problem The launch of an AI image editing feature on xAI’s Grok has caused chaos on X after it was used to generate a flood of non-consensual sexualized deepfakes. As Hayden Field wrote, “screenshots show Grok complying with requests to put real women in lingerie and make them […]
Meta expands nuclear power ambitions to include Bill Gates’ startup
Meta expands nuclear power ambitions to include Bill Gates' startup Meta has forged agreements with three nuclear power providers in an effort to secure the vast amount of electricity it needs to power AI data centers. The agreements with TerraPower (which is backed by Bill Gates), Oklo (backed by Sam Altman), and Vistra are expected […]
Most dubious uses of AI at CES 2026
Most dubious uses of AI at CES 2026 Let’s take bets on how much Hayao Miyazaki would hate this. You can’t shake a stick without hitting an AI gadget at CES this year, with artificial smarts now embedded in just about every wearable, screen, and appliance across the show floor, not to mention the armies […]
The MAGA-approved video of an ICE killing
The MAGA-approved video of an ICE killing The clips are filmed from different angles. Some are zoomed in, making them indecipherably grainy, and others are slowed down. Some are 20 seconds while others are longer, sandwiched by commentary from users on social media platforms like X, Bluesky, Reddit, and TikTok. Each video – depicting the […]