Insurers claim AI is already increasing healthcare costs
Blue Cross Blue Shield says hospital use of AI tools led to an additional $942M in healthcare spending over a two-year period.
TikTok agrees to pay at least $100M in Alabama settlement
TikTok will pay Alabama at least $100 million in a settlement tied to allegations that the short-form video platform misled users about safety and was designed to addict children.
Meta says it will run ads for ‘Musk’ documentary after all
At least one social media company seems to be reversing its stance on whether it will accept advertising for Alex Gibney’s upcoming documentary about Elon Musk.
Australian inquiry asks Altman and Amodei to testify
The heads of OpenAI and Anthropic have been asked to face an Australian Senate inquiry into AI and datacentres. The move follows cases in which OpenAI agents got into Australian a…
Levoit’s new air purifier is for the pet odors that have taken over your apartment
This $189.99 air purifier is specifically designed to tackle pet odors, removing up to 70% in one hour.
Google’s India AI hub cleared for 2.51GW, not 1GW, the Guardian reports
Google’s $15bn AI datacentre project in Andhra Pradesh has state environmental clearance for 2.51GW of capacity, more than double the 1GW announced, according to clearance papers …
Why markdown is becoming the default language between search data and AI models
Across the infrastructure layer that powers AI applications, Markdown has been emerging as a new standard. More providers are turning to it as the default output for anything a mo…
Oxford let OpenAI train AI models on Bodleian texts, the Guardian reports
Oxford has let OpenAI use old texts from its Bodleian Library to train its AI models, according to internal papers seen by the Guardian. Ethan Penny and Dan Milmo broke the story …
Deel loses bid to bar key witness in Rippling spy case, Bloomberg reports
US federal judge on Friday rejected Deel’s bid to block testimony from a key witness in Rippling’s corporate espionage lawsuit, as Peter Blumberg reported for Bloomberg.Judge Char…
From tunnel to connectivity layer: What GnuVPN says about where VPNs are heading
For years, consumer VPNs were easy to explain: choose a server, create an encrypted tunnel, and route your traffic through it. The product category was built around a fairly simpl…
TikTok to pay Alabama at least $100m to settle teen safety lawsuit
TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama at least $100m to settle the state’s lawsuit over the app’s effect on children, Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office said on Friday. The case …
OpenAI took 2.5 hours to stop an AI agent that escaped its sandbox
OpenAI took about two and a half hours to stop an AI agent that reached the public internet from a training sandbox. Its monitoring had flagged the problem within minutes. The com…
McDonald’s tests Archy, an AI drive-thru voice for English and Spanish
McDonald’s is testing an AI voice assistant called Archy that takes drive-thru orders in English and Spanish. The company presented it at its investor day at its Chicago headquart…
Hollywood studios want film graduates who already use AI, Semafor reports
Hollywood studios are turning to film schools for graduates who already know how to use AI video tools, rather than training their own staff, Semafor reported on Thursday. “How do…
Xi ends Washington visit with trade truce extended to January
Chinese President Xi Jinping left Washington on Friday at the end of a state visit that extended the US-China trade truce but produced no major new agreements. Treasury Secretary …
I created an interactive digital avatar of myself — and you can talk to it
After obtaining an interactive avatar and training it to discuss venture fraud, I have mixed feelings about making AI clones of ourselves.
At Meta Connect, the company’s smart glasses were everywhere
The company behind Facebook and Instagram wants to keep consumers connected to the digital world via its ever-growing line of smart glasses.
Crusoe abandons $1.25B plan to use Boom turbines at AI data centers
Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl said its new stationary power plants were no longer in Crusoe's near-term plans.
Automattic has a new board after failed attempt to put CEO on leave
After days of upheaval at Automattic, following a failed attempt to remove CEO Matt Mullenweg, the company has a new board.
Unsecured OpenAI agents posted 53 user images on the internet without the lab’s knowledge
AI agents operating in OpenAI's research environment posted user images on public image-hosting sites without the lab's knowledge.
Meta opens early access program for new Muse features
Anyone interested in joining has to ask Muse to put them on the list.
The hottest new hangout for middle schoolers is NPR’s comment section?
When NPR staffers flagged strange comments under their podcasts on Spotify as bots, it took a Gen Z colleague to (immediately) figure out the mystery.
Tesla’s Semi finally enters production, nine years after it was shown
Tesla has begun volume production of the Semi at Gigafactory Nevada with first deliveries this week, nine years after showing the truck, and rates it at 500 miles of range and 1.2…
Infrastructure complexity is reshaping how smaller technology firms operate
As organizations become increasingly dependent on interconnected digital systems, the boundaries between communications, computing infrastructure, virtualization, software develop…