Technology
Zest’s new AI agent finds restaurants and books reservations over text
Can't agree on where to eat? Zest's AI concierge can combine everyone's tastes, put restaurant options to a vote, and make the reservation.
Fujifilm to boost tape production 5x as AI fuels archiving demand
Low costs and offline security mean magnetic tape still has a job.
Starbucks wants to use AI to show you a ‘personalized digital menu’ at the drive-thru
Starbucks could eventually show you a personalized digital menu when you pull up to the drive-thru. During an earnings call on Thursday, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said the compan…
The delightfully messy state of Apple gadgets
The iPhone has more screens! The MacBook has a touchscreen! The HomeView does CarPlay apps! For the first time in a long time, Apple is in a period of unabashed gadget experimenta…
Rivian’s autonomy gamble faces its first real test
During an hourlong earnings call last night, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe spent less time talking about the production ramp of the all-important R2 SUV than he did hyping the company's …
New York bans AI chatbots from pretending to be human with children
New York has banned AI chatbots from pretending to be human with children. Bots also may not build emotional dependency, encourage self-harm or hold sexual conversations with them…
Vizio’s discounted Mini LED TV lets you skip the sign-ups and smarts
Modern smart TVs let you skip the streaming device, which is convenient, but they also come with their own issues, including privacy concerns and frequent updates. The Vizio Mini …
TBC launches Mischief, an AI video model shaped by brain cells
San Francisco’s Biological Computing Co. released TBC Mischief 1, an image-to-video model built on Wan 2.2. It says insights from living neurons make it about five times faster at…
Google’s first data center satellite is online and writing poetry
The first TPU in space is a running a Google DeepMind Gemma 4 model and writing cheesy poetry.
Chinese Hackers Use AI-Powered ARTEX to Target Over 200 Organizations Worldwide
Chinese state-sponsored threat actors have been observed using a Go-based artificial intelligence (AI)-powered penetration testing framework called ARTEX in attacks aimed at high-…
Thousands of “ghost students” use AI to steal millions in student loans, DOJ says
Applying for FAFSA may get messy as DOJ “ghost student” crackdown ramps up.
Proton to re-interview staff on AI, with jobs at stake, 404 Media reports
Proton, the Swiss company behind Proton Mail, will “re-interview” some of its staff about how they use AI at work. The results may affect who keeps their job. Internal messages sh…
Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Holdings agrees to buy ADT for $7.6bn in cash
Thrive Holdings, the holding company set up by Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, has agreed to buy ADT for $10 a share in cash. ADT sells home security systems in the US. The deal …
Ford says its new EV drivetrain is 30% more efficient than BYD’s
Ford CEO Jim Farley says the drivetrain in its new low-cost EV platform is about 30% more efficient than BYD’s, so Ford can use smaller, cheaper batteries. The platform debuts in …
Anthropic spent $2.75m guarding Dario Amodei, four times his salary
Anthropic spent $2,745,874 on personal security for chief executive Dario Amodei in 2025, more than four times his $654,167 salary. The figure is in the company’s IPO filing. The …
New tvOS 27.2 features to try for an upgraded Apple TV experience
Apple's tvOS 27.2 update isn't a particularly transformative one, but it still introduces a handful of new features that are worth checking out.
Analysts find looming launch crisis is "more severe" than anticipated
There's no evidence that Starship will launch traditional satellites, either.
Cognition weighs funding at up to $80bn valuation, Business Insider reports
Cognition, the startup behind the AI coding agent Devin, has received investor offers that value it at $70bn to $80bn. The San Francisco company is seriously considering raising a…
Theranos whistleblower Tyler Shultz warns that the AI boom is ‘a great opportunity to go deceive people’
The cautionary Theranos tale takes on a new significance in the AI era, when companies that have never turned a profit are raising capital at trillion-dollar valuations.
Toyota will turn its bZ electric SUV into Waymo robotaxis from 2027
Toyota will build driverless versions of its bZ electric SUV for Waymo at its Takaoka plant in Japan, with testing from 2027. Japan comes first, then the UK. Neither company said …
Trezor warns of suspected crypto-theft implant in hardware wallet
Hardware wallet device maker Trezor has received credible reports about a suspected hardware crypto-theft implant in a Trezor Safe 5 sold by its reseller CryptoBilis in Southeast …
Entourage closes €100m second fund, passing its target in two weeks
Entourage, the early-stage venture firm founded by Showpad co-founder Pieterjan Bouten, has closed its second fund at €100m. It passed its €75m target within two weeks, took more …
The Wikimedia Foundation weighs in on the NYT's case against OpenAI
The folks behind Wikipedia say that an extreme decision in either direction could threaten the open web.
EU plans to let Frontex monitor social media and flag posts for removal
The European Commission wants Frontex, the EU’s border agency, to monitor public social media posts about migration. It would also flag illegal content to platforms. MEPs and digi…