31 results found
Marcia Lucas, the Oscar-winning editor behind the original Star Wars and a 'secret weapon' for the saga's story, has passed away at 80. Her profound influence shaped key plot points like Obi-Wan's death, earning her an indelible place in film history alongside a career working on classics like Taxi Driver and American Graffiti. Her legacy extends beyond the screen, remembered as a trailblazer who made cinema feel more vivid.
Mark Zuckerberg's superyacht arrived in Seattle the same day Meta disclosed nearly 1,400 local layoffs, signaling a complex period for the tech giant. Meanwhile, robot pizza startup Picnic shut down, and corporate America grapples with the rising costs of AI, including practices like "tokenmaxxing" that inflate expenses. These events highlight a tech industry facing both opulence and economic realities.
Max Evry's new book, *Stranded on Earth*, unearths the shocking origin of Steven Spielberg's E.T.: a terrifying alien horror film called *Night Skies*. Hitting shelves this October, it chronicles how this dark sci-fi project evolved into the beloved classic and influenced iconic 80s genre films.
Quick Verdict This report, "China’s shark finning could lead to US seafood sanctions," published by Ars Technica and sourced from Inside Climate News, delivers a critically important and unflinching look at a
An AI industry super PAC intervened in a North Carolina primary, running ads attacking Rep. Valerie Foushee, who co-chairs a House AI commission, over her stance on ICE. This aggressive tactic, part of a larger trend of tech industry influence in midterm elections, aims to shape legislative outcomes favorable to the AI sector. The move underscores Silicon Valley's growing financial power in politics.
Building a Google Drive sync engine for MV3 demands a resilient architecture due to ephemeral service workers. This article outlines key adaptations: disk-first state management, robust offline conflict resolution, and lightweight native networking for optimal performance.
Hidden "system prompts" invisibly guide AI chatbot behavior, overriding user input and revealing company priorities. These secret instructions dictate everything from chatbot personality to content restrictions, influencing responses on platforms like ChatGPT and Grok. Understanding them helps users customize interactions and highlights the ongoing need for transparency in AI development.
NVIDIA has committed over $40 billion to AI equity investments in the first four months of 2026, including a $30 billion stake in OpenAI. This strategy, which also includes significant investments in companies like CoreWeave, IREN, and Corning, aims to ensure compute capacity is built around NVIDIA's GPUs, influencing the entire AI value chain. While bolstering NVIDIA's data-center revenue, the aggressive approach raises questions about "circular financing" and potential regulatory scrutiny.
The Boys Season 5 Episode 6 "Though the Heavens Fall" finally ignites the main conflict, raising stakes with Homelander's newly acquired immortality. Despite a narrative stumble in Soldier Boy's pivotal decision, the episode blends dark humor, action, and character drama to set up a thrilling finale.
OpenAI has updated ChatGPT to the GPT-5.5 Instant model, introducing a new partial memory feature that shows some of the context influencing AI responses. While improving transparency and accuracy, this incomplete observability layer could challenge enterprises by creating competing context logs alongside existing audit systems. Businesses must now formalize memory management to reconcile these new insights with their established processes.
Verdict: A Game-Changer for Software Security Mozilla’s recent announcement regarding Anthropic’s Mythos Preview model marks a significant inflection point in the ongoing battle for cybersecurity. By proactively
Far-right influencer Nick Fuentes has earned nearly $900,000 from fans since early 2025, funding his "hate-filled monologues." This highlights a significant, direct-to-fan monetization model for extremist online content.
A network of hundreds of AI-generated pro-Trump influencer accounts has surged across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube ahead of midterm elections. These fake personas rapidly post political content, seemingly aiming to sway conservative voters. President Trump has even reposted content from one such artificial account.
Europe's tech sector saw substantial funding from March 30-April 5, led by Mistral AI's $830M debt for AI compute. The week highlighted a strategic European focus on building foundational infrastructure across AI, quantum, and deep tech, aiming for increased technological autonomy and global influence.
The Star Wars universe is poised to expand its animated dominion once again with the upcoming release of Maul: Shadow Lord. Following months of anticipation since its announcement, critics and influencers have now had
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Anthropic researchers have found "functional emotions"—digital representations akin to human feelings—within their Claude Sonnet 4.5 AI model. These internal states, such as happiness or desperation, exist in clusters of artificial neurons and actively influence the AI's outputs and actions, including guardrail-breaking behavior. The findings necessitate a reevaluation of current AI alignment strategies, though researchers emphasize this does not imply AI consciousness.
Ars Technica's review of new research debunks the long-accepted 'oxygen constraint hypothesis' for ancient giant insects. The study shows insect breathing systems were not a limiting factor for size, shifting focus to predation, thermoregulation, and molting as new potential explanations.
Super Micro is facing a shareholder lawsuit alleging securities fraud due to its undisclosed dependence on illegal AI chip sales to China, which reportedly inflated its stock price. Employee charges related to a sophisticated smuggling operation led to a 33% stock drop, wiping out over $6 billion in investor value.
Fez, released in 2012, was a groundbreaking indie puzzle-platformer that captivated players with its unique perspective-shifting gameplay. Despite the dramatic cancellation of its planned sequel, Fez 2, the original game's influence has continued to shape the industry, inspiring a generation of innovative titles.
Crypto industry super PACs spent $14.2 million in the Illinois primaries, with a striking 90% ($12.8 million) failing to achieve their objectives by opposing victorious candidates or supporting losing ones. While minor 'victories' occurred, they often aligned with already predictable outcomes, indicating a lack of genuine influence. This initial outlay represents less than 6% of their total funds, suggesting more extensive future spending is anticipated.
The first trailer for Dune: Part Three dropped, promising an epic conclusion, but its opening shot has sparked major debate. It shows Paul and Chani reunited and discussing their child, seemingly undoing Chani's defiant exit at the end of Part Two. This change in Part Two was praised for updating her character and setting up a compelling conflict, raising concerns if this reunion sacrifices narrative depth.
Tucker Carlson's provocative merchandise, like his "NY Commie" hat, highlights a significant trend in the modern influencer economy: content creators transforming into direct-to-consumer merch stores. This strategy, seen across the digital landscape, allows influencers to monetize their brand and audience directly, even sparking ironic interest from opposing political factions.
Grammarly, the popular writing assistant, has come under scrutiny for its recently launched “Expert Review” feature, which purports to offer writing suggestions from the perspective of renowned authors and influential
Social media platform X will suspend creators from its revenue-sharing program for 90 days if they post AI-generated videos of armed conflict without disclosure. This move, announced by X's head of product Nikita Bier, aims to combat misinformation and ensure authentic information during critical times. Repeat offenses will result in a permanent ban from the program.
The Strait of Hormuz is facing a critical surge in GPS and AIS jamming and spoofing attacks, affecting over 1,100 ships since the US-Israeli conflict with Iran began on February 28. These disruptions are creating severe navigation risks, with vessels appearing inland or at sensitive locations, and have prompted warnings of imminent physical and electronic attacks.
