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Tech
Industry, products, and the wires that hold it all together.
473 stories archived
Can AI equalize political campaign ads – or will it remain a tool for spreading lies?
Political campaigns are increasingly deploying AI and deepfakes to further their messaging, and the scale of spread has experts concerned From the comfort of his bed, Jonathan Rinaldi, a political candidate for a city council seat in Queens, New York, tinkered away on his iPhone, prompting an artificial intelligence chatbot to mock up fake news hits and endorsements he had never received. During the campaign last October, Rinaldi shared one of those stories, made to appear real with a CNN logo, on his Facebook and Instagram. It stated that Lynn Schulman, his opponent and an incumbent Democrat, had been “forced to drop out of the race due to a series of critical mistakes”. But Schulman had not quit her campaign, and in November, won by a landslide. Continue reading...
Blue Origin, for the first time, is expected to raise private capital
The company is raising $10 billion, leading to a valuation of $130 billion.
'Knockoff' Browser Extension Hides Sketchy Brands on Amazon
"Sorry to brands like WNPETHOME, EHEYCIGA, YXYL, LU&MN, JOYIN, TOMY, GODONLIF, YOOJEE, LINGTENG, LANEIGE, VISCOO, BIODANCE, COOFANDY, BALENNZ, TOSY, and LUENX."
LARPING: How Influencers Fake Being Rich
How companies are burning through their AI tokens; and the fake AI-generated flowers all over Etsy, eBay, and Amazon.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced review – bootyful high seas adventure, now with 20% more swashbuckling
PS5, PC, Xbox Series X/S; Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft Ubisoft has removed all the boring parts of pirate life from its fantasy RPG, creating something more focused and fun Edward Kenway isn’t your dad’s Assassin’s Creed protagonist. Neither sworn to ancient oaths nor given a noble destiny, he’s just a guy who likes coin, dislikes rules, and whose gold-chasing, rule-dodging lifestyle sees him embroiled in an ancient war between Templars and assassins quite by accident. After he’s shipwrecked with a man named Walpole who turns out to be a Templar, Edward assumes Walpole’s identity in the hopes of securing the bounty he mentioned. Edward wears life lightly. The world around him is violent and chaotic, and those in his vicinity are more obsessed with double-crossings than a Mission:Impossible movie writers’ room. Ed just smiles, undeterred by it all, and gets on with plundering. It’s all just fun and games to him, and he is set on conquering the Caribbean on his own terms. He is a brilliant extension of the player, in that way, and that’s what this remake of the 2013 pirate-themed Assassin’s Creed does so well: the sense of freedom. Continue reading...
Hackers can use 9 of the most popular AI tools to assemble massive botnets
"HalluSquatting" weaponizes LLMs' inability to say "I don't know."
Michigan sees explosive outbreak of diarrheal parasite with over 700 cases
Cases have risen quickly as officials are working to identify a common source.
Data centers’ energy demand threatens Trump’s “Made in America” plan
Squeeze on Rust Belt electricity bills threatens Trump’s manufacturing plan.
Surprisingly large number of people may have marker for tick-linked meat allergy
There's still a slew of questions about why some people develop alpha-gal syndrome.
SCOTUS lets Texas enforce app store law that Big Tech calls "censorship regime"
Texas win at 5th Circuit left in place as attempts to overturn age law continue.
Bethesda, id Software reportedly hit hard by Microsoft layoffs
As much as 50 percent of some teams affected by reductions, and more could be coming.
Google's Pixel 11 launch event is set for August 12, with possible price increases
Google's new phones could feature glowing LEDs and higher price tags.
The Weather Channel increases streaming subscription prices by up to $20
Livestreaming the channel through its app now starts at $5 per month.
The Nintendo Switch's days are numbered—but what is that number?
Ars analysis suggests the 9-year-old console could keep selling for years.
This race car is made from plant fibers, volcanoes, ... and seawater?
The T70S can be eligible for racing events or built to be road-legal.
Facing US export controls, China's DeepSeek plans to make its own chips
It's early, but the plan is to reduce dependency on Nvidia and Huawei.
Cops Say Waymo Snitched on Teens for Allegedly Drinking and Shooting a Toy Gun
The San Mateo Police Department posted on Facebook: “Parents do you know where your teens are? Waymo does!"
Dragonflies maneuver like fighter pilots
Male dragonflies' dramatic aerial combat maneuvers emerge from relatively simple vision-based rules.
New virus catalog reveals which pathogens pose the greatest threat
The data can help predict what a future pandemic virus might look like.
Scientists Gave Mice Cocaine. This Is What It Did to Their Brains
Researchers found that a single dose left persistent changes to the genomes of neurons, a discovery that could have implications for treating addiction.
ULA's last six Atlas Vs can't launch anything besides Boeing's Starliner
Amazon says it has enough satellites in orbit to begin initial broadband service at mid-latitudes later this year.
How AI could enable autonomous robot workers in workplaces—and maybe homes
Top robotics researchers and founders explain how robot autonomy is evolving.
‘You never truly quit’: how RuneScape survived to 25 – and beyond
The massively multiplayer online role-playing game has grown into a virtual social space and part of daily life for thousands of players In a small stone chapel, on the edgelands of a medieval wilderness, two women are getting married. The attenders are draped in rainbow capes, glowing armour and top hats. A scantily clad, muscular man with angel wings officiates the ceremony. Over the heads of the two brides hover the words “I do” in bright yellow text. This is RuneScape, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (or MMO) set in the Tolkienesque realm of Gielinor. Turning 25 this year, it has, over its lifetime, become a crucial virtual social space and part of daily life for thousands of players. Lancashire-born Amelia, one of the pixelated newlyweds, met her wife on a dating app but first bonded through their love of the game. “Our first and second date was pretty much exclusively talking about RuneScape,” she recalls. Four years later they were married, shortly followed by their in-game ceremony. Morgan – a 26-year-old from the Midlands – is one of Amelia’s closest friends. They met through the game and run UWU Girls together, a RuneScape clan that Morgan founded in a bid to cater to players across the gender spectrum. “We do IRL meetups, and for a lot of these women, it’s been their first meetings with strangers online – and that’s the same for me.” Continue reading...
Shark ChillPill 3-in-1 fan review: the handheld fan I’d pack for every trip – at a price that’ll make you sweat
With three ways to cool down and a cold plate that can lower skin temperature by up to 9C, Shark’s latest fan is a standout if you can justify the cost • The best handheld fans, tested When I first wrote my guide to the best handheld fans in 2025, familiar electronics brands in the space were hard to come by. But, like buses, two have arrived at once this summer. The Dyson HushJet Mini Cool provided plenty of power, but missed the mark on the “hush” part of its branding, and now it’s time for Shark’s debut mini fan: the ChillPill. In words that I never expected to write, Dyson’s product is the cheaper option – although everything is relative. While the HushJet Mini Cool is a penny below three figures, the Shark ChillPill blasts through that ceiling, coming in at £129.99. Continue reading...