The big AI companies promised us that 2025 would be “the year of the AI agents.” It turned out to be the year of talking about AI agents, and kicking the can for that transformational moment to 2026 or maybe later. But what if the answer to the question “When will our lives be fully automated by generative AI robots that perform our tasks for us and basically run the world?” is, like that New Yorker cartoon, “How about never?”That was basically the message of a paper published without much fanfare some months ago, smack in the middle of the…
Indeed, the greatest beneficiaries of China’s renewables revolution may, in fact, be consumers, both inside and outside of China. In sun-blessed Australia, where rooftop solar panels sit atop nearly a third of all households, the country’s energy minister, Chris Bowen, proposed a “solar sharer program” to offer three hours of…
Ahead of the launch of the Pixel 10a in February, Google has slashed the price of the Pixel 9a. With the Pixel 10a expected to make a smaller jump in specs than previous new Pixel A smartphones, the Pixel 9a offer is an attractive one… and it might hold a…
Villages looked for niches they could fill in the global market. The town of Xuchang, for instance, capitalized on its legacy of making hairpieces for opera performers—and on the willingness of rural women to sell their black ponytails—and turned itself into a hub for wigs. Zhuangzhai became the largest supplier…
The weekend is here. Huzzah! It looks like we’re going to get snow this weekend, but I won’t believe it until I see the white fluffy stuff on the ground. At least it’s not supposed to be too terribly cold. A friend of mine sent a screenshot of the temperature…
Elon Musk’s X has introduced new restrictions stopping people from editing and generating images of real people in bikinis or other “revealing clothing.” The change in policy on Wednesday night follows global outrage at Grok being used to generate thousands of harmful nonconsensual “undressing” photos of women and sexualized images…
Congress is close to enacting a two-year authorization of Medicare telehealth services for older adults, renewing a pandemic-era coverage in the nation’s largest government health insurance program.Legislation passed Thursday by the U.S. House of Representatives provides some relief for older Americans covered by Medicare health insurance who have come to…
The past year has been traumatic for many of the volunteer tech warriors of what was once called the United States Digital Service (USDS). The team’s former coders, designers, and UX experts have watched in horror as Donald Trump rebranded the service as DOGE, effectively forced out its staff, and…
You may walk past your neighbor’s house and see some new solar panels quietly absorbing sunlight and turning it into electricity. Your neighbor is smiling because solar is now the least expensive electricity in history. So, your neighbor is almost certainly saving a lot of money. This will be better…
Against that backdrop, Europe’s reliance on American-made AI begins to look more and more like a liability. In a worst case scenario, though experts consider the possibility remote, the US could choose to withhold access to AI services and crucial digital infrastructure. More plausibly, the Trump administration could use Europe’s…
It’s Wordle Wednesday, which means we have an extra riddle to solve before we get to the day’s Wordle itself. Here’s your bonus riddle:Sometimes big, sometimes small, I carry weight but weigh nothing at all. What am I?I’ll post the answer tomorrow. Let’s solve this Wordle!Looking for Tuesday’s Wordle? Check…
I hope everyone had a nice holiday Monday, but now we’re back to the grind. Fortunately, we have some fun diversions, like the newest NYT Games App puzzle game, Pips. Let’s grab some dominos and solve today’s Easy, Medium and Hard puzzles!Looking for Monday’s Pips? Read our guide right here.How…
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House last January, the biggest names in tech have mostly fallen in line with the new regime, attending dinners with officials, heaping praise upon the administration, presenting the president with lavish gifts, and pleading for Trump’s permission to sell their products to China.…
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Wordlers! I hope you have a nice time with friends and family, especially if you have the day off of work (or school). We have a Wordle to solve, so let’s solve it!Looking for Sunday’s Wordle? Check out our guide right here.Today’s Bonus WordleNow…
If someone ever makes an HBO Max series about the AI industry, the events of this week will make quite the episode.On Wednesday, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, Fidji Simo, announced the company had rehired Barret Zoph and Luke Metz, cofounders of Mira Murati’s AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab. Zoph and…
Spotlight
Two years ago, Lizmary Fernandez took a detour from studying to be…
For five years, Caitlyn Jones has used Pinterest on a weekly basis…
What a weird time to be Elon Musk.This year opened with the…
Zoë Schiffer: Yeah, that was another executive order that came out. I…
