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Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang denied reports that he was unhappy with OpenAI and said his company still planned to make a "huge" investment in the ChatGPT firm. NVIDIA announced in September that it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, but recently, th ere have been suggestions that the deal might not happen. While Huang told reporters in Taipei that it was "nonsense" to say he was unhappy with OpenAI, when asked if Nvidia would be investing over $100 billion, he replied, "No, nothing like that." Reuters reported Huang said: "We are going to make a huge investment in OpenAI. I believe in OpenAI, the work that they do is incredible, they … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/UhI8pra

It was too cold to take off my mittens and check Google Maps so I put my faith in the trickle of bundled-up people ahead of me. All of them were carrying signs and wearing whistles around their necks on top of layers and layers of winter clothing. At first there were dozens of us walking toward Government Plaza, across the street from Minneapolis City Hall, and within a block it was hundreds. By the time I arrived it was thousands. Some reports said five to ten thousand, but on the ground, it felt like a single vibrating mass that was too large to count. I made my way through the throng, repeating "excuse me" and "pardon me" despite the di … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/3ZVz6m7

SpaceX filed a request with the FCC on Friday seeking approval to put a constellation of 1 million data center satellites into orbit. While the FCC is unlikely to approve a network that expansive, SpaceX's strategy has been to request approval for unrealistically large numbers of satellites as a starting point for negotiations. The filing proposes establishing a network of solar-powered data centers in low Earth orbit that communicate with one another via lasers. The filling speaks of the constellation in ambitious sci-fi terms, calling it a "first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization - one that can harness the Sun's ful … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/79C0836

Fitbit users who are holding out on moving their data over to a Google account now have until May 19th, 2026 to make the switch. The previous deadline was just days away on February 2nd, but that date has been updated on Google's help page for Fitbit account migration. The post also now specifies that, "You can still download or delete your data any time before we begin processing data deletions on July 15, 2026." Google had already noted that Fitbit account data would be deleted, but now users have a specific timeframe for when that's happening - and it looks like they'll have a couple extra months to download their Fitbit data even after … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/zUHxh3d

In case you missed it, we recently overhauled our guides to the best budget robot vacuums and the best mopping vacs , both of which feature a slate of new picks from Roborock, Narwal, Dreame, and others. Dyson’s 360 Vis Nav Robot Vacuum didn’t technically make the cut, though it was once one of our top picks for carpets. And now through the rest of today, January 30th, it’s on sale at Woot with a two-year warranty for an all-time low of $279.99 ($720 off). Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum Where to Buy: $999.99 $349.99 at Amazon $999.99 $279.99 at Woot $999.99 $399.99 at Dyson If you have a relatively simple floor plan with lots of high-pile carpet, Dyson’s D-shaped robovac is worth considering. It can traverse obstacles up to 21 millimeters high and offers a whopping 65 air watts of suction — twice that of many robovacs — rendering it one of the most powerful models our resident smart home reviewer, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, has ever tested. Its massive roller brush is g...

Apple's biggest acquisition ever is still its $3 billion Beats buy in 2014 , but now the second biggest deal is bringing in Q.ai , a four-year-old AI audio startup. Apple did not disclose the terms, but Financial Times reports that Apple is spending $2 billion on the company. It also mentioned Q.ai patents for optical sensor technology that could be built into headphones or glasses to recognize "facial skin micro movements," allowing for non-verbal discussions with an AI assistant, for example. The founders of Q.ai will join Apple, including CEO Aviad Maizels, who founded PrimeSense. Apple bought that company in 2013 and repurposed its Xbox … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/xWYFVLA

Prediction markets will let you bet on just about anything, from how many tweets Elon Musk will post this week to the next president of the United States, with predictions sometimes showing shockingly (or suspiciously) spot-on accuracy. Polymarket’s CEO Shayne Copland has even claimed that prediction markets are “the most accurate thing we have as mankind right now.” However, these platforms blur the lines — in terms of both function and regulation — between gambling and stock trading. As Bloomberg ’s Joe Weisenthal said on The Vergecast , “All of the lines between trading, speculating, [and] gambling are just being completely torn apart.” There are also ethical concerns surfacing around prediction markets, like whether it’s acceptable to be able to place a bet on virtually everything, along with concerns about insider trading. For instance, a newly-created Polymarket account made over $400,000 in January betting on the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Portugal orde...

YouTube appears to have taken down two of the most popular AI slop channels on its platform, along with several others. A report from Kapwing found that a channel called CuentosFacianantes no longer exists on the platform after amassing more than 5.9 million subscribers and over 1.2 billion total views. In a November 2025 report , Kapwing identified CuentosFacianantes (FascinatingTales) as the most-subscribed-to AI slop channel, which churned out "low-quality Dragon Ball-themed videos." The second channel on its list, Imperio de Jesus (Empire of Jesus), is also no longer available on YouTube and had over 5.8 million subscribers. A machine-tr … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/vqWYs6Z

If past timing is any indication, Samsung is likely to hold its next Unpacked event in late February. However, we’re not expecting the company to shake up its earbuds lineup until the summer — the winter keynote is typically reserved for smartphone announcements — which makes today’s discount on the Galaxy Buds FE far more attractive. Right now, you can pick up the budget earbuds at Amazon and Walmart for $69.99 ($30 off), which is the best price we’ve seen since August. Samsung Galaxy Buds FE Where to Buy: $99.99 $69.99 at Amazon $99.99 $69.99 at Walmart The entry-level Galaxy Buds 3 remain a solid pair of wireless earbuds, even if they are getting somewhat long in the tooth (they launched in the back half of 2023). They don’t include wireless charging or proper multipoint support, though, for the money, they deliver good sound, solid noise cancellation, and up to six hours of playback with ANC on or 8 hours with it off. They also support both a game mode for reduc...

Today, Spotify announced that it had paid out more than $11 billion to the music industry in 2025. It's an impressive-sounding number that's a full $1 billion more than it paid last year . And, according to Spotify, that accounts for roughly 30 percent of the entire recording industry's revenue. And, according to Spotify, that accounts for roughly 30 percent of the entire recording industry's revenue. This figure, however, is purely a measure of royalties paid to the music industry and does not include merch or ticket sales, nor does it include audiobook royalties or podcasting deals. However, it is important to note that this doesn't mean t … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/HdNnDvF

Razer’s new browser-based customization tool is now available in beta. | Image: Razer Razer has announced the beta release of a new online customization tool compatible with several versions of its Huntsman V3 Pro keyboards at launch. Razer Synapse Web isn't a full replacement for the company's Synapse 4 desktop app. It's instead designed to be a streamlined alternative accessible through a browser for situations where you're not able, or don't have the time, to download and install Razer's desktop software. Razer Synapse Web is now available for testing but is only compatible with Chromium-based browsers including Google Chrome, Opera, Brave, and Microsoft Edge. It currently supports the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro 8KHz , Huntsman … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/xmvy8ji

Reincubate, which makes the Camo and Camo Studio apps for turning your iOS or Android phone into a webcam for your Mac or PC, is suing Apple, alleging anticompetitive conduct and patent infringement. Camo first launched in 2020 , but two years after, Apple launched a similar feature called Continuity Camera, which works just with Apple devices. Reincubate alleges that Apple "copied the technology" and "used its control over its operating systems and App Store to disadvantage that interoperable solution and redirect user demand to Apple's own platform-tied offering," according to the lawsuit . "Camo was used by thousands of Apple employees, a … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/pytNiB2

All colors are on sale right now, including the attractive blue shade. If you prefer over-ear headphones to earbuds and own an iPhone or another Apple device, the AirPods Max with USB-C are worth a look, especially now that you can buy them at Best Buy as part of a flash deal for $429.99 ($120 off) through tomorrow, January 27th. That’s $30 shy of their lowest price to date, and a notable deal given these over-ears don’t often drop below $449.99 outside of big sales events. AirPods Max (USB-C) Where to Buy: $549.99 $429.99 at Best Buy $549 $449.99 at Walmart $549 $449.99 at Amazon The AirPods Max stand out thanks to their premium design, which uses premium materials like aluminum, steel, and fabric that feel more high-end than plastic rivals from Sony and Bose . They’re also one of the few pairs of over-ear headphones designed to work seamlessly with Apple gadgets, thanks to features like automatic device switching and hands-free Siri access. Additionally, they can ...

"Fuck ICE first, second, third, and fourth. Then worry about fucking me," a Reddit post reads. "Immigrants of any status are my friends, neighbors, and colleagues." Across the internet - and in the streets - the sentiment is unavoidable, especially after a federal immigration agent shot and killed Alex Pretti , a 37-year-old nurse, in Minneapolis on Saturday. The killing came just weeks after an immigration agent shot and killed another person, Renee Good, who federal officials smeared as a "domestic terrorist" with no evidence. This Reddit post's message would fit right in in online spaces for countless hobbies, interests, and creators : an … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/IytbAsF

I’m seeing double, and I’m digging it. The most helpful thing you can add to any laptop for productivity is a second screen. That's why I love laptops like the Asus Zenbook Duo. Its twin 14-inch OLED displays are attached by a redesigned hinge that now holds them closer together and on a single plane, for a more seamless look than previous models . The Zenbook Duo and its nearest rival look odd at first glance, but having a twin monitor setup available to you anywhere is incredibly handy. And so cool, too. Let them stare. In addition to the new hinge, the 2026 Zenbook Duo gets Asus' lightly textured Ceraluminum coating (which sounds silly but looks and feels great), a much larger … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/FkSW9BN

Microsoft's first update for Windows 11 in 2026 has been a buggy mess, to say the least. After reports of shutdown issues on some machines, Microsoft issued an emergency update to fix its January 2026 Windows 11 update last weekend. Now, exactly a week later, the software maker has been forced to issue a second unusual out-of-band fix to address OneDrive and Dropbox crashes. Microsoft is also investigating reports of boot failures that could be related to its January 2026 security update. While the first shutdown bug was limited to machines running Enterprise and IoT editions of Windows 11 version 23H2, the latest out-of-band update fixes … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/kjt7Omq

TikTok has suffered from extensive problems on its first weekend after completing the sale of its US arm, though some issues appear to have spread globally. TikTok has yet to confirm any issues a day after troubles began, making it difficult to surmise the extent of the problems. Nevertheless, Tiktokkers - including some Verge writers - have confirmed issues including difficulty logging in, an inability to upload videos, a For You Page algorithm that appeared to have reset itself, problems loading comments, and other site features. According to DownDetector , the issues spiked in the early hours of Sunday morning, but some users are still … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/diM1Rac

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the e-bike movement, follow Andrew J. Hawkins . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started Last week, I did something I don't typically do, which is call up one of my elected officials and yell at them about a new bill. New Jersey's car-brained lawmakers had just passed legislation that would impose heavy restrictions on e-bike ownership in the state, and I was livid. Obviously there's been a lot of concern about the growing number of teenagers being injured and killed w … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/RsEcpeF

Steven Garcia, as told to Gaby Del Valle: I was in the middle of a frozen lake when I got the notification from the Minnesota Star Tribune that there had been a shooting. I was at a pond hockey event, and someone who was supposed to play later that evening said he probably wouldn't be able to make it - they knew there would be protests and demonstrations happening. I arrived a little over three hours later. Federal officers had already cleared the scene - the FBI had been there investigating - so the only law enforcement present were state and local officials: the Minneapolis Police Department, their SWAT team, the Hennepin County Sheriff … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/wAOv1Hn

The FBI went to Microsoft last year with a warrant, asking them to hand over keys to unlock encrypted data stored on three laptops as part of an investigation into potential fraud involving the COVID unemployment assistance program in Guam - and Microsoft complied . Typically, companies resist handing over encryption keys to authorities. Most famously, Apple refused to grant the FBI access to a phone used by the San Bernardino shooters in 2016. The FBI eventually found a third-party to hack their way into the phone, but ultimately withdrew its case. Most of the major tech companies, including Google and Facebook backed Apple in its battle w … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/ykwMvcZ

Welcome to the weekend, friends! We’re still in a bit of a deals lull before the Presidents Day and V-Day sales begin, the bulk of which we anticipate kicking off the first week of February. However, for now, we’re still seeing some solid discounts on a few newer gadgets and some old, Verge -approved favorites. Anker’s Nano Travel Adapter has returned to its best price to date, for instance, as has Samsung’s last-gen Frame TV . You’ll also find discounts on microSD Express cards , budget-friendly robot vacuums , and more, so let’s get into it. If you have plans to spend some time outside of the US this year, Anker’s versatile Nano Travel Adapter is on sale at Amazon in black and white — and directly from Anker with code WS7DV21AXQQZ — for $19.99 ($6 off), matching its lowest price to date. Anker’s thin, foldable charger measures a mere 0.98 inches thick and sports a pair of USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, and a US-style Type A outlet on the front, in addition to four plug types...

This is not an Nvidia Arm laptop, but the old image seemed thematically appropriate. Intel and AMD have split the Windows laptop market for years, but the x86 players may be getting outnumbered. It's not just Apple MacBooks and MediaTek-based Chromebooks using Arm chips anymore. There are finally competent Qualcomm Snapdragon laptops running Windows, and - as soon as this spring - Nvidia will finally power Windows consumer laptops with Arm chips all by itself. They won't have an Nvidia graphics chip next to an Intel CPU, but rather an Nvidia N1 system-on-chip at the helm - and overnight, a Lenovo leak revealed that the company has built six laptops on the upcoming N1 and N1X processors, including a 15-inch gaming machine. D … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/z0e1VcU

TikTok finally closed a deal meant to bring it into compliance with the law that should have banned it a year ago, and the lawmakers who passed that law still don't seem to know what's going on . The company announced Tuesday that its US service is now part of the separate TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, with parent company ByteDance holding just a 19.9 percent stake in that new entity. The rest is owned by Oracle and investment firms Silver Lake and MGX, as well as smaller investors including Michael Dell's family investment firm. Oracle will store US data and the joint venture will "retrain, test, and update the content recommendation algor … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/u5G1xMo

Meta is "temporarily pausing" the ability for teens to chat with its AI characters as it develops a "new version" of the characters that will offer a "better experience." The company made the announcement in an update to a blog post from October where the company had detailed more parental controls for teen AI use. The change blocking teens from accessing the characters will go into effect "starting in the coming weeks." "Since we announced our plans to build parental controls for AI characters in October, we started developing a new iteration of AI characters generally (i.e. for both adults and teens)," spokesperson Sophie Vogel tells The … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/XlosjS4

TikTok is officially under new ownership in the US, and that could spell big changes for the video-sharing app. On January 22nd , ByteDance - TikTok's Chinese parent company - and a group of investors closed a $14 billion deal to spin off the platform's US operations, introducing a new slate of American executives. The Silver Lake investment firm, Abu Dhabi's MGX, and the cloud giant Oracle will each have 15 percent stakes in the new TikTok US Data Security (USDS) Joint Venture LLC. ByteDance will still hold a 19.9 percent stake in the company, in line with the divest-or-ban law that went into effect last year - though the deal was pushed th … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/VPShD63

Forza Horizon 6 will launch on Xbox Series X / S and PC on May 19th, Xbox and developer Playground Games announced during Thursday's Developer Direct showcase. If you preorder the Premium Edition, you can play starting May 15th. The game will come to PS5 later this year. The game has the largest map in a Forza Horizon game, Playground Games said during the event. In the stream, Playground showed off a bunch of different environments, including dense urban areas and lush natural landscapes. Forza Horizon 6 will have more than 550 cars at launch, more than has ever been available at launch for a Forza Horizon title. Xbox and Playground Game … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/nbEiBrF

Sennheiser’s new Auracast transmitter can be purchased as part of a bundle with its new wireless headphones. | Image: Sennheiser As we've previously lamented , one of Bluetooth's best modern features isn't being embraced by the tech world, but that's changing. Sennheiser has announced a new pair of wireless headphones and a transmitter designed for private TV watching that both use a Bluetooth feature called Auracast. Like tuning into a radio station broadcast from a tower, multiple headphones, earbuds, hearing aids, and even speakers can tune into audio from the Sennheiser BTA1 digital transmitter without the hassles and limitations of pairing - if they're Auracast compatible. Sennheiser's $299.95 RS 275 TV Headphones bundle will be available for preorder starting th … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/3L6vmK2

Apple is working on an AI-powered wearable pin with cameras and microphones designed to pick up a user's surroundings, according to a report from The Information . The rumored device is reportedly the size of an AirTag, with "thin, flat, circular" housing made from aluminium and glass. The Information reports that Apple's rumored AI pin will have a standard lens and a wide-angle lens, along with three microphones, a speaker, a physical button on one of its sides, and support for wireless charging. The device is still in the "early stages" of development and could arrive as soon as 2027, according to The Information . Along with this rumored … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/DweAEQI

Apple is planning a big Siri overhaul that will transform the voice assistant into an AI chatbot built directly into its iPhone and Mac, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. The update is reportedly coming later this year and will replace the existing Siri interface, allowing users to interact with the assistant by both typing and talking, similar to the chatbots available from Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and others. As noted by Bloomberg , this change is separate from the AI-powered personalization features coming to Siri in the next few months. Like that updated version of Siri, the chatbot will reportedly use a custom Google Gemini … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/oFM6RjK

Last year, Nova Launcher founder and sole developer Kevin Barry announced he had left Branch Metrics, Nova's parent company at the time - which followed an announcement from 2024 that nearly everyone working on the project had been laid off . But the launcher is getting new life: in a blog post on Tuesday , the Swedish company Instabridge, which makes an app that helps people connect to Wi-FI hotspots, announced it has acquired Nova Launcher. "Nova is not shutting down," according to Instabridge. "Our immediate focus is simple: keep Nova stable, compatible with modern Android, and actively maintained." However, Instabridge says it's "evaluati … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/sjPIStO

Did you save your Google Stadia controller like I told you last month ? It's still not too late. This week, Google has finally removed the tool that converts the now-useless controller into a decent Bluetooth gamepad. But there's another way. Christopher Klay, who previously developed the Stadia Enhanced browser extension, is one of many who saved a copy of the tool to a personal GitHub page . What's more, they're hosting a working copy of that Google website right here to make it even easier. I haven't tried Klay's mirror, as both of my gamepads are already converted, but here's my video on how easy the process is. It's worth doing now tha … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/ar2gyk8

A little over a decade ago, Life is Strange burst onto the scene with a unique blend of teen drama and interactive storytelling. That first game told the story of Max Caulfield, who had the supernatural ability to reverse time, and her best friend Chloe Price. Now developer Deck Nine Games is finally bringing their story to an end with a new game called Reunion . The latest entry in the series follows 2024's Double Exposure , which similarly continued Max's story from the original game. The developer describes Reunion as the "emotional conclusion of the Max and Chloe saga." Players will have three days to attempt to avoid a fire at their old … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/bOB3RNj

Roland now offers a more capable audio mixer for phones and tablets with the launch of the Go:Mixer Studio. The Go:Mixer audio interface lineup has always been a bit limited, better suited for scrappy live streams and capturing quick demos on their phones than professional recording. The Go:Mixer Studio is an attempt to actually reach that lofty goal, with more inputs and outputs, built-in effects, and up to 24-bit / 192kHz audio. There's even an iOS app that allows you to capture video and multitrack audio simultaneously. Streaming and social video are still the major use cases here. The Go:Mixer Studio can even be mounted on a mic stand s … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/tnF4eDf

I live in Minneapolis. I grew up not far from here, in a suburb of St. Paul; after stints on both coasts, my wife and I settled here to raise our daughters in a freezing state that had always welcomed us warmly. As the ongoing occupation by over 3,000 ICE agents stretches into its third week - with no clear end in sight - I've received a steady string of messages from increasingly concerned friends across the country. They all start the same way: Uh… is this really as bad as it looks from the outside? My answer to that question is easy: no, it's worse. Not since the pandemic has my daily life been ruptured in such a frightening and surreal … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/hbWnmZP

Sphere Entertainment, the company behind the eye-catching interactive venue in Las Vegas, has announced its "intent to develop" another Sphere in Maryland that will be located 15 minutes south of Washington, DC. A timeline and exact location haven't been finalized, but the Maryland Sphere would be the company's second venue in the US, following plans to build a Sphere in Abu Dhabi announced in October 2024. The second US sphere would be built in an area known as National Harbor in Prince George's County, Maryland. Located along the Potomac River, National Harbor currently features a convention center, multiple hotels, restaurants, and shops … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/B4OhDen

Animal Crossing has always been anti-instant gratification. By design, you have to take your time, wait for days to pass in real time, and complete a seemingly endless list of chores to build a meaningful life with your animal friends. The slowness is part of its appeal. But with New Horizons , some of that slowness became tedious: crafting its many items one at a time, painstakingly building cliffs and rivers by hand, picking up and placing objects one by one. As I gathered when I previewed it last month, the newly released, free 3.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons addresses those issues with quality-of-life fixes that still fit t … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/IMnSEox

After launching almost three years ago, Meta's Threads is now reportedly attracting more daily mobile users than rival platform X. According to Similarweb data shared by TechCrunch , Threads has 141.5 million daily active iOS and Android global app users as of January 7th, compared to 125 million users for Elon Musk's mobile platform. Similarweb reports that Threads actually overtook X sometime between late October and early November after a consistent period of growth , meaning this milestone wasn't suddenly achieved in reaction to recent Grok-related controversies . X still has more mobile users than Threads in the US, according to Similarwe … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/MGAgWhx

It's relatively rare for a podcast to last 14 years, especially a fiction one. In fact, as far as I can tell, Welcome to Night Vale is the longest continually running fiction podcast out there. (Some will argue it's actually We're Alive , but that has taken a few significant breaks between seasons.) The story of Night Vale, the titular desert town, now spans 12 seasons, over 280 episodes, three books , and at least 10 live standalone shows . While dedicating several hundred hours of your life to listening to every episode might seem like a big ask, I believe you'll be hooked once you dive in. The show is written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cran … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/ibNMPK5

The Kaoss Pad has seen many different iterations , but the mainline effect unit and sampler hasn't received an update since the launch of the KP3+ in 2013. Korg has finally given it the attention it deserves with the release of the Kaoss Pad V . Rather than a dramatic reimagining of what a Kaoss Pad is, the V takes the core idea - an effect unit with an X / Y pad for controlling parameters in a natural, performance-focused way. The big innovation on the Kaoss Pad V is that it can recognize two fingers simultaneously to control two distinct sets of parameters, or even two entirely different effects. It also has a dedicated voice effects engine … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/QdpItxM

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on dystopian developments in AI, follow Hayden Field . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started You could say it all started with Elon Musk's AI FOMO - and his crusade against "wokeness." When his AI company, xAI, announced Grok in November 2023 , it was described as a chatbot with "a rebellious streak" and the ability to "answer spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems." The chatbot debuted after a few months of development and just two months of training … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/fr9yiNR

"Share a Disney quote that sums up how you're feeling right now!" That's what Disney posted on Threads the other day, and people immediately replied with lines from Star Wars , The Hunchback of Notre Dame , and even Mary Poppins . The throughline between all the quotes: they were pretty pointedly anti-fascist and clearly aimed at the current administration. Apparently, Disney either couldn't handle the anti-fascist messaging of its own movies or was too afraid of pissing off the powers that be , because it quickly deleted the post. Thankfully, one resourceful Threads user recorded it for posterity , reminding us that yes, the human world is, i … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/XsSDkYf

As we predicted , the world's biggest consumer electronics show was a bit of a bust for gamers this year! CES 2026 brought us several neat gamepads , but barely any handhelds and no new desktop GPUs - not from Nvidia, not from Intel, and not from AMD. But if you dig deep, AMD said two things at this year's show that are worthy of attention. Did you catch that the company's about to make socketed mobile chips again? Or that its answer to Intel is to lower the price of its monster Strix Halo silicon ? Publicly, AMD barely acknowledged consumers at the Consumer Electronics Show. "AMD failed us," decried Gamers Nexus , pointing out that the compa … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Y8urtmG

Though Netflix's plan to buy Warner Bros. Discovery has prompted concerns about how the deal might hurt the movie theater business, the streamer's co-CEO says that there is nothing to worry about. In a new interview with The New York Times , Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that, should the WBD acquisition go through, the streamer will commit to 45-day theatrical release windows for the legacy studio's upcoming releases. Sarandos insisted that Netflix has no intentions of disrupting "a theatrical distribution engine that is phenomenal and produces billions of dollars," and that believes there is value in the movie theater experience. "I'm g … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/aHBN5hz