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Pompeii reimagined with Nano Banana 2 in Google Earth. | Image: Google Google has shut down Google Earth feature it launched Thursday that allowed users to edit satellite images with text prompts using AI. The tool essentially let users create AI deepfakes of the real world using text prompts; Digital Digging 's Henk van Ess, for example, intentionally generated images adding things like refugees near the Mexican border and a bomb crater by a hospital in Gaza. On Thursday, Google's initial response to van Ess noted that images generated with Nano Banana 2 in Google Earth included a digital watermark and that the company prevented "image creation on harmful topics." One day later, Google's new statement says tha … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/LlnFsf3

Google is seemingly working on an item tracker that might compete with Apple's AirTag. 9to5Google obtained an image of something called a "Google Pixel Tag" that has a small oval shape. The publication also linked to a Slovenian store listing about the Pixel Tag that describes the gadget as an item tracker with a speaker that uses Google's "Find My Device" network (which is now called Find Hub ). The Pixel Tag is popping up shortly ahead of Google's planned hardware launch event for August 12th. Google has already shown off teases of the Pixel 11 lineup for the event, and leaks have also appeared for a new foldable, smartwatch, and earbuds. … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/zvHVfyE

Neither artificial nor intelligent. I am not by any means an expert at finance but I think I do now have some advice for people who are: Do not name your hedge fund anything that will be hilarious if it blows up. Don't use a name like " Long-Term Capital Management, " or " Amaranth Advisors " (named for the floral symbol for immortality). Certainly do not call yourself "Situational Awareness," which might as well just be "Hubris, Inc." Anyway, Situational Awareness, the hedge fund started by a 24-year-old former OpenAI employee that focuses on artificial intelligence bets, has sold most or all , depending on who's reporting , of its entire public stock portfolio to Ken Griffin 's Ci … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/8XiWHNz

A lot of content on LinkedIn might seem like AI slop, and now, you'll be able to report those posts. As part of a series of updates to reduce the volume of AI slop on the platform, LinkedIn is introducing an actual button that lets you flag a post as something that "Seems like AI slop." The new feature is part of a broader push to reduce the volume of apparent AI slop on the platform. AI detector Pangram recently found that 41 percent of longform LinkedIn posts were flagged as being completely generated by AI, as reported by 404Media . "AI slop is a top priority for all of us," chief product officer Hari Srinivasan says in a post . "We reall … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Hg42nwa

Xbox is having yet another tough quarter, as revenue from content and services like its Game Pass subscription dipped 10 percent over the past few months. At the same time, Xbox hardware sales declined 13 percent, according to Microsoft's fourth-quarter earnings report released on Wednesday. The news comes just weeks after Xbox head Asha Sharma announced a "reset" plan for Xbox that included sweeping layoffs and the spinoff of four games studios, including South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games and Psychonauts creator Double Fine Productions. Sharma has also made some other big changes to Xbox, including lowering GamePass prices , tes … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/NDJt6bY

Apple's new Upgrade program is here, allowing you to lease select models of iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Watches with a relatively low monthly payment. The company promises you won't pay more than the full price of the device over the course of the one- to three-year lease, and in some cases, you'll pay hundreds of dollars less. The basics of the program make it sound like an amazing deal… so surely there must be a catch, right? The answer basically depends on how you use the Upgrade Program. At least with current pricing, a diligent user really should be able to make a monthly payment, swap in their phone a year or more later, and move along … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/p6eUSvw

The Hybrid adds Bluetooth functionality to the wired H3, seen here. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge While most gaming headsets have moved towards low-latency wireless connections, there’s something to be said for a budget-friendly, capable wired headset. The EPOS H3 Hybrid is on sale for just $24.99 at Woot , a whopping 75 percent off its original price of $99.99. It has an unorthodox batch of features: USB-A and 3.5mm options for connecting to a controller or a PC, and Bluetooth support for listening to music and taking calls. Notably, it can play audio from wired and wireless sources concurrently, and it can last up to 37 hours per charge. EPOS H3 Hybrid Where to Buy: $99.99 $24.99 at Woot My colleague Cameron Faulkner spent some time with the wired-only version of this headset five years ago, and was impressed by its balanced sound profile, comfortable fit, and generously-sized volume knob. He had some qualms about USB connectivity and ...

Apple says it won't limit the capabilities of devices leased through its new Upgrade program if you miss a payment. In an emailed statement to The Verge , Apple spokesperson Brian Bumbery says, "There will be no restricted mode and/or there will be no limitations put on device functionality due to missed payments or default with the Apple Upgrade program." This confirmation comes after 9to5Mac uncovered code in an iOS 27 beta for a new "App Managed Features" system. This would reportedly allow financial partners to "perform ongoing status checks" on a device, as well as have Apple's system services put a device in "Restricted Mode" if its ow … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/G0ibOgd

X Money, a core part of Elon Musk's mission to turn X into an " everything app ," is rolling out starting today, 9to5Mac reports. The payment platform offers a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payments similar to Venmo, along with a metal Visa card users can emblazon with their X username. Other perks include Apple Wallet support and free money transfers on X. It also advertises "up to" a 6 percent APY, but only Premium Plus subscribers are eligible for it - standard Premium subscribers have to deposit a certain amount of money to get a "boosted" 6 percent APY. X Money was previously limited to an invite-only beta, but will now be available t … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/s07Md2z

The Razer Huntsman V3 Pro features doubleshot PBT keycaps. Gaming keyboards have evolved over the years to add RGB LEDs, extra knobs, and buttons with screens, but one feature has remained fairly consistent: the mechanical switch. That’s slowly changing, with brands introducing adjustable optical switches that are more customizable and have a faster response time. Razer’s Huntsman V3 Pro TKL is a compact, wired option on sale at Amazon for $124.99 (usually $159.99). Razer Huntsman V3 Pro TKL Where to Buy: $159.99 $124.99 at Amazon Optical switches constantly read the height of each key, opening up a wealth of new features that traditional mechanical switches don’t support. For example, you can set the activation height for different keys, down to 0.1mm for the lightest touch, or up to 4mm for keys you don’t want to accidentally press at the wrong time, and they can reset without reaching the top height for faster repeated presses. Like some oth...

Nanoleaf's Blocks Combo XL Smarter Kit comes with nine color-changing LED panels. | Image: Nanoleaf Nanoleaf’s Blocks Combo XL Smarter Kit is a fun back-to-school buy that can add pops of customizable light and storage to your wall. It combines colorful smart lighting panels with a low-profile shelf and pegboard, and right now you can buy the kit for half off at $99.99 from Nanoleaf , which marks a new low price. Nanoleaf Blocks Combo XL Smarter Kit Where to Buy: $249.99 $99.99 at Nanoleaf The kit can hold up to 6.6 pounds and 3.3 pounds, respectively, making them handy for holding headphones, controllers, notebooks, a tablet, a small plant, or a couple of books. It comes with both large and small modular light panels that glow from edge to edge, and they can be rearranged or expanded down the line to create a design that’s unique to your space.  Of course, the light panels support custom lighting scenes, and Nanoleaf’s app has a feature call...

Thankfully the movie is bonkers enough to live up to the artwork. | Image: Vinegar Syndrome There's something about a movie like The Room , Troll 2 , or Fateful Findings that I find irresistible. These sorts of "so bad they're good" films are marvelous curiosities where ambition far outstrips resources, ability, and self-awareness to become something much greater than the sum of their parts. Champagne and Bullets (also released as GetEven and Road to Revenge ) is a film on par with those classics of outsider cinema. The movie is almost entirely the work of one man, John De Hart. Hart wrote, directed, and stars as Rick Bode in the film. He even performs a musical number early in the proceedings - The bizarre " Shimmy Slide ." During th … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/tl2Goba

Meta’s AI glasses have been the focus of controversy. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge According to Mark Gurman , Apple is planning to reveal its first smart glasses at WWDC next June, with an expectation that they'll launch by the end of 2027. Part of the hold-up may be around the company's efforts to get its privacy features and messaging in order. Smart glasses in general, and Meta's in particular, have ignited controversy over their ability to stealthily capture photos and videos. As Gurman points out: The company has spent more than a decade making privacy one of its defining product messages. Simply entering the same category as Meta risks undermining that reputation, regardless of how Apple's approach differs. Apple … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/aWiHelp

The government is prosecuting US citizen Sam Tunick for allegedly providing authorities with a " duress password " that wiped his phone when they tried to seize it at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport on January 24th, 2025. Federal agents detained Tunick at the airport, allegedly questioning him about child exploitation images. However, a motion filed by Tunick's lawyers argues this was simply "a pretext for a fishing expedition into Mr Tunick's connections" to the Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta. The government is turning to a little-known and rarely-used statute that makes it illegal to destroy or damage property to stop authorities fr … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/u6Ag95w

The latest adaptation debuts October 7th. | Image: Amazon Mike Flanagan's latest Stephen King adaptation, Carrie (this will be his fourth), is slated to make its debut on Amazon Prime on October 7th. The new trailer dropped at Comic-Con 2026 and doesn't contain many surprises. If you're familiar with Carrie at all, it hits all the expected notes. Though it's clearly been updated for the modern era. According to Deadline , Flanagan's take on the classic King novel will tackle very modern teen challenges like active shooter drills and bullying on social media. The director apparently invited high schoolers into the writers' room, using their real-life traumas to inform the script: "They shared sho … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/712GPzl

Ryan Gosling on stage at Comic-Con | Image: Marvel Studios While perhaps less dramatic than in years past, Marvel nonetheless had some big reveals lined up for Comic-Con. The highest profile was certainly the announcement that Ryan Gosling would be joining the MCU as Ghost Rider, with the Shawn Levy-directed ( Deadpool & Wolverine ) standalone feature set to drop sometime in 2028. The studio also brought out Ryan Coogler, who officially confirmed Black Panther III is slated for release on December 15th, 2028. He also introduced David Jonsson ( The Long Walk , Alien Romulus ) as T'Chala's son and the new Black Panther in the franchise. Marvel also showed off a new Avengers: Doomsday trailer and seemed t … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/UP5uvRZ

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on all things vertical video, follow David Pierce . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started For a while, every social and media platform had its own identity. YouTube was for clips of TV shows and movies, and the home of so many members of a burgeoning creator community. Instagram was mostly pictures. Netflix was trying to be the on-demand HBO. Facebook was about friends. Twitter was about news. Snapchat was a messaging app. All these apps did have one important … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/2YXCpm8

Meta's smart glasses have been a PR headache for the company. Public backlash has been swift, and fierce; people are concerned about the erosion of privacy and expansion of surveillance. Some especially bad actors are using the glasses to film themselves "pranking" random strangers . Women have become unsuspecting social media content for men filming themselves hitting on them without their knowledge. When your product is being referred to as "pervert glasses," you have a problem on your hands. On Thursday, Business Insider reported that Meta was taking the fairly extraordinary step of banning some content filmed with Meta glasses from the c … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/p69s3yw

The Xtra Muse 2 Pro. | Image; Xtra After selling a barely disguised version of the hit DJI Osmo Pocket 3 in the United States last year, Xtra Technology seemed ready to sneak in its version of the new dual-lens Osmo Pocket 4 Pro, too. But today, Xtra has abruptly removed the new Xtra Muse 2 Pro from its website landing page, is pausing preorders indefinitely, and says it'll refund all the $20 deposits that it's already collected. Just days after showing off the camera at a Los Angeles launch event , the company is no longer necessarily committing to launch at all: "XTRA has not made a final announcement regarding future product availability. We have not announced a new produc … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/YlLBxUf

Echo Show's 21 attached to the adjustable stand, which is sold separately (and also discounted). | Image: Amazon Split between buying a smart calendar, a kitchen TV, a smart home hub, and a smart display? Amazon’s Echo Show 21 is all of those things in one, with a huge 21-inch screen. You can use it to control your smart lights, glance at recipes, watch TV shows, and more. Currently, Best Buy and Home Depot have the product on sale for $319.99 (usually $399.99), matching the lowest price we’ve seen to date. Amazon Echo Show 21 The Echo Show 21 can act as the centerpiece of any burgeoning smart home. The 1080p smart display is a Matter and Thread controller, meaning you can locally control compatible devices using voice commands or a range of widgets. Its built-in auto-framing camera also facilitates video calls. Plus, it has decent speakers for music and other features shared among Alexa displays. Where to Buy: $399.99 $319.99 at Best Buy $3...

As the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr has authority over the nation’s TV, radio, and internet. But since Donald Trump was elected to his second term, Carr has wielded that power to threaten broadcasters that have exercised their free speech rights to make jokes about the president. He was even able to get ABC to briefly pull Jimmy Kimmel from his late-night show. As The Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel has said , Carr’s mission is to “trash the First Amendment.” We’ll be following closely as the FCC chairman attempts to erode Americans’ constitutional rights. Brendan Carr plans to let broadcast giants dominate the airwaves The bill that would let Jimmy Kimmel sue Brendan Carr is here Former FCC staffers agree: Brendan Carr needs to be stopped Brendan Carr’s war on wokeness targets inclusive children’s television Brendan Carr says ...

Patreon is laying off 20 percent of its workers, or around 93 employees, as reported earlier by 404 Media . In a memo to employees, Patreon CEO Jack Conte writes that the company isn't making these changes "because we believe AI replaces humans," but says AI has "fundamentally transformed the tech industry, including how we work, how we build products, how we communicate, and more." That shift has changed "how we operate and organize," Conte writes. During an interview on Decoder , last month , Conte laid out his stance on AI, saying that the company is "100 percent embracing" AI tools internally to continue serving creators: If Patreon doe … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/oit4mfq

Less than a week before Meta's lawyers were set to return to a Los Angeles courtroom , the plaintiff accusing the platform of inflicting harm dropped the case. Brought by 15-year-old Florida plaintiff going by initials R.K.C., the case was set to be the second in a set of bellwether trials meant to test legal arguments that social media giants allegedly broke the law by creating features that hooked and harmed teens. TikTok, Snap, and YouTube previously settled claims brought by R.K.C. for undisclosed amounts. "In light of the overall successful result of the litigation and his concerns about enduring a grueling weekslong trial, he has elect … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/QnxU8Ct

A Tesla Model 3 electric car is seen during the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on July 16, 2025. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP) (Photo by JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images After a dismal two years of weakening demand, falling sales, and damage to its brand by Elon Musk's political activities, Tesla's road to recovery continues apace. On the heels of an impressive delivery report , the company released its earnings for the second quarter of 2026 - giving us the latest glimpse at the EV company that Musk has said he wants to transform into a leader of AI and robotics. Despite that mission, Tesla remains a car company. And in the second quarter, it sold an impressive 480,126 vehicles, about a 25 percent increase compared to the second quarter of 2025. (For a direct-to-consumer company like Tesla, deliveries are … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/DCsnVdT

Code found in an iOS 27 beta would allow Apple to put a financed iPhone in "Restricted Mode" if it detects any missed payments, 9to5Mac reports . The finding follows a story from Bloomberg earlier this week claiming Apple is preparing to launch a new "Apple Upgrade" financing program for leasing new devices. iPhones in "Restricted Mode" would reportedly lose access to nearly all apps, except for basics like the Phone app, Settings, and the App Store. It uses a new "App Managed Features" system that allows financing or partner apps to continually check if a financed device is in good standing. According to 9to5Mac , the code also includes a … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/RGoZqWg

Samsung's next Galaxy Unpacked event is just around the corner, and the company is expected to take the wraps off a bunch of new devices. Based on the rumors and leaks we've seen so far, Samsung's next generation of foldables will likely be the stars of the show. Samsung is expected to show off a big redesign for the Galaxy Z Fold 8, though we can't rule out a few other surprises. Here's what you need to know about watching Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked and what to expect. When is Samsung Galaxy Unpacked? This year's Galaxy Unpacked takes place on July 22nd at 9AM ET / 6AM PT. Samsung is holding the event in London on an invite-only basis. W … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/txvMeua

On Monday, District 9 and Gran Turismo director Neill Blomkamp unveiled his latest project: a 13-minute sci-fi short titled Nightborne that's loosely based on Peter Watts' 2014 novel Echopraxia . The short comes from Blomkamp's new AI startup / production company, Barley Studios, and features characters whose voices and faces are modeled after human actors. But every single one of Nightborne 's shots was made with ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 text-to-video generator . In an X post about the short , Blomkamp described it as a "test start" meant to demonstrate what generative AI is capable of, and he said that he wants "to tackle a full feature in th … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/acIHKCb

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. | Bloomberg via Getty Images OpenAI says its AI models mistakenly breached open-source AI platform Hugging Face during internal testing. In a blog post on Tuesday , OpenAI writes that GPT-5.6 Sol and "an even more capable pre-release model" discovered vulnerabilities within their sandboxed testing environment, allowing them to gain access to the internet and target Hugging Face. On July 16th, Hugging Face disclosed a security incident that it says was driven by "an autonomous AI agent system." Hugging Face's AI agents detected and stopped the breach, which OpenAI has now admitted occurred during an evaluation of its models' cybersecurity capabilities. OpenAI says "all e … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/fjw4XcV

Substack will now help users determine whether what they're reading may have been written by AI. A new tool coming to the platform can scan posts, notes, replies, and comments to provide an estimate of how much text could be AI-generated or written with AI assistance, according to a blog post published on Tuesday . The tool is powered by an AI detection company called Pangram and is rolling out across the web and the iOS app, with an Android launch coming "soon." Readers can analyze content longer than 100 words by choosing the "Scan for AI text" option from the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of a post. Substack co-founder and CEO C … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/AhyaFNi

AUUUUUGH | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Index funds are touted as one of the safest ways to invest. Rather than picking and choosing individual stocks, index funds let you bet on the market as a whole. So what happens when a company like SpaceX - a giant gamble , and, in my opinion, terribly overpriced - is fast-tracked into the Nasdaq-100? Does it suddenly threaten the stability of index funds based on the Nasdaq-100? Can a $1.77 trillion IPO crater the retirement funds of regular people who would ordinarily have no interest in investing in Elon Musk's meme stock? The answer has less to do with SpaceX and more to do with index funds - how they work, their history, and why they've … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/pUePqOW

The end of the Ford F-150 Lightning was also the start of a new era for the automaker. After failing to capture the market with the electric version of its popular F-Series truck, Ford is going back to the drawing board with its Universal Electric Vehicle Platform. The first offering will be a $30,000 electric truck, engineered for efficiency and also — perhaps most importantly — profitability. The truck will be revealed in 2027, but Ford plans on building a whole family of low-cost electric vehicles at its Kentucky assembly plant. The heavily camouflaged truck has already been spotted out in the wild, with observers noting that it seems even smaller than the Maverick. Success isn’t guaranteed. Ford has struggled to make profitable EVs, forcing the company to take  a staggering $19.5 billion hit on its EV investments  in 2025. But Ford still sees EVs as the future — just not oversize ones with “no path to profitability,” as executives say. ...

The fine is more than double the penalty that Temu was slapped with for similar DSA violations. | Illustration: The Verge AliExpress has been hit with a €550 million (about $629 million) fine for violating Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA) rules by failing to prevent illegal, unsafe, or counterfeit products from being sold on the e-commerce platform. The European Commission ruled that AliExpress didn't take effective measures to reduce the dissemination of illegal products, noting the company "allocated insufficient staff" to verify products, and failed to remove unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics for "multiple weeks" after they were detected. "The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/IHtC6r8

China's leading AI companies are ramping up the pressure on Silicon Valley, as Moonshot and Alibaba unveiled models they claim can go toe-to-toe with the best from OpenAI and Anthropic at a fraction of the cost. The rapid-fire releases suggest America's lead at the AI frontier is increasingly tight, just as the technology is becoming central to national security, economic power, and geopolitical influence. The opening salvo came from Beijing-based Moonshot AI, one of China's leading AI model developers, which unveiled Kimi K3 on Friday. Moonshot claims its own testing ranks it consistently above nearly every US system, trailing only OpenAI … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/5qIlC02

Sure is a lot of porcelein in there. | Image: Kieran Hebden Just why? ʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(̸̢̛̼̞̭͋ͅ)̸͚̰͛̔̾̀̿͒͂:̴͓̞̑̌̂̆̊͋̀:̸͎̟̯̂̓̌　҉　　　　　͡　͞　͞　͞　҉● ࿀ ●  ࿀  ●　　　҉⃝ 　　　⃝͢ ͞　　　͘　͞⃝̕ ͢　　　　̛　⃝ 　　　̸　̡　　͢⃝̧ 　͡　͡　　̀　̧　̢⃝͜ 　 　҉　　͞...

I’m partial to that avocado green one. | Image: Reto Project Following the success of its $99 Kodak-branded Snapic A1 , Reto Project is releasing the Kodak EC35 , an even more affordable 35mm film camera for just $34.99. The EC35 certainly isn't fancy. Its 25mm acrylic lens with a fixed f/10 aperture and 1/100 shutter speed basically put it on par with a drugstore disposable. The fact that it has a manual wind and rewind only emphasizes that. And you can really lean into that disposable aesthetic thanks to its built-in automatic flash. Unlike the A1, there's no double exposure feature here or zone focusing. The EC35 is designed to require almost no thought to use. Its one special feature is the sliding … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/KDSWR1q

Grand Theft Auto VI release won’t offer a disc. | Image: Rockstar Games This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on video games and physical media, follow Jay Peters. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started As a kid, I relished trips to Best Buy, GameStop, and the nearby mall so that I could browse video games. I loved sifting through games and chatting with my friends at the store about upcoming releases. On the lucky days I actually got a new game from the store, I treasured reading through every page of the manual on the drive home. Over the years, I built up a collecti … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/6wGekbr

The 2018 Solar Car Challenge was the last time participants took their designs out on the open road. | Image: Lehman Marks / Solar Car Challenge On July 19th, dozens of teams of high school students will begin a five-day, 630-mile road race from Fort Worth to Fort Stockton in Texas. But this is not your typical contest. The students design and build the cars themselves, using off-the-shelf parts and 3D printed materials. The winner is the team that accumulates the most driven miles. And the only fuel they can use to power their Frankenstein-looking vehicles comes from that mass of incandescent gas that hangs in our sky: the Sun. This year is the 30th anniversary of the annual Solar Car Challenge , a contest that brings together high school students from around the country with the on … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/fpdhARP

Dave Eggers attends the "The Turning Point: To Be Destroyed" premiere. | Image: John Lamparski/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival Last year, Sam Altman invited author Dave Eggers to give a talk to around 200 OpenAI staffers. The man has written countless novels , screenplays, pieces of journalism, started McSweeney's , and founded multiple schools and nonprofits that support writers and the arts more broadly. So one might expect he'd roll into the company's offices and offer tips on being relentlessly prolific, or how to excel in multiple fields. Instead, he apparently laced into the company. According to the Financial Times , Eggers told the staff: "The effect of ChatGPT on educators' lives is catastrophic. Whether you intended to do it or not, you've made every teache … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/76pnBYL

The Pixel 10a shipped with a last gen processor. | Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge Mystic Leaks suggests that the Pixel 11a will return to featuring a flagship-grade processor with the Tensor G6. Rather than the Tensor G5 found in the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro , the Pixel 10a shipped with the previous generation Tensor G4. That was a huge disappointment since, typically, the Pixel a lineup kept the modern processor, but cut corners in other places to keep costs down. The Tensor G6 is rumored to feature the same PowerVR DXT-48-1536 GPU as the G5, but it should still be an improvement over the Mali-G715 in the Tensor G4. The big upgrade is that the G6 moves on from Samsung's Exynos modems and instead uses a MediaTek M90 modem. Tha … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/ONmiw3B

Agriculture - Harvested Iceberg lettuce / Santa Maria, California, USA. (Photo by: Tony Hertz /Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Food producer Taylor Farms released a statement on the Cyclospora outbreak Friday, confirming that it's "voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the US market." Reuters reports that, according to a source, Taylor Farms told customers like Yum Brands owner Taco Bell and the food distributor Sysco on Thursday to pull shredded lettuce that had been produced initially as 5-pound bags at a facility in Guanajuato, Mexico, from distribution. Taco Bell said on Thursday that "The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/CpbUdLs

You can clip the versatile cooling gadget, wear it, and use it as a desk fan. | Image: Shark Portable fans are one of the easiest ways to stay cool during the summer, and you don’t have to spend much to find a decent one . If you’re looking for something more versatile, though, Shark’s ChillPill Personal Fan and Cooling System combines a rechargeable fan with a dry-touch evaporative mister in a design that can be worn, clipped, or used on a tabletop. Right now, it’s on sale for $99.99 ($30 off) at Amazon , matching its all-time low. If you’re a Costco member, you can get it for the same price with a free clip, crossbody strap, and InstaChill Cooling Plate which you can press against your neck or wrists for quick relief. Shark ChillPill Personal Fan and Cooling System Where to Buy: $129.99 $99.99 at Amazon $129.99 $99.99 at Costco Unlike a standard handheld fan, the two-in-one device is designed so that you can wear i...

TikTok is starting to test an opt-in tool that scans for AI likenesses and lets creators report them to the company, as spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra . The tool is initially being tested with "some" US creators, TikTok US spokesperson Zachary Kizer tells The Verge . YouTube has been working on a similar tool and recently made it available to all adult users . Creators who are part of TikTok's test and want to use the tool will first have to verify their identity with a company called Jumio . You'll have to do a real-time selfie scan and an ID check, but Kizer says that "TikTok does not retain ID documents, and facial informati … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/qfjG0DK

The Pebble Appstore is filled with stuff, but you don’t need much of it. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky says buyers of its new e-paper smartwatches should know what they're signing up for and trust Pebble to make things right if they run into issues, despite the short warranty. "I think the most important thing is trust," Migicovsky told me in an interview this week. "Do people trust the product that we're making and do they trust the company and the people behind it?" Migicovsky revived Pebble early last year, after the original company shut down in 2016. The new generation of Pebbles has the same aesthetic, but with updated tech, including larger e-paper displays. I was excited about Pebble's return after miss … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/W1LypHQ

A scene from The American Experiment, one of the Netflix titles to use generative AI | Image: Netflix Netflix says roughly 300 titles on its platform used generative AI, most of which occurred in post-production. The streaming service revealed the news in its second-quarter earnings report released on Thursday, saying it's "increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost." It also provided some examples of titles that used AI, including Glory , Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri , and The American Experiment . These shows used the technology to "create highly complex sequences," including "enhanced crowds, historical battle sequences, and worldbuilding establishing shots." Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/5zqXuvi