Luminar lines up $22 million bidder for lidar business
Luminar has reached a deal to sell its lidar business to a company called Quantum Computing Inc. for just $22 million unless it gets a better offer by Monday’s deadline of 5 p.m. CT. The lidar maker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December and has already announced plans to sell its semiconductor subsidiary […]
Google removes AI summaries for certain medical queries
Following a Guardian investigation that found Google AI Overview provided misleading information for certain health-related queries, the company appears to have removed AI Overview for some of those queries. For example, the Guardian initially reported that when users ask, “What is the normal range for a liver blood test?” they are presented with a number […]
Nuclear startups are back in vogue with small reactors and big challenges
The nuclear industry is in the fog of a renaissance. Old factories are being renovated and investors are pouring cash into startups. In the last few weeks of 2025 alone, nuclear startups raised $1.1 billion, largely due to investor optimism that small nuclear reactors would succeed, something the entire industry had recently stumbled over. Traditional […]
Indonesia and Malaysia block Grok over non-consensual sexual deepfakes
Officials in Indonesia and Malaysia said they have temporarily blocked access to xAI’s chatbot Grok. These are the most aggressive moves yet by government authorities in response to a flood of AI-generated sexual images (often depicting real women and minors, and sometimes depicting violence) posted by Grok in response to requests from users on the […]
Wing expands drone delivery to 150 more Walmart stores
Wing, the Alphabet-owned company that delivers groceries, over-the-counter medications and hot lattes, is expanding its partnership with Walmart for the second time in less than a year. On Sunday, the companies announced plans to bring on-demand drone delivery service to an additional 150 Walmart stores. The rollout, which builds on existing services at stores in […]
Google unveils new protocol that uses AI agents to facilitate commerce
Google today announced a new open standard for AI agent-based shopping called Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) at the National Retail Federation (NRF) conference. Developed in collaboration with companies like Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, this standard allows agents to work on different parts of the customer buying process, including research and post-purchase support. The […]
OpenAI reportedly asks contractors to upload actual work from past work
OpenAI reportedly asks contractors to upload actual work from past jobs Wired reports that OpenAI and training data company Handshake AI are asking third-party contractors to upload actual work they’ve done on past and current jobs. This appears to be part of a larger strategy across AI companies that are hiring contractors to generate high-quality […]
Indonesia blocks Grok over non-consensual sexual deepfakes
Indonesian authorities announced on Saturday that they were temporarily blocking access to xAI’s chatbot Grok. This is one of the most aggressive moves yet by government authorities in response to the flood of AI-generated sexual images (often depicting real women and minors, and sometimes showing assault and abuse) posted by Grok in response to requests […]
I met a lot of weird robots at CES — here are the ones that impressed me the most
CES has always been a celebration of robots, and this year’s event announced a number of significant robotic developments, including the production-ready new debut of Boston Dynamics’ humanoid Atlas. And there are robots on every showroom floor, and bots often serve as great marketing for the companies involved. It’s not always a completely accurate representation […]
Google’s Moonshot spinout SandboxAQ claims former executive is attempting ‘extortion’
A former SandboxAQ executive filed a wrongful termination lawsuit last month containing scandalous allegations against the company’s illustrious CEO Jack Hydary, with the plaintiff himself redacting the most salacious details. The company’s lawyers issued a blistering rebuttal Friday, calling the former employee a “serial liar” and saying his lawsuit “alleges false claims for an unfair […]