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 […]
CES 2026: Follow the best, weirdest, most interesting technology live as this robot and AI-heavy event concludes
This new solid-state EV battery can be fully charged in just 5 minutes We stopped by the exhibit of Donut Lab, a Finnish startup specializing in electric mobility. The company (which takes its name from its flagship product, the donut-shaped in-wheel EV motor) announced at CES the launch of what it calls the first solid-state […]
Meta signs over 6GW of power contracts with three nuclear companies
Meta today announced three contracts to supply nuclear power to its data centers. One contract is with a start-up, one with a small energy company, and one with a large company that already operates multiple nuclear reactors in the United States. Oklo and TerraPower, two small modular reactor (SMR) developers, each have contracts with Meta […]
X limits Grok image generation to paid subscribers after worldwide outrage
Elon Musk’s AI company has restricted Grok’s controversial AI image generation feature to paying X members only after the tool drew intense criticism from around the world for allowing users to generate sexual and nude images of women and children. Grok said in a response to users on Friday that only paying X subscribers can […]
The venture that devoured Silicon Valley raised another $15 billion.
Andreessen Horowitz just announced that his company has raised just over $15 billion in new funding. The funding represents more than 18% of all venture capital allocated in the U.S. in 2025, according to company co-founder Ben Horowitz, but what’s even more impressive is that the organization has more than $90 billion in assets under […]
Anthropic adds Allianz to growth list of companies
AI lab Anthropic continues to win big corporate deals. Its latest effort calls for bringing its large-scale language model to the traditional German insurance giant. Anthropic on Friday announced an agreement with Allianz, a global insurance conglomerate based in Munich, Germany, to bring “responsible AI” to the insurance industry. Both parties declined to share the […]