The era of DOGE is over as President Trump disbands Elon Musk’s federal cost-cutting team
The Trump administration has disbanded the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the controversial federal cost-cutting team previously led by Elon Musk, even though the department still had months left in its term. Reuters first reported over the weekend that DOGE was disbanded, ending a months-long effort by Musk and his associates, many of whom were […]
New AI benchmark tests whether chatbots protect human well-being
AI chatbots have been linked to serious mental health harm in heavy users, but there have been few standards for measuring whether AI chatbots protect human well-being or simply maximize engagement. A new benchmark called HumaneBench aims to fill that gap by assessing whether chatbots prioritize users’ health and how easily those protections fail under […]
Former MrBeast content strategist is building AI tools for creator ideation and analysis
Short videos are in high demand. Across large platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, users watch billions of videos every day, and businesses are benefiting tremendously from this content explosion. For creators, this often means there’s pressure to create more content than ever in order to stay relevant and make a living from it, […]
US banks scramble to assess data theft after hackers infiltrate financial technology companies
Several major U.S. banks and mortgage companies are reportedly rushing to investigate how much customer data was stolen in a cyberattack on a New York financial technology company earlier this month. SitusAMC, which provides technology to more than 1,000 commercial and real estate lenders, acknowledged in a statement over the weekend that it identified the […]
This startup wants to build a fusion reactor on a boat
Although only one fusion device on the planet has been able to meet important scientific standards, Maritime Fusion CEO Justin Cohen is already preparing to put a fusion reactor on board a boat. Please listen. That’s not entirely outlandish. Thanks to advances in AI, computing, and superconducting magnets, fusion power generation is closer to commercialization […]
X’s new “About this account” feature is working well
X recently began rolling out a new feature that revealed that many right-wing “America First” accounts are actually based outside the United States. However, the data may be unreliable. X’s new “About This Account” feature includes information about when users joined and how they downloaded apps, but geographic location is getting the most attention so […]
TechCrunch Mobility: Finding the tipping point for robotaxis
Welcome to TechCrunch Mobility. A central hub for news and insight on the future of transportation. To receive this in your inbox, sign up for free here. Just click on TechCrunch Mobility. Before we get started, here are some simple housekeeping items. Due to Thanksgiving next Friday, the Transportation Newsletter will not be published. We […]
Beehiiv’s CEO isn’t worried about newsletter saturation
Newsletter platform beehiiv recently celebrated its four-year anniversary by launching a suite of new features, including an AI website builder, as well as support for podcasts and selling digital products. In other words, beehiiv is about more than newsletters now. Co-founder and CEO Tyler Denk (who writes a popular startup newsletter of his own) spoke […]
ChatGPT told them they were special, but family says that led to tragedy
Zane Shamblin never said anything to ChatGPT that suggested a negative relationship with his family. But in the weeks leading up to his death by suicide in July, chatbots encouraged the 23-year-old to distance himself even as his mental health deteriorated. According to chat logs included in a lawsuit filed by Shamblin’s family against OpenAI, […]
After all, the Trump administration may not fight state AI regulations
The Trump administration has targeted state-level AI regulation, with the president declaring in a social media post this week that the industry needs “one federal standard, not a patchwork of 50 state regulatory systems.” This comes after a 10-year ban on national AI regulation was initially included in President Trump’s Big Beautiful Act, but was […]