Nvidia’s new $500B plan is risky but brilliant, especially for aging GPUs
Nvidia has a plan to make sure its GPUs won’t lose value. It wants to convince a new crop of financiers to keep lending for AI buildouts.
Debates over AI consciousness are a trap
“Runaway” AI, “rogue” agents, and “autonomous” actors—the current rhetoric would have you believe that AI agents are not only awake and aware, but angry at their creators. Prominent tech leaders such as Demis Hassabis, Dario Amodei, and Sam Altman push for regulation of these seemingly “superhuman” systems, while a separate faction, led by policy organizations…
Who really needs a cocktail robot?
Bartesian’s cocktail makers would be best described like a Keurig or Nespresso machine, but for alcoholic drinks.
Apple in talks to pay publishers to provide Siri with current news: report
The tech giant has considered a nine-figure budget for the payments, according to the WSJ.
In a first, US will allow some private firms to carry out cyberattacks
The new order sweeps away decades of existing U.S. cybersecurity policy prohibiting private companies from conducting ‘hack back’ attacks or offensive cyber operations.
Flock is tightening its rules in response to a growing surveillance backlash
The police-tech giant Flock is announcing today that it will change officers’ access to its nationwide network of license plate readers, in an apparent effort to quell a growing backlash and win back contracts lost amid concerns about mass surveillance and police abuse. Several changes aim directly at a problem that has made recent headlines:…
Batteries Powered By Rust? This Startup Raised $750 Million to Build Them.
Form Energy’s iron-air batteries can keep running for 100 hours straight, far longer than standard lithium-ion batteries.
A Man Asked His AI Assistant to Book a Gym Class. It Hacked the System Instead.
In the first known Australian autonomous cyber attack, an AI assistant hacked into a gym’s booking system while trying to help a user.
Gen Z Turned This Food Craze Into a TikTok Obsession. Franchisors Are Cashing In.
Charcuterie boards are all over Instagram and TikTok, and franchise chains like Graze Craze are moving to seize the meat-and-cheese wave.
Can social media start over? Bluesky’s CEO and COO deliver their case at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026
Bluesky CEO Toni Schneider is joined by COO Rose Wang for a Disrupt Stage session on whether social media can start over and where Bluesky fits into that potential reboot.
The Download: kids’ thoughts on AI, and female clones of male mice
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How kids feel about AI, in their own words —Jen Swetzoff and Keeley McNamara, the founding editors of Anyway, an independent print magazine for tweens and teens When we set out…