The Next Generation of Sports Stars Is Being Built Outside the Big Leagues — And Off The Field
College athletes are becoming the next big sports influencers, using NIL deals and brand partnerships to break into fashion and luxury.
The Download: failed social media bans, and extending pets’ lives
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. Kids are outsmarting social media bans. That’s not a problem we need to solve. —Michal Luria, Aliya Bhatia, and Danah Boyd Social media bans are stacking up. In July, France joined…
Amazon’s Bee launches two new personal AI devices, starting at $75
Amazon-owned Bee has launched its first new AI devices since its acquisition, including an updated wearable and a credit-card-sized recorder that attaches to smartphones. The devices can summarize conversations, create to-do lists, and integrate with Alexa and Amazon shopping, with prices starting at $74.99.
Citizen Lab says governments are abusing online ads to hack people with ‘zero-click’ spyware
The digital rights unit found evidence that dozens of devices at media organization Al Jazeera were hacked after being shown malicious online ads.
Colleges Are Automating Admissions, but Their Most Time-Consuming Work Is Still Manual — And Costly
Colleges have embraced admissions automation, yet their most time-consuming tasks remain largely manual.
How much more can nuclear power plants give?
In this age of rising electricity demand, people are trying to squeeze every last bit of power out of every power plant possible. Over the past few weeks, there’s been big news about nuclear power plants trying to do just that. Constellation, the largest nuclear operator in the US, announced plans to add nearly a…
Six wild ideas for perpetuating your mind
Have you ever thought about what makes you you? Science assures us it has everything to do with the three-pound organ between our ears, with its billions of neurons and trillions of delicate connections. But it’s a lot trickier to explain why we have a sense of self-awareness or to pin down precisely where that…
Pig kidneys that were “frozen” for a year have been brought back to life
Pig kidneys that were cooled to -150 °C and stored in a freezer for months have been successfully rewarmed and shown to work again for the first time, say scientists. They hope to replicate the findings with human organs. The kidneys—which are similar in size to human ones—were left in a glass-like state, in one…
Figma announces new features to define how agents work on its platform
Figma is also releasing its code layers feature in open beta.
Ricursive Intelligence is betting on AI-designed chips to help solve the compute crisis
The founders detailed how their startup is developing AI that can design chips, learn from each iteration, and improve subsequent designs, all with the goal of automating and accelerating the chip design process.
Flock CEO defends surveillance technology amid national backlash: ‘We shouldn’t pause progress’
At TechCrunch Disrupt, Flock CEO Garrett Langley defended his company’s surveillance technology despite growing privacy concerns, arguing that its crime-fighting benefits outweigh the risks of abuse.