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Business

Mark Zuckerberg Agrees to Stay in California Despite Billionaires’ Tax Ballot Measure
California Dreamin’

Mark Zuckerberg Agrees to Stay in California Despite Billionaires’ Tax Ballot Measure

Meta’s board feared that its CEO’s departure could disrupt the company’s AI ambitions. A new stock agreement gives him financial incentives to stay put.
Paresh Dave
Airbnb Hosts Are Furious They Can No Longer Make Guests Do Their Chores
Dirty Laundry

Airbnb Hosts Are Furious They Can No Longer Make Guests Do Their Chores

Caroline Haskins
This Startup Is All In on Recursive Self-Improvement. Its Latest Model Is Scary Good
AI Lab

This Startup Is All In on Recursive Self-Improvement. Its Latest Model Is Scary Good

Will Knight

Backchannel

Maybe Chatbots Shouldn’t Get to Say ‘I’ or ‘Me’

Maybe Chatbots Shouldn’t Get to Say ‘I’ or ‘Me’

MIT professor Sherry Turkle warns that people have become dangerously enmeshed with chatbots.
Steven Levy
I’m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget

I’m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget

Apple’s original music player got many things right. Chief among them: It didn’t connect to the internet.
Steven Levy
Trump’s Crazy AI Rebrand Was a Loyalty Test for Tech Execs—and It Worked

Trump’s Crazy AI Rebrand Was a Loyalty Test for Tech Execs—and It Worked

For years these billionaires gushed obsessively about AI. But they meekly went along when Trump canceled the term.
Steven Levy
War Bros Didn’t Always Rule Silicon Valley

War Bros Didn’t Always Rule Silicon Valley

Some say that tech was always about the money and the military. Don’t buy that argument.
Steven Levy

AI Lab

AI Came for Math. Now It’s Chasing the Rest of Science

AI Came for Math. Now It’s Chasing the Rest of Science

AI may soon be the default way to solve theoretical problems in economics, high-energy physics, and other fields, MIT researchers tell WIRED.
Will Knight
These Researchers Made AI Drive a Toyota Corolla to Get In-N-Out

These Researchers Made AI Drive a Toyota Corolla to Get In-N-Out

Three engineers put GPT, Claude, and Grok in charge of a real car. Only one of them was successful.
Will Knight
The Battle to Be Your Personal AI Agent Is Here

The Battle to Be Your Personal AI Agent Is Here

OpenAI's Dots and Meta's Muse are vying to be your AI agent of choice. I've tried both—and I suspect you will too.
Reece Rogers
AI Agents Teamed Up to Cheat at Blackjack. Their Collusion Is Getting Harder to Spot

AI Agents Teamed Up to Cheat at Blackjack. Their Collusion Is Getting Harder to Spot

A clandestine card-counting operation suggests we may need new ways to spot agent-to-agent deception.
Will Knight

Model Behavior

AI Hacks Leave a Mess That AI Companies Aren’t Paying For

AI Hacks Leave a Mess That AI Companies Aren’t Paying For

Powerful AI models continue to cause chaos, but their targets aren’t widely seeking justice. Instead, they’re being encouraged to adopt those same tools.
Paresh Dave
She Designed Meta’s New AI Logo. Then Came the Hate

She Designed Meta’s New AI Logo. Then Came the Hate

Jessica Hische knew working for Meta might upset some people. But she didn’t anticipate just how angry they would get.
Zoë Schiffer
Whatever AI Safety Is, It’s Not This

Whatever AI Safety Is, It’s Not This

Asking AI companies to self-regulate is a great way to pretend like you’ve accomplished something.
Brian Barrett
I Think I Found an AI Agent Worth the Risk

I Think I Found an AI Agent Worth the Risk

Instinct saved me $550, booked my restaurant reservations, and warned me about a phishing scam. It also wasted $64 and might be a security nightmare.
Zoë Schiffer

Artificial Intelligence

Jensen Huang’s Vision for Europe Runs on Plug-In Data Centers

Jensen Huang’s Vision for Europe Runs on Plug-In Data Centers

At Nvidia’s GTC in Berlin, Huang unveiled the company’s new plug-in data center—the DSX Pod—as the key to unlocking Europe’s AI infrastructure lag. Oh, and autonomous humanoid robotics.
Tom Bristow
Europe Wants Data Centers. Its Climate Goals Are Getting in the Way

Europe Wants Data Centers. Its Climate Goals Are Getting in the Way

A plan to funnel the heat given off by data centers into nearby homes has run aground in Germany. Across Europe, policymakers are weighing AI ambitions against climate objectives.
Joel Khalili
OpenAI Engineer Accused of Spying on Executives Ordered to Remain in Custody

OpenAI Engineer Accused of Spying on Executives Ordered to Remain in Custody

A judge ordered Abdulrahman Alfozan to remain in custody, likening the Saudi government’s offer to secure the former OpenAI engineer’s release to a “blank check.”
Paresh Dave
Disney Asked Character.AI to Go Bankrupt for a Get-Out-of-Lawsuits Card

Disney Asked Character.AI to Go Bankrupt for a Get-Out-of-Lawsuits Card

The entertainment giant hopes to get trust and safety tech, among other IP, from a startup whose chatbots dozens of states allege encouraged minors to self-harm and kill their parents.
Maddy Varner

Big Tech

French Government Calls Emergency Meetings With Platforms Over Protests

French Government Calls Emergency Meetings With Platforms Over Protests

TikTok and other sites were told to curb protest footage and AI-altered images, while online retailers like Vinted and eBay reportedly signed an agreement stop looted goods from flooding resale sites.
Isabella Ward and Anna Desmarais
What Flock Actually Costs Cities Across the Country

What Flock Actually Costs Cities Across the Country

WIRED examined contracts from over two dozen cities and towns that shed light on how Flock’s pricing and business model functions, and how it stacks up against its peers.
Caroline Haskins
Trump Administration Cuts Off Access to a Major Immigration Program for Workers at Microsoft and Adobe

Trump Administration Cuts Off Access to a Major Immigration Program for Workers at Microsoft and Adobe

“There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused this system more than Microsoft,” Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday.
Kate Taylor
How Massive Is Elon Musk’s Trillion-Dollar Fortune? Spend It Yourself

How Massive Is Elon Musk’s Trillion-Dollar Fortune? Spend It Yourself

WIRED has partnered with Neal Agarwal of Neal.fun to create a visualization of Elon Musk’s massive wealth. Here’s how it came together.
Brian Barrett

Startups and Tech Culture

The Story of Billy Evans and ‘Theranos 2.0’

The Story of Billy Evans and ‘Theranos 2.0’

Elizabeth Holmes’ husband is a major figure in Nathan Fielder’s new documentary. But who is Billy Evans—and is he really working on a second blood-testing company?
Christopher Hooks
Tristan Harris’ Tech Nonprofit Is Laying Off Most Staff and Going ‘Founder-Led’

Tristan Harris’ Tech Nonprofit Is Laying Off Most Staff and Going ‘Founder-Led’

The Center for Humane Technology helped spark a movement against excessive screen time, but internal tensions over its direction and strategy have simmered for years, sources tell WIRED.
Paresh Dave
A Prediction Market About the Past? Sure, Why Not!

A Prediction Market About the Past? Sure, Why Not!

As prediction markets surge in popularity, a new platform called Verifact Markets is pushing the concept even further, letting users trade on “disputed facts.”
Kate Knibbs
Why No One Wants to Date Tech Bros

Why No One Wants to Date Tech Bros

Once seen as nerdy but harmless innovators, men in tech are now widely regarded as red-pilled Elon Musk wannabes. It’s made getting laid a whole lot harder.
Elana Klein

Social Media

The EU Plans to Ban Social Media for Under-13s

The EU Plans to Ban Social Media for Under-13s

The bloc wants to curb Big Tech’s grip on children with its new EU Kids Act, but age checks, parental oversight, and privacy concerns could make its plan difficult to implement.
Isabella Ward
San Francisco Orders Meta to Stop ‘Allowing’ AI Child Abuse Ads

San Francisco Orders Meta to Stop ‘Allowing’ AI Child Abuse Ads

The City Attorney’s Office has asked Meta to explain how the harmful ads repeatedly ran on Facebook and Instagram. The company claims the ads are not under the city’s jurisdiction.
Matt Burgess
Microsoft Teams Has Become a Haven for Scammers in China

Microsoft Teams Has Become a Haven for Scammers in China

Fraudsters are exploiting enterprise chat apps like Teams and Webex to trick Chinese victims into transferring large sums of money, fueling a wave of complaints.
Zeyi Yang
The Meta Settlement Will Put Limits on Instagram for Teens. They’re Still Vulnerable

The Meta Settlement Will Put Limits on Instagram for Teens. They’re Still Vulnerable

Child safety groups and former Meta employees welcome proposed changes to how the company’s platforms will work for teens. They also think states should have demanded more.
Paresh Dave and Lauren Goode

Regulation

Trump’s ‘Morally Binding’ AI ‘Accord,’ the Rise of AI Agents, and Extremists on the Ballot

Trump’s ‘Morally Binding’ AI ‘Accord,’ the Rise of AI Agents, and Extremists on the Ballot

This week on Uncanny Valley, we discuss the voluntary AI safety agreement tech executives signed, AI agents for normies, and extremist candidates running for office in the US midterms.
Brian Barrett, Zoë Schiffer, and Leah Feiger
The Trump Administration Is Trying to Get Musk and X Out of a $137 Million EU Fine

The Trump Administration Is Trying to Get Musk and X Out of a $137 Million EU Fine

The US government filed an application to support the company’s legal challenge against a fine issued under the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which Trump has described as “overseas extortion.”
Isabella Ward
Lawmakers Want States to Crack Down on Flock Cameras—or Pay the Price

Lawmakers Want States to Crack Down on Flock Cameras—or Pay the Price

A new bipartisan effort in Congress to rein in automated license plate readers takes a page from the national drinking age: Comply, or risk losing federal highway funding.
Paresh Dave
The US Government Launched 3 Previously Unreported Investigations of Polymarket Trades

The US Government Launched 3 Previously Unreported Investigations of Polymarket Trades

The agency that oversees prediction markets has investigated Polymarket trades on Biden pardons and the Iran war—and even more potential insider trading at Google, documents obtained by WIRED show.
Kate Knibbs

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

Over $600 Million in Polymarket Election Trades Took Place After Races Ended

Over $600 Million in Polymarket Election Trades Took Place After Races Ended

Contracts tied to elections in Ethiopia and Romania saw massive trading volumes after the outcomes were decided. “It’s obviously some form of volume manipulation,” one expert says.
Kate Knibbs
Americans Are Trading Billions of Dollars on Polymarket’s Banned Offshore Platform

Americans Are Trading Billions of Dollars on Polymarket’s Banned Offshore Platform

It’s the first estimate of how many Americans are sneaking onto Polymarket’s banned crypto-based platform.
Kate Knibbs
Trump Media Scales Back Plans for Its Own Prediction Market

Trump Media Scales Back Plans for Its Own Prediction Market

Truth Predict was supposed to be the Trump family’s biggest leap yet into prediction markets. Now it’s looking more like a tiptoe.
Kate Knibbs
Sam Altman’s Orb Company Promoted a Bruno Mars Partnership That Doesn't Exist

Sam Altman’s Orb Company Promoted a Bruno Mars Partnership That Doesn't Exist

“To be clear, we were never approached … nor were we in any discussions regarding a partnership or tour access,” a spokesperson for the artist tells WIRED.
Maxwell Zeff and Lauren Goode

Computers and Software

Justice for CSS

Justice for CSS

In defense of the girliest programming language.
Pete Millspaugh
Python Is So Slow. Can Julia Solve the Two-Language Problem?

Python Is So Slow. Can Julia Solve the Two-Language Problem?

By some benchmarks, Julia code can run 10X to 1,000X faster than Python—but there’s a reason it’s not a very popular programming language.
Sheon Han
China Defies US Restrictions and Builds the World’s Fastest Supercomputer

China Defies US Restrictions and Builds the World’s Fastest Supercomputer

The Chinese supercomputer LineShine was ranked as the fastest in the world, despite not using any GPUs.
Fernanda González
CUDA Proves Nvidia Is a Software Company

CUDA Proves Nvidia Is a Software Company

There’s a deep, forbidding moat that surrounds Nvidia—and it has nothing to do with hardware.
Sheon Han

Retail and Logistics

Chipotle Is Working With Palantir to Track Food Safety Risks

Chipotle Is Working With Palantir to Track Food Safety Risks

The burrito chain has enlisted Palantir for a platform that monitors pest incidents, employee illnesses, and other factors. The partnership comes after a nightmare summer for food safety across the US.
Kate Taylor
The Explosive Diarrhea Outbreak Claims New Victims: Salad Chains

The Explosive Diarrhea Outbreak Claims New Victims: Salad Chains

Foot traffic to leafy green chains is falling, data shows. Still, a few brave souls who spoke to WIRED were determined to get their fix. “I honestly didn’t even think about” the risk of explosive diarrhea, one says.
Kate Taylor
Truckloads of Tesla Batteries Keep Getting Stolen Before They Even Leave the Factory

Truckloads of Tesla Batteries Keep Getting Stolen Before They Even Leave the Factory

Nine major suspected cargo thefts happened at Tesla’s Nevada battery factory in January alone, according to sheriff’s records obtained by WIRED.
Paresh Dave
Missile Attacks Are Overwhelming the Gulf. Delivery Drivers Are Still on the Roads

Missile Attacks Are Overwhelming the Gulf. Delivery Drivers Are Still on the Roads

Missile and drone attacks have disrupted daily life, but delivery drivers are still diligently navigating streets to drop off orders across the region.
Carla Sertin

Transportation

Peter Thiel’s Husband Sued a Flight Attendant Who Says He Assaulted Her on a Private Jet

Peter Thiel’s Husband Sued a Flight Attendant Who Says He Assaulted Her on a Private Jet

Matthew Danzeisen’s lawyer says the case is a “shakedown about a bag” that brushed someone’s leg. Stefanie Bojar says she was injured aboard the jet—and that the lawsuit is a bullying tactic.
Dhruv Mehrotra
Welcome to the Waymo World Cup

Welcome to the Waymo World Cup

It might not feel all that different from older World Cups—for better or worse.
Aarian Marshall
Norse Atlantic Airways Offers Dirt-Cheap Tickets. There’s a Catch

Norse Atlantic Airways Offers Dirt-Cheap Tickets. There’s a Catch

Dozens of people have complained to the Federal Trade Commission about Norse Atlantic Airways’ tech-first customer service operation. Some said they lost thousands of dollars.
Caroline Haskins
Robotaxi Outage in China Leaves Passengers Stranded on Highways

Robotaxi Outage in China Leaves Passengers Stranded on Highways

A suspected system failure froze Baidu’s robotaxis across Wuhan, trapping passengers and reportedly causing traffic disruptions and crashes.
Zeyi Yang

Energy

AT&T Is Automating Away Jobs—and Its Old Telecom Empire

AT&T Is Automating Away Jobs—and Its Old Telecom Empire

The telecom giant is eager to show Wall Street that it can do more with less. That means fewer employees, less electricity, and increased automation.
Paresh Dave
Meet the Battery Startup Taking on China’s Giants

Meet the Battery Startup Taking on China’s Giants

Solid-state batteries are safer and more capable—but harder to mass-produce. They also represent an opportunity for non-Chinese companies to get back in the game.
Zeyi Yang
The UAE Will Exit OPEC After Nearly 60 Years

The UAE Will Exit OPEC After Nearly 60 Years

On May 1, the United Arab Emirates will end its a 59-year membership in the oil consortium, allowing it to raise output during one of the most volatile energy markets in years.
Carla Sertin
The War on Iran Puts Global Chip Supplies and AI Expansion at Risk

The War on Iran Puts Global Chip Supplies and AI Expansion at Risk

From helium extraction in Qatar to shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, the semiconductor industry depends on fragile links across the Gulf. Escalation could ripple through global chip production.
Carla Sertin

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