Mark Zuckerberg announced today that Meta, his social-media-turned-metaverse-turned-artificial intelligence conglomerate, will upgrade its AI assistants to give them a range of celebrity voices, including those of Dame Judi Dench and John Cena. The more important upgrade for Meta’s long-term ambitions, though, is the new ability of its models to see users’ photos and other visual… Continue reading Meta Releases Llama 3.2—and Gives Its AI a Voice
Author: Wired Magazine
Meta’s $300 Quest 3S Headset Significantly Lowers VR’s Buy-In Price
The Quest 3S, Meta’s newest mixed reality headset, will be out in the world soon. If you’re familiar with the features currently offered by Meta’s VR headsets, then the only surprising thing about the new hardware will be the price. But it’s reverse sticker shock: The new Meta Quest 3S is a $300 headset that… Continue reading Meta’s $300 Quest 3S Headset Significantly Lowers VR’s Buy-In Price
FTX Insider Caroline Ellison Sentenced to Two Years in Prison
The potency of Ellison’s testimony against Bankman-Fried will also have gone a long way to convincing the judge to show leniency, says Paul Tuchmann, a former US prosecutor and partner at the law firm Wiggin and Dana. Testifying at Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial in October 2023, Ellison depicted her former paramour as the driving force behind… Continue reading FTX Insider Caroline Ellison Sentenced to Two Years in Prison
Microsoft’s Three Mile Island Deal Signals a Broader Nuclear Comeback
For five years, reactor one at Three Mile Island nuclear power station in Pennsylvania has lain dormant. Now, thanks to a deal with Microsoft, the reactor will start running again in 2028—this time to exclusively supply the tech firm with oodles of low-carbon electricity. It’s all part of an ongoing flirtation between Big Tech and… Continue reading Microsoft’s Three Mile Island Deal Signals a Broader Nuclear Comeback
Teens Say John McEntee, Trump’s Former Personal Aide and Project 2025 Higher-Up, Made Them Uncomfortable in Chats
When Grace Carter heard from The Right Stuff’s account on Instagram, the person controlling the account introduced himself as John. He also offered a phone number with a Southern California area code—a number that a WIRED reporter has used in the past to contact McEntee. There was no obvious reason why he would have reached… Continue reading Teens Say John McEntee, Trump’s Former Personal Aide and Project 2025 Higher-Up, Made Them Uncomfortable in Chats
Proposed Ban Would Be a ‘Death Sentence’ for Chinese EVs in the US
After officially hiking tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports earlier this month, the US government is getting even more serious about keeping China-made autos out of the country. On Monday, the US Commerce Department proposed a new rule that would ban some Chinese- and Russian-made automotive hardware and software from the US, with software restrictions… Continue reading Proposed Ban Would Be a ‘Death Sentence’ for Chinese EVs in the US
Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus Review: Why Go Pro?
In recent years, Apple started giving the iPhone Pro models a significant chip upgrade to increase the performance gap between the phones, but this year they’re all on the same starting point: the A18 chipset. The iPhone 16 Pro devices feature the A18 Pro, which features larger CPU cache sizes and an extra graphics score… Continue reading Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus Review: Why Go Pro?
A Mysterious School for the Network State Crowd Is Now in Session
Last month, venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan announced the Network School, a three-month learning retreat marketed to people interested in “network nations,” a kind of utopia for the anarchocapitalist set. The inaugural class is 150 people. It starts today. Details about the school have been shrouded in secrecy, even for the applicants. Aspiring Network School participants… Continue reading A Mysterious School for the Network State Crowd Is Now in Session
Some Mad Genius Put ChatGPT on a TI-84 Graphing Calculator
On Saturday, a YouTube creator called ChromaLock published a video detailing how he modified a Texas Instruments TI-84 graphing calculator to connect to the internet and access OpenAI’s ChatGPT, potentially enabling students to cheat on tests. The video, titled “I Made the Ultimate Cheating Device,” demonstrates a custom hardware modification that allows users of the… Continue reading Some Mad Genius Put ChatGPT on a TI-84 Graphing Calculator
Protesters Take to Apple Stores Worldwide on iPhone 16 Launch Day
On Friday, customers around the world flocked to Apple Stores locations to buy the iPhone 16 on its launch day. But customers in over a dozen cities were met by protests organized by current and former Apple employees. The protesters—holding signs and banners saying that Apple is “profiting from genocide”—demanded that Apple stop sourcing its… Continue reading Protesters Take to Apple Stores Worldwide on iPhone 16 Launch Day