US president Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance. Zhao, widely known as CZ, pled guilty in November 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering laws and US sanctions. The plea formed part of a sweeping deal with the US Department of Justice, under which Binance was required to pay a… Continue reading ‘War on Crypto Is Over’: Donald Trump Pardons Binance Founder CZ
Author: Wired Magazine
White House Staffers Couldn’t Care Less About the East Wing Demolition
White House staffers don’t appear to care all that much about the ongoing demolition of the East Wing occurring in the middle of the government shutdown. “Not affecting me at all, to be honest,” a White House aide tells WIRED. This source, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press,… Continue reading White House Staffers Couldn’t Care Less About the East Wing Demolition
Google Earth Gets an AI Chatbot to Help Chart the Climate Crisis
Google has come up with a way to better map Earth’s disasters, predict them, and be able to track which communities and ecosystems are going to be harmed. If you want to find out what’s straining the environment in your neck of the woods, all you have to do is ask. Google Earth AI, a… Continue reading Google Earth Gets an AI Chatbot to Help Chart the Climate Crisis
Elon Musk Wants ‘Strong Influence’ Over the ‘Robot Army’ He’s Building
Tesla might be an electric auto maker, but CEO Elon Musk has made clear that he thinks of it as much more: an innovator in artificial intelligence and software, a builder of world-shaking robots. He’s also argued that Tesla should be worth a lot more than it is today: up to $20 trillion, he posted… Continue reading Elon Musk Wants ‘Strong Influence’ Over the ‘Robot Army’ He’s Building
Tinder Launches Mandatory Facial Verification to Weed Out Bots and Scammers
On Wednesday, Tinder announced that it is rolling out a mandatory facial verification tool for new users in the US to help combat the spread of fake profiles and weed out “bad actors.” Tinder claims its mandatory facial integration feature, called Face Check, is a first for a major dating app. During the sign-up process,… Continue reading Tinder Launches Mandatory Facial Verification to Weed Out Bots and Scammers
No, ICE (Probably) Didn’t Buy Guided Missile Warheads
On September 19, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement made a $61,218 payment for “guided missile warheads and explosive components,” according to the Product and Service Code (PSC) included in the payment record on a federal contracting database. “This award provides multiple distraction devices to support law enforcement operations and ICE- Office of Firearms and Tactical… Continue reading No, ICE (Probably) Didn’t Buy Guided Missile Warheads
JBL’s Rad Clip-On Bluetooth Speaker Is $20 Off
Looking for a Bluetooth speaker that’s rugged and ready for anything? The JBL Clip 5, named for its built-in latching hook, is currently marked down to just $60 at Amazon and Walmart in a variety of colors and finishes. That’s a healthy 25% discount, and makes this compact Bluetooth speaker an appealing option for anyone… Continue reading JBL’s Rad Clip-On Bluetooth Speaker Is $20 Off
AI Models Get Brain Rot, Too
AI models may be a bit like humans, after all. A new study from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, and Purdue University shows that large language models fed a diet of popular but low-quality social media content experience a kind of “brain rot” that may be familiar to anyone who has spent… Continue reading AI Models Get Brain Rot, Too
Also TM-B Ebike: Specs, Release Date, Price, and Features
It’s hard to remember now that people used to be skeptical about electric bikes. Cyclists didn’t want unlicensed motor vehicles in bike lanes; people who didn’t bike found them to be dangerous. Even as more people adopt them to deal with carbon emissions or traffic, ebikes still have many issues. Cheap ones are impossible to… Continue reading Also TM-B Ebike: Specs, Release Date, Price, and Features
Samsung’s Galaxy XR Mixed Reality Headset Is Here: Price, Release Date, Features
It has been five years since Samsung and Google stopped supporting their respective mobile virtual reality headsets. For a second try, the companies have partnered up with a bolder vision in the mixed reality space, starting with the new Galaxy XR. Announced last year as Project Moohan, it’s the first headset powered by Android XR,… Continue reading Samsung’s Galaxy XR Mixed Reality Headset Is Here: Price, Release Date, Features