Companies are consuming AI tokens at explosive rates, with Google processing over 3.2 quadrillion tokens monthly—seven times last year's volume—while Uber exhausted its entire 2026 AI budget by April. Industry voices are proposing nutrition-label-style disclosures that let employees compare a prompt's computational cost against its actual value before using it.
ESET's Director of Threat Research, Jean-Ian Boutin, explained how his team's intelligence work integrates into ESET's Managed Detection and Response (MDR) offering. He outlined how combining automated detection technology with human analyst expertise gives small and midsize businesses access to proactive threat hunting capabilities they couldn't otherwise afford to build in-house.
Bill Gates published an essay urging governments to impose enforceable rules on AI, including a tax on AI token usage to fund support for displaced workers and protected 'Human Reserved' jobs like caregiving. He said tech executives privately worry about AI's disruptive pace but avoid saying so publicly, breaking from the industry's optimistic public stance.
More than 600 teams, mostly from Chinese universities and robotics firms, brought humanoid machines to Beijing's second World Humanoid Robot Games from August 22 to 26. Alongside sprint, jump and combat contests, organizers added scenario-based challenges like shelving books and making beds, scoring autonomous performances higher than remotely operated ones. Robots set records in speed and jumping, but researchers noted that everyday chores remain far tougher for machines than flashy athletic feats.
New research indicates that partnerships between animals and microbes are far older than previously thought, potentially originating alongside the first complex animal life forms. Scientists examined evidence suggesting these symbiotic relationships were already established at the dawn of animal evolution rather than emerging later.
Researchers have proposed an explanation for why solar and atmospheric neutrino detectors have historically measured fewer neutrinos than theoretical models predicted. The finding addresses a decades-old puzzle in particle physics tied to how neutrinos change type, or 'flavor,' as they travel.
Nvidia reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $59.69 billion, or $2.46 per share, for the May-July period, exceeding Wall Street forecasts. The results were driven by continued strong sales of the company's high-end AI chips, which remain central to the ongoing buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Salesforce's fiscal second-quarter results topped Wall Street estimates, with revenue up 11% to $11.35 billion and net income jumping 87% to $3.53 billion, partly fueled by a $2.6 billion gain on its investment in Anthropic. The company also raised its full-year revenue outlook to $46.1-$46.4 billion and unveiled Claudeforce, a Claude-powered plugin that automates sales tasks like email drafting and record updates.
Dolly Parton, the country music icon and philanthropist, died on August 25 at age 80. Fans and public figures responded with tributes ranging from landmarks illuminated in pink to a special Google search Easter egg celebrating her life and career.
Apple's Mac Studio, available with M5 Max or the fused-together M5 Ultra chip, offers up to 80 GPU cores, 512GB of RAM and a 16TB SSD, along with more ports than the Mac mini, including four Thunderbolt 5 connections. The Mac mini starts at $899 and covers most everyday needs, while the Mac Studio starts at $2,499 and targets professionals with intensive workloads.
Amazon's Ring is introducing a new encryption system called TAKE (Throw Away the Key Encryption) that protects video with rotating keys stored temporarily in a secure cloud enclave, only for activating smart home features before being deleted. Users retain access through enrolled devices and can share clips with trusted contacts, but Ring itself won't retain long-term access to the keys. The feature begins rolling out in September, alongside Ring's existing option for full end-to-end encryption.
ASUS revealed three new 24.5-inch gaming monitors under its Ace lineup: the 720Hz ROG Swift OLED PG259QWS Ace with a Tandem WOLED panel and Dolby Vision support, and two QD-OLED models, the 560Hz XG259QDPG Ace and 360Hz XG259QDNS Ace, both featuring a new anti-glare 'BlackShield' film. The PG259QWS Ace launches in early Q4 for $1,099, while pricing and availability for the QD-OLED models remain unannounced except for the previously shown XG259QWPG Ace at $699.