On the New York Times podcast 'Hard Fork,' Harvard historian Jill Lepore argues that tech leaders are constructing what she calls an 'artificial state,' where corporations and machines increasingly make decisions once reserved for democratic government. She says this shift bypasses public consent, noting that ordinary people generally don't want more AI or data centers imposed on their lives. Lepore explores the concept further in her forthcoming book, 'The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.'
Interpol conducted an eight-month operation, dubbed Jackal IV, from November 2025 to June 2026 targeting the global support networks enabling West African cybercrime syndicates like Black Axe. The effort spanned 22 countries across six continents, resulting in 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects linked to romance scams, crypto fraud, business email compromise, and violent crimes. In Argentina alone, authorities uncovered a crime-as-a-service network supplying domains and money laundering to these gangs, identifying about 200 people and arresting 17.
NASA and Caltech researchers are developing a large, flower-shaped spacecraft called a starshade that would fly in formation with a space telescope to block a star's glare. By blotting out starlight, the device would let astronomers directly observe faint, Earth-sized planets orbiting that star.
Amazon is selling Bose's compact SoundLink Micro Bluetooth speaker for $79.99, down from its usual $129 price. The speaker weighs under a pound, carries an IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating, and offers up to 12 hours of playback per charge.
Gamescom's Opening Night Live showcase launched with a two-hour stream hosted by Geoff Keighley, streamed on YouTube and Twitch. The event featured new looks at Gears of War: E-Day, Silent Hill: Townfall, and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, along with a first glimpse of The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past expansion and updates on Path of Exile 2, Metro 2039, and Valor Mortis.
Apple released a support page listing 50 ways users can adapt their devices as they age, organized into ten categories covering vision, hearing, mobility and cognition. The list draws mostly on existing accessibility settings, such as enlarging text, boosting contrast, and Sound Recognition, which can alert users to doorbells, alarms or appliance beeps. The release coincides with Apple's 50th anniversary and highlights features many customers may not know already exist.
San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York was arrested Sunday in East Palestine, Ohio, on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools, and was released the same day on his own recognizance. He pleaded no contest to both charges Monday, receiving a $150 fine and a two-day jail sentence, with court records showing the disorderly conduct charge was originally filed as engaging in prostitution before being amended.
Apple unveiled its M6 processor, first appearing in the Mac Mini, built on a 2nm manufacturing process with 12 CPU cores, a 12-core GPU, and a dual 16-core neural engine. Apple claims roughly 20% faster multithreaded performance and larger GPU gains over the M5, along with memory bandwidth up to 170GB/s, though independent testing hasn't yet confirmed these figures.
A teardown of Google Translate version 10.32.66 uncovered hidden strings describing a new 'Listening area' setting built specifically for Android XR smart glasses. The feature would let users toggle Live Translate between a 'Front only' mode for one-on-one talks and a 'Surrounding area' mode that picks up speech from all nearby microphones.
Gamescom's Opening Night Live 2026 showcase aired live, presenting a lineup of new game announcements, updates, and trailers from developers across the industry. The event was streamed publicly on YouTube alongside continuing coverage from the Gamescom show floor.
New leaked photos shared on Weibo by tipster Digital Chat Station show what appears to be Xiaomi's upcoming book-style foldable, featuring a wide inner display, noticeable bezels, and a punch-hole front camera. The design closely matches Xiaomi's own HyperOS 4 teaser image, lending credibility to the leak ahead of the device's confirmed September debut as the Xiaomi 18 Fold.
Apple announced updated Mac mini models built on its new M6 chip and the higher-end M5 Pro, promising as much as 4x faster AI processing, doubled graphics and storage speeds, and a 40 percent CPU gain over the previous generation. Both configurations add Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and faster Ethernet options, and ship with macOS 27 and Apple's next Apple Intelligence features including Siri AI. The machines are open for preorder now and go on sale September 22.
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