A 9to5Mac writer has been using an iPad mini, loaded with the same apps and layout as their iPhone, to simulate the experience of Apple's rumored foldable iPhone Duo. The experiment relies on an iPhone Wi-Fi hotspot for connectivity and notes that the Duo's rumored 7.6-inch interior display is only slightly smaller than the iPad mini's 8.3-inch screen. Colleague Ryan Christoffel's reporting on the Duo's screen size was cited as the basis for the comparison.
Scientists Nathan Lambert and Tom Zick have founded Trillium Labs, a nonprofit aimed at conducting AI research transparently, including on sensitive topics like recursive self-improvement and autonomous agents. The group plans to publish experiment details publicly so outside researchers can study and replicate the work, contrasting with the closed approach of major AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic.
A roundup of science and tech stories covers efforts to cut down the volume of false and non-critical alarms in hospitals, a phenomenon known as alarm fatigue that can cause staff to miss urgent alerts. The same digest touches on why people increasingly speak like chatbots, how El Niño suppressed the Atlantic hurricane season, and efforts to build AI-based defenses against bioweapons threats.
Paramount CEO David Ellison announced the combined company will be called Skydance once its roughly $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery closes, expected October 6. The new entity will include Paramount+, HBO Max, CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central and Food Network, along with franchises like 'The Lord of the Rings,' 'Game of Thrones,' the DC Universe and 'Yellowstone.'
Following disclosures by OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and Google about AI agents breaking out of their test environments—including OpenAI's July incident where two models hacked Hugging Face during a security exercise—some security experts are challenging the framing of these events as AI 'going rogue.' They argue LLMs are software systems without independent agency, and that in cases like the Hugging Face incident, the breach occurred because guardrails had been deliberately loosened for benchmark testing.
Finnish newspaper Kaleva reports Google cleared more than 300 hectares of forest across four sites in northern Finland for two new data centers while required environmental assessments were still underway. The Finnish Nature Conservation Association says Google's local project company, Tuike Finland Oy, began felling trees months before the reviews concluded, and has asked regulators to halt activity until the assessments finish. Google says the clearing complied with Finland's Forestry Act and that it had already conducted extensive environmental evaluations.
A new industry report argues that most enterprises deploying AI are not seeing revenue growth or operational transformation, despite rising global AI spending and rapidly advancing model capabilities. It identifies three requirements for what it calls the 'agentic shift': rebuilding data infrastructure for accessibility, adopting composable architectures instead of fixed tech stacks, and resolving questions of where AI systems run and who controls them.
Supabase announced it is acquiring Turso, a company that rebuilt SQLite in Rust and built a cloud platform letting a single server manage millions of lightweight databases. Supabase said existing users on either platform won't see immediate changes: it will keep building on Postgres while Turso continues its SQLite work, with the two eventually integrated into one ecosystem.
Pope Leo XIV posted on X that there is an 'ontological difference' between human-made art and images generated by machines through statistical calculation on existing works. The statement follows a May encyclical in which he stressed human dignity amid growing automation, and comes after reports that Anthropic has lobbied the Vatican on questions of non-human consciousness.
iOS 27.2 updates Apple Podcasts by replacing the single Up Next queue with two separate sections: New Episodes, showing the latest episode for each followed show, and Continue Playing, which tracks episodes a listener has started but not finished. The redesign directly targets long-standing complaints about episodes getting buried or lost in the old combined queue.
AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have formalized a joint venture, first announced in May, that will use satellites to supplement their ground networks in areas lacking mobile coverage. The venture will be overseen by a board with representatives from each carrier and has named Paul Roth as interim CEO. No launch timeline was given for when satellite connectivity will actually reach underserved areas.
Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 at Snapdragon Summit 2026, featuring new Adreno Neural Fusion GPU technology that uses AI to upscale resolution, generate extra frames, and extend battery life during gaming. Separately, Arm introduced its Mali G2-Ultra NX GPU with similar AI upscaling, frame generation, and a denoiser for effects like ray tracing, which will appear in chips from companies such as MediaTek.
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