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CarPlay’s ‘next generation’ is already looking better than we thought

CarPlay’s evolution has in several ways been a disappointment since the “next generation” of CarPlay was first previewed in 2022. But all of a sudden, in the span of a mere month, CarPlay’s future looks brighter than it has in years—in part because of a redefinition of what that future will be. The next generation of CarPlay is no longer just CarPlay Ultra CarPlay’s previously announced “next generation” seemed like it would never arrive. But now, it’s finally here—with a twist. And arguably,

Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox has an AMD chip inside and is ‘not locked to a single store’

At Xbox our vision is for you to play the games you want with the people you want, anywhere you want. That’s why we’re investing in our next-generation hardware lineup — across console, handheld, PC, cloud, and accessories. I’m thrilled to share we’ve established a strategic multi-year partnership with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices — including our next-generation Xbox consoles in your living room and in your hands. Together with AMD we’re advancing the state of art in

AI copyright anxiety will hold back creativity

During a later visit to a Picasso exhibit in Milan, I came across a famous informational diagram by the art historian Alfred Barr, mapping how modernist movements like Cubism evolved from earlier artistic traditions. Picasso is often held up as one of modern art’s most original and influential figures, but Barr’s chart made plain the many artists he drew from—Goya, El Greco, Cézanne, African sculptors. This made me wonder: If a generative AI model had been fed all those inputs, might it have pro

UK watchdog fines 23andMe over 2023 data breach

In Brief The U.K. data protection watchdog has fined 23andMe £2.31 million ($3.1m) for failing to protect U.K. residents’ personal and genetic data prior to its 2023 data breach. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said on Tuesday it has fined the genetic testing company as it “did not have additional verification steps for users to access and download their raw genetic data” at the time of its cyberattack. In 2023, hackers stole private data on more than 6.9 million users’ over a mon

Fossify – A suite of open-source, ad-free apps

👋 Welcome to Fossify! Fossify is a group of privacy-focused, open-source, and ad-free mobile apps. It emerged as a fork of the discontinued SimpleMobileTools to continue its legacy, bringing simple and private tech to everyone. Get Involved For issues affecting multiple apps, check out general issues. Engage in discussions or share ideas at general discussions. To help with code or translations, visit this link. Questions or Feedback? If you have questions or want to learn more, start a

Scientists Discover the Key to Axolotls’ Ability to Regenerate Limbs

The axolotl seems like something out of science fiction. This perpetually youthful-looking Mexican salamander possesses a superpower that defies biology as we know it: the ability to regenerate entire limbs, parts of its heart, and even its spinal cord. But how does an amputated limb know whether to regenerate an entire arm from the shoulder down or just a hand from the wrist? This mystery of “positional identity” has fascinated scientists for decades. A team at Northeastern University, led by

Why I like the base iPad more than the Pro and Air - especially at this price

ZDNET's key takeaways The 11th-generation iPad 11th Generation normally retails for $349 The upgraded iPad has double the base storage as the previous generation, more RAM, and an upgraded processor in the A16 Bionic chip. However, it still isn't compatible with Apple Intelligence and doesn't support the Apple Pencil Pro. $299 at Amazon $349 at Apple $329 at B&H Photo-Video more buying choices Multiple 11th-Gen iPad configurations are on sale at Amazon. One of the biggest discounts belongs to

How the first electric grid was built

The Linear No Threshold model says that there is no safe level of radiation exposure. There is overwhelming evidence it is false, yet it inspires the ALARA principle, which makes nuclear power unaffordable worldwide. Read the lead article from Issue 19 of Works in Progress. We’re hosting a Stripe Press pop-up coffee shop and bookstore on Saturday, June 28, in Washington, DC. RSVP here if you can make it. In 1883, Sir Coutts Lindsay, owner of the Grosvenor Art Gallery in Bond Street, decided th

Anne Wojcicki’s nonprofit reaches deal to acquire 23andMe

Beleaguered genetic testing company 23andMe announced Friday that it has reached an agreement to sell itself to a nonprofit led by the company’s co-founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki. Following a massive cyberattack in 2023 and a related lawsuit settlement, 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, with Wojcicki resigning in order to become an independent bidder for the company. But pharmaceutical company Regeneron was announced as the company’s acquirer with a $256 million bid. According to th

23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki will regain control of embattled DNA company after all

In a surprise twist, 23andMe founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki is set to regain control of the DNA company's assets, according to a press release from 23andMe. In May, a company called Regeneron bought 23andMe for $256 million in a bankruptcy auction, but Wojcicki's nonprofit, TTAM Research Institute, was able to reopen bidding with an "unsolicited offer" of $305 million, The Wall Street Journal reports. A bankruptcy judge agreed to reopen bidding on 23andMe under the condition that Regenero

Google’s test turns search results into an AI-generated podcast

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Google is rolling out a test that puts its AI-powered Audio Overviews on the first page of search results on mobile. The experiment, which you can enable in Labs, will let you generate an AI podcast-style discussion for certain queries. If you search for something like, “How do noise cancellation headphones work?”, Google will display a button bene

Here’s the $2,000 fully AI-generated ad that aired during the NBA Finals

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. If you’ve been on social media lately, you might’ve seen the unsettling AI slop videos showing AI-generated people in wild scenarios or just speaking a bunch of nonsense. On Wednesday night, the betting platform Kalshi decided to take this trend outside the social sphere by putting a nonsensical AI-generated ad in front of the millions of viewers wa

Disney Pinnacle unveils Genesis Keys quest with Web3 support from Dapper Labs

Disney Pinnacle by Dapper Labs, the digital pin collecting and trading platform, has now announced its Genesis Keys quest. That means Disney fans worldwide can claim free Genesis Keys every four hours as part of the global quest for one-of-one Genesis Editions — the first digital pins ever minted on the platform. The Genesis Keys campaign marks the first phase of Disney Pinnacle by Dapper Labs’ rollout gearing up for more action throughout the summer. As the community collectively claims Keys

Congress Demands Answers on Data Privacy Ahead of 23andMe Sale

US Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jan Schakowsky on Thursday sent letters to the two potential buyers of troubled genetic testing firm 23andMe demanding details about consumer data privacy should either of them acquire the company. Signed by 20 other Democratic members of Congress, the letters were sent to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and TTAM Research Institute, which have put forth separate bids to buy 23andMe. In the letters, they ask Regeneron and TTAM if they will continue to give custome

Can your iPad run iPadOS 26? Here’s the compatibility list

iPadOS 26 is a big step up this year, and definitely worth upgrading if your iPad model is able to run the upcoming version. Apple aims to maintain compatibility with new versions of iPadOS for as long as possible, but each year does have to drop support for some models … Apple has announced that the following iPad models are compatible with iPadOS 26: iPad Pro (M4), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) generation and later) iPad Air (M2

You can produce video ads in seconds with Amazon's new AI tool - here's how

Michael Vi/Getty The process of creating advertisements is becoming a whole lot quicker with the help of generative AI. On Tuesday, Amazon Ads announced that its new Video Generation platform -- initially launched in beta in September -- is now generally available for all US customers. The tool has also been given some technical upgrades. Most notably, its AI-generated videos are smoother and more realistic, and it also generates a series of six different videos, giving advertisers a set of cr

Disney and Universal sue Midjourney, alleging AI-related copyright infringement

In Brief Disney and Universal have sued generative AI platform Midjourney for allegedly training its art-generating and -editing models on their content without permission. Disney and Universal filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming that Midjourney ignored their earlier requests to cease violating their intellectual property rights, according to The Wall Street Journal. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, includes dozens of examples of images generate

Wikipedia pauses AI-generated summaries pilot after editors protest

In Brief Wikipedia has reportedly paused an experiment that used AI to summarize articles on its platform after editors pushed back. Wikipedia announced earlier this month it was going to run the experiment for users who have the Wikipedia browser extension installed and chose to opt in, according to 404 Media. AI-generated summaries appeared at the top of every Wikipedia article with a yellow “unverified” label. Users had to click to expand and read them. Editors almost immediately criticize

US government’s vaccine website defaced with AI-generated content

In Brief A U.S. government website designed to inform the public about vaccines has been defaced and now hosts apparently AI-generated spam. The domain, which belongs to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), appears to have been hosting the same kind of content — mostly gay-themed and LGBTQ+ posts — since at least May 12, according to an archived version of the site. It’s unclear who is responsible for it, or what is the purpose of this defacement other than pushing AI-gener

Here’s an early look at the Play Store’s AI avatar generator (APK teardown)

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google is working on an AI-powered avatar generator for Play Games profiles. We’ve enabled it before the official rollout to give you an early look. Google is developing an AI-powered avatar generator for the Play Store that will allow you to create a custom avatar for your Play Games profile. We first spotted evidence of this upcoming feature earlier this week, and we’ve now managed to get an early look at how it may work upon release. Authority Ins

I’m Not Convinced Ethical Generative AI Currently Exists

Are there generative AI tools I can use that are perhaps slightly more ethical than others? —Better Choices No, I don't think any one generative AI tool from the major players is more ethical than any other. Here’s why. For me, the ethics of generative AI use can be broken down to issues with how the models are developed—specifically, how the data used to train them was accessed—as well as ongoing concerns about their environmental impact. In order to power a chatbot or image generator, an ob

A password generator inspired by the Xkcd password spec

Introduction This python script implements the xkcd password spec. Install This package requires the pip Python package manager for installation. pip installation instructions. Then: pip install xkpa Usage % xkpa -h usage: xkpa.py [-h] [-n] [-d DICT_PATH] [-x] [-i] [-s SEPARATOR] [-l LENGTH] [-c COUNT] [-v] [w] Generate an xkcd style password. positional arguments: w The number of words in the password. Defaults to 4. optional arguments: -h, --help show this help message and exit -n Disab

Xbox’s AI initiative with Muse is an attempt to read the tea leaves, not the room

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Earlier today, the heads of Microsoft’s Xbox division revealed Muse, a generative AI model that intends to create both visuals and gameplay for games. The model, which was trained on the largely forgotten Ninja Theory multiplayer game Bleeding Edge, is not a shocking leap for Microsoft’s Xbox division. The company as a whole, from CEO Satya Nadella down, has wholeheart