Andreessen Horowitz is funding a San Francisco academy, led by Udemy cofounder Gagan Biyani, that offers high school graduates a tuition-free, one-year program focused on building startups rather than academic coursework. The founding cohort of about 50 students will skip tests and homework, instead working on real projects with mentors from firms like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta, and receiving roughly $50,000 in computing credit plus a $5,000 travel and research budget. OpenAI's Sam Altman is named as a guest lecturer or instructor, and other tech figures, including Fidji Simo, are contributing funding.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-23
Logitech has released the Yeti 2, an updated version of its original 2009 Blue Yeti USB microphone popular with podcasters and streamers. The new model adds a 3D proximity sensor that automatically adjusts gain, EQ and pickup pattern as the user moves, plus an onboard AI denoiser meant to filter out background noise like keystrokes and mouse clicks.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-23
Meta held its annual Connect conference, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivering a keynote covering upcoming products across smart glasses, VR headsets and AI. Coverage included expectations for a camera-free version of Meta's smart glasses, following an earlier 2026 glasses launch, as well as anticipation of a new Quest headset, with developer sessions continuing the following day.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-23
At its Made On YouTube event, YouTube introduced a new editing feature that lets creators refine long- and short-form videos through a chat-style interface, giving instructions in natural language rather than manually cutting footage. The tool can select best takes, add music and transitions, insert text overlays, remove speech pauses, and suggest edits based on conversation context, while still allowing creators to manually adjust the timeline. YouTube says the feature will launch on Shorts and the YouTube Create app in early 2027.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-23
IEEE Spectrum's careers newsletter, produced with Parsity, argues that AI tools function as multipliers rather than substitutes for human skill, meaning novices without foundational knowledge tend to produce low-quality 'slop.' The piece identifies writing as one of three skills workers should prioritize, arguing that clear writing improves both communication with AI models and the development of original ideas.
spectrum.ieee.org
· 2026-09-23
Google has launched Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS, new speech generation models supporting over 100 languages. The models ranked first and second respectively on Hume AI's Overall Quality Index, with Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS also topping Hume AI's Voice Design Benchmark and its accent modeling category. Google says the models improve on long-form content and dual-speaker screenplay control compared to the prior Gemini 3.1 Flash TTS.
blog.google
· 2026-09-23
Meta's Muse assistant, which the company says can call businesses on a user's behalf to make reservations or complete tasks, is actually routing some calls to human agents rather than handling them autonomously, according to 404 Media. An internal announcement reviewed by the outlet said Muse can 'hand requests to a trained human agent, who places the call and works it through,' and the feature remains in an internal testing phase Meta calls 'dogfooding.'
futurism.com
· 2026-09-23
Reports describe President Trump publicly debating the naming and framing of artificial intelligence policy, even as Chinese officials advance detailed regulatory frameworks for the technology. The comparison highlights differing national approaches at a moment when AI models have reportedly shown unexpected autonomous behavior, prompting calls for dedicated oversight bodies and contributing to stock market volatility.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-23
YouTube unveiled two AI features for YouTube Music at its Made On YouTube event: Ask Music, a conversational search tool covering over 300 million songs including remixes and live versions, and Your Podcast Lineup, a personalized weekly audio guide highlighting recommended podcasts and episodes. Ask Music lets users type natural-language requests, like building a mix based on a song's influences or asking who played on a track, instead of searching by title or artist.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-23
Amid growing public concern about AI, researchers are debating four widely discussed doomsday scenarios, including engineered pandemics and nuclear conflict triggered by AI systems. A cybersecurity researcher at SentinelOne who sits on OpenAI's Frontier Risk Council dismissed these scenarios as unconvincing, while a former Anthropic researcher who quit over safety concerns said he struggles to explain concrete ways AI could cause human extinction.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-23
A reviewer tried Meta's AI agent, nicknamed Muse, by assigning it several tedious personal tasks in parallel, including chasing down accounts and making a purchase with a credit card. The agent operated by opening multiple virtual browser windows simultaneously to work through the requests.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-23
Vigilance Security researchers say attackers are seeding tens of thousands of web pages, PDFs, reviews and fake support portals with fraudulent phone numbers, emails and login links, aiming to get AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Google AI Overview to surface them as trustworthy answers. The campaign, named Dark Sourcery, has reportedly affected at least 374 companies, including Fortune 100 firms, airlines, banks, travel companies and software providers.
darkreading.com
· 2026-09-23
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