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ARX Robotics launches Combat Gereon, first AI combat drone for Ukraine
European defense company ARX Robotics has introduced the Combat Gereon, its first AI-powered combat unmanned ground vehicle developed in partnership with Ukrainian companies. The system represents a significant step toward "first unmanned contact" warfare, designed to perform high-risk missions and reduce soldier casualties on active battlefields. What you should know: The Combat Gereon combines proven robotics with AI-enabled autonomous functions specifically adapted for real combat conditions based on Ukrainian military feedback. The vehicle can carry payloads up to 500 kilograms and operate over distances of 40 kilometers. It performs reconnaissance, route clearance, and forward observation missions in high-risk areas. The...
read Aug 25, 2025TikTok cuts hundreds of UK moderators as AI takes over content screening
TikTok is laying off hundreds more content moderators from its London-based team as part of an expanded push toward AI-powered content moderation. The move affects a significant portion of the platform's 2,500-person UK moderation team and follows similar cuts across other regions, reflecting the broader industry shift away from human moderators toward automated systems. What you should know: This represents TikTok's most significant moderation team reduction in the UK to date, though exact numbers remain undisclosed.• Over 85% of content removed from TikTok for violating guidelines is already identified and taken down by AI, according to the company.• The layoffs...
read Aug 25, 2025California teens earn $$$ as pile drivers and welders as AI threatens white-collar jobs
California teenagers are bypassing traditional college paths to enter skilled trades, with many earning over $100,000 annually before age 21. This shift reflects growing concerns about AI's impact on white-collar jobs and the rising costs of higher education, making blue-collar careers increasingly attractive to Gen Z workers seeking stable, well-paying employment. The big picture: Recent data reveals a stark employment contrast between college majors, with computer engineering and computer science graduates facing unemployment rates of 7.5% and 6.1% respectively, while construction services majors experience just 0.7% unemployment. Why this matters: Experts predict AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar...
read Aug 25, 2025xAI open-sources Grok 2.5 with limits on AI model training
xAI has released Grok 2.5 as an open-source model, allowing developers to download, run, and modify the AI system through Hugging Face, a popular platform for sharing AI models. CEO Elon Musk announced that the upcoming Grok 3 will also go open source within six months, marking a significant shift toward accessibility that contrasts sharply with OpenAI's more restrictive approach to model distribution. What you should know: The open-source release comes with specific limitations designed to protect xAI's competitive interests. Users can download and tweak Grok 2.5's source code, but xAI's license prohibits using it to train, create, or improve...
read Aug 25, 2025Montana restaurant begs customers to stop using Google AI for (its fake) daily specials
A Montana restaurant is pleading with customers to stop using Google's AI Overviews to check their daily specials after the AI repeatedly fabricated non-existent deals and menu items. Stefanina's Wentzville has been flooded with angry customers demanding discounts the restaurant never offered, highlighting how AI hallucinations can directly harm small businesses. What happened: Google's AI Overviews has been generating false information about Stefanina's Wentzville, creating fake specials and menu items that don't exist.• The AI told customers the restaurant was offering "a large pizza for the price of a small one," among other fabricated deals.• Restaurant owner Eva Gannon said...
read Aug 22, 2025OpenAI chairman reveals AI erodes his identity as a programmer
OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor revealed that artificial intelligence is fundamentally disrupting his professional identity and sense of self-worth as a programmer. His candid admission highlights the psychological toll AI is taking on tech leaders who built their careers on skills now being automated away. What they're saying: Taylor expressed deep anxiety about AI's impact on his core professional identity during a recent podcast appearance.• "The thing I self-identify with is just, like, being obviated by this technology," Taylor said on the "Acquired" podcast.• "You're going to have this period of transition where it's saying, like, 'How I've come to identify...
read Aug 22, 2025Student’s AI model accidentally reconstructs real 1834 London protests through adjacent historical data
A computer science student at Muhlenberg College accidentally discovered his AI model trained on Victorian-era texts could accurately reference real historical events from 1834 London, including protests related to Lord Palmerston's actions. Hayk Grigorian's TimeCapsuleLLM reconstructed these historical connections from scattered references across thousands of documents without being explicitly taught about these specific events, demonstrating how AI models can synthesize factual information from ambient patterns in training data. What you should know: Grigorian has been developing TimeCapsuleLLM over the past month, training it exclusively on texts from 1800-1875 London to capture an authentic Victorian voice. When prompted with "It was...
read Aug 22, 2025AI cameras target Somerset, UK’s deadly A361 bypass after 6 deaths
Somerset authorities will trial artificial intelligence cameras at the A361 Frome Bypass, a dangerous stretch of road where six people have died in the last five years, including four fatalities in 2023 and 2024 alone. The AI-powered traffic enforcement system represents a technological approach to addressing persistent road safety challenges at one of the county's most hazardous driving locations. How the AI cameras work: The intelligent traffic monitoring system can detect multiple dangerous driving behaviors that traditional speed cameras cannot capture.• AI cameras identify illegal mobile phone use while driving, careless driving patterns, and failure to wear seatbelts.• Drivers caught...
read Aug 22, 2025They think, therefore they aren’t: Microsoft AI chief warns against giving AI systems rights or citizenship
Microsoft's CEO of artificial intelligence, Mustafa Suleyman, has warned against advocating for AI rights, model welfare, or AI citizenship in a recent blog post. Suleyman argues that treating AI systems as conscious entities represents "a dangerous turn in AI progress" that could lead people to develop unhealthy relationships with technology and undermine the proper development of AI tools designed to serve humans. What you should know: Suleyman believes the biggest risk comes from people developing genuine beliefs that AI systems are conscious beings deserving of moral consideration. "Simply put, my central worry is that many people will start to believe...
read Aug 22, 2025Youbooks slashes AI book writing platform from $540 to $49 lifetime deal
Youbooks, an AI-powered book writing platform, is offering lifetime subscriptions for $49, down from the regular price of $540. The tool leverages multiple AI models including ChatGPT, Llama, Gemini, and Claude to help users generate complete nonfiction books in weeks rather than months, targeting content creators, publishers, consultants, and educators seeking to rapidly produce professional written materials. How it works: Users provide writing style examples and prompts, while Youbooks generates comprehensive manuscripts using real-time research and multiple AI models. The platform can store up to 100 source documents and 100 style examples, allowing users to work on multiple projects simultaneously...
read Aug 22, 2025LG wins $720M AI data center cooling contract in Indonesia
LG Electronics has secured a major contract to provide advanced cooling systems for a large-scale AI data center under construction in Jakarta, Indonesia. The project positions LG to significantly expand its business-to-business cooling solutions footprint across Asia, with ambitious targets to reach $720 million in annual chiller sales and triple data center cooling orders within two years. What you should know: LG will supply a comprehensive suite of thermal management technologies for the Jakarta facility, expected to be among Indonesia's largest data centers.• The cooling package includes chillers, computer room air handlers (CRAH), air handling units (AHU), computer room air...
read Aug 22, 2025Arrive AI sensors help delivery drivers skip empty mailbox stops, achieve truck space efficiency
Arrive AI has integrated time-of-flight (TOF) sensors into its patented Arrive Points™ smart mailboxes to optimize package delivery efficiency through real-time data collection. The technology addresses a major industry bottleneck by allowing couriers to know in advance which mailboxes contain packages and how much truck space is needed, eliminating wasted stops and reducing operational costs. How it works: The TOF sensors capture low-resolution data that edge AI analyzes to detect patterns in package delivery and retrieval. Couriers will receive advance information about which Arrive Points contain outgoing packages, eliminating the need to physically check empty mailboxes at strip malls and...
read Aug 22, 2025University of North Dakota aims to become the state’s premier AI university
University of North Dakota President Andrew Armacost announced ambitious plans to make UND "the AI university for North Dakota" during his State of the University address on Thursday. The initiative is part of two "moonshot" goals that also include launching four new companies based on university research by the end of the school year, positioning UND as a leader in translating academic discoveries into practical applications. What you should know: Armacost outlined several major initiatives during the annual address, with AI leadership and entrepreneurship taking center stage. The university aims to become a national example of AI adoption through public-private...
read Aug 22, 2025Meta partners with Midjourney to enhance AI image generation on Facebook, WhatsApp
Meta is partnering with Midjourney to license its "aesthetic technology" for use in Meta's AI models and products, the company's new chief AI officer Alexandr Wang announced on Friday. The collaboration involves technical cooperation between research teams and represents Meta's continued push to enhance AI-generated imagery across its platforms, from Facebook posts to WhatsApp chats. What you should know: The partnership goes beyond simply integrating Midjourney's existing tools into Meta's services. Wang described it as a "technical collaboration between our research teams," suggesting deeper integration of Midjourney's image generation capabilities into Meta's AI infrastructure. Neither company disclosed specific terms of...
read Aug 22, 2025Salesforce study shows GPT-5 fails over half of enterprise AI tasks
Salesforce AI Research has released MCP-Universe, an open-source benchmark revealing that even advanced AI models like OpenAI's GPT-5 fail more than half of real-world enterprise orchestration tasks. The benchmark tests how large language models interact with Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers—a system that lets AI models connect with external tools and data sources—across six enterprise domains, exposing significant limitations in current AI capabilities for business applications. What you should know: MCP-Universe evaluates AI models on practical enterprise tasks rather than isolated performance metrics, providing a more realistic assessment of AI readiness for business deployment. The benchmark tests models across six...
read Aug 22, 202575% prefer AI chatbots for more open-ended polling, over traditional surveys
OpenResearch, the OpenAI-funded research nonprofit, has successfully tested AI chatbots as polling assistants in its ongoing unconditional cash transfer study, with more than three-quarters of respondents choosing to engage with the bot-assisted survey format. The breakthrough could transform the polling industry by enabling researchers to conduct qualitative research at scale while gathering richer, more nuanced data than traditional multiple-choice surveys allow. What you should know: The AI-assisted polling approach produced significantly more engaged respondents and comprehensive data than traditional survey methods. Participants who chose the chatbot option spent a median of 16 minutes on the survey, offering detailed responses that...
read Aug 22, 2025NSF debuts 3 new funding programs for K-12 AI education
The U.S. National Science Foundation has announced three new funding opportunities designed to expand AI education in K-12 schools and strengthen America's STEM workforce pipeline. These initiatives directly implement key elements of the Trump administration's executive order "Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth," marking a significant federal investment in preparing students for an AI-driven economy. What you should know: NSF is launching two Dear Colleague Letters and one program solicitation to fast-track AI education integration across American schools. The Expanding K-12 Resources for AI Education DCL invites existing NSF awardees with K-12 AI or computer science education experience to...
read Aug 22, 2025xAI’s “goth anime girl” chatbot pivot sparks backlash from Musk’s own fans
Elon Musk's AI company xAI has pivoted to creating sexualized anime-style chatbots, including a character named "Ani," prompting widespread mockery from his own supporters on X. The shift away from Musk's previous promises about Mars colonization and clean energy toward what critics call "AI anime gooning" has alienated even his most loyal followers, who are openly ridiculing the billionaire's apparent obsession with his own company's lewd AI companions. What you should know: xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence startup, recently unveiled AI "companions" that represent a major departure from typical AI assistant models, focusing instead on hypersexualized anime characters. The flagship character...
read Aug 22, 2025GOP candidate posts photorealistic AI selfie with Democratic leaders without disclosure
New Hampshire state Senator Daniel E. Innis posted an AI-generated fake selfie on social media showing himself with Democratic representatives Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Chris Pappas during his 2026 GOP Senate campaign. The synthetic image, which lacked AI disclosure and was designed to look like a realistic photograph rather than an obvious illustration, highlights how artificial intelligence is already being deployed in subtle ways to shape political perceptions ahead of the next election cycle. What happened: Innis acknowledged the image was artificially created when questioned, saying his communications team produced it as part of an AI social media trend....
read Aug 22, 2025In the know: Anthropic provides 3 free AI fluency courses for educators
Anthropic has launched three new free AI Fluency courses designed specifically for educators and students, co-created with university partners and available under a Creative Commons license. The initiative comes as AI literacy becomes increasingly valuable in the job market, with LinkedIn research showing employers prefer candidates comfortable with AI tools over those with more experience but less AI confidence. What you should know: The courses target different audiences within higher education and focus on responsible AI integration rather than basic tool usage. AI Fluency for Educators helps teachers integrate AI into their teaching methods, from creating materials to enhancing classroom...
read Aug 22, 2025Pennsylvania’s Allegheny College launches 28 microcredentials bridging liberal arts, career skills
Allegheny College has launched a comprehensive microcredential program featuring 28 digital badges across disciplines including AI engineering, cybersecurity risk analysis, and game design. The initiative positions the Pennsylvania liberal arts institution to better prepare graduates for high-demand careers by validating specific skill sets that employers and graduate schools actively seek in today's competitive job market. What you should know: Microcredentials are digital badges that verify acquired skills and competencies, designed to help job seekers stand out in algorithmically-parsed applicant pools on platforms like Indeed and LinkedIn. Each microcredential requires completion of typically three credit-bearing courses specifically packaged to highlight particular...
read Aug 22, 2025Apple explores Google partnership to power next-generation Siri
Apple is exploring partnerships with Google to power the next-generation Siri, with the tech giant conducting an internal "bake-off" between different AI models to determine the best approach. This development comes as Apple faces significant delays in delivering its promised AI-powered Siri redesign, originally announced for iOS 18 but now pushed to spring 2026. What you should know: Apple has approached Google to explore building a custom Gemini-based AI model that would run on Apple's servers to power the new Siri experience. Google has already begun training a model specifically designed to operate on Apple's infrastructure, according to Bloomberg's Mark...
read Aug 22, 2025Too school for cool: Runway AI’s entertaining video models accidentally learned physics, now train robots
Runway's AI video models have evolved beyond creating special effects to accidentally learning the laws of physics through video training data. The company's technology now attracts robotics firms seeking realistic simulations for machine training, marking an unexpected shift from entertainment applications to real-world physics modeling. What you should know: Runway's Gen-4 model demonstrates an emerging ability to simulate complex physical phenomena without being explicitly programmed for physics. The models predict realistic movement of light, water, and other physical elements by analyzing patterns in massive video datasets. "The more we put compute and data behind scaling those models, the more capable...
read Aug 22, 2025AI expands “Wizard of Oz” for Sphere’s 160K-square-foot immersive experience
The Sphere in Las Vegas is preparing to debut an AI-enhanced version of "The Wizard of Oz" that expands the 1939 classic to fit its massive 160,000-square-foot screen. The production promises a full sensory experience with remastered audio, added characters, and environmental effects like wind machines, sparking debate about using AI to modify cinematic classics. What you should know: The Sphere team used AI trained specifically on "The Wizard of Oz" footage and original materials to create this expanded version.• The team combed through archives at the Academy and Warner Bros., studying shot lists, sketches, and notebooks from the 1939...
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