Reality Defender, a startup focused on AI detection, has developed a tool to verify human participants in video calls and catch fraudsters using AI deepfakes for scams.
The Doctor Behind the ‘Suicide Pod’ Wants AI to Assist at the End of Life
The death of an American woman inside Philip Nitschke’s latest invention reveals the next frontier in the right-to-die debate.
It Seemed Like an AI Crime-Fighting Super Tool. Then Defense Attorneys Started Asking Questions
Global Intelligence claims its Cybercheck technology can help cops find key evidence to nail a case. But a WIRED investigation reveals the smoking gun often appears far less solid.
Spotify starts rolling out music videos in beta for Premium subscribers in 85 additional markets, after introducing the feature in 12 markets earlier in 2024 (Ivan Mehta/TechCrunch)
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: Spotify starts rolling out music videos in beta for Premium subscribers in 85 additional markets, after introducing the feature in 12 markets earlier in 2024 — Music streaming company Spotify said today that it is testing music videos for premium users in 85 additional markets.
WordPress plugin Jetpack releases a critical security update to fix a bug letting logged-in users access forms from website visitors, in all versions since 2016 (Bill Toulas/BleepingComputer)
Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer: WordPress plugin Jetpack releases a critical security update to fix a bug letting logged-in users access forms from website visitors, in all versions since 2016 — WordPress plugin Jetpack released a critical security update earlier today, addressing a vulnerability that allowed a logged …
Oura Ring 4 review: more sizes, slimmer body, redesigned app, and better battery life and auto workout detection, but needs a subscription and no charging case (Victoria Song/The Verge)
Victoria Song / The Verge: Oura Ring 4 review: more sizes, slimmer body, redesigned app, and better battery life and auto workout detection, but needs a subscription and no charging case — Oura furthers its lead among smart rings with hardware and software refinements, but its subscription is still its biggest downside.
MIT team takes a major step toward fully 3D-printed active electronics
Active electronics — components that can control electrical signals — usually contain semiconductor devices that receive, store, and process information. These components, which must be made in a clean room, require advanced fabrication technology that is not widely available outside a few specialized manufacturing centers. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the lack of widespread semiconductor fabrication […]
Milton Disrupted the Flow of Drinking Water—so Florida Deployed a Machine to Harvest It From Air
A Tampa-based company that makes atmospheric water generators and the state of Florida were able to supply one to a hospital shortly after Milton made landfall.
The War on Passwords Is One Step Closer to Being Over
“Passkeys,” the secure authentication mechanism built to replace passwords, are getting more portable and easier for organizations to implement thanks to new initiatives the FIDO Alliance announced on Monday.
7 Best Bug Sprays We Tested and Reviewed
Our writer tried some of the most popular insect repellents during runs, hikes, and evenings. These are the ones we recommend.
Google signs an agreement to purchase nuclear energy generated from multiple small modular reactors developed by Kairos Power, targeting 500 MW by 2035 (Jennifer Hiller/Wall Street Journal)
Jennifer Hiller / Wall Street Journal: Google signs an agreement to purchase nuclear energy generated from multiple small modular reactors developed by Kairos Power, targeting 500 MW by 2035 — Startup Kairos Power plans to build small reactors to help supply electricity to the tech company’s data centers, in a first-of-its-kind deal in the U.S.
Sources: Microsoft lost billions of dollars on HoloLens before discontinuing it and is pulling back work on IVAS, the combat goggles for the US Army (Ashley Stewart/Business Insider)
Ashley Stewart / Business Insider: Sources: Microsoft lost billions of dollars on HoloLens before discontinuing it and is pulling back work on IVAS, the combat goggles for the US Army — – Microsoft is discontinuing HoloLens after losing billions of dollars on the project. — The company’s 10-year IVAS contract …
Sebastien Bubeck, Microsoft’s VP of GenAI research who is known for his work on Microsoft’s Phi small language models, is leaving the company to join OpenAI (Juby Babu/Reuters)
Juby Babu / Reuters: Sebastien Bubeck, Microsoft’s VP of GenAI research who is known for his work on Microsoft’s Phi small language models, is leaving the company to join OpenAI — Microsoft (MSFT.O) on Monday said that its vice president of GenAI research, Sebastien Bubeck, is leaving the company to join ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.
Teaching computers a new way to count could make numbers more accurate
A new way to store numbers in computers can dynamically prioritise accuracy or range, depending on need, allowing software to quickly switch between very large and small numbers
Season 10 of Women at Work Starts October 21
Stay tuned for eight episodes that speak to both the practical and emotional sides of women’s experiences at work.
Why Marketers Are Spending Less on Social Media
A survey of nearly 300 marketing executives found social media investments at a seven-year low.
What Employers Get Wrong About How People Connect at Work
Four important kinds of connection happen in organizations — but leaders usually only focus on one.
7 Tips for Mastering ‘Metaphor: ReFantazio’
Studio Zero’s new RPG is a massive adventure with a lot to do. Here’s where to start.
These Apps Help People With Disabilities Travel Smarter and Safer
For the disability community, technology can be the most valuable travel companion. These apps and services make it easier to get around a new city.
The Hottest Startups in Dublin in 2024
The Irish capital’s embrace of big tech is filtering through to its startups, who are building better tools for IT teams, AI content moderation tools, and RNA screening for herds of cattle.
A look at the legal dispute between OpenAI and Open AI, run by Guy Ravine, who bought the open.ai domain and filed to trademark “Open AI” in December 2015 (Evan Ratliff/Bloomberg)
Evan Ratliff / Bloomberg: A look at the legal dispute between OpenAI and Open AI, run by Guy Ravine, who bought the open.ai domain and filed to trademark “Open AI” in December 2015 — Guy Ravine’s Open AI (with a space) owns a trademark and website that OpenAI (no space) wants.
LinkedIn says US C-suite users are up 35% and UK C-suite users are up 30% in five years, and their content gets 4x more engagement than other members’ content (Cristina Criddle/Financial Times)
Cristina Criddle / Financial Times: LinkedIn says US C-suite users are up 35% and UK C-suite users are up 30% in five years, and their content gets 4x more engagement than other members’ content — Pressure is growing on C-suite executives to raise their online game — but they must beware of oversharing
Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle says the service is now back in a “provisional, read-only manner”, after a DDoS attack and data breach on October 9 (Tom Warren/The Verge)
Tom Warren / The Verge: Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle says the service is now back in a “provisional, read-only manner”, after a DDoS attack and data breach on October 9 — The Internet Archive is back online in a read-only state after a cyberattack brought down the digital library and Wayback Machine last week.
MIT economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson share Nobel Prize in economics
MIT economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson PhD ’89, whose work has illuminated the relationship between political systems and economic growth, have been named winners of the 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Political scientist James Robinson, with whom they have worked closely, also shares the award. “Societies with a poor rule […]
11 Best Lubes of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
For the most sensitive parts of the human body, friction is the enemy. Here’s how to keep it at bay with our favorite lubes made of water, silicone, or natural oil.
MSI Vision Elite RS Review: A Vision of Gaming Perfection
With S-tier horsepower and a gorgeous, curved glass case, this is one prebuilt gaming PC that looks as good as it performs.
On Running Cloudboom Strike LS Review: More Bounces for Less Ounces
The On Running Cloudboom Strike LS marathon shoes are sprayed together by robots.
How scammers in Southeast Asia are using generative AI, crypto drainers, Starlink terminals, and other tools to expand their pig butchering operations (Wired)
Wired: How scammers in Southeast Asia are using generative AI, crypto drainers, Starlink terminals, and other tools to expand their pig butchering operations — Scammers in Southeast Asia are increasingly turning to AI, deepfakes, and dangerous malware in a way that makes their pig butchering operations even more convincing.
Analysis: US regulators have secured $19.45B across eight settlements from crypto firms so far in 2024, including FTX’s $12.7B, and ~$32B since January 1, 2019 (Lim Yu Qian/CoinGecko)
Lim Yu Qian / CoinGecko: Analysis: US regulators have secured $19.45B across eight settlements from crypto firms so far in 2024, including FTX’s $12.7B, and ~$32B since January 1, 2019 — What Are the Top Crypto Enforcement Actions in the US? … FTX and Alameda’s lawsuit was led by the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission […]
An energy crunch is forcing continued coal burning in a low-income area in North Omaha, Nebraska, as Meta and Google data centers strain regional power supply (Evan Halper/Washington Post)
Evan Halper / Washington Post: An energy crunch is forcing continued coal burning in a low-income area in North Omaha, Nebraska, as Meta and Google data centers strain regional power supply — An energy crunch forces continued coal burning in a low-income area as data centers strain the regional power supply.
‘Piece by Piece’ Director Morgan Neville Will Never Use AI Again
Back in 2021, Morgan Neville thought using AI to recreate the late Anthony Bourdain’s voice would be an interesting Easter egg in his documentary. He ended up being a canary in Hollywood’s AI coal mine.
Cells From Different Species Can Exchange ‘Text Messages’ Using RNA
Long known as a messenger within cells, RNA is increasingly seen as life’s molecular communication system—even between organisms widely separated by evolution.
High-End Fashion Dupes Are Soaring Where Knock-Offs Never Could
High-quality imitations of luxury products are rising, and people aren’t ashamed to buy them anymore. How do designer brands retain their appeal?
How some architects and designers are creating photorealistic virtual spaces in the metaverse; report: 41% of architectural practices use AI to some degree (Victoria Woodcock/Financial Times)
Victoria Woodcock / Financial Times: How some architects and designers are creating photorealistic virtual spaces in the metaverse; report: 41% of architectural practices use AI to some degree — The metaverse is changing the face of contemporary design — In 2020, artist and designer Charlotte Taylor and architect Riccardo Fornoni unveiled Villa Saraceni.
A look at sports data tech companies like Sportradar, which set betting odds for sports gambling apps and websites, as they build models to keep people betting (Samanth Subramanian/Bloomberg)
Samanth Subramanian / Bloomberg: A look at sports data tech companies like Sportradar, which set betting odds for sports gambling apps and websites, as they build models to keep people betting — Big-money data deals and advanced statistical models are helping to predict match outcomes and keep people betting.
The Northwest-AI-Hub, which is researching hybrid gain cell memory that combines DRAM’s density with SRAM’s speed, gets a $16.3M CHIPS Act grant via the US DOD (Katherine Bourzac/IEEE Spectrum)
Katherine Bourzac / IEEE Spectrum: The Northwest-AI-Hub, which is researching hybrid gain cell memory that combines DRAM’s density with SRAM’s speed, gets a $16.3M CHIPS Act grant via the US DOD — CHIPS Act funding boosts research into dense, speedy hybrid gain cell memory — Research on a hybrid type of memory that combines …
8 Best Electric Cargo Bikes for Families (2024)
We’ve spent years riding and testing extra-large ebikes, perfect for hauling both your little ones and groceries around town.
9 Best Sunscreens, WIRED Tested and Reviewed
We spent all summer road-testing sunscreen, from mineral and chemical to tinted and spray versions. These are our top picks in each category.
How to Stop Your Data From Being Used to Train AI
Some companies let you opt out of allowing your content to be used for generative AI. Here’s how to take back (at least a little) control from ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and more.
Q&A with physicist Lenka Zdeborová on how the physics of phase transitions in matter can help model the behavior of algorithms, understanding LLMs, and more (John Pavlus/Quanta Magazine)
John Pavlus / Quanta Magazine: Q&A with physicist Lenka Zdeborová on how the physics of phase transitions in matter can help model the behavior of algorithms, understanding LLMs, and more — Quanta spoke with Zdeborová about the similarities between water and algorithms, using physics …
Matt Mullenweg says WordPress is “forking” Advanced Custom Fields, a plugin developed by WP Engine; ACF team says the plugin was taken away “without consent” (Anthony Ha/TechCrunch)
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch: Matt Mullenweg says WordPress is “forking” Advanced Custom Fields, a plugin developed by WP Engine; ACF team says the plugin was taken away “without consent” — The dispute between WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and hosting provider WP Engine continues …
Some Ukrainian soldiers say SpaceX has not done enough to crack down on illicit use of Starlink terminals by Russia to power its advance in Ukraine (Washington Post)
Washington Post: Some Ukrainian soldiers say SpaceX has not done enough to crack down on illicit use of Starlink terminals by Russia to power its advance in Ukraine — Ukraine’s outgunned and outmanned army had one major advantage over its enemy: internet through Starlink terminals. Now the Russians have it, too.
TikTokkers Say Cinnamon Helps Burn Fat. Here’s What the Science Says
Consuming cinnamon may have a very small effect on weight, but it’s unlikely to deliver meaningful weight loss without other lifestyle adjustments.
The Origins of the Climate Haven Myth
In a world of increasingly powerful hurricanes and other rising climate threats, those with vested interests in promoting certain locations have sold the public a dream.
The 25 Best Shows on Amazon Prime Right Now (October 2024)
The Legend of Vox Machina, The Boys, and Fallout are just a few of the shows you should be watching on Amazon Prime Video this week.
Matt Mullenweg’s feud with WP Engine not only presents a significant conflict of interest but has also dragged the WordPress community into a legal mess (Mathew Ingram/The Torment Nexus)
Mathew Ingram / The Torment Nexus: Matt Mullenweg’s feud with WP Engine not only presents a significant conflict of interest but has also dragged the WordPress community into a legal mess — Hi everyone! Mathew Ingram here. This is The Torment Nexus (you can find out more about me and this newsletter — and why […]
The bleak online discourse about hurricanes Milton and Helene revealed not just a misinformation crisis in the US but a cultural assault on reality itself (Charlie Warzel/The Atlantic)
Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic: The bleak online discourse about hurricanes Milton and Helene revealed not just a misinformation crisis in the US but a cultural assault on reality itself — The truth is, it’s getting harder to describe the extent to which a meaningful percentage of Americans have dissociated from reality.
Adobe expects US BNPL spending to grow 11.4% YoY to $18.5B in Q4 2024; the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says most BNPL users make their payments on time (Hannah Lang/Reuters)
Hannah Lang / Reuters: Adobe expects US BNPL spending to grow 11.4% YoY to $18.5B in Q4 2024; the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says most BNPL users make their payments on time — As Amazon’s Prime Day kicked off the holiday shopping season this week, U.S. consumers are expected to spend a record $18.5 […]
Leaked Docs From Far-Right Militias Show History of Voter Intimidation Plans
“All the state leaders should be getting their people out … to watch for ballot stuffing,” wrote the leader of the American Patriots Three Percent militia. “Our nation depends on this.”
The Best Game Subscription Services That We’ve Tested (2024)
PlayStation Plus Extra or Premium? Xbox Game Pass Core or Ultimate? We break everything down so you can spend more time playing.