Saturday, June 27, 2026

The Obtain: brain-melting heatwaves and unprecedented OpenAI restrictions


I’ve combed the web to search out you in the present day’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.

1 The Trump administration has requested OpenAI to restrict its subsequent mannequin launch
It desires to vet the primary GPT 5.6 customers earlier than a wider launch. (Bloomberg $)
+ OpenAI mentioned every of the preliminary companions shall be government-approved. (FT $)
+ It’s the primary US agency to be advised to limit an AI mannequin earlier than launch. (Axios)
+ Anthropic can also be nonetheless feuding with Washington. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)

2 Apple and Xbox have hiked costs, blaming AI-driven chip prices
Some MacBooks, iPads, and Xboxes are going up in worth by over 20%. (BBC)
+ Apple’s shares plummeted after the announcement. (NBC)
+ AI knowledge middle demand has pushed up reminiscence and storage costs. (WSJ $)
+ The shortages have been dubbed “RAMaggedon.” (The Verge)
 
3 Colossal and the US are constructing an endangered species “biovault”
It goals to cryptopreserve over 2,300 plant and animal samples. (Wired $)
+ It comes amid rising threats to endangered species protections. (NYT $)
+ Colossal can also be rising chickens in synthetic eggshells. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
 
4 The US has banned Polestar from promoting its EVs on account of anti-China guidelines
The Sweden-based firm is majority-owned by China’s Geely. (CNN)
+ The ban is as a result of its connected-vehicle tech is linked to China. (Reuters $)
+ What occurred to China’s abroad EV manufacturing unit increase? (Remainder of World)
 
5 China is betting on humanoids to beat its demographic decline
It desires the robots to slender the labour hole. (FT $)
+ Gig staff are coaching humanoids at house. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)
 
6 The “fingerprints” of a black gap’s occasion horizon have been detected
The invention was made by finding out ripples in space-time. (AFP)
 
7 OpenAI is now anticipated to delay its IPO till subsequent yr
It’s been spooked by uneven international markets and SpaceX’s stoop. (NYT $)
 
8 Knowledge facilities have moved to the forefront of environmental lawsuits 
The litigation is linked to vitality sources, water consumption, and air air pollution. (Guardian)

9 A grasp gene that activates human growth has been uncovered
It ends in cells forming a human physique. (New Scientist $)

10 Grok’s hottest characteristic? Smut
It accounts for “effectively over half” of the chatbot’s visitors. (The Info $)

Quote of the day

“Probably the most superior AI is constructed by a handful of American firms, on American soil, beneath American regulation, and what the remainder of us are permitted to do with it might probably change on a Friday afternoon.”

—Nathan Benaich, AI investor at London-based enterprise agency Air Avenue Capital, tells the Monetary Occasions in regards to the geopolitical actuality of US AI dominance.

One Extra Factor

MAX-O-MATIC


How know-how helped archaeologists dig deeper

In 1991, building staff in Manhattan unearthed a whole bunch of coffins. Additional investigation revealed that the stays have been between 200 and 300 years outdated, and so they have been all African and African American.

This discovery got here at an inflection level in scientific historical past. Breakthroughs in chemical and genetic evaluation allowed researchers to determine the place many of those individuals have been born, the bodily challenges they confronted, and even the routes they took from Africa to North America.

As we speak, archaeologists are utilizing methods they may solely dream of then: lasers, 3D images, lidar, satellite tv for pc imagery, and extra. These instruments are revealing the place individuals got here from, how historic cities have been constructed, and the lives of those that constructed them.

Related Articles

Latest Articles