Echo speakers and displays for Alexa+ require more expensive components. Amazon’s voice assistant is hanging on by a thread. And that thread is generative AI—or, in Amazon’s case, Alexa+. Amazon hasn’t had a problem getting people to buy cheap, Alexa-powered gadgets. However, the Alexa in millions of homes today…
Lots of carbon molecules but little sign of water in a super-Jupiter’s disk. Many of the most interesting bodies in our Solar System aren’t planets, but the moons that orbit them. They have active volcanoes, hydrocarbon oceans, geysers, and moon-wide oceans buried under icy crusts. And, as far as…
The evolution of Taylor Swift’s dialect, a rare Einstein cross, neutrino laser beams, and more. It’s a regrettable reality that there is never enough time to cover all the interesting scientific stories we come across each month. In the past, we’ve featured year-end roundups of cool science stories we…
The chipmakers say physical attacks aren’t in the threat model. Many users didn’t get the memo. In the age of cloud computing, protections baked into chips from Intel, AMD, and others are essential for ensuring confidential data and sensitive operations can’t be viewed or manipulated by attackers who manage…
Chinese lab’s v3.2 release explores a technique that could make running AI far less costly. Ever wonder why ChatGPT slows down during long conversations? The culprit is a fundamental mathematical challenge: Processing long sequences of text requires massive computational resources, even with the efficiency tricks that companies have already…
Agent Mode in Word, Excel works like vibe coding tools but for knowledge work. With a new set of Microsoft 365 features, knowledge workers will be able to generate complex Word documents or Excel spreadsheets using only text prompts to Microsoft’s chatbot. Two distinct products were announced, each using…
Signs point to a relatively mild upgrade from the 16-month-old Apple M4. Apple’s biggest product event of the year happens in September, when the company puts out a new batch of iPhones and Apple Watches and other odds and ends. But in most years, Apple either has another smaller…
SpaceX will reuse a Super Heavy booster with 24 previously flown Raptor engines. On its surface, the flight plan for SpaceX’s next Starship flight looks a lot like the last one. The rocket’s Super Heavy booster will again splash down in the Gulf of Mexico just offshore from SpaceX’s…
First patches fix bugs and clear up problems for the iPhone 17 family. Now that iOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, and Apple’s other big software updates for the year are out in public, Apple’s efforts for the next few months will shift to fixing bugs and adding individual new…
After the failure of S.B. 1047, new AI disclosure law drops kill switch for disclosure mandate. On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act into law, requiring AI companies to disclose their safety practices while stopping short of mandating actual safety testing. The…
