Business
Opt Out
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.
Matt Burgess and Reece Rogers
Amazon’s Rufus AI Shopping Assistant Now Lets Some Shoppers Check Price History
Is a deal really a deal? Amazon’s ChatGPT competitor, a chatbot it calls Rufus, will now answer some user questions on price changes.
Paresh Dave
The AI Nobel Prizes Could Change the Focus of Research
It has been a billboard week for artificial intelligence research. But could big wins for Demis Hassabis and Geoffrey Hinton change broader scientific incentives?
Chris Stokel-Walker
Amazon Dreams of AI Agents That Do the Shopping for You
Amazon feeds its large language models vast quantities of retail data. It says its AI agents might someday be smart enough to buy you stuff without you even having to ask.
Will Knight
Ring’s New AI Search Tool Lets You Easily Scan Videos—With Mixed Results
The Amazon-owned home-surveillance business will offer users the ability to search footage for specific objects and actions. WIRED gave it a try.
Paresh Dave
Startups and Tech Culture
Unmasking Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto—Again
A new HBO documentary takes a swing at uncovering the real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, inventor of Bitcoin. But without incontrovertible proof, the myth lives on.
Joel Khalili
Where Have All the Chief Metaverse Officers Gone?
The captains of industry that were going to pilot us through new virtual worlds are still around. They're just going by a new name.
Webb Wright
AI's Big Gift to Society Is … Pithy Summaries?
Companies keep rolling out AI features that boil down various kinds of text. They're making us dumber.
Steven Levy
The Meteoric Rise of Temu and Pinduoduo—and What Might Finally Slow Them Down
The retail apps have exploded in China and internationally thanks to bargain-basement pricing. But a potential import crackdown from the US and other countries could slow the momentum.
Lavender Au
69,000 Bitcoins Are Headed for the US Treasury
The $4.4 billion in crypto is set to be the largest pile of criminal proceeds ever sold off by the US. The former IRS agent who seized the record-breaking sum, meanwhile, languishes in a Nigerian jail cell.
Andy Greenberg
FTX Customers Will Get Back Billions After Judge OKs Bankruptcy Plan
A US judge has authorized a plan for fallen crypto exchange FTX to return money to former customers, as the drawn-out bankruptcy process approaches its end.
Joel Khalili
FTX Insider Caroline Ellison Sentenced to Two Years in Prison
The former chief executive of Alameda Research, the trading company that acted as the vehicle for the multibillion-dollar fraud at crypto exchange FTX, has been given a two-year prison sentence after cooperating with investigators.
Joel Khalili
A Mysterious School for the Network State Crowd Is Now in Session
Balaji Srinivasan has long touted the crypto-fueled “network state” as the next evolution of society. His three-month Network School will bring those ideals directly to 150 eager students.
Caroline Haskins
Amid Air Strikes and Rockets, an SMS From the Enemy
As Israel intensifies its attacks on Lebanon, eerie messages have been arriving on the phones of civilians on both sides of the border, with authorities in each country accusing the other of psychological warfare.
Morgan Meaker
Big Tech’s New Adversaries in Europe
For the past five years, Big Tech has faced a flurry of new rules and reprimands from Brussels. Now with a new team taking over the European Commission, relations may be entering a new era.
Morgan Meaker
Yes, You Can Now Bet on Elections in the US
A US judge has overturned a moratorium that stopped gambling companies from letting people bet on election results.
Joel Khalili
Apple Must Pay $14.4 Billion to Ireland in Crackdown on ‘Sweetheart Deals’
The European Court of Justice has ordered Apple to pay billions in back taxes to Ireland, in a move that hands a victory to the European Commission against so-called “sweetheart deals” between the country and big tech companies.
Margaret Taylor
Meta Missed Out on Smartphones. Can Smart Glasses Make Up for It?
At Meta’s Connect developer conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed off Orion, a futuristic pair of smart glasses that the company hopes will lead the next foundational shift in personal computing.
Lauren Goode
Attention, Spoiled Software Engineers: Take a Lesson from Google’s Programming Language
The language Go hails from an era when programmers had smaller egos and fewer commercial ambitions. My generation of strivers has a lot to learn.
Sheon Han
This iPhone ‘Supercycle’ May Not Be So Super
Some Apple analysts believe AI will spur a boom in iPhone sales. But not everyone’s buying the hype.
Lauren Goode
Fortnite Maker Epic Games Challenges Apple’s Dominance With New iOS App Store
The Epic Games Store gives iPhone users in the EU an alternative to Apple’s App Store for the first time.
Morgan Meaker
Hurricane Helene Destroyed Roads. Here’s How to Rebuild—and Flood-Proof Them for Next Time
As it becomes clear that climate change devastation can hit anywhere, engineers are considering how best to protect vital thoroughfares from intense storms.
Aarian Marshall
Cybertruck Finally Gets Full Self-Driving (Supervised)
Some owners of Tesla’s electric pickup truck paid for the feature when they purchased it last fall—and now it’s starting to kick in.
Aarian Marshall
Pilots Are Dying of Tiredness. Tech Can’t Save Them
Extended hours after the pandemic have put pressure on pilots in India, who are working longer hours without rest, but monitoring technology to help curb overworking is glitchy and hard to find.
Parni Ray
Proposed Ban Would Be a ‘Death Sentence’ for Chinese EVs in the US
The US wants to ban any Chinese or Russian software installed in cars, purportedly over security concerns. If the proposed rule is finalized, don’t expect to see a China-made EV stateside any time soon.
Aarian Marshall and Zeyi Yang
Latest
Eye in the Sky
This Homemade Drone Software Finds People When Search and Rescue Teams Can’t
Tristan Kennedy
AI is my copilot
Microsoft’s AI Boss Wants Copilot to Bring ‘Emotional Support’ to Windows and Office
Will Knight
Social Media
X Is Back in Brazil
Meta Can’t Use Sexual Orientation to Target Ads in the EU, Court Rules
Pavel Durov Defends Telegram's Privacy Changes Amid User Unrest
X’s First Transparency Report Since Elon Musk’s Takeover Is Finally Here