Author: admin
A former SandboxAQ executive filed a wrongful termination suit last month filled with such scandalous allegations against the company’s famed CEO, Jack Hidary, that plaintiff himself redacted the most salacious details. On Friday, the company’s lawyers filed a blistering response, calling the former employee a “serial liar” and stating his lawsuit “asserts false claims for improper and extortionate purposes.” Even the visible portions of the lawsuit — which TechCrunch has obtained — contain eyebrow-raising allegations, should a court find them valid. (A copy of the lawsuit is available here.) The case offers a rare inside look at how employee lawsuits can…
Grok users aren’t just commanding the AI chatbot to “undress” pictures of women and girls into bikinis and transparent underwear. Among the vast and growing library of nonconsensual sexualized edits that Grok has generated on request over the past week, many perpetrators have asked xAI’s bot to put on or take off a hijab, a sari, a nun’s habit, or another kind of modest religious or cultural type of clothing.In a review of 500 Grok images generated between January 6 and January 9, WIRED found that around 5 percent of the output featured an image of a woman who was,…
ADWEEK is now accepting nominations for our 2026 ADWEEK 50 list.Each year, ADWEEK honors industry executives who may not be out front and center, but work hard behind the scenes to support their company with bold strategy and breakthrough work that leads to impressive growth.The ADWEEK 50 recognizes the power players across advertising, marketing, media, and technology leading with the strategic thinking, operational savvy, and innovative outlook that were instrumental to their companies’ success in the past year.Check out last year’s ADWEEK 50.Entry FeesEarly Bird (until Feb. 6): $175Regular Deadline (until March 6): $225Extended Deadline (until March 23): $295Use the…
CES has always been a robot extravaganza, and this year’s event saw the announcement of a number of important robotics developments, including the new, production-ready debut of Atlas, the humanoid from Boston Dynamics. Then there were all the robots on the showroom floor, where bots often serve as good marketing for the companies involved. If they don’t always give a totally accurate representation of where commercial deployment is at the moment, they do give visitors a peek at where it might be headed. And, of course, they sure are fun to look at. I spent a decent amount of time…
OpenAI is asking third-party contractors to upload real assignments and tasks from their current or previous workplaces so that it can use the data to evaluate the performance of its next-generation AI models, according to records from OpenAI and the training data company Handshake AI obtained by WIRED.The project appears to be part of OpenAI’s efforts to establish a human baseline for different tasks that can then be compared with AI models. In September, the company launched a new evaluation process to measure the performance of its AI models against human professionals across a variety of industries. OpenAI says this…
Top of the Ticker: Tony Dokoupil’s stint as the latest CBS Evening News anchor officially began on Monday evening in the show’s New York studios and not on the road as previously planned. This was a result of the breaking news coverage dealing with the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and their son by the U.S. military.Monday’s edition of CBS Evening News was seen by 4.368 million total viewers and 596,000 Adults 25-54 viewers, according to data provided courtesy of Nielsen big data + panel. ABC World News Tonight with David Muir was the top…
While CES 2026 is full of tech giants unveiling their latest innovations, the real excitement comes from discovering unexpected, quirky gadgets that make you ask, “Who thought of this?” We’re here to spotlight the wildest products we’ve found so far at CES 2026, from an AI-powered panda that responds to your touch, to Razer’s holographic anime assistant, and plenty more weirdness that makes you do a double-take. An AI anime companion that watches you from your desk Razer’s Project AVA, originally introduced last year as an esports AI coach, has evolved into something new: a 5.5-inch animated holographic desk companion…
“This project will create jobs, spur local innovation, and advance American leadership in energy technology,” Urvi Parekh, head of global energy at Meta, said in a statement. “By investing in baseload nuclear energy, we’re helping build a resilient and sustainable future for our communities.”It’s not unusual for utilities to negotiate long-term contracts for fuel for reactors. But this is the first known incident where a hyperscaler is purchasing the fuel that will generate the electrons it plans to buy, says Koroush Shirvan, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.“The Oklo model that they have advertised is that they build,…
Retail media has quickly become one of advertising’s fastest growing sectors. From first-party data and closed-loop measurement to omnichannel reach and performance-driven outcomes, retail media networks are reshaping the future of commerce and marketing.To recognize the organizations driving this momentum, ADWEEK is launching the Fastest Growing Retail Media Networks list. We’re honoring the retail media networks that have demonstrated exceptional growth, innovation, and advertiser impact, ranked by their three-year revenue growth.The Fastest Growing Retail Media Networks list is open to: Retail-owned and operated media networks Commerce and marketplace media platforms Omnichannel retail media networks spanning on-site, off-site, in-store, and CTV…
Ozlo, the maker of comfortable, easy-to-use “sleepbuds” that drown out outside noise so you can get better rest, is turning its product into a platform. The company’s plan began to take shape last month with the announcement of a partnership between Ozlo and meditation app Calm. But it kicked into high gear at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week as the company met with prospective partners to expand its reach. Those new partners could help Ozlo tap into new audiences and build a revenue model beyond consumer-focused hardware and into the profit-margin-rich world of software subscriptions and…
Last February, a sick infant named KJ received a gene-editing treatment made just for him. Created in just six months, it was meant to correct a rare genetic mutation that was causing toxic ammonia to build up in his small body. The treatment likely saved his life, and baby KJ was discharged from the hospital in June.Now, a new startup called Aurora Therapeutics, cofounded by gene-editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna, is aiming to scale such treatments to many more patients with rare diseases. Doudna is one of the inventors of the gene-editing system known as Crispr, and won a Nobel Prize…
The appeal of Stranger Things is not abating, as the Netflix series continues to top Nielsen’s Top 10 Overall Streaming chart for the week of December 8.With the holiday season in full swing, Stranger Things finished the week with 3.02 billion viewing minutes. This latest win keeps Netflix at the top for five consecutive weeks.According to Nielsen Streaming Content Ratings, four titles, three from Netflix and one from Paramount+, crossed the billion-viewing-minutes mark. Netflix had the most titles on the chart with five. It was followed by Hulu with four. The No. 2 and No. 3 positions in the chart remain…
After years of chatbots and image generators, AI is finally leaving the screen. At CES 2026, that shift became impossible to ignore. The annual tech showcase in Las Vegas was dominated by “physical AI” and robotics, from Boston Dynamic’s newly redesigned Atlas humanoid robot to AI-powered ice makers (yes, really). The companies in attendance clearly want consumers […]AI,ces 2026,Equity Video,humanoid robotics,nvidia,OpenAI,physical ai,roboticsAI,ces 2026,Equity Video,humanoid robotics,nvidia,OpenAI,physical ai,robotics#CES #2026s #physical #takeover1767985764
I’m happy to report that Burtran’s claim was correct—its operation did not result in a spike of radioactivity. My entire apartment was measuring around 20 clicks per minute, or CPM—for context, 5-50 CPM is normal background. It’s when the number hits over 2,000 that the GQ GMC Geiger Counter Nuclear Radiation Safety Guide says to evacuate and report it to the government.Photograph: Lisa Wood ShapiroFilter FortitudeBurtran also claims that, with its beefed-up HEPA 14 filters, the Nano-Oxy “captures 99.995 percent of ultra-fine particles down to 0.1 micron, surpassing HEPA 13 efficiency by up to 90 percent.”HEPA is an acronym for…
The transitional week between 2025 and 2026 saw NBC News’ Today capture the top spot in both total viewers and the prized Adults 25-54 demo. However, ABC News’ Good Morning America was the only show to record week-to-week gains in either of the measured categories.NOTE: Good Morning America was retitled on Monday (12/29/25) and Friday (01/02/26) to GMA-ABC. Today and CBS Mornings were retitled to Today-TS and CBS Morn on Friday. All three morning shows were coded as specials on Wednesday (12/31/25) and Thursday (01/01/26). These retitled telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. ABC’s weekly averages are…
Meta today announced three deals to provide its data centers with nuclear power, one from a startup, one from a smaller energy company and one from a larger company that already operates several nuclear reactors in the U.S. Oklo and TerraPower, two startups developing small modular reactors (SMR), each signed agreements with Meta to build multiple reactors, while Vistra is selling capacity from its existing power plants. Nuclear power has become a favored power source for tech companies as their AI ambitions have grown, providing stable 24/7 electricity. Startups and existing reactors have benefitted from the race for data center…