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Sony-Honda is no longer Afeelin’ it. This week, the Japanese joint venture that for years had promised to bring a video-game sensibility to a digital-first electric car was abruptly canceled. The two companies snuffed out one vehicle, the Afeela 1, that was first announced three years ago, and also halted work on another model under development.Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) pinned the blame on Honda’s larger EV pivot. Earlier this month, the automaker canceled its “0 Series” lineup of electric vehicles after posting a $15.7 billion loss amid bigger changes in the global EV market. Because of those shifts, the joint…

AI can do a lot of things, but it can’t manufacture realness. That’s the message from Pamela Anderson and Aerie as the latter doubles down on its commitment to authenticity in marketing.The clothing brand owned by American Eagle Outfitters has partnered with the actress and model in the next chapter of its “100% Aerie Real” campaign. The collaboration builds on the brand’s Oct. 2025 pledge to never use AI to create images of people or bodies in its campaigns, which itself followed Aerie’s 2014 promise to not retouch people and bodies in its advertising.With Anderson, Aerie aims to bring that…

WhatsApp is rolling out a slew of new features and updates, including one that generates AI-powered suggested replies based on your conversations. The Meta-owned messaging platform is also launching other features, including a new way to free up space, the ability to touch up photos with Meta AI, and more. Most notably, however, is the app’s update to its “Writing Help” feature that helps users draft messages. Writing Help, which first launched last August, already helps users rephrase, proofread, or adjust the tone of their messages. On Thursday, the Meta-owned company said in a blog post that this latest update…

Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican senator Josh Hawley are urging the US’s central energy information agency to provide better information on how much electricity data centers actually use.In a joint letter sent to the Energy Information Administration Thursday morning, seen by WIRED, Hawley and Warren press the agency to publicly collect “comprehensive, annual energy-use disclosures” on data centers. This information, they write, is “essential for accurate grid planning and will support policymaking to prevent large companies from increasing electricity costs for American families.”As the data center boom spreads across the country, there have been widespread worries from voters about…

The signs that AI could lead to mass job displacement are already piling up: entry-level job postings in the U.S. have sunk 35% since 2023, mass layoffs have swept across Big Tech, and even AI leaders themselves are warning about what’s coming.  Backstage at the Axios AI Summit in Washington on Wednesday, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said a venture capitalist recently told him he’s writing software investments down to zero in large part due to the strides of Anthropic’s Claude, and a major law firm told him it’s not hiring first-year associates because AI can now handle much of the…

In addition to the rubber balls, there’s a nice physical interface on the side for adjusting volume and pairing multiple Mix speakers together if you have multiple on hand (I was only sent the single mono speaker). Setup involves installing the Soundboks app, pairing to the speaker via Bluetooth on your phone, and picking whatever you want to play. It’s all quick and painless, especially for my first-time pairing with a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.Otherwise, it’s all very pro audio. Everything reminds me very much of the Peavey PA system I have in my music rehearsal space. The top of…

Google announced on Wednesday that it’s releasing Lyria 3 Pro, a music generation model, a month after Lyria 3’s release. The new model will let users create tracks up to three minutes long, as compared to the 30-second-long tracks offered with the Lyria 3 model. The company said that, apart from allowing users to create longer tracks, the Lyria 3 Pro model will offer better creative control and customization. In the prompt, users can also specify different elements of a musical piece, such as intros, verses, choruses, and bridges, as the model understands track structure better than its predecessor. Google…

Omega has been making the Constellation for more than 70 years, a watch that was the Swiss brand’s elegant flagship timepiece before the Speedmaster landed in 1957. It got its moniker from an image on its caseback—an observatory beneath eight stars. The stars symbolized two chronometer records and six first-place precision awards that Omega earned between 1933 and 1952, the year the Constellation launched.But Omega’s new Constellation Observatory collection has a completely new procedure for measuring accuracy, one that gets around the thorny issue of these pieces having no seconds hand.Why should a seconds hand matter? Watches are tested for…

The explosion of new data center projects in the U.S. has led to a growing backlash against the infrastructure that powers AI. Two influential politicians are now proposing a ban on any new data centers with peak power loads in excess of 20 megawatts. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York are introducing companion legislation in their respective chambers today that would halt the projects until Congress enacts comprehensive AI regulation. Sanders’ office points to remarks from a variety of tech luminaries who have discussed their fears of AI and called for stricter rules or…

In the early hours of February 26, agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arrived at Columbia University student housing. According to the school, the immigration officers told campus safety staff that they were police officers looking for a missing 5-year-old child. But once in the building, agents knocked on the dorm-room door of Elmina “Ellie” Aghayeva, a student from Azerbaijan. When her roommate opened the door, agents quickly detained Aghayeva.At 6:30 am, Aghayeva, a social media influencer with over 100,000 followers on both TikTok and Instagram, posted an image of her legs in the backseat of a car.…

Mate Rimac, the founder of Croatian electric vehicle maker Rimac Group, started working on electric robotaxis seven years ago. Now, part of his vision is coming to fruition through a strategic partnership between Uber, Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai, and his own robotaxi startup Verne. The three companies announced plans Thursday to launch a commercial robotaxi service in Europe, starting in Zagreb, Croatia. Pony.ai will supply the autonomous driving system and a robotaxi called the Arcfox Alpha T5 that was developed with Chinese automaker BAIC. Verne will own and operate the fleet, and Uber will provide its vast ride-hailing network.…

There’s big news today for app developers. No, it’s not lowered App Store commissions. Instead, Apple on Wednesday announced a significant update to its App Store Connect service, which is where developers publish, manage, and track their apps’ performance across the company’s platforms. The changes bring more than 100 new metrics to track across areas like monetization and subscription data, as well as others designed to help developers better understand their apps’ in-app purchase performance and how well their offers are getting results. There are already a number of third-party services that offer glimpses into app performance, including broader app…

I don’t know if you’re like me, but one of my favorite ways to treat myself is with products that I know will help me better my body or ease any pain. Therabody has a slew of truly great products to help with everything from sore muscles, to aches and pains, and even has a full-on total body recliner, eyemasks to relieve headaches, and a LED skincare mask to keep you looking your best. Although these wellness products can be expensive, they are a truly invaluable way to keep yourself looking and feeling good (plus, this helps to avoid even…

Meta is laying off several hundred employees across multiple teams, including sales, recruiting, and the Reality Labs division, as reported by The Information and Bloomberg. The cuts will impact employees in the U.S. and other international markets. Some of those employees will be offered other jobs or the opportunity to relocate to remain with the company, Bloomberg reported. “Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement changes to ensure they’re in the best position to achieve their goals,” a Meta spokesperson said in an email to TechCrunch. “Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted.”…

Like other popular services like Netflix and Max, Hulu is a streaming service that has exclusive series, current-season episodes, hit movies, Hulu Originals, kids shows, and more. There’s also a Hulu plan for nearly every kind of watcher, including streaming content with ads for a service on the cheap, or bundles for additional platforms like Disney+ and ESPN+ to get even more content at reduced prices. I have a Hulu plan to watch some of my favorite shows like critically-acclaimed Atlanta or my current fave wholesome comedy, Abbott Elementary. We at WIRED stay glued to our devices and round up…

The number of med-spas, weight-loss clinics, and concierge practices where patients pay a membership fee for direct, often same-day access to physicians, has exploded in recent years. But while patients pay for these services out-of-pocket, providers still often rely on software built for traditional, insurance-based care. VITL, an 18-month-old startup, claims to be solving one of the sector’s biggest tech bottlenecks by building an e-prescribing platform — a digital tool for sending and managing prescriptions — tailored for cash-pay medical businesses. On Wednesday, VITL announced a $7.5 million Series A funding round led by SignalFire. Founder and CEO Charlie Jordan…