Reddit takes on the bots with new ‘human verification’ requirements for fishy behavior
Reddit will require suspected automated accounts to verify they’re human, as it ramps up efforts to curb bot-driven spam and manipulation.
Tech
Google Lyria 3 Pro makes longer AI songs
Google is expanding the capabilities of its Lyria 3 music-making AI, enabling it to create tracks up to three minutes long and from within multiple other Google Products. Until now, Lyria had been limited to 30-second clips. Lyria 3 Pro not only increases the maximum length sixfold, it also allows the user to prompt for […]
How soap opera-TikTok hybrids became a billion-dollar business
Over the past few years, a new category of mobile apps has quietly exploded into a multi-billion dollar business. They’re called “micro dramas” — short-form, mobile-first scripted shows designed to be watched vertically on your phone. Think soap opera meets TikTok, complete with secret billionaire romances, disapproving werewolf mothers-in-law, and cliffhangers engineered to keep users tapping. The leading […]
Live-service games are such a mess even Fortnite is struggling
For years, major game publishers and developers have been chasing a particular north star: Fortnite. With its internet-shaking live events and copious celebrity cameos, Epic’s battle royale shooter became the epitome of what a live-service game could be, one that reached a level of cultural ubiquity that few other entertainment products could match while also […]
Senate Democrats are trying to ‘codify’ Anthropic’s red lines on autonomous weapons and mass surveillance
Anthropic’s fight with the Pentagon is expanding to Congress. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is working on a new bill to “codify” Anthropic’s red lines and ensure humans make the ultimate decisions in questions of life and death, and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) recently introduced a bill to limit the Defense Department’s ability to use AI […]
You can install these wireless security cameras over half a mile away
First announced earlier this year at CES 2026, Xthings is planning to release two new long-range wireless security camera kits sometime in the second quarter of this year, with pricing ranging from $489.99 to $989.99 depending on the number and types of cameras included. The cameras will use the Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah) protocol to wirelessly […]
Granola raises $125M, hits $1.5B valuation as it expands from meeting notetaker to enterprise AI app
Granola’s valuation jumped from $250 million to $1.5 billion with this round, and it has added more support for AI agents after users previously complained.
Meta launches new initiative to support entrepreneurship, drive AI adoption
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a memo to staff that small businesses have always been a big part of the company’s business model, and that while tens of millions of entrepreneurs already use its platforms to grow and connect with customers, the company wants to do more in the space.
Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang are part of Trump’s new ‘tech panel’
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle CTO and executive chairman Larry Ellison, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Google cofounder Sergey Brin will be the first four members of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), according to the Wall Street Journal. The panel, which will “weigh in on AI policy,” will include 13 […]