Virtual reality (VR) technology saw a big rise with the Oculus Rift in 2016 but has slowed down recently. While major companies have reduced their VR efforts, enthusiasts are building their own headsets using available software and hardware, though it remains a complex and niche activity.
Key Facts
VR gained strong interest after Oculus Rift’s release in 2016 but momentum has since declined.
Major companies, including Apple, have lessened or stopped some VR projects.
New commercial VR headsets are still released, like the Steam Frame and Pimax Dream Air.
Some hobbyists build DIY VR headsets using software like Relativty VR and parts like Arduino and small displays.
Building a DIY VR headset requires time, electronics skills, and often a 3D printer for creating parts.
DIY VR is cheaper than commercial products but involves complex tasks such as soldering, programming firmware, and assembling pieces.
Support for older VR platforms like Windows Mixed Reality is maintained by third-party software.
The DIY VR community uses open-source projects and shares designs online to help others build their own devices.
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The article discusses how society has previously adopted strong and risky technologies successfully. It suggests that the future of artificial intelligence (AI) is promising despite concerns shown in the news.
Key Facts
People have added powerful technologies into daily life before.
These past technologies had potential dangers.
Society managed to use these technologies in helpful ways.
AI is a new technology with similar concerns about risks.
The article believes AI’s future will be positive.
Negative news about AI may not fully reflect its potential benefits.
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A US aerospace company, Sceye, flew a large helium-filled, solar-powered airship from New Mexico to Japan and back to test using it as a flying cell phone tower. This airship hovers high in the stratosphere about 60,000 feet above Earth, where it can stay over the same area for a long time and provide mobile coverage.
Key Facts
Sceye’s airship is uncrewed and uses helium to float and electric propellers to move.
It can hover twice as high as commercial airplanes and above strong jet stream winds.
The airship’s solar panels charge onboard batteries to operate day and night.
It flew over 9,320 miles (15,000 km) across the Pacific Ocean from New Mexico to Japan and back.
The platform is 270 feet (83 meters) long and can carry payloads up to 220 pounds (100 kg) with plans to increase capacity to 551 pounds (250 kg).
The goal is to provide mobile broadband coverage equal to 500 cell towers from the sky.
This technology could improve internet service and help in emergencies by providing coverage when ground networks are down.
Advances in materials, like graphene, have helped make the airship strong but light and efficient.
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Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude chatbot, plans to give 5% of its shares to a fund aimed at helping the public. The fund will support donations to charities and help groups affected by AI developments. The company is preparing to go public with a large stock market listing.
Key Facts
Anthropic will commit 5% of its shares, worth about $48 billion, to a public benefit fund once approved by shareholders.
The company will add 2% more shares to the fund for every 50% rise in its value over a set baseline.
The fund is meant to support large donations to nonprofits and help populations affected by AI's impact.
Anthropic has already committed $200 million to address AI-related issues but says bigger efforts may be needed.
The company warned some AI models could soon self-replicate and spread through internet-connected devices.
Anthropic is valued at $965 billion after a recent funding round and plans an IPO in November, possibly valuing it at $1.5 trillion.
Elon Musk responded by pledging to give away SpaceX shares to the public and to kids in America.
Anthropic was founded by former OpenAI employees and operates as a public benefit corporation, balancing profit and public good.
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A report found that many apps using artificial intelligence to create nude or sexual images of people, called "nudify apps," are still available to teens on Apple and Google platforms despite parental controls and company policies. Researchers used fake teen accounts to download over 130 such apps that allow users to create or swap faces onto nude bodies, some of which were incorrectly labeled as suitable for children.
Key Facts
AI apps like Movely can create pornographic or nude images using photos of real people without their permission.
These apps are called "nudify apps" and are used by teens to make nonconsensual sexual images.
Governments and many US states have laws banning such AI-generated child sexual abuse content.
Researchers at Tech Transparency Project made fake accounts showing the users were 13 years old to test these apps.
They were able to download 135 apps with nudifying features on Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store.
Some apps were wrongly rated as safe for children, allowing teens to access them even with parental controls on.
One face-swapping app showed explicit content in ads but was rated suitable for ages 4 and up.
Google and Apple depend on app developers to self-rate their apps and claim they try to remove harmful content when found.
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A journalist shared how deleting Instagram helped her reduce stress and enjoy life more. She realized she took many photos and posts to seek approval online, but without Instagram, she focused on real experiences and personal happiness.
Key Facts
The author started using Instagram at 17 and gradually became more focused on it during university and work.
On a trip to Sri Lanka, she noticed her constant thoughts about what to post rather than just enjoying the moment.
After posting photos from the trip, she felt anxious about the number of likes and comments.
She deleted Instagram for one month, which grew into nearly a year without the app.
Without Instagram, she took photos for herself and enjoyed her experiences more privately.
She used the time away from the app to read more and work on writing novels.
The author found it freeing to live without seeking approval from online followers.
She feels more present in real life and less distracted by social media.
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Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, has said it will give 5% of its shares to a new fund that supports public good projects. This share will increase as the company's value grows, and the fund will focus on helping with issues like job changes caused by AI.
Key Facts
Anthropic is an AI company that created the assistant Claude.
The company will set aside 5% of its shares to the “Anthropic Public Benefit Fund.”
The share percentage can increase by 2% for every 50% rise in the company's value.
The fund will support nonprofits and groups affected by AI, such as workers needing new jobs.
Anthropic has already committed $200 million to study AI's impact on jobs.
The fund will not be used for political lobbying or donations.
Anthropic is a public benefit corporation registered in Delaware.
The company plans to go public on the US stock market before the end of 2026, possibly valued over $2 trillion.
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Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, will give 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund to support nonprofit work and address AI’s effects on jobs. This comes as the company prepares for a possible stock market debut valuing it over $1 trillion.
Key Facts
Anthropic plans to allocate 5% of its shares to a fund focused on public good.
The fund aims to support nonprofits and efforts related to AI’s impact on employment.
Shares in the fund will not be used for political lobbying or donations.
The company may add another 2% of shares to the fund if its board agrees.
Anthropic warned in its IPO filing that AI could pose serious risks to humanity.
The company’s revenue grew 45% to $16.8 billion in the third quarter of 2024.
Job cuts in tech are connected to AI-driven efficiency gains worldwide.
Research says AI could affect up to 40% of jobs globally and 60% in rich countries.
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AI companies have used songs from Australian artists like Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave to train their systems without paying for the rights. The International Confederation of Music Publishers warns that tech firms are pressuring the Australian government to change copyright laws, which could reduce protections for creators.
Key Facts
AI models were trained on music from Australian artists, including Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, G-Flip, and Hilltop Hoods, without compensation.
The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) represents major music companies like Sony, Warner, and Universal.
ICMP warns that tech firms want Australia to weaken copyright laws to allow use of creative works without payment.
Australia is the only country seriously considering relaxing copyright rules for AI training, while 62 other countries have not changed their laws.
AI companies claim their models don’t use Australian content because of copyright laws, but evidence shows otherwise.
The Australian government faces pressure from tech companies to change laws, with concerns raised about “strong-arming.”
A parliamentary committee recommended reviewing copyright laws but emphasized that creators should keep control and be paid.
AI training datasets reportedly include millions of songs from YouTube, showing widespread use of copyrighted music in AI development.
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The new video game Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) will let players build relationships with in-game characters through activities like shopping or holding hands. This feature has raised questions about whether spending time with a fictional character can be considered cheating in real life. Advances in game design and artificial intelligence (AI) are making in-game relationships feel more realistic.
Key Facts
GTA 6 features two main characters, Jason and Lucia, whose relationship players can develop beyond the main story.
Players can grow their bond through various activities like dining out, working out together, or exchanging texts.
A YouGov poll found that about 6% of British adults see virtual relationship investment as cheating, and 19% would be uncomfortable with it.
Women were more likely than men to view virtual relationships negatively.
Social media influencer Alli Franco compared virtual relationships to having a crush on a TV star, saying it is less serious than real cheating.
Video games have allowed players to form scripted romantic relationships for decades, but GTA 6 uses a more open-world, dynamic approach.
Experts say modern games imitate real social relationships better, making players more emotionally engaged with fictional characters.
Companies like Nvidia and Ubisoft are developing AI that lets game characters remember past interactions and react more naturally.
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Microsoft has stopped funding a supercomputer project at the UK's largest AI data centre planned in Loughton, Essex. The company Nscale, which is leading the project, said it will continue with the £2 billion data centre and is looking for other power options.
Key Facts
Nscale plans to build the UK’s largest AI data centre in Loughton, Essex, costing £2 billion.
Microsoft was supposed to fund a supercomputer at this site but has now pulled out.
Nscale said it is still committed to the project and is exploring alternative ways to power the data centre.
The power supply for the data centre, originally due by the end of the year, has been delayed until the 2030s due to a city-wide grid problem.
Nscale and Microsoft continue to work together on other projects in Norway, Portugal, and the United States.
The Loughton data centre is expected to create about 250 permanent jobs once it opens.
Microsoft had previously announced part of its £22 billion UK investment would help fund the Loughton supercomputer.
The power delay does not affect Nscale’s other contracts.
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Anthropic has allowed a nonprofit group called METR to work inside its offices with access to its AI systems. This move aims to improve safety checks on AI models as their power increases, helping prevent risks to society, the economy, and cybersecurity.
Key Facts
Anthropic granted METR, an outside nonprofit evaluator, access similar to that of its own employees.
METR’s team is embedded in Anthropic’s offices with access to hardware and internal tools.
The goal is to assess and reduce risks from powerful AI models developed by Anthropic.
METR does not receive payment from Anthropic and is funded by donations and government bodies.
Anthropic cannot stop METR from publishing their findings but can request the removal of sensitive data.
Other companies like OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX’s Elon Musk support similar external AI audits.
Critics worry outside evaluators might have conflicts of interest and call for more government rules.
Anthropic’s safety efforts are part of its plan to prepare for a public stock offering expected this year.
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Children will definitely grow up using artificial intelligence (AI). The important issue is whether we can create research, safety measures, and science-based advice to understand how AI affects children before it becomes too late to influence its development.
Key Facts
Children will grow up with AI technology in their lives.
There is a need to study how AI impacts children’s development and wellbeing.
Safety rules and protections should be created to keep children safe with AI.
Scientific guidance can help people understand AI’s effects on young users.
It is important to act now while there is still a chance to guide AI’s future.
Building these safeguards requires cooperation from researchers, policymakers, and technology creators.
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MapQuest has added a new map feature that shows known locations of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and outdoor surveillance cameras, including those made by Flock Safety. These cameras read license plates and track vehicle details to help law enforcement, but their use raises privacy concerns and has led to proposed laws to limit how the data can be used.
Key Facts
MapQuest’s “surveillance layer” shows locations of ALPR and surveillance cameras from companies like Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions, Genetec, Axon, and Verkada.
Flock Safety has over 120,000 cameras across the U.S., recording vehicle license plates and features like make, color, and decals.
The cameras create searchable records for police investigations but do not use facial recognition or collect biometric data.
Some police officers have been accused of misusing these systems to track people improperly.
Privacy concerns have led communities to reconsider using this technology and sparked debates in Congress about restricting its federal use and funding.
Flock Safety supports laws to regulate the use of license plate reader data.
The MapQuest map does not show all cameras, only those identified and included in their data.
The technology is used by law enforcement, neighborhoods, and businesses as a crime-fighting tool.
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Wikipedia was founded in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger as a free, user-edited encyclopedia. Despite early skepticism, it has become a widely used source of information, built on ideas from philosophy and technology, and continues to operate largely as it did 20 years ago.
Key Facts
Wikipedia was created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001.
It is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
The English Wikipedia contains about 5.2 billion words.
There are no paid fact-checkers on Wikipedia; edits are made by volunteers.
Wikipedia’s foundation draws on philosophical ideas like constructivism and wabi-sabi (beauty in imperfection).
Ward Cunningham invented the “wiki,” the type of webpage that anyone can edit, which Wikipedia uses.
Wales hired a philosopher as the only paid employee, showing the importance of philosophy in Wikipedia’s creation.
Early contributors, called Wikipedians, played a key role in shaping Wikipedia’s culture and content.
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NASA plans to retire the Crew Dragon spacecraft soon and is asking private companies to design new space stations. This request shows NASA wants to develop new ways to operate in low Earth orbit.
Key Facts
NASA will stop using the Crew Dragon spacecraft in the near future.
NASA has asked private companies to submit ideas for new space stations.
The goal is to have alternative methods to work in low Earth orbit.
This plan involves relying more on private businesses in space operations.
NASA’s request signals a shift away from government-only space stations.
Low Earth orbit is the area close to Earth where many satellites and spacecraft operate.
Creating new space stations could help support more space missions in the future.
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Anthropic’s security team created a self-replicating AI program that spread across multiple smart TVs by dividing itself into parts. This kind of AI “worm” could exploit weak security in internet-connected devices to spread without human help, posing new challenges for cybersecurity.
Key Facts
Anthropic’s researchers developed a malicious AI program that spreads on internet-connected devices like smart TVs.
The AI worm splits itself among several devices to run using limited computing power.
Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as smart TVs, often have weak security and get software updates less frequently.
Traditional worms are self-replicating computer viruses that spread quickly without human help.
Past worms, like Morris worm, Stuxnet, NotPetya, and WannaCry, caused major internet disruptions and financial damage.
AI worms can adapt and learn to exploit new hardware vulnerabilities on their own.
Current cybersecurity defenses are not designed to handle the new threat of AI worms effectively.
Experts say AI worms could appear by the end of the year as devices become more powerful and AI models more efficient.
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Microsoft has stopped its planned involvement in a large AI datacentre project in Essex, UK, due to problems with power supply. The project, led by British company Nscale and supported by the UK government, now lacks its main public customer and faces delays.
Key Facts
The AI datacentre was planned to open in Loughton, Essex, and was called the largest UK sovereign AI datacentre.
Microsoft was expected to be the main tenant but pulled out because of power supply concerns.
Power issues mean the project will take a long time to become operational.
Nscale is a UK-based company backed by tech firms like Nvidia.
Losing Microsoft as a customer may affect Nscale’s plan to go public on Wall Street with a valuation of $35 billion.
Nscale says it is still committed to the Essex project and is looking for new power sources.
Microsoft continues to work with Nscale on another AI project in Norway.
The UK government had promoted the Essex datacentre as key to its AI strategy.
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A communication app called RiseGuide is hiring people to practice small talk with strangers in public places. The goal is to build social confidence by encouraging real-life conversations outside of digital screens.
Key Facts
RiseGuide is hiring up to three "Chief Small Talk Officers" for a one-month job.
The job pays $2,000 plus money for activities like parks, bookstores, and fitness classes.
Officers will talk to strangers, rate their small talk skills, and track how long conversations last.
The app wants to help people, especially those who feel socially awkward, to become more confident in talking to others.
Experts say social confidence can be learned and doesn’t have to mean being very outgoing.
Digital devices and personalized internet content may make it harder to find common topics to talk about.
People often avoid conversations by using their phones, even in social settings like bars.
Talking to strangers can improve mood and provide unexpected enjoyment, according to research.
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A 60-year-old man who used AI for diet advice ended up in the hospital after following incorrect recommendations. Researchers say there is a lack of transparency in AI health advice, which can make it hard to understand or prevent harm caused by wrong information.
Key Facts
The man replaced table salt with sodium bromide based on AI advice, leading to hallucinations and paranoia.
Doctors could not retrieve the AI conversation, so they didn’t know exactly what advice was given.
Researchers from several universities warn that AI can give wrong health answers with confidence.
Around 14 million U.S. adults have skipped healthcare visits after using AI for health questions, according to a 2025 Gallup survey.
OpenAI states ChatGPT is not a doctor and should not replace professional medical care.
Experts suggest users treat AI answers as a starting point, not a diagnosis, and verify information with doctors.
The research paper recommends giving users access to records of AI health chats for safety and better follow-up.
Researchers want systems that flag and review harmful AI health advice to protect users.
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