The Data Center Backlash Bursts Into the Midterms

24 August 2026 at 09:32

With opposition to the centers mounting, many Democrats and a growing number of Republicans are campaigning against them.

The U.S. Start-Up Making Low-Cost Interceptors for the Iran War

NYT: Technology

By: Farah Stockman and Ismaeel Naar

23 August 2026 at 05:00

For Florida-based Powerus, becoming a global supplier of counterdrone technology has meant involving the Trumps, a golf course and a new way of doing business.

Four Years Ago, a Crypto Boss Went Missing. Now His Successor Has.

NYT: Technology

By: Andrew Higgins

23 August 2026 at 05:16

The mysterious collapse of a European cryptocurrency exchange helps to explain why the industry hasn’t shaken off its reputation as a magnet for criminals.

Nicole Suszek last month with a phone showing a missing-person poster for her older brother, Sylwester Suszek.

How Big Tech Captured American Schools

NYT: Technology

By: Natasha Singer

24 August 2026 at 11:46

Companies like Google and Microsoft have used their money, their might and their massive reach to influence nearly every step of the education supply chain.

What if Your Texts Traveled as Slowly as a Carrier Pigeon?

NYT: Technology

By: Emmett Lindner

24 August 2026 at 09:18

Apps that let users send digital messages at ultraslow speeds have taken off, with users reveling in a slower pace of life. (Just don’t use the them to make dinner plans.)

Anthropic Could Aim to Raise $100 Billion in Blockbuster I.P.O.

NYT: Technology

By: Sri Muppidi · Lauren Hirsch and Erin Griffith

21 August 2026 at 20:24

The offering could value the five-year-old A.I. start-up at $2 trillion, its bankers have told potential investors, which would exceed Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

From right, Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s chief executive, and Daniela Amodei, an Anthropic co-founder and Mr. Amodei’s sister, at a company conference in May.

TikTok Settles With U.S. Over Child Privacy Concerns for $400 Million

NYT: Technology

By: David McCabe

21 August 2026 at 19:24

The Justice Department resolved a lawsuit that accused the social media company of illegally gathering children’s information.

The government’s 2024 suit claimed that TikTok gathered data from users under the age of 13 without parental permission.

Mark Zuckerberg Buys an Irish Castle

NYT: Technology

By: Alan Yuhas

22 August 2026 at 09:28

The prominent landowner has added a nearly 200-year-old estate to his holdings. Archival information says it can take “a brisk walk of 4½ minutes to reach the dining room from the kitchen.”

Strancally Castle in Waterford, Ireland, was built around 1830 and renovated in the early 2000s. It now belongs to Mark Zuckerberg.

In China’s Biggest Car Recall, Tesla and 8 Others Will Address Door Safety

NYT: Technology

By: Keith Bradsher and Jack Ewing

21 August 2026 at 16:23

China’s regulator ordered changes after vehicle occupants sometimes had difficulty exiting electric cars, an issue that has led to lawsuits against Tesla in the United States.

China is requiring nine automakers to take measures to improve the reliability of retractable door handles popular on electric vehicles.

OpenAI’s Two-Week Pause + Jill Lepore on the Threat of the “Artificial State” + Train of Thought

NYT: Technology

By: Kevin Roose · Casey Newton · Whitney Jones · Rachel Cohn · Vjeran Pavic · Katie McMurran · Dan Powell · Marion Lozano · Rowan Niemisto and Alyssa Moxley

21 August 2026 at 07:32

“It is the first time that we know of that a major lab has voluntarily slowed down.”

Flock Cameras. Canoodling Lawyers. How Much Surveillance Are We Comfortable With?

NYT: Technology

By: Willy Staley

21 August 2026 at 05:02

Americans say they hate prying cameras. But they can’t look away.

New Jersey Teenager Drops Bellwether Social Media Addiction Lawsuit

NYT: Technology

By: Eli Tan

20 August 2026 at 18:46

The case was the third of nine major personal injury cases that could expose Meta, YouTube, Snap and TikTok to financial damages and force them to change the designs of their platforms.

Los Angeles County Superior Court. Tech companies have faced thousands of cases filed by teenagers, school districts and state attorneys general that claim that social media features are addictive.

Two Binance Employees Detained in the U.A.E. Amid Police Inquiries

NYT: Technology

By: David Yaffe-Bellany and Michael Forsythe

20 August 2026 at 15:57

The detentions of the workers, who have been released, are a sign of legal pressure that the world’s largest crypto exchange faces in the Emirates, which is home to its main regulator.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates detained two Binance employees amid police investigations.

Chinese Start-Up Lands Reusable Rocket for the First Time

NYT: Technology

By: Adeel Hassan

19 August 2026 at 17:49

The milestone by the private company, LandSpace, could put China closer to challenging SpaceX’s rule in lower-cost spaceflight.

Google’s Pixel 11 Comes With Plenty of A.I. Does Anyone Want That?

NYT: Technology

By: Brian X. Chen and Minh Connors

19 August 2026 at 15:06

The phone’s artificial intelligence can order groceries, book tables and take photos on a user’s behalf. But is it something people really want?

Stripe Buys A.I. Start-Up OpenRouter for $7.5 Billion

NYT: Technology

By: Erin Griffith

19 August 2026 at 13:39

The deal is significant for the artificial intelligence industry, uniting Stripe’s payments business with OpenRouter’s helping businesses direct their spending on A.I. models.

The Funny Way That Stand-Up Comics Are Posting on Social Media

NYT: Technology

By: Sopan Deb

20 August 2026 at 14:34

Comedians used to post footage of their performances to build a following. Now, some are finding that comic strip-style panels with captions pack a bigger punch.

Voters Aren’t Waiting for November to Try Ousting Officials Over Data Centers

NYT: Technology

By: David McCabe

19 August 2026 at 16:05

As a backlash grows over data centers, more local officials are facing recall elections for their support of the computing sites.

Residents of Independence, Mo., at a City Council meeting in June.

A County Got Rich From Data Centers. Some Question ‘At What Cost?’

NYT: Technology

By: Cecilia Kang and Caroline Gutman

21 August 2026 at 11:02

Loudoun County, Va., hosts more than 250 data centers that bring in huge tax revenues. But some officials and residents worry the county has become too dependent on that cash.

ICE Bars Its Workers From Wearing Meta’s Smart Glasses on the Job

NYT: Technology

By: Eli Tan and Hamed Aleaziz

18 August 2026 at 17:53

The agency joins a growing number of workplaces and groups to ban Meta’s devices, which have spurred privacy concerns.

Meta glasses are seen exhibited at the Meta Lab pop-up store on Fifth Avenue in New York.

Apple Removes Some Fees for App Developers in European Union

NYT: Technology

By: Kalley Huang

19 August 2026 at 10:49

The move followed a long battle with regulators over the company’s tight controls of its App Store.

Starting in October, Apple will remove several fees for app developers in the European Union.

OpenAI Introduces ‘ChatGPT for Teens’ as Safety Concerns Grow

NYT: Technology

By: Cecilia Kang

18 August 2026 at 10:14

The artificial intelligence start-up announced a chatbot mode that will automatically limit some conversations to better protect young users.

A workshop about artificial intelligence at Walla Walla High School in Washington in 2023. ChatGPT will turn on its teen mode if it detects signals that the user is younger than 18, OpenAI said.

Meta to Stand Trial Over Claims It Addicted Children to Social Media

NYT: Technology

By: Cecilia Kang · Eli Tan and Emmy Martin

19 August 2026 at 00:58

California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey have taken the social media giant to trial in the first bellwether federal case over child harm.

During the trial, to be held in the U.S. District Court of Oakland, Calif., four states are expected to argue that Meta violated federal child privacy and state consumer protection laws.

Silicon Valley Executives Are Tech Fans. Just Not For Their Own Kids.

NYT: Technology

By: David Streitfeld

18 August 2026 at 19:37

At home, moderation and restraint are the rule for tech parents. Boredom is exalted. Maybe they’re onto something.

The Blackout That Could Devastate America

NYT: Technology

By: Christopher Cox

18 August 2026 at 05:01

The power grid relies on thousands of aging, hand-built transformers. If enough fail, the blackout could last years.

Nvidia to Back Ohio Data Center With as Much as $105 Billion

NYT: Technology

By: Kalley Huang

17 August 2026 at 17:13

The data center, one of the world’s largest, could cost as much as $500 billion and will be leased by OpenAI.

Workers at the construction site for a data center in Piketon, Ohio, that will be built by a subsidiary of SoftBank and leased to OpenAI.

AI Slop Is Everywhere. Spotify, LinkedIn and Others Have Had Enough.

NYT: Technology

By: Tiffany Hsu

17 August 2026 at 15:51

Spotify, LinkedIn and others are trying to dig out of a digital sewage heap full of low-quality content made with artificial intelligence.

The Iranian YouTube Show Posing Questions Few Dare Ask

NYT: Technology

By: Yeganeh Torbati

15 August 2026 at 05:30

Azad, a popular online debate program, has tackled topics that push the limits of Iran’s authoritarian system. Some question how it has remained on air.

Zuckerberg’s Anti-Doom Fantasy + Finally an A.I. Detector That Works + A.I. Math

NYT: Technology

By: Kevin Roose · Casey Newton · Rachel Cohn · Whitney Jones · Vjeran Pavic · Katie McMurran · Dan Powell · Marion Lozano · Pat McCusker · Alyssa Moxley and Diane Wong

14 August 2026 at 07:00

“The first rule of Mark Zuckerberg is never count out Mark Zuckerberg.”

Chatbots Are Pushing Us Toward a Post-Human Internet

NYT: Technology

By: Callie Holtermann

14 August 2026 at 05:00

In matters of work, school and even romance, we turn to A.I. chatbots. But what happens when the bots begin talking to one another?

Judge Affirms Settlement Allowing HPE’s Deal for Juniper

NYT: Technology

By: David McCabe

13 August 2026 at 18:50

States had opposed an agreement allowing a Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquisition, calling the settlement ineffective and corrupt.

Last year, the Trump administration sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise, led by Antonio Neri, above, from buying Juniper Networks for $14 billion, saying the deal would harm competition.

Another OpenAI Executive, Denise Dresser, Departs the A.I. Start-Up

NYT: Technology

By: Mike Isaac

13 August 2026 at 14:47

Denise Dresser, who was previously the C.E.O. of Slack, is the latest in a string of executives to leave the artificial intelligence start-up.

Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s chief revenue officer, is one of a number of executives to leave OpenAI in recent months.

I Tested a Popular A.I. Slop Detector. It Felt Empowering.

NYT: Technology

By: Brian X. Chen

14 August 2026 at 10:08

Pangram excels at distinguishing chatbot-generated words from human writing. But it’s not reliable for spotting artificial images.

3 Ex-Georgia Deputies Used Flock Cameras to Stalk People, Sheriff Says

NYT: Technology

By: Michael Levenson

12 August 2026 at 16:27

The former Bibb County deputies were arrested this week amid a growing national debate over Flock cameras, which can be found on roads in every state but Alaska.

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