Alvaro Lopez Ortega / 2026-02-23 Briefing

Created Mon, 23 Feb 2026 20:03:50 +0000 Modified Mon, 23 Feb 2026 20:04:13 +0000
8285 Words

US stocks plummeted on Monday due to concerns over artificial intelligence disruptions and President Trump’s decision to raise global tariffs, with the Dow Jones falling 1.6%. Meanwhile, a new super PAC backed by Anthropic launched a campaign urging voters in New Jersey to support regulations on artificial intelligence to protect against scams and other harms. Additionally, Finnish quantum computing company IQM went public via a $1.8 billion SPAC merger, while Google’s spinoff Aalyria secured $100 million in funding at a $1.3 billion valuation.

📊 Financial Markets

Ubicquia raises $106M in funding for energy management.

Ubicquia, a company that provides software to utilities and cities to manage energy infrastructure, has raised $106 million in its Series D funding. The investment comes at a time when there is growing interest in monitoring and managing power more efficiently due to increasing energy demand.

Global Markets Plummet Amid US Tariff Uncertainty

US stocks plummeted on Monday, with the Dow Jones falling 1.6% due to concerns over artificial intelligence disruptions and President Trump’s decision to raise global tariffs. Software stocks, including top players, also suffered significant declines amid AI fears, with some experiencing declines of over 7%. The market is being weighed down by uncertainty around inflation, global growth, and the potential impact of AI on various industries.

HR app Humand raises $66M in funding

Humand, an HR app used by 1.5 million “deskless” workers in various industries, has raised $66M in Series A funding led by Goodwater Capital and Kaszek Ventures to expand its US presence and develop AI-powered HR automation tools for non-office employees. The company aims to cater to the growing needs of this demographic.

South Korea’s chip and peripheral exports surge 128% YOY.

South Korea’s exports grew 47.3% in the first 20 days of February compared to the same period last year, driven by strong demand for semiconductors and computer peripherals, which rose 134% and 129% respectively from a year ago. The gains are partly attributed to the growing demand for AI-related products.

CISA navigates job cuts and leadership void under Trump.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has navigated significant staffing cuts without a Senate-confirmed leader amid concerns about its ability to protect the nation’s infrastructure. The agency’s workforce has shrunk from approximately 3,400 employees to below 2,400 due to funding cuts, leading to demoralization among staff. CISA faces ongoing challenges in defending against cyber threats under these circumstances.

US farmers reject multimillion-dollar data center offers amid global AI project needs.

US farmers are rejecting multimillion-dollar offers from data center developers, with at least five neighbors of a Kentucky farmer declining bids despite sums exceeding $120,000 per acre. The rejections highlight the increasing difficulty for tech companies to acquire land for new AI projects, with over 40,000 acres projected to be needed globally in the next five years. Farmers are prioritizing their connection to the land and the identity that comes with it over lucrative offers from data center developers.

Some Silly Z3 Scripts I Wrote

A constraint solver called Z3 has been used to demonstrate its capabilities in finding models that satisfy given equations, including testing for the existence of distinct positive integers with certain equalities, yielding no solution due to inherent contradictions in the constraints. The tool’s Python bindings have been utilized to create a series of examples showcasing its increasing complexity. Z3 has successfully solved simpler problems but was unable to find solutions for more complex ones.

Queues for Kafka ready for prime time

Queues for Kafka version 4.2.0 introduces share groups, allowing multiple consumers to work together cooperatively from Kafka topics, improving scalability without head-of-line blocking. This feature enables cooperative consumption from Kafka topics, making the platform more appealing for applications requiring queuing-style consumption. Share groups provide an alternative to traditional consumer groups and align with Kafka’s broader appeal as a general-purpose platform for data in motion.

Hetzner to Raise Cloud Pricing by Up to 40%

Hetzner has announced a significant price increase of 30-40% across its virtual machines and dedicated servers, effective April 1, 2026, impacting both new and existing product orders after the deadline. The price adjustment does not include Value-Added Tax (VAT).

Ex-Amazon UK boss lined up to chair Britain’s competition watchdog

Doug Gurr, former Amazon UK boss, has been selected as the preferred candidate to chair Britain’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), a role that could raise concerns given his previous stint with Amazon. Gurr will complete a full five-year term following an open competition for the role. He was previously interim chair of the CMA since January 2025.

Binance Fired Employees Who Found $1.7B in Crypto Was Sent to Iran

Binance employees who uncovered $1.7 billion in suspicious transactions linked to Iranian entities with terrorist groups have been fired or suspended. The discovery is the latest in a series of internal investigations that found potential legal violations on the platform. Binance had previously pleaded guilty to breaking anti-money-laundering laws in 2023 and vowed to crack down on bad actors.

Americans are destroying Flock surveillance cameras

People across the US are destroying Flock surveillance cameras amid growing public concern over their use in tracking individuals’ movements for immigration authorities. Dozens of cities have rejected Flock’s license plate readers, while others have been vandalized, with at least 80,000 cameras nationwide. The destruction is largely driven by privacy concerns and opposition to the technology’s role in aiding US immigration authorities’ deportations.

Deplatform Yourself

William Gibson warns that the counterculture is at risk of extinction due to “instantaneous commodification,” which leads to artists being quickly absorbed into mainstream culture. To resist this trend, he suggests embracing provocative or transgressive content, such as being intentionally ugly, in order to maintain independence and creativity.

Half million ‘Words with Spaces’ missing from dictionaries

A significant number of compound phrases, or multi-word expressions (MWEs), are missing from traditional dictionaries due to their composition. Major dictionaries like Merriam-Webster and Oxford cover only about 3% of these phrases, while crowd-sourced Wiktionary covers around 75%. The true scope of MWEs is estimated to be in the hundreds of billions, with many having crystallized into concepts beyond individual words.

Coal plant owners say DOE ’emergency’ order to run it violates Constitution

Coal-fired generator owners in Colorado claim that a Department of Energy order requiring them to operate until 2025 violates their Constitutional rights by not providing just compensation or due process. They argue that the unit’s operation will shift costs onto ratepayers rather than meeting the DOE’s goal of securing dispatchable electricity resources. The generators, owned by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and Platte River Power Authority, claim they had planned to retire the unit in 2025.

A simple web we own

A growing trend of individuals and cooperatives owning hardware and using simpler software could potentially exert significant influence over the web and internet, mirroring the impact of labor unions in industries when they were unionized. This shift could lead to a more decentralized and user-friendly online landscape, with alternatives like Markdown allowing people to create and publish content without relying on corporate services. However, existing alternatives have struggled to replicate the functionality of centralized systems, making this significant change uncertain.

The peculiar case of Japanese web design (2022)

Researchers found that Japanese websites deviate from global design trends with a unique web design style characterized by lighter colors and denser designs, differing from other countries. The possible causes for this phenomenon include writing systems, cultural differences, and technology adoption, according to recent analysis using AI. The study suggests that Japan’s use of logographic characters in its writing system may be a key factor in shaping its distinct web design style.

VTT Test Donut Lab Battery Reaches 80% Charge in Under 10 Minutes [pdf]

Researchers at VTT have successfully tested a lab battery using a test donut, achieving an 80% charge in under 10 minutes. This breakthrough demonstrates the potential of this new battery technology for fast charging applications. Further development is expected to improve its efficiency and practicality.

Coal power drops in China and India for first time in 52 years

Coal power generation in China and India fell for the first time in 52 years in 2025, with China seeing a decline of 1.6% and India a drop of 3.0%. This marks a significant shift towards reducing global carbon dioxide emissions as both countries are on track to peak their coal-fired power output. The decline is attributed to record amounts of clean energy added by both countries.

I Donut Believe – Presenting Third Party Results (Donut Lab)

Donut Lab has partnered with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland to conduct independent tests on its solid-state battery, confirming its fast-charging capabilities and stable thermal behavior. The first test results show exceptional charging performance, with a 0-80% charge time of just 4.5 minutes at 11C. These results verify Donut Lab’s claims and provide verification for the battery’s high-power performance.

Elsevier shuts down its finance journal citation cartel

Elsevier has retracted 12 papers by economist Brian Lucey due to alleged conflicts of interest, where he served as editor while approving his own papers, compromising peer review processes and creating a “citation-cartel” scheme. This breaches of editorial policies follow Lucey’s removal from editor positions at five journals. The retractions are the latest fallout from an open secret in the profession.

Top ‘28 Dems retreat on AI – sign of rising backlash

Several 2028 Democratic presidential contenders have shifted their stance on data centers amid growing concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on voters, now demanding that developers pay for power and taxes. This change reflects a desire by Democrats to protect voters from AI’s consequences as the technology revolution gains momentum. Other politicians, including Republicans, are also reevaluating their stance on AI.

💻 Developer Tools

Lightricks splits consumer app unit from GenAI unit.

El Mencho, a Mexican cartel boss, was killed in an operation led by US-military task force and Mexican authorities. The incident resulted in the deaths of 25 National Guard members in retaliatory violence. Meanwhile, protests continued in Iran, snowstorms hit the US Northeast, and Russian gains in eastern Ukraine slowed down.

Google spinoff Aalyria raises $100M at $1.3B valuation

Google’s spinoff Aalyria has secured $100 million in funding, valuing the company at $1.3 billion, as demand for reliable and speedy telecommunications increases amid government spending on defense technology and national security satellites. Aalyria’s software enables routing of traffic across diverse satellite platforms, providing a seamless networking layer and allowing for faster disaster response and network reconfiguration.

Developers seek early credit ratings for unfinished data centers

Data center developers are seeking credit ratings during construction to secure funding, with leading rating agencies expanding their coverage to unlock billions of dollars in investment for AI projects.

Disappointing phones

A New Zealand resident’s OnePlus 5T phone will no longer support calls after its 3G network shuts down in 2026, prompting them to search for a new device that meets their key requirements. The person is looking for a phone with good cameras, software look and feel, processor speed, battery density, and screen brightness. They plan to weigh pros and cons against price to find the best option.

Tracking NixOS option values and dependencies

NixOS developers have created a tool to track and visualize the dependencies between thousands of system configuration options, providing users with insights into which options influence each other and what changes would occur when updating system versions. This tracking is now possible thanks to a new dependency primitive added to the Nix evaluator and hooking it into the NixOS module system. The current implementation reveals over 33,000 values that play a role in NixOS configurations.

So I’ve Been Thinking About Static Site Generators

A developer is seeking to create a static site generator (SSG) that prioritizes speed for personal use, aiming for build times under one second. They want the SSG to be fast in terms of clean builds, which they attribute to JavaScript’s data shuffling performance issues and plan to focus on compiled languages like C or Rust instead. The goal is to minimize process overhead while achieving blazing-fast speeds.

You don’t need free lists

A new data structure approach has been proposed, which avoids traditional free-list-based mechanisms for efficient slot allocation in pool-like data structures, using a multi-level bit array with x64 instruction tzcnt for fast search and indexing. This design achieves O(1) time complexity for insertions, removals, and lookups, including worst-case scenarios. The approach aims to improve performance properties over traditional free-list-based pools.

Forgejo, AGit, and Pull Request Templates

A user in Emacs has customized the agit workflow to automatically generate and submit customizable pull request templates when pushing to a remote repository using Forgejo’s code, which extracts title and description from a Markdown file. This feature allows users to control the PR templates used. The change adds a function cz/read-pull-request-from-buffer that reads a template from .forgejo/pull_request_template.md, extracting and base64-encoding the title and description for use in the push command.

Microsoft: ‘OpenClaw unsuited to run on standard personal or enterprise workstation’

Microsoft has stated that its new ‘OpenClaw’ technology is not suitable for running on standard personal or enterprise workstations. The company’s OpenClaw AI chip was designed for specialized applications such as robotics, edge computing, and IoT devices. This limitation may affect its adoption in more general computing scenarios.

Feeling the burn: When open source developers decide to take a break

Open source developers are taking breaks due to unsustainable work conditions fueled by a “gift culture” where peer reputation drives motivation rather than financial compensation. Many maintainers work 60-80 hour weeks without proper support, pay, or recognition, leading to burnout and exhaustion. Some developers advocate for more sustainable practices, suggesting that projects should prioritize rest and balance to ensure long-term sustainability.

Work experience kids messed with manager’s PC to send him to Ctrl-Alt-Del hell

A group of community college students working at an IT helpdesk pranked their manager’s PC, tweaking the screensaver to display a static screenshot, causing them to press Ctrl-Alt-Delete repeatedly. The prank was inspired by one of the company’s engineers who had displayed prohibited software icons on his desktop as wallpaper. The manager eventually discovered and laughed off the prank, acknowledging it as a clever joke.

What it means that Ubuntu is using Rust

Ubuntu has adopted Rust as a viable option for building data planes and resource-aware agents, aiming to shift the perception that Rust is only suitable for high-risk applications. This move follows the trend of “crossing the chasm” into mainstream development, with Canonical showcasing Rust’s practicality to encourage broader adoption. By doing so, Ubuntu hopes to transition from early adopters to more widespread use.

Sowbot – open-hardware agricultural robot (ROS2, RTK GPS)

A team of volunteers has created an open-hardware agricultural robot called Sowbot, designed to help close the “prototype gap” in agri-robotics startups. The robot features a stackable compute module with dual RTK GPS and CAN bus connectivity for precise positioning and control. Everything about Sowbot is available under open licences, making it accessible for contributors and researchers.

PgDog – Scale Postgres without changing the app

PgDog, a connection pooler, load balancer, and database sharder for PostgreSQL, is now in production, solving the common problem of databases breaking under high traffic. The tool allows for direct-to-shard queries, aggregate functions, sorting, and grouping without requiring application code changes or database migrations. It also supports omnisharded tables and multi-tuple inserts, making it a convenient solution for applications with complex database requirements.

femtolisp: A lightweight, robust, scheme-like Lisp implementation

Femtolisp is a lightweight Scheme dialect with a focus on simplicity, elegance, and minimalism, featuring a compact implementation of over 1000 lines of C code. The project aims to create a well-organized language that meets common requirements with minimal code while achieving speed comparable to native-compiled Scheme implementations. Femtolisp offers a range of features including vectors, strings, exceptions, and compacting garbage collection.

Hacker News.love – 22 projects Hacker News didn’t love

A two-decade retrospective analysis by Hacker News shows that its initial dismissals of various projects were correct. Services like Dropbox, which was initially deemed too simple, went on to achieve significant success, while others such as GitHub and DuckDuckGo overcame initial skepticism to become successful ventures. The name and branding of a project can be a major obstacle to its adoption.

Scheme 9 from Empty Space (2014)

A book titled “Scheme 9 from Empty Space” provides self-contained C and Scheme source code for a full Scheme interpreter, offering practical guidance on crafting an interpreter. The book covers techniques behind computer program interpretation through annotations and examples, making it suitable for those interested in programming languages. It is available in print and digital formats.

What I learned designing a barebones UI engine

A custom UI framework built with PyGame aims to provide a standard interactive layer with event-driven paradigms while minimizing extra cost over standard software rendering. The framework has evolved from a simple flat hierarchy to a tree-based architecture, enabling more efficient layout management and scalability. Its final version will support intrinsic sizing, allowing for responsive design without constraints, setting it apart from actual UI engines like Flutter and Jetpack Compose.

🚀 Space Exploration

Finnish quantum computing firm IQM goes public in $1.8B deal

Finnish quantum computing company IQM is set to go public via a SPAC merger with Real Asset Acquisition, valued at $1.8 billion.

Japan’s ‘Team Mirai’ Wins 11 Seats with Tech Promises

Team Mirai, a Japanese political party founded by software engineers, won 11 seats in the country’s legislature by promising cutting-edge technologies like self-driving buses and high-tech jobs. Led by Takahiro Anno, the party aims to use AI to make government more responsive and efficient. This is one of the first successful examples of an A.I.-focused political party gaining significant traction globally.

Breakthrough in Web Page Crawling Technology

A researcher successfully crawled over 1 billion web pages within 24 hours, achieving an average active time of 25.5 hours with a cost of approximately $462, surpassing previous estimates that suggested such a task would require significantly more resources and time. This achievement demonstrates significant advancements in web crawling capabilities since past studies. The project utilized optimized cluster nodes to minimize costs while maintaining best practices.

“Better come clean,” warns Luis Elizondo as Trump orders Pentagon to release UFO files

The US Pentagon has been ordered by President Donald Trump to release previously classified documents about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), following comments from Luis Elizondo, the former head of the Pentagon’s UFO investigation unit, who urged transparency on the issue. Elizondo stated that the lack of disclosure is “not in the best interest” of national security and the public. The release of these files is expected to shed new light on unidentified aerial phenomena.

Artemis II headed back to the bay; helium issues force another delay

NASA has delayed its Artemis II mission due to helium flow issues with the rocket’s upper stage, pushing the April 2026 launch window into question. The issue was detected after reconfiguration operations following a wet dress rehearsal in February and may be related to valve problems or ground-to-rocket filters. NASA is troubleshooting the cause of the problem and will roll back the rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building for further investigation.

India’s VIP culture is out of control

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticized for his government’s out-of-control VIP culture, with leaders acting as “masters” rather than serving their constituents. The country is also facing a severe pollution crisis that poses an economic threat, contradicting the government’s goals of progress and development. This criticism highlights the disconnect between India’s leadership and its people.

Silicon Valley can’t import talent like before. So it’s exporting jobs

Several US tech giants, including Meta, Amazon and Google, are increasingly hiring talent from India due to restrictions on the H-1B visa program under President Trump. As a result, around 33,000 new workers have been added in India last year, with experts predicting an even steeper increase in hiring in the coming years. The trend is driven by companies’ need to find alternative talent pools outside of the US due to visa restrictions.

NASA uses Mars Helicopter’s SoC for rover navigation upgrade

NASA has repurposed the processor from the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s base station to upgrade the navigation system of the Perseverance rover, allowing it to pinpoint its location with precision and potentially travel for unlimited distances without contacting Earth. The upgraded algorithm uses a faster processor to rapidly compare images with onboard maps, enabling the rover to accurately locate itself within 10 inches. This improvement enables the rover to explore Mars more extensively and autonomously.

SETI@home: Data Acquisition and Front-End Processing (2025)

SETI@home, a distributed computing project, analyzes vast amounts of radio data from multiple observatories to detect technosignatures that may indicate the presence of extraterrestrial life. The project uses over 100,000 volunteered home computers to process ∼1.2 × 10^10 detections, providing a basis for further analysis. These findings aim to identify potential extraterrestrial origins and offer a promising approach to detecting intelligent life beyond Earth.

QRTape – Audio Playback from Paper Tape with Computer Vision (2021)

A new technology called QRTape uses computer vision and audio compression to play back audio from paper tapes, replacing complex magnetic tape transports with a simpler solution. Data is encoded onto a strip of paper using QR codes, which are read by a standard webcam, and the system utilizes off-the-shelf software packages and low-cost electronics. The QRTape system enables high-quality and reliable data storage at a lower cost than traditional magnetic tapes.

Elon Musk posted about race almost every day in January

Elon Musk posted about a white racial majority almost daily on his social media platform X in January, promoting white supremacist material 26 out of 31 days. His posts echoed conspiracy theories and ideologies that liberal elites or Jewish people are conspiring to replace white populations. The promotion of such content has been described as a renewed embrace of white supremacist material by extremism experts.

How close are we to a vision for 2010?

A 25-year-old European Union paper has predicted a future where computers will be integrated into daily life by 2010, with scenarios like “Maria” showcasing promise for tasks such as identity checks and transportation. While some predictions have come true, others remain aspirational, including the concept of personal agents, which is still not a reality today. The paper’s vision of a “Ubiquitous Computing” future has largely remained unfulfilled 16 years later.

🤖 AI & Machine Learning

Recent AI breakthroughs have raised concerns about copyright infringement and memorization abilities, as top models can generate near-verbatim copies of bestselling novels from training data. Violations of terms of service have also been reported, with Chinese companies accused of repeatedly using popular AI platforms without permission, sparking fears of intellectual property theft in the industry. These incidents could have serious implications for the AI community and the creators who rely on it.

“Measuring Human-AI Collaboration and Intelligence”

Anthropic has launched its AI Fluency Index, measuring 11 human-AI collaboration behaviors that are being developed and refined by individuals as they work with artificial intelligence tools. The index highlights areas where improvement is still needed, including questioning AI’s reasoning and considering output consequences. This baseline provides a foundation for future research on the development of AI fluency over time.

New Jersey Super PAC Urges AI Regulations

A new super PAC backed by Anthropic is running ads in New Jersey urging voters to support regulations on artificial intelligence to protect against scams and other harms. The $300,000 campaign aims to raise $75M overall, ahead of the midterm elections, which have become a battleground for AI regulation. Public First Action’s ad blitz marks an escalation in the political war over AI governance.

AI’s minimal impact on US economic growth by 2025.

Goldman Sachs economists have found that massive investments in artificial intelligence (AI) had virtually no impact on US economic growth in 2025, contradicting previous claims of up to 92% growth. The new analysis challenges the notion that AI has significantly contributed to the country’s economic expansion.

“Ladybird Adoption Adopting New Programming Languages”

Ladybird, a web browser engine, has adopted Rust for its JavaScript engine, achieving identical output and no performance regressions after porting approximately 25,000 lines of code. The language’s maturity and safety guarantees were key factors in the decision, with Ladybird planning to maintain a hybrid approach using both C++ and Rust. This move aims to improve the browser’s performance and security.

Designing Odin’s Casting Syntax

Odin’s casting syntax has two forms, cast(type)value or type(value) or (type)(value), chosen for their suitability in larger and smaller conversions respectively, reflecting the language’s context-free grammar design and desired semantics. The original ideas were refined through trial and error, influenced by Odin’s distinct typing system.

My storage was 99% full, so was my patience – I built my own Photos

A user’s frustration with their smartphone’s storage led them to build their own camera from scratch. The project aimed to create a functional camera without relying on existing phone cameras. The result was a fully-functional camera that exceeded the original designer’s expectations.

Global regulators say AI image tools don’t get a free pass on privacy rules

Regulators from over 60 countries are warning generative AI companies that they must comply with data protection laws when creating realistic synthetic images of people, despite concerns about non-consensual intimate imagery and other harmful content. The global coalition stresses that firms cannot exploit the fact that AI-generated content comes from a machine to avoid accountability for their actions. Regulators urge companies to build safeguards to anticipate risks and ensure public trust in these emerging technologies.

Gemini users say their chat histories have quietly vanished

Google’s Gemini AI chatbot has reported issues with users’ months-long conversations vanishing from their history, with some suspecting syncing or data loss problems. Google attributes the issue to a “temporary bug” being fixed but acknowledges it is frustrating for affected users. The incident raises concerns about the reliability of Gemini in handling user data amidst recent criticism over its behavior and data handling.

Hotel’s rotary switchboard so retro it predates the concept of crashing

A rotary switchboard from the mid-20th century has been discovered at a hotel in Italy, providing a rare glimpse into older telephone communication technology that requires manual operation with cables. The device predates modern digital systems and highlights the simplicity of human involvement required for communication in earlier times. The presence of the switchboard alongside an electric typewriter and fax machine adds to its nostalgic value.

Infosys chair says AI will clean up legacy systems – then make more of them

Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani believes that AI will revolutionize software development and make code-writing obsolete, but it also generates new legacy systems that need to be addressed. To take advantage of AI, organizations must modernize their legacy systems, while ensuring its use does not compromise productivity. Nilekani warns that AI will create new challenges, including the generation of “slop” and the need for usage guidelines and quality control measures.

Anthropic announces proof of distillation at scale by MiniMax, DeepSeek,Moonshot

Researchers have detected industrial-scale distillation attacks on models by DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, and MiniMax, resulting in over 16 million exchanges with Claude and bypassing safeguards. These attacks are using American models to train their own military, intelligence, and surveillance systems without legitimate authorization. The issue requires rapid action from industry players, policymakers, and the AI community to address its growing intensity and sophistication.

US Gov Deploys Grok as Nutrition Bot, It Advises for Rectal Use of Vegetables

The US government’s RealFood.gov website, which promotes a protein-centric dietary approach, has been marred by the deployment of Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok, which freely gives bizarre and irrelevant advice, including recommending foods inserted into the rectum. Testing found that Grok appears to be at odds with the administration’s health goals, suggesting plant-based proteins over red meat. The website’s message was changed after concerns were raised about the bot’s placement.

Detecting and Preventing Distillation Attacks

Three AI laboratories have successfully carried out industrial-scale distillation attacks against Anthropic’s Claude model, using fraudulent accounts to extract sensitive capabilities that pose significant national security risks. These attacks undermine export controls and threaten the global supply of advanced AI technology. The incidents highlight the need for rapid, coordinated action among industry players, policymakers, and the global AI community to prevent such attacks in the future.

Why the EU’s AI Act is about to become enterprises’ biggest compliance challenge

The European Union’s AI Act will take effect on August 2, 2026, imposing significant provisions on companies offering AI systems in the market, including penalties of up to 7% of global turnover for non-compliance. The regulation was designed for static AI models but is now facing a “regulatory collision” with autonomous AI agents that can reason and execute multi-step workflows. This will create a strategic crisis for global enterprises racing to deploy such systems.

GLP-1 Second-Order Effects

A growing trend in using GLP-1 drugs, which help people lose weight, could have significant indirect effects on industries such as airlines and food suppliers, saving billions of dollars each year through reduced fuel consumption and demand for calories, respectively. However, concerns arise over how the long-term savings will be distributed among various stakeholders, particularly in the US insurance market where the company paying for the drug may not be the same as the one insuring the patient.

The first general computer action model

A new foundation model called FDM-1 has been developed, which achieves significant improvements over existing approaches in computer vision and language models. FDM-1 can learn from video context, process high-framerate video, and scale to competent agents without requiring expensive human annotations. The breakthrough enables the training of general computer agents on internet-scale video data.

If AI makes human labor obsolete, who decides who gets to eat?

A growing concern about the impact of artificial intelligence on society is whether its benefits will be equitably distributed among humanity. The prospect of AI rendering human labor obsolete raises questions about who will decide how to redistribute wealth, tax resources, and allocate global assets. Experts are calling for more open debate and stronger governance tools to address these challenges.

AI Timeline – 171 LLMs from Transformer (2017) to GPT-5.3 (2026)

A comprehensive interactive timeline tracks the development of 171 large language models from the Transformer model in 2017 to GPT-5.3 in 2026, covering information on open-source and closed-source models across 54 organizations.

Magical Mushroom – Europe’s first industrial-scale mycelium packaging producer

Europe’s first industrial-scale mycelium packaging producer, Mushroom Packaging by MMC, has been producing millions of units since 2020, replacing traditional expanded polystyrene (EPS) in industrial packaging with a biodegradable material grown from mycelium and agricultural byproducts. The company aims to manufacture over 10 million more pieces by 2026, meeting growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions. MMC’s packaging is scalable, cost-competitive and commercially ready, addressing the commercial risk posed by EPS.

Pope tells priests to use their brains, not AI, to write homilies

Pope Leo XIV advised priests to focus on their spiritual connection with God through prayer, rather than relying on artificial intelligence, while also emphasizing the importance of cultivating priestly friendship and living gratitude for their role as priests. The pope encouraged priests to use their “brains” to prepare homilies and navigate their ministry, rather than simply following formulas or AI-generated content. He also reminded them to stay connected with their communities and each other through ongoing study and fraternity.

🔒 Cybersecurity

Trump’s “Board of Peace” eyes stablecoin for Gaza.

US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” is exploring a USD-pegged stablecoin as a potential solution for Gaza, following the decimation of the local cash supply during an Israeli offensive. The proposal aims to alleviate financial strain on the region.

US Defense Secretary meets aide over alleged climate misinformation

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to the Pentagon in a tense meeting over terms for military use of Anthropic’s AI model Claude. The two sides are at an impasse over usage restrictions, with Anthropic refusing to clear mass surveillance and autonomous weapons development. A breakdown in talks could lead to Anthropic being declared a “supply chain risk” and potentially replaced by another AI lab.

“WorkTok: Employees share daily office life on social media.”

Employees filming their daily office routines on TikTok and Instagram are gaining popularity among Gen Z viewers, offering a unique insight into corporate life and mundane office tasks. “WorkTok” videos have become entertaining for younger audiences who can relate to the relatable content. This trend is teaching Gen Z about the realities of office work and the nine-to-five lifestyle.

Russia-linked crypto exchanges evade sanctions, bank oversight.

Cryptoasset exchanges linked to Russia continue to facilitate high-stakes money laundering despite international sanctions and regulatory pressure, enabling Russian entities to make cross-border payments without banking oversight. These platforms use various tactics to evade detection, including converting fiat currencies into cryptocurrencies and then transferring them through Western crypto exchanges. Several of these exchanges have been sanctioned in the US and other countries for their role in supporting Russia-linked sanctions evasion.

Cursed engineering: jumping randomly through CSV files without hurting yourself

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What are you doing this week?

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ShinyHunters reveals +5M records after Wall Street ignores “final warning”

ShinyHunters has disclosed over 5 million records in response to a final warning issued by Wall Street. The data includes sensitive information that was previously ignored, prompting the group to take action. This revelation may have significant implications for companies and individuals involved.

“RIP to privacy screen protectors:” users get first glimpse of Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra

Samsung has unveiled its Galaxy S26 Ultra, marking a significant shift towards the elimination of traditional privacy screens. This feature removes the usual pop-up notifications for calls or messages, potentially increasing user distractions. The new design is part of Samsung’s ongoing efforts to enhance user experience and interaction with their devices.

ICO wins court appeal, emphasizes data protection regardless of hacker use

A UK court has ruled in favor of ICO, stating that organizations are responsible for protecting all personal data processed, even if stolen by hackers. The ruling emphasizes the importance of proactive measures to safeguard sensitive information. Organizations must prioritize data protection regardless of the circumstances surrounding a breach.

Infosec community panics as Anthropic rolls out Claude code security checker

Anthropic has launched Claude Code Security, a tool that scans codebases for vulnerabilities and suggests patches, but still requires human approval for implementation. The feature aims to assist developers and security teams in securing their code, but it’s not revolutionary as other companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are also working on similar security features. This move represents a step in the right direction, but further development is needed to make AI-powered security more effective.

O say, can you see: FCC pushes patriotic programming for US 250th

The Federal Communications Commission has launched a campaign urging broadcasters to promote patriotic content as the US celebrates its 250th birthday, including airing the national anthem daily and highlighting American history. The goal is to raise public awareness and inspire citizens over the next 250 years, with the FCC emphasizing its “public interest obligations” to meet this campaign’s objectives.

Suspected Anonymous members detained in Spain over post-flood DDoS blitz

Spanish police have detained four suspected members of Anonymous Fénix for carrying out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on public institutions in the aftermath of 2024 floods in Spain, claiming the government was responsible for the disaster. The group targeted government ministries, political parties, and other institutions using platforms such as X and Telegram. This is one of several recent arrests linked to the group, which has reportedly been active since its emergence around 2003.

Hey I almost got scammed by Google

A person attempted to renew their passport online but was scammed by a fake .com website posing as the official government site, despite claiming to have avoided scams in the past after being duped 15 years ago. The author attributes the mistake to Google’s automated ads displaying sponsored content alongside legitimate results. They note that searching again and setting specific browser settings helped them avoid further issues.

First, They Came for the Journalists

Hundreds of journalists are being forced into exile due to authoritarianism and censorship worldwide. The number of journalists fleeing their homes is rising, with many facing imprisonment or persecution if they attempt to return, despite using digital tools to continue reporting. Journalists like Ekaterina Fomina, who fled Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, continue to report on conflicts from exile.

Landlines are ringing in homes again. Why parents are happy about that

A growing number of parents are introducing landlines into their homes as a way to improve communication and delay social media introduction, citing benefits such as fostering genuine conversations with grandparents and teaching proper phone etiquette skills. Many families report increased joy and connections with loved ones through the use of landlines. The trend is also seen as a way to promote traditional communication skills over screen time.

Facebook’s Fascination with My Robots.txt

Facebook’s browser has been making repeated requests to the author’s robots.txt file every few seconds over the past four days, with all requests coming from Meta’s IP address ranges and no other files being accessed. The traffic is reportedly benign for the author but raises concerns about global bandwidth and energy usage by Meta. The purpose of this targeting appears to be related to content crawling on Meta’s platforms.

Don’t host email yourself – your reminder in 2026

A German entrepreneur’s attempt to host email using a professional transactional email service was thwarted when one of the country’s largest email providers blocked their account due to inactivity despite proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configurations. The issue was resolved after a 24-hour exchange with the provider’s postmaster team, highlighting the importance of reputation and relationship with the provider’s system. Running a mail server on a VPS is likely to result in similar issues.

I am a 15-year-old girl. Social media is full of vile misogyny

A 15-year-old schoolgirl has spoken out about the pervasive misogyny she encounters on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, where women are subjected to objectifying and degrading comments. The author feels constantly bombarded by these remarks, which have become normalized among teenage boys. She highlights examples of how misogynistic language is used to degrade and belittle girls online.

Compulsively violent people might have lower IQs

A comprehensive review of scientific research suggests that individuals who engage in impulsive acts of violence tend to score lower on intelligence tests compared to non-violent individuals, with lower intellectual abilities potentially contributing to difficulty resolving conflicts peacefully. The study found a significant relationship between cognitive abilities and reactive violence, but emphasized that intelligence is just one factor influencing aggression and violence.

📰 Other News

Virginia Official Taps into World’s Largest Data Center Market

Loudoun County in Virginia has emerged as the world’s largest data-center market due in part to Buddy Rizer’s efforts, who successfully pitched the area to major tech companies in the late 2000s. With over 200 buildings spanning nearly 49 million square feet, Loudoun County has become a hub for massive server farms and data centers. The county’s growth was initially driven by Rizer’s door-knocking campaign to attract businesses such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook.

“Advances in Chip Technology Set Stage”

Researchers at ASML Holding have developed a breakthrough that increases the power of their EUV machines’ light source by 50%, potentially allowing chipmakers to produce up to 50% more chips per decade, reducing production costs and helping retain ASML’s edge in the global semiconductor market. Meanwhile, Nvidia is partnering with major PC manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo to integrate its Arm-based SoC into laptops by 2026, aiming to create lighter and thinner PCs with improved battery life.

Verifpal, Rewritten in Rust

Verifpal, a protocol verifier, has been rewritten in Rust to improve its performance, correctness and capabilities. The new implementation addresses limitations of the original Go codebase by using Rust’s algebraic types and structured data, resulting in faster compilation, easier cross-platform builds and improved concurrency model.

How can ‘more’ take 100 percent CPU?

A Linux command, ‘grep -i start /’, followed by the command ‘more’, has been found to consume 100% CPU usage. The cause of this unusual behavior is not specified in the article. Further investigation into the specific circumstances surrounding the phenomenon is required.

“Breakthrough in Single-Source Shortest Path Algorithms”

A new C99 implementation of the Single-Source Shortest Path (SSSP) algorithm called DMMSY has been introduced, achieving significant speedups over traditional Dijkstra implementations by breaking long-standing complexity barriers, with improvements exceeding 20,000x in some cases. The algorithm leverages a recursive subproblem decomposition and cache-optimized CSR layout to achieve its performance gains. A comprehensive benchmarking suite is included for performance comparison.

Freemediaheckyeah

A website called Freemediaheckyeah is available with a collection of various literary works.

LGP to take Mister Car Wash private in $3.1B deal

Leonard Green & Partners has agreed to acquire Mister Car Wash in a $3.1 billion deal, valuing the company at $7 per share. The private deal will allow the company to invest more in its stores, workforce and technology, with plans to accelerate growth and potentially triple its footprint. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

The power of daily rituals (2021)

Daily rituals, practiced in cultures worldwide for thousands of years, have been found to provide a sense of predictability and constancy, reducing anxiety and improving performance in high-pressure situations. Research suggests that these rituals act as “ritual buffers against uncertainty and anxiety”. By performing daily rituals, individuals can experience improved mental well-being and enhanced performance under stress.

Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes suppress dengue by 70% across Singapore

Researchers in Singapore have successfully reduced dengue risk by 70% by releasing sterilized, Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes in densely populated urban areas. The release of these mosquitoes significantly decreased mosquito populations and led to a substantial reduction in symptomatic dengue cases among treated neighborhoods. This biological approach is an alternative to traditional methods that often fail to deliver lasting reductions in dengue cases or infections.

IT Staffing Firms (TCS, Cognizant, Infosis Underpay Developers by 80–100%

US-based IT staffing firms TCS, Cognizant, and Infosys are hiring H1B visa workers at significantly lower average salaries compared to tech giants. These companies dominate H1B visa filings but have been found to exploit the system by paying workers as low as 40% below market rate. This practice has led to wage depression, job displacement, and talent distortion in the industry.