Alvaro Lopez Ortega / 2026-04-22 Briefing

Created Thu, 23 Apr 2026 01:44:07 +0000 Modified Thu, 23 Apr 2026 01:46:11 +0000
6544 Words

Google has unveiled its eighth-generation TPUs for optimized AI workloads alongside new AI security agents to automate threat detection. Meanwhile, surging datacenter demand is forcing US utilities to delay coal plant retirements, stalling the green energy transition. Finally, a proposed federal act may mandate age verification for all operating systems, overriding state-level Linux exemptions.

🤖 AI & Machine Learning

Grafana offers AI assistant for free, warns users not to go mad

Grafana is making its AI assistant free for open-source and on-prem users while introducing new features to monitor AI agent behavior. The company also unveiled Grafana 13 and a re-architected Loki log aggregator as it expands its platform into broader business analytics.

Google unleashes even more AI security agents to fight the baddies

Google Cloud has announced a new suite of AI security agents, including Threat Hunting and Detection Engineering, to automate routine cybersecurity tasks and identify emerging threats. This initiative aims to transition from a human-led to an AI-led defense strategy, leveraging Google’s integrated AI stack to combat increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.

Database world trying to build natural language query systems again – this time with LLMs

Database vendors like AWS and Snowflake are leveraging Large Language Models to develop text-to-SQL systems that allow non-technical users to query databases using natural language. While these tools aim to reduce analytical bottlenecks, experts warn that the resulting queries may be syntactically correct yet fail to accurately reflect a user’s true intent.

Using LLMs to find Python C-extension bugs

Hobbyist Daniel Diniz used a specialized Claude Code plugin to identify more than 500 bugs across 44 Python C-extensions, resulting in merged fixes for 14 projects. The toolkit employs 13 specialized analysis agents and utilizes a collaborative approach with maintainers to minimize false positives and prevent developer burnout.

Failed Companies Are Selling Old Slack Chats and Email Archives to Train AI

Failing startups are selling internal communications, such as Slack messages and emails, to fund their wind-down processes by providing data for AI model training. While facilitators work to anonymize these datasets, privacy advocates have raised concerns regarding the potential exposure of identifiable employee information.

Ghost Pepper Meet local meeting transcription and diarization

Ghost Pepper Meet is a private, 100% local transcription and speaker diarization engine designed for macOS. The application integrates models from a previously developed push-to-talk voice transcription product into a single, unified tool.

OpenAI: Workspace Agents for Business

OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT workspace agents that enable business teams to automate entire workflows and recurring tasks by integrating with existing tools. Designed for enterprise security, these agents feature centralized administrative controls, including role-based access, audit logs, and approval gates for sensitive actions.

Website streamed live directly from a model

A website has been configured to stream live content directly from a model. This setup enables a real-time broadcast from the model to the web interface.

AI Robot Beats Top Human Players

Sony AI’s autonomous robot, Ace, has achieved expert-level table tennis performance by successfully defeating elite human players. Utilizing high-speed perception and advanced AI-based control, this breakthrough in real-time physical interaction could pave the way for similar applications in manufacturing and service robotics.

OpenAI Releases Privacy Filter Model

OpenAI has released Privacy Filter, an open-weight, 1.5B parameter model designed to detect and redact personally identifiable information (PII) in unstructured text. The efficient model can run locally to ensure data security through context-aware processing, allowing developers to protect sensitive information without transferring it to external servers.

Scoring Show HN submissions for AI design patterns

A study of 500 Show HN submissions used systematic CSS and DOM analysis to identify recurring AI-generated design patterns. The findings reveal a growing trend of generic, “vibe-coded” aesthetics in recent web projects, characterized by specific fonts, colors, and layout quirks.

Kernel code removals driven by LLM-created security reports

The Linux kernel is removing the amateur radio protocol implementation, including AX.25, NET/ROM, and ROSE, along with all associated hamradio device drivers. This decision follows a surge in AI-generated bug reports that have become difficult for developers to manage.

I’m sick of AI everything

The author expresses growing frustration with the increasing prevalence of AI, comparing their sentiment to their previous decision to stop using Facebook. They state a desire to have all AI-related content blocked at the browser level.

xAI explores potential three-way partnership with Mistral and Cursor

xAI has held talks with Mistral and Cursor regarding a potential three-way partnership. Additionally, Mistral co-founder Devendra Chaplot joined xAI in March.

Ex-OpenAI VP Jerry Tworek launches Core Automation to build the world’s most automated AI lab

Core Automation, a new AI startup co-founded by former OpenAI vice president Jerry Tworek, aims to build “the world’s most automated AI lab” by automating research processes. The company has already recruited top talent from major competitors, including Anthropic and Google DeepMind, to focus on developing new learning algorithms and architectures.

Google unveils Workspace Intelligence for personalized context via semantic data relationships.

Google has unveiled “Workspace Intelligence” at Cloud Next 2026, a new system designed to provide personalized, context-aware assistance across Workspace apps by understanding complex semantic relationships between data. Leveraging Gemini reasoning, the tool can automate complex tasks, generate content that mimics a user’s unique voice, and integrate with third-party productivity tools like Asana and Jira.

OpenAI briefing US, state, and Five Eyes allies on GPT-5.4-Cyber capabilities

OpenAI has been briefing U.S. federal agencies, state governments, and Five Eyes allies on the capabilities of its new GPT-5.4-Cyber model. The company is using a tiered access program to provide advanced cybersecurity tools to defenders while implementing safeguards to manage potential risks.

Sullivan & Cromwell tells bankruptcy court major filing had AI hallucinations

Elite law firm Sullivan & Cromwell informed a US federal bankruptcy court that a major filing in a high-profile case contained multiple AI-generated hallucinations. The firm has apologized to the judge for these software-driven errors.

💻 Software & Engineering

GitHub CLI enables telemetry collection

GitHub has enabled pseudonymous telemetry collection by default for all CLI users to monitor feature usage and inform future product improvements. Although the update was implemented without a formal announcement, users can opt out by modifying their CLI configuration or using specific environment variables.

Thunderbird in hand worth 2 Outlooks as fresh FOSS fave and Firefox arrive

Mozilla has released Firefox 150 and Thunderbird 150, both featuring various functional refinements and improvements. Firefox 150 introduces enhanced split-view controls and advanced PDF editing, while Thunderbird 150 adds support for searching encrypted message bodies and new email signature standards.

WSL on Windows 95

A new project called WSL9x enables a modern Linux kernel to run on legacy Windows 9x systems, such as Windows 95, allowing Linux and Windows applications to run side-by-side without rebooting. Developed by Hailey using a patched kernel and custom driver, the implementation currently lacks a GUI and poses potential stability risks.

nondescript: a simple embedded programming language

Nondescript is a lightweight, single-file scripting language designed for easy integration into C applications, functioning similarly to Lua. It features an AppleScript-inspired syntax and includes advanced capabilities such as extensible grammar, list comprehensions, and pluggable allocators.

Olive CSS: Lisp-powered CSS utility framework

Olive CSS is a vanilla CSS utility-class framework written in Guile Scheme that is inspired by the syntax of Tailwind CSS. It offers high levels of customization and hackability, allowing developers to easily modify colors, breakpoints, and utility rules through Lisp-based configuration.

Telemetry-Driven Development

The GitHub repository “Telemetry-Driven Development” is available at https://github.com/Nezteb/telemetry-driven-development. The project focuses on the concept of telemetry-driven development.

What are your favorite Emacs packages?

A user is seeking recommendations for essential Emacs packages. The inquiry was prompted by reading about Magit and observing others use Emacs as a web browser.

An Algorithmic Reconstruction of Normalisation by Evaluation

This article investigates the efficiency of Normalisation by Evaluation (NbE) by identifying and optimizing inefficiencies found in naive substitution-based normalizers. Using Haskell and untyped lambda calculus, the author proposes a new normalizer that can asymptotically outperform standard NbE on certain inputs.

It’s All Just Trees With Web Origami

Web Origami is a versatile tool designed for building static websites and transforming data through a content/transformation model. It utilizes a specialized JavaScript dialect to treat various data structures, such as directories and YAML frontmatter, as interconnected trees. This approach provides a flexible and intuitive environment for complex data manipulation and custom template creation.

The Edge of Safe Rust

The article explores the implementation of tracing garbage collection and virtual machines within safe Rust, specifically focusing on the goal of achieving zero-cost pointers. The author shares insights from designing isolated, safe Rust VMs for a networking rules engine to manage complex pointer structures.

Async: Promises vs. Reality

Asynchronous programming evolved from callback-based models to promises and futures to address the C10K problem of managing high-concurrency connections more efficiently than OS threads. While callbacks enabled concurrency, they introduced “callback hell” and complex error handling, which promises have since mitigated by providing more composable and manageable objects.

Approximating Hyperbolic Tangent

This article examines various mathematical methods for approximating the hyperbolic tangent function to improve computational speed in neural networks and real-time audio processing. It surveys techniques such as Taylor series, Padé approximants, and splines as efficient alternatives to standard, more intensive implementations.

Spanner Omni, a downloadable version of Google Spanner

Google has announced the preview of Spanner Omni, a downloadable version of its distributed database that can be deployed beyond Google Cloud, including on-premises, across multiple clouds, or on laptops. The service provides the same scalability, strong consistency, and multi-model capabilities as the fully managed Spanner service to support business continuity and regulatory compliance.

Parallel Agents in Zed

Zed has introduced a new Threads Sidebar that allows developers to orchestrate multiple parallel agents within a single window. This feature enables users to manage agent access to specific folders and repositories, monitor active threads, and navigate through a new, agent-centric layout.

Homegrown – An interactive map of every 2025 FBS college football player

“Homegrown” is an interactive map that displays every 2025 FBS college football player based on their hometown. The tool allows users to filter players by team, conference, state, or position and includes a feature to compare different groups side-by-side.

Martin Fowler: Technical, Cognitive, and Intent Debt

Martin Fowler argues that the programmer’s virtue of “laziness” is essential for developing efficient software abstractions that minimize future complexity. He warns that because LLMs lack time-based constraints, they risk producing increasingly bloated and unoptimized code.

The best time to post on Hacker News

To maximize audience reach, technical content should be posted on Hacker News between Tuesday and Thursday, 14:00 to 17:00 UTC. While Sunday nights may provide lower competition, the author warns that timing is not a guaranteed formula for success due to the platform’s complex ranking algorithm.

DuckDB 1.5.2 – SQL database that runs on laptop, server, in the browser

DuckDB 1.5.2 has been released, introducing support for the DuckLake v1.0 lakehouse format and significant enhancements to the Iceberg extension. The update also features an overhauled WebAssembly shell with improved file management capabilities alongside various bugfixes and performance improvements.

Columnar Storage Is Normalization

The article argues that columnar storage is an extreme form of database normalization, where wide tables are decomposed into single-attribute tables linked by a primary key. This approach optimizes performance for attribute-specific queries by minimizing the amount of unnecessary data that must be read.

Windows 9x Subsystem for Linux

Users are advised to enable JavaScript to access the Mastodon web application. Alternatively, the platform suggests using a native app for the user’s specific platform.

XOR’ing a register with itself is the idiom for zeroing it out. Why not sub?

Compilers prefer the xor eax, eax instruction to zero registers on x86 because it is more compact than using mov with a constant. Although sub eax, eax is a comparable alternative, xor became the industry standard due to early compiler adoption and specialized hardware optimizations by Intel.

Meta unveils Threads Live Chats for real-time event conversations, debuting with NBA playoffs.

Meta is launching “Live Chats” on Threads to facilitate real-time conversations during major cultural events like sports games and album releases. The feature is debuting within the NBA Threads community during the playoffs and will expand to more creators and users over time.

🔒 Security & Privacy

Workday, Rippling, and Slack flunk data access test, claims Fivetran

Fivetran’s new Open Data Infrastructure Data Access Benchmark identifies Workday, Rippling, and Slack as poor performers regarding data coverage, performance, and egress fees. The report highlights how these limitations could obstruct the efficient data movement required for enterprise analytics and AI agent integration.

Privacy and Surveillance News

The UK High Court has ruled that the Metropolitan Police’s use of live facial recognition technology is lawful, dismissing a legal challenge regarding privacy rights. Meanwhile, Kentucky has enacted a new law requiring smart TV manufacturers to obtain consumer consent before collecting automated content recognition data.

A privacy vulnerability in Firefox-based browsers, including Tor Browser, allowed websites to fingerprint users by exploiting the specific ordering of IndexedDB entries as a stable identifier. This flaw bypassed the isolation protections of Private Browsing, but Mozilla has since released patches in Firefox 150 and ESR 140.10.0 to resolve the issue.

Apple fixes bug that cops used to extract deleted chat messages from iPhones

Apple released a software update for iPhone and iPad to fix a bug that allowed law enforcement to extract deleted or disappearing messages. The issue stemmed from notification content being cached on the device for up to a month, even after the messages were removed from apps like Signal.

XTrace – Encrypted vector DB (search embeddings without exposing them)

XTrace has open-sourced its SDK for a new private vector database that performs similarity searches on encrypted vectors. The platform utilizes Paillier homomorphic encryption and AES-256 to ensure that the server never accesses plaintext embeddings or documents, protecting sensitive data.

40K+ exposed as California weed delivery service leaks customer photo IDs, selfies, other details

California-based marijuana delivery service Three Trees exposed a database containing the personal information of over 40,000 customers and drivers. The leak included sensitive details such as government IDs, medical data, and selfies, posing significant risks of identity theft and blackmail. The vulnerability was secured in early April after researchers alerted the company.

Scammers pose as Iranian officials, demand bitcoin from ships in Strait of Hormuz

Scammers are impersonating Iranian authorities to demand Bitcoin or USDT transit fees from shipping companies navigating the Strait of Hormuz. The fraudulent scheme exploits regional geopolitical tensions by targeting vessels with claims that these payments are required for passage clearance.

750,000 DNN websites in danger: a simple SVG upload can lead to complete compromise

DNN has patched a severe stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that allows attackers to achieve remote code execution via malicious SVG file uploads. By tricking a privileged user into viewing these files, an attacker can deploy an ASPX backdoor and potentially escalate privileges to SYSTEM.

GCHQ: ~100 countries have cyber intrusion software like Pegasus as access barriers drop

The Trump administration faces increasing political pressure ahead of the midterm elections due to high gas prices and the upcoming summer driving season. Additionally, Democrats’ recent victory in Virginia’s redistricting disputes could impact Republican efforts to gain control of Congress.

Ex-Samsung researcher sentenced to 7 years for leaking semiconductor tech to China’s CXMT

A former Samsung Electronics researcher has been sentenced to seven years in prison for leaking critical semiconductor technology to the Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). The defendant reportedly received approximately 2.9 billion won in exchange for DRAM process technology, which assisted in China’s development of high-bandwidth memory for artificial intelligence.

🔌 Hardware & Infrastructure

Datacenter boom keeps dirty coal plants alive in the US

The surge in electricity demand from expanding datacenters and AI workloads is forcing US utilities to delay the retirement of aging coal and gas power plants. This trend is slowing the transition to renewable energy and increasing the emission of greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants.

NASA reckons the Artemis II heat shield performed like a champ

NASA’s initial inspections of the Artemis II spacecraft confirm that the Orion heat shield performed as expected, exhibiting significantly less charring than during the Artemis I mission. This successful performance validates the agency’s decision to modify the re-entry trajectory rather than redesigning the shield itself.

Google Unveils Eighth-Generation AI TPUs

Google has unveiled its eighth-generation TPUs, featuring two specialized architectures: the TPU 8t for large-scale training and the TPU 8i for latency-sensitive inference. These processors utilize custom Arm-based Axion CPUs and advanced networking to optimize the efficiency and scalability of complex AI workloads, such as agentic AI and Mixture-of-Experts.

Some general notes on network booting UEFI machines

The author of Wandering Thoughts has implemented anti-crawler measures to block high-volume bots using outdated Chrome user agents, a tactic frequently used for LLM training. These measures may inadvertently affect legitimate users of certain browsers, such as Vivaldi, or archival services like archive.*.

Tesla admits HW3 owners need upgrades for true ‘Full Self-Driving’

Elon Musk announced that Tesla owners with Hardware 3 will require physical hardware upgrades, including new computers and cameras, to run future unsupervised Full Self-Driving software. This admission contradicts previous promises that software updates alone would be sufficient, potentially exposing the company to legal challenges from customers.

New study compares growing corn for energy to solar production

A new PNAS study suggests that converting just 3.2% of US corn-for-ethanol farmland to solar energy could match the current energy output of all corn ethanol production and increase the US solar energy mix to 13%. This transition would also reduce the use of fertilizer and irrigation while potentially providing farmers with higher revenues through land leasing.

Anker Unveils Custom AI Chip

Anker has unveiled “Thus,” a custom compute-in-memory AI chip designed to bring efficient, low-power, on-device AI processing to its mobile accessories and IoT devices. The chip will first debut in upcoming Soundcore earbuds, where it aims to significantly enhance noise cancellation and call quality using larger neural networks.

GPU Compass: Navigate the GPU Frontier Across 20 Clouds and 2K+ Offerings

GPU Compass enables users to navigate over 2,000 GPU offerings across 20 different cloud platforms. The tool is designed to help users explore and manage the expanding GPU frontier.

Ultraviolet corona discharges on treetops

Penn State meteorologists have achieved the first direct observation of corona discharges occurring in nature during a thunderstorm. The discovery confirms a 70-year-old hypothesis that tiny electrical pulses at treetop tips cause forest canopies to glow in the ultraviolet spectrum.

3.4M Solar Panels

Version 2 of the Ground-Mounted Solar Energy in the United States (GM-SEUS) dataset has been released, now featuring more than 3.4 million panels and a new rooftop array dataset. The article also details the specific hardware and software methods used to analyze the updated information.

CATL’s new LFP battery can charge from 10 to 98% in less than 7 minutes

Chinese battery giant CATL has unveiled its third-generation Shenxing lithium-iron phosphate battery, designed to significantly improve electric vehicle charging speeds. The new technology promises charging capabilities that are nearly five times faster than current high-performance industry standards.

The invisible engineering behind Lambda’s network

AWS Lambda networking engineers have spent years performing behind-the-scenes optimizations to improve software-defined network topology. These incremental efforts have significantly reduced VPC cold start latency, enabling the execution of latency-sensitive workloads within a serverless environment.

How the Heck Does GPS Work?

GPS technology determines location by measuring the time it takes for signals to travel from satellites to a receiver at the speed of light. Through a process called trilateration, a device uses signals from at least three satellites to pinpoint a precise 3D position.

11 US data center gas projects could emit 129M+ tons of GHGs yearly, more than some countries

New natural gas projects linked to 11 U.S. data center campuses have the potential to emit over 129 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, exceeding the yearly emissions of Morocco. To meet the massive energy demands of the AI boom, tech companies like Microsoft and xAI are increasingly utilizing “behind-the-meter” power to bypass traditional utility grids.

📈 Business & Markets

Kalshi suspends candidates for insider trading

Prediction market platform Kalshi has suspended and fined three U.S. congressional candidates for “political insider trading” after they were caught betting on their own election outcomes. The platform’s new safeguards flagged the individuals, resulting in five-year suspensions and financial penalties.

Adobe Is Cooked

The article argues that Adobe’s shift to a subscription-based model has stifled innovation and alienated users through predatory practices, such as high cancellation fees. Additionally, the author contends that the company’s focus on short-term profits leaves it increasingly vulnerable to more agile, technology-driven competitors.

ReMarkable firing up to 40% of their workforce

Norwegian tech company ReMarkable is laying off between 180 and 200 employees and replacing CEO Philip Hess with Vegard Gullaksen Veiteberg. These cost-cutting measures are driven by declining demand, rising component prices, and global economic instability.

Surveillance Pricing: Exploiting Information Asymmetries

Modern corporations are increasingly utilizing “surveillance pricing,” a practice that leverages personal data to charge different prices for the same goods and services. By exploiting information asymmetries through extensive data collection, businesses aim to maximize profits by targeting individual consumer willingness to pay.

Google Cloud customer wakes up to $18,000 bill despite $7 budget

An Australian AI consultant incurred over $18,000 in Google Cloud charges overnight after an attacker exploited a plaintext API key found in a public service. The massive bill bypassed a $7 budget because several Google Cloud safety features were disabled by default and an automatic account tier upgrade increased the spending limit during the attack.

Startups Brag They Spend More Money on AI Than Human Employees

Some tech startups are embracing “tokenmaxxing,” a trend where high AI compute costs are celebrated as a replacement for human headcount. These companies aim to scale productivity by investing heavily in AI tokens rather than traditional hiring, viewing massive AI invoices as a metric of growth and success.

Series A for Exe.dev

Exe.dev has raised $35 million in Series A funding from investors including Amplify, CRV, and HeavyBit. The company plans to use the capital to develop a new generation of cloud infrastructure specifically designed for developers and agents using custom-built hardware and networking services.

Nobody Got Fired for Uber’s $8M Ledger Mistake?

Uber has rewritten its ledger systems five times in the last decade, often driven by engineers seeking promotions rather than technical necessity. One significant failure involved migrating to DynamoDB, which became prohibitively expensive due to its consumption-based pricing and was abandoned after only two years.

Global energy markets are on the verge of a disaster

Global energy markets are facing significant instability due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and disruptions to critical shipping routes. Ongoing conflicts and supply uncertainties are expected to keep energy markets tight for the foreseeable future.

San Diego rents declined following surge in supply

Median rents for one- and two-bedroom apartments in San Diego have decreased by 5.6% and 7.5%, respectively, over the past year. This decline follows a 15% increase in active rental listings, driven by local efforts to expand housing supply through increased permits and updated community plans.

SK Hynix Q1 revenue up 198% YoY to $35.55B, operating profit up 405% as memory prices rise

SK Hynix reported a massive year-over-year surge in its first-quarter results, with revenue increasing by 198% and operating profit jumping by 405%. The company’s record performance was driven by rising memory prices and robust demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI applications.

IBM Q1 revenue beats estimates at $15.92B, but shares drop 7%+ after hours

IBM reported first-quarter revenue of $15.92 billion, exceeding analyst expectations with a 9% year-over-year increase. Despite the strong performance, the company’s shares fell more than 6% in extended trading after management maintained its full-year 2026 guidance.

ServiceNow Q1 revenue up 22% to $3.67B, beating estimates; stock drops 12%+ after hours

ServiceNow’s first-quarter revenue of $3.77 billion slightly exceeded Wall Street estimates, despite delays in several large subscription deals due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The company also raised its fiscal 2026 subscription revenue forecast and continues to expand its AI and cybersecurity capabilities.

Texas Instruments Q1 revenue beats estimates at $4.83B; TXN jumps 10%+ on strong Q2 outlook

Texas Instruments reported a 19% year-over-year increase in Q1 revenue to $4.83 billion, surpassing analyst expectations. The company’s shares surged over 10% in after-hours trading following a strong Q2 revenue forecast driven by demand for data centers and industrial equipment.

Substack adds translation tools; 100K publishers earn, with European creators making $90M+/year

Substack has introduced new translation features for its “Notes” function, allowing users to translate between English and 15 languages, with post translations expected to follow soon. The platform also highlighted its growing international presence, noting that approximately 30,000 of its 100,000 earning publishers are located outside the United States.

ASM projects Q2 revenue of ~€980M, beating €886.8M estimate, driven by AI demand

ASM International NV projects second-quarter revenue of approximately €980 million, exceeding analyst estimates of €886.8 million. This growth is driven by increased demand for the company’s chip-making equipment fueled by the artificial intelligence boom.

⚖️ Society & Policy

Linux may get a hall pass from one state age-check bill, but Congress plays hall monitor

Amendments to a Colorado age-verification bill may exempt open-source operating systems, code repositories, and containers from mandatory age checks. However, the proposed federal Parents Decide Act could override these state-level exemptions by requiring all operating system providers to implement age verification.

How to stop a data center in your backyard

Monterey Park residents, organized by SGV Progressive Action, successfully campaigned to stop a proposed 250,000-square-foot data center near their homes. By using public records requests to expose inadequate environmental reviews and limited community notification, the group pressured the developer to withdraw the application.

Many anti-AI arguments are conservative arguments

While anti-AI rhetoric is often voiced by left-wing groups using progressive themes, the core arguments regarding copyright, human tradition, and job preservation are historically conservative. The author suggests the perception of AI as a right-wing tool stems from recent political shifts among tech leaders and a backlash against the pro-crypto movement.

The Neon King of New Orleans

Nate Sheaffer, owner of Big Sexy Neon, is preserving New Orleans’ historic neon aesthetic by restoring vintage signs and crafting new glass pieces. Using traditional, time-intensive methods, he works to maintain the city’s iconic luminous landmarks despite the rise of cheaper LED technology.

Ars Technica newsroom AI policy

Ars Technica has released a public policy detailing its use of generative AI, emphasizing that all reporting, analysis, and creative content are human-authored. The company maintains that while AI tools may assist in professional workflows, all editorial decisions and final outputs remain subject to human oversight.

US saw record high of 5,668 books banned in libraries in 2025, says agency

The American Library Association reported a record 5,668 books were banned in US libraries in 2025, with 40% of challenged materials focusing on LGBTQ+ individuals or people of color. The report also found that 92% of these challenges were driven by political groups and government officials rather than individual parents or library users.

The Story of Mel

The author recounts working with Mel, a programmer who specialized in writing raw machine code for drum-memory computers like the RPC-4000. To maximize performance, Mel manually optimized the placement of instructions on the rotating drum to ensure each command reached the read head precisely when needed for execution.

The Illuminated Man: an unconventional portrait of JG Ballard

Christopher Priest’s new biography, The Illuminated Man, examines the life and unique literary legacy of author JG Ballard. The work delves into Ballard’s “inner space” fiction, focusing on how his formative experiences shaped his recurring themes of psychological and environmental collapse.

Scores decline again for 13-year-old students in reading and mathematics

NAEP assessments for the 2022–23 school year reveal that reading and mathematics scores for 13-year-old students have declined compared to both 2020 and levels from a decade ago. The decrease in mathematics performance was especially pronounced among lower-performing students.

Maryland to become first state to ban ‘dynamic pricing’ in grocery stores

Maryland has passed the Protection from Predatory Pricing Act, making it on track to become the first state to ban “dynamic pricing” in grocery stores. The legislation aims to prevent retailers from using technology or consumer data to adjust prices based on demand or individual customer profiles.

Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

A new study published in JAMA found that suicide rates among U.S. young adults dropped 11 percent below projected levels following the 2022 rollout of the 988 national suicide prevention hotline. The research indicates that the decline was most pronounced in states with higher volumes of answered calls, suggesting a measurable reduction in deaths linked to the program’s usage.

Books Are Not Remotely Too Expensive

The article argues that books are not experiencing an affordability crisis when adjusted for inflation. While nominal prices have increased, the real cost of books has remained relatively stable compared to the rising costs of other major expenses like housing and healthcare.

CDC blocks study showing Covid shots cut hospital visits after earlier delay

The CDC head has blocked the publication of a report in the agency’s flagship scientific journal showing that COVID-19 vaccines reduced emergency department visits and hospitalizations among healthy adults by about half last winter. Despite clearing the agency’s scientific-review process, the report will no longer be published following previous delays.

You don’t need advice from editors on rejected manuscripts

Orson Scott Card argues that authors do not need advice from editors regarding manuscripts that have already been rejected. The statement challenges the perceived necessity of editorial feedback on unsuccessful submissions.

FBI looks into dead or missing scientists tied to NASA, Blue Origin, SpaceX

The House Oversight Committee is investigating the deaths and disappearances of at least 11 scientists linked to NASA, nuclear research, and space defense programs. The FBI is formally reviewing these cases to determine if foreign actors or threats to national security are involved.

Can’t get past the comment section on Instagram? Congrats, you’re part of comment culture

Instagram has introduced a new feature that allows users to edit their comments within a 15-minute window to correct typos or clarify information. While intended to provide user flexibility, experts warn that the update could allow individuals to manipulate discussions by altering their narratives during heated debates.

Trump’s CISA pick Sean Plankey withdraws after Sen. Rick Scott stalled nomination for over a year

Sean Plankey has withdrawn his nomination to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) after his candidacy stalled in the Senate for over a year. The impasse was primarily driven by resistance from Senator Rick Scott, leading Plankey to officially request the removal of his name from consideration.

UK FCA conducts first joint operation to disrupt illegal crypto P2P trading at 8 London sites

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) conducted its first joint operation with law enforcement and tax authorities to target illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading across eight London locations. The agency issued cease-and-desist letters to unregistered traders, signaling an intensified enforcement approach ahead of the UK’s full crypto regulatory regime set for 2027.

Efforts to revive chip manufacturing in Pennsylvania have been left in limbo by President Trump’s…

Efforts to revive semiconductor manufacturing in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley have been left in uncertainty. The delay follows shifts in U.S. semiconductor policy under Donald Trump and the failure of promised federal funds to materialize.