Alvaro Lopez Ortega / 2026-05-22 Briefing

Created Fri, 22 May 2026 19:28:41 +0000 Modified Fri, 22 May 2026 19:30:58 +0000
4973 Words

New bodycam footage reveals ICE used facial recognition during a violent Oregon arrest. Meanwhile, the FTC warned tech giants they must remove deepfakes and revenge porn within 48 hours, and scrutiny grows as Meta and Google leave scam ads online despite complaints. Privacy concerns also mount as Disney faces a $5M lawsuit over biometric scans, while a security flaw in Trump Mobile leaked user data.

🤖 Artificial Intelligence

DeepSeek makes the V4 Pro price discount permanent

DeepSeek has announced that the 75% discount on its deepseek-v4-pro model API will become permanent after the current promotion ends. Following May 31, 2026, the API pricing will be officially adjusted to one-fourth of its original price.

Sam Altman Won in Court Against Elon Musk. But, We All Lost

Elon Musk sued Sam Altman and OpenAI executives, alleging they exploited the company’s nonprofit mission to transform it into a highly valuable for-profit entity. The lawsuit sought to unwind OpenAI’s restructuring and claim massive damages, arguing that the organization’s humanitarian goals were used as a pretext for personal enrichment.

AI’s Impact on Workforce and Hiring

While Workday aims to use AI to maintain a flat headcount and increase profit margins, experts warn that cutting staff in favor of automation risks losing essential institutional knowledge. Instead, they suggest that organizations should use AI to augment their existing workforce, allowing employees to focus on more strategic, higher-value tasks.

The current AI pricing was always going to go away

The era of subsidized AI pricing is ending as companies shift away from flat-rate models toward structures that reflect actual inference costs. This transition is driven by increased demand for complex AI workflows and the rising expenses associated with GPUs and high-bandwidth memory.

Antigravity 2.0 Tops the OpenSCAD Architectural 3D LLM Benchmark

A new benchmark evaluating Large Language Models’ ability to translate architectural references into OpenSCAD code has identified Google Antigravity 2.0 as the top performer. The study used the reconstruction of the Pantheon to test how effectively various models handle complex parametric geometric tasks, such as Boolean operations and radial symmetry.

CODA: Rewriting Transformer Blocks as GEMM-Epilogue Programs

The paper introduces CODA, a GPU kernel abstraction designed to mitigate memory bottlenecks in Transformer training by reparameterizing operators as GEMM-plus-epilogue programs. By performing computations like normalization and activation while GEMM output tiles remain on-chip, CODA minimizes expensive data movement through global memory. This approach demonstrates high performance across various representative Transformer workloads.

KVBoost – chunk-level KV cache reuse for HuggingFace, 5–48x faster TTFT

KVBoost is a new Python library designed to accelerate LLM inference and reduce VRAM usage without requiring model modifications. By leveraging technologies like chunk-level KV cache reuse and AWQ layer streaming, it enables large models to run efficiently on consumer-grade hardware with significantly faster Time to First Token (TTFT).

Cisco used AI to write security incident reports, with mixed results

Cisco’s use of AI to generate security incident reports has yielded mixed results. While effective output can be achieved through detailed prompting, the technology remains prone to inaccuracies and typographical errors.

Bliq.ai secures EU’s first approval for fully driverless road operations in Estonia

Bliq.ai has secured the first EU authorization for fully driverless road operations, allowing its remotely supervised vehicles to operate on public roads in Estonia without a driver. The startup plans to expand this technology across Europe by retrofitting existing vehicles with advanced sensor and compute stacks.

🔒 Security & Privacy

Bodycam footage exposes ICE’s use of facial recognition in violent Oregon farm worker arrest

Newly released body camera footage shows ICE officers using facial recognition technology during a violent arrest of farm workers in Oregon. The footage is part of a class-action lawsuit after a federal judge ruled the arrests unlawful and described the agency’s enforcement tactics as “brutal and violent.”

Trump Mobile security flaw: YouTubers who preordered the golden phone find their data leaking

A security vulnerability in Trump Mobile’s T1 phone pre-orders recently exposed user data, including names, email addresses, and mailing addresses. The leak, confirmed by YouTubers Coffeezilla and penguinz0, also suggests that actual customer numbers are significantly lower than previously estimated.

Disney hit with $5M lawsuit over facial recognition scans at Disneyland

An American visitor is suing Disneyland for $5 million, alleging the theme park fails to properly disclose its use of facial recognition technology. The lawsuit claims that the company does not adequately inform guests, including children, about the collection of sensitive biometric data.

Meta, TikTok, and Google left 73% of reported scam ads online despite numerous complaints

Meta, TikTok, and Google have left 73% of reported scam advertisements online despite nearly 900 complaints from European consumer groups. This failure to address fraudulent content leaves over 200 million European consumers vulnerable to financial fraud and may violate the Digital Services Act.

Lawmakers Demand Answers as CISA Tries to Contain Data Leak

U.S. lawmakers are demanding answers from CISA after a contractor published AWS GovCloud keys and other agency secrets on a public GitHub account. While CISA maintains that no sensitive data was compromised, members of Congress have raised significant concerns regarding the agency’s security culture and its ability to manage potential vulnerabilities.

Riot Games celebrates bricking cheat devices

A recent update to Riot Games’ Vanguard anti-cheat for Valorant has rendered most SATA/NVMe DMA hardware unusable by triggering permanent read blocks. The issue affects even advanced firmware, and the only known remedy is a complete operating system reinstallation.

FBI warns Kali365 phishing kit is stealing Microsoft OAuth tokens at scale

The FBI has issued a warning regarding the Kali365 phishing kit, which is being used to steal Microsoft OAuth tokens at scale. This crimeware allows attackers to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA) by tricking users into providing access to their Microsoft 365 accounts.

Secure Boot and CA Rollover - a heads-up for distributions

Microsoft’s UEFI CA certificates are nearing expiration, which could cause Secure Boot compatibility issues on newer machines that only include updated certificates. To ensure continued functionality, Linux distribution developers must transition to shim binaries signed with the new CAs, and users should update their systems to install these new certificates.

Italian police dismantle Cinemagoal piracy network streaming Netflix and paid content

DeepSeek is pursuing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) as it advances its $10 billion funding round. Additionally, replays of the TNW Conference 2025 sessions are now available for viewing.

US/Canada arrest Jacob “Dort” Butler for operating Kimwolf DDoS botnet infecting ~2M devices

Canadian authorities have arrested 23-year-old Jacob Butler for operating the KimWolf DDoS-for-hire botnet, which infected nearly two million devices to launch over 25,000 global attacks. Butler now faces extradition to the United States on charges of aiding and abetting computer intrusions.

💻 Software Engineering

Microsoft 365 cannot be fully replaced with European OpenDesk – study

A recent study found that the German open-source alternative OpenDesk meets many core requirements for email and file management but faces significant limitations regarding mobile integration and browser-based functionality. These findings highlight the difficulties European governments encounter when attempting to achieve digital sovereignty by replacing Microsoft 365.

Open source Kanban desktop app that runs parallel agents on every card

Kanbots is an open-source Kanban management platform that orchestrates parallel AI agents, such as Claude Code and Codex, within individual git worktrees. The system provides real-time tracking of agent progress, costs, and decisions through both a local-first desktop application and a collaborative cloud version.

Yt-dlp – [Announcement] Bun support is now limited and deprecated

yt-dlp is deprecating and limiting support for the Bun JavaScript runtime, restricting compatible versions to the range of 1.2.11 through 1.3.14. This change is driven by security concerns regarding older versions and potential compatibility issues following Bun’s recent rewrite in Rust.

Forth-inspired Web Development Language

Forge is a Forth-inspired, stack-based language designed for building websites using a WebAssembly compiler and a library of HTML and microformat definitions. It utilizes a hybrid rendering model for both server-side and client-side single-page application experiences and supports data persistence through local storage or server-side logs.

Prisma Next – data contracts, migration graphs, agent DX

The Prisma team has announced the early access release of Prisma Next, a complete TypeScript rewrite of the popular ORM. The new version introduces data contracts and migration graphs designed to enhance database safety and provide improved developer experience for AI-driven workflows.

Deno 2.8

Deno 2.8 introduces several new subcommands designed to streamline developer workflows and automation. Key additions include deno audit fix for automatic vulnerability patching, deno bump-version for version management, and deno ci for ensuring reproducible installations.

ShadowCat – file transfer through QR Codes in a Browser

ShadowCat is an offline, single-file HTML tool designed to transfer text and files between devices via QR code scanning. It is specifically intended for older hardware with non-functional radios, utilizing a sequence of encoded data chunks to facilitate transmission.

Chess Invariants

The article explores modeling chess as a concurrent system to identify various state and transition invariants that define the game’s rules. It illustrates how simple invariants must be adapted to account for complex mechanics such as castling and en passant.

The case against boolean logic

The author critiques “boolean thinking,” the assumption that all statements must be strictly categorized as either true or false. They argue that because truth is dependent on context, statements can also be unknown, senseless, or both true and false.

Pokélike

After defeating the Elite Four in Pokélike, players can select one Pokémon to add to their team. Additionally, they are permitted to choose one item to keep.

Slumber a TUI HTTP Client

Slumber is a terminal-based HTTP client that offers both an interactive Terminal User Interface (TUI) and a scriptable Command Line Interface (CLI). The tool utilizes a YAML-based “request collection” to provide a shared and configurable configuration across both usage modes.

Microsoft lets users exile floating Copilot button after interface rage

Microsoft has implemented a feature that allows users to remove the floating Copilot button from their interface. The update comes in response to significant user frustration and backlash regarding the button’s presence.

Outlook has an image problem

Microsoft has reported that a wrapping bug in the classic Outlook client may lead to the loss of embedded pictures. This issue affects how images are processed within the application.

Marketing demanded IT add website feature that was already working

An IT professional recently completed a request from the marketing department to implement a website feature that was already operational. The developer now expresses regret for not taking more credit for the rapid delivery of the task.

End-to-End Procedural Generation in Caves of Qud (2019)

Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat from Freehold Games presented a walkthrough of the procedural generation systems used in Caves of Qud during a 2019 GDC session. The presentation detailed how the game generates entire villages, including their unique histories, cultures, architectural styles, and quests.

score by collisions, patch by panic

The author proposes a new vulnerability severity model that increases patch urgency based on “collision count,” or the number of researchers reporting the same bug, and the presence of active exploits. The proposal aims to address the risks of simultaneous discoveries and encourages researchers to provide functional patches alongside their bug reports to accelerate remediation.

minc — A minimal language for building native software

minc is a minimal programming language designed for building native software through a balance of productivity and simplicity. The language incorporates essential modern features, such as generics and type inference, to provide necessary ergonomics without introducing unnecessary complexity.

Recent Software Redesigns

Firefox is undergoing a design overhaul called Project Nova to enhance speed, privacy, and visual cohesion. Meanwhile, Google has redesigned Google Wallet for Android, introducing a new homepage with quick access to favorites and improved security features.

⚙️ Hardware & Infrastructure

Corsair DDR5 memory with 6000 MT/s with Chinese modules

A Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 memory module using DRAM from Chinese manufacturer ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has been identified. The module’s part number suggests it may be a trial production for the Chinese market, signaling the emergence of CXMT in mainstream consumer memory brands.

Breakthroughs for batteries could soon make them better

Lithium-ion batteries are approaching their theoretical performance limits and face significant challenges, including fire risks and reduced capacity in cold temperatures. However, emerging breakthroughs in solid-state cells offer a promising alternative that could be both faster and safer than current technology.

We should get rid of average CPU utilization

Relying on average CPU utilization can mask critical performance issues like Linux kernel CFS throttling in containerized environments. Even when average usage appears low, bursty processes can exhaust their allotted time budget, leading to unexpected application timeouts and increased latency.

It is time to build a new internet

The author argues that the current internet has become a “necrotic digital organism” due to the pervasive influence of AI-generated content, bots, and profit-driven marketing. They propose the creation of a new digital landscape centered on authentic, good-faith intellectual exchange to escape the degradation of the existing online commons.

SpaceX scrubs Starship launch with seconds to go

SpaceX has aborted its Starship launch just seconds before the scheduled takeoff. In related news, a crypto billionaire has signed up to participate in a mission to Mars.

🏢 Business & Policy

Meta, TikTok, X, and other platforms have 48 hours to remove deepfakes and revenge porn

The FTC has issued warning letters to 15 major tech companies, including Meta and TikTok, regarding compliance with the TAKE IT DOWN Act. The law mandates that platforms provide tools for removing non-consensual intimate images and deepfakes within 48 hours of a request. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation.

Microsoft Drops Claude Code After Budget Overrun

Microsoft is canceling its Claude Code pilot program after token-based billing exhausted the division’s annual AI budget within months. To avoid the unpredictable costs associated with usage-based pricing, the company is redirecting developers to GitHub Copilot.

1940 Air Terminal Museum Begins Liquidation

The 1940 Air Terminal Museum in Houston is liquidating three full-motion flight simulators, including a Boeing 737-200, for $20,000 each. Prospective buyers are responsible for all transportation and heavy-duty equipment required to remove the units before the museum vacates its premises at the end of June.

U.S. researchers face new restrictions on publishing with foreign collaborators

U.S. researchers are facing new restrictions regarding publishing research with foreign collaborators. These new measures impact how international scientific partnerships are managed and reported.

How to convert between wealth and income tax

A wealth tax can be converted to an equivalent income tax rate by dividing the wealth tax rate by the rate of return on capital. For instance, assuming a 5% return, a 1% wealth tax is mathematically equivalent to a 20% income tax, a significant impact the author argues many politicians fail to recognize.

Why Japanese companies do so many different things

The article explores the widespread practice of corporate diversification in Japan, highlighting the bathroom fixture manufacturer Toto. While famous for its toilets and bidets, Toto has become a key player in the semiconductor supply chain by producing essential ceramic components used in AI-driven memory chip manufacturing.

Alberta to hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has announced a referendum for October 19 to decide whether the province should remain in Canada or initiate the legal process for a binding separation vote. The decision follows widespread petitions and rising separatist sentiment driven by long-standing grievances over federal resource management.

Department of War Publishes Second Release of UAP Files

Following a directive from President Trump, the Department of War and the ODNI are declassifying and releasing UAP-related government records on a rolling basis. This large-scale effort focuses on unresolved cases and invites private-sector expertise to assist in analyzing the phenomena.

FSFE intervenes against Apple before EUCJ for the second time

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) has been granted permission to intervene in the case Apple v. European Commission before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The FSFE aims to defend the European Commission’s decision regarding Apple’s interoperability obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to protect software freedom and developer access.

Trump’s Endgame Is Surrender

The article argues that President Trump’s plan to negotiate a “letter of intent” with Iran is a strategic surrender rather than a true resolution to the conflict. This move could allow Tehran to solidify its control over the Strait of Hormuz and pressure international allies to accept new transit terms, potentially leading to the collapse of sanctions.

Iran Moves Billions Through Binance

An Iranian network used Binance to funnel $850 million to Iranian military forces and the IRGC to evade U.S. sanctions. Despite internal compliance flags, these transactions continued for at least 15 months, with some accounts remaining active as recently as January.

U.S. bears brunt of Israel’s missile defense, Pentagon assessments show

Pentagon assessments show that the U.S. military has significantly depleted its inventory of advanced missile-defense interceptors. This depletion occurred because the U.S. expended far more high-end munitions to protect Israel from Iranian hostilities than Israeli forces used themselves.

As memory prices squeeze enterprise buyers, Lenovo laughs all the way to the bank

Lenovo has achieved record profits by shifting its focus toward premium devices. This strategy allows the company to thrive despite rising memory prices that are currently squeezing enterprise buyers.

AT&T sues to ditch Cali copper phone lines to save billions

AT&T has filed a lawsuit in California to stop maintaining its copper phone lines. The telecommunications giant aims to save billions of dollars by decommissioning the network, which it claims is rarely used.

ZTE Day Indonesia 2026: Strengthening AI and digital infra for Indonesia’s digital transformation

ZTE Day Indonesia 2026 aims to accelerate Indonesia’s digital transformation by strengthening AI innovation and digital infrastructure collaboration. The annual tech showcase highlights next-generation AI, cloud, and ICT solutions to build a foundation for the nation’s AI era.

Irish Rail writes down €50M after train IT project goes off the rails

Irish Rail has recorded a €50 million write-down after losing confidence in a delayed traffic management system IT project. The failure of the state-owned operator’s project has drawn political criticism, with some comparing the situation to previous public-sector IT failures in Ireland.

Burnham backlash: UK Digital ID plans in peril if Manchester mayor succeeds Starmer

UK Digital ID plans may be jeopardized if Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham succeeds Keir Starmer. To achieve this, Burnham would first need to defeat Nigel Farage in a Brexit-backing constituency.

UK nuclear investors get ‘high’ returns for lower risk than consumers, who also foot the bill

UK nuclear investors may receive high returns with lower risks than consumers, who could face an additional £19 in yearly energy bills due to the Sizewell C project. A spending watchdog warns that private investors may fail to keep these costs down.

Microsoft Consumer CMO Yusuf Mehdi to leave company after next fiscal year

Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s EVP and consumer chief marketing officer, has announced he will depart the company at the end of the next fiscal year. A 35-year veteran, Mehdi has held pivotal roles in the development and marketing of major products including Windows, Surface, and Bing. During his remaining tenure, he will focus on advancing products like Copilot while assisting with a leadership transition.

Microsoft commercial CMO Yusuf Mehdi to depart after next fiscal year

Microsoft’s commercial chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi will depart the company after 35 years at the end of the next fiscal year. During his remaining tenure, he will focus on advancing initiatives for Windows, Microsoft 365, and Copilot.

James Comer seeks info from Kalshi and Polymarket on preventing insider trading

Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has requested information from the CEOs of Kalshi and Polymarket regarding their efforts to prevent insider trading. The investigation aims to determine how these prediction market platforms verify identities and monitor for anomalous activity to prevent government officials from using non-public information for profit.

Satya Nadella revamps Microsoft leadership with startup-style model to compete in AI race

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is dismantling the company’s long-standing senior leadership structure in favor of a flatter, startup-style operating model. This reorganization aims to increase agility and help the tech giant compete more effectively in the rapidly evolving AI race.

Nintendo seeks ~20M Switch 2 units by March 2027, 20% above previous sales outlook

This news digest covers Nintendo’s reported plan to assemble 20 million Switch 2 consoles by 2027. It also highlights global geopolitical developments involving the US, China, and Iran, alongside economic trends such as inflation and the impact of the AI boom.

Musk, Zuckerberg, and others’ last-minute calls helped persuade Trump not to sign AI EO.

Last-minute calls from industry leaders, including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, helped persuade President Trump not to sign a highly anticipated executive order on artificial intelligence. These leaders warned that the order’s proposed safety vetting system could inhibit the development of the technology.

Bungie plans significant layoffs as Destiny 2 development ends with no new projects lined up.

Sony subsidiary Bungie is planning significant layoffs as it concludes development on Destiny 2 next month. The studio has no new project lined up for the Destiny 2 development team and intends to focus on its Marathon project rather than immediately starting Destiny 3.

🌐 Digital Culture & Society

Participating in TikTok trends and social media challenges can create a permanent digital footprint that may negatively impact future employment and academic opportunities. As online presence becomes increasingly public, employers are more frequently using an individual’s digital history to evaluate their judgment and values.

CBS Radio signs off after nearly 100 years of broadcasting

CBS News Radio will cease operations this Friday night after nearly 100 years of broadcasting, citing challenging economic realities. The service, which provides programming to approximately 700 stations, is renowned for its historic coverage of major global events and legendary news anchors.

You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’

Google’s new Search experience, which prioritizes AI summaries over traditional links, is encountering significant flaws in certain edge cases. For some simple queries, the AI provides unhelpful or empty responses, making Bing’s less aggressive AI implementation currently more useful.

Robert X Cringely is back to blogging

After a hiatus since 2022, author Robert X Cringely is returning to blogging to share updates on his work in artificial intelligence. He is currently co-founding the company 2Brains and working with a small team on AI-related patents and architecture.

The spread of Christianity, from antiquity until today, on an animated map

An animated map by Ollie Bye illustrates the historical global expansion of Christianity from its Middle Eastern origins to nearly every continent. The visualization highlights the religion’s ability to adapt to diverse cultures and its evolution into numerous distinct denominations over time.

The SF gathering that summed up the ruthless class war billionaires are waging

Robotics company RLWRLD recently unveiled the RLDX-1, a humanoid robot designed to perform complex manual tasks such as using tools and pouring liquids. This advancement has raised significant concerns regarding potential job displacement in the manufacturing and retail sectors, which could automate trillions of dollars in global wages.

Deepfakes Tore a High School Apart

A freshman at Radnor High School in Pennsylvania allegedly used an AI application to create deepfake sexual images of five female classmates. The incident has prompted significant criticism from parents, who claim the school administration failed to adequately protect students or respond effectively to the abuse.

Logging Off

The author intends to reduce their internet usage due to its negative impact on their perception of reality. To achieve this, they plan to use tools like website blockers to help them focus more on the physical world.

How you probably will find Satoshi

Researchers may be able to identify Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto by analyzing metadata embedded in the whitepaper’s PDF files. The author suggests that examining file paths and software versions used during the document’s creation could reveal clues to the creator’s username.

What are you doing this weekend?

Users are encouraged to share their upcoming weekend plans and seek help or feedback. The post also notes that having no plans is a perfectly acceptable way to spend the weekend.