Category: Technology

Digiday is reporting that media conglomerates Hearst and Condé Nast have signed multi-year licensing agreements with Amazon to allow its AI shopping assistant Rufus access to the vast library of content held by the two companies. Between Hearst and Condé Nast, Rufus will have access to Cosmopolitan, GQ, Vogue and The New Yorker, just to name a few.

A Hearst spokesperson confirmed to Digiday that the licensing deal with Amazon will allow Rufus broad access to its newspapers and magazines. The publication also received confirmation from Condé Nast. Further details on the arrangements have not been shared.

Rufus is a chatbot built to answer shoppers’ questions on product recommendations and other shopping-related needs. The AI tool is trained on Amazon’s catalog, customer reviews, community Q&As, and “information from across the web.” The strong commerce angle found in much of the Hearst and Condé Nast catalog makes the publishers suitable matches for the AI to train on.

This follows a slew of licensing deals over the last few years between content publishers and tech giants seeking more content on which to train AI. For Condé Nast, this actually marks the second major AI deal for the media company since it entered into a multi-year partnership with OpenAI last year to display content from its various publications in ChatGPT.

Amazon recently struck a licensing arrangement with The New York Times and its adjacent properties, all while the iconic newspaper is embroiled in a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement.

From Disney and Universal suing Midjourney to Reddit signing an AI deal, these latest signings are a continuation of the existential back-and-forth between content creators protecting their intellectual property and AI companies’ seemingly endless appetite for more content on which to train their various models.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-strikes-ai-licensing-deal-with-hearst-and-conde-nast-134849930.html?src=rss 

PJM Interconnection (PJM) is the largest power grid operator in the US, serving 65 million customers across the District of Columbia and 13 states, namely Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. But this summer, some parts of PJM’s power grid are expected to use so much electricity that people’s bills for the summer are projected to be 20 percent higher than before, according to Reuters.

The operator said its problems with supply and demand are beyond its control. To start with, some state energy policies caused the closure of fossil-fuel fired power plants before new ones could become operational. “Prices will remain high as long as demand growth is outstripping supply — this is a basic economic policy,” PJM spokesperson Jeffrey Shields told Reuters. 

Of course, wind and solar projects are likely the cheapest way to add power generation capacity to the grid, but the Trump administration’s Big, Beautiful Bill kills off a lot of incentives for solar power. Renewable energy projects also require engineering studies before they could be connected to the grid. PJM decided to stop accepting new applications for power plant connections in 2022 since it still has 2,000 requests from renewable sources to process. 

In addition to PJM losing power sources due to plants closing down over the years, there’s a surge in demand from data centers over the past few years. The region PJM serves has the most number of data centers in the world. Demand for power also exploded in 2023 when ChatGPT started becoming a household name, contributing greatly to the spike in prices. PJM has capped its prices for now and has fast-tracked the connection of 51 power plants to its grid, but a lot of those aren’t slated to come online until 2030. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/major-us-power-operator-says-ai-and-data-center-demands-are-pushing-prices-up-130030473.html?src=rss 

OpenAI is said to be almost ready to unleash its own web browser, which could be out in the wild within weeks. According to Reuters sources, the company is aiming to more deeply integrate its services into users’ work and personal lives, and the browser is part of that strategy (as is its push into hardware). Naturally, the browser is slated to have a ChatGPT-style chatbot baked in.

OpenAI is reportedly looking to use the browser to capture more user data — a strategy that has worked out to Google’s benefit with Chrome. The browser is also expected to have agentic AI features such as Operator, which are billed as tools that can carry out actions (such as booking reservations) on a user’s behalf. Having direct access to information like web browsing data may make it easier for OpenAI to pull that off.

The browser is said to be designed to keep many interactions within an AI chatbot interface rather than directing users to websites. As with Google’s AI Overviews, this could dissuade people from clicking through to the sources of information that the likes of ChatGPT rely on, potentially depriving website operators of valuable traffic.

If OpenAI does start offering users access to its own browser, it would be following Perplexity, which released a browser with agentic AI functions on Wednesday. That browser, Comet, is currently only available to those with a $200 per month Perplexity Max subscription. Opera also released a “fully agentic” browser back in May.

While ChatGPT has more than 500 million weekly active users that OpenAI can market Its browser to, the company will face a tough battle if it truly wants to challenge Chrome, which is estimated to have more than 3 billion users. As it happens, OpenAI’s browser is reportedly built on Chromium, Google’s open-source code on which Chrome, Comet, Microsoft Edge and Opera run. Reports last year suggested that OpenAI may build its own browser after hiring two former Google execs who helped create Chrome.

Google has long tapped into data garnered through Chrome to help with ad targeting. However, the Department of Justice late last year said it wanted Google to sell off Chrome. A judge ruled earlier in 2024 that Google was a “monopolist” in the search sector and that it violated the Sherman Act (Google plans to appeal the ruling). OpenAI has said that were Google forced to sell off Chrome, it would be interested in snapping up the world’s most popular browser.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-own-web-browser-could-arrive-within-weeks-120039766.html?src=rss 

In January Samsung teased an all new Galaxy Z trifold device, but no mention of it was made during its Unpacked event yesterday. However, the company now says that does indeed plan to release a smartphone with three displays by the end of 2025, acting head of device experience TM Roh told The Korea Times. 

“We are working hard on a trifold smartphone with the goal of launching it at the end of this year,” said Roh. “We are now focusing on perfecting the product and its usability, but we have not decided its name. As the product nears completion, we are planning to make a final decision soon.” Along with that confirmation, an unnamed executive told Android Authority much the same thing. 

Last month, Samsung teased the Galaxy Z Fold 7 Ultra, but the smartphone shown in the image appeared to have two screens like other Z Fold models. That made us wonder what would be “Ultra” with the device, as the new Galaxy Z Fold 7 has most of the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s key features. Other rumors have it that the trifold device could be called the Galaxy G Fold due to the hinge’s shape. 

Samsung wouldn’t be first to market with a trifold phone. Huawei has that, er, honor with the Mate XT, an accordion-style device that starts at an eye-watering $2,800. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-plans-to-launch-its-trifold-smartphone-by-the-end-of-2025-122358763.html?src=rss 

Subnautica 2 is one of the most highly anticipated games around. It’s the second-most wishlisted game on Steam behind (you guessed it) Hollow Knight: Silksong. However, you’ll need to wait longer than anticipated to try Subnautica 2 in four-player co-op, as the survival game’s early access release has been delayed until early 2026.

Developer Unknown Worlds said that community members who took part in playtests provided positive feedback about the story, creatures, environment and general direction of the game. However, the studio said, they “also provided some insight that there are a few areas where we needed to improve before launching the first version of Subnautica 2 to the world. Our community is at the heart of how we develop, so we want to give ourselves a little extra time to respond to more of that feedback before releasing the game into early access. With that in mind, we’ve made the decision to delay Subnautica 2’s early access release to 2026.”

The delay will afford Unknown Worlds a chance to add more biomes, tools, vehicle upgrades and creatures while expanding the story, the studio said. Players can expect more details in the coming months.

But news of the delay comes amid behind-the-scenes drama at Unknown Worlds. Bloomberg reports that the studio had been in line for a $250 million bonus (which the leadership group planned to share with employees) from Krafton if it hit revenue goals by the end of this year. The delay reportedly means Unknown Worlds is very unlikely to hit those targets. As such, Bloomberg‘s sources suggest that means the team of around 100 people may not be eligible for the payout.

Last week, Krafton — which bought Unknown Worlds in 2021 — turfed out the studio’s leadership team of CEO Ted Gill and co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire. The publisher brought in Steve Papoutsis, a former executive at The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance, as the new CEO of Unknown Worlds.

“There is nothing more important than the gamer experience. Given the anticipation around Subnautica 2, we owe our players nothing less than the best possible game, as soon as possible,” Krafton CEO CH Kim said in a statement, “We are thrilled Steve is joining us in our shared commitment at Krafton and Unknown Worlds to deliver Subnautica 2 as a more complete and satisfying entry in the series — one that truly lives up to player expectations.”

Per Bloomberg, Papoutsis told employees this week that Krafton didn’t believe Subnautica 2 was ready for an early access release and claimed he didn’t know the specifics of the contract regarding the quarter-billion-dollar bonus. “It’s never been told to me that we’re making this change specifically to impact any earnout or anything like that,” he reportedly told staff.

According to Cleveland, however, Subnautica 2 is actually “ready for early access release.” The studio’s co-founder wrote in a lengthy X post on July 5 that “while we thought this was going to be our decision to make, at least for now, that decision is in Krafton’s hands.”

A Krafton spokesperson told Eurogamer that the decision to delay Subnautica 2 was “based solely on our commitment to quality and to delivering the best possible experience for players” and it was not “influenced by any contractual or financial considerations.” They added that “the decision had already been under discussion prior to recent leadership changes at the studio.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/subnautica-2s-early-access-release-delayed-to-2026-amid-developer-drama-123042406.html?src=rss 

xAI has officially lunched Grok 4 during a livestream with Elon Musk, who called it the “smartest AI in the world.” He said that if you make the Grok 4 take the SATs and the GREs, it would get near perfect results every time and can answer questions it’s never seen before. “Grok 4 is smarter than almost all graduate students in all disciplines simultaneously” and can reason at superhuman levels, he claimed. 

Musk and the xAI team showed benchmarks they used for Grok 4, including something called “Humanity’s Last Exam” that contained 2,500 problems curated by subject matter experts in mathematics, engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, humanities and other topics. When it was first released earlier this year, most models could only reportedly get single digit accuracy. Grok 4, which is the single agent version of the model, was able to solve around 40 percent of the benchmark’s problems. Grok 4 Heavy, the multi-agent version, was able to solve over 50 percent. xAI is now selling a $300-per-month SuperGrok subscription plan with access to Grok 4 Heavy and new features, as well as higher limits for Grok 4. 

The new model is better than PhD level in every subject, Musk said. Sometimes it may lack common sense, he admitted, and it has not yet invented or discovered new tech and physics. But Musk believes it’s just a matter of time. Grok is going to invent new tech maybe later this year, he said, and he would be shocked if it doesn’t happen next year. At the moment, though, xAI is training the AI to be much better at image and video understanding and image generation, because it’s still “partially blind.”

During the event, Musk talked about combining Grok with Tesla’s Optimus robot so that it can interact with the real world. The most important safety thing for AI is for it to be truth-seeking, Musk also said. He likened AI to a “super genius child” who will eventually outsmart you, but which you can shape to be truthful and honorable if you instill it with the right values.

What Musk didn’t talk about, however, is Grok’s recent turn towards antisemitism. In some recent responses to users on X, Grok spewed out antisemitic tropes, praised Hitler and posted what seems to be the text version of the “roman salute.” Musk did respond to a post on X about the issue blaming the problem on rogue users. “Grok was too compliant to user prompts,” he wrote. “Too eager to please and be manipulated, essentially. That is being addressed.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/elon-must-spent-almost-an-hour-talking-about-grok-without-mentioning-its-nazi-problem-061101656.html?src=rss 

GameStop has been specializing in making pretty wacky headlines in recent years, and its latest follows in that grand tradition. After employees at the retailer stapled Switch 2 receipts to boxes in a way that punctured some of the consoles’ screens, the company promised that it would “make things right” for those customers. In addition to giving replacement Switch 2s to those people, GameStop has decided to turn the whole viral event into a publicity stunt for charity. Today, it posted on X that it would auction off the “infamous” stapler responsible for the incident, with the proceeds benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

The eBay listing for the notorious stapler currently has a top bid of $18,000. But if you really want to have not just a stapler, but also the first Switch 2 it broke, the box with the puncture marks and the offending stapler, feel free to throw your money at it.

And if you want to support another worthy charity via gaming in a less ridiculous fashion that doesn’t involve GameStop, be sure to tune into the ongoing Summer Games Done Quick 2025 marathon. The event is raising money for Doctors Without Borders through July 13.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/you-can-own-the-gamestop-stapler-that-broke-nintendo-switch-2-consoles-225848836.html?src=rss 

NASA is set to lose at least 2,145 senior staff members as part of the Trump administration’s push for budget cuts, Politico reports. The brain drain could severely impact future research and missions, and is happening not long before the organization plans to send a new crew of astronauts to the Moon in 2026.

Of the over 2,000 departing staff members, nearly all of them are in senior positions, requiring specialized skills or management experience. “Those leaving include 1,818 staff serving in mission areas like science or human space flight, with the rest performing mission support roles like IT, facilities management or finance,” according to Politico. Staff across the organization’s regional centers are also leaving, including 311 staff from the Kennedy Space Center and 366 staff from the Johnson Space Center. These centers serve critical functions in the operation of NASA’s various missions. For example, Kennedy Space Center is NASA’s main rocket launch site and Johnson Space Center (the “Houston” of “Houston, we have a problem”) acts as the home base for human space flight operations.

Politico writes that these voluntary exits make up only half of the requested staffing cuts proposed in the White House’s budget. The Trump administration is asking for an over $6 billion cut to NASA’s 2025 budget, which would jeopardize multiple upcoming missions and research projects, including the Gateway lunar orbit station. 

It’s still possible for Congress to make significant changes to the proposed budget, but since current staff losses are entirely voluntary, it’s highly likely some amount of damage has already been done. Given the growing number of commercial space missions, there’s plenty of opportunities for experienced former NASA staff to get work.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-will-lose-over-2000-senior-staff-due-to-proposed-trump-budget-cuts-210109229.html?src=rss 

OpenAI’s deal with Jony Ive’s startup is a done deal. Ive’s io has officially merged with the ChatGPT maker in a deal reportedly worth $6.5 billion. The companies announced the purchase in May.

Jony Ive and his LoveFrom design studio remain independent. Meanwhile, io’s co-founders, Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan, are now OpenAI employees. (Around 50 other io engineers, designers and researchers are, too.)

OpenAI and Ive are currently working on “a family of AI products for everyone.” In May, Sam Altman and Ive dropped some hints about what to expect from their first product. They said it will be unobtrusive, portable and fully aware of its surroundings and the user’s actions. It reportedly won’t be a phone or a pair of glasses, which were likely the first two guesses for most people.

For the uninitiated, Ive was a trusted collaborator and confidant of Steve Jobs during the creative explosion that produced some of the most influential tech products ever made. Ive left Apple in 2019 to form LoveFrom. He and Apple parted ways three years later.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-and-jony-ives-startup-seal-the-deal-194408516.html?src=rss 

T-Mobile has abandoned all of its programs for diversity, equity and inclusion. In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, the telecom said that it “is ending its DEI-related policies […] not just in name, but in substance.”

T-Mobile conveniently waited to dismantle its DEI efforts until it was awaiting FCC approval for two major deals. The company needs regulatory backing to purchase extensive assets from United States Cellular in a deal valued at $4.4 billion. It’s also looking to establish a joint venture with investment firm KKR that will acquire internet provider Metronet.

Reuters reported that FCC Chair Brendan Carr reacted positively to this change in a text message to the publication: “This is another good step forward for equal opportunity, nondiscrimination and the public interest.” Carr was appointed to the top spot at the FCC by President Donald Trump. One of the remaining democratic commissioners at the agency, Anna M. Gomez, was more scathing of T-Mobile’s “cynical” reversal of its policies. She said on X that the telecom’s capitulation to the current administration was “making a mockery of its professed commitment to eliminating discrimination, promoting fairness, and amplifying underrepresented voices.”

T-Mobile isn’t the first to bail on its DEI commitments in order to gain FCC approval. In May, the regulators approved Verizon’s $20 million merger with Frontier only after the company agreed to end DEI programs. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/t-mobile-ends-dei-programs-in-attempt-to-win-deal-approvals-from-the-fcc-202239612.html?src=rss