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Google may use your photos and voice to train AI
The new Save Media setting allows Google to use your Google Lens images, voice searches and uploaded files to train AI models for four years.
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The fight against AI data centers is just beginning
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the data center buildout, follow Emma Roth. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Years before the AI boom threatened local power…
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Chasing new skills, going back to basics and pushing for collective action: how software engineers are adapting to AI
Software engineering was one of the best-paying professions in the US in 2022, but the advent of AI has disrupted it, leading to several layoffs and underemployment Every weekday, Matt, a software engineer, looks forward to his four-hour train commute to Pawling, New York. It’s time he uses to work on his own project: a…
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Scientists’ Side Hustle? Using AI and Quantum Computing to Generate New Peptides
Researchers cobbled together funding and time to show how quantum computing could aid in the development of drugs to help underserved populations and combat rare diseases.
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Netflix’s 19-Year-Old Franchise Officially Returns in 2026
Tyler Perry’s 19-year-old franchise, Why Did I Get Married?, is back with a new installment on Netflix. Get all the details here.
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Phoebe Gates’ AI shopping app Phia reportedly claimed unearned affiliate sales through fake clicks
Phoebe Gates’ AI-powered shopping app, Phia, has reportedly been claiming affiliate commissions on sales it did not actually generate, using a technique known as “cookie stuffing” to attach its affiliate code to transactions. The allegations, drawn from investigations by researcher Ben Edelman, Bloomberg and Capital One Shopping, matter because they suggest the browser extension was…
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AI is changing modern dating, but experts warn it’s making people ‘relationally stupid’
The article reports that relationship experts are cautioning that artificial intelligence may be harming people’s love lives rather than helping them, warning that reliance on such tools risks making users “relationally stupid”. The piece frames AI’s growing role in modern dating and companionship as a debate over its effect on genuine human connection, suggesting that…
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OpenAI’s head of safety is reportedly leaving as part of company reorganization
OpenAI’s head of safety systems, Johannes Heidecke, is reportedly leaving the company as part of a wider restructuring of its safety and research teams, according to a report by Wired. Heidecke, who joined OpenAI in 2021, informed staff of his departure in an internal memo. The move matters because it signals a shift in how…
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Lorde Speaks Out Against “Fucked Up” AI Glasses
While performing at the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid on Thursday 9 July 2026, the pop star Lorde used her time on stage to speak out against AI-enabled smart glasses. Telling the crowd that “increasingly in our world it gets harder and harder to know what is real”, she declared “Fuck the Glasses. Don’t get…
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OpenAI bets on families as ChatGPT goes deeper into households
OpenAI is expanding its focus from individual users towards families, and is hiring a dedicated product manager in San Francisco to build experiences for families, caregivers and older adults across its products. The move signals a shift in how the company views ChatGPT — less as a personal productivity tool and more as technology embedded…