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Data Centers Are Quietly Taking Over Texas. The Pollution Could Be Catastrophic
A Floodlight investigation has found that data centres are rapidly proliferating across Texas, often building large fossil-fuel power plants with minimal public scrutiny. The report centres on OpenAI’s flagship “Stargate” data centre in Abilene, whose 360-megawatt on-site gas plant sits just 500 yards from the home of resident Omaira Garcia, who says she learned of…
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The $28 Million Mistake That Inspired Estonia’s AI “Fuckup Finder”
A drafting error in Estonia’s Gambling Tax Act, passed by parliament in December, accidentally excluded online casinos from taxation for a full year, costing the government an estimated €24 million ($27.4 million) in lost revenue. The mistake — the law referred only to “skill games” rather than games of chance or remote gambling — was…
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Meta Faces Privacy Backlash Over Opt-Out Consent Model for AI Content Generation Tools
Meta has launched Muse Photo and Muse Video, generative AI tools developed by its Superintelligence Labs that enable users to create photorealistic images and video content. The platform operates by allowing creators to
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CAA Slams Meta for Using Opt-Out Policy for AI Platform Muse Image, Which Can Create Content Using Public Instagram Accounts
CAA released a statement Wednesday night calling out the privacy risks of Meta’s new AI model Muse Image, which gives users the ability to create an AI photo of someone just by plugging in their public Instagram handle. The AI model operates on an opt-out policy, meaning users have to manually block access if they…
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CAA Calls Out Meta For Making Its Muse AI Video and Photo Tool Opt-Out
Meta has released its first AI photo and video generation tools, Muse Photo and Muse Video, developed by its Superintelligence Labs, bringing the company level with rivals such as Google’s Gemini and Seedance 2.0. The launch has drawn criticism because Meta made the feature opt-out rather than opt-in: all public Instagram profiles are automatically eligible…
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One of Meta’s Offices Was Briefly Overtaken by a Rogue Squirrel
A squirrel got loose inside one of Meta’s offices in Bangkok, Thailand, this week, scampering past staff for at least 20 minutes before being caught, according to an internal memo seen by WIRED. The animal minorly injured a janitor during its escapade. The incident matters chiefly as a rare light-hearted moment for a workforce that…
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Apple TV leads 2026 Emmys with 87 nominations as streaming records tumble
The 2026 Emmy nominations were announced, with Apple TV emerging as the clear frontrunner, securing 87 nominations from just 15 programmes in a result that highlighted the platform’s selective, quality-focused approach. The announcement matters because it saw several long-standing streaming and industry records broken, signalling a shift in how recognition is distributed across an increasingly…
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Wealthy AI workers send San Francisco house prices soaring
The median cost of a home in the city is now $1.7m, a record high, according to the latest figures.
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‘Beef’ Creator Lee Sung Jin Talks Emmy Nominations, Asian Representation & Teases Character-First Approach To ‘X-Men’
“Beef” creator Lee Sung Jin has spoken to Deadline after the second season of the Netflix anthology drama secured 16 Emmy nominations, three more than its debut season. The recognition marks a personal milestone: Lee has become the first Asian television creator to earn multiple Emmy nominations across the Limited or Anthology Series or Movie,…
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“We cannot choose to become idiots”: The AI cheating scandal roiling Brown University
An economics professor at Brown University, Roberto Serrano, uncovered apparent large-scale AI cheating in his course ECON 1170 after introducing take-home exams for the spring 2026 semester. The case matters because it offers a rare, concrete glimpse into how widely generative AI may be substituting for genuine learning at elite universities, echoing wider concerns as…