Technology

A truck removes snow for them street a day after a winter storm on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in New Y...

High-tech snowplows and AI help cities clean up from big storms

Residents of Syracuse, New York — America’s snowiest city — once barraged a service hotline with street neglect complaints during blizzards, even if plows had passed two hours earlier but the work was hidden by fresh snow. Now public trust seems to be rising as Syracuse and other cities across the U.S. integrate upgrades such […]
5 months ago
This image provided by OpenAI in February 2026 demonstrates a health chatbot on a phone app. (OpenA...

What to know before asking an AI chatbot for health advice

WASHINGTON (AP) — With hundreds of millions of people turning to chatbots for advice, it was only a matter of time before tech companies began offering programs specifically designed to answer health questions. In January, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Health, a new version of its chatbot that the company says can analyze users’ medical records, wellness […]
5 months ago
FILE - Workers at a Medicaid call center in Jefferson City, Mo., field questions and review informa...

Trump’s Medicaid work mandates are meant to save money. But first states will have to spend millions

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — To receive Medicaid health coverage, some adults will soon have to show they are working, volunteering or taking classes. But to gather that proof, many states first will have to spend millions of dollars improving their computer systems. Across the nation, states face an immense task and high costs to […]
5 months ago

What to know about the clash between the Pentagon and Anthropic over military’s AI use

WASHINGTON (AP) — A high-stakes dispute over military use of artificial intelligence erupted into public view this week as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brusquely terminated the Pentagon’s work with Anthropic and other government agencies, using a law designed to counter foreign supply chain threats to slap a scarlet letter on a U.S. company. President Donald […]
5 months ago
Washington resident Maya Edwards is interviewed via Zoom on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo)Cred...

Callers to Washington state hotline press 2 for Spanish and get accented AI English instead

SEATTLE (AP) — Press “two” for Spanish … accent? For months, callers to the Washington state Department of Licensing who have requested automated service in Spanish have instead heard an AI voice speaking English in a strong Spanish accent. The agency has since apologized and says it’s trying to fix the problem. Washington resident Maya […]
5 months ago
NASA's Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) moon rocket with the Orion spacecraft slowly rolls back...

NASA overhauls its Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon

NASA said Friday it’s adding an extra moon mission by Artemis astronauts before attempting a high-risk lunar landing with a crew. The shakeup in the flight lineup came just two days after NASA’s new moon rocket returned to its hangar for more repairs and a safety panel warned the space agency to scale back its […]
5 months ago
FILE - Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, testifies before a Senate committee hearing on Cap...

OpenAI gets $110 billon in funding from a trio of tech powerhouses, led by Amazon

ChatGPT maker OpenAI has received $110 billion in funding from Amazon, SoftBank and Nvidia, putting the technology company’s pre-money valuation at $730 billion. Amazon is leading the trio of tech heavyweights in commitments, putting up $50 billion, followed by $30 billion each from Nvidia and SoftBank, said OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman on Friday. […]
5 months ago
File- This photo taken Nov. 19, 2015, shows Square CEO Jack Dorsey being interviewed on the floor o...

Fintech company Block lays off 4,000 of its 10,000 staff, citing gains from AI

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares in the financial technology company Block have soared more than 20% in after-hours trading after its CEO announced it was laying off more than 4,000 of its 10,000 some employees due to its use of artificial intelligence. “The core thesis is simple. Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build […]
5 months ago
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy testifies before the Senate...

NTSB chair slams House aviation bill as ‘watered-down’ after 67 deaths near Washington

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it’s misleading for members of the House to say their package of aviation safety reforms would address the recommendations that her agency made in January to prevent another midair collision like the one last year near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer […]
5 months ago
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberat...

Young woman says she was on social media ‘all day long’ as a child in landmark addiction trial

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A young woman who is battling against social media giants took the stand Thursday to testify about her experience using the platforms as she was growing up, saying she was on social media “all day long” as a child. The now 20-year-old, who has been identified in court documents as KGM, […]
5 months ago
Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logos are displayed on a computer screen in New ...

US military would only use Anthropic’s AI technology in legal ways, Pentagon says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon’s top spokesman has reiterated that the military wants to use Anthropic’s artificial intelligence technology in legal ways and will not let the company dictate any limits ahead of a Friday deadline to agree to its demands. Sean Parnell said Thursday on social media that the Pentagon “has no interest in […]
5 months ago
Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, arrives in court to testify in a landmark social media case that se...

Instagram says it will notify parents if teens ‘repeatedly’ search for terms related to suicide

Instagram said Thursday it will start alerting parents if their kids repeatedly search for terms clearly associated with suicide or self-harm. The alerts will only go to parents who are enrolled in Instagram’s parental supervision program. Instagram says it already blocks such content from showing up in teen accounts’ search results and directs people to […]
5 months ago

AI song generator startups Suno and Udio angered the music industry. Now they’re hoping to join it

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Suno CEO Mikey Shulman pulls up a chair to the recording studio desk where a research scientist at his artificial intelligence company is creating a new song. The flute line sounds promising. The percussion needs work. Neither of them is playing an instrument. They type some descriptive words – Afrobeat, flute, […]
5 months ago
FILE - A full moon is seen shining over NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft, atop...

Old Apollo rocks shed new light on the moon’s magnetic field long ago

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Lunar rocks collected by Apollo astronauts more than half a century ago are providing a fresh take on the moon’s mysterious magnetic field, scientists reported Wednesday. Samples to be retrieved by future moonwalkers in NASA’s new Artemis program should yield even more clues. Four Artemis astronauts are expected to fly […]
5 months ago
FILE - New York Attorney General Letitia James attends a news conference Dec. 15, 2025, in New York...

New York sues Counter-Strike game developer saying ‘loot boxes’ promote gambling

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general has sued video game developer Valve, claiming the “loot boxes” found in Counter-Strike and other popular video game franchises illegally promote gambling. State Attorney General Letitia James said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York state court that games such as Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2 […]
5 months ago
FILE - An eBay app logo is shown on a mobile phone, July 11, 2019, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee...

A settlement is reached in a case tied to eBay’s bizarre deliveries and harassment campaign

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts couple who were subjected to threats and bizarre anonymous deliveries — including live insects, a funeral wreath and a bloody pig Halloween mask — by former eBay Inc. employees reached a settlement Wednesday in their lawsuit against the company. In their 2021 lawsuit filed in Boston federal court, David and […]
5 months ago
FILE - Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Bowen generates electricity, Dec. 14, 2020, in Euharlee, Ga. (AP P...

Feds give record $27B in loans for utility expansion in Georgia and Alabama

ATLANTA (AP) — Federal energy officials on Wednesday announced a record $27 billion loan to electric utilities in Georgia and Alabama, saying the loan will save customers money as the companies undertake a huge expansion driven by demand from computer data centers. A total of $22.4 billion will go to Georgia Power and $4.1 billion […]
5 months ago
Samsung unveils its latest Galaxy smartphones during a showcase in San Francisco on Wednesday, Feb....

Samsung rolls out more AI, new privacy shield mode with the new Galaxy S26 lineup

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Samsung on Wednesday unveiled its latest Galaxy smartphones, which boast an even bigger toolbox of artificial intelligence technology than the previous two generations and introduce a new privacy shield mode that blocks snoopy bystanders from sneaking a peek at the display screen. The upgrades on the Galaxy S26 lineup — arriving […]
5 months ago
NASA's Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) moon rocket with the Orion spacecraft slowly rolls back...

NASA moves its Artemis II moon rocket off the launch pad for more repairs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA moved its grounded Artemis moon rocket from the launch pad back to its hangar Wednesday for more repairs. The slow-motion trek at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center was expected to take all day. The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket had spent a month at the pad ready for potential […]
5 months ago
FILE - A Discord display stands at the company's booth at the Game Developers Conference 2023, in S...

Discord pushes back global age verification rollout amid criticism, promises transparency

Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, is postponing its controversial age verification policy after receiving swift backlash from users with concerns about their privacy. The global rollout of the system is now delayed to the second half of 2026, Discord’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy wrote in a Tuesday blog […]
5 months ago
FILE - A sign to a Nvidia office building is shown in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, May 31, 2023....

Nvidia prepares to release its quarterly results as AI fears weigh on the stock market

Artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia on Wednesday will deliver a quarterly report likely to sway a jittery stock market as investors weigh whether the massive bets riding on technology’s latest craze will pay off. As has been the case since Nvidia’s chipsets emerged as AI’s best building blocks, the expectations are sky high for the results […]
5 months ago
FILE - A Waymo vehicle drives past a No U-Turn sign in San Bruno, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. ...

Waymo’s robotaxis now being dispatched in 10 major U.S. markets with expansion in Texas and Florida

Waymo will begin dispatching its robotaxis in four more cities in Texas and Florida, expanding the territory covered by its fleet of self-driving cars to 10 major U.S. metropolitan markets. The move into Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando, Florida, announced Tuesday, widens Waymo’s early lead in autonomous driving while rival services from Tesla and […]
6 months ago
FILE - Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of Anthropic, attends the annual meeting of the World Econo...

Hegseth and Anthropic CEO set to meet as debate intensifies over the military’s use of AI

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to meet Tuesday with the CEO of Anthropic, with the artificial intelligence company the only one of its peers to not supply its technology to a new U.S. military internal network. Anthropic, maker of the chatbot Claude, declined to comment on the meeting but CEO Dario Amodei […]
6 months ago
A document that was included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files...

Citizen journalists, citizen sleuths helping to unravel the tangle of Epstein documents

When sifting through the seemingly endless collection of documents in the Epstein files gets to be too much and Ellie Leonard needs a break, she takes a walk outside. Then it’s back to the computer. The New Jersey mother of four is among hundreds of citizen-journalists, or sleuths, absorbed by the material connected to the […]
6 months ago