Technology

FILE - The sun sets behind high tension power lines, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, in the Porter Ranch se...

Voters’ anger over high electricity bills and data centers loom over 2026 midterms

Voter anger over the cost of living is hurtling forward into next year’s midterm elections, when pivotal contests will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill to power Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers. Electricity costs were a key issue in this week’s elections for […]
9 months ago

South Korean solar firm cuts pay and hours for Georgia workers as US officials detain imports

ATLANTA (AP) — A South Korean solar company says it will temporarily reduce pay and working hours for about 1,000 of its 3,000 employees in Georgia because U.S. customs officials have been detaining imported components needed to make solar panels. Qcells, a unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Solutions, said Friday that it will also lay […]
9 months ago
FILE - The OpenAI logo appears on a mobile phone in front of a screen showing part of the company w...

OpenAI faces 7 lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide, delusions

OpenAI is facing seven lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide and harmful delusions even when they had no prior mental health issues. The lawsuits were filed Thursday in California state courts allege wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter and negligence. Filed on behalf of six adults and one teenager by the Social Media Victims […]
9 months ago
The U.S. Capitol is photographed on 37th day of the government shutdown, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in...

The Congressional Budget Office was hacked. It says it has implemented new security measures

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Budget Office on Thursday confirmed it had been hacked, potentially disclosing important government data to malicious actors. The small government office, with some 275 employees, provides objective, impartial analysis to support lawmakers during the budget process. It is required to produce a cost estimate for nearly every bill approved by […]
9 months ago
Plumes of smoke rise from the area of a UPS cargo plane crash at Louisville Muhammad Ali Internatio...

Dramatic videos show the UPS plane ablaze and crash in a massive fireball

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Videos from phones, cars and security cameras captured the tragic final moments of a UPS cargo plane as it caught fire and crashed in a massive explosion just outside Louisville’s airport, killing at least 12 people and carving a path of destruction on the ground. The videos provide investigators and the […]
9 months ago
FILE - Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Oval Offi...

Musk could become history’s first trillionaire as Tesla shareholders approve giant pay package

NEW YORK (AP) — The world’s richest man was just handed a chance to become history’s first trillionaire. Elon Musk won a shareholder vote on Thursday that would give the Tesla CEO stock worth $1 trillion if he hits certain performance targets over the next decade. The vote followed weeks of debate over his management […]
9 months ago
FILE - A Boeing 737 Max jet prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle, Se...

Criminal case against Boeing over deadly 737 Max plane crashes is dismissed by a US judge

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A federal judge in Texas has agreed to dismiss a criminal conspiracy charge against Boeing in connection with two 737 Max jetliner crashes that killed 346 people. In a written decision issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor approved the federal government’s request to dismiss its case against Boeing as […]
9 months ago
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, right, speaks next to his wife, Priscilla Chan, co-founder and co-CEO of ...

Zuckerberg, Chan shift bulk of philanthropy to science, focusing on AI and biology to curb disease

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) — For the past decade, Dr. Priscilla Chan and her husband Mark Zuckerberg have focused part of their philanthropy on a lofty goal — “to cure, prevent or manage all disease” — if not in their lifetime, then in their children’s. But during that time, they also funded underprivileged schools, immigration […]
9 months ago
FILE - A Google sign is displayed at the company's office in San Francisco, April 12, 2023. (AP Pho...

Fortnite maker Epic Games and Google say they’re settling 5-year legal fight over Android app store

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Video game maker Epic Games has reached a “comprehensive settlement” with Google that could end its 5-year-old legal crusade targeting Google’s Play Store for Android apps. Epic and Google revealed the settlement agreement in a joint legal document they filed in a San Francisco federal court Tuesday. They said it “would […]
9 months ago
FILE - An American flag flies on the Capitol Dome in Washington on July 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn...

Data scientists perform last rites for ‘dearly departed datasets’ in 2nd Trump administration

While some people last Friday dressed in Halloween costumes or handed out candy to trick-or-treaters, a group of U.S. data scientists published a list of “dearly departed” datasets that have been axed, altered or had topics scrubbed since President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The timing of the release of […]
9 months ago
FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2018, file photo, a mobile phone displays a user's travels using Google Maps...

Gemini AI to transform Google Maps into a more conversational experience

Google Maps is heading in a new direction with artificial intelligence sitting in the passenger’s seat. Fueled by Google’s Gemini AI technology, the world’s most popular navigation app will become a more conversational companion as part of a redesign announced Wednesday. The hands-free experience is meant to turn Google Maps into something more like an […]
9 months ago
Seattle break in west precinct...
Luke Duecy

Tech Talk: After officer admits to using AI for police reports, Seattle’s OPA urges SPD to create official AI policy

The debate over artificial intelligence has flared up again in Seattle after a SPD officer used multiple AI programs to help write key internal reports.
9 months ago
FILE - The Department of Defense seal is seen on the podium in the Press Briefing room at the Penta...

Trump administration and private investors sign off on $1.4 billion deal with rare earth startups

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration and private investors are partnering with two rare earth startups in a $1.4 billion deal to scale up the nation’s access to materials and technology that is crucial for producing an array of high-tech goods and military equipment. The investment in Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies is the latest […]
9 months ago

Microsoft to ship 60,000 Nvidia AI chips to UAE under US-approved deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Microsoft said Monday it will be shipping Nvidia’s most advanced artificial intelligence chips to the United Arab Emirates as part of a deal approved by the U.S. Commerce Department. The Redmond, Washington software giant said licenses approved in September under “stringent” safeguards enable it to ship more than 60,000 Nvidia chips, including […]
9 months ago

OpenAI and Amazon sign $38B deal for AI computing power

SEATTLE (AP) — OpenAI and Amazon have signed a $38 billion deal that enables the ChatGPT maker to run its artificial intelligence systems on Amazon’s cloud computing services. OpenAI will get access to “hundreds of thousands” of Nvidia’s specialized AI chips through Amazon Web Services as part of the deal announced Monday. The agreement comes […]
9 months ago
FILE - A control tower by an American Airlines hangar is shown at Dallas Fort Worth International A...

Flight delays persist as government shutdown leads to air traffic controller shortages

Flight delays continued at U.S. airports Sunday amid air traffic controller shortages as the government shutdown entered its second month, with Newark airport in New Jersey experiencing delays of two to three hours. New York City’s Emergency Management office said on X that Newark delays often ripple out to the region’s other airports. Travelers flying […]
9 months ago
FILE - Kendrick Lamar performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game between the K...

AI song generator Udio offers brief window for downloads after Universal settlement upsets users

Artificial intelligence song generation platform Udio said it would give its frustrated users 48 hours starting Monday to download their songs before the company shifts to a new business model to comply with a legal settlement. The short reprieve comes after Udio on Wednesday said it had settled copyright infringement claims brought by Universal Music, […]
9 months ago
Carnegie Mellon University Head of Machine Learning, Zico Kolter delivers a keynote speech at AI Ho...

Who is Zico Kolter? A professor leads OpenAI safety panel with power to halt unsafe AI releases

If you believe artificial intelligence poses grave risks to humanity, then a professor at Carnegie Mellon University has one of the most important roles in the tech industry right now. Zico Kolter leads a 4-person panel at OpenAI that has the authority to halt the ChatGPT maker’s release of new AI systems if it finds […]
9 months ago
Tesla Cybertrucks owned by the Las Vegas Metro Police department is on display in Las Vegas on Tues...

Nation’s largest fleet of police Cybertrucks to patrol Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The nation’s largest police fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks is set to begin patrolling the streets of Las Vegas in November thanks to a donation from a U.S. tech billionaire, raising concerns about the blurring of lines between public and private interests. “Welcome to the future of policing,” Clark County Sheriff Kevin […]
9 months ago
FILE - The iPhone 17 Pro is displayed during an announcement of new products at Apple Park on Tuesd...

Apple delivers strong quarter despite iPhone sales slowdown and ongoing artificial technology issues

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple’s iPhone sales growth decelerated during its summertime quarter, but the company still delivered financial results that exceeded analyst projections while the trendsetting company continued to catch up to its Big Tech peers in the artificial intelligence race. The performance announced Thursday was driven largely by strong initial demand for the […]
9 months ago
This photo provided by Lockheed Martin shows the X-59 jet plane, which was built by NASA and Lockhe...

NASA takes one step closer to launching quiet supersonic jets

A supersonic jet plane designed to make very little noise took flight for the first time this week, cruising over the southern California desert just after sunrise in what could be the first step toward much faster commercial travel, according to NASA. NASA and the U.S. weapons and aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin successfully tested a […]
9 months ago
This Dictionary.com page shows the newest word of the year "6-7" on a computer screen, Thursday, Oc...

Dictionary.com’s word of the year is ‘6-7.’ But is it even a word and what does it mean?

Go ahead and roll your eyes. Shrug your shoulders. Or maybe just juggle your hands in the air. Dictionary.com’s word of the year isn’t even really a word. It’s the viral term “6-7” that kids and teenagers can’t stop repeating and laughing about and parents and teachers can’t make any sense of. The word — […]
9 months ago

GOP lawmakers urge Trump administration back Falun Gong lawsuit against Cisco

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two prominent Republicans on Capitol Hill want the Supreme Court to allow a lawsuit to proceed against tech giant Cisco over allegations that the company’s technology was used to persecute members of the Falun Gong religious sect in China. In a Wednesday letter to the Trump administration’s top Supreme Court litigator, D. […]
9 months ago
FILE - A vampire bat is caught in a net in Aracy, in the northeast Amazon state of Para, Brazil, on...

How tiny drones inspired by bats could save lives in dark and stormy conditions

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Don’t be fooled by the fog machine, spooky lights and fake bats: the robotics lab at Worcester Polytechnic Institute lab isn’t hosting a Halloween party. Instead, it’s a testing ground for tiny drones that can be deployed in search and rescue missions even in dark, smoky or stormy conditions. “We all […]
9 months ago