Technology

An American flag flies in front of the White House, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Ph...

Trump administration is launching a new private health tracking system with Big Tech’s help

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is pushing an initiative for millions of Americans to upload personal health data and medical records on new apps and systems run by private tech companies, promising that will make it easier to access health records and monitor wellness. Leaders from more than 60 companies, including major tech companies […]
1 year ago
This image provided by Janzen Madsen shows the Roblox game called "Grow a Garden." (Janzen Madsen v...

Millions are flocking to grow virtual gardens in viral Roblox game created by teenager

Whether it serves as a chill escape from the onslaught of the real world or simply a way to beat vacation doldrums, a viral Roblox game about gardening has become the surprise hit of the summer. Grow a Garden, created by a 16-year-old in a few days, has shattered records for the most concurrent players […]
1 year ago

Allianz Life confirms data breach affecting majority of 1.4M US customers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Hackers gained access to personal data on the majority of the 1.4 million customers of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, the company confirmed Saturday. Minneapolis-based Allianz Life, a subsidiary of Munich, Germany-based Allianz SE, said the data breach happened on July 16 when a “malicious threat actor” gained access to […]
1 year ago

Trump’s AI plan calls for massive data centers. Here’s how it may affect energy in the U.S.

President Donald Trump’s plan to boost artificial intelligence and build data centers across the U.S. could speed up a building boom that was already expected to strain the nation’s ability to power it. The White House released the “AI Action Plan” Wednesday, vowing to expedite permitting for construction of energy-intensive data centers as it looks […]
1 year ago

Hacker disrupts New Jersey elections meeting with racist and pornographic outburst

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — An online meeting to discuss who would host New Jersey’s gubernatorial debates this fall ended abruptly on Thursday when a hacker interrupted the session with a brief outburst of racist comments and pornographic videos, officials said. The state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission had scheduled the meeting to hear from media companies […]
1 year ago

Trump’s order to block ‘woke’ AI in government encourages tech giants to censor their chatbots

Tech companies looking to sell their artificial intelligence technology to the federal government must now contend with a new regulatory hurdle: prove their chatbots aren’t “woke.” President Donald Trump’s sweeping new plan to counter China in achieving “global dominance” in AI promises to cut regulations and cement American values into the AI tools increasingly used […]
1 year ago

Why are data nerds racing to save US government statistics?

The data nerds are fighting back. After watching data sets be altered or disappear from U.S. government websites in unprecedented ways after President Donald Trump began his second term, an army of outside statisticians, demographers and computer scientists have joined forces to capture, preserve and share data sets, sometimes clandestinely. Their goal is to make […]
1 year ago

These tips from experts can help your teenager navigate AI companions

As artificial intelligence technology becomes part of daily life, adolescents are turning to chatbots for advice, guidance and conversation. The appeal is clear: Chatbots are patient, never judgmental, supportive and always available. That worries experts who say the booming AI industry is largely unregulated and that many parents have no idea about how their kids […]
1 year ago

Teens say they are turning to AI for advice, friendship and ‘to get out of thinking’

No question is too small when Kayla Chege, a high school student in Kansas, is using artificial intelligence. The 15-year-old asks ChatGPT for guidance on back-to-school shopping, makeup colors, low-calorie choices at Smoothie King, plus ideas for her Sweet 16 and her younger sister’s birthday party. The sophomore honors student makes a point not to […]
1 year ago

From tech podcasts to policy: Trump’s new AI plan leans heavily on Silicon Valley industry ideas

An artificial intelligence agenda that started coalescing on the podcasts of Silicon Valley billionaires is now being forged into U.S. policy as President Donald Trump leans on the ideas of the tech figures who backed his election campaign. Trump on Wednesday is planning to reveal an “AI Action Plan” he ordered after returning to the […]
1 year ago

Vermont engineer revives pay phones for free calls in areas with poor cell service

TUNBRIDGE, Vt. (AP) — An electrical engineer by trade, Patrick Schlott has spent countless hours tinkering with new and old technology. But it wasn’t until he found himself living in rural Vermont that he realized his penchant for repairing old pay phones could provide a public service. “I realized, wow, there’s no cell service for […]
1 year ago

Looming over two cases threatening Musk’s car company is a single question: Can he be trusted?

MIAMI (AP) — Elon Musk fought court cases on opposite coasts Monday, raising a question about the billionaire that could either speed his plan to put self-driving Teslas on U.S. roads or throw up a major roadblock: Can this wildly successful man who tends to exaggerate really be trusted? In Miami, a Tesla driver who […]
1 year ago

‘Please be careful.’ There are risks and rewards as crypto heavyweights push tokenization

As cryptocurrencies become more intertwined with the traditional financial system, industry heavyweights are racing for a long-sought goal of turning real-world assets into digital tokens. “Tokenization is going to open the door to a massive trading revolution,” said Vlad Tenev, the CEO of the trading platform Robinhood at a recent James Bond-themed tokenization launch event […]
1 year ago

Court rules Mississippi’s social media age verification law can go into effect

A Mississippi law that requires social media users to verify their ages can go into effect, a federal court has ruled. A tech industry group has pledged to continue challenging the law, arguing it infringes on users’ rights to privacy and free expression. A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals overruled […]
1 year ago
Gloria Cazares, right, holds hands with Veronica Mata during a break in a court hearing in a lawsui...

Lawyer argues Call of Duty maker can’t be held responsible for actions of Uvalde, Texas, shooter

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawyer for the maker of the video game Call of Duty argued Friday that a judge should dismiss a lawsuit brought by families of the victims of the Robb Elementary School attack in Uvalde, Texas, saying the contents of the war game are protected by the First Amendment. The families […]
1 year ago
Visitors walk in front of a CATL Naxtra battery is seen at a CATL booth during the 3rd China Intern...

China pledges to crack down on illicit exports of rare earths, urges US to lift more trade controls

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s state security agency says it is cracking down on alleged smuggling of rare earths minerals that it says threaten national security, just weeks after Beijing and Washington agreed to make it easier for American firms to obtain from China those materials, which are critical for manufacturing and computer chip production. In […]
1 year ago
FILE - The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output fr...

OpenAI’s advisory board calls for continued and strengthened nonprofit oversight

OpenAI should continue to be controlled by a nonprofit because the artificial intelligence technology it is developing is “too consequential” to be governed by a corporation alone. That is the message from an advisory board convened by OpenAI to give it recommendations about its nonprofit structure — delivered in a report released Thursday, along with […]
1 year ago
Former Meta board member and former White House Chief of Staff Jeffrey Zients, left, exits the Leon...

Settlement reached in investors’ lawsuit against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other company leaders

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A settlement was announced Thursday in court in a class action investors’ lawsuit against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and current and former company leaders over claims stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. The suit had sought billions of dollars in reimbursement for fines and legal […]
1 year ago
FILE - San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, right, discusses California Gov. Gavin Newsom's, left, proposal t...

ChatGPT helps write this mayor’s speeches. Now he wants a thousand city workers using AI

Before the mayor of San Jose, California, arrives at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new business, his aides ask ChatGPT to help draft some talking points. “Elected officials do a tremendous amount of public speaking,” said Mayor Matt Mahan, whose recent itinerary has taken him from new restaurant and semiconductor startup openings to a festival […]
1 year ago
FILE - Ironworkers with the California High-Speed Rail Authority work on the Hanford Viaduct, Tuesd...

Trump administration pulls $4B in federal funding for California’s bullet train project

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Trump administration revoked federal funding for California’s high-speed rail project on Wednesday, intensifying uncertainty about how the state will make good on its long-delayed promise of building a bullet train to shuttle riders between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The U.S. Transportation Department announced it was pulling back $4 billion […]
1 year ago
FILE - Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at LlamaCon 2025, an AI developer conference, in...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to testify in $8 billion Facebook privacy lawsuit

A $8 billion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company leaders — current and former — begins Wednesday, with claims stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. Investors allege in their lawsuit that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users’ personal information would […]
1 year ago
A laboratory worker holds a cross section of TRISO fuel Friday, June 27, 2025, in Oak Ridge, Tenn. ...

A look inside a lab making the advanced fuel to power growing US nuclear energy ambitions

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (AP) — Near signs that warn of radioactive risk at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a half-dozen workers from the nuclear power company X-energy are making what appear to be gray billiard balls. Inside, they’re packed with thousands of tiny black spheres that each contain a speck of uranium enriched beyond what today’s […]
1 year ago
FILE - A sign marks the exterior of CBS Television City studio, July 3, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP P...

Rough times for broadcast networks illustrate changing media landscape

NEW YORK (AP) — Two milestones revealed this week illustrate the diminishing power of broadcast television in the media world — one fueled by the habits of young people and the other by their elders. During June, viewers spent more time watching streaming services than they did for broadcast and cable television combined. That happened […]
1 year ago
FILE - Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin speaks during an event in Richmond, Va., M...

Google partners with Youngkin and offers AI training courses to Virginia job seekers

RESTON, Va. (AP) — Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced on Tuesday that Google will partner with his administration to provide free and low-cost artificial intelligence certification courses to Virginians as part of his office’s ongoing effort to connect citizens to new jobs amid changes to the state’s economy. The partnership, which he has described as […]
1 year ago