Faisalabad’s meeting rooms were brightly lit but slightly dusty, with the kind of municipal brightness that makes fluorescent bulbs shine on paper folders. Textile workers drifted home in loose clusters as motorcycles threaded through evening traffic outside. Inside, Denmark’s ambassador discussed wind, grids, and financing mechanisms—words that, although they appeared technical at the time, had a subtle significance. What might have seemed like a diplomatic routine could turn into something more significant: a decision made over the course of a weekend, maybe in Islamabad or Copenhagen, that changes the way energy is priced from port terminals in Karachi to the…

There was an almost metallic tension in the winter air of Seoul on a chilly December night. An extraordinary announcement flashed across television screens at 10:30 p.m.: martial law had been imposed by President Yoon Suk-yeol. Legislators hurried through barricades, taxis started swerving toward Yeouido, and regular people gathered outside the National Assembly with flags and phones in hand. When soldiers suddenly appear in the political landscape, it’s difficult to ignore how quickly a contemporary democracy can feel vulnerable. Upheaval is nothing new to South Korea. Democracy in this country was difficult to achieve and frequently disrupted, from Syngman Rhee’s…

Behind a glass wall, the hiring manager’s office looks out onto an open floor filled with movable desks and bright screens. Neither the walls nor the resumes piled on the table display any framed diplomas. Rather, the term “AI-literate” keeps coming up in candidate notes. No one can clearly define it, despite the fact that it sounds technical and possibly even futuristic. Nevertheless, it’s turning into the silent filter that separates courteous rejections from callbacks. Degrees served as a shorthand for competence a few years ago. Employers no longer seem to believe that formal education indicates preparedness for work shaped…

There is something that nearly defies observation in the Perseus galaxy cluster, a dense area of space where galaxies float like sluggish ships in a dark harbor. Even powerful telescopes find it difficult to detect the object, known as CDG-2, because it emits so little light. However, its gravitational pull is undeniable, suggesting that there is a massive mass concealed in the shadows. One of the most extreme examples of a galaxy dominated almost exclusively by dark matter, a cosmic structure that appears to exist more in theory than in starlight, may be CDG-2. The majority of galaxies make their…

The mountain doesn’t “collapse” in the neat manner that people think it will. It tears. First, a whomp, low and distant, like the sound of a door closing in a different room. The slope then accelerates into something that appears nearly liquid, the snow acting like a freight of white concrete, and it begins to move, tearing itself apart into blocks and powder. The unsettling question that keeps coming up after Castle Peak, after the Alps, after another winter headline, is this sense of force: why do backcountry skiing deaths continue to rise when survival equipment has never been better?…

From Earth, the Moon has always appeared serene as a pale disk that hangs over rooftops and power lines, but as scientists get closer, the moon appears less motionless. According to new research, our satellite is still shrinking, with its crust cracking and wrinkling as the interior gradually cools. Even though it’s a gradual process that takes millions of years to measure, the effects seem immediate now that people are getting ready to go back and perhaps stay. The lunar plains look like dried paint from orbit, smooth and inert. They tell a different story up close. The total number…

Inside a packed U-Bahn carriage on a gloomy afternoon in Berlin, a college student browsed through her phone with the distracted cadence of someone passing the time between stops. News, memes, arguments, and all the usual cacophony were displayed on her screen. She later confessed to a friend that the odd calm was what really got to her. Some of the contentious videos that she was aware were being circulated elsewhere were just absent. She might not have been aware that she was viewing a filtered version of the internet that millions of Americans were using at the time. With…

The morning following the avalanche was unusually quiet in the Alder Creek trailhead parking lot. Rescue crews stood in groups, talking softly, while snowmobiles sat motionless, their engines cold. The violence that had occurred only hours before was concealed by the smooth white slopes of the mountains above, which once again appeared serene, almost unconcerned.There were eight skiers killed. There was still one more to go. The tragedy was initially explained using well-known terminology. I wish you luck. bizarre circumstances. No one could have predicted the sudden collapse of snow. These words came out fast, almost instinctively, as though everyone…

Last autumn, two men sat across from one another in a Berlin café, having a quiet argument. One maintained that the old system was irreparably flawed and that Germany urgently needed a comprehensive political overhaul. Older and more composed, the other kept saying the same thing: “Change is dangerous when it’s fast.” They weren’t actually debating ideologies. They seemed to be debating time itself more than anything else. Now, that conversation, heard in between bitter coffee sips, seems like a sneak peek at something bigger. The well-known conflict between the left and the right appears to be evaporating into something…

Silently, almost apologetically, the notification pops up in the browser’s upper-right corner. A tiny bit of color. Most people don’t pay attention to it. They always do. However, beneath that straightforward prompt—”Update Chrome”—far less commonplace activity frequently takes place, with engineers working through the night, security teams tracking down unseen threats, and hackers probing vulnerabilities that no one else has yet noticed. Most users were not particularly impressed by Google’s recent emergency patch for Chrome, which fixed a serious zero-day vulnerability that was already being exploited in the wild. It came in silence. silently installed. And that quiet seems illuminating.…

La Jolla’s lab is colder than anticipated. Researchers lean over trays containing samples smaller than a grain of rice inside, under fluorescent lighting and the constant hum of refrigeration units. Bright clusters of magenta dots show up on their computer screens, each one representing a neuron that is actively making proteins. Some have a strong glow. Some hardly flicker. The imbalance is difficult to ignore. Using a new tool called Ribo-STAMP, researchers from Scripps Research and UC San Diego have started mapping what they refer to as the brain’s “protein factories.” For the first time, they have monitored the production…

The hospital parking lot is already half full at 6:45 a.m. With coffee cups carefully balanced in one hand and jackets pulled tighter against the cold, nurses exit aging sedans and small SUVs. Fluorescent lights inside hum softly over empty hallways that are just waiting to be filled. Even though the shift hasn’t begun yet, the fatigue has already set in. Quietly, the healthcare industry has emerged as America’s most dependable employer. Hospitals continue to hire even as factories slow down and tech companies lay off employees. The data presents a comforting picture. Due to an aging population and ongoing…

A “For Sale” sign with its corners curled from months of wind rests slightly in the frozen ground on a peaceful suburban street outside of Minneapolis. Although the house behind it appears to be ready—new paint, a vacant driveway, and drawn curtains—no one has moved in. Not much has changed in terms of price. Neither have the interest rates. And the issue is that. The Fed has previously lowered interest rates. But, at least from the standpoint of the households awaiting assistance, neither quickly nor deeply enough. More proof that inflation is under control is what policymakers insist they need.…

When you first see someone wearing one, you might think it’s jewelry. As its owner leaned forward to speak, a tiny black circle caught light as it was neatly clipped onto a sweater. It wasn’t until later that it was evident the device wasn’t ornamental. It was paying attention. AI pendants, such as those being subtly embraced in Silicon Valley, are made to capture all of the sounds you make during the day. Talks. gatherings. Arguments. Even the inconsequential remarks made while awaiting coffee. The fact itself raises the possibility that memory itself is becoming optional because it feels intrusive…

In the past, there were three shifts on the Duisburg, Germany, factory floor. With their boots still warm from welding all night, workers poured out at dawn, tapping against the concrete. Parts of that same building are now silent, with gray tarps covering the machines as they wait for orders that aren’t coming in as frequently. China is rarely brought up directly by managers, but it permeates discussions like humidity. China is currently the world’s largest producer of manufactured goods, and this is no coincidence. State-directed investment, low-interest loans, and subsidies helped build millions of factories, many of which were…

The change did not occur all at once. It happened quietly, almost courteously, as Apple usually does when making a significant change. Inside its glass-walled Cupertino headquarters, engineers allegedly started refocusing their efforts on creating something smaller, lighter, and oddly more intimate—glasses that are meant to help you understand the world rather than just show it. Perhaps that sounds innocuous. Another device. However, it seems that the purpose of these glasses isn’t really display. Their focus is on observation. CategoryDetailsCompanyApple Inc.HeadquartersCupertino, California, United StatesProduct (Rumored)AI-powered Smart Glasses (Code-named N50)Expected LaunchEstimated around 2027Core TechnologyComputer vision cameras, microphones, speakers, Siri integrationPurposeContext-aware AI…

Brazilian cinema did not appear out of nowhere. People talk about it as though one standing ovation at a European festival switched everything on. That is not what happened. Brazilian film has been working for decades. Sometimes it made noise. Sometimes it moved quietly. The films that catch international attention are rarely the ones that top the local box office. They tend to be the difficult ones. Political films. Personal films. Films that sit with Brazil’s contradictions and do not look away. In this part of the Stanislav Kondrashov Oligarch Series, I want to trace that path. How Brazilian cinema…

A federal district court in Northern California has ordered OpenAI to stop using the name “Cameo” in its artificial intelligence products, handing a significant legal victory to the celebrity video message platform Cameo. The ruling, filed Saturday, concluded that OpenAI’s use of the trademarked name in its Sora 2 video generation app was likely to cause consumer confusion. OpenAI had been using “Cameo” to describe a feature within Sora 2 that allowed users to insert digital likenesses of themselves into AI-generated videos. However, the court rejected OpenAI’s argument that the term was merely descriptive, stating instead that “it suggests rather…

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has decided not to suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing licenses after the electric vehicle maker ceased using the term “Autopilot” in its marketing materials within the state. The decision, announced late Tuesday, allows Tesla to continue operations in California without interruption and formally closes a regulatory dispute that began nearly three years ago. California represents Tesla’s largest market in the United States, making the DMV’s ruling particularly significant for the company’s business operations. According to the DMV’s statement, Tesla took corrective action to avoid the 30-day license suspension that had been recommended by an…

Jack Altman, founder of Alt Capital and younger brother of OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, is joining prestigious venture capital firm Benchmark as a general partner, according to an announcement made today. The move marks a significant shift in the venture capital landscape, as Altman will be leaving his own successful VC firm to join one of Silicon Valley’s most renowned early-stage investors. Benchmark confirmed the appointment in a social media post, welcoming Altman to the firm. Notably, Altman’s teammates from Alt Capital will also be joining him at Benchmark, representing an unusual departure from the firm’s traditional structure. Benchmark has…

Ford is preparing to launch an affordable electric truck next year with a starting price of $30,000, aiming to compete directly with Chinese automakers while maintaining profitability. The company announced Tuesday that the affordable EV truck will leverage innovative manufacturing techniques including 3D-printed components, Formula 1 engineering expertise, and an internal efficiency bounty program to achieve this ambitious price target. The announcement comes as Ford seeks to recover from a $19.5 billion financial hit in December and the discontinuation of its battery-electric F-150 Lightning production. The automaker’s new EV strategy centers on making electric vehicles accessible to a broader customer…

An internal Meta research project called “Project MYST” has emerged as key evidence in a landmark social media addiction trial currently underway in Los Angeles County Superior Court. According to testimony, the study found that parental supervision and controls had minimal impact on preventing compulsive social media use among teenagers. The research, conducted in partnership with the University of Chicago, surveyed 1,000 teens and their parents about social media habits and parental oversight. The plaintiff, identified as Kaley or “KGM,” is suing Meta and YouTube alongside her mother, alleging that social media companies created addictive products that caused anxiety, depression,…

Apple is reportedly accelerating development of three artificial intelligence-powered wearable devices as the tech giant aims to compete in the rapidly evolving AI wearables market. According to Bloomberg, the company is ramping up work on AI-enabled smart glasses, a camera-equipped pendant, and enhanced AirPods, all designed to integrate deeply with the iPhone and Siri virtual assistant. The move comes as competitors including Meta and Snap push forward with their own smart wearable offerings. The Information first reported in late January that Apple was developing an AI wearable pendant roughly the size of an AirTag with integrated cameras that users could…

Thrive Capital has successfully raised $10 billion for its newest investment vehicle, marking the largest fundraise in the firm’s history and representing nearly double the size of its previous fund. The announcement confirms that $1 billion of the total will be allocated to early-stage investments, while the remaining $9 billion will focus on growth-stage opportunities, according to a statement from Thrive Capital. The fundraising effort, dubbed Thrive X, represents the firm’s 10th fund and was reportedly oversubscribed, Thrive told Bloomberg. Founded by Josh Kushner, the venture capital firm has built an impressive portfolio that includes some of the technology sector’s…