American design, tech, science site with io9 and Earther
Apple has unveiled Siri AI and expanded Apple Intelligence at WWDC, promising a conversational assistant that uses personal device data and Google-powered foundation models. The company has said Siri AI will enter beta this summer with a public fall release, but regulators in the EU and China will delay availability there. Apple has emphasised privacy and private cloud compute in its rollout.
Snap has unveiled Specs, its consumer AR glasses, priced at $2,195 with a $200 refundable deposit. The device aims to merge AI with real-world computing, featuring EyeConnect for shared experiences and on-device AI. Market reaction remains cautious as investors scrutinize affordability and the competitive hardware landscape.
OpenAI has previewed GPT-5.6 models, including Sol, Terra and Luna, to a select group of partners under government oversight. The move follows President Trump’s executive order prompting voluntary pre-release review of frontier AI. OpenAI says broader access will come in coming weeks, while stressing this approach is not a long-term default.
Thinking Machines has released Inkling, a foundation model designed for customization by enterprises. It draws on large-scale pretraining but is optimized to run with lower compute, offering a tunable balance of cost and performance and open-weight accessibility for fine-tuning on private data.
Meta has discontinued Muse Image, its Instagram-linked AI image generator, following privacy concerns. The feature, which automatically enrolled public accounts for image generation, is no longer available. The move comes after swift criticism from creators, unions and privacy advocates, who argued the feature violated consent and risked non-consensual image manipulation.
OpenAI is developing a screen-free, home AI companion that can control smart devices and access ChatGPT capabilities. The device is described as a personality-driven helper, designed to learn the owner over time. Bloomberg notes potential clashes with Apple’s trade secrets amid ongoing hardware discussions.
OpenAI has launched Codex Micro, a $230 mini keyboard for Codex-powered coding, developed with Work Louder. The device offers six status keys, a joystick, a dial, and programmable shortcuts to manage multiple Codex agents. Multiple outlets note Bloomberg’s reporting on an upcoming screenless, portable smart speaker from OpenAI, tied to its broader hardware ambitions.
The El Niño event has strengthened, with models predicting it could peak as the strongest on record. Scientists warn this will push global temperatures higher this year and into 2027, while Atlantic Niña patterns could curb Atlantic storms. The Guardian, New York Post and The Guardian report on forecasted extremes and regional impacts.
Alphabet and Tesla have reported strong quarters but their heavier capex commitments are weighing on cash flow, while cloud growth and AI demand support revenue. Analysts say the pace of spending is tied to expanding AI capacity and future returns.