We asked tech CEOs, journalists, entertainers, students, and more about the promise and peril of artificial intelligence. The future never feels fully certain. But in this time of rapid, intense transformation--political, technological, cultural, scientific--it's as difficult as it ever has been to get a sense of what's around the next corner. Here at WIRED, we're obsessed with what comes next. Our pursuit of the future most often takes the form of vigorously reported stories, in-depth videos, and interviews with the people helping define it.

Winter Storm Fern death toll climbs to 34 after brutal freeze batters the US... and meteorologists warn even colder weather is on the way Top lawyer, event planner and pilot identified as three of six killed in private jet crash while taking'girls' trip' to Paris Insidious secret life of promiscuous neurosurgeon found dead in his $2.5m mansion'He has no loyalty': The bitter secret fallout between One Direction star Harry Styles and his former bandmates - as insiders reveal for the first time what really happened at Liam Payne's funeral Nicola Peltz was raised by billionaire'bully' Nelson who became the most feared investor on Wall Street before starting his own dynasty with his 10 children Is Angelina Jolie quitting America? Private struggles emerge... as actress weighs major lifestyle that threatens to rupture her family Influencer shares haunting 911 call after crash that killed her son known for viral'Okay Baby' video Matthew Stafford's wife Kelly shares emotional moment NFL star returned home after heartbreaking playoff defeat Martha Stewart breaks political silence after being urged by teenage granddaughter: 'Things must change' Insiders reveal the REAL misstep that got Kristi Noem humiliatingly ditched by Trump... and the weak excuse she's peddling to try and save herself Defiant Trump dismisses Alzheimer's fears as he struggles to recall name of disease in interview READ MORE: Evolution debate reignited after'missing human link' is found A new AI app is helping to rewrite the evolution of flight. The app, developed by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, has been used to analyse footprints made by dinosaurs more than 200 million years ago. The results show that several tracks share'uncanny' features with both extinct and modern birds. According to the researchers, this suggests that birds could have originated 60 million years earlier than we thought.

Much of modern warfare is shaped by for-profit, commercial AI tech firms. This gives them an unprecedented, non-state influence over geopolitical conflict. X to block Grok AI's undressing feature

Erosion victim warns'trauma tourists' to stay away A woman who lost her home at the start of the year due to coastal erosion has warned visitors to stay away and don't gloat. Shelley Cowlin, whose home of 48 years in Thorpeness, Suffolk, was demolished in January, said tourists turning up to witness other people's suffering and even steal items from their gardens were sick. Now living in a holiday let, which she said did not feel like home, the 89-year-old called on so-called trauma tourists to leave villagers in peace. We don't want people relishing in glee at the tragedy of other people, she said. Following the demolition, Cowlin said there had been incidents of people claiming they were her gardener, or even her grandchildren, and pinching things.

Could Ukraine hold a presidential election right now? Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' At least two people were injured after Russian forces launched a drone and missile attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. The attack also damaged apartment buildings, a school, and a kindergarten, he added.

This article presents the full, original record of the 2024 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) town hall, "Statistics in the Age of AI," which convened leading statisticians to discuss how the field is evolving in response to advances in artificial intelligence, foundation models, large-scale empirical modeling, and data-intensive infrastructures. The town hall was structured around open panel discussion and extensive audience Q&A, with the aim of eliciting candid, experience-driven perspectives rather than formal presentations or prepared statements. This document preserves the extended exchanges among panelists and audience members, with minimal editorial intervention, and organizes the conversation around five recurring questions concerning disciplinary culture and practices, data curation and "data work," engagement with modern empirical modeling, training for large-scale AI applications, and partnerships with key AI stakeholders. By providing an archival record of this discussion, the preprint aims to support transparency, community reflection, and ongoing dialogue about the evolving role of statistics in the data- and AI-centric future.

"In my opinion ICE are the bad guys. I am not proud that the company I enjoy so much working for is part of this," one worker wrote on Slack. After federal agents shot and killed Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday, Palantir workers pressed for answers from leadership on the company's work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) --and many questioned whether Palantir should be involved with the agency at all. Leadership defended its work as in part improving "ICE's operational effectiveness." Internal Slack messages reviewed by WIRED reveal growing frustration within Palantir over its relationship with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and in particular, ICE's enforcement and investigations teams.

The technical failure coincided with TikTok's ownership transition, leading users to question whether videos criticizing ICE raids in Minnesota were being intentionally censored. TikTok is currently experiencing a widespread service outage in the US, causing disruptions for millions of users only a few days after the company officially transferred control of its American business to a group of majority-US investors . The technical issues led many TikTok users to speculate about whether the app's new owners were intentionally suppressing videos about political topics, particularly content related to recent federal immigration operations in Minnesota. TikTok has denied the allegations, attributing the problems to a power outage. TikTok users began reporting on Sunday that they were having trouble uploading videos to the app as well as viewing content that had already been posted on the platform.

Insidious secret life of promiscuous neurosurgeon found dead in his $2.5m mansion America's best and worst states to retire revealed - and why Florida is no longer the obvious winner Texas Gov. Abbott warns ICE'losing respect' as Minneapolis shooting scandal rocks Trump Is Angelina Jolie quitting America? Private struggles emerge... as actress weighs major lifestyle that threatens to rupture her family Young single mother's selfless final act after finding out she had just weeks to live Seven dead in private jet crash as audio reveals voice said'Let there be light' seconds before tragedy at snowy Maine airport Defiant Trump dismisses Alzheimer's fears as he struggles to recall name of disease in interview NFL's'scripted' conspiracy theory resurfaces as fans find five-month old post hinting at Super Bowl 60 matchup Stunning twist of fate that saw Brittany leave Patrick Mahomes weeks after he was drafted by the Chiefs... Kate Hudson's Oscar nomination torched as an'abomination' amid toxic family feud over Song Sung Blue Mystery of Egypt's Giza pyramids deepens as hidden megastructure 4,000 feet below is revealed Prophecy from apocalyptic'messiah' warns of death so widespread'even birds won't escape' A poem written over 120 years ago by a revered religious figure has resurfaced as some fear its prediction of an apocalyptic event could be coming true today. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, also known as the Promised Messiah and the Imam Mahdi, wrote a 1905 poem describing massive earthquakes and destruction across the world, which some have now interpreted as a warning of World War III . In the poem, published around the time of his death in 1908, Ahmad predicted streams of blood flowing from widespread death, entire regions being wiped out, a massive earthquake, and even strange sky events beyond scientific explanation. It mentions of calamity befalling the Czar of Russia has been seen by some as foreshadowing modern conflicts involving Russia, such as the war in Ukraine and continued tensions with the US and NATO .

Tuya Smart introduces Aura, its first AI-powered companion robot for pets at CES 2026. The robot uses artificial intelligence to recognize behaviors and provide updates.