Industry
Are DJI Drones Still Banned? (2026)
Are DJI Drones Still Banned? Can you still buy a DJI drone in the US? (Yes.) Will you be able to buy future drones? Here are the current drone dos and don'ts. As of December 23, 2025, the US Federal Communications Commission barred Chinese-based drone maker DJI from importing any new drones into the United State.
Dumbphone Owners Have Lost Their Minds
All my Gen Z friends want to ditch their smartphones. But there's more at stake than they think. My friend Lilah is the crunchiest person I know. She refuses to kill bugs and rats. She once made me try her homemade wine (disastrous). A few years ago, she quit her food-justice nonprofit job to live in a yurt, and after that she went to grad school and moved into an attic, where her roommates were squirrels. Against her will, she did own an iPhone for a time.
Don't like Google's AI answers? Here's how to get rid of them
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Here's how to get rid of them Are you tired of AI summaries in Google Search? Want the search results to look like they used to? Here are some tricks you can use. Unless you live under a rock, you've probably seen that Google Search has been showing "AI Overviews" at the top of its search results.
L.A.'s defense industry is booming. Federal funding crunch could change that
Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. L.A.'s defense industry is booming. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . L.A. defense-tech startups like Gambit face funding shortfalls as the Small Business Innovation Research program expired in September amid a Capitol Hill dispute.
The Search for Alien Artifacts Is Coming Into Focus
From surveys of the pre-Sputnik skies to analysis of interstellar visitors, scientists are rethinking how and where to look for physical traces of alien technology. Science fiction is awash in the material remnants of extraterrestrial civilizations, which surface in everything from the classic books of Arthur C. Clarke to game franchises like and . The discovery of the first interstellar objects in the solar system within the past decade has sparked speculation that they could be alien artifacts or spaceships, though the scientific consensus remains that all three of these visitors have natural explanations. That said, scientists have been anticipating the possibility of encountering alien artifacts since the dawn of the space age. "In the history of technosignatures, the possibility that there could be artifacts in the solar system has been around for a long time," says Adam Frank, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Rochester.
Capturing the Moment a White Dwarf Exploded
A research team has successfully imaged a nova in high resolution--and the images suggest that the nova was not a single, impulsive explosion. The Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA Array) at Georgia State University has generated detailed images of the early stages of two nova explosions that were detected in 2021. Through near-infrared interferometry, a process that combines light from multiple telescopes, the CHARA Array was able to capture in high resolution the rapidly changing conditions of their early post-explosion phase. A nova is an astronomical phenomenon that occurs in a binary system when a white dwarf strips its companion star of hydrogen-rich gas, causing a thermonuclear runaway reaction on the white dwarf's surface. The name derives from the sudden brightening that makes it appear as though a new star has appeared in the night sky.
An introduction to science communication at #AAAI2026
We're pleased to announce that we will be giving an introduction to science communication for AI researchers at AAAI this year. This will be held on Wednesday 21 January from 13:00 - 14:30. The session is part of the Undergraduate Consortium programme. However, if you are attending the conference and fancy finding out how you can communicate your research to a general audience in different formats, then you are more than welcome to join us. The session will comprise a talk, a Q&A, and the opportunity to try some of the activities presented in the tutorial. You will have the opportunity to receive advice on any science communication ideas or questions you have.
AI-driven pirated manga is booming. Can AI also help curb it?
AI-driven pirated manga is booming. Can AI also help curb it? Japan's content industry -- which includes anime, manga and video games -- is a major export the country. Such exports were valued at ¥6 trillion ($38 billion) in 2024. When it comes to pirated manga online, which is being produced quicker thanks to artificial intelligence, government officials in Japan are planning to fight fire with fire and use AI to crack down on it.
The Race to Build the DeepSeek of Europe Is On
As Europe's longstanding alliance with the US falters, its push to become a self-sufficient AI superpower has become more urgent. As the relationship between the US and its European allies shows signs of strain, AI labs across the continent are searching for inventive ways to close the gap with American rivals that have so far dominated the field. With rare exceptions, US-based firms outstrip European competitors across the AI production line--from processor design and manufacturing, to datacenter capacity, to model and application development. Likewise, the US has captured a massive proportion of the money pouring into AI, reflected in the performance last year of its homegrown stocks and the growth of its econonmy . The belief in some quarters is that the US-based leaders --Nvidia, Google, Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic, and the like--are already so entrenched as to make it impossible for European nations to break their dependency on American AI, mirroring the pattern in cloud services.