Industry
AI facial recognition to check age of asylum seekers from next year
An AI facial recognition tool that aims to detect adult migrants posing as children will be deployed at the UK's borders next year. A software company has been awarded a contract to develop and test the technology, which will estimate a person's age by analysing photographs of them taken at the border. The Home Office says the technology will make it easier to identify adult migrants attempting to game the system, after initial testing indicated promising performance and accuracy. But Human Rights Watch urged the government to scrap the scheme, describing it as unproven technology that will undermine the protections vulnerable children are entitled to. Unaccompanied child migrants are processed through the care system rather than the asylum system, which can make it easier to stay in the country.
'Supergirl' pre-release tracking looks disastrously bad for Hollywood after lead actress' bizarre comments
Dan Le Batard, who previously avoided Doug Emhoff abuse allegation, declares journalism'dead' USA Today calls Stephen Colbert, America's least funny comedian, a'gallant comic avenger' Critics reviews for'The Mandalorian and Grogu' are out, and it's yet another bad sign for Disney, Star Wars Can Victor Wembanyama be the true face of the NBA as a European? Audemars Piguet x Swatch'Royal Pop' release sparks mob scenes, pepper spray and arrests at malls Statisticians strangely don't count multiple clear-cut Caitlin Clark assists vs Mystics The best outdoor weekend in Northwest Georgia doesn't require'roughing it' or sleeping on the ground STRAIT OUTTA WAR?: Iran talks enter most critical phase yet as US military remains on standby Strait of Hormuz reopening among core conditions needed for Trump's approval Greg Gutfeld: A good sheep doesn't do that Brian Kilmeade: This should be in the'fiction section' of every library US, Israeli militaries must ensure Iranians'do not cheat,' Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO says OutKick-Analysis'Supergirl' pre-release tracking looks disastrously bad for Hollywood after lead actress' bizarre comments Star Milly Alcock's divisive remarks and underwhelming trailers have tracking estimates far below studio hopes Greg Gutfeld: Will Hollywood take the hint? Fox News host Greg Gutfeld and the'Gutfeld!' panel discuss Hollywood's obsession with inserting politics into movies. Hollywood can't get out of its own way. For most of the last decade, the entertainment industry has worked extremely hard to alienate large numbers of potential customers.
The NBA, NBC and fanboys continue to tout deeply misleading ratings data Bobby Burack
Dan Le Batard, who previously avoided Doug Emhoff abuse allegation, declares journalism'dead' USA Today calls Stephen Colbert, America's least funny comedian, a'gallant comic avenger' Critics reviews for'The Mandalorian and Grogu' are out, and it's yet another bad sign for Disney, Star Wars Can Victor Wembanyama be the true face of the NBA as a European? Audemars Piguet x Swatch'Royal Pop' release sparks mob scenes, pepper spray and arrests at malls Statisticians strangely don't count multiple clear-cut Caitlin Clark assists vs Mystics The best outdoor weekend in Northwest Georgia doesn't require'roughing it' or sleeping on the ground NFL's grossly expanded national schedule is making RedZone and Sunday Ticket less essential Greg Gutfeld: A good sheep doesn't do that Brian Kilmeade: This should be in the'fiction section' of every library US, Israeli militaries must ensure Iranians'do not cheat,' Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO says Scott Bessent reveals three conditions Iran deal must meet for Trump's final sign off Trump won't put'national security' at risk over 2026 midterms, former RNC chairman says President Trump: Democrats are'good salesmen,' but they have no policies While OutKick is trying to enjoy the NBA conference finals, though all the blowouts make that difficult, the fanboys keep demanding we comment on the ratings. Every other day, it seems, NBC or the NBA releases another celebratory graphic touting viewership. The Western Conference Finals are averaging 9.4 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched Western Conference Finals on record through three games, NBC posted on X on Thursday. The network also said that Thunder-Spurs Game 4 on Sunday delivered a total audience of 10.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched Western Conference Finals Game 4 since 1999.
The Internet Is Somehow Obsessed With the Pope's First Major Letter. I Read It--and Totally See Why.
Users I Read the Pope's Encyclical on A.I. I'm Astounded By What He Wrote. It's an urgent warning--and a celebration of humanity and what we can do at our best. Enter your email to receive alerts for this author. You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. You're already subscribed to the aa_Nitish_Pahwa newsletter.
Will Ken Paxton Hand Democrats a Texas Senate Seat?
Paxton trounces Cornyn in the Texas Senate Republican primary runoff; Trump waffles between a losing "peace deal" and a return to war in Iran; and congressional candidate Alex Bores makes the case for AI regulation. Please enable javascript to get your Slate Plus feeds. If you can't access your feeds, please contact customer support. Check your phone for a link to finish setting up your feed. Please enter a valid phone number.
Microsoft debuts a more buttoned-up look for Copilot
The AI assistant had its personality stripped in pursuit of a more consistent experience. Copilot is getting yet another visual overhaul as Microsoft reconsiders its approach to AI across Windows and its various apps. The new changes are focused on the version of Copilot accessible in Microsoft 365, and visually streamline the AI assistant to using it more consistent across apps like Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The most striking difference in Copilot's new look is how little color it has. You can still get Copilot to produce full-color outputs and it will reference other apps by their colorful app icons.
Anthropic reaches valuation of 965bn, beating OpenAI to become world's most valuable AI firm
Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logo are displayed on a computer screen in New York on 26 February 2026. Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logo are displayed on a computer screen in New York on 26 February 2026. Anthropic reaches valuation of $965bn, beating OpenAI to become world's most valuable AI firm Claude's parent company's $65bn in latest funding round underscores vast sums of money still flowing into industry Anthropic, the AI firm behind the Claude chatbot, announced on Thursday it had raised $65bn in funding to value the company at $965bn post-money. The move makes Anthropic the world's most valuable AI startup, eclipsing its competitor OpenAI. The deal marks an exceedingly successful period of growth for Anthropic, which was once considered to be a smaller player in the global AI arms race.
Claude Opus 4.8 is learning to say AI's three hardest words: "I don't know"
PCWorld reports that Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.8 focuses on improving AI honesty by teaching the model to admit when it lacks information. The model achieved near-perfect scores in honesty benchmarks for coding questions and exhibited evaluation awareness during testing. Opus 4.8 represents a significant step forward in making AI systems more transparent about their knowledge limitations and uncertainties. Honesty is a key sticking point with even the most powerful LLMs. It's not so much that they're intentionally lying to you; instead, they'll confidently tell you things they're not 100 percent (or even 50 percent) sure about. With Opus 4.8, its latest Claude model, Anthropic says it's made Claude more honest about telling you what it doesn't know, or if it has a low level of confidence in what it's telling you. Released Thursday, Claude Opus 4.8 is Claude Mythos Preview, Anthropic's new "frontier" model that's so powerful, only a handful of "trusted partners" have been allowed to test it for security reasons.
Microsoft is putting Copilot on a productivity leash
PCWorld reports that Microsoft is enhancing Copilot with new user controls, including read-only options and the ability to lock the AI assistant to specific document sections. Microsoft is expanding Copilot's prompt box with contextually aware suggestions for Word and PowerPoint, while unifying commercial and consumer versions under single leadership. These updates aim to make AI assistance more helpful and less overwhelming for productivity tasks, with features currently being tested internally before reaching consumers. Google made headlines a short time ago for a plan to expand its Gemini prompt box as it combines AI and search. Microsoft is taking a different tack: it's also dynamically expanding its prompt box, but with an eye towards improving its productivity apps instead. Right now, Microsoft's efforts are traversing the outer reaches of its productivity solar system, being tested internally with a few targeted corporate partners, Fast Company reports .