The bird is a beautiful silver-gray, and as she dies twitching in the lasernet I'm grateful for two things: First, that she didn't make a sound. Second, that this will be the very last time. They're called corpse doves--because the darkest part of their gray plumage surrounds the lighter part, giving the impression that skeleton faces are peeking out from behind trash cans and bushes--and their crime is having the ability to carry diseases that would be compatible with humans. I open my hand, triggering the display from my imprinted handheld, and record an image to verify the elimination. A ding from my palm lets me know I've reached my quota for the day and, with that, the year. I'm tempted to give this one a send-off, a real burial with holy words and some flowers, but then I hear a pack of streetrats hooting beside me. My city-issued vest is reflective and nanopainted so it projects a slight glow. I don't know if it's to keep us safe like they say, or if it's just that so many of us are ex-cons working court-ordered labor, and civilians want to be able to keep an eye on us. Either way, everyone treats us like we're invisible--everyone except children.

Presearch's "Doppelgänger" is trying to help people discover adult creators rather than use nonconsensual deepfakes. For three days in February, porn star Alix Lynx flew to Miami for her first exclusive creator gathering where she was in full grind mode: shooting Reels and talking strategy with other creators. "It was kind of like SoHo House for OnlyFans girls," she says of the experience, which is called The Circle and drew more than a dozen sex workers, including Remy LaCroix and Forrest Smith. Lynx, who is a former webcam model turned OnlyFans starlet, has a combined 2 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, and X . She joined OnlyFans in 2017 with "the luxury of having my own following," she says, but those numbers haven't always translated to subscriptions. It's why she was in Miami.

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are booming, and so is a fight among regulators, lawmakers, and advocates over their legality. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who currently serves as an advisor to the American Gaming Association, has criticized prediction markets. The political fight in the US over the future of prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi has escalated into a full-blown war, and battle lines aren't being neatly drawn along party lines. Instead, conservative Mormons have aligned themselves with Las Vegas bigwigs and MAGA royalty is siding with liberal Democrat lobbyists. One side argues that the platforms are breaking the law by operating as shadow casinos.

Gmail Is Killing POP and Gmailify Access. If you have multiple email accounts, your Gmail setup may soon need some reorganizing. Google giveth, and Google taketh away. Two long-standing features are being removed from Gmail, and they both relate to how you access messages from other, non-Google email accounts through the Gmail interface. The features we're talking about are Gmailify and POP access, and if you rely on them to consolidate multiple email accounts into your Gmail inbox, you're going to have to find a different approach.

The Good Robot podcast: what makes a drone "good"? Hosted by Eleanor Drage and Kerry McInerney, The Good Robot is a podcast which explores the many complex intersections between gender, feminism and technology. What makes a drone "good"? In this episode, we talk to Beryl Pong, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the University of Cambridge, where she leads the Centre for Drones and Culture. Beryl reflects on what it means to think about drones as "good" or "ethical" technologies and how it can be assessed through its socio-political context.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 is Feb. 25 Google Play used AI to help block 1.75 million bad apps in 2025 It also prevented review bombing and banned 80,000 developer accounts. Google has announced that with the help of AI, it blocked 1.75 million apps that violated its policies in 2025, significantly down from 2.36 million in 2024. The lower numbers this year, it said, are because its AI-powered, multi-layer protections are deterring bad actors from even trying to publish bad apps. Google said it now runs more than 10,000 safety checks on every app and continues to recheck them after they're published. Its use of the latest generative AI models helps human reviewers discover malicious patterns more quickly, it added.

The A.I. Disruption Is Here A.I. is disrupting sectors once thought insulated from it, upending the markets. 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.

House Democrats are demanding answers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and urging it to halt rumored changes they say could undermine its mission. One of the US government's top scientific research labs is taking steps that could drive away foreign scientists, a shift lawmakers and sources tell WIRED could cost the country valuable expertise and damage the agency's credibility. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) helps determine the frameworks underpinning everything from cybersecurity to semiconductor manufacturing. Some of NIST's recent work includes establishing guidelines for securing AI systems and identifying health concerns with air purifiers and firefighting gloves. Many of the agency's thousands of employees, postdoctoral scientists, contractors, and guest researchers are brought in from around the world for their specialized expertise.

Eric Dane dead at 53: Grey's Anatomy star dies after courageous battle with ALS... less than a year after announcing diagnosis RICHARD KAY: Andrew's fall may now be complete. The question is... Will he bring down the House of Windsor with him? Alysa Liu finally ends America's 24-year wait for a Winter Olympics figure skating gold medal as she wins nerve-shredding final The tide of sleaze rolling over Beatrice, Eugenie and Fergie is going to capsize them all. My stalker said he'd rape and dismember me. Then he turned his depraved sights on my seven-year-old daughter, says EVA LARUE.

'The next stage of the Gaza genocide has begun' How important is the Rafah crossing reopening? Trump's Board of Peace faces its first test on Gaza NewsFeed Trump's Board of Peace faces its first test on Gaza Members of Donald Trump's Board of Peace have expressed optimism about peace and rebuilding in Gaza at its inaugural session. Despite multibillion dollar pledges, there are doubts about how it will manage the enclave's unresolved issues. Trump gives Iran 10-15 days to make deal, warns'bad things will happen' Masked protesters arrested outside Trump's Board of Peace meeting Palestinians in Gaza say'Board of Peace' will further occupation OpenAI's Sam Altman: Global AI regulation'urgently' needed