Meta just announced a major move in its AI efforts--investing in Scale AI and building a superintelligence AI research lab. While Meta has been trying to keep up with big names in the AI race, such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, the company's new strategy includes dropping some serious cash to acquire talent and invest in Scale AI. Today on the show, we dive into the deal between Meta and Scale AI, including what Meta aims to get out of investment, and we ask the question we are all wondering: What is superhuman intelligence, anyway? Write to us at uncannyvalley@wired.com. You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how: If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link.

Apple last week announced its latest update for MacOS 26, codenamed "Tahoe." The theme of all of Apple's updates this year is streamlining both the visual UI and feature sets across Apple devices, while making more apps and features available on them, punctuated by Apple Intelligence. Also: New to MacOS? 8 beginner tips and tricks to try first - and why Following the same trajectory as the last few years, Apple's announcement of MacOS 26 comes during WWDC, with a developer beta opening up now, and a public beta in July. The full release of MacOS 26 won't be out until this fall, however. Let's take a look at the biggest announcements Apple made for MacOS.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether the US should join Israel's war on Iran, the tragic Minnesota assassinations and why US political violence is surging now, and the Supreme Court's unsurprising but willfully obtuse decision to uphold Tennessee's youth transgender care ban. Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Alexander Ward, Lara Seligman, and Dustin Volz for The Wall Street Journal (Exclusive): Israel Built Its Case for War With Iran on New Intelligence. The U.S. Didn't Buy It. Thomas L. Friedman for The New York Times (Opinion): The Smart Way for Trump to End the Israel-Iran War Oren Cass for Understanding America (Substack): Is Israel the Ideal "America First" Ally? Warren P. Strobel, Alex Horton, and Abigail Hauslohner for the Washington Post: Navigating Iran crisis, Trump relies on experience over star power Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Court upholds Tennessee's ban on certain medical treatments for transgender minors Abbie VanSickle for The New York Times: Sotomayor Writes the Court'Abandons' Transgender Children to'Political Whims' Ella Lee for The Hill: Clarence Thomas urges courts to end deferring to'experts' on gender-affirming care Ian Millhiser for Vox: The Supreme Court's incoherent new attack on trans rights, explained Here are this week's chatters: Emily: A Family Matter by Claire Lynch; The Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Higher Education by Justin Driver; A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children by Haley Cohen Gilliland. John: Mary Cunningham for CBS News: Federal Reserve holds its benchmark interest rate steady at today's FOMC meeting; ABA Banking Journal: Fed's Powell says some areas of U.S. may be'uninsurable' in next decade David: Trip Gabriel for the New York Times: William Langewiesche, the'Steve McQueen of Journalism,' Dies at 70 For this week's Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the exciting possibilities and likely limitations of using AI tools for historical research and writing.

Garmin's new top running watch, the Forerunner 970, has very big shoes to fill as it attempts to replace one of the best training and race companions available. Can a built-in torch, a software revamp and voice control really make a difference? The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. The new top-of-the-line Forerunner takes the body of the outgoing Forerunner 965 and squeezes in a much brighter display, useful new running analytics and more of the advanced tech from Garmin's flagship adventure watch the Fenix 8. These upgrades come at a steep cost of 630 ( 750/ 750/A 1,399) – 30 more than its predecessor – placing it right at the top of the running and triathlon watch pile, although less than the 780 Fenix 8.

Klarna, the international buy-now-pay-later (BNLP) financing platform, is expanding from digital banking to the world of mobile phones. In partnership with Gigs -- a mobile operating system provider that allows tech companies to connect their services to mobile "revenue streams" -- the Swedish-based company will now let users enroll in and pay for a 5G monthly phone plan directly in its BNLP app. Coverage is provided by AT&T, and customers can transfer over existing numbers with no activation fee. Plans start at 40 per month. Gigs powers mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) with integrated end-to-end service, including "premium connectivity, a hosted checkout, billing, subscription management, analytics, and AI-powered customer service," the company explains.

Sam Altman's comments are just the latest example of the leading figures in tech offering opinions on what their rivals are doing, with podcasts being a popular medium for these sometimes unflattering appraisals. On Joe Rogan's podcast in January, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg praised Apple's iPhone as "obviously one of the most important inventions probably of all time." But he added the company had recently "been so off their game in terms of not really releasing many innovative things." However, that put down is as nothing compared to Mr Zuckerberg's stormy relationship with fellow tech titan Elon Musk, with the pair threatening to fight each other in a cage. Musk is also currently involved in a legal battle with Sam Altman over the founding of OpenAI.

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers examine the undoing of the three-year-old merger. Then, the hosts discuss runaway AI valuations as Meta spends billions on AI and xAI raises equity off a multi-billion dollar valuation. And finally, what effects are Trump's aggressive immigration policies having on the economy? In the Slate Plus episode: What happened to happy hour? Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money?

Mark Zuckerberg announced in April that the company would make huge capital expenditures in the coming year to keep up in the race to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence. He made good on that promise last week with a 15bn "AI superintelligence" team that would feature reported nine-figure salaries and a 49% investment in Scale AI. Before Meta's investment, Scale counted most of the major players in AI among its clients, and some of them were less than thrilled with the development. Bloomberg puts it succinctly: Scale AI's Wang Brings to Meta Knowledge of What Everyone Else is Doing. Google, Scale's largest customer, got scared.

WIN A FREE SAMSUNG GALAXY BUNDLE: Through June 24, when you reserve a 2025 Samsung 4K AI smart monitor at Samsung.com, you'll receive up to 100 off your preorder and be entered to win a free Galaxy AI ecosystem bundle with a Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Watch, and Galaxy Ring. Samsung's smart monitors are beyond impressive. Rather than just serving as a bigger screen to extend your workspace, they work double duty to serve as fully capable smart TVs. Earlier this month, the electronics brand announced the latest iteration of these brilliant monitors, the M70F, M80F, and M90SF -- each equipped with premium 4K resolution, powerful AI features, and seamless connectivity. If you're in the market for one of these bad boys, you can get an exclusive discount when you reserve yours at the Samsung website.

Apple last week announced its latest update for MacOS 26, codenamed "Tahoe." The theme of all of Apple's updates this year is streamlining both the visual UI and feature sets across Apple devices, while making more apps and features available on them, punctuated by Apple Intelligence. Also: Everything announced at Apple's WWDC 2025 keynote: Liquid Glass, MacOS Tahoe, and more Following the same trajectory as the last few years, Apple's announcement of MacOS 26 comes during WWDC, with a developer beta opening up now, and a public beta in July. The full release of MacOS 26 won't be out until this fall, however. Let's take a look at the biggest announcements Apple made for MacOS.