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Anthropic's Little Brother

The Atlantic - Technology

OpenAI is racing to catch up to its greatest rival. OpenAI does not like to be left out. The week after Anthropic announced Claude Mythos Preview --an AI model that has put governments around the world on edge because of its potential ability to hack into banks, energy grids, and military systems--OpenAI shared a program that is uncannily similar. And just like Anthropic did with its model, OpenAI has, for cybersecurity purposes, restricted access to this new bot, called GPT-5.4-Cyber, to a small group of trusted users. This sequence has become something of a pattern: First Anthropic will make an announcement, and then OpenAI will follow suit.


Fifteen years after Steve Jobs, Tim Cook leaves a dramatically different Apple

The Guardian

After 15 years, Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple's top executive. At age 65, he leaves behind a hardware juggernaut that, under his leadership, brought about a global smartphone revolution and transformed Apple into one of the most profitable publicly traded companies in history. With a reputation for logistical management, Cook first joined Apple in 1998, overseeing its worldwide sales and operations. In 2009, he temporarily began running day-to-day operations when the company's legendary co-founder, Steve Jobs, took medical leave due to complications from pancreatic cancer. In 2011, just a few months before Jobs's death, Cook took over as CEO.


Meta Will Keep Horizon Worlds Alive in VR 'for the Foreseeable Future'

WIRED

Meta Will Keep Horizon Worlds Alive in VR'for the Foreseeable Future' A day after saying it would shut down its metaverse, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth announced the service will remain available in VR--with limited support. One day after Meta announced it was shutting down Horizon Worlds in virtual reality, the company's chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, announced that it's reversing course. "I have a little bit of good news for you here," Bosworth said in a video AMA on Instagram. "We have decided, just today in fact, that we will keep Horizon Worlds working in VR for existing games, to support the fans who reached out." Meta initially sent an email to Horizon Worlds users on Tuesday saying it would end Horizon Worlds in VR on June 15 but keep the platform afloat on mobile.


What was really behind Jack Dorsey laying off nearly half of Block's staff?

The Guardian

Jack Dorsey leaves the Élysée Palace in Paris, France, on 7 June 2019. Jack Dorsey leaves the Élysée Palace in Paris, France, on 7 June 2019. What was really behind Jack Dorsey laying off nearly half of Block's staff? Jack Dorsey cited AI as the driving force behind cutting 40% of his company's employees, but other factors such as a weak crypto market, overstaffing and a declining stock price may also have motivated the move. Last week, the financial technology company Block announced that it would lay off 4,000 of its 10,000 workers.



Elon Musk merges SpaceX with xAI at 1.25tn valuation

The Guardian

Elon Musk's SpaceX is already one of the world's most valuable private companies. Elon Musk's SpaceX is already one of the world's most valuable private companies. Aerospace business and artificial intelligence firm to unite for IPO as world's most valuable private company Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence business xAI, in a $1.25tn (£910bn) merger that consolidates part of Musk's empire as SpaceX prepares to go public later this year. The two companies announced the deal on Monday in a statement on SpaceX's website, saying the merger would form "the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications and the world's foremost real-time information and free speech platform". SpaceX, one of the world's most valuable private companies, will gain xAI properties such as its Grok chatbot and the social media platform X.


Gear News of the Week: Samsung's TriFold Sells Out in Minutes, and a Leak Teases Google's New OS

WIRED

Plus: Vivaldi browser shuns AI, Samsung has a new sustainable display, and Frankfurt Airport tests Auracast for gate announcements. Samsung's first-ever Galaxy Z TriFold went on sale this past Friday, but it sold out in minutes . This folding phone differs from the 7th-generation Galaxy Z Fold7 in that its screen can expand to a whopping 10 inches, turning it into a proper tablet . That also means it commands an incredibly high price of $2,899. It's the first device of its kind here in the West, though Huawei has its own version in China.


EU investigates Elon Musk's X over Grok AI sexual deepfakes

BBC News

EU investigates Elon Musk's X over Grok AI sexual deepfakes The European Commission has launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X over concerns its AI tool Grok was used to create sexualised images of real people. It follows a similar announcement in January from the UK watchdog Ofcom. Regina Doherty, a member of the European parliament representing Ireland, said the Commission would assess whether manipulated sexually explicit images have been shown to users in the EU. A previous statement from X's Safety account said the social media platform had stopped Grok from digitally altering pictures of people to remove their clothing in jurisdictions where such content is illegal. But campaigners and victims said the ability to generate sexually explicit pictures using the tool should have never happened in the first place, and Ofcom said its investigation would remain ongoing.


The Lego Pokémon Line Shows Toys Are Only for Rich Adults Now

WIRED

Who cares about kids when adult collectors are willing to pay top dollar? From the moment a pixelated Gengar and Nidorino faced off in the opening animation of the first games on the original Game Boy back in 1996, the franchise has been a perennial favorite of kids and adults alike. With 2026 marking 30th anniversary, Lego's first-ever collaboration with the enduringly popular monster-catching megahit is perfectly timed--a crossover of pop culture titans with just one problem: Anyone who isn't an ultra-fan with cavernously deep pockets isn't invited. The recent announcement of a line of Lego Pokémon wasn't a surprise--the Danish brick brand first revealed it had entered into a "multi-year partnership" with The Pokémon Company back in March 2025 --but the makeup of the range itself was. Despite the mass appeal, Lego is launching with just three sets, and every single one is age-rated 18+.


UK to consider Australia-style ban on social media for children

Al Jazeera

The UK government has launched a consultation on implementing an Australian-style social media ban for children in the UK, as well as other measures to better protect minors online. The government said on Monday it would examine evidence from around the world on a wide range of suggested proposals, including looking at whether a social media ban for minors would be effective, and if one was introduced, how best to make it work. "The consultation will look at options including raising the digital age of consent, implementing phone curfews to avoid excessive use, and restricting potentially addictive design features such as'streaks' and'infinite scrolling'," the government said. The UK's announcement comes as governments and regulators worldwide grapple with the rapid explosion of AI-generated content, which was highlighted this month by an international outcry over reports of Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot generating non-consensual sexual images, including of children. The UK has already set out plans for an outright ban on artificial intelligence nudification tools, while working to stop children being able to take, share or view nude images on their devices, it said in Monday's statement.