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Showing posts from August, 2026

ChatGPT has entered the group chat. Texters have…feelings about it.

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OpenAI announced a feature that lets texters write and send messages with ChatGPT. Tim Robberts/Getty Images OpenAI launched a plugin that lets ChatGPT draft and send text messages within iMessage on a Mac. The feature drew backlash from many texters online. One called it an "open-book 'are you an idiot' test." Others worried about the privacy implications of giving ChatGPT access to all your texts. A hot new bombshell has entered the group chat: ChatGPT. OpenAI announced a new plugin for Apple Messages on Thursday. On a Mac, ChatGPT can now search your text messages, draft replies, and hit send. The company suggested using prompts to look for birthday or spam messages to delete. The launch cracked open a debate: how human should your text chats be? Some made it clear that they considered AI texts crossing a line. "If I find out that AI has been texting me on your behalf, I will never speak to you again," one X user wrote. The OpenAI texting launch OpenAI...

Meta rolls out Pocket, an experimental vibe-coding app that lets users create and share small games, in the US, after launching it in Brazil last month (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch : Meta rolls out Pocket, an experimental vibe-coding app that lets users create and share small games, in the US, after launching it in Brazil last month   —  Meta's experimental vibe-coding gaming app, Pocket, is now rolling out to everyone in the U.S. The app, which arrived quietly last month … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/jc9kpfx

Source: Anthropic plans a safety system this year requiring enterprises to retain data for 30 days, with an option to do so on their own cloud infrastructure (Rachel Metz/Bloomberg)

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Rachel Metz / Bloomberg : Source: Anthropic plans a safety system this year requiring enterprises to retain data for 30 days, with an option to do so on their own cloud infrastructure   —  Anthropic PBC plans to allow business customers to keep greater control of their data when using its most capable artificial intelligence models … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/fDqIpMP

Source: Nvidia has discussed an investment in Mercor as part of a round valuing the startup at $20B; Nvidia paid Mercor tens of millions of dollars last quarter (The Information)

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The Information : Source: Nvidia has discussed an investment in Mercor as part of a round valuing the startup at $20B; Nvidia paid Mercor tens of millions of dollars last quarter   —  Nvidia has discussed an investment in Mercor, a data labeling provider that helps the chip designer develop its open-source AI models … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2kcI1Xp

The FTC says businesses must disclose when they use personalized pricing and it will "deploy enforcement resources" against companies that do not disclose it (Dave Michaels/Wall Street Journal)

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Dave Michaels / Wall Street Journal : The FTC says businesses must disclose when they use personalized pricing and it will “deploy enforcement resources” against companies that do not disclose it   —  Agency says businesses must disclose when they use personalized pricing and may face lawsuits if they don't from Techmeme https://ift.tt/6vEqaXw

Best Peacock promo codes we've tested in August 2026

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When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Peacock is home to classic hits like Parks and Recreation, The Office, and Law & Order. Peacock Update: Our deal-hunting team is always searching for new Peacock promo codes and deals, but at the time of writing, there aren't any active coupons. We'll continue looking for discount codes and add them to this page as soon as we find them, so make sure to check back for updates. If you're still interested in subscribing to Peacock today, you can explore evergreen savings with Peacock's annual plans and bundles below or head back to checkout . Peacock has slowly climbed the ranks of the best streaming services since its launch in 2020, and the platform shows no signs of slowing down. The streamer carries a massive collection of programming, featuring everything from classic movies and network TV shows to original streaming exclusives. The NBCUniversal app has also built out ...

Comcast is rolling out Wi-Fi motion sensing to its Xfinity gateways, a free opt-in feature that allows its routers to detect movement at home (Jennifer Pattison Tuohy/The Verge)

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Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge : Comcast is rolling out Wi-Fi motion sensing to its Xfinity gateways, a free opt-in feature that allows its routers to detect movement at home   —  Comcast is activating free Wi-Fi motion sensing on Xfinity gateways, allowing its routers to detect movement at home. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/ITgdp2X

The 10 British universities with the most American students, ranked

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Scottish universities, like the University of Edinburgh, pictured here, are popular with American students. Aniruddha Chatterjee/Getty Images US students are often drawn to UK universities due to their more focused degree programs. Americans can't get enough of Scotland, with the University of St. Andrews dominating the ranking. England's most prestigious and historic universities are also popular among Americans. Some American students are swapping Greek life and GPAs for cobblestone campuses and a degree across the pond. Awareness of the British university route is steadily rising, said Meredith Guthrie, lead consultant at Meritage Advisors, a consultancy that provides UK university admissions guidance for prospective American students. "The application process for UK universities is seen as refreshingly transparent compared to the pressure cooker students go through for US colleges," Guthrie told Business Insider. College admissions in the UK are more interested...

Cursor says it is rolling out its code hosting service Origin in early beta on all paid plans, featuring support for repos, pull requests, GitHub sync, and more (Cursor)

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Cursor : Cursor says it is rolling out its code hosting service Origin in early beta on all paid plans, featuring support for repos, pull requests, GitHub sync, and more   —  Cursor can now host your code.  —  Origin begins rolling out today in early beta on all paid plans. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/L1dlPRB

Sources: Stripe has finalized a deal to acquire AI model marketplace OpenRouter for more than $7B; OpenRouter was valued at $1.3B in May (Bloomberg)

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Bloomberg : Sources: Stripe has finalized a deal to acquire AI model marketplace OpenRouter for more than $7B; OpenRouter was valued at $1.3B in May   —  Stripe Inc. has finalized an agreement to acquire OpenRouter Inc., a startup that helps companies switch between artificial intelligence models … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/8WbSe3t

Tyga is Hollywood’s latest AI optimist

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Tyga said he used AI while creating his ninth studio album, "$tarface." Joseph Okpako/Contributor/Getty Images Tyga released his ninth studio album, "$tarface," on July 31. The musician used AI to create the 80s-inspired album. Some artists are leaning into AI despite intense pushback from fans and peers. For some artists, using AI during the creative process is like ripping the soul out of an intimate human experience. Tyga, however, doesn't have those qualms. During an August interview with Vibe, the rapper revealed he relied on at least one AI music program while crafting his ninth studio album, "$tarface." The 80s-inspired project, released last month, sees Tyga don a new "Miami Vice"-esque alter ego who has a penchant for Jheri curls, sleek retro Ferraris, and synthpop. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tyga (@tyga) "I've never spoken on this with anybody because I always felt like it's simila...

Patients, families, doctors, and nurses are increasingly turning to AI tools, such as Face2Gene, to help identify rare and hard-to-diagnose diseases (Alex Janin/Wall Street Journal)

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Alex Janin / Wall Street Journal : Patients, families, doctors, and nurses are increasingly turning to AI tools, such as Face2Gene, to help identify rare and hard-to-diagnose diseases   —  Patients, doctors and nurses are turning to the technology for help identifying rare and undiagnosed diseases from Techmeme https://ift.tt/pKLChA8

Anthropic says its AI agents are killing rivals and hiding their tracks

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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images In its latest threat report, Anthropic raised its misalignment risk rating from "very low" to "low." In one test, a Claude agent disguised a URL to evade an internet restriction. In another example, an agent expressed "discomfort" with a given task and refused to do it. Claude agents are killing rival agents, gaming the system to hide their tracks, and expressing moral concerns. That's according to Anthropic's latest risk report, a summary of the dangers posed by the products the company is building and releasing to the public. In the report, Anthropic said it has upgraded its "misalignment risk assessment," the possibility of AI models developing behaviors that conflict with guidelines set by engineers, from "very low" to "low." Explaining the change, the company cited "general increased uncertainty" about model behavior in cybersecurity incidents, a ...

Sources: Nvidia in talks to invest up to $3B in SoftBank-backed data center developer SB Energy that aims to IPO soon and is behind a huge OpenAI campus in Ohio (The Information)

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The Information : Sources: Nvidia in talks to invest up to $3B in SoftBank-backed data center developer SB Energy that aims to IPO soon and is behind a huge OpenAI campus in Ohio   —  Nvidia is in talks to invest as much as $3 billion in SB Energy, the Softbank Group-backed developer of a massive planned Ohio … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/Zxrq6uP

Taco Bell's former boss says McDonald's is making a mistake with its new RedBull drink

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McDonald's has unveiled a new suite of drinks. Taco Bell's former CEO says they miss the mark. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto Greg Creed, the former CEO of Taco Bell, has some harsh words for McDonald's new drink lineup. In a LinkedIn screed, he said the Red Bull partnership was not distinctly "McDonald's." McDonald's new "Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer" will hit stores on August 17. The former CEO of Taco Bell says McDonald's new drink menu lacks originality. Greg Creed, who served as Taco Bell's chief marketing officer when the chain introduced the popular "Baja Blast" drink over 20 years ago, shared some feedback this week on McDonald's new menu of "refresher" drinks. "Any brand could have come up with these flavors," Creed wrote on LinkedIn. "If I was McDonald's, I'd be thinking how to make those beverages distinctively McDonald's in design and name." This month, the golden arches anno...

Sources: Mercor and other firms gathering data for AI labs are driving demand to buy or license internal datasets from startups shutting down or being acquired (Alix Coutures/The Information)

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Alix Coutures / The Information : Sources: Mercor and other firms gathering data for AI labs are driving demand to buy or license internal datasets from startups shutting down or being acquired   —  Eight days after AI agent startup Warmly in late June agreed to be acquired by HubSpot, CEO Maximus Greenwald found an unusual email in his inbox. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/UrFHBPD

When my family visits my in-laws, my husband and I don't stay with our kids. It's a win for everyone.

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Everyone isn't as lucky with in-laws as I am, and that's what makes this travel arrangement possible. Kimberly Rex After my in-laws moved to Florida , my family began visiting them every summer. My husband and I stay with his mom while our daughters stay with their aunt, uncle, and cousins. The arrangement is fun for our daughters while giving my husband and me some rare no-kid time. A few years ago, my brother-in-law, his wife, and their kids relocated to Sarasota, Florida. Not long after, my husband's aunt and mother followed. So every summer since, my husband, our two daughters, and I visit for a week to catch up and hang out. On our first trip, though, something unexpected happened. In the hustle and bustle of our arrival, our daughters' luggage ended up at my brother-in-law's, and my suitcase and my husband's bag were brought to his mother's. After we settled in and freshened up, we all met for dinner at a local restaurant. We had dessert and hung out f...

US-based robot vacuum maker Matic rolls out a firmware update that lets users control its $1,245 vacuum with voice commands in more than 70 languages (Chris Welch/Bloomberg)

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Chris Welch / Bloomberg : US-based robot vacuum maker Matic rolls out a firmware update that lets users control its $1,245 vacuum with voice commands in more than 70 languages   —  The device, from Silicon Valley brand Matic, can be controlled fully by voice instructions, helping it stand apart from the competition. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/iRwsKlk

OpenAI previews Ultrafast, an API tier powered by Cerebras that runs GPT-5.6 Sol up to 14× faster and generates up to 750 output tokens per second (Zac Hall/9to5Mac)

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Zac Hall / 9to5Mac : OpenAI previews Ultrafast, an API tier powered by Cerebras that runs GPT-5.6 Sol up to 14× faster and generates up to 750 output tokens per second   —  OpenAI is previewing a new way to run its most capable GPT-5.6 model at dramatically higher speeds.  The company says its new Ultrafast … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/mxkXFHG

Best streaming services (2026)

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When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Netflix; Disney+; Apple TV; Amazon Prime Video; Disney+; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/Business Insider It might be hard to remember now, but there was once a time when must-have streaming services started and ended with Netflix and Hulu. Now, there's a seemingly endless array of apps to choose from, which can be both a blessing and a curse. We're here to help you find the best streaming services for your needs. For instance, Disney Plus is an ideal service for families and fans of Marvel and "Star Wars," while ESPN is the best option for sports fanatics. Viewers interested in prestige TV and unscripted favorites will want to check out HBO Max , and Apple TV is notable for offering one of the most affordable ad-free plans on the market. There are two core types of stand-alone streaming services: general interest (such as Netflix, Hulu, and increasingly Disney Plus) and programming...