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Sale or No Sale, TikTok Will Never Be the Same

TikTok but without the algorithm? TikTok by Meta? A new law this week puts the platform on a death watch—and none of the potential outcomes look great.
home game

Can’t Afford a House? Buy a Piece of One Instead

place your bets

Google Thinks It Can Cash In on Generative AI. Microsoft Already Has

Artificial Intelligence

Meta’s Open Source Llama 3 Is Already Nipping at OpenAI’s Heels

Meta’s decision to give away powerful AI software for free could threaten the business models of OpenAI and Google.

Ads for Explicit ‘AI Girlfriends’ Are Swarming Facebook and Instagram

WIRED found thousands of ads running on Meta’s social platforms promoting sexually explicit “AI girlfriend" apps. Some human sex workers say the platform unfairly polices their own posts more harshly.

A National Security Insider Does the Math on the Dangers of AI

Jason Matheny, CEO of the influential think tank Rand Corporation, says advances in AI are making it easier to learn how to build biological weapons and other tools of destruction.

The Biggest Deepfake Porn Website Is Now Blocked in the UK

The world's most-visited deepfake website and another large competing site are stopping people in the UK from accessing them, days after the UK government announced a crackdown.

Social Media

TikTok’s Creator Economy Stares Into the Abyss

The US Senate voted to pass a bill that could see TikTok banned within a year, pitching creators and businesses dependent on the platform into an uncertain future.

She Painted a Few Champagne Bottles. Then Came Meta’s Customer Support Hell

A fashion influencer’s struggles to unblock her Instagram account highlight a long-standing problem with Meta’s lackluster customer service. Users and regulators say the company must step up.

Airchat Is Silicon Valley’s Latest Obsession

It’s time for another audio-first social network with a long wait list and vague moderation policies. What could go wrong?

Welcome to the Age of Technofeudalism

In Yanis Varoufakis’ latest book, the former Greek finance minister argues that companies like Apple and Meta have treated their users like modern-day serfs.

Startups and Tech Culture

A Wave of AI Tools Is Set to Transform Work Meetings

An AI-powered wearable from startup Limitless promises to make meetings more productive. It’s the beginning of a wider transformation of human interactions.

Google Fires 28 Workers for Protesting Cloud Deal With Israel

The fired workers included nine Google employees who were removed by police after occupying Google offices on Tuesday.

Google Workers Detained by Police for Protesting Cloud Contract With Israel

Videos show nine Google workers being removed by police from offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California, after occupying them in protest against a cloud deal with Israel’s government.

Google Workers Protest Cloud Contract With Israel's Government

Google employees are staging sit-ins and protests at company offices in New York and California over “Project Nimbus,” a cloud contract with Israel's government, as the country's war with Hamas continues.

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

Crypto FOMO Is Back. So Are the Scams

After cryptocurrency prices spiked, scammers have flooded the market with fake tokens that promise investors great riches, but leave them penniless. It’s working.

Sarcophagus Is a Dead Man’s Switch for Your Crypto Wallet

By combining a century-old idea with cryptocurrency tech, Sarcophagus aims to create a foolproof way to send messages from beyond the grave.

Crypto Magnate Do Kwon Found Liable for Multibillion-Dollar Fraud

When Do Kwon’s crypto empire fell to pieces, tens of billions of dollars were wiped out. A civil jury in the US has found he lied to investors.

He Emptied an Entire Crypto Exchange Onto a Thumb Drive. Then He Disappeared

Faruk Özer just started a 11,196-year prison sentence. Did he almost get away with the biggest heist in Turkey’s history, or was it all just a big misunderstanding?

Policy and Telecoms

Net Neutrality Returns to a Very Different Internet

The FCC voted 3-2 to restore net neutrality rules that had disappeared during the Trump administration.

Noncompetes Are Dead—and Tech Workers Are Free to Roam

A new rule from the US Federal Trade Commission invalidates most noncompete agreements, frequently used to bind tech workers. It could unlock higher wages and more entrepreneurship and innovation.

Screen Time for Kids Is Fine! Unless It's Not

Two new books offer radically different approaches to how people should think about smartphones and social media.

Oregon's Breakthrough Right-to-Repair Bill Is Now Law

Companies will no longer be allowed to use software checks to verify replacement parts in a major step forward for the right-to-repair movement.

Computers and Software

Semiconductor Giant ASML Has a New Boss, and a Big Problem

European chip machine-maker ASML is at the center of US-China trade tensions. Its new chief executive now faces a daunting political juggling act.

How I Became a Python Programmer—and Fell Out of Love With the Machine

When I started coding, I was suspicious of all the abstractions. Then I discovered the Django framework.

The Internet Archive Just Backed Up an Entire Caribbean Island

By becoming the official custodian of an entire nation’s history for the first time, the Internet Archive is expanding its already outsize role in preserving the digital world for posterity.

One Man’s Army of Streaming Bots Reveals a Whole Industry’s Problem

A rare case in Danish court shows how automated clicks and fake accounts can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars on Apple Music and Spotify. Experts say it’s the tip of the iceberg.

Transportation

The Showdown Over Who Gets to Build the Next DeLorean

Decades after her dad’s iconic sports car time-traveled into movie history, Kat DeLorean wants to build a modern remake. There’s just one problem: Someone else owns the trademark on her name.

Tesla Promises ‘More Affordable Models’ and a ‘Cybercab’

Elon Musk’s automaker told investors Tuesday that sales and revenue are down but that new “more affordable models” will launch before mid-2025, sooner than originally planned.

Tesla’s Layoffs Won’t Solve Its Growing Pains

The car company popularized EVs. Now, facing intense competition from China, it has to figure out what to do next.

The Baltimore Bridge Collapse Is About to Get Even Messier

Closing the city’s seaport will send shockwaves across global shipping. Supersize container ships pose a growing risk to bridges and other infrastructure when things go wrong.

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