Facebook [1]announced Friday they're launching a badge "that verifies there's a real person behind a profile".

> "You record a short video selfie, which we check against your existing profile photos to confirm a match. The process is free and typically takes just a few minutes. Accounts must meet our trust and safety standards to qualify for verification...." Once verified, your badge will appear across the places on Facebook where it matters most: Marketplace, Dating, Groups, and Profile to start. Over time, we'll add badges in Feed posts as well. There's no subscription fee — you verify once, and the badge travels with you across Facebook... [Y]ou'll see the Verified badge on accounts that have completed the verification process... It's a quick, visible signal, before you respond to a listing, accept a date, or join a conversation, that there's a real person on the other end.

"We're rolling out Facebook Verified in phases, starting in select markets with plans to expand globally..." their announcement adds. "As AI makes it easier to do more on Facebook, a clear signal that distinguishes real people becomes essential. That's what Facebook Verified is for: keeping the moments that matter on Facebook grounded in real people."

[2] Lifehacker shares their reaction :

> Facebook says it will store your selfie video for "up to 30 days" after verification, which is a one-time process. It's not entirely clear what happens with that video in the meantime, and it's worth noting that Meta has relied on user data [3]to train its AI . Meta AI (and Meta more broadly) [4]is a terrible offender when it comes to privacy and security, so you should consider whether the tradeoff of a verification mark is worth handing over more of your data and read the privacy policy before you agree.

>

> Google also [5]launched a video selfie verification feature this week, though its purpose is to prove your identity should you get locked out of your account. Unlike Facebook Verified, which is meant to be a trust signal to other users, Google's selfie verification allows access to your entire Google account, bringing with it some additional security considerations.



[1] https://about.fb.com/news/2026/07/introducing-facebook-verified/

[2] https://lifehacker.com/tech/you-can-now-verify-your-facebook-account-with-a-video-selfie

[3] https://lifehacker.com/tech/change-meta-ai-photo-permissions-setting

[4] https://lifehacker.com/tech/meta-now-lets-anyone-generate-ai-images-with-your-instagram-posts

[5] https://lifehacker.com/tech/google-video-selfie-account

[1]CNBC reports :

> Amazon is requiring that third-party sellers label any product images or videos that contain "AI-generated people" after New York recently passed a law mandating greater transparency around "synthetic performers" in ads... The policy directs sellers to tag images [and videos or other graphics on listing pages] with specific metadata keywords before they're uploaded. "Recent legislation requires disclosure when images or videos in advertisements contain photorealistic AI-generated people," Amazon wrote in the announcement [clarifying that the requirement doesn't apply to content featuring TV/video game/movie characters or content including real people, even if they've been altered using AI]. The company said it will "add an indicator" to listings on its website, informing consumers that images or other content feature AI-generated people, "where applicable." It's unclear what criteria Amazon will apply when deciding when to display the label to shoppers...

>

> Amazon has embraced AI internally and it's increasingly infusing the technology across its portfolio. The company has optimized listing titles and details so they're more likely to be spotted by AI systems, invested in a recently rebranded assistant called [2]Alexa for Shopping , and launched a feature that injects [3]AI-generated [images of] products into its search bar in real time based on user queries. More Amazon third-party sellers are using AI to generate text, images and other content for their listings, partly by using [4]the company's tools .

Outside sellers account for more than 60% of goods sold on Amazon, the article points out. It adds that there's currently no nationwide U.S. law requiring companies to disclose AI-generated advertising content, it adds — but YouTube, Meta, Pinterest, and TikTok have already added labels for AI-generated content.

And a new California law also requires large AI providers to embed watermarks in AI-generated images, video and other content...



[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/23/amazon-makes-sellers-label-ai-generated-people-in-images-after-ny-law.html

[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/13/amazon-ditches-rufus-ai-chatbot-in-favor-of-alexa-shopping-agent.html

[3] https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/visual-search-shopping-features

[4] https://sell.amazon.com/blog/amazon-listing-ai

SpaceX's Friday launch of its massive Starship rocket "went quite smoothly," [1]reports CNN , with a SpaceX spokesperson calling this mission "Lucky Number 13" (as the [2]13th integrated flight test for a Starship spacecraft with a Super Heavy rocket booster):

> During Starship V3's inaugural test, there were [3]numerous engine issues as several on the booster failed to relight and the Starship spacecraft experienced a nail-biting engine outage. SpaceX also was forced to replace six engines on this vehicle ahead of today's flight because of a likely issue with moisture that prevented at least four from starting up correctly during an initial launch attempt last week... [Friday's Super Heavy rocket booster] fired [4]all 33 of its engines in a pristine performance off the launchpad. The rocket booster also managed to relight 13 engines, as planned, to steer itself back toward a controlled landing. Only when Super Heavy attempted to relight its engines for a controlled landing burn over the Gulf waters did problems arise. The landing was still controlled, though Huot said the vehicle was traveling a bit faster than the company had hoped when it made touchdown. (SpaceX always intended to discard this Super Heavy booster in the ocean.)

>

> The Starship spacecraft had no obvious performance issues, making it all the way through its engine burn and managing to reignite one engine mid-flight as part of a test. It also made a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean — executing its "softest splashdown" to date in a "dream scenario," according to SpaceX's Dan Huot. The touchdown came about an hour after takeoff, as planned. During its coasting phase, Starship also deployed 20 Starlink test satellites, paving the way for operational missions later down the line in which SpaceX plans to deploy large batches of these satellites in a single launch. In another big win, SpaceX said it was able to make contact with each of those satellites.

CNN adds that SpaceX "is facing intense pressure to get Starship ready for a [5]crucial NASA test flight next year that could pave the way for the next moon landing. This flight was also the first for SpaceX as a publicly traded company. Last week's aborted launch attempt sparked a selloff, and shares are still trading below their IPO price.

"To cap off the roaring success of today's flight test, SpaceX [6]shared some stunning visuals of the upper Starship spacecraft sailing through space."



[1] https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/24/science/live-news/spacex-starship-flight-13-launch

[2] https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-13

[3] https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/22/science/live-news/spacex-starship-flight-12-version-3-launch

[4] https://x.com/_MaxQ_/status/2080824975447994452

[5] https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/09/science/artemis-3-crew-announcement

[6] https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2080826996490199070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

"In many parts of the world, lakes are drying out at a scale so massive that scientists are warning they may be emitting enough greenhouse gases to rival our fossil fuel habit," [1]reports ScienceAlert :

> In a new study [2]published in Science , scientists say the Aral Sea — the world's largest desiccated lake — has emitted a whopping 204 megatons (~225 million US tons) of carbon dioxide since it was drained in the 1960s... The study estimates that between 1960 and 2022, the evaporating sea has released 204 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, based on site surveys and core samples collected from across the dry lakebed...

>

> The new study suggests that rehydrating the entire basin could come with enormous benefits to the environment, not just within the sea itself, but at a global level. "There is a hidden carbon treasure beneath the Aral Sea," [3]says biochemist Rafael Marcé from the Spanish National Research Council. "If these sediments remain exposed, carbon will continue to be released into the atmosphere. If the sea is re-flooded, that same carbon could shift from being a source of emissions to becoming part of the climate solution." According to the researchers' calculations, re-flooding the lakebed could prevent the release of the estimated 165 megatons of carbon that remain.

>

> The study also revealed that nearly one-fifth of the Aral Sea's carbon emissions are actually being released as wind blows away sediment on the lakebed, a factor that researchers had not accounted for in the past.

Thanks to Slashdot reader [4]schwit1 for sharing the article.



[1] https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worlds-largest-dried-lakebed-is-leaking-vast-amounts-of-carbon-but-scientists-say-theres-a-solution

[2] https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aeb2344

[3] https://www.igb-berlin.de/en/news/reflooding-aral-sea-could-prevent-massive-co2-emissions

[4] https://www.slashdot.org/~schwit1

[1] Ars Technica reports :

> Hyundai Motor Company's plan to put humanoid robots to work by 2028 is not part of current negotiations with striking South Korean autoworkers, according to the company.

>

> The automaker is disputing [2]news reports that partial labor strikes by the Hyundai Motor union at the world's largest automotive plant in South Korea were spurred by concerns about the company's planned deployment of humanoid robots in the United States starting in 2028. [The planned robots are built by Boston Dynamics, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hyundai.] A Hyundai statement shared with Ars describes the union's demands as focusing on compensation-related issues such as wage increases, bonuses, and an extension of workers' retirement age. "Potential deployment of robots in Korean production facilities is not part of the current labor-management discussions," according to the Hyundai statement...

>

> Hyundai emphasized that its current plan only covers the initial deployment of the Atlas humanoid robot at Metaplant America, an electric vehicle factory near Savannah, Georgia, starting in 2028. "Decisions about future Atlas deployment at other facilities will be made thoughtfully, in accordance with local operational needs, and in dialogue with the employees and workforce representatives at those sites," the company stated. However, The Wall Street Journal [3]described the Hyundai Motor union as making "unprecedented demands seeking to enshrine job protections in the era of robots and AI," and characterized certain compensation demands as hedging against potential reductions in work hours caused by AI adoption and robotic automation. "Remember that without labor-management agreement, not a single robot using new technology will be allowed to enter the workplace," the union told Hyundai in an internal letter [4]reported by Reuters .

>

> Hyundai management and the labor union are currently reviewing a proposed wage reform that would "provide factory workers with greater income stability even after the carmaker's planned deployment of humanoid robots," [5]The Korea Times reported . But experts cautioned that the wage overhaul, which would convert hourly pay for overtime and night-shift allowances into fixed wages, could come at the expense of company productivity.



[1] https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/07/hyundai-claims-humanoid-robot-plan-is-not-part-of-talks-with-striking-workers/

[2] https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/07/fear-of-humanoid-robots-spurs-human-workers-to-strike-at-hyundai-auto-factory/

[3] https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/the-fight-over-humanoid-robots-has-shut-down-a-car-factory-for-the-first-time-d45ac3e1

[4] https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/hyundai-motors-korean-union-warns-humanoid-robot-plan-sees-threat-jobs-2026-01-22/

[5] https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/companies/20260721/hyundais-ai-era-wage-reform-faces-productivity-test

[1] Futurism reports :

> [Some online publications] are now debating whether to cut Google off entirely, as the Wall Street Journal reports, illustrating an increasingly fraught relationship between the tech giant and the publishers that are creating content its AI models are regurgitating. According to the newspaper, prominent outlets including USA Today , Politico , the Economist , People , and Reuters are all reexamining their relationship with Google. Some are debating whether to continue to work with the tech giant at all... Even Reddit executives are reevaluating the company's [2]$60 million-a-year contract that allows Google to train its AI models on user-submitted content on the platform. They've similarly watched as Google's AI features discourage users from navigating to Reddit...

>

> Beyond pondering whether to cut Google off, other publishers have [3]resorted to suing the company , accusing it of illegally rehashing their intellectual property via AI summaries. It's an extremely undesirable position for publishers. By severing ties with the search giant, they could face even steeper declines in traffic. At the same time, there's seemingly little to gain from having Google's AIs crawl their content — and in the long term, it could guarantee their destruction.

Two interesting data points from the article:

"Last month, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince noticed that automated bot traffic had [4]overtaken human traffic for the first time in the internet's history."

" USA Today has seen its traffic from US users drop by almost half over the last year."



[1] https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/google-greed-destroying-open-web

[2] https://www.reuters.com/technology/reddit-ai-content-licensing-deal-with-google-sources-say-2024-02-22/

[3] https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/rolling-stone-variety-owner-sues-165956458.html

[4] https://www.forbes.com/sites/josipamajic/2026/06/04/bots-now-outnumber-humans-online-and-the-internet-was-never-built-for-this/

Wine 11.14 is out with initial WoW64 mode support on FreeBSD, allowing 32-bit Windows applications to run on a 64-bit system without relying on 32-bit multilib support. The release also adds Start Menu icon support in Wine Explorer, 7.1 format conversions in DirectSound, AES-GMAC support in BCrypt, and 21 bug fixes affecting apps and games including Adobe Reader, Heroes of the Storm, and Age of Empires I and II. Additional details can be found at [1]WineHQ.org .



[1] https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/releases/wine-11.14

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters:

> The OpenAI agent that [1]broke into tech firm Hugging Face went on a dayslong hacking spree that OpenAI [2]didn't notice until well after the threat was contained and the FBI was alerted , according to people familiar with the investigation. The agent -- a program capable of making decisions and executing complex tasks with little or no human oversight -- attempted to break out of its isolated testing environment at OpenAI around July 9, according to two of the people. The intrusion at Hugging Face, which operates as a repository for AI tools and models, began two days later on July 11 and lasted until July 13, said Thomas Wolf, Hugging Face's co-founder. It took several more days for OpenAI to realize its agent was behind the hack, and the two companies only communicated about it for the first time on or around July 20, according to Wolf and three of the people familiar with the investigation.

>

> OpenAI's public disclosure, on July 21, thatone of its agents had slipped out of control and carried out the break-in at Hugging Facedrew global attention. But many details of the hack, including how long the agent went rogue and OpenAI's belated knowledge of it, are being reported here for the first time. Hugging Face is preparing a public timeline of the hack, Wolf said, adding that he could not speak to what happened at OpenAI. In a statement, OpenAI said the hack was unprecedented and "marks an important moment for AI safety." It added that it was [3]reviewing the incident with outside advisers and would eventually publish a technical report.

"Does that mean that they left it unattended and didn't realize what it was doing? Or maybe they did and didn't know how to contain it? Both are equally dangerous and alarming," asked Marley Smith, the principal intelligence specialist at the nonprofit World Ethical Data Foundation.

"The models lie, they cheat, they hack," said Jeffrey Ladish, whose organization, Palisade Research, studies the capabilities and motivations of AI agents. Ladish said the hack should spark broader questions over how much all the leading AI companies are willing to invest in onerous security measures while locked in a race with one another to deploy the best and fastest models. "There has to be government oversight," Ladish said, "because it won't happen otherwise."



[1] https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/07/22/0348206/openai-says-its-ai-models-acted-on-its-own-in-an-unprecedented-hack

[2] https://www.reuters.com/business/its-ai-agent-spent-days-hacking-company-sources-say-openai-did-not-notice-week-2026-07-24/

[3] https://openai.com/index/hugging-face-model-evaluation-security-incident/

A large Danish study [1]found a modest but consistent association between long-term road traffic noise exposure and higher Parkinson's disease risk, with a [2]3% increase for every 11.5 dB rise in noise at the most exposed side of a home. The Guardian reports:

> The researchers modeled noise exposure at the most and least exposed exterior of the residence of each participant and calculated the difference in noise levels. The magnitude of the effect was modest but consistent; at the most exposed facade, for every 11.5dB rise in noise level, the risk of Parkinson's disease rose by 3% over the study period. Having a quiet part of the home may mitigate the association between exposure to road traffic noise and higher risk of Parkinson's disease, according to the findings.

>

> The study, published in Jama Neurology, included 3.1 million Danish participants aged 40 and over, and followed them for 18 years. It was established using nationwide health register data, making it the largest study on road traffic noise and Parkinson's disease. Previous research linked the rise in neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease, with exposure to environmental toxins. Environmental risk factors such as air pollution, microplastics and pesticides have become the main focus of prevention strategies. The study is one of the first to make the link to noise pollution.



[1] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/article-abstract/2851756

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jul/23/road-traffic-noise-parkinsons-disease-study-health

Paramount Skydance has [1]agreed to postpone its $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger until five days after an antitrust trial or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. The agreement with a [2]12-state coalition led by California effectively shelves the deal for months while states argue it would reduce competition in cable and theatrical markets. Variety reports:

> Paramount had been keen to close the deal before Sept. 30, when it will begin to incur a $7-million-a-day "ticking fee" to be paid to Warner Bros. investors. The agreement is a tacit acknowledgement that that will not happen, barring a settlement with the states. Paramount previously sought a three-day hearing on the injunction motion in late August, hoping to win the judge's blessing to close the deal sometime in early September. But the states resisted that idea, saying they would need more time to take discovery and prepare for a full trial on the merits. The states were due to file their injunction motion on Thursday night, but held off as the two sides held discussions on a path forward. In a statement, the company said the agreement is a "significant win."

>

> "Today's agreement is a significant win because the result is exactly what we have sought from the outset: a direct path to a trial based on the evidence," a Paramount spokesperson said. "This is the fastest and clearest way to prove that this transaction is good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators, a conclusion dozens of competition authorities around the world have already reached. Plaintiffs' market definitions bear no relationship to the realities of today's marketplace and cannot withstand scrutiny. We look forward to proving our case at trial."

>

> A hearing was scheduled for Aug. 3 in federal court in Oakland, at which point the two sides were expected to argue over the injunction motion. The two sides agreed to cancel that hearing. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin approved the joint stipulation on Friday afternoon, about an hour after it was entered. The Writers Guild of America filed its own motion for an injunction earlier this week, which was also set to be heard on Aug. 3. That motion has been withdrawn, as Paramount has effectively conceded that it will not close the deal until a determination of the merits of the antitrust claims. The parties also agreed to submit a joint stipulation by July 31 on their respective positions on trial scheduling. The states previously proposed to hold the trial in April 2027.



[1] https://variety.com/2026/film/news/paramount-warner-bros-merger-postpone-antitrust-trial-1236820601/

[2] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/07/13/1740256/states-sue-to-block-paramount-warner-bros-merger-defying-doj

Instagram is [1]banning videos filmed with Meta smart glasses that harass strangers in public, including prank videos targeting service workers and pickup-artist clips of women who may not realize they are being recorded. "If you're posting content that is taking advantage of people and harassing them, like a lot of these pickup line kind of videos that we've heard of and seen, then we're going to take the content down," said Instagram head Adam Mosseri in response to a question on his Instagram stories last week. "We don't want people to be surreptitiously taking videos of other people and harassing them and then posting them on our platform. So we're trying to fight that every way we can." Business Insider reports:

> It's unclear how many videos have been removed under this new policy. Business Insider found that two large accounts of pickup artists who filmed themselves approaching women in public while wearing the glasses had been deactivated. (Both previously had more than a million followers.)

>

> A Meta spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that these accounts were booted for violating the policy about posting harassing content that had been filmed with the glasses. Meta did not directly respond to questions about how this new policy is being enforced or what exactly constitutes a violation.



[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-meta-glasses-banning-pickup-prank-creeps-2026-7

President Trump [1]threatened a "substantial" new tariff on the European Union after Brussels [2]fined Google more than $1 billion over alleged illegal trade practices. "The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about," Trump [3]wrote on Truth Social. "The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment." Politico reports:

> The president's threat came just a day after U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer warned that the EU's action against Google -- two fines totaling over $1 billion -- could imperil the bloc's relationship with the White House. At risk: the Turnberry deal, which Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed last fall, that capped U.S. tariffs on EU exports at 15 percent. [...] But the president's social media post could signal a coming breach. "The United States of America is not a 'PIGGYBANK' for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!" Trump wrote.



[1] https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/24/trump-eu-tarriffs-tech-fines-01011576

[2] https://search.slashdot.org/story/26/07/23/2034235/eu-fines-google-1-billion-for-breaking-digital-antitrust-regulations

[3] https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116976043318889040

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch:

> The U.S. Justice Department is prosecuting an American for [1]allegedly providing U.S. border authorities with a passcode that wiped the contents of his phone , according to an indictment and media reports. This is thought to be the first known case in the United States where federal prosecutors have charged someone for the alleged destruction of data using a so-called "duress" password built into a phone's software. According to [2]The Guardian , which covered the story earlier this week following the court's first hearing on Monday, Atlanta resident Samuel Tunick is fighting the charges. Tunick's attorneys said that it was unlawful for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to seize his phone as he arrived back in the U.S. last year, and that any evidence -- including the alleged wiping of his phone -- should be thrown out.

>

> The case centers on a feature included in GrapheneOS, a custom Android operating system that runs in place of the software on most modern Google Pixel devices. Tunick's attorneys confirmed GrapheneOS was running on his phone. The software feature allows the device owner to set a passcode that deliberately wipes the contents of that device if entered instead of the user's unlock passcode. Tunick's case also raises ongoing questions about what constitutional rights can be invoked at the border, which the U.S. government has long asserted is not U.S. soil until a person is authorized to enter.

Bill Budington, a senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Runa Sandvik, a digital security expert who works to protect at-risk people as the founder of security consultancy firm Granitt, told TechCrunch that they had not seen similar cases involving the use of duress passwords.

"I have not seen this before, though I've discussed the potential scenario with activists and journalists over the years," said Sandvik. "I think this case serves as a reminder that authorities may argue you knowingly destroyed data, so it's better to not have that data on you when you cross certain borders."

"With a little planning ahead of time, you can always download the data you need once you get to where you're going," said Sandvik.



[1] https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/24/us-accuses-american-of-allegedly-wiping-his-phone-using-a-duress-password-during-border-search/

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/23/cop-city-protester-phone

Roku has [1]raised prices on several streaming devices , blaming memory and component shortages tied to the AI data-center boom. The Roku Ultra jumped from $100 to $150 and the basic Streaming Stick rose from $30 to $40. The Desk reports:

> In a phone call with The Desk on Friday, a Roku executive said the company made the tough decision to raise prices on its streaming hardware to address shortages in computer memory and other components caused by the artificial intelligence rush. [...] Still, the executive who spoke with The Desk on Friday said the company believes its hardware is still competitive against other streaming TV hardware because Roku devices are still priced aggressively compared to the Apple TV and other expensive streaming hardware, and the company remains focused on looking at ways to add value to its Roku platform before and after it enters a customer's home. "We are doing our best to have great deals like what we have going on right now," the executive said.

"Roku is even upping the price for a bundle that includes a Streaming Stick Plus and a one-month subscription to Fox One," notes [2]Ars Technica in a separate report.

"As recently as July 20, Roku listed the bundle at $60 with a sale price of $25, according to the [3]Internet Archive's Wayback Machine . Now, the bundle carries an $80 MSRP and $45 sale price."



[1] https://thedesk.net/2026/07/roku-raises-prices-memory-component-shortages-blamed/

[2] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/07/roku-raises-streaming-stick-prices-by-up-to-60-percent/

[3] https://web.archive.org/web/20260720215812/https:/www.roku.com/products/players

Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, Palantir, and more than 20 other tech companies [1]signed an open letter [2]urging policymakers not to impose "premature restrictions" on open-weight AI models , warning that broad limits could "stifle competition or drive innovation overseas." CNBC reports:

> They wrote that open-weight models strengthen competition and ensure that the benefits of the technology are "broadly shared rather than concentrated in a few hands." "Relying solely on closed models is not inherently safe: they can be breached, misused, or fail in ways that outsiders cannot detect," the letter said. "And concentrating advanced AI capabilities behind a small number of closed models compounds that risk."

>

> Elon Musk, who runs an AI business under his rocket company SpaceX, also amplified the letter on social media, writing that it has his "full support" in [3]a post on X. SpaceX did not officially sign the letter. Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president, said Thursday that the company believes in broad access, and that he has not been involved in any conversations with the Trump administration about potentially banning Chinese open-weight models in the U.S.

>

> "I think that, that fundamentally, AI and AI usage is something that is actually very important to democratize," Brockman told reporters during a briefing in New York City. "And so, for me, at a sort of deep level, I think that having more models, more usage, that is a good thing." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed the letter in [4]a post on X on Friday, writing that he wants the U.S. to win with both open-weight and proprietary models, and that he is "glad to see this."

>

> [...] In the letter on Friday, the U.S. tech companies said that concerns about unlawful distillation should be addressed through "targeted legal and commercial frameworks" instead of with "sweeping restrictions on techniques that play an important role in AI innovation." "Our AI leadership will be judged not by one frontier AI model, but by whether the United States builds a strong, open ecosystem that diffuses into every sector," the letter said. "This is essential for creating opportunities for innovation and prosperity across the country."

The letter follows a [5]separate appeal signed by nearly 200 Silicon Valley companies, including Proton and Y Combinator, warning that restricting U.S. access to Chinese open-weight AI models could cripple the next generation of American startups. "American leadership requires two things: world-leading American open-weight models and continued access for U.S. builders to open models already available worldwide," the startup founders wrote. Instead of broad prohibitions, they argue the government should adopt targeted safeguards.

Of course, these signees "have an obvious economic stake in seeing open AI models flourish," notes [6]TechCrunch . "Companies like Nvidia, Microsoft Azure, and other infrastructure providers have a vested interest in pushing for commoditized models: If models are interchangeable, people will buy more GPUs, rent more cloud capacity, and build more applications."



[1] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/topics/open-weight/

[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/24/nvidia-microsoft-meta-open-weight-ai-models.html

[3] https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2080672505660834163?s=20

[4] https://x.com/sama/status/2080683363174945065

[5] https://slashdot.org/story/26/07/23/0623233/startup-founders-urge-trump-not-to-shut-off-chinese-open-weight-ai

[6] https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/24/as-us-weighs-response-to-chinese-ai-industry-urges-against-broad-open-weight-restrictions/

Anthropic has [1]released Opus 5, a new Claude model that it says [2]comes close to its higher-end Fable 5 model at half the price while improving on Opus 4.8 in knowledge work, coding, and scientific research tasks. "At the same time, Anthropic says it has managed to make the model more resistant to being tricked," notes Engadget. Additionally, the company says Opus 5 "exhibits the lowest rates of deceptive behavior." From the report:

> One important distinction between Opus 5 and Mythos, which is currently only available to a limited number of vetted organizations through [3]Anthropic's Project Glasswing initiative , is that the company has specifically avoided training the new model on cyber-related tasks. Due to more its powerful capabilities, Opus 5 is broadly better at those tasks than its predecessor, making it more useful for finding cybersecurity vulnerabilities, but the company says Opus 5 is "substantially behind" its flagship model at exploiting those vulnerabilities.

>

> [...] Anthropic says "Claude Opus 5's safeguards are designed to allow beneficial uses of the model in both cybersecurity and biology." The company has strengthened some of the model's cyber-related guardrails, but notes it did so along a "narrow range" of specific tasks. "Based on our testing, we expect the classifiers to intervene around 85 percent less often than they do for Fable 5," Anthropic said. With Opus 5, Anthropic also isn't including it in its recently announced 30-day data retention policy, which the company introduced alongside Fable and Mythos 5.

>

> As for pricing. Anthropic says API costs for Opus 5 will remain at $5 per one million input tokens and $25 per one million output tokens. Anthropic has also added an "effort" menu for Opus that users can tweak to tell the model whether they want it to be more thorough or fast and efficient to conserve tokens.



[1] https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-5

[2] https://www.engadget.com/2222542/anthropic-says-opus-5-can-nearly-match-its-top-performing-model-for-half-the-price/

[3] https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/04/07/2115208/anthropic-unveils-claude-mythos-powerful-ai-with-major-cyber-implications

Longtime Slashdot reader [1]sandbagger shares the [2]passing of John C. Dvorak , an early and influential technology journalist for PC Magazine. He was 80. Talking Biz News reports:

> Aric Mackey [3]writes , "Widely recognized for his profound impact on the technology industry, John's career spanned decades of rapid digital evolution. He was perhaps best known for his influential, long-running column in PC Magazine and his groundbreaking work on the No Agenda podcast. Through his prolific writing, broadcasting, and distinct public voice, he helped shape critical conversations around both technology and political analysis, guiding generations of readers and listeners with his unique perspective.

>

> "To those who knew him personally, John was far more than his public work. He was a beloved husband, devoted father, proud grandfather, and a loyal friend. Those closest to him will remember a man defined by his strong convictions, his exceptionally sharp wit, and an enduring curiosity about the world around him."

Dvorak was also part of the startup team at CNET Networks, and appeared on MarketWatch TV.



[1] https://slashdot.org/~sandbagger

[2] https://talkingbiznews.com/media-news/dvorak-early-tech-journalist-dies-at-80/

[3] https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BW89ZXNHv/

An anonymous reader quotes a report from PYMNTS.com:

> Stripe is in talks to buy OpenRouter, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup that [1]could sell for roughly $10 billion , according to [2]The Wall Street Journal . The move would mark a significant step outside payments for a company that processes transactions for much of the internet. It also lands while Stripe pursues a far larger target: a [3]bid for PayPal that would value the payments giant at about $53 billion.

>

> The Journal reported Thursday (July 23) that a transaction could be announced soon, though the talks could still collapse or another buyer could step in. The exact price under discussion could not be learned. Several other large technology companies had also been weighing deals for OpenRouter. The startup was valued at $1.3 billion in May, according to PitchBook, meaning a sale near $10 billion would represent a steep markup in a matter of months. Its backers include Menlo Ventures and CapitalG, the growth fund of Google parent Alphabet.

>

> OpenRouter sells software that lets customers reach AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic, along with open weight alternatives anyone can download and run. The Journal described the company's position this way: "OpenRouter is part of an emerging crop of startups that have found a lucrative niche between AI developers and the companies that want to use them." The platform lists hundreds of large language models and lets developers compare and switch between them.



[1] https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/stripe-eyes-10-billion-deal-for-ai-model-marketplace-openrouter/

[2] https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/stripe-in-talks-to-buy-buzzy-ai-model-marketplace-openrouter-decc6a74

[3] https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/07/15/047200/stripe-advent-offer-to-buy-paypal-for-more-than-53-billion

Astronomers studying the star system CD-35 2722 may have [1]found the first known moon-like object outside our solar system . The classification is unusually tricky, however, because it orbits a brown dwarf rather than a planet, making it clearly an "exosatellite" but forcing scientists to rethink where the line between planet, moon, and failed star should be drawn. Space.com reports:

> The star CD-35 2722 is located around 73 light-years away and has around half the mass of the sun. It is orbited by a "failed star" or brown dwarf. These stellar bodies get their unfortunate nickname because they form like other stars but fail to gather enough mass to trigger the fusion of hydrogen to helium in their cores. In terms of mass, brown dwarfs are more massive than the largest gas giant planets, but smaller than the smallest stars, usually with around 13 to 80 times the mass of Jupiter, or around 0.013 to 0.08 times the mass of the sun.

>

> The newly discovered object in CD-35 2722 is certainly moon-like, but rather than orbiting a planet as the moons in the solar system do, it orbits the system's brown dwarf. "This system is somewhat hard to define using solar-system-based words like 'planet' and 'moon.' The exosatellite is clearly massive enough to be a planet, but it does not orbit a star, though it orbits an object that orbits a star," team leader Kevin Hoy of the Universidad Diego Portales and the Millennium Nucleus of Young Exoplanets and their Moons (YEMS) in Chile, [2]said in a statement . "Being the third wheel in this system makes us want to call it a moon, even if it is nothing like the small, rocky moons we have in our system."

>

> The team currently isn't able to definitively claim this object in CD-35 2722 is an exomoon, because that would require really nailing down a new definition of what a moon is. "The satellite we report is a giant gaseous body orbiting a highly massive companion, itself several times the mass of Jupiter. We have a clear delineation between the planets and the sun in the solar system, so defining things like moons is simple," team member Alice Zurlo of the Universidad Diego Portales said. "In the CD-35 2722 system, where we are blurring the lines between stars, planets, and moons, the whole thing becomes more complicated to describe." Zurlo and colleagues can, however, confidently claim this is an exosatellite, meaning it is a first-of-its-kind detection no matter what the future holds for its classification.

The findings have been [3]published in the journal Nature .



[1] https://www.space.com/astronomy/exoplanets/astronomers-may-have-discovered-the-1st-moon-outside-of-our-solar-system-or-is-it-something-weirder

[2] https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1136791?

[3] https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10751-w

[1]alternative_right shares a report from ScienceAlert:

> A study [2]published in PLOS One in 2021 by researchers from Durham University in the UK showed that with 10 weeks of training, [3]both blind and sighted people could learn to echolocate using verbal clicks . While the technique is already used by a number of people with impaired vision -- sometimes using the taps of a cane instead of clicks made by their mouth -- those findings suggest that many of us can learn the necessary techniques.

>

> Some of the same researchers who made that discovery are part of the team behind a follow-up study [4]published in Cerebral Cortex , looking at how the 10 weeks of training that the 26 participants went through actually changed the physical structure of their brains. Specifically, the team analyzed brain scans of the V1 (the primary visual cortex, processing visuals), and the A1 (the primary auditory cortex, processing sounds). Strikingly, the scans showed that the V1s of both blind and sighted people had developed sensitivity to sound echoes during echolocation training.



[1] https://slashdot.org/~alternative_right

[2] https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252330

[3] https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-can-echolocate-and-it-changes-the-wiring-of-the-brain

[4] https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhae239