The Washington Post [1]shared surprising news this week about five top AI companies.

Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta and Oracle "are spending so much on developing AI and delivering it to customers that they're expected to bleed cash in the coming year, according to a Washington Post analysis of data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence."

> Free cash flow, which measures the cash left over after paying expenses and AI infrastructure costs, is now expected to shrink to almost nothing for the five companies combined in 2026, and decline again to negative $125 billion the following year... AI spending by Amazon and Google pushed the companies to an ignominious milestone: They lost more cash in the past three months than any other large U.S. companies, according to S&P Global data. Investment analysts expect Elon Musk's SpaceX to show even worse [2]cash bleeding this week .



[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/08/03/one-chart-shows-incredible-reversal-american-tech-companies/

[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/04/spacex-ai-spending-unnerves-wall-street-despite-promising-quick-payoff.html

A Massachusetts newspaper reports that officials from the town of Littleton (population: 10,141) "claim that five of Littletonâ(TM)s Flock Safety cameras [1]were switched back on by the company without informing the town ..."

Littleton had temporarily disabled the cameras earlier this year, according to the article, but upon discovering the cameras were still active, city officials say they directed the Town Counsel "to initiate cancellation of the contract with Flock Safety and directed the Town Administrator to coordinate the removal of the six cameras on public ways" with the Department of Public Works.

Ironically, it's the same Massachusetts town that last year was [2]breached by a Chinese-state-sponsored hacking group for over 300 days .

Flock has also considered dashcams installed in hundreds of thousands Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers' vehicles "to scan license plates those drivers travelled passed," [3]reports 404 Media , "essentially turning Uber and Lyft drivers into roaming surveillance vehicles, according to a Flock presentation shared with 404 Media... [4] 404 Media first revealed the intended partnership last August when multiple sources provided information on the plan."



[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/littleton-claims-flock-reactivated-its-cameras-without-notifying-the-town/ar-AA29aw5a

[2] https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/03/13/229240/chinese-hackers-sat-undetected-in-small-massachusetts-power-utility-for-months

[3] https://www.404media.co/flock-pitched-a-plan-to-turn-uber-and-lyft-drivers-into-roaming-surveillance-vehicles/

[4] https://www.404media.co/flock-wants-to-partner-with-consumer-dashcam-company-that-takes-trillions-of-images-a-month/

The Dallas Business Journal reported Monday that the U.S. multinational paper goods company Kimberly-Clark announced "that its researchers identified and [1]advanced patented technology transforming fibers from hesperaloe, a low-water-use plant with pointy leaves that thrives in the southwest region of the country, into material for paper towels." Discovering an alternative to conventional wood fiber "could reshape how the company, and the industry at large, manufactures products," according to article.

And the move comes "amid growing pressure on manufacturers regarding their reliance on wood fibre from freshly felled trees," [2]reports The Telegraph . "Campaigners claim that more than one million trees are cut down every day..."

> Unlike trees, hesperaloe can be grown on dry, low-quality farmland unsuitable for most food crops and harvested much more quickly. Kimberly-Clark [3]said it had tested more than 70 potential materials before settling on hesperaloe. Earlier candidates included wheat straw, corn waste, seaweed, algae and chicken feathers. The US consumer goods giant will now develop the fibre at a pilot factory in Yuma, Arizona, working with local growers to determine whether the crop can be cultivated for commercial use in its tissue products. "This represents an exciting moonshot for Kimberly-Clark and the culmination of more than two decades of materials and plant science expertise," said Craig Slavtcheff, who is helping develop the new toilet paper.

>

> However, the company said products made from hesperaloe remained years away from supermarket shelves, with further research needed before the fibre could be produced at the scale required for global manufacturing. The US-based company has invested about $250m (£190m) in the project and filed more than 30 patents linked to the technology.



[1] https://www.wfaa.com/article/money/business/kimberly-clark-unveils-breakthrough-that-could-change-how-manufactures-products/287-7abd03c8-9201-4aa1-92f0-70fb1ecc4c66

[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/andrex-maker-plots-toilet-paper-050000350.html

[3] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kimberly-clark-unveils-proprietary-alternative-natural-fiber-innovation-program-to-advance-its-better-care-for-a-better-world-commitment-302841186.html

Dozens of Flock cameras have been vandalized around Dallas Texas in the last six months, [1]reports a local news station . In Utah, [2]ABC News reports , a county sheriff's office even said Wednesday a Flock camera was even vandalized within days of its being installed. And in the Minnesota city of Winona, "Every Flock license plate reader camera operated by the Winona Police Department has been sawed off and stolen in what investigators believe was a coordinated theft," [3]according to local media :

> All eight cameras were taken August 1, according to the Winona Police Department. A patrol officer first noticed the cameras had not sent any alerts in 24 hours. When officers checked the locations, they found the cameras had been cut from their poles and taken. The poles were left behind. Two additional Flock cameras on the Mississippi River Bridge, owned by Buffalo County, were also stolen in the same manner...

>

> The thefts are part of a broader national trend. Flock cameras have been vandalized and cut down in communities across the country.

When someone in Florida filmed a damaged Flock camera lying in the grass in Florida, their footage attracted 980,000 views on social media, according to [4]a local news report , with the uploader saying "Most of the people that are commenting are against Flock cameras." But that report adds it's one of at least five cameras recently damaged just in Florida:

- In another incident, investigators "found the black camera and its pole lying on the ground."

- Two days later, sheriff's deputies found a camera destroyed "with pieces scattered on the ground. Deputies reported the damage appeared to have been caused by a blunt object."

- On July 31, "Police said two camera poles had been intentionally cut in half, causing an estimated $10,000 in damage to the system."

In West Virginia 20-year-old Wesley Jackson has been arrested for allegedly vandalizing Flock cameras, with another 20-year-old (a university student) now arrested for being his accomplice, according to [5]a local news report . Ironically, Jackson's arrest was made possible partly by information from... automated license plate readers.

But the Washington Post notes there's now a flood of Facebook commenters [6]jokingly offering to provide a fake alibi :

> "Couldn't have been him — we were out counting blades of grass," said one of the 29,000 commenters on a [7]post about the arrest from the local news station WDTV. Others attested that the man, Wesley Jackson, had been helping them "replace the roof on a homeless shelter," "playing halo 2," "changing the tires" on their car or giving their "doggie a treat" at the time the cameras were destroyed.

Meanwhile, the anti-surveillance group DeFlock reports [8]100 communities have now rejected automated license plate readers. Wednesday an Arizona county sheriff explained to his local Board of Supervisors why he will not renew his office's contract with Flock when it expires next month. [9]Local Arizona media reports :

> "We have a camera system that can do facial recognition technology and can start building a data set on what our citizens are doing on a day-to-day basis," Teeple told supervisors. "That, in my training and experience, is a huge Fourth Amendment violation."

Recently an Arizona man even told his city council he'd be launching AI-powered satellites to monitor "where government officials go, where they stop, who they meet with, and when they return home," [10]reports 404 Media :

> It would be no different than how the city monitors its citizens using Flock cameras, he said... He said he'd already started compiling profiles on their vehicles, spouses vehicles, children's vehicles, and planned to combine that data with Bluetooth signals, advertising IDs, and commercial data sources, "so our authorized users can replay the movements of every government official and their immediate family," he said. Local businesses would be invited to join the network, to "protect" officials while they shop, eat at restaurants, and move around the city.

And CNET reports "a [11]quiet battle is happening across the US " between "towns working to adopt Flock Safety systems and those trying to ban them entirely."

> From major cities [12]like Los Angeles canceling its Flock contract to [13]towns wrapping Flock AI cams in plastic bags because Flock won't take them down, it's a wild time for surveillance and questions about government accountability.



[1] https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/flock-camera-north-texas-vandalism/287-6a161c9c-25ce-4ca9-85f7-7f2533f72955

[2] https://abcnews.com/US/officer-allegedly-flock-license-plate-cameras-track-boyfriends/story?id=135418955

[3] https://www.valleynewslive.com/2026/08/04/every-flock-camera-winona-minnesota-cut-down-stolen-coordinated-theft/

[4] https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2026/08/07/flock-license-plate-readers-vandalized-across-central-florida-as-debate-over-surveillance-technology-continues/

[5] https://www.wboy.com/news/crime/wvu-student-accused-of-destroying-flock-cameras/

[6] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/08/06/man-charged-with-destroying-flock-cameras-found-army-defenders-facebook/

[7] https://www.facebook.com/WDTV5News/posts/pfbid035cAcTcnrSDXHmhV5hDFbW6moeXktSzeDBinfoMxHBrVShfXjVX2Vyony2DRVUZpml

[8] https://deflock.org/council#wins

[9] https://ktar.com/arizona-news/pinal-county-sheriff-flock-cameras-concerns

[10] https://www.404media.co/casa-grande-arizona-flock-city-council/

[11] https://www.cnet.com/home/security/when-flock-comes-to-town-why-cities-are-axing-the-controversial-surveillance-technology/

[12] https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/los-angeles-lapd-flock-safety-surveillance-cameras-privacy/

[13] https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/cities-covering-flock-surveillance-cameras-with-trash-bags/

In Georgia the Savannah Police Department "terminated four sworn officers and two civilian employees following an internal investigation into misuse of the department's Flock Safety License Plate Reader system," [1]according to a local news report :

> All six cases are also under independent criminal investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation... Investigators found that employees were running searches on personal acquaintances and family members. One officer was found to have given someone from an outside law enforcement agency access to SPD's Flock Safety system, which they weren't authorized to do.

Elsewhere ABC News reports that a female North Carolina police officer [2]was arrested Wednesday "for allegedly using Flock license plate readers to track her boyfriend's ex-wife, according to police..." The officer is accused of accessing the system for personal use 31 different times, including at least twice when she was off-duty, and listing most of the lookups as motor vehicle infractions. [Police chief Ron] Campurciani "added that the department is looking at 10 other potential misuse cases and said three 'look like they could be problematic.'"

And [3]an Ohio news station reports a police officer who recently resigned "while under internal investigation repeatedly used the Flock license plate reader system to search a vehicle registered to someone investigators identified as his likely domestic partner."

Meanwhile, 404 Media reported this week that an Iowa county's usage police specifically tells police officers — in all capital letters — [4]not to tell occupants of a vehicle that an automated license plate reader was used for a traffic stop. It also instructs officers to not even mention the use of the ALPR technology in their reports "unless absolutely necessary," according to information they'd obtained from a public records request," suggesting they instead they call the cameras "county resources":

> It is not just local police in small communities who are creating policies designed to obfuscate Flock usage. Earlier this year, we reported that police in multiple states were being told to be "as vague as permissible" about why they were using Flock because their searches could be obtained using public records requests, and that warning was being shared by the FBI and Department of Justice...

>

> In the [Iowa county] public records request, Sheriff Don Phillips said "there is no need" to tell people about the use of Flock... "because the information is verified by the deputy running the license plate. It is common practice for law enforcement to refrain from disclosing investigative methods and sources to prevent criminals from learning how to circumvent them."



[1] https://www.wtoc.com/2026/08/07/savannah-police-department-fires-6-employees-over-flock-safety-system-misuse/

[2] https://abcnews.com/US/officer-allegedly-flock-license-plate-cameras-track-boyfriends/story?id=135418955

[3] https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/reynoldsburg/records-ohio-police-officer-used-flock-to-search-plate-of-likely-domestic-partner/

[4] https://www.404media.co/do-not-mention-alpr-usage-how-cops-are-trying-to-hide-the-existence-of-flock/

NASA has [1]squeezed at least another year of science out of Voyager 2 by cutting power to nonessential systems and switching to lower-power alternatives. Voyager 1 is expected to receive the same power-saving changes in the coming months. Space.com reports:

> Voyager 2 and its twin launched in 1977, called Voyager 1, rely on a form of nuclear battery known as a radioisotope thermoelectric generator that uses the heat produced by the decay of plutonium. But the supply of plutonium on each probe drops at about four watts a year on each spacecraft. To keep the probe running on this dwindling power supply, engineers recently reduced Voyager 2's power requirements by turning off a few non-science devices and using "lower-power alternatives" that are still effective enough to keep the spacecraft warm while it's so far from the sun, NASA officials [2]said in a statement . "The spacecraft power margins have grown razor thin, requiring the team to conserve energy by shutting off non-essential devices and systems," NASA officials wrote of the mission, which is managed by the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

>

> The drop in power is having a measurable science impact on both spacecraft -- each has turned off two of their science instruments since 2024 alone. While some of these instruments were shut off after the spacecraft finished their historic planetary flybys decades ago, others were turned off due to power requirements. Each spacecraft initially launched with 10 instruments, and Voyager 2 is now down to only three instruments. At first it looked as though Voyager 2 would have to shut down another of these instruments later this year, but luckily, the new power shifts will allow all three to operate "for at least another year," NASA said.



[1] https://www.space.com/space-exploration/voyager/nasa-figured-out-how-to-keep-its-48-year-old-voyager-2-probe-running-for-yet-another-year

[2] https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyager/2026/08/04/nasa-engineers-help-prolong-voyager-2s-science-mission/

A South Korean lunar orbiter has captured the [1]first before-and-after images of the Moon's crash scene caused by a stray SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The Associated Press reports:

> The Korea Aerospace Research Institute's Danuri spacecraft flew over the impact site soon after the Falcon 9 upper stage inadvertently plowed into the moon on Wednesday. Danuri made multiple passes, snapping photos from lunar orbit that were released by the space agency Thursday. The terrain is noticeably darker where the rocket hit and carved out a crater, sending dust and rock everywhere. Korean space officials said Danuri gathered before and after shots. NASA expects its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to fly over the crash site next week to view the aftermath.

You can view the images [2]here .



[1] https://apnews.com/article/spacex-rocket-moon-crash-61dc5c43f671623622960013e06aeeb1

[2] https://x.com/kari2030/status/2085245021469687982?s=20

The police surrounded her car Thursday, "drew their guns, and told her to come out with her hands up," [1]reports a local news station . The police thought they were pulling over a murder suspect, but "It turns out it was a mistake by another department with the Flock license plate reader technology." The black woman says she'd wanted to call her mother, "but I'm like, if I make a sudden move, it's going to be over. It's going to end my life."

And amazingly, the same thing happened Monday, according to the local news report. "Milwaukee police pulled her over with guns drawn. She says officers never explained why, towed her car, and let her go."

She now describes herself as "traumatized," recalling her second detention by police on Thursday. "After they put us in cuffs, they walked us to the car. I'm not knowing what's going on. I'm scared. All you see is people in their cars recording." She now says she's scared to drive her car, and so is her daughter. "Because she doesn't know if the police are going to pull us over and do it again..."

"I haven't been to sleep since this happened. Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is guns."

She wants an apology, since the local police would only say [2]it wasn't their fault , it was the fault of the Milwaukee police department that failed to remove the alert from Flock's system. "Milwaukee police emphasized this was not a Flock camera issue, it was a data entry mistake," according to the local news report. The woman's response?

"Y'all failed. Y'all failed the system. Y'all failed me . Y'all failed everybody."



[1] https://www.fox6now.com/video/fmc-r4d8gh58potl4lqm

[2] https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/in-your-community/waukesha-county/brookfield-police-chief-defends-officers-high-risk-traffic-stop-based-on-flock-alert

At a Hiroshima memorial ceremony, Japan's prime minister said the country "maintains" its three long-standing non-nuclear principles, [1]reports UPI .

But the prime minister "stopped short of promising that the policy would remain unchanged, fueling speculation that her government could review a longstanding ban on allowing nuclear weapons into the country."

> [Prime Minister Sanae] Takaichi made the remarks Thursday at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city... Unlike previous prime ministers who pledged that Japan would "continue to uphold" the principles, Takaichi described the government's current position without making an explicit commitment about the future [only saying that Japan has "a mission to continue efforts toward realizing a world without nuclear weapon..."] The wording has drawn attention because her government plans to revise Japan's three key national security documents by the end of the year. At a news conference after the ceremony, Takaichi again said the government "maintains the Three Non-Nuclear Principles as a matter of policy." Asked whether the principles would continue to be included in the revised security documents, however, she declined to commit, saying she would refrain from prejudging the outcome.

>

> Japan's Three Non-Nuclear Principles state that the country will not possess nuclear weapons, will not produce them and will not permit their introduction into Japanese territory. The principles originated with a 1967 statement by then-Prime Minister Eisaku Sato and have remained a central element of Japan's postwar nuclear policy. Takaichi has previously questioned the third principle — the prohibition on allowing nuclear weapons into Japan. Before becoming prime minister, she argued in a 2024 book that Japan should retain the commitments not to possess or produce nuclear weapons but that an absolute prohibition on their introduction was unrealistic.

>

> Her argument was that barring port calls by U.S. vessels carrying nuclear weapons could limit the effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear umbrella protecting Japan... The Japan Innovation Party has also called for a review of the third principle. In security policy recommendations submitted to the government in June, the party called for a "realistic review" of the ban on allowing nuclear weapons into Japan... Under existing government interpretations, Japan could respond flexibly in an extreme national emergency involving a U.S. vessel carrying nuclear weapons. Some within the ruling party therefore question whether formally revising the non-nuclear principles would provide enough practical benefit to justify the political controversy it would create.

>

> Critics also warn that changing the policy when Washington has not publicly demanded such a move could give China and North Korea additional grounds to portray Japan as expanding its military role... If Japan were to allow temporary entry by U.S. nuclear weapons or port calls by nuclear-armed vessels, Washington would gain additional operational options for its nuclear forces in Northeast Asia. Such a development could strengthen deterrence against North Korea and China but could also intensify debate over differences between U.S. extended deterrence arrangements with Japan and South Korea.

"How the principles are addressed in Japan's revised security documents later this year could determine whether the issue develops into a broader debate over the future of extended nuclear deterrence among Japan, South Korea and the United States..."



[1] https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/08/07/skorea/2341786142669/

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC:

> German energy company RWE has said it [1]will abandon its offshore wind projects in the U.S . after reaching a $1.2 billion payout deal with President Donald Trump's Department of the Interior (DoI). RWE said that it will now reinvest the sum into conventional gas projects, including $900 million in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal project in Louisiana. "After careful consideration, it was determined there is no path forward to permit these projects in the US for the foreseeable future," the company said in a statement.

>

> RWE said it has agreed to relinquish its leases off the California and Louisiana coasts as well as in the New York Bight. Overall, the German firm plans to invest approximately $19.6 billion in the U.S. over the next six years "to grow its generation capacity." Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement [2]posted on X that Americans deserve an energy system built on common sense and not one dependent on "costly subsidies." "We welcome RWE's agreement and voluntary investment in projects that strengthen our nation's energy security," he added.

Earlier this year, the DOL [3]reached a deal with TotalEnergies putting an end to the French company's offshore wind projects in the U.S. "Instead, the firm agreed to [4]reroute investment to build a LNG plant in Texas and to develop 'upstream conventional oil' in the Gulf of Mexico," reports the BBC.

Another [5]similar deal was signed with Charlotte-based Duke Energy last month to terminate the company's offshore wind lease in the Carolina Long Bay area.



[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e1vg0gjl5o

[2] https://x.com/SecretaryBurgum/status/2085409733989589124

[3] https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/03/23/2221232/trump-administration-to-pay-french-company-1-billion-to-stop-offshore-wind-farms

[4] https://totalenergies.com/newsroom/united-states-totalenergies-signs-agreements-with-us-department-of-interior-to-end-its-us-offshore-wind-projects/?lang=eng

[5] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/duke-energy-terminate-north-carolina-offshore-wind-lease-2026-06-29/

Longtime Slashdot reader [1]schwit1 shares an [2]opinion piece from the Washington Post, written by Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger:

> NextEra Energy, a Florida-based utility company, has filed paperwork to buy Dominion Energy for [3]about $67 billion , creating the largest regulated electric utility in the world. Virginia's State Corporation Commission is the regulatory body tasked with reviewing the application, and the SCC's commissioners will ultimately decide whether to approve, deny or impose new conditions on any potential merger.

>

> As a Virginian, I am deeply skeptical about whether selling our primary state-regulated utility to an out-of-state company is good for the commonwealth. I have serious questions about what this deal would mean for us. And as governor, I intend to get answers and be a voice for Virginians in the process. That is why I will be taking the legal step of "intervening" in this proposed merger, which means that as governor, I will formally request to be a party to the case.

>

> I know this action is unprecedented by a Virginia governor -- but so, too, is the size of this proposed merger and its potential impact on the commonwealth. Virginians deserve to know that their leaders are laser-focused on ensuring that their needs are part of the SCC review.

"If two large corporations stand to benefit financially from this merger, so, too, should the Virginians who pay the bills," said Spanberger. "That is why any potential deal must deliver a more affordable energy bill with sustained, long-term energy cost savings."

By formally intervening in the merger review, Spanberger's administration would gain legal standing to participate directly in the case, request detailed information, raise concerns, and advocate for conditions that benefit people in the state. She says the goal is to push for lower long-term energy costs, protect utility jobs, and ensure any new owner continues investing in reliable, affordable and cleaner power.



[1] https://slashdot.org/~schwit1

[2] https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/august-releases/name-1122081-en.html

[3] https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/05/19/1733219/nextera-and-dominions-67-billion-mega-merger-is-all-about-the-data-centers

The National Rural Water Association has [1]partnered with DEF CON Franklin to launch the Water Watch Center, which will [2]provide threat intelligence and cybersecurity services to smaller U.S. water utilities serving fewer than 10,000 people. The initiative comes amid a [3]growing wave of cyberattacks on water systems across multiple states. The Record reports:

> The program will see five managed detection and response providers work with DEF CON Franklin and the NRWA to offer cyber services for water utilities serving fewer than 10,000 people. There are over 50,000 community water systems across the U.S. and 91% of them serve fewer than 10,000 people. "These leading cyber firms and NRWA are architecting a scalable cyber delivery model that has eluded water industry and national security officials to date," said Jake Braun, the co-founder of DEF CON Franklin and former cyber official in the Biden administration.

>

> "Our incredible Franklin volunteers will support the effort to keep costs down for cash-strapped utilities fending off adversaries like the Iranian Red Guard or Chinese Military," Braun said. "To further accelerate the effort, we hand-picked cyber providers who already support water utilities. These folks walk in the door knowing the intricacies of cybersecurity in a water utility environment." The providers include Rapid7, Defendify, Legato Security, L1 Secure and Sentinel Technologies. The companies will share threat information and data on vulnerability patches with the NRWA, which will operate as a hub.



[1] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hunting-viruses-in-your-water-system-302846163.html

[2] https://therecord.media/water-watch-center-utilities-def-con-franklin-nrwa

[3] https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/07/31/209200/hackers-targeted-municipal-water-systems-in-7-states-this-week-fbi-says

An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR:

> Billions of dollars are traded every week on the lightly regulated prediction market sites, where users bet on everything from movie reviews to elections to [1]conflicts in the Middle East . Clinical trials are just the [2]latest area where the industry's rapid growth is raising ethical questions . Kalshi claims such bets will provide a new source of information about which drugs will get approved, and what clinical trials will show promising results, which the company says can help investors decide what new drugs to fund.

>

> "If you want to ban profiting from the failure of clinical trials, you would start with the stock market, where the financial incentive for this type of profit is orders of magnitude larger," said Kalshi spokesman Jack Such, pointing to stock market short sellers who have profited from clinical trial failures. "While Kalshi and the stock market are the same in this regard, they do differ in one important way: the stock market doesn't give any valuable information to researchers," Such said.

>

> Drug trial researchers, though, are far from convinced. David Tsai, who runs clinical trials at a biotech company in the San Francisco Bay Area, started [3]an online petition pushing for such betting to be banned, making the case that betting on drug trials "threatens the very foundation of trust and integrity in biotechnology." Tsai is concerned that the prospect of betting provides those involved with a clinical trial a reason to tamper with the results for a prediction market payout. "If we were running a trial for an oncology drug that requires an infusion, a pharmacist who had placed a bet saying that it's gonna work well, or doesn't work well, could obviously adjust the infusion rate, could adjust the source temperature of the drug," he said. "They could change any number of variables that could obviously have a direct impact [on] how the trial and the data and the patient safety would come out."

>

> Another skeptic is Nicholas Zaorsky, a professor of radiation oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., who has helped run clinical trials and agrees that prediction markets can interfere with the advancement of life-saving drugs. "Prediction markets can be valuable in some settings because they aggregate information, but clinical trials are fundamentally different: investigators, coordinators, and sometimes even participants can directly influence aspects of the outcomes being wagered on," Zaorsky said. "That creates financial incentives that risk undermining trial integrity."

Bettors should not be rooting for an experimental medicine to fail just to earn a buck, says Joshua Pederson, the father of a 12-year-old cancer patient enrolled in a clinical trial. "It's a dark idea," he said. "It's quite ghastly."

Kalshi, for its part, argues that its prediction markets could help patients track promising medical breakthroughs and clinical trials, enlisting experts including 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki to make the case.

"Most patients don't know about the choices available in clinical trials or which programs are most promising. The opportunity to have an open, transparent dataset about trial probabilities is extremely promising and empowering for people," a [4]white paper sponsored by Kalshi stated.



[1] https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/03/16/210211/polymarket-gamblers-threaten-to-kill-journalist-over-iran-missile-story

[2] https://www.npr.org/2026/08/07/nx-s1-5922530/patients-betting-kalshi-polymarket-clinical-trials

[3] https://www.change.org/p/ban-prediction-markets-from-betting-on-the-outcomes-of-life-saving-clinical-trials

[4] https://kalshi.com/biotech

Former U.S. National Cyber Director Chris Inglis says the biggest AI risk isn't sentience but autonomy. "What I'm worried about is that they get to choose what and where they do something, and under what rules they do it," he said, citing recent cases of AI agents from [1]OpenAI , [2]Anthropic , and [3]Meta escaping security sandboxes. He argues developers need stronger safeguards, monitoring, and human accountability, invoking Asimov's idea that [4]protecting humans should come before simply obeying them . The Register reports:

> "Asimov was right," he said, referring to science fiction author Isaac Asimov and [5]his three laws that were to be followed by robots -- more specifically, AIs, in this case. "The first rule, and we call it the superior role, must be that it's designed not to hurt humans," Inglis said. "Second rule: To obey humans, such that it doesn't achieve agency and aspiration on its own. And the third: To do what humans tell it - and in that order. Instead we've designed them in the exact opposite way."

>

> What this means, he explained, is that AI developers created models to "do what humans tell you, obey the humans until it's inconvenient, and then the third one is maybe implied - protect humans - but if that's not built into the DNA, hardwired into it, then we have no right to expect it." Inglis admits it's not possible to hardwire rules into models and still keep their non-deterministic nature. "I would offer that you can tease those out in a highly controlled environment, a true sandbox, where you say, 'Let's put this thing through its paces, and let's back away to see what happens,'" he said. "Maybe you get the equivalent of a mini nuclear explosion in that room, and now you know this thing is capable of that."

>

> Inglis thinks another problem with AI is that it's become a commodity. "It's not like you can control it like you can nuclear material," he said. "You can't even specify its properties the way you can for an airplane or for an automobile, as diverse as they might be. Its manifestations are so numerous, so diverse, that as a general matter, you can't actually win by simply saying, "I will design those properties in,'" he added. "You need to do that to some degree, and then make sure that you understand how to watch it, monitor it, make sure you know what it does."

>

> [...] Ultimately, humans remain accountable for AI models' actions, according to Inglis. "They remain the source of agency and aspiration. It's possible for them to give broad authority to an AI model and have it run around for 30 hours without further consultation, but they need to know what they've asked it to do, and they need to know what they expect it will deliver in terms of performance on the back end. If they don't, then they're going to get what they deserve, which is the very frequent unpleasant surprise."



[1] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/08/06/1815207/openais-models-shared-hacking-tips-on-a-secret-messaging-board-before-hugging-face-breach

[2] https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/08/05/2157224/anthropics-ai-used-fake-identities-malware-in-rogue-attack-on-github-project

[3] https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/08/06/1547259/meta-ai-hacked-external-systems-during-cybersecurity-testing

[4] https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/08/07/asimov-was-right-about-rules-for-robots-says-ex-us-cyber-director/5284397

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics

"Framework has been sending out email notifications to customers [1]alerting of [2]a limited [3]data breach in which customer information was accessed through a Metabase BI service zero-day exploit," writes Slashdot reader [4]DuoDreamer . Data includes customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, and physical addresses. "Framework is investigating whether or not this included Framework for Business customers as well." TechCrunch reports:

> Framework's spokesperson Eric Schumacher told TechCrunch that the breach affected "all customers," but declined to specify a specific number. Framework computers are relatively niche products, but some [5]estimates say the company sold hundreds of thousands of devices.

>

> Metabase [6]disclosed its own breach in a blog post on its official website, where it said that it was hacked by someone using an unknown security flaw, a so-called zero-day. The company said the hackers exploited the bug to give them the ability to access customers' databases stored on Metabase's cloud servers.

>

> In its email to customers, Framework also included the email Metabase sent to the company, which says hackers accessed Framework's cloud instance. The computer maker said it investigated the incident and found that hackers had stolen its customers' personal data, but did not include their payment information.



[1] https://x.com/AliceInDisarray/status/2085564597633786005

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/framework/comments/1vhic7k/framework_data_breach/

[3] https://x.com/bee_fumo/status/2085576512296665228

[4] https://slashdot.org/~DuoDreamer

[5] https://community.frame.work/t/how-many-laptops-have-fw-sold/60649/4

[6] https://www.metabase.com/blog/security-update

Suno says it will [1]begin watermarking and fingerprinting AI-generated songs , tighten download policies to curb mass distribution, and explicitly prohibit deceptive audio and unauthorized voice or likeness cloning. The changes come as the company faces [2]mounting copyright lawsuits , a recent [3]adverse ruling in Germany , and scrutiny over a past data breach that [4]revealed training-data sources . TechCrunch reports:

> In a [5]blog post , co-founder and CEO Mikey Shulman shared core principles and said that the platform wants to promote original creation while enabling more people to make music with its AI tools. One of the key points of contention involved users uploading AI-generated songs on other streaming platforms and gaming the system to earn revenue. Suno said that now it will use audio watermarking and fingerprinting to prevent misuse on other streaming platforms. It's not clear if Suno will use an existing system like Google's Synth ID or adopt a new one, and the company did not say when contacted by TechCrunch about this.

>

> The startup also signed an agreement with lyrics provider Musixmatch to use its Sentinel system for copyright detection, the blog post said. [...] The company added that it plans to add a new download policy to bar mass distribution on streaming platforms, but declined to provide details on the record. Suno has also changed its community guidelines to explicitly prohibit "deceptive audio presented as real" and "using a real person's voice or likeness without permission" to prevent copycats.



[1] https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/06/amid-legal-battles-suno-says-it-will-start-watermarking-songs/

[2] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/08/01/1525210/ai-startup-suno-says-music-industry-suit-aims-to-stifle-competition

[3] https://www.reuters.com/world/german-court-rules-ai-music-firm-suno-broke-copyright-rules-2026-07-31/

[4] https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/07/15/2010250/hack-reveals-suno-ai-music-generator-scraped-youtube-deezer-and-genius

[5] https://suno.com/blog/building-the-future-of-music-responsibly

ByteDance is reportedly [1]training an AI model with roughly 10 trillion parameters as it tries to close the gap with leading frontier systems such as Anthropic's Mythos. The model is still in early pre-training, and its eventual performance will depend on more than scale alone, but the project underscores how aggressively Chinese firms are pushing frontier AI despite limits on access to advanced chips. The Next Web reports:

> The size is itself the statement. At roughly 10 trillion parameters, the model would be more than three times as large as Moonshot's Kimi K3, which sits among the biggest Chinese models today at about 2.8 trillion. [...] Parameter count is not everything, of course. Bigger models are not automatically better, and the industry has learned that data quality, training technique and efficiency often matter as much as raw scale. Even so, committing the compute to train a model this size is a declaration in its own right, a signal that ByteDance wants to compete at the very top rather than ship a capable also-ran.



[1] https://thenextweb.com/news/bytedance-10-trillion-parameter-model-mythos

President Trump has [1]ordered a 15% tariff on imported products made with polysilicon , a key material for semiconductors and solar panels. The new tariff will take effect on December 4th. The Guardian reports:

> The executive order signed by the president on Thursday evening said: "The plan of action in this proclamation will, among other things, help ensure the commercial viability of United States production of polysilicon and its derivatives that is necessary to meet United States economic and national security requirements." Polysilicon, an ultra-pure form of silicon, is an important ingredient in making the semiconductors vital for AI processing power, datacentres and solar power generation. US solar factories have long accused Chinese rivals of dumping cheaper panels on the market, which they say have been enabled by excessive government subsidies and by moving manufacturing to other countries to dodge US tariffs.

>

> [...] The US has two main polysilicon factories, including Hemlock Semiconductor, which operates a plant in Michigan and is a joint venture between the US tech company Corning and Japan's Shin-Etsu Handotai. The Munich-based Wacker Chemie runs a factory in Tennessee. Trump said in the order that he had accepted recommendations by the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, to set minimum import prices of $21 a kilogram for polysilicon, $100 a kilogram for polysilicon ingots and wafers, $0.22 a watt for solar cells, and $0.38 a watt for solar modules or panels. The order also allows the commerce department to create an incentive program for companies that invest in factories to produce polysilicon or derivative products.



[1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/07/trump-orders-tariff-solar-panels-microchips-manufacturing-ingredient

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC:

> On Thursday, AMD said it's [1]entered into an agreement to acquire Taalas , a Toronto-based startup that makes chips for inference. Taalas' accelerators are customized, or hard-wired for a single AI model, rather than being general purpose. In exchange for that loss of flexibility, Taalas' technology promises a less-expensive chip that it says can produce output for specific models thousands of times faster than a traditional GPU. An AMD representative declined to provide a purchase price for the transaction. Taalas has raised a total of $219 million in venture funding since its 2023 founding.

>

> Taalas' current chip runs a small version of Meta's Llama 3.1 model, though the company is working on chips for bigger and more advanced models. It's manufactured using an older Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. process, and uses speedy SRAM memory on the chip itself. Taalas CEO Ljubisa Bajic says on the startup's website that the company "developed a platform for transforming any AI model into custom silicon." "From the moment a previously unseen model is received, it can be realized in hardware in only two months," Bajic wrote.



[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/06/amd-buys-taalas-startup-that-hardwires-ai-models-into-its-silicon.html

A new study argues that life [1]may have emerged twice on Earth . "Two of the main lineages of life -- bacteria and archaea -- may have independently figured out the secrets of metabolism that upgraded them from non-living to living," reports ScienceAlert, citing a new study that "focused on the most rudimentary set of chemical reactions thought to enable this transformation." From the report:

> "The surprise is that the enzymes that catalyze those reactions are not conserved across the evolutionary divide that separates bacteria and archaea," [2]says William Martin, a biologist at Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf in Germany.

>

> "The new data leave only one conclusion. The bacterial and archaeal lineages made the transition to the free-living state independently. Only free-living cells are alive. "Let's call it by name: we are looking at one origin of the genetic code, but two origins of life." That's a huge claim to make, especially when defining what life even is can be surprisingly tricky.

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



[1] https://www.sciencealert.com/radical-study-suggests-life-on-earth-arose-from-non-living-matter-twice

[2] https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1138775?

[3] https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aef3128