Techflier

The new BMW 3 Series shows just how quickly EVs have caught up to fossil fuel vehicles on pricing. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/haE19B7 via IFTTT

The $300 million employee tender was co-led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/UGdtz4J via IFTTT

Bill Gates wants to tax robots that replace human jobs. Tom Brenner/Getty Images Bill Gates says he wants workers to pay their fair share — even if they're not human. By taxing robot workers and AI tokens, Gates says the US can ensure its social safety nets remain. Gates first proposed the robot tax back in 2017. Bill Gates has a plan to ensure that humans keep getting paid in an AI jobs apocalypse: Tax the robots. In an interview with Ezra Klein of The New York Times that aired on Tuesday, the billionaire philanthropist said that "society gets to decide" how to support its workers — even if AI is pushing them out. "You define a unit of labor and say, independent of whether that's delivered by a human or robot, you are paying the same FICA tax that a human worker would pay," Gates said, referring to the US payroll tax. FICA taxes work by having workers pay portions of their paychecks toward benefits like Social Security and Medicare , with employers matchin...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at a recent state dinner. Bloomberg/Getty Images OpenAI announced its new "always-on" AI agent product, Dots, at its DevDay conference on Tuesday. Dots will compete with Meta's Muse, part of a rush in the industry toward personal agents. A spate of other announcements included a new model, a $500 plan, and a collaboration feature. OpenAI is throwing its hat in tech's shiniest new ring. On Tuesday, the company unveiled a new product called Dots, its answer to the rise of "always-on" personal agents like Instinct and Meta's Muse . OpenAI's version will run on its frontier model GPT-6 Astra. "I'm really surprised at what a difference this makes in my life," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said at the company's annual DevDay conference in San Francisco. "I feel like I've finally gotten some of my attention back. I no longer feel quite addicted to my phone in the same way. It's the w...

The author and her boyfriend met on Hinge. Courtesy of Lauren Melnick My boyfriend, Matthew, swiped right on my profile — and then closed the app. When I saw his profile, he had some green flags I was looking for, and we started dating. We've been together ever since, which gives him a 100% success rate. On a random Tuesday night in April, loneliness paid a visit to Matthew. He'd been single for two years and was completely content with his bachelor life when he realized he missed having someone in his life, and going on a first date again didn't seem too bad. Twenty minutes later, he had downloaded Hinge and created a profile. As the left swipes kept piling up with zero on the right, his thumb suddenly stopped and hovered over one profile. A photo caught his eye, and he made his first-ever right swipe, closing the app and not opening it again. He matched with me, and I checked out his profile A notification popped up on my phone from Hinge. I had a new like, and I went t...

This will be the first one-on-one meeting between Dario Amodei and Donald Trump from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/Yv9NrnO via IFTTT

On Equity, we discussed how Meta's AI announcement managed to steal the spotlight from OpenAI and Anthropic. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/17N6IAh via IFTTT

The author drives her teenager to the ferry so she can go to work on an island in Maine. Courtesy of the author My teen landed her first summer job at a seafood restaurant on a Maine island. Getting her to the ferry requires me to rearrange my schedule and drive into Portland. The job is teaching her about money, responsibility, and independence. Living on the coast of Maine has its advantages. Beaches and islands are close. "Not that close," my husband said when my daughter told us her high school English teacher had recommended her for a summer job. The opportunity was on a small island, a ferry ride away, and it would mean driving her into Portland from our house in the suburbs just outside, affecting our summer routine . The ride is 30 minutes. With drop-off and pickup, that would take at least an hour. Traffic from local pedestrians and tourists is outrageous. Her new job would require a lot of effort from both of us, but it would also give her a chance to do something ...

Instead of giving traditional gifts on birthdays and holidays, the author and her husband prefer to travel, give surprise gifts, or show their love through food. Courtesy of Renate Flanagan. My husband and I prioritize experiences like travel over gifts, sharing memorable trips together. Our relationship grew through thoughtful gestures that weren't tied to holidays or events. I'm glad we have memories instead of random trinkets. It was my birthday and my now-husband and I had been dating for about three months. When he got to my house, he wished me a happy birthday, then he apologized, "I'm sorry I didn't get you a gift." At the time, I was 31, had a good job, and could buy whatever I fancied, within reason. I couldn't come up with any material thing that I even wanted. "Don't be sorry," I told him, "It's a good thing. No obligatory gift giving ." "No obligatory gift giving," he echoed. And the precedent was set. We...

Robbie Cartwright resells sneakers online. Courtesy of Robbie Cartwright Robbie Cartwright started selling items when he was about 11. He now makes hundreds of thousands reselling sneakers online. He was late for his own 21st birthday because he was working, and he rarely sees friends. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Robbie Cartwright, founder of Yorkshire Trainers . It has been edited for length and clarity . I've been selling things since I was a child: candy bars, fidget spinners — you name it. My middle school had a challenge to see which student could take a small investment of about $10 and make the most profit. I won, selling hooks to hang handbags on. I profited more than $1,000 over the six weeks of the challenge, although it was all for charity. By the time I was about 14, I was reselling sneakers . Some kids have hobbies or play sports, but I would troll eBay, looking for deals that I could make a profit on. I reinvested what I made, and soon sta...

Pope Leo XIV spoke about technology during a speech given to French diplomats on Friday. Tom Nicholson/Getty Images Pope Leo XIV spoke to diplomats in France on Friday. The Pope cautioned against losing our humanity "amid a paradise of machines." Addressing potential risks of AI has become a central theme of his papacy. Pope Leo XIV has a new warning about AI. The Pope cautioned against an overreliance on artificial intelligence and other technology during a speech to French diplomats, including President Emmanuel Macron, on Friday. Earlier that day, he traveled from Rome to Paris as part of an apostolic journey. "If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a 'paradise of machines' invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment and the capacity to acknowledge the moral good," Pope Leo XIV said. "This is indispensable if we are to recognize the genuine good that enables human beings to flourish in...

When AI leaders at OpenAI and Anthropic started talking about “pacing the frontier,” maybe someone should have asked: what pace? Now it’s turned into model drop week for both companies as Anthropic rolled out Opus 5.5, followed by OpenAI’s GPT-6 model updates just 90 minutes later. But the company that stole the spotlight was Meta, whose personal AI agent Muse is reportedly outpacing ChatGPT’s early numbers and is headed for smart glasses and […] from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/wjpZANz via IFTTT

NYSE The bond sell-off has already weighed on stocks, but fears of a deeper correction are rising. Yields are solidly above 5%, a threshold that's caused pain for stock investors in past episodes. "A market correction seems imminent," Steve Eisman wrote on Thursday as bonds tumbled again. The deepening sell-off in the bond market could soon be a much bigger drag on stocks. It may not be long before the sell-off rattling government bonds this week spreads to the stock market, Wall Street analysts are warning. Bond turmoil has dominated market headlines this week, with Treasury yields spiking to levels not seen in decades. A grim cocktail of macro, fiscal, and geopolitical concerns has spurred the latest leg down, and investors fear the next shoe to drop will be in the stock market. Yields influence borrowing costs for a wide range of consumer and business loans, including mortgages, credit cards, and auto loans. Higher yields also pressure stocks by offering a viable a...

Prism's larger goal is open-weight AI that runs on devices and makes better use of the computing power they already have. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/kpj2svf via IFTTT

The round valued the AI biotech at $2 billion. It is currently testing drugs that treat skin conditions and preserve weight loss after stopping GLP-1s. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/z5Vo6nq via IFTTT

The startup is working on small, light motors with no rare earth magnets that are suited for drones, fans, and robots. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/JX7kC16 via IFTTT

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more The Pecute backpack was a comfortable design for both our reporter and her cat. Janelle Leeson/Business Insider Most cat backpacks aren't cat-friendly. Bubble windows can trap heat, and interiors can be too cramped for a cat to turn around comfortably. Even more, when your cat needs you most, like when exploring new and unfamiliar places, they're on your back, where you can't easily check in or soothe them. That said, there is a time and place when a backpack beats a carrier. After testing five backpacks and speaking with experts, I found two winners — but neither is a one-size-fits-all solution. I'm a pets reporter who has walked my cats, Atlas and Lyra, on harness and leash for seven years, and I know a backpack is non-negotiable for their safety. The right backpack can also be a great option for air travel, keeping your hands free in busy airport terminals, expanding to giv...

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Streaming costs can add up quickly, but eligible students can save big time on the Disney Plus and Hulu bundle thanks to the platform's student discount. The Disney Plus and Hulu student discount cuts the ad-supported bundle by 50% each month for as long as student enrollment status remains verified, unlocking years of potential savings. The Disney Plus bundles are already some of our favorite savings hacks. Disney Plus and Hulu each start at $12 a month on their own, but you can get both services under one bundle subscription for just $1 a month more. The student discount simply sweetens the deal: students can get their subscription for just $6.49 a month — half off the standard bundle price and effectively 27% of what it would cost to subscribe to each service separately. A bundle subscription unlocks all things Marv...

A Russian Geran-5 drone, filmed by a Wild Hornets interceptor. Wild Hornets/Screengrab via X Ukraine is building out its fleet of new high-speed interceptor drones. The interceptors are designed to engage Russian jet-powered drones like the Geran-5. Russia has significantly ramped up its use of these drones, posing a challenge for Kyiv. Ukraine is building and fielding a growing fleet of new high-speed interceptors to hunt down Russia's fastest attack drones as Kyiv looks to fill gaps in its air defenses. Ukrainian company Wild Hornets said on Monday that a tactical air defense unit used the firm's new Sting S interceptor to shoot down a Russian Geran-5 jet-powered drone. A Wild Hornets spokesperson told Business Insider that it was one of several Geran-5 drones shot down over the last few days, along with roughly a dozen slower Geran-4 jet-powered models. The interceptions mark the first results from combat testing for the new interceptor, an evolution of Wild Hornets'...

Vocci's lightweight ring costs $249, and might pose some privacy questions from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/FbY0XoT via IFTTT

Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Tech leaders say the pace of AI development needs to slow down, and asked the government to step in. Trump's technology advisor, however, says companies don't need the government's permission to do so. The Trump administration has broadly supported expanding and accelerating AI infrastructure. There's a simple solution for AI companies that feel like their models are developing at a frightening speed: Hit the brakes. That's the advice Michael Kratsios , the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, gave during an interview with Fox News Sunday. "It's very interesting that they talk about these issues, about how scared they are about potentially where the future is, and maybe they want to do a pause," Kratsios said. "Our position is, if you do believe that you're developing a technology that is unsafe ...