friday

American politics is a circus. In the arena of Washington, DC, lawmaking and lawbreaking is a fanatical kind of entertainment, a warped experiment that, in recent years, has taken on the veneer of blind zealotry. Republicans, in particular,…

Vinyl records are everywhere now. What was once considered a niche hobby just a few years ago, when records started to make a comeback, are now widely available again, even at major retail stores like Target and Walmart. Record sales are up…

Open AI’s new boss is the same as the old boss. But the company—and the artificial intelligence industry—may have been profoundly changed by the past five days of high-stakes soap opera. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, cofounder, and figurehead,…

In June I had a conversation with chief scientist Ilya Sutskever at OpenAI’s headquarters, as I reported WIRED’s October cover story. Among the topics we discussed was the unusual structure of the company.OpenAI began as a nonprofit…

Almost the entire staff of OpenAI has now signed a letter threatening to leave and join a new venture led by ousted CEO, Sam Altman. Some 738 out of its around 770 employees, about 95 percent of the company, are now listed on the letter…

Snail facial serum with gold flakes for $3.20, a litter box for $2.34, and candles shaped and scented like Starbucks Frappuccinos for $5.63. You might not have it on your holiday wish list, but you can find it on TikTok Shop, which is…

Earlier this month, Altman hosted OpenAI’s first developer conference and announced a plan to create an app store for AI agents built on top of its technology. Altman was also courting Middle East sovereign wealth funding for the…

In its closing statement yesterday, the prosecution pointed repeatedly to the contrast between the fluency and demeanor of Bankman-Fried under questioning by his own lawyers and his evasiveness in cross-examination.“Did you notice how on…

The app and sirens are a backstop to Israel’s extensive military defenses. The Iron Dome missile defense system effectively intercepts or destroys most airborne weapons headed to Israel. But some rockets have slipped through, causing…