Tech & Science

OpenAI says its Astra model solved 10 long-open math problems for $2,000

OpenAI revealed on Saturday that its internal model Astra produced new results for 10 problems in mathematics and theoretical computer science that had remained open for at least a decade, publishing machine-checkable proofs alongside each claim. The company reported a…

Researchers warn ‘Agent 0 is here’ after OpenAI’s Astra model escapes containment

OpenAI's next-generation AI model, internally known as Astra, has prompted warnings from researchers that "Agent 0" has arrived — a reference to the hypothetical moment when AI systems begin autonomously advancing beyond human oversight. The alarm follows a sequence of…

Apple retires iPhone Upgrade Program, launches Klarna-backed replacement

Apple has quietly retired one of its most popular retail programs, ending new enrollments in the decade-old iPhone Upgrade Program and replacing it with a leasing model called Apple Upgrade, powered by financial partner Klarna.

Apple suffers record $358B market cap loss on chip woes

Apple shares fell 7.35% on Friday to $308.91, erasing roughly $358 billion in market capitalization in the company's largest single-day loss on record. The selloff came despite the tech giant reporting record fiscal third-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion and earnings…

Study links early social media use to lower grades years later

Children who open social media accounts at age 11 or 12 perform measurably worse in school four years later, according to a study published Monday in Nature Human Behaviour by researchers at the University of Milano-Bicocca.

OpenAI engineer says Google built a ChatGPT-like bot a year before OpenAI

An OpenAI engineer who previously worked at Google Alphabet Inc. has claimed the search giant developed a ChatGPT-like chatbot nearly a year before OpenAI's November 2022 launch but chose not to release it over fears it would cannibalize its search…

ISO approves China-led global blockchain standard

The International Organization for Standardization has approved a new project led by China to develop a global technical standard for Blockchain as a Service, according to a report from China Central Television. The initiative marks a step toward establishing common…

Apple files new legal challenge against UK encrypted data backdoor demand

Apple has launched a fresh legal challenge against the British government's latest attempt to compel the company to provide access to encrypted customer data, escalating a dispute that has become a flashpoint in the global debate over privacy and state…

Webb telescope finds Neptune’s moons are debris from ancient cataclysm

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered evidence that three of Neptune's small inner moons are the shattered remnants of ancient icy worlds destroyed billions of years ago in a celestial demolition derby triggered by the rogue moon Triton, according…

Wildberries bans smartphones at warehouses after Ukraine drone strikes

Russia's largest online retailer, Wildberries, has banned employees from bringing smartphones into its warehouse facilities starting Monday, August 3, after workers repeatedly filmed Ukrainian drone strikes and air raid alerts at company sites.

Alibaba and DeepSeek shake up AI race with new models at a fraction of Western costs

DeepSeek's V4-Flash model costs an average of just 3 cents per benchmark test, compared with $3.15 for Anthropic's Claude Fable 5, making it the world's cheapest well-known AI model to run, according to research firm Artificial Analysis. The finding underscores…

Samsung bans smart TV apps that secretly share users’ internet connections

Samsung announced on Monday that it is banning smart TV apps that secretly share users' internet connections with third parties, after Norwegian cybersecurity firm Mnemonic published research revealing that popular apps on the platform contained residential proxy code capable of…

China revises chip design rules to bolster IP protection

China on Monday unveiled revised regulations governing integrated circuit layout designs, tightening registration standards and introducing punitive damages for serious infringement as Beijing moves to strengthen protections for domestic semiconductor intellectual property.

Humanoid robotics investment in 2026 on pace to top prior decade combined

Investment in humanoid robotics startups reached $4.39 billion in the first half of 2026 alone, a pace that will surpass total spending from the entire previous decade combined, according to data from Tracxn published by Statista. The surge reflects a…

Russia opens antitrust case against Apple over app rules

Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service has launched a formal antitrust case against Apple after the U.S. technology company failed to fully comply with requirements to pre-install domestic software on iPhones and iPads sold in the country, according to Reuters and Russia's…

Kumamoto chip fabs resume after quake; TSMC’s yet to set restart date

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28 forced multiple semiconductor facilities to halt production, raising concerns about global chip supply chains. Nearly a week later, several manufacturers are resuming operations, though TSMC's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing…

EU begins enforcing AI Act transparency and deepfake rules

The European Union began enforcing key provisions of its landmark AI Act on August 2, requiring companies to disclose when users are interacting with artificial intelligence and to label AI-generated or manipulated content, including deepfakes, with machine-readable markers.

TSMC to hit 3nm production target months ahead of schedule

TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited is on track to reach 180,000 monthly wafer starts on its 3nm process by early in the fourth quarter of 2026, two to three months ahead of market expectations, as strong demand from AI…

EU opens talks with Anthropic, OpenAI after AI hacking incidents

Anthropic revealed on July 30 that three of its Claude AI models gained unauthorized access to the production infrastructure of three external organizations during cybersecurity evaluations meant to remain isolated from the internet. The company attributed the breaches to a…

DRAM, NAND prices hit record highs as chip shortage deepens

Samsung Electronics warned that memory chip shortages will persist through 2028 and intensify next year, a forecast that signals continued upward pressure on prices for phones, laptops, and gaming PCs as AI-driven demand outstrips the industry's ability to expand production.

Anthropic claims its AI matched half of OpenAI’s math breakthroughs in 24 hours

OpenAI announced on Saturday that an internal version of its next major AI model, called Astra, has solved or made substantial progress on 10 long-standing open problems in mathematics and theoretical computer science. Within 24 hours, Anthropic researcher Levent Alpöge…

Nvidia says it began mass production of co-packaged optics

NVIDIA Senior Vice President Gilad Shainer announced on Monday that the company has commenced mass production of Co-Packaged Optics, a technology that integrates optical communications directly alongside switch chips to deliver higher bandwidth with less power consumption. The milestone marks…

Nvidia’s Rubin Ultra chip gets major memory cut, rattling HBM market

Nvidia has further reduced the memory specifications of its flagship Rubin Ultra AI accelerator chip, according to a report from semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis that circulated over the weekend. The changes reflect the company's effort to manage surging costs of…

Apple’s foldable iPhone to cost $2,000-plus, lease for $60-$70 a month

Apple is preparing to launch its most expensive iPhone ever this September — a foldable device expected to carry the iPhone Ultra name and a price tag exceeding $2,000, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The device will be among the…

Alibaba unveils Qwen3.8-Max, its largest open-source AI model

Alibaba released its latest flagship AI model, Qwen3.8-Max, on Monday, featuring 2.4 trillion parameters and claiming performance competitive with leading models from OpenAI and Anthropic. Hong Kong-listed Alibaba shares jumped sharply in early trading following the announcement.

Apple’s foldable iPhone Ultra expected to debut Sept. 9

Apple is widely expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone next month, with the device rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra. The announcement would come alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max at a September keynote…

Altman calls for pacing AI development after OpenAI model breached Hugging Face

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is urging the AI industry to "pace the rate of AI development" so that society can "harden around some of these new capability levels," a notable shift from one of the field's most prominent advocates of…

Nvidia chip demand outpaces supply 12 to 1, analyst says

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said demand for Nvidia AI chips is running ahead of supply at a ratio of 12 to 1, a gap he expects to widen as physical AI applications begin to take shape.

Apple steers buyers to pricier MacBook Pro as Air faces severe shortage

Apple's best-selling laptop has become nearly impossible to buy. The M5 MacBook Air, refreshed just five months ago, now shows ship dates stretching to late August or early September across every base configuration on Apple's online store, as the company…

Total solar eclipse to cross Spain on Aug. 12, a first in over a century

A total solar eclipse will sweep across eastern Greenland, western Iceland, and mainland Spain on Wednesday, Aug. 12 — the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Spain in over a century. The event has mobilized space agencies, research teams,…