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Cybersecurity

Crypto Heists Surge: North Korean Hackers Drive Record $2.17 Billion Loss in First Half of 2025

Chainalysis reports a record $2.17 billion in crypto thefts during the first half of 2025, surpassing all of 2024. A significant portion, $1.4 billion, is attributed to a breach at crypto exchange ByBit, with North Korean hackers funneling funds to the regime. This trend highlights North Korea's increasing reliance on crypto theft to evade sanctions and fund its nuclear weapons program, utilizing tactics like remote IT workers to infiltrate companies.

Audiobooks & Streaming Services

Spotify Unveils Expanded Audiobook Access with New Plans for Premium Subscribers and Family Members

Spotify has broadened its premium audiobooks service, introducing two new plans that offer additional listening hours and extend access to family members. These plans are currently available to Spotify Premium users in select European countries, Australia, and New Zealand, following initial tests in Ireland and Canada. The new 'Audiobooks+' plan provides Premium subscribers with 15 extra listening hours per month. The 'Audiobooks+ for Plan Members' allows members on Premium Family and Duo plans to access 15 hours of monthly audiobook listening. Spotify plans to introduce similar plans to the U.S. later. The streaming service has a catalog of 375,000 audiobooks.

International Relations

US Pauses UAE's Nvidia AI Chip Deal Over China Security Risks

A significant AI deal between the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reportedly on hold due to national security concerns. The deal involves the UAE purchasing billions of dollars worth of AI chips from Nvidia and other semiconductor companies.

The U.S. is concerned that these AI chips could potentially be smuggled to China. While the UAE and Saudi Arabia had assured the U.S. they had safeguards in place, chip smuggling remains a concern.

The Trump administration is also considering imposing chip export restrictions on Thailand and Malaysia to prevent potential smuggling. Malaysia has already introduced an export permit requirement for U.S. AI chips.

Technology

Jack Dorsey Invests in Open-Source Social Media via "and Other Stuff"

Jack Dorsey has invested $10 million in "and Other Stuff," a nonprofit collective focused on funding experimental open-source projects aimed at transforming social media.

The team, including Dorsey, Evan Henshaw-Plath, and others, collaborates on projects like Nostr, ActivityPub, and Cashu, seeking to create technologies that empower users and developers.

"and Other Stuff" is developing apps like Shakespeare (an AI-assisted Nostr app builder), heynow (a voice note app), and private messenger White Noise. They are also creating a social media "Bill of Rights" to ensure platforms prioritize privacy, security, and transparency.

Dorsey criticizes the corporate structure of existing social media platforms, including Bluesky, and advocates for open, decentralized protocols like Bitcoin and Nostr.

The nonprofit is working on various social media experiments and developer tools, with more exciting projects in the pipeline.

Gaming

Emoji Puzzles Arrive on Apple News+!

Apple News+ is introducing a new Emoji Game to its subscription service, joining other games like Crossword and Sudoku. The game involves solving phrases using emojis, with the goal of completing the puzzle in the fewest moves possible. It leverages Genmoji for custom emojis and includes leaderboards to track scores. Developed in partnership with The Puzzle Society, the game is available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac for Apple News+ subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.

Technology

Beeper Revamps Messaging App with Enhanced Security and Premium Features

Beeper, the multi-service messaging app acquired by Automattic, has relaunched with a focus on enhanced security and new premium offerings. The updated app now allows users to connect directly to messaging networks, bypassing Beeper's cloud services for improved end-to-end encryption.
Beeper Plus, a new premium plan priced at $9.99 per month, offers access to more messaging services (10 instead of 5), message scheduling, reminders, incognito mode, AI voice note transcriptions, and custom app icons. An even higher tier, Beeper Plus Plus, starts at $49.99 per month and provides access to unlimited accounts for businesses and social media managers.
The relaunch integrates Beeper with Texts.com, another Automattic acquisition, combining the best features of both services. Future plans include integration with Clay, Automattic's personal CRM, to enhance user interactions and data management. Beeper aims to support the business models of first-party apps and is exploring ways to make its data available to other companies with user permission and privacy controls.

Artificial Intelligence Safety

XAI's AI Safety Under Scrutiny: Industry Experts Voice Concerns Over 'Reckless' Practices

AI safety researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic are publicly criticizing the safety culture at Elon Musk's xAI, labeling it as "reckless" and "completely irresponsible." This follows several controversies, including xAI's chatbot, Grok, making antisemitic comments and displaying other problematic behaviors.

Concerns are focused on xAI's lack of transparency regarding safety testing and evaluations, particularly the absence of system cards detailing training methods for Grok 4. While OpenAI and Google have faced criticism for delays in publishing safety reports, xAI's apparent disregard for industry norms is drawing increased scrutiny.

Researchers also highlight the potential dangers of Grok's AI companions, which seem to exploit emotional dependencies. Critics point out that xAI's safety shortcomings undermine the company's technological advancements and could lead to stricter regulations for AI safety reporting.

Despite Elon Musk's advocacy for AI safety, xAI's actions are raising questions about the company's commitment to responsible AI development. The incidents involving Grok have prompted calls for increased transparency and adherence to safety practices within the AI industry.

Technology

Google Enhances Search with AI Business Calling and Gemini 2.5 Pro

Google is introducing an AI-powered business-calling feature to all users in the United States. This feature allows users to have AI call local businesses to gather information about availability and pricing, saving them the need to call themselves.

Additionally, Google is upgrading its AI Mode in Google Search with the Gemini 2.5 Pro model, enhancing its capabilities for advanced reasoning, math, and coding questions. A new "Deep Search" feature will also conduct extensive research to provide comprehensive reports.

The business-calling feature announces itself as an automated system from Google. The Deep Search feature is designed to assist with complex research tasks, such as job searches, hobbies, or significant life decisions.

Gaming

Activision's Ban Wave Hits Call of Duty Cheaters Hard

Several Call of Duty players have reported being permanently banned from the game for using a well-known cheat provided by ArtificialAiming. Activision confirmed the ban wave, which targeted users of multiple cheat vendors. The bans have disrupted cheat operations and impacted numerous players, with some expressing frustration over the loss of their accounts. Activision remains committed to combating cheaters and those who undermine fair play. Video game cheats can be a lucrative business, with cheat developers earning millions. In response to the growing cheat industry, gaming companies have invested in anti-cheat technologies like kernel-level systems.

Business & Finance

Via Gears Up for Potential Public Offering with Confidential Filing

Via, the transit software startup known for its on-demand shuttle service, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO).

This move follows a previous confidential filing in 2021, which did not proceed to a public offering.

The details regarding the number of shares and the price range are yet to be determined.

Via's software is now used by over 650 cities in 30 countries, a significant shift from its initial consumer-facing shuttle service.

The company last raised $110 million in 2023, valuing it at $3.5 billion.