Technology

The legal ability of 18-year-old high school seniors to engage in prediction market sites such as Kalshi and Polymarket, while simultaneously barred from most forms of legalized gambling, has prompted addiction experts and state regulators to raise concerns about a potential public health crisis.

Google has initiated sweeping changes to its iconic search engine, adapting to the evolving landscape of online information retrieval. This strategic overhaul addresses the rise of increasingly complex user queries and the pervasive integration of artificial intelligence, evident in the emergence of AI-generated influencers and sophisticated AI-powered shopping tools.

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence venture, xAI, is at the center of an escalating environmental justice conflict, facing legal challenges from the NAACP and allied groups. The dispute stems from the expansion of an unpermitted power plant near Memphis, which has seen the addition of six gas-powered turbines, intensifying air pollution in nearby Black communities and prompting allegations of Clean Air Act violations.

The White House has postponed plans for President Donald Trump to sign an executive order establishing a voluntary review process for artificial intelligence models. This proposed framework would allow government agencies to review advanced models for up to 90 days prior to their public release.

Artemis II's historic return from its mission around the moon was celebrated by a group of Black astronauts, engineers, and aerospace pioneers who discussed the cultural significance of the mission and the importance of inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in space exploration.

Instructure, the parent company of the Canvas education platform, has announced the recovery of data stolen in a recent cyberattack that temporarily halted services for universities and K-12 schools nationwide. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is actively assisting victims impacted by the breach.

An apparent cyberattack, claimed by the hacking group ShinyHunters, shut down Canvas, a prominent education platform utilized by universities and K-12 schools across the United States, disrupting access to essential classroom materials. The group issued a ransom demand, threatening to leak sensitive data from millions of users, including students, teachers, and staff, if their conditions were not met.

Google has launched its new Google Health app, featuring an integrated AI Health Coach designed to provide personalized fitness plans, health record summaries, and an interactive chatbot. The initiative aims to broaden Google's competitive edge in the health technology market by attracting users of Apple Watch, Oura ring, and Garmin devices, as well as those without health trackers.

Google, Microsoft, and xAI will provide unreleased versions of their artificial intelligence models to the U.S. government for evaluation, a measure designed to assess their potential impact on national security, public safety, and cybersecurity threats.

Nonprofit media watchdog Common Sense Media has launched the Youth AI Safety Institute, an independent research and testing laboratory. The institute will study the risks artificial intelligence tools present to children and teens, aiming to provide information to families and establish safety benchmarks for tech firms.