Code & Clarity

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has launched a new website and map to track data centers across the United States, highlighting the lack of transparency in their construction and impact on nearby communities. The website, which is still a work in progress, already includes reports from community members and shows a pattern of secrecy surrounding data center projects. Brockovich received nearly 4,000 submissions in the first month after putting out a call for reports of data center-related issues, with transparency being the most common concern. The map on Brockovich's website documents data centers and the issues associated with them, including noise, water usage, and rising utility bills. However, the main concern is the lack of transparency in the construction process, with developers often not returning calls and local officials signing non-disclosure agreements before the community is informed about a project. Brockovich is not opposed to data centers or AI, but r...

Something interesting is stirring in the tech world. Box founder Aaron Levie recently sparked a lively discussion by suggesting that many tech CEOs might be suffering from "AI psychosis." What he means is that these leaders are so far removed from the actual day-to-day work that they do not fully grasp how AI tools truly perform or how much real value they can generate. Levie’s point is not to dismiss AI altogether. Instead, he believes that executives need to roll up their sleeves and truly use these tools themselves to understand their benefits and limitations. This perspective highlights a growing tension, especially as we see a wider public pushback against the rapid integration of AI into everything from college graduation ceremonies where mentions of AI are booed, to ongoing tech layoffs, and the surprising growth of an alternative search engine. A prime example of this public sentiment comes from Google’s recent efforts to weave more AI into its search exp...

Imagine a small, smart device you wear around your neck, almost like a piece of jewelry, constantly listening, learning, and subtly helping you out throughout your day. That is reportedly what Meta is working on, an AI-powered pendant they plan to start testing sometime next year. This sounds like something straight out of a futuristic movie, promising to integrate an always-on AI assistant deeply into your daily life in a very personal and direct way. This potential new device builds directly on Meta’s strategic acquisition of a startup called Limitless, which specialized in creating AI pendants. Limitless had already developed a similar gadget that could be clipped to a shirt or worn as a necklace, specifically designed to record and process conversations. Meta previously stated that acquiring Limitless would significantly help them speed up their ongoing efforts to build and deploy more AI-enabled wearable technology across their product ecosystem. This ambitious push i...

Get ready for another interesting piece of wearable tech from Meta. The company is reportedly working on an AI-powered pendant, a small device you could wear around your neck or clip to your shirt. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, aiming to be your constant digital companion. This new gadget is expected to start testing sometime next year. This idea isn't entirely new for Meta. They apparently built on the work of a startup called Limitless, which Meta bought late last year. Limitless was already making an AI pendant that could record conversations. Meta said at the time that this acquisition would help them speed up their efforts in building AI-enabled devices you can wear. The memo revealing these plans also hinted at bigger ambitions. Meta wants to expand its range of AI glasses. They are also considering a business subscription service called “Wearables for Work.” These hardware projects are all part of a big push to turn around their hardware divisi...

Here is a surprising twist in the world of coding this year. Software developers have become so attached to their AI coding assistants that they are now refusing to do certain tasks without them. This strong reliance has come to light even as new questions emerge about whether AI tools truly make coding better or just faster. This reliance became clear when a respected AI research lab, METR, tried to update a study from last year. That earlier study in 2025 found something unexpected. While developers felt AI made them more productive, it actually slowed them down. They generated code quicker, but then spent extra time finding and fixing errors, guiding the AI, and waiting for it to finish. When METR attempted to repeat the experiment in February to see how AI and coders had improved, they hit a wall. Developers were unwilling to participate if it meant temporarily working without AI, even for the study. Instead, METR conducted a survey in May, where coders reported they f...

The most surprising thing about the Kiwibit Bird Feeder Pro 4K AI Camera is how quickly it became a part of my daily routine. I installed it in my backyard and connected it to the companion app on my phone, and suddenly I was receiving notifications every time a bird stopped by. The real fun started a few weeks into testing, when I found myself eagerly waiting for updates and watching recordings of the different species that visited my feeder. As I delved deeper into the app, I discovered that it uses a proprietary bird-identification algorithm to identify over 10,000 bird species, including blue jays, ravens, and mourning doves. The Activity tab is particularly useful, as it tracks the number of visits captured, videos recorded, and total species observed. I also appreciated the in-depth information on each species, featuring detailed descriptions from Wikipedia. However, I did notice that the system occasionally has trouble accurately counting visits, especially when a single ...

In a shocking turn of events, Anthropic has secured $65 billion in funding at a staggering $965 billion post-money valuation. This latest funding round, led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital, marks what could be the AI startup's final private fundraising before making its debut on the public markets. The massive investment is a clear indication of the immense interest and confidence in Anthropic's AI technology, particularly its Claude model. The funding round saw participation from a wide range of investors, including institutional investors such as Baillie Gifford, Blackstone, and Fidelity Management & Research, as well as strategic infrastructure partners like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. Notably, $15 billion of the round is made up of previously committed investments from hyperscalers, including a $5 billion investment from Amazon. This significant investment is a testament to the growing demand for Anthropic's AI solutions, pa...

The AI startup Sesame has released a public preview of its conversational AI agents, marking a significant step towards rethinking the traditional AI chatbot experience. With its new iOS app, Sesame is introducing a more natural way of interacting with AI, allowing conversations to flow even when the AI needs time to think. This approach is designed to make interactions feel less like traditional chatbots and more like talking to a person. Sesame's AI agents are built with fast search and retrieval systems, enabling them to have up-to-date information and run multiple parallel searches while speaking. This technology allows the AI to talk more like a human, pivoting mid-sentence if need be, as it taps into newer information. The app offers four distinct AI agents, each with its own distinct voice, personality, point of view, and memory. These agents, named Maya, Miles, Simone, and Charlie, were previously available in Sesame's Research Preview, where they were accessed b...

A startup called Cognition, the company behind an AI that can essentially code itself, just made a jaw-dropping move in the tech world. They announced a massive investment round where they pulled in more than $1 billion. This fresh cash injection now values the company at an astonishing $25 billion. This isn't just a big number; it’s a massive leap for Cognition. Just eight months ago, in September, the company was valued at $10.2 billion after another funding round. To more than double its worth in such a short time, reaching $25 billion, signals an extraordinary level of confidence from top investors. Cognition is known for its product named Devin, an "autonomous AI software engineer." This isn't just a fancy autocomplete tool; Devin can handle complex coding projects from start to finish. It plans its own steps, writes the code, finds and fixes its own mistakes, and even makes sure its work is complete. The billion-dollar investment round was led by s...

The most surprising element of SpaceX's recent test flight of its Starship rocket is that it ended in failure. The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered SpaceX to investigate why its Starship booster failed during the company's May 22 test flight. This means SpaceX will have to pause any further Starship test launches until the investigation is completed and the results are submitted to the FAA for approval. The problem with the Starship booster occurred a few minutes into the flight, which was the first launch of SpaceX's upgraded version of its super heavy rocket system. The booster was supposed to separate from the ship and return to the Gulf for a simulated landing in the water, but it immediately experienced an apparent engine failure, leading to the booster tumbling down towards the Gulf before most likely exploding on impact. SpaceX had made several changes to the design of the booster and the Starship vehicle itself, including the inclusion of all-new t...

Something interesting is happening in the world of online search. Many people are growing frustrated with Google’s recent big changes to how search works, and it seems they are actively looking for alternatives. In a surprising turn, a privacy-focused search engine called DuckDuckGo has seen a significant boost in new users, with app installs jumping by as much as 30% in just one week. This surge in popularity for DuckDuckGo directly follows Google’s announcement that it’s changing its traditional search results. Instead of simply showing you a list of "blue links" to websites, Google is now integrating an AI assistant that aims to answer your questions directly, help with tasks, and even monitor things in the background. Think of it less like a directory and more like a smart helper trying to give you the answer upfront. However, this shift has quickly led to a strong negative reaction from many users. People are worried that these AI summaries might reduce traf...

India's gig economy has grown significantly in recent years, with online food delivery and home services becoming increasingly popular. A startup called Human Archive is tapping into this trend, partnering with companies to collect data on everyday tasks that can be used to train robots. The company is having workers wear special caps with cameras to collect egocentric video data, which can then be used to train AI models. The startup has already deployed over 1,000 headsets across multiple locations and has raised $8.2 million in funding from investors. Human Archive's approach is unique in that it is collecting data from multiple sensors, including cameras, tactile gloves, and full-body motion capture suits. This data can be used to fine-tune AI models and demonstrate their effectiveness on robots. The company is working with multiple partners, including smaller startups, to offer discounted services to customers in exchange for data collection. Human Archive...

The CEO of the collaboration software company ClickUp just made a startling announcement, laying off 22 percent of his team. Zeb Evans, the company leader, says this significant reduction is not a cost-cutting measure. Instead, he frames it as a radical and intentional leap into the future of artificial intelligence. Evans believes this bold shift will propel ClickUp to unprecedented levels of efficiency and success. He went further, announcing that employees who remain and demonstrate exceptional impact using AI could be compensated with salaries exceeding a million dollars. These are described as "million-dollar salary bands" that break from traditional pay structures. This dramatic change follows ClickUp's recent introduction of approximately 3,000 internal AI "agents" into its operations. These sophisticated agents are designed to tackle a wide array of complex tasks that were previously handled by human staff. Now, the expectation is for employ...

Imagine your company laying off a significant chunk of its team, then announcing it is not about saving money, but about making everyone else a lot richer. That is exactly what just happened at ClickUp, a major workplace software company. Its CEO, Zeb Evans, recently revealed the company cut 22 percent of its workforce. He claims this drastic step is a radical leap into artificial intelligence, designed to propel the company forward, not to cut costs. Instead, the plan is to pour the savings back into the remaining staff. Evans even mentioned introducing "million-dollar salary bands" for employees who use AI to create an "outsized impact." Essentially, if you can leverage AI to do incredible things, ClickUp wants to pay you an incredible amount of money. This move has certainly turned heads and sparked intense debate about the true impact of AI on jobs. ClickUp is not just talking about AI; they have truly embraced it internally. The company recently br...

ClickUp, a company known for helping teams collaborate, just announced a big change that has many in the tech world talking. Its CEO, Zeb Evans, revealed the company laid off 22 percent of its employees. But Evans claims this move was not about saving money or cutting costs. Instead, he frames it as a radical leap into using artificial intelligence to transform the company. He believes this shift will make ClickUp vastly more productive and powerful. For the remaining employees, Evans promises an exciting, if challenging, future focused on cutting-edge AI skills. He even mentioned introducing "million-dollar salary bands" for those who use AI to create exceptional results. This suggests a bold new pay structure, where top performers leveraging AI tools could earn dramatically more than traditional salaries. It paints a picture of a workplace where human ingenuity meets powerful automation. To make this vision a reality, ClickUp recently brought in about 3,000 in...