Here is the daily technology #threadcast for 5/28/25. The goal is to make this a technology "reddit".
Drop all question, comments, and articles relating to #technology and the future. The goal is make it a technology center.
Here is the daily technology #threadcast for 5/28/25. The goal is to make this a technology "reddit".
Drop all question, comments, and articles relating to #technology and the future. The goal is make it a technology center.
Labor Ends Biden Policy in Move to Allow Bitcoin in 401Ks
The U.S. Department of Labor announced an unwinding of a Biden administration policy of discouraging fiduciaries from including cryptocurrency investments in retirement plans.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced an unwinding of a Biden administration policy of discouraging fiduciaries from including cryptocurrency investments in retirement plans.
"The Biden administration's Department of Labor made a choice to put their thumb on the scale," Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer wrote in a statement Wednesday. "We're rolling back this overreach and making it clear that investment decisions should be made by fiduciaries, not D.C. bureaucrats."
Biden's policy directed retirement plans to exercise "extreme care" before adding cryptocurrency to investment menus, and President Donald Trump's Labor Department argues the language deviated from the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and marked a departure from the department's historically neutral, principled-based approach to fiduciary investment decisions.
"By rescinding the 2022 guidance, the department reaffirms its neutral stance, neither endorsing, nor disapproving of, plan fiduciaries who conclude that the inclusion of cryptocurrency in a plan's investment menu is appropriate," the department wrote in the announcement that comes amid the Bitcoin conference this week in Las Vegas.
!summarize #doctors #ai #healthcare #technology
China and tariffs have wiped off $130 billion from critical chip firm ASML since peak value
ASML, like many chip firms, has been hit by restrictions on exports to China and U.S. tariff uncertainty.
More than $130 billion of value has been wiped off of ASML in under a year amid restrictions on exports to China and U.S. tariff uncertainty
Shares of ASML, which is seen as a critical cog in the semiconductor supply chain, hit a record high of over 1,000 euros a piece in July last year for a market capitalization of $429.5 billion, according to data from S&P Capital IQ. That fell to just under $297 billion at the Tuesday close price.
Semiconductor stocks have been volatile since last year due to tightening U.S. chip export restrictions to China and U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs on the sector since he took office. ASML and other European semiconductor firms have felt the heat.
"All the equipment manufacturers in the space have come down because they are concentrating all the fears around … the U.S. restrictions to China," Stephane Houri, head of equity research at ODDO BHF, told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" on Wednesday.
Houri also said tariff discussions and debate over whether companies are over-investing in artificial intelligence, bringing up questions over whether "demand is not at
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Telegram said in a previous statement posted on Musk's social media platform X that it abides by EU laws, and that Durov has "nothing to hide."
The Russian-born billionaire left Russia in 2014, according to Telegram's website, and is also a citizen of the United Arab Emirates.
In March, Musk announced xAI merged with X in a deal that values the AI company at $80 billion and the social media company at $33 billion. The company's Grok chatbot was under fire earlier this month after it began responding to user queries with unrelated comments about the controversial topic of "white genocide" in South Africa.
"We have a world-class team, deep partnerships, leading technology, and a bold vision for the future, and I'm honored to step in and lead Instacart's next chapter," he said.
Profits for the year were impacted by a £29 million fine by the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority over failings related to Starling's financial crime prevention systems.
Starling also flagged an issue with the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) that was designed to provide firms with access to cash during the coronavirus pandemic.
Starling was one of several banks that were approved to lend cash to firms during the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. The scheme provided a 100% guarantee to lenders, making the government responsible for covering the full outstanding loan amount if a borrower defaulted.
ASML is one of the most important companies in the semiconductor supply chain. It designs tools, known as extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, that are purchased by manufacturers like TSMC and are required to make the world's most advanced chips.
The company recently started shipping the next generation of these machines, known as high numerical aperture, or High NA.
The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 38 new highs and 31 new lows.
With his proposals, Trump had offered Putin a relatively easy off-ramp from his apparent suicidal mission.
But the Russian leader doesn't want a deal.
A Russian-American businessman told me recently Putin cannot end the war because his whole economy is now based on war.
Russia has mobilized an army of 1.5 million men, has a military budget equal to all European countries combined, and has a massive armament program underway making everything from drones to tanks to artillery shells — you name it.
"It is absolutely imperative for Russia to continue to rely on the military industry, because it [has] become the driver of economic growth," Alexander Kolyandr, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, recently said.
"For a while, it will be next to impossible for Russia to reduce military spending."
"The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized," he said. "I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least.”
Musk announced in late April he was stepping back from government to run his companies again.
He said in May that he did not achieve all his goals with DOGE even though tens of thousands of people were removed from government payrolls and several government departments were gutted or shut down altogether.
Musk told The Post he would keep working with DOGE but focus on upgrading federal government computer systems rather than firing more people.
The lawmaker said he was requesting all documents and communications from O'Connell's office related to:
A city directive requiring Nashville employees and first responders to report all communication with federal immigration authorities directly to the mayor.
Any internal discussions or documents concerning ICE enforcement actions in Nashville or Davidson County.
All correspondence involving city employees and affiliated non-governmental organizations regarding the arrest or detention of criminal illegal aliens within Nashville or the county.
"Fidel? Charlie here," he said, "You remember that bill I introduced back in 1973 to ease trade restrictions with Cuba? I talked to the president today and he's going to make it happen. I told you it would work but you just had to be patient!"
Rangel never had any trouble being reelected and served 46 years as the congressman from Harlem. The only true contest he had with the polls was in his initial election in 1970 when he narrowly unseated another genuine legend of Harlem: Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
"Republicans need to open their eyes: Our voters support social insurance programs," Hawley wrote. "More than that, our voters depend on those programs."
Following the passage of the budget reconciliation bill in the House, Hawley said Republicans "ought to just do what the president says" and focus on cutting "waste, fraud, and abuse" instead of Medicaid.
Hawley told reporters he raised the issue with Trump, who reiterated his desire that Congress leave Medicaid alone.
"His exact words were 'Don't touch it, Josh.' I said 'Hey, we're on the same page,'" Hawley said, according to The Hill.
He also expressed concern about the impact the Medicaid provisions contained in the House bill would have on rural hospitals, especially the freeze on provider taxes.
He plans to announce his proposal during a campaign rally, with several unions that are endorsing his candidacy, including the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and the Amalgamated Transit Union. Most of the city's major unions have endorsed the former governor.
Cuomo said his proposal is "an aggressive, progressive action that will help hourly workers and stimulate the economy."
His plan would need approval from Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers, who raised the minimum wage to $16.50 in New York City, Westchester, and Long Island this year. Minimum wage in the rest of the state is now $15.50 and is expected to rise based on inflation.
Norquist refused to budge, arguing that such a maneuver would prove a politically disastrous "attack on the small-business community," the Post reported.
"We showed how weak and nonexistent this quote-unquote 'movement' for higher taxes is within the Republican Party," Norquist said. "The House and the Senate have been in lockstep: This is not happening, period. But I'm glad we had this movement because it allowed us to expose this little cancer cell in the party pushing the idea."
Critics of the House legislation say it disproportionately benefits taxpayers at the top of the income distribution, though most of the bill's more than $2.5 trillion price tag comes from measures that primarily benefit middle-class taxpayers, the Post reported.
The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that people earning between $30,000 and $80,000 would pay around 15% less in taxes in 2027.
!summarize #waymo #tsla #robotaxi #software
Sea Serpent: Scientists have finally identified the fossils of an ancient sea monster as the 'Traskasaura sandrae', a bizarre 12-meter plesiosaur discovered in Canada in 1988 that had baffled researchers for its unique hunting style. The ancient marine reptile dove down on prey from above — completely opposite to how other ocean predators hunted by looking upward toward surface light. The Traskasaura probably met the same fate as all plesiosaurs when an asteroid supposedly wiped out large marine animals 66M years ago.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250523120617.htm
Reaching For The Stars: China has started work on an ambitious space supercomputer network that could one day include as many as 2,800 satellites. The first batch of a dozen satellites successfully entered orbit last week. Unlike traditional satellites that simply relay data back to Earth, the "Star Computing" constellation will be able to operate totally independently, helping it sidestep the cooling requirements and physical vulnerabilities that limit other arrays.
https://www.newsweek.com/china-starts-building-first-giant-supercomputer-network-space-2073584
Light of Life: Scientists have discovered that living humans emit a subtle light that flickers out immediately when we die. It’s about 1,000x to 1,000,000x dimmer than what the human eye can see, but can be detected using specialized cameras. While not the mystical auras of spiritual belief, this biological luminescence offers a non-invasive method for monitoring tissue health, transplant viability, and stress levels in living organisms — essentially providing a scientific way to measure the light of life itself.
https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/all-living-things-faintly-glow-ultraweak-photon-emission-upe
Primate Problem: Scientists have documented a bizarre new primate behavior — capuchin monkeys are kidnapping baby howler monkeys and carrying them off for days. With over 11 babies kidnapped over 15 months, scientists think the behavior likely emerged from boredom, as capuchins live in a predator-free environment. The trend started from a single misbehaving monkey, representing the first documented case of animals developing a destructive cultural fad, paralleling human social media trends.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/science/capuchin-monkeys-kidnapping-abduction.html
A coffee machine that integrates a grinder, brewer, scale, and mobile app for the perfect pour. It includes recipe cards that activate roasters’ preferred presets, including bean-specific brewing profiles.
https://xbloom.com/products/xbloom-studio?srsltid
The world’s smallest 16" folding bike. It folds in seconds and transforms into a rolling cart, picnic table, or pet stroller.
https://aniwowbike.com/en
A two-in-one device that can be used both as a soundbar and a karaoke machine.
https://www.vizio.com/en/micme
A full-bed system that cools, heats, and tracks your sleep. Each side automatically adapts to your body temperature for deeper, uninterrupted rest.
https://www.eightsleep.com/product/pod-cover
Elon Musk's xAI partners with messaging app Telegram in $300 million Grok deal
Elon Musk's startup xAI is paying Telegram $300 million to roll out its Grok chatbot.
Elon Musk's startup xAI is paying the Dubai-based messaging platform Telegram $300 million to roll out its Grok artificial intelligence chatbot, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced in a post on Wednesday.
Durov said he and Musk struck a year-long partnership that "strengthens Telegram's financial position."
In addition to the $300 million payment from xAI, Telegram will also earn 50% of the revenue from xAI subscriptions that are sold on the platform, according to Durov.
"This summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market," Durov wrote.
xAI and Telegram did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Telegram passed 1 billion monthly users in 2025, and the company is set to raise at least $1.5 billion in a bond issue on Wednesday, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The messaging platform is popular in countries like Russia and Ukraine, where it is used by government officials and the military.
Durov is facing an investigation in France, where he is a citizen, for allegedly allowing criminal activity including drug trafficking, fraud and child pornography on Telegram. Following his arrest in August, Durov has been barred from leaving France without authorization.
Coffee Run: Elon Musk has broken the internet with a video of a Tesla owner brewing espresso on the go, thanks to the car's autonomous driving feature. It’s a brief glimpse into what may be the future of autonomous transport.
Caught Red-Handed: An AI-generated text detector claims that the Declaration of Independence was written almost entirely by AI. “Crazy that even the founding fathers used AI to cheat on their homework,” one commenter quipped.
(for idiots who believe in these Ai detectors blindly)
Cosmic Dance: A resurfaced simulation showing scientists’ first direct detection of gravitational waves is going viral. It shows a pair of black holes colliding and unleashing a mind-blowing 3.6×10⁴⁹ watts of power. That’s presumably "greater than the combined power of all light radiated by all the stars in the observable universe.”
Bargain Find: Harvard paid $27.50 for a stained copy of the Magna Carta in 1946. It turned out to be an original — one of only seven known surviving copies — and could now be worth millions.
Medical Marvel: UCLA and USC surgeons just made medical history by performing the world's first human bladder transplant, giving a 41-year-old cancer patient a new lease on life. The eight-hour procedure required years of preparation due to the bladder's complex blood vessel network. The patient was able to urinate without assistance for the first time in seven years — offering hope for millions suffering from bladder dysfunction.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/health/bladder-transplant-human.html
Ray Remedy: Scientists are discovering that controlled UV light therapy could revolutionize treatment for autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and Type 1 diabetes — conditions that mysteriously become more common as one moves further from the equator. Unlike biologic drugs, which can cost patients as much as $80,000 each year, UV light boxes go for around $2,000. While larger trials are needed, this breakthrough suggests millions may find relief not in lab-created drugs, but in what’s been shining down on us all along.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/surprising-ways-that-sunlight-might-heal-autoimmune-diseases
X-Ray Eyes: Scientists claim to have cracked the code on infrared vision. They’ve developed contact lenses that convert near-infrared light into visible wavelengths, giving humans the ability to see infrared even in the dark or when they have their eyes closed. In human trials, participants detected Morse-code-like flickering from infrared LED sources and were able to determine signal direction — potentially opening new applications in security, rescue operations, encryption, and assistance for the visually impaired.
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/contact-lenses-let-humans-see-infrared
Pain Pivot: Scientists have developed SBI-810, an experimental painkiller that delivers powerful pain relief without the side effects that make opioids so risky. While opioids flood multiple brain pathways indiscriminately, SBI-810 uses "biased agonism" to target only specific pain-relief signals while avoiding ones that cause the euphoric high linked to addiction. With over 80,000 Americans dying annually from drug overdoses (mostly opioids), this targeted approach could finally provide a much safer pain management option.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250519131126.htm
Joby Aviation shares pop 20% as electric air taxi maker closes $250 million Toyota investment
Joby announced that it received the first $250 million of a $500 million investment from Toyota to support its air taxis.
The payment is part of a previously announced deal from the carmaker to invest $500 million in the company to support certification and commercial production of its electric air taxis. Toyota announced the deal in October.
"We're already seeing the benefit of working with Toyota in streamlining manufacturing processes and optimizing design," said CEO and founder JoeBen Bevirt in a release late Tuesday. "This is an important next step in our alliance with Toyota to scale the promise of electric flight."
Joby also added that the deal reinforces the "mutual commitment to deepening integration and delivering next generation travel to global market."
Joby makes electric vertical takeoff and landing aircrafts (eVTOL) which take off and land like helicopters. Developers say the technology can be used to reduce traffic congestion and emissions.
United Airlines has partnered with competitor Archer Aviation to launch an airport air taxi service.
Toyota invested $394 million in Joby in 2020.
Instacart names Chris Rogers as CEO after Fidji Simo's exit for OpenAI
Instacart has appointed business chief Chris Rogers as its new CEO, less than a month after OpenAI announced CEO Fidji Simo as its new operations chief.
Instacart on Wednesday appointed business chief Chris Rogers as its new CEO, less than a month after OpenAI announced CEO Fidji Simo as its new head of applications.
Shares were flat.
Rogers, who joined Instacart in 2019, will start Aug. 15 and join the board of directors. Simo will retain her chair position to "smooth the transition," the company said.
"Over the last four years, we've transformed Instacart into a growing, profitable, leading technology platform that's helping reshape the grocery industry," Simo said in a release. "We're building a generational company at the intersection of technology and food, and Chris is the right leader for our next chapter."
OpenAI announced this month that it had recruited Simo to lead its applications team, reporting directly to CEO Sam Altman. At the time, Altman said in a post that Simo would "focus on enabling our 'traditional' company functions to scale as we enter a next phase of growth."
She joined the artificial intelligence startup's board last year.
Simo helped take the grocery delivery company public in 2023, after it ballooned in popularity as consumers sheltered at home during the depths of the pandemic.
At the time, Instacart was the first major venture-backed tech IPO since the end of 2021. She also made CNBC's 2024 Changemakers list.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams Calls for the End of NYDFS' BitLicense, Proposes 'BitBond'
NYC Mayor Eric Adams called for the abolition of the New York Department of Financial Services BitLicense to entice crypto firms back to the city in a Bitcoin 2025 keynote. He proposed a “BitBond” municipal bond backed by bitcoin to raise capital with tax advantages, which would allocate 90% of proceeds to government funding and 10% to Bitcoin purchases. It would pay holders 1% annual interest for 10 years plus 100% of Bitcoin's upside up to a 4.5% compounded return, with residual gains seeding a city Bitcoin reserve.
U.S. Labor Department Picks Up Crypto Torch, Throws Out Previous Warnings
The U.S. Department of Labor has withdrawn its March 2022 guidance cautioning 401(k) fiduciaries against including cryptocurrencies in retirement plans, issuing a new directive that it will no longer single out asset classes for praise or warning. Secretary Lori Chavez‑DeRemer argued that investment decisions belong to plan fiduciaries, not D.C. bureaucrats, and that the previous stance improperly “put a thumb on the scale.” The original warning came just before crypto market failures in 2022, when bitcoin‐linked retirement holdings fell roughly 52%, though those same positions would now be up about 156%.
Coinbase unveils CDP Wallets offering 'full control' without key management
The Coinbase Developer Platform has unveiled a new Wallet API that allows developers to create onchain experiences without dealing with the struggles of private key management. It uses Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) technology to securely store private keys, with developers making interactions through API calls. US developers can earn 4.1% USDC rewards on balances in the wallets, which offer state-of-the-art latency and creation times and full compatibility with popular tools like wagmi and viem.
Apple to Launch iOS 26, macOS 26 in Major Rebrand Tied to Software Redesigns
The next Apple operating systems will be identified by year rather than version number. The change is aimed at bringing consistency to the company's branding and making things less confusing to customers and developers. The next operating systems will be known as iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26. The shift will be announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9.
Researchers Say New Contact Lenses Let You See in the Dark
Scientists have created contact lenses that allow people to see in the dark with the help of infrared light. The invention could allow colorblind people to see colors again. The contacts don't require an external power source and wearers can perceive multiple infrared wavelengths even with their eyes closed. They aren't yet able to capture fine details, so the scientists are working on a version with more precise spatial resolution and higher sensitivity.
A Reaction to Alzheimer's Fraud
The beta-amyloid protein has been a prime suspect in the pathology of Alzheimer's for many decades. However, there was a period where some papers made a form of amyloid appear to be able to induce disease-like symptoms all by itself in rodent models. Those works turned out not to be reproducible, and there is strong evidence of deliberately faked work in those papers. While those particular papers are fake, they don't discount the decades of legitimate research on the topic.
Elon Musk Tried to Block Sam Altman’s Big AI Deal in the Middle East
OpenAI and a group of American technology giants recently won a deal to build one of the world's largest artificial intelligence data centers in Abu Dhabi. While the deal was being made, Elon Musk worked hard to make sure it included his own AI startup, warning the group that the plan had no chance of presidential approval unless xAI was included in the deal. Trump and US officials reviewed the deal terms and decided to move forward. The project, Stargate UAE, was ultimately announced on May 22.
What If We Had Bigger Brains? Imagining Minds beyond Ours
As humans, we like to think our minds are somehow at the top of what's possible, but it is now pretty clear this isn't true. Artificial neural networks allow us to get a more systematic sense of what different scales of brains can do. As systems get more complex, they may start using abstractions and higher-order constructs that we are basically blind to.
Samsung drops Android 16 beta for Galaxy S25 with more AI you probably don’t want
Samsung Galaxy S25 owners can sign up for the Android 16 beta by opening the Samsung Members app - the beta sign-up should be right on the main landing page.
Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, says AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and that AI companies and governments need to stop sugar-coating what's coming.
The Who Cares Era
We are now in the 'Who Cares Era', where completely disposable things are shoddily produced for people to mostly ignore.
Crypto X AI: The Attention Wars
Attention has become a core digital commodity, with algorithms on major platforms optimizing for and monetizing user focus. Advances in AI now allow precise measurement of mindshare, and crypto micropayments coupled with open finance rails are spawning direct, tokenized attention markets, exemplified by projects like Kaito, Noise, Loudio, and the Basic Attention Token. This convergence addresses inefficiencies and rent‑seeking intermediaries in the attention economy by enabling transparent, pay‑for‑attention models. Going forward, the space may tip toward a dystopia of pervasive extraction or a utopia where AI‑powered defenses and fair compensation restore user control.
The Future of Stablecoins
Headline stablecoin metrics like market cap and volume are misleading, with over 30% of reported volume driven by MEV bots and 32% of supply held by just 20,000 unidentified wallets. The real shift is happening at the distribution level, where issuers like Circle are paying out over half their revenue to partners like Coinbase to drive adoption.