Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
Trump’s AI strategy trades guardrails for growth in race against China
The Trump administration published its much-anticipated AI Action Plan on Wednesday, a document that takes a sharp shift away from former President Biden’s cautious approach to addressing the risks of AI, and instead barrels ahead with plans to build out AI infrastructure, cut red tape for tech companies, shore up national security, and compete with China. …
YouTube Shorts is adding an image-to-video AI tool, new AI effects
YouTube announced on Wednesday that it’s giving Shorts creators access to new generative AI features, including an image-to-video AI tool and new AI effects. The image to video feature lets users turn a picture from their camera roll into a a six-second video. Users will see a selection of suggestions that are relevant to the…
Apple alerted Iranians to iPhone spyware attacks, say researchers
Apple notified more than a dozen Iranians in recent months that their iPhones had been targeted with government spyware, according to security researchers. Miaan Group, a digital rights organization that focuses on Iran, and Hamid Kashfi, an Iranian cybersecurity researcher who lives in Sweden, said they spoke with several Iranians who received the notifications in…
PayPal taps wallets from China and India to make cross-border payments easier for 2 billion people
PayPal announced Wednesday it has partnered with global wallet companies to create a platform called PayPal World that is designed to make cross-border commerce easier. The platform will allow users to pay others using their local wallets and payment systems. The company said the launch partners include India’s NPCI International Payments Limited, which operates mobile…
UK government wants ransomware victims to report cyberattacks so it can disrupt the hackers
The U.K. government wants to require victims of ransomware to report if they were breached with the goal of providing law enforcement with information that could help target the cybercriminals responsible. On Tuesday, the U.K.’s interior ministry, the Home Office, published a proposal with the aim of changing the British government’s strategy to counter ransomware.…
User privacy app Cloaked adds AI-powered caller screening
Lux Capital-backed Cloaked, a consumer app for user identity protection, launched an AI-powered caller screening and dark web monitoring feature today. Cloaked’s caller screening feature, named Call Guard, takes a call from an unknown number and converses with the caller to understand the intent. The tool automatically filters out spam or potentially scammy calls instead…
OpenAI and Google outdo the mathletes, but not each other
AI models from OpenAI and Google DeepMind achieved gold-medal scores in the 2025 International Math Olympiad (IMO), one of the world’s oldest and most challenging high school-level math competitions, the companies independently announced in recent days. The results underscore just how fast AI systems are advancing, and yet, how evenly matched Google and OpenAI seem…
Tesla’s retro-futuristic diner officially opens as Elon Musk hints at more locations
The Tesla Diner & Drive-In, a long-awaited and hyped facility that combines retro nostalgia and futurism with the automaker’s fast-charging network, officially opened at 4:20 p.m. Monday in Hollywood, California. The Tesla Diner & Drive-In is technically a place for Tesla drivers to charge their EVs and maybe get hamburger, hot dog, or other classic…
TechCrunch Mobility: Uber makes a bet on premium robotaxis
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! A little bird Image Credits:Bryce Durbin If it wasn’t obvious before, it is now. Uber wants a big piece of the autonomous vehicle technology pie. The ride-hailing company…
Grok’s AI companions drove downloads, but its latest model is the one making money
Grok’s raunchy, unfiltered AI companions may be making headlines for their unhinged and often NSFW responses, but it’s Grok 4, xAI’s latest model, that’s been driving the app’s revenue of late. Elon Musk’s xAI launched Grok 4 late on July 9, and by Friday, July 11, Grok’s gross revenue on iOS had jumped a whopping…
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