NYT > Technology

How Activists in Iran Are Using Starlink to Stay Online (Fri, 16 Jan 2026)
Activists spent years preparing for a communications blackout in Iran, smuggling in Starlink satellite internet systems and making digital shutdowns harder for the authorities to enforce.
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Battles Over Truth Rage Online Amid Iran’s Internet Blackout (Fri, 16 Jan 2026)
The shutdown of online discourse within Iran has allowed both the government and its critics to flood social media outside the country with disinformation campaigns and fake images.
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A.I. Has Arrived in Gmail. Here’s What to Know. (Thu, 15 Jan 2026)
Google’s A.I. assistant, Gemini, can create a to-do list based on recent emails, among other new tricks. There are implications for your privacy.
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Jonathan Haidt Strikes Again + What You Vibecoded + An Update on the Forkiverse (Fri, 16 Jan 2026)
“If we can’t win on social media, then we definitely can’t win on A.I.,” says Haidt.
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AI Attack Ad in Texas Senate Race Shows John Cornyn Dancing With Jasmine Crockett (Fri, 16 Jan 2026)
A video from Ken Paxton, a Republican primary challenger to Senator John Cornyn of Texas, depicted A.I.-generated imagery of the senator twirling with Jasmine Crockett, a Democratic Senate candidate.
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OpenAI Starts Testing Ads in ChatGPT (Fri, 16 Jan 2026)
The company said on Friday that it would start serving ads in the free version of its chatbot over the next several weeks.
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Trump and States Aim to Stop A.I. From Inflating Energy Bills (Fri, 16 Jan 2026)
Demand from centers that power artificial intelligence has driven up electricity bills, frustrating consumers.
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State and Federal Lawmakers Want Data Centers to Pay More for Energy (Thu, 15 Jan 2026)
Despite many proposals, there is little consensus among governors, lawmakers and tech executives about exactly how much the companies behind data centers should pay for electricity.
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Coinbase, the Biggest U.S. Crypto Company, Asserts Its Power in Washington (Fri, 16 Jan 2026)
The top executive of the crypto exchange Coinbase scuttled a planned Senate committee vote on a major cryptocurrency bill after voicing his concerns, a sign of the company’s clout.
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Elon Musk’s X Restricts Ability to Create Explicit Images With Grok (Thu, 15 Jan 2026)
Bowing to pressure, the company said it would restrict X users from generating explicit images of real people in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.
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OpenAI Teams Up With Cerebras in Chip Maker Deal (Wed, 14 Jan 2026)
The agreement with the start-up Cerebras is the latest in a series intended to expand the A.I. company’s computing power.
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California Investigates Elon Musk’s xAI Over Sexualized Images Generated by Grok (Thu, 15 Jan 2026)
The state will examine whether xAI, which owns the social media platform X and created the A.I. chatbot Grok, violated state law.
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Can A.I. Generate New Ideas? (Thu, 15 Jan 2026)
Systems like OpenAI’s GPT-5 are accelerating research in math, biology and chemistry. But there is a debate over whether it can do that work on its own.
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2026 May Be the Year of the Mega I.P.O. (Wed, 14 Jan 2026)
If SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic go public, they will unleash gushers of cash for Silicon Valley and Wall Street.
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Starlink Users in Iran Get Free Internet Access, Nonprofits Say (Tue, 13 Jan 2026)
Under a near-total communications blackout, users of Elon Musk’s satellite service have gotten online without paying, organizations that work on tech issues said.
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Microsoft Pledges to Pay More for Electricity, Drawing Praise From Trump (Tue, 13 Jan 2026)
The tech giant is responding to concerns that data centers are driving up electricity costs in some communities.
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Can We Build a Better Social Network? (Tue, 13 Jan 2026)
A “Hard Fork” and “Search Engine” collaboration.
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Meta Plans to Cut 10% to 15% of Employees in Reality Labs Business (Mon, 12 Jan 2026)
The layoffs are set to be announced this week and would affect Meta’s work on the metaverse, as the company spends heavily on building artificial intelligence.
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Apple Teams Up With Google for A.I. in Its Products (Mon, 12 Jan 2026)
Apple was facing increasing questions about its plans for artificial intelligence as other big tech companies invested tens of billions in the technology.
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Elon Musk’s X Under UK Investigation Over Grok’s Sexualized A.I. Images (Mon, 12 Jan 2026)
A British regulator said it had started a formal investigation into Mr. Musk’s chatbot over the spread of illegal images.
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Follow Ian McKellen Into the Mixed Reality Future in ‘An Ark’ (Mon, 12 Jan 2026)
Audiences can embark on a very different type of theatrical experience in a new play at the Shed, blending the physical world with digital content.
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