Lead Hacker

After months sitting on the sidelines of the frontier AI race, Google has finally launched its long-awaited Gemini 4 Argon model, claiming it can compete with the best the industry has to offer. Google says Argon delivers "frontier reasoning and improved performance across complex workflows," while cutting down on hedging, repetition, and the cliches that continue to plague AI chatbots. The company claims Argon outperforms rival models like GPT-6 Astra, Claude Fable 5.1, and Claude Opus 5.5 across a range of benchmarks, including coding, cybersecurity, science, finance, and law. Google says it's already putting Argon to use internally, s … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1009862/google-releases-gemini-4-argon

Character.AI, one of the first breakout startups of the generative AI boom, has filed for bankruptcy and is selling some of its assets to Disney. The company, which builds various online bots for users to chat or roleplay with, has faced mounting scrutiny and lawsuits over the safety of its chatbots , but has continued releasing updates and products in recent months. In a press release and blog post published Monday, Character said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US to facilitate the sale of the company and its assets. "Over the past year, we've taken meaningful steps to sustain and improve our business amid signific … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1009802/character-ai-files-for-bankruptcy-disney

As important as some of the messages in The Social Reckoning are, the movie has been drastically underperforming at the box office. Per Variety , Aaron's Sorkin's follow up to The Social Network only grossed a measly $5.5 million this past weekend against a budget that's somewhere within the $30-42 million range. That would make it a certifiable flop that's costing Columbia Pictures (and Sony) quite a bit of money - especially when you compare it to The Social Network 's $22 million opening. This isn't entirely surprising given how middling reviews for the film have been. It's currently got a 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has widely been … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1009630/social-reckoning-box-office-other-mommy

So much for doing less political spending. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Elon Musk has handed out at least $276 million to Republican groups since July, The New York Times reports, making him both the party's top known donor and the biggest established midterm donor. $158 million of that money - one of the largest political donations in American history - has been funneled into the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC that aims to secure and maintain a Republican Senate majority. Among others, it's fighting to retain the party's Senate seat in Texas, which serves as a major hub for Musk's business empire. He's also donated over $76 million to America PAC, a super PAC Musk founded in 2024 that canvasses for … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1009604/elon-musk-2026-midterm-republican-donations

If you're driving through GM's sprawling campus in Warren, Michigan, you'd likely ignore the pair of adjacent, anonymous white buildings tucked away in the upper reaches of the 710-acre space. Inside those buildings, which total half a million square feet together, is a massive construction project that's still in progress. Once completed, it will house GM's new Battery Cell Development Center, where the automaker is working furiously to build new prototype cells with the goal of slashing the cost of its EVs. GM has to build faster and cheaper to meet its goal of selling affordable EVs in much higher volumes. Those EVs will have to compete … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1008023/gm-bcdc-ev-battery-factory-china-tesla

BOULDER, CO - MARCH 5:A Flock Safety license plate recognition camera is seen near the intersection of Marine Street and Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Photo by Matthew Jonas/MediaNews Group/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images In April of 2025, Elgin Community College had six Flock safety cameras installed to "enhance the safety and security of students." But by September of that year, the school's administration grew concerned that Flock was sharing data with Customs and Border Patrol, that camera feeds were not properly secured, and that both law enforcement and the company's employees were abusing access to the data. So in October of 2025, Elgin Community College requested Flock to remove its cameras . According to Elgin's President Peggy Heinrich, Flock rejected the request, saying it had not violated its contract. According to the Chicago Sun-Times , school o … R...