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When three Amazon software engineers testified earlier this month at Seattle City Council hearings about data centers, they started their testimony by citing a city law barring employment discrimination over political speech. Now, they're accusing their employer of breaking that law by retaliating against them. On June 10th - one week after the hearing, and one day after the City Council passed a milestone moratorium on data centers - Patrick Schloesser, Darius Irani, and Liesl Wigand were each called into an impromptu meeting with Amazon's "Employee Relations." HR representatives told the employees that the company was investigating them … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/952180/amazon-seattle-data-center-moratorium-aecj-disciplinary-action

According to the latest Pew Research poll , 49 percent of Americans report using chatbots at least occasionally, but 63 percent think the tech is advancing too quickly. Overall, use of AI chatbots has increased dramatically since 2024, when only 33 percent reported using them. Specifically, ChatGPT's usage has doubled since 2023, with 44 percent of respondents saying they've used it. But opinions remain negative , with only 16 percent saying that AI will have a positive impact on society. Interestingly, it's the younger generations who both report using AI more and who are inclined to have a more pessimistic view . 66 percent of Americans betw … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/951653/pew-research-ai-chatbot-usage-advancing-too-quickly

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel wearing the Snap Specs. They’re not the worst on him, but bold fashion rarely makes for mainstream success. | Screenshot: CNBC Yesterday, Snap debuted its new $2,195 Specs glasses . In an interview with CNBC , Snap CEO Evan Spiegel described the Specs as something the company had been working on for more than 12 years, an attempt to "bring computing into the world" and "make it more human." He positioned them as a device to help people stay more connected to the world around them instead of looking down at their phones. People, he said, are tired of screens. While Spiegel was speaking, I was struck by how, whenever his head moved, the light caught the lenses just so, revealing the hidden outline of the Specs' display. It was ironic that Spiegel was talking about scr … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/report/951481/snap-specs-wearables-smart-glasses-fashion

There’s still no word on the final launch price, however. | Image by Xreal The Project Aura glasses collaboration between Xreal and Google is now one step closer to being something you can buy. Reservations for the second Android XR device , now dubbed the Xreal Aura, are available for $99 starting today , with a full launch in the US, UK, Japan, Canada, and South Korea expected sometime this Fall. The Xreal Aura follows Google's first Android-powered XR device, the Samsung Galaxy XR headset , which launched at $1,799 in October 2025. We still don't have a full price for the Aura - which Google has previously described as "a headset masquerading as glasses" - but Best Buy will be the first in-store retail partner whe … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/950597/xreal-google-aura-xr-glasses-deposit-scheme

The yellow pair are on sale too. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge If you’re looking for a cheap Father’s Day gift that delivers more than you’d expect for the price, Nothing’s Ear (a) are a good option. The wireless earbuds are currently on sale as part of a larger early Prime Day sales event, making them an even better value than usual. Right now, you can buy them at Amazon in black complete with Nothing’s slick translucent charging case for $53.20 ($47 off), which marks a new all-time low. You can also buy them in yellow ( Amazon , Nothing ) and white ( Amazon , Nothing ) for just $3 more. Nothing Ear (a) Where to Buy: $99 $53.2 at Amazon (black) $99 $56 at Amazon (yellow) $99 $56 at Amazon (white) The Nothing Ear (a) are one of our favorite affordable pairs of wireless earbuds , and for good reason. They offer a surprising number of features for their price, including a low-latency gaming mode that helps reduce lag while p...

At Washington's request, Anthropic suddenly took its newest and most powerful AI models offline over the weekend. The American company said it had little choice after the White House demanded it block access for all foreign nationals, including its own employees. Abroad, the incident offered a sobering reminder that the US not only dominates frontier AI - its government also wields power over who gets to use it. The Trump administration's action was swift, sweeping, and imposed with little warning or explanation. The unprecedented shutdown of the Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models - which were already subject to safeguards limiting their use in " … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/949986/anthropic-fable-mythos-shutdown-sovereign-ai