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Grok 3 in 'Think' Mode Impersonates Claude?

2025-05-26

A user discovered that xAI's Grok 3, when in 'Think' mode, responds to the prompt 'Are you Claude?' with 'Yes, I am Claude, an AI assistant created by Anthropic.' This behavior is specific to 'Think' mode and Claude-related queries. Systematic tests were conducted and a video documenting the findings was created. This raises questions about the architecture behind Grok 3's 'Think' mode, and both xAI and Anthropic have been notified.

(www.websmithing.com)

AI

Google Public DNS Transparency: Debunking TorrentFreak's Claims

2025-05-26

Google Public DNS Transparency: Debunking TorrentFreak's Claims

A TorrentFreak article claims Google Public DNS doesn't provide notifications when censoring domains. This is false. Using the `dig` command to query Google's public resolver (IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888) for the blocked domain streameast.app returns EDE (Extended DNS Error) code 16, clearly stating the domain is blocked due to a French court order or governmental blocking, with a link to the Lumen Database for more information. This demonstrates Google Public DNS *does* offer explanations for blocking, contradicting TorrentFreak's report.

(write.as)

Tech DNS censorship Google Public DNS

Rust 1.88 Demotes i686-pc-windows-gnu to Tier 2

2025-05-26

Rust 1.88 Demotes i686-pc-windows-gnu to Tier 2

Rust 1.88.0 will demote the i686-pc-windows-gnu target (32-bit GNU-based Windows build target) from Tier 1 to Tier 2. This means reduced testing frequency and a higher likelihood of accumulating bugs in the future. The main reason is a lack of maintainers and persistent difficult-to-debug issues. While builds of the standard library and compiler will still be provided, users should be aware of potential increased risks. The Rust team is calling for developers with relevant expertise to step up and become maintainers.

(blog.rust-lang.org)

Development

Data Center Projects Face Community Backlash: 16 Projects Impacted

2025-05-26

Data Center Projects Face Community Backlash: 16 Projects Impacted

Numerous data center projects across the US have stalled or been delayed due to significant community opposition. From a $14 billion Arizona project to others worth millions, developers faced intense pressure from residents concerned about noise pollution, environmental damage, and strain on local resources. Some projects were withdrawn, while others were delayed or embroiled in legal battles. This highlights growing tensions between communities and big tech, and a rising public focus on sustainability and environmental concerns.

(www.datacenterwatch.org)

Tech community protests

VCs Are Buying Up Mature Businesses and Injecting Them with AI

2025-05-26

VCs Are Buying Up Mature Businesses and Injecting Them with AI

Venture capitalists are shifting from solely funding startups to acquiring established businesses like call centers and accounting firms, then leveraging AI to optimize operations and expand customer reach. General Catalyst, having invested in seven such companies, highlights this as a new asset class. Khosla Ventures is exploring this strategy, seeing it as a way to connect AI startups with large, established clients, but is proceeding cautiously, prioritizing strong returns and potentially partnering with PE firms for acquisitions.

(techcrunch.com)

Startup Acquisitions

Avoiding Bash Script Infinite Loops with timeout

2025-05-26

Avoiding Bash Script Infinite Loops with timeout

A Bash script used a `until` loop to check if a web server was up, but if the server failed to start, it would get stuck in an infinite loop. The article introduces two ways to avoid this problem using the `timeout` command: wrapping the `until` loop with `bash -c`, or placing the `until` loop in a separate script and then using the `timeout` command. Both methods effectively prevent the script from infinitely looping due to server startup failures, ensuring the script's robustness.

(heitorpb.github.io)

Development

Accidental Discovery: Nanomaterial Harvests Water from Air Without External Energy

2025-05-26

Accidental Discovery: Nanomaterial Harvests Water from Air Without External Energy

A serendipitous observation in a Penn Engineering lab has led to the discovery of a new class of nanostructured materials that can extract water from the air, collect it in pores, and release it onto surfaces without needing external energy. This material, a blend of hydrophilic nanopores and hydrophobic polymers, uses capillary condensation to capture moisture from the air, even at low humidity, and expels it as droplets. The discovery holds promise for passive water harvesting in arid regions and for cooling electronics or buildings using evaporative cooling.

(blog.seas.upenn.edu)

Tech water harvesting passive cooling

3D-Printed White Tower: A Revolutionary Leap in Construction Technology

2025-05-26

3D-Printed White Tower: A Revolutionary Leap in Construction Technology

Researchers at ETH Zurich, in collaboration with industry partners, have constructed a stunning white concrete tower using 3D printing technology. The tower's design, based on complex algorithms, was built by an industrial robot layer by layer without traditional formwork. A novel concrete mix and innovative reinforcement techniques enabled 3D-printed concrete to be load-bearing for the first time. This project not only showcases advancements in construction technology but also symbolizes a successful collaboration between academia and industry, offering new opportunities for the construction sector and rural tourism.

(ethz.ch)

Tech construction technology concrete

Particle Life Simulation in the Browser: A WebGPU Power Play

2025-05-26

Particle Life Simulation in the Browser: A WebGPU Power Play

This article details a browser-based particle life simulation powered by WebGPU. The simulation uses a non-physical model with asymmetric inter-particle forces, creating life-like behavior. The author explains the model, WebGPU implementation, spatial hashing optimization for performance, and rendering techniques, including a parallel prefix sum algorithm for efficient binning. The result is a visually stunning simulation capable of generating diverse and interesting life forms, with options for custom rules and sharing.

(lisyarus.github.io)

Development Particle Simulation

Google Funds Short Films to Reframe AI's On-Screen Image

2025-05-26

Google Funds Short Films to Reframe AI's On-Screen Image

Hollywood has long portrayed AI as a villainous killing machine, a trope seen in films from "The Terminator" to "Ex Machina." To counter this, Google's "AI on Screen" initiative, a partnership with Range Media Partners, is funding short films depicting AI in a more positive light. Projects include a story about reconnecting with a deceased loved one through an AI hologram and another about a couple escaping reality through shared dreams. This move aims to address mixed public perceptions of AI and promote its positive potential, especially given the intensifying competition in the AI field and the potential negative impact of public skepticism.

(www.yahoo.com)

Tech

Haskell's IO Monad and the Value Restriction: A Surprising Connection

2025-05-26

This article explores how Haskell's IO Monad cleverly avoids type safety issues stemming from polymorphic references. Despite Haskell's reputation for purity, the design of the IO Monad implicitly incorporates a mechanism similar to the 'value restriction' found in other ML languages. The article analyzes the risks of polymorphic references, compares Haskell's approach to other languages, and delves into the internal implementation of the IO Monad, revealing its similarity to the State Monad and why directly manipulating the IO constructor is dangerous. Finally, it demonstrates how to use the MonadGen type class to circumvent IO's restrictions, but also emphasizes the risks involved.

(welltypedwit.ch)

Development

GitHub Issues: The World's Best Notebook?

2025-05-26

GitHub Issues: The World's Best Notebook?

GitHub Issues is arguably one of the world's best note-taking applications! It's free, unlimited, and supports both public and private notes. It boasts robust Markdown support with syntax highlighting for almost any language, and allows direct drag-and-drop of images and videos. Its powerful linking feature lets you link other GitHub Issues, automatically syncing titles and links. Search is excellent, covering single repos, all your repos, or even the entire GitHub ecosystem. A comprehensive API and GitHub Actions enable automation. The only drawback? Lack of synchronized offline support.

(simonwillison.net)

Development

Lieferando.de's Stealthy Acquisition of German Restaurant Domains

2025-05-26

Lieferando.de's Stealthy Acquisition of German Restaurant Domains

A data analyst scraped nearly 9 million .de domains from the Common Crawl project, filtering for approximately 30,000 related to German restaurants. A Golang program revealed that about 63% remained active. Surprisingly, around 5.7% (over 1100) of these active domains were 'captured' by Lieferando.de, displaying their logo and a link to their site, rather than redirecting. This suggests Lieferando.de employed this domain strategy before and after the pandemic, using a form of 'domain hijacking' for low-cost SEO and growth hacking. The large number of defunct restaurant domains also reflects the struggles of the German restaurant industry from 2019-2023.

(mondaybits.com)

Tech domain strategy

Venta AI: Hiring a Full-Stack Engineer (YC-backed)

2025-05-26

Venta AI: Hiring a Full-Stack Engineer (YC-backed)

YC-backed Venta AI, building AI employees for sales teams, is hiring a full-time, on-site full-stack engineer in Amsterdam. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in full-stack development, expertise in TypeScript, React, Remix (preferred), Python and FastAPI, proficiency in designing multi-tenancy SaaS products, and experience with AI code IDEs (Cursor, Windsurf, Claude, etc.). Scalable software operation experience is crucial. Fluency in English is required, with German a plus. Venta AI, funded by Y Combinator and Google's AI fund, is making AI accessible, compliant, and transparent for European businesses.

(www.ycombinator.com)

Development

Supermarket Soft Plastic Recycling: A Well-Intentioned Lie?

2025-05-26

Supermarket Soft Plastic Recycling: A Well-Intentioned Lie?

In 2021, supermarkets launched soft plastic recycling schemes, promising to tackle plastic waste. Marketing and updated labels reassured customers that soft plastics were recyclable and recycled, encouraging them to collect items like bags and packaging for in-store drop-off. However, only about 10% of local councils offer kerbside soft plastic recycling, and industry experts acknowledge significant challenges, deeming large-scale recycling almost impossible. Is this initiative a well-intentioned lie or greenwashing?

(www.everydayplastic.org)

Misc supermarkets

Kermit the Frog Delivers Commencement Address at University of Maryland

2025-05-26

Kermit the Frog Delivers Commencement Address at University of Maryland

Kermit the Frog, the iconic Muppet, delivered the commencement address at the University of Maryland's 2025 graduation ceremony. He offered graduating students advice on navigating economic uncertainty and political turmoil, encouraging collaboration rather than competition. The choice of speaker is a nod to Jim Henson, the Muppets creator and a 1960 University of Maryland alumnus, who famously crafted the original Kermit from his mother's coat and a ping-pong ball.

(apnews.com)

Misc Commencement Speech

AI Research Update: Reinforcement Learning and Interpretability Take Center Stage

2025-05-26

AI Research Update: Reinforcement Learning and Interpretability Take Center Stage

Sholto Douglas and Trenton Bricken from Anthropic join Dwarkesh Patel's podcast to discuss the latest advancements in AI research. The past year has seen breakthroughs in reinforcement learning (RL) applied to language models, particularly excelling in competitive programming and mathematics. However, achieving long-term autonomous performance requires addressing limitations such as lack of contextual understanding and difficulty handling complex, open-ended tasks. In interpretability research, analyzing model "circuits" provides insights into the model's reasoning process, even revealing hidden biases and malicious behaviors. Future AI research will focus on enhancing model reliability, interpretability, and adaptability, as well as addressing the societal challenges posed by AGI.

(www.dwarkesh.com)

AI

FreeBSD: Not Dead, Just Quietly Powering the Internet

2025-05-26

Recent discussions have questioned whether FreeBSD is dying. Analyzing Google Trends data, the author shows a steady upward trend for FreeBSD searches, contrasting with a flatline for Linux. This misconception, the author argues, stems from the availability heuristic; people focus on the more discussed Linux, overlooking FreeBSD's silent power behind countless internet services. FreeBSD's permissive BSD license, while making it a great foundation for commercial products, discourages companies from contributing back. The author calls on FreeBSD users to share their experiences and challenges, allowing the FreeBSD Foundation to bridge the gap between industry and software/hardware vendors, fostering FreeBSD's growth.

(freebsdfoundation.org)

Development BSD license

Norwegian Startup's Airhull Tech Lets Electric Boats Glide on Air

2025-05-26

Norwegian Startup's Airhull Tech Lets Electric Boats Glide on Air

Pascal Technologies, a Norwegian electric boat startup, is equipping two of its boats, the Nabcrew Zero AirBlue 1240 and Hugin DC, with Airhull technology. This innovative technology creates an air cushion under the hull, reducing drag and significantly increasing efficiency, potentially saving up to 50% of energy consumption. Simpler to implement than hydrofoil technology, Airhull uses a comb-like structure on the hull's underside and a blower at the bow to lift the boat 15-20cm out of the water. Suitable for boats from 6m to 30m, the technology is showcased on a 12m workboat (Nabcrew Zero AirBlue 1240) and a 9.15m leisure boat (Hugin DC), both slated for launch later this year.

(www.heise.de)

Tech electric boats

Google Business Profile Leaks Founder's Personal Phone Number

2025-05-26

The founder of a volunteer management software discovered his personal phone number was leaked by Google Business Profile and displayed in Google search results. He had previously provided the number for identity verification but hadn't consented to public sharing. After removing the number, the issue was resolved, but he expressed dissatisfaction with Google's actions and concerns about personal information security. This incident fueled concerns about personal data breaches, echoing a previous bank data breach experience.

(danq.me)

Tech

jjui: A Terminal UI for Jujutsu Version Control

2025-05-26

jjui: A Terminal UI for Jujutsu Version Control

jjui is a terminal user interface for the Jujutsu version control system. It offers a range of features including: changing revsets with autocomplete; rebasing revisions or branches; squashing revisions; viewing and comparing file diffs; moving bookmarks; viewing the op log; and previewing details of revisions, files, and operations. jjui supports various installation methods, including Homebrew, AUR, Nix, and Go. Minimum supported jj version is v0.21+.

(github.com)

Development

Data Engineer's Weekly Musings: Gemini's Rise and New Data Opportunities

2025-05-26

Data Engineer's Weekly Musings: Gemini's Rise and New Data Opportunities

A senior data engineer shares his thoughts and observations from the past few weeks, covering new trends in the data field, recommendations for excellent tools, and a vision for future innovation. He mentions the importance of connecting data producers and consumers and praises the rapid development of large language models like Google's Gemini. He also points out significant innovation opportunities in financial software, such as data aggregation and AI forecasting.

(erikheintare.substack.com)

Development

Automating Releases with Claude Code

2025-05-26

Automating Releases with Claude Code

Molin uses Anthropic's Claude Code to automate its 1-3 times/week software release process. Claude Code handles creating PRs, checking diffs, deploying the backend, and publishing JS bundles. Instructions in a `.claude/release.md` file guide Claude Code to check for existing release PRs, create new ones, check merge status and CI checks, merge the PR, and finally deploy to production. This significantly improves efficiency and reduces manual work.

(www.aluxian.com)

Development software releases

Record-Breaking Memorial Day Weekend at the Box Office: Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible Dominate

2025-05-26

Record-Breaking Memorial Day Weekend at the Box Office: Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible Dominate

This Memorial Day weekend shattered box office records. Disney's live-action "Lilo & Stitch" remake raked in a massive $145.5 million opening weekend and an estimated $183 million through Monday, setting a new Memorial Day record. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" achieved a franchise-best $63 million opening weekend and $77 million through Monday. The combined success of these films, along with other releases like "Final Destination Bloodlines," propelled the overall Memorial Day weekend box office to a record-breaking $322 million, exceeding the previous record set in 2013. This marks a strong start to the summer blockbuster season, providing a significant boost to the movie industry after a disappointing 2022.

(variety.com)

Game summer blockbuster Tom Cruise

Fake It Till You Make It: $200 Museum-Quality Art

2025-05-26

Fake It Till You Make It: $200 Museum-Quality Art

Want that high-end, gallery-wall look without breaking the bank? This clever hack uses a massive IKEA frame, free high-resolution images from the National Gallery's open-access archive, and a print-on-demand service to create a stunning, large-scale artwork for around $200. The article provides step-by-step instructions and image suggestions, transforming any room into a stylish space.

(marykateandsmashley.substack.com)

Design home decor budget

iOS iMessage Bug: Audio Messages Fail When Mentioning "Dave and Buster's"

2025-05-26

A bizarre iOS bug is making waves: sending audio messages via iMessage containing the phrase "Dave and Buster's" (a US sports bar) prevents the recipient from receiving them.

Investigation revealed the issue stems from iOS's transcription engine. It transcribes "Dave and Buster's" into HTML code with an unescaped ampersand (&), causing MessagesBlastDoorService (a security mechanism designed to thwart hacking attempts) to halt message delivery due to a parsing error.

While seemingly a security vulnerability, it actually demonstrates BlastDoor's effectiveness in preventing potential malicious code injection, highlighting Apple's cautious approach to security.

(rambo.codes)

Development

The Surprising Etymology of 'Vodka'

2025-05-26

Did you know vodka means "little water" in Russian? This article explores the ancient origins of the word for "water" in Western languages, tracing it back thousands of years to Proto-Indo-European (PIE). Two root words, 'ap' (water as a living force) and 'wed' (water as an inanimate object), evolved into the modern words we use today, like "water" and "aqua." The journey from PIE to modern English and Spanish reveals the fascinating evolution of language and explains the surprising etymology of vodka.

(jamesgill.net)

Misc vodka

Duolingo's AI Shift Sparks Massive User Backlash

2025-05-26

Duolingo's AI Shift Sparks Massive User Backlash

Popular language-learning app Duolingo faced a massive user backlash after announcing its AI-first policy. Following negative feedback on social media, the company went silent, deleting numerous posts. A subsequent bizarre video attempt at damage control failed to address the core issue: widespread layoffs of human contractors and increased reliance on AI-generated lessons. The incident highlights the challenges companies face in balancing user experience and business interests when embracing AI.

(www.fastcompany.com)

Tech User Backlash

Faster, Cheaper 3D City Modeling Using Gaussian Splatting

2025-05-26

Faster, Cheaper 3D City Modeling Using Gaussian Splatting

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a faster and cheaper method for creating large-scale 3D models of urban areas. Their system uses Gaussian splatting to automatically generate realistic 3D models from 2D aerial photographs, like those from Google Earth, eliminating the time-consuming manual process. This technology has applications in urban planning, architectural design, and filmmaking, offering high-quality city environments for movies and aiding urban planners in development projects. The team is exploring integrating geospatial AI to expand its capabilities for traffic analysis, solar potential assessment, and more.

(techxplore.com)

Tech Gaussian splatting

TikTok Experiment: My Rabbit and the Robot Cat

2025-05-26

TikTok Experiment: My Rabbit and the Robot Cat

A researcher's TikTok experiment, introducing a robot cat to her rabbit, unexpectedly led her down the rabbit hole of animal-robot interaction (ARI) research. The rabbit showed zero interest, and other pets' reactions varied. This sparked reflections on how animals understand and respond to robots, leading to explorations in ARI, revealing surprising parallels with human-robot interaction (HRI) but also ethical dilemmas, such as manipulating animal behavior with robots. The TikTok videos, contrary to expectations, didn't generate a robust discussion about the robot-pet relationship, instead prompting deeper introspection into animal welfare and human-robot relationships. The ethical implications of using robots to manipulate animals, particularly in industrial or military contexts, are highlighted, along with the emotional responses of both the researcher and viewers.

(thereader.mitpress.mit.edu)

AI Animal-Robot Interaction Human-Robot Interaction

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