Panasonic Creates Device-Locked QR Codes to Speed Facial Biometric Capture
Panasonic has introduced device‑locked QR codes that work only with authorized readers, streamlining facial‑biometric enrolment for its Site Management Service. The QR code carries registration data; when scanned by the system’s camera, it triggers a facial capture, eliminating the need for admins to manually photograph and assess image quality. By restricting decoding to specific hardware and environments, Panasonic mitigates the risk of unauthorized use of the codes. The announcement coincides with a new partnership with Hitachi to develop a broader secure digital‑identity framework.
Global Office Fit-Out Costs Rise as Geopolitical Pressure and AI Reshape Workplaces
JLL’s 2026 Global Office Fit‑Out Cost Guide finds that worldwide office fit‑out expenses have risen up to 6% over the past year, pushing the benchmark for a medium‑quality space to roughly $2,150 per square metre. The increase stems from higher...
Illy Is a Primitive Intelligence
Illy is an experimental web‑based interface that reacts to spoken input by analyzing its sonic attributes—attack, loudness, roughness, and pitch—rather than parsing language. Built with the Web Audio API and WebGL, it generates abstract tonal replies and visualizations that mirror...
Early AI Adopters Stumble Across the Horror of Vendor Lock-In. Here We Go Again?
A Zapier‑commissioned survey of 542 U.S. C‑level executives reveals that AI vendor lock‑in is a rising concern as generative‑AI models become entrenched in core processes. While 81% of respondents admit some level of worry, many remain overly optimistic, with 90%...
I’m Sorry, Dave. I’m Afraid I Can’t De-Escalate: On (AI) Wargaming and Nuclear War
Recent AI‑driven wargames of nuclear crises show frontier language models escalating to tactical nuclear use in 95% of simulations, with strategic threats in 76% of games. The study by Kenneth Payne argues these results reveal "machine psychology" rather than human...
Agent‑Based AI Copilot Turns PLC Engineering Into Collaboration
“AI in TIA Portal? Sounds promising… but does it really add value in daily engineering?” 🤔 Siemens Industry recently shared insights into the new Engineering Copilot TIA. And yes: our feedback at GROLLMUS as beta testers was part of it....
The World Is Embracing Offshore Wind — Even as the US Retreats
Global offshore wind capacity grew 16% in 2025, adding over 9 GW to bring the total to about 92 GW worldwide, while the United States has stalled under the Trump administration’s leasing freeze. Europe and Asia are accelerating projects, with the United...
Miovision Launches GenAI Agent for Traffic Departments
Miovision has introduced Mateo, the industry’s first purpose‑built generative AI agent for intelligent mobility, embedded in its Miovision One platform. The agent translates complex traffic datasets into natural‑language insights, producing charts, maps and safety metrics on demand. In beta trials...
Ubisoft Is Reportedly Looking For Developers Qualified In Using Gen-AI
Ubisoft announced a Technical Art Director opening that initially required solid scripting skills and familiarity with generative AI models such as Claude, Copilot and ChatGPT. The AI qualification was later removed from the public listing, suggesting internal uncertainty about the...
VICEM Targets AI-Led Safety and Emissions Reduction in Cement Operations
Vietnam Cement Corporation (VICEM) is rolling out artificial‑intelligence‑driven safety systems across its plants to monitor equipment, environment and worker behavior in real time. The AI platform will flag anomalies such as excessive vibration, temperature spikes or unsafe actions, allowing preventive...
Introducing Pyroscope 2.0: Faster, More Cost-Effective Continuous Profiling at Scale
Grafana released Pyroscope 2.0, a ground‑up redesign of its open‑source continuous profiling database that adds native OpenTelemetry Protocol (OTLP) support and removes costly write‑path replication. The new architecture writes each profile once to object storage, co‑locates symbols, and deduplicates data, cutting...
Common Challenges of Online Fraud
Harold van Graan of Solid8 Technologies outlines how online fraud has evolved beyond simple transaction theft to include checkout abuse, inventory hoarding, loyalty fraud, and promo abuse. Bots can empty high‑value stock in seconds, while account‑takeover schemes siphon points and...
Samsung Unveils Bone‑conduction Galaxy Buds, Clip‑style Design
Our first look at the Samsung Galaxy Buds with bone conduction They have a clip style design. Expected launch alongside the new foldables
The Changing ASICs Landscape: The Shift Toward Chip Disaggregation
AI’s rapid growth is forcing ASIC designers to move away from monolithic dies toward modular, disaggregated architectures. By partitioning functions onto smaller, specialized dies and using advanced 2.5D, wafer‑to‑wafer and die‑to‑die packaging, companies can achieve better power, performance, and time‑to‑market...
When the Screen Stops Deciding: How AI Is Rewiring Financial Markets
The article argues that AI is not merely a new tool but a trusted delegation layer that translates human intent into machine execution in financial markets. Market complexity forced traders to automate operations long before AI, and AI now accelerates...
Hong Kong Launches Automated Parking System at Yau Ma Tei Short-Term Tenancy Site
Hong Kong’s Transport Department has installed an automated parking system (APS) at the Hoi Wang Road short‑term tenancy car park in Yau Ma Tei. The puzzle‑stacking setup provides 117 APS slots within a 200‑space facility, the largest APS deployment at a...
AI-Powered Dashboard Transforms Community Management without Code
Today's adventures with Claude Code: Built a full member engagement dashboard. I can log in and immediately see where everyone in my community is at: - Log check-ins - Manage onboarding pipeline - See anyone who is at risk (hasn't logged in to Circle...
Adobe Summit 2026 – AI Has Gone From Know-It-All to Actually Getting Work Done, Says Nvidia CEO
At Adobe Summit 2026 in Las Vegas, Adobe unveiled CX Enterprise and AI‑driven assistants that turn its creative suite into an agentic platform. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joined the keynote, declaring that AI has moved from merely “knowing it all” to actually completing...
Two Launches by SpaceX
SpaceX conducted two Falcon 9 launches in the past 48 hours, deploying 25 additional Starlink satellites from Vandenberg and a GPS III satellite for the U.S. Space Force from Cape Canaveral. The first stage of the Vandenberg launch marked its eighth...
Research Bits: Apr. 21
Researchers at the University of Michigan demonstrated a compute‑in‑memory (CIM) implementation of state‑space models using a 65 nm CMOS resistive‑RAM crossbar, achieving vector‑matrix multiplication within 4.6 bits of the ideal result while dramatically cutting energy use. In Tokyo, scientists from the Institute...
Huawei AI Glasses Take on Meta Ray-Ban and Oakley
Huawei unveiled its AI Glasses in China on April 20, pricing the base models at ¥2,499 (about $365) and a sunglasses variant at ¥2,899 ($420). The eyewear runs HarmonyOS, features a proprietary AI‑powered chip, a 1/2.8‑inch camera, and a built‑in real‑time...
IPhone Video Shows 'Earthset' From Space
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman posted an iPhone video from the Artemis II mission showing Earth set behind the Moon at 8× zoom. The clip is uncut, uncropped and matches the view of the human eye, according to Wiseman. The New York Times notes...
You Don’t Have an AI Problem, You Have a Skills Problem
Artificial intelligence has moved from experiment to everyday tool, with 61% of UK organisations now allowing employees to use generative AI at work. Yet productivity gains are falling short—research shows firms are missing roughly 40% of the potential upside because...
Why Those Engagement Ring Ads Keep Finding You Ft. Hope Bellair
In this episode of In The Loop, host Michael Burpo and Punchmark Digital Marketing Manager Hope Bellair break down retargeting for jewelry retailers, explaining how it works across platforms like Meta and Google and how it can be automated using...
The Myriad Complex Ways Young People Use AI
The Rithm Project surveyed 2,400 U.S. youths aged 13‑24, uncovering four broad AI‑usage groups and nine detailed portraits. Roughly 28% use AI infrequently, 39% for information and tasks, 18% for personal support, and 15% engage with humanlike AI characters. The...
WhatsApp Tests Paid Tier for the First Time Globally
Meta has begun testing WhatsApp Plus, a paid subscription offering custom themes, extra pinned chats and organization tools for Android beta users, while keeping core messaging free. The rollout signals Meta’s shift toward subscription revenue, especially relevant in African markets...
Why Your Best Engineers Are Doing the Wrong Work
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are trapped in a cycle of manual provisioning, patching, and firefighting, leaving their top engineers underutilized. The surge in multi‑cloud deployments has amplified operational complexity, prompting a shift toward platform engineering and internal developer platforms (IDPs)...
Google Brings Pomelli in English to Small Businesses in Europe.
Google has launched Pomelli, its AI‑powered marketing tool, in English across the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Developed by Google Labs in partnership with DeepMind, Pomelli scans a small business’s website, proposes campaign ideas and...
Introducing AI Fraud Detection Agent
Gem launched its AI Fraud Detection Agent, the third AI tool in its recruiting suite, to automatically assess inbound applications for fraud risk. The agent evaluates six data signals—resume metadata, email, phone, LinkedIn, person verification, and IP/device—and assigns a high,...
Clustered‑Cyclic qLDPC Codes Spotlighted at Growing QEC2026
The accepted talks at #QEC2026 on #QuantumErrorCorrection are out. This conference has grown from a small fringe event into a major conference, mirroring the rapid development of the field. https://t.co/A7laIEyznK I am glad to see our work on clustered-cyclic codes on the...
Galaxy S26 US Sales Surge 30% Over S25
Another hit Galaxy S26 series US sales are up almost 30% over the S25 series. Launch has been so successful it erased the previous decline caused due to their delayed release The lineup is outperforming the S25 series globally Get yours: howl.link/9xu0aa4nd4ckh
Did You Buy Tickets on StubHub Between May 12-14 Last Year?
The Federal Trade Commission sued StubHub for not showing mandatory fees in the total price of tickets sold between May 12‑14, 2025. As part of the settlement, StubHub will refund $10 million to eligible U.S. customers, automatically processing payments within 90 days after an...
India Smartphone Shipments Drop 5% in Q1 Amid Inventory Caution and Pricing Pressures
India's smartphone shipments dropped 5% year‑on‑year in Q1 2026, reaching 30.9 million units, according to Omdia. The decline reflects seasonally weak demand compounded by cautious inventory strategies among channel partners. Macro pressures such as rupee depreciation, rising inflation and reduced consumer...
Public Servant Charged over Alleged NSW Treasury Document Heist
A 45‑year‑old public servant employed by the New South Wales Treasury was charged with attempting to exfiltrate more than 5,600 sensitive government documents. Police launched “Strike Force Civic” on April 20, raiding the suspect’s residence and arresting him the same day. The...
The Deliverability Tax: Why Your Messages Are Disappearing
Marketers are seeing engagement drop not because of creative flaws but due to a growing "deliverability tax" that limits message visibility. MoEngage’s analysis of 40 billion messages shows behavior‑based pushes achieve 93% delivery versus 81% for generic broadcasts, with conversion rates...
Economics of Orbital Data Centers Report: Part 1
Payload’s new report examines the economics of placing data centers in orbit as terrestrial infrastructure strains under rising power demand and cooling costs. It highlights that global data‑center electricity consumption could reach 500 TWh by 2030, while launch prices have dropped...
ARK’s SpaceX IPO Guide Makes a Compelling Case on Why $1.75T May Not Be the Ceiling
ARK Invest released a detailed guide arguing that SpaceX’s upcoming IPO could be valued well above the $1.75 trillion baseline. The case rests on Starlink’s projected 2026 revenue exceeding $20 billion and a $160 billion annual satellite connectivity market. Launch costs have plunged...
Embed Governance in Tools, Not Just Policies
Most companies think data governance is about policies and committees. The ones that get it right embed governance into their tools. https://www.ssp.sh/brain/data-governance
PostgreSQL Performance: Is Your Query Slow or Just Long-Running?
PostgreSQL performance issues fall into two distinct categories: slow queries caused by inefficient execution, and long-running queries that simply process large workloads. Slow queries consume excess CPU and I/O due to missing indexes, bad statistics, or poor join strategies, while...
10 Al Prompts For Building Viral Al Video Channel with with Gemini
The post outlines ten ready‑to‑use Gemini prompts that take a creator from concept to a viral AI‑driven short‑form video channel in 30 days. Each prompt tackles a specific stage—niche scouting, visual identity, hook creation, scripting, workflow, algorithm decoding, calendar planning,...
Intelligence, Rearranged: How Agents Are Changing Legal Work
Harvey’s new long‑horizon AI agents move beyond checklist‑driven tasks to self‑directed reasoning, allowing them to plan, research, iterate, and deliver complex legal work autonomously. The platform now runs over 700,000 agentic tasks daily and extracts more than 50 million terms each...
Master Robotics AI: From Neurons to AlphaGo
Deep learning curriculum for robotics. [📍 Link to Playlist below ] Modern robotics workflows often integrate deep learning models with traditional algorithms for mapping, localization, and control. This playlist builds it from scratch: Single neurons → Backprop → CNNs →...
AI Builds Habits, Frees Time for Teaching
💡 AI isn't about finding one magic shortcut. 🔄 It's about building habits that create more space for teaching and learning. 📝 New on the blog: how to spot opportunities to save time during the school week. https://t.co/GDB21nrz89
Google Launches Personal Intelligence in the Gemini App in the Arab World
Google has extended its Personal Intelligence feature to the Arab world through the Gemini app. The AI‑driven tool links data from Gmail, Photos and other apps, allowing Gemini to answer personalized queries such as travel itineraries or book recommendations. Users...
China's CO2 Emissions Flat, Coal Power Declines.
Hi Harriet, you might have missed it but China's CO2 has been flat or falling for nearly two years https://t.co/xqAnUNQOdR The "rising coal" in your link is coal power capacity, not actual coal demand https://t.co/5xxRPefgvj Coal power fell last year https://t.co/lZal4xcGlg
UK to Curb Gas Power with Fixed-Price CfDs
NEW: Details of UK govt plans to "break influence of gas on electricity prices" Carrot: Offer fixed-price "wholesale CfDs" to old renewables, replacing wholesale ££ but not RO top-up Stick: Higher windfall tax of 45–>55% on 1 July for old renewables/nuclear 1/3 https://t.co/zMNwT7DWGm
New Framework Could Turn Mining Waste Into Low Carbon Building Material
Researchers at Heriot‑Watt University have unveiled a mineral‑based framework that systematically classifies mine tailings for reuse in cement and other construction materials. The method draws on a meta‑analysis of more than 5,000 studies, using each material’s mineral fingerprint to predict...
New Vessel Dedicated Exclusively to Starship Operations
The vessel will be "fully dedicated to support Starship operations going forward." Any details @TurkeyBeaver?
KDDI to Launch HTC VIVE Eagle AI Glasses Through Au Retail Channels
KDDI and Okinawa Cellular will introduce HTC’s lightweight VIVE Eagle AI glasses in Japan on April 24, 2024, through the au +1 collection. Pre‑orders open on April 21 via the au Online Shop and selected stores. The glasses will also be stocked at...
Grafana Assistant Everywhere: Customize and Connect to the AI Agent to Fit Your Specific Needs
Grafana announced that its AI‑driven Grafana Assistant is no longer limited to Grafana Cloud; it can now be deployed in self‑managed Grafana Enterprise and OSS environments. Users can connect a Grafana instance to a free Grafana Cloud account with a...