Meta began laying off thousands of workers on Wednesday, with plans to axe 10% of its staff to offset AI costs, and move another 7,000 into AI-focused roles. The market may respond positively when tech companies cite AI for layoffs — Meta’s shares went up Wednesday — but the industry-wide ...
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Colossal Biosciences engineers synthetic eggsColossal Biosciences engineers synthetic eggs
Colossal Biosciences announced Tuesday it developed a device that acts as a synthetic egg, which successfully hatched two dozen chicks. The company took fertilized eggs from their avian farm and transferred them to a lab, where they matured in synthetic eggs kept in a controlled incubator. After the chicks hatched, ...
Stop talking to new college grads about AIStop talking to new college grads about AI
Reed’s view Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt joins the growing ranks of commencement speakers bombing on stage as frustration with AI builds for the Class of 2026 (read Semafor’s deep dive into why). So I thought I’d offer up a speaker’s guide to not getting booed at graduation this year. ...
Monet bait-and-switch sparks debate on art and AIMonet bait-and-switch sparks debate on art and AI
A recent bait-and-switch sparked a debate about AI art. After a user on X posted a picture “in the style of Monet” and asked why it was inferior to a real Monet, hundreds of people replied saying “it lacks the texture” and “no clear focal point.” It was, in fact, ...
Banks taking a closer look at citizenship is ‘common sense,’ US regulator saysBanks taking a closer look at citizenship is ‘common sense,’ US regulator says
The News US President Donald Trump’s new executive order that directs banks to take a closer look at their customers’ immigration status is “a common-sense set of reforms,” US Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said Wednesday at Semafor’s Banking on the Future Forum. Those reforms “give us tools that ...
Five Republican senators back Letlow in bid to sew up Louisiana runoffFive Republican senators back Letlow in bid to sew up Louisiana runoff
The Scoop Republican senators are moving quickly to get behind Rep. Julia Letlow, President Donald Trump’s pick in the Louisiana Senate runoff. Five GOP senators are backing Letlow in her runoff against Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, a founding member of the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus, according to details first shared ...
Ballroom security money hangs over GOP agendaBallroom security money hangs over GOP agenda
Republicans will try to move their $72 billion immigration enforcement funding bill to the Senate floor on Wednesday, starting with a Budget Committee vote on its homeland security component this morning, and then a potential move to take up the bill on the Senate floor later in the day. Republicans ...
Senators propose overhaul of US-Tanzania relationshipSenators propose overhaul of US-Tanzania relationship
The Scoop A new bipartisan bill would direct President Donald Trump’s administration to undertake a dramatic overhaul of the US relationship with Tanzania in response to the African nation’s violent crackdown following last year’s disputed presidential election. The bill from Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, details of ...
Worker backlash over ‘flash bang’ grenades sank Boston Dynamics robot dealWorker backlash over ‘flash bang’ grenades sank Boston Dynamics robot deal
The Scoop Boston Dynamics, the humanoid-maker owned by Hyundai, reversed course on selling its four-legged robot Spot to a firm that supplies equipment to police departments after employees pushed back on how the robots could be used. Employees protested the idea of fastening “flash bang” grenades — a device that ...
Putin to discuss long-delayed pipeline with XiPutin to discuss long-delayed pipeline with Xi
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing this week could clear a logjam for the construction of a long-delayed oil pipeline to China. Putin said earlier this month that a deal to increase overland flows eastward was “very close,” as the Kremlin’s battlefield strategy stalls out and its economic woes ...