Here’s what AI leaders are saying about Trump’s new safety plan
After hosting a meal with Big Tech leaders on Tuesday, President Donald Trump responded to journalist questions about his artificial intelligence announcements in typical fashion. He said his previous claims regarding fears around AI safety being a "hoax" cooked up by Democrats no longer apply now that he's renamed the technology to "Super Intelligence." He brushed off concerns that the government wasn't enforcing enough AI guardrails because US companies are "dominating China."
And instead of ushering in federal AI regulations, Trump now has "the smartest people in the world watching over each other."
The people in question here are Goog …
This blog could help you poop better
This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here.
"I will explode your butthole with this poopmaxxer pesto," a calm Gen Z voice announced from my phone's speakers. "And don't worry, it doesn't taste like poop, unless that's what you're into … I don't know if Italians will approve of this, but it's for my … a-butt-a-hole-a!"
What followed in that video was actually a pretty good recipe. Two cups of blanched peas mixed into a fairly standard pesto recipe for a yield of 18 grams …
Asus won’t say how it escaped the US router ban
This spring, the United States banned all future foreign-made consumer routers - effectively all future routers - unless their makers could 1) convince the US government that they weren't a national security threat, and 2) submit "a detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States."
As of September 9th, Asus now has an exemption from the ban, just in time to bring its first early Wi-Fi 8 routers here. But Asus has not publicly announced any plan to bring manufacturing to the US. It would not even confirm to The Verge whether it had submitted a US manufacturing plan.
Initially, Asus spokesperson JJ Guerre …
‘Xbox is not for sale’ says Microsoft’s gaming chief
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has denied reports that Microsoft is considering selling off its Xbox business. The Information reported in June that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood had been considering spinning out Xbox entirely, and then reported earlier this month that both execs have "more recently supported Sharma's plans to overhaul the unit."
"Xbox is not for sale," says Sharma in an interview with The New York Times. "We will do whatever it takes to set the company up for success, and we will look at the right partnerships, the right operating model and everything needed to achieve that."
It appears that Nadella and Hood have fav …
The Halide camera app now offers full control of the iPhone 18 Pro’s aperture
A new update to Lux Optics' anti-algorithm Halide camera app for the iPhone and iPad adds two new photography looks and support for the variable aperture on the new iPhone 18 Pro's main camera. Halide isn't the first alternative to the native iOS camera app to add support for the new feature, but it offers more finite control over aperture settings than other third-party apps.
The iOS camera app limits aperture adjustments to just four presets, but both the BlackMagic Camera and Moment Pro Camera II apps expand that to 10 presets in 1/3 stop increments, similar to what most digital cameras offer. Halide Mark III goes even further by lettin …
All the latest news on Meta’s cute, creepy Muse AI agent
Meta launched a new Muse AI agent it claims can help you with everything from firing off emails to buying stuff online. Muse can be surprisingly effective at delivering on those promises — if you’re willing to trust Meta with your data and hand Muse your credit card. Since the launch, Meta’s also announced plans for a Tamagotchi-like Muse Charm device for its cuddly AI mascot.
Follow along here for the latest news and updates.
- Meta’s Muse AI sent a YouTuber’s address to a stranger
- Meta expands Muse tools for small businesses.
- Meta Enterprise Platform will bring its Muse AI to businesses.
- Maybe don’t let Muse run your Facebook Marketplace account.
- The Muse Charm won’t have Instagram built in.
- Meta makes the Muse filesystem even more accessible
- Muse will apparently let you download its entire filesystem
- Muse sure looks a lot like OpenClaw
- It’s sinister that Meta’s Muse AI mascot is so cute
- Meta’s Muse AI Charms can interact with each other
- Meta is making a standalone Muse AI gadget
- Muse is coming to Meta smart glasses
- Meta is making Muse more powerful and will let you video chat with it, too
- Meta’s AI agent is a cute little guy who’s great at spending my money
- Meta patches Muse exploit that let attackers control the AI agent
- Can you forget how you feel about Meta?
- Amazon blocks Meta’s Muse AI agent
- Meta’s Muse is creepy, but maybe not for the reasons you think
- Meta’s Muse AI agent now has a Mac app.
- Meta’s Muse AI works and creeps me out
- Mark Zuckerberg tells you to trust Muse.
- Meta bets on AI agent Muse to catch up in AI race
Google reportedly tests paying publishers for AI search results
Google has launched a pilot program that pays publishers for their contributions to its AI-powered search features, according to a report from The Information. The pilot program reportedly includes around 100 publishers and comes as Google faces scrutiny over the impact of its AI features on web traffic.
Digiday first reported on the pilot program, which began less than a year ago. As part of the test, Google is reportedly paying participating publishers for how much their content contributed to AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search, as well as its Gemini chatbot. One publisher that joined the program when it first started earned over $1 milli …
Instagram is adding an AI ‘assistant’ to tell you how to post
Instagram is the latest social media platform to add built-in AI-powered features that will give users feedback on their posts. The company announced Wednesday that its standalone Edits app will now include an AI "creative assistant" that pulls in data from a user's Instagram account and offers suggestions on what to change.
Using the new assistant, creators can ask open-ended questions about what's trending on Instagram, why one video worked and another didn't, or what piece of content resonated most with their audience. The tool pulls in data and metrics such as likes, views, retention on videos, and shares. Instagram says it can spot pat …
Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick 4K can pull power directly from your TV
The new Fire TV Stick 4K will be a little easier to set up than Amazon's previous 4K streaming sticks since it no longer requires a power adapter. You can power the device directly from your TV's USB port, like the updated entry-level Fire TV Stick Amazon launched earlier this year. The Fire TV Stick 4K, available starting today for $59.99, runs on Amazon's refreshed TV OS and includes Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and Bluetooth Low Energy.
Amazon's also simplifying its streaming stick lineup, which now includes four devices instead of five: the Fire TV Stick HD, Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and Fire TV Cube. The new Fire TV Stick 4K …
The Sonos Ace Ultra are the headphones Sonos should have made the first time
The original Sonos Ace headphones should have been a triumphant entry into a new product category. Instead, they were overshadowed by Sonos's disastrous app redesign. And while the original Ace are well built, sound good, and are incredibly comfortable, they weren't good Sonos headphones: Their flagship feature let you reroute audio from a Sonos soundbar to the Ace headphones so you could listen to your TV audio without disturbing anyone. But it was glitchy, and at launch it only worked with the $1,000 Arc soundbar, and only with one pair of Ace headphones at a time (Both of those have now been fixed). It also couldn't connect to the rest of …