Wikipedia’s operator says a bad AI copyright ruling could threaten the open web
The Wikimedia Foundation is staking out a middle ground in a group of landmark AI copyright cases, pushing courts to legally protect large language models (LLMs) training on copyrighted work - but not chatbots regurgitating that work to users. An overly black-and-white ruling, it says, could either deprive Wikipedians of useful AI-based tools or endanger the open web.
In an amicus brief filed Friday, the nonprofit behind Wikipedia weighed in on a set of lawsuits pitting publishers including The New York Times against OpenAI and Microsoft, taking neither side. "Wikimedia is concerned that the parties' positions in this case push for overbroa …
The director of Obsession put a new horror short on YouTube
Curry Barker, the director behind the hit horror film Obsession, just published a new horror short on YouTube. The short, titled "Mama Bear," is nearly five minutes long. The video is pretty unnerving, and fair warning that it gets a little graphic, but it's a fun one to watch if you're looking for something scary ahead of Halloween on Saturday.
Barker wrote, directed, and edited "Mama Bear," according to the description for the video, which was published on his that's a bad idea YouTube channel. The description also has a note thanking Windows for "sponsoring this short film," and Barker was featured in an Instagram video earlier this week …
Intel says it’s selling every affordable laptop chip it can make
During Intel's latest earnings call, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said that demand for its budget-focused Wildcat Lake chips "is outstripping supply." According to CFO David Zinsner, the chips are now sold out. Zinsner said Intel has "seen significant growth in Wildcat Lake. It's coming exactly at the right time because it's cost-optimized and we're seeing a lot of focus in that regard."
As shortages of RAM and other components have driven up PC prices over recent months, Intel's Wildcat Lake chips have been appearing in new lower-cost Windows laptops on par with the MacBook Neo, like the new Dell XPS 13 or the HP Omnibook 5 14. Wildcat Lake laptops like …
Reddit’s CEO says Google’s AI Mode ‘does not drive traffic’
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said in an earnings call today that Google's AI-powered search modes do not help with traffic to the platform, echoing problems facing other websites and publishers. As part of its Q3 2026 earnings, Reddit revealed that search traffic in October has "dropped by more than 1 million referrals on average per week," and he attributes part of the company's struggles with Google traffic to how AI Mode and AI Overviews change the search experience.
"The reality is, AI Mode does not drive traffic," Huffman says. "Not for us, and not to anybody, as far as I know. That's just a fundamental shift in how Google works. It used t …
Patrick Stewart has died at age 86
Patrick Stewart, best known for his roles in Star Trek and X-Men, has died at age 86. A message posted to Stewart's Instagram account says the actor died in his Los Angeles home on Wednesday "following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia."
Born in 1940 in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England, Stewart began his acting career in theater. He eventually landed the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran from 1987 to 1994. Stewart returned as the Star Trek captain in subsequent films, including Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrec …
Reddit will force everyone to log in
Reddit is announcing a huge shift: It's going to start requiring users to log in.
Right now, you can browse Reddit without having an account, and the site is generally a great resource for crowdsourced information on a whole range of topics. I know I'm not the only person who appends "reddit" to a lot of Google searches to find answers to things written by actual humans instead of robots. But that openness has made it a target for scraping and automated traffic, leading Reddit to file lawsuits over alleged unauthorized access of its data and make product changes like limiting access to "Old Reddit."
There's no definitive timeline on when t …
Rivian’s R2 is officially its best-selling vehicle
Rivian reported its third quarter earnings of 2026, providing us a closer look at the company's financial health as it ramps up production of its all-important R2 electric vehicle - which is now, for the first time, outselling all of Rivian's other EVs.
Rivian said it brought in $2.155 billion in revenue, a 38 percent increase compared to the $1.558 billion in Q3 2025. Of that amount, $1.55 billion came from automotive revenue, which is up 36 percent year over year. Comparatively, the company reported $605 million from software and subscription services, a 45 percent increase year over year. As EV sales slow down, the company is seeking to …
GM to pay $220 million to resolve claims it sold driving habits data
General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to settle claims that it illegally sold driver and location information to data brokers, as reported earlier by Reuters. The agreement, which resolves a complaint from a coalition of 36 US attorneys general, requires GM to limit the driving data it collects and obtain "express consent" from drivers before collecting their information.
The allegations surround GM's now-discontinued Smart Driver program, which collected data about driving habits, including acceleration, braking, and trip length. GM allegedly passed this information to data brokers, enabling insurance companies to purchase the data …
You can generate and edit Google Docs files directly in Gemini chats now
Now you can generate, preview, and edit PDFs, Google Docs, Google Sheets, slide decks, Markdown files, TXT files, and code directly within Google Gemini. The new file editing capabilities are available starting today for all Gemini users, and while PDF previews/editing works on both the web and mobile, all other file formats are only in the web version for now.
Google added support for generating and downloading files in Gemini earlier this year, but now you can tweak those files without leaving the Gemini app. Google says you can expand documents to edit them in full-screen mode and highlight text in files to ask Gemini questions or prompt …
Ikea’s colorful donut-shaped smart lamp is $20 off
With its playful design, versatility, and relatively affordable price, the Ikea Varmblixt quickly became one of my colleague Jennifer Pattison Tuohy’s new favorite smart light products when she tested it in April. Now, the donut-shaped lamp is on sale for $79.99 ($20 off) through November 11th at Ikea.
window.HYPE_DESK_CONFIG = { productImageUrl: "https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/iphone_17e.png", productImageAlt: "iPhone 17e • Unlocked", productTitle: "iPhone 17e • Unlocked", shortDescription: "Save on an unlocked refurbished iPhone 17e", longDescription: "Upgrade to a 256GB unlocked iPhone 17e without paying full new-device pricing. Back Market offers professionally inspected refurbished phones with free 30-day returns and a one-year warranty.", purchaseUrl: "https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=18275&awinaffid=299513&platform=dl&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.backmarket.com%2Fen-us%2Fp%2Fiphone-17e%3Futm_source%3Dchatgpt.com", purchaseLinkText: "Shop At Back Market" };
Don’t let us tell you where you can or cannot put your Varmblixt. But it’s meant to sit on a table or be mounted on a wall (it can hang from a drilled-in screw, nothing fancy). At just 180 lumens, it isn’t particularly bright, so it’s better suited for use as a bedside lamp or for mood lighting than being tasked to illuminate a room. The newer model lets you cycle through 12 preset colors, including shades of pink, blue, green, and white, as opposed to just orange with the predecessor. The included wireless remote lets you switch between colors, adjust the brightness, and turn the lamp on or off without needing an app or a separate hub (there’s a power button on the lamp itself) . You can also use the remote to control other compatible Ikea lights.
For those who want to embed the Varmblixt into their smart home setup, the lamp supports Matter, allowing it to work with compatible smart home platforms including Apple Home, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa. In addition to letting you control the lights with your voice, this gives you access to hundreds more colors, lets you set lighting schedules and sleep or wake-up routines, and allows you to connect the lamp with motion sensors and other smart lights you may have. You can unlock those features with Ikea’s Dirigera hub, as well, which also offers a feature through its Home Smart app that gradually adjusts the shade of white throughout the day akin to natural daylight.