Mercedes-Benz said on Thursday that the latest version of its least expensive sedan would be available first as an all-electric car and then as a hybrid. And the company will no longer sell a gasoline-only version of the car. That’s a big break from how Mercedes and other established carmakers have typically operated. Until recently,…
A man who looks like Musk, only 20 years younger and better rested, eats hummus before another cut to belly dancers with large breasts, shapely hips and full beards. This jarring sequence brings us to the chorus: “Trump Gaza, shining bright/golden future, a brand-new light/feast and dance, the deed is done/Trump Gaza, No. 1.” As…
Niantic, the company behind the runaway hit Pokémon Go, said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its video game business for $3.5 billion to Scopely, a company owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. Pokémon Go, an augmented reality mobile game, became a cultural sensation when it was released in 2016. Tens of millions…
Meta won a legal victory on Wednesday against a former employee who published an explosive, tell-all memoir, as an arbitrator temporarily prohibited the author from promoting or further distributing copies. Sarah Wynn-Williams last week released “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism,” a book that describes a series of incendiary allegations…
Intel, a fallen Silicon Valley icon trying to restore its reputation as America’s most prominent semiconductor company, has named Lip-Bu Tan, an experienced business and technology leader, as its new chief executive. Mr. Tan, 65, will be responsible for reviving the fortunes of a chip-making company that has fallen from grace. Once one of the…
Have you been spending too many hours on your social feeds feeling anxious, combative or just plain unproductive? Just as limiting exposure to social media has been recommended for children’s mental health, many adults may also benefit. Even if you aren’t ready for a full digital detox (where you severely reduce your smartphone use or…
In November, Elon Musk asked a federal court to block OpenAI’s plan to transform itself from a nonprofit into a purely for-profit company. On Tuesday, a federal judge in San Francisco denied Mr. Musk’s request, calling it “extraordinary.” But the court allowed Mr. Musk to proceed with other aspects of a lawsuit he filed last…
In 1977, Andrew Barto, as a researcher at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, began exploring a new theory that neurons behaved like hedonists. The basic idea was that the human brain was driven by billions of nerve cells that were each trying to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. A year later, he was joined by…
In the summer of 2005, Alexis Ohanian, a tech entrepreneur, sent an email to his colleague Steve Huffman with an ominous subject line: “Meet the enemy.” The body of the email contained just one line — a link to Digg, a community-focused social message board where people shared and discussed news articles and links to…
To win the artificial intelligence race, Google not only has developed its own technologies, but has also pumped money into prominent A.I. start-ups. And to preserve its competitive edge, Google has kept its ownership stakes in those start-ups a secret. Court documents recently obtained by The New York Times reveal Google’s stake in one of…
