Anthropic in Talks to Raise Funding at a $950 Billion Valuation
The start-up, which recently released a powerful A.I. model called Mythos and is separately battling with the Pentagon, was previously valued at $380 billion.
WEDNESDAY, 20 MAY 2026, 11:00
The start-up, which recently released a powerful A.I. model called Mythos and is separately battling with the Pentagon, was previously valued at $380 billion.

Photographers search for dark skies in the most remote landscapes to find places where the galaxy shines with extraordinary clarity. They share not only their breathtaking results but also their methods, trials and adventures
• Stargazing in New Zealand’s first dark sky community
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The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists say
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Do insects feel pain? Crickets certainly seem to, according to new research which finds they stroke and groom a sore antenna in much...
South Korea’s presidential policy chief is calling for a “citizen dividend” that would return some AI-driven profits and tax revenue to the public. The Straits Times. From the report: Presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom said in a Facebook post that a portion of the profits and tax revenue derived from the artificial intelligence boom “should be structurally returned to all citizens.” That...

Data shows orforglipron could in future avoid need to take other long-term medications for diseases associated with obesity
A daily pill could help people keep weight off and stop them needing other long-term medications, scientists behind landmark new trial data have suggested.
The researchers said orforglipron could help prevent more than 200 diseases associated with obesity and could be...
Instructure, the company behind the widely used Canvas learning platform, says it reached an agreement with the hackers who stole 3.5 terabytes of student and university data. The company says it received “digital confirmation” that the information was destroyed and that affected schools and students would not be extorted. The BBC reports: Paying cyber criminals goes against the advice of law...
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Financial Times (via Ars Technica): Amazon employees are using an internal AI tool to automate non-essential tasks in a bid to show managers they are using the technology more frequently. The Seattle-based group has started to widely deploy its in-house “MeshClaw” product in recent weeks, allowing employees to create AI agents that can connect to...
Mr. Altman, the C.E.O. of OpenAI, said on Tuesday that he worried Elon Musk wanted control of the A.I. lab.
Google is teasing a new line of “Googlebook” laptops for this fall, powered by a new Android-and-ChromeOS-derived operating system that will run Chrome, Android apps, phone-connected apps and files, and deeply integrated Gemini features. The company says Chromebooks will continue “after the launch of Googlebook” and “…all Chromebooks will continue to receive support through their device’s...
Microsoft and G42’s planned $1 billion AI data center in Kenya has stalled amid disagreements over power commitments, with President William Ruto saying the country would need to “switch off half the country” to support the project at full scale. Tom’s Hardware reports: The project, announced in May 2024 during Ruto’s visit to Washington, was supposed to bring a geothermal-powered data center...
The EU plans to target “addictive design” features on TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms, including endless scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, and recommendation loops that can steer children toward harmful content. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said new regulation could arrive later this year, alongside an EU age-verification app meant to make child-safety rules...

Sam Altman said Elon Musk tried many times for total control of OpenAI, which he’s now suing.

My father, Robert Smith, who has died aged 92, was a pharmacologist and professor at St Mary’s medical school in London (now part of Imperial College) whose work helped shape thinking on people’s differing responses to drugs – genetically, biochemically and clinically.
Bob became well known in particular for his role in the discovery of “debrisoquine polymorphism”. An enthusiastic...
The chief executive
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: EBay on Tuesday rejected a $56 billion takeover bid from the much smaller GameStop over financing doubts, calling the proposal “neither credible nor attractive.” EBay, which has roughly four times GameStop’s market value, also underscored that its turnaround efforts under CEO Jamie Iannone have boosted growth, with its stock returning 201% since...
Anthropic said that Claude Mythos was too dangerous to release to the public. That claim has reopened an old debate over cybersecurity.
Experts and college students used A.I. agents to try to break into and defend computer networks in a national competition. The agents did all right on their own, too.
The FCC has softened its ban on foreign-made consumer routers, allowing vendors to keep issuing broader software and firmware updates for devices already in use in the U.S. through at least January 2029. Dark Reading reports: Under the original FCC ruling, foreign manufacturers were permitted to provide only limited maintenance and security patches to US customers through March 2027. In a...

Houston, Texas – Over five hundred energy industry professionals gather in June to gain insight and examine up-to-the-minute issues facing the U.S. Northeast natural gas and LNG market region. The 31st Annual LDC Gas Forum Energy Northeasttakes place June 8 – 10, 2026 in Boston, MA. This is the industry’s premier gathering for natural gas […]

All the protocols that health experts like me look for have been followed. But outbreaks on cruise ships are notoriously hard to control
Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
Hantavirus: the disease you wish you’d never heard of, as visions of the Covid pandemic flash through your head. I’ve seen lots of breathless coverage and some bizarre takes...