Purdue University's IDEAS Lab built an autonomous drone that tracks runners through dense forests completely without GPS or cloud networks. By running 3D LiDAR mapping and obstacle-avoidance AI entirely on-chip, it can weave under tree canopies and predict target movement through blind spots in real time. Massive implications for next-gen search & rescue and edge AI.

AI productivity gains are showing up, but only in ~15% of jobs. The three heaviest AI adopters (information, professional services, finance) went from a 2.2% productivity trend to 5.0% since 2022. The rest of the economy: 0.9% to 1.4%.

Dario Amodei was so worried about Y2K that his high school teacher still remembers it decades later. He’s been a doomer for much longer than I thought!

Warhound, a defense‑tech startup founded by Palmer Luckey and Ben Lamm, has raised $200 million in seed funding to genetically engineer war dogs for the U.S. military. Lamm is responsible for the de-extinction of the dire wolf which died out ~10,000 years ago. Warhound will find top dogs and then biobank their genetic material before cloning the proven dogs. The company will take the cell lines for top breeds like Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd before editing the genes to make the dogs perform better and improve “things like speed and agility or enhance olfactory sensors for bomb sniffing and whatnot.” Luckey’s Anduril will supply the dogs with advanced body armor, ear coverings, and other military technology like EagleEye, an artificial intelligence military helmet. Anduril is also reportedly working with META on battlefield augmented reality eyewear. Lamm says the genetically modified dogs with advanced equipment will not only make the dogs safer, but will also make the human handlers safer. The first Warhound puppies will reportedly soon be cloned and incubated and will be born in early 2027 and then will begin training.

Sanctions (and ensuing inflation) are as likely to cause a regime change in the West as they are in Russia. And elections in Europe and the US are happening sooner… sad but true.

Can the arts business model survive AI? Perhaps the best guide is to look at how the arts survived past tech revolutions Take music—internet piracy and then streaming killed the lucrative CD market, but musicians mostly saved their jobs by focusing much more on live concerts

AI factory deployment at a prepared site: from six months down to 14 days. NVIDIA DSX POD brings Vera Rubin AI factories in containers, integrated and validated before delivery. Announced at GTC Berlin: nvda.ws/4slQvNp

There is a huge market for the absolute best AI. And several reasons why Big Tech may not capture it. newsletter.drorpoleg.com/p/t…

Vulnerabilities in a programming language that supports much of the internet are so severe that European and British authorities recommend websites temporarily go offline until they can be fixed. nbcnews.com/tech/security/cr…

Effective Immediately, all organizations using PHP for their systems are advised to be prepared for an update addressing two critical vulnerabilities. PHP is widely used for web applications. These vulnerabilities often provide a direct path to the server's file system or database. If an immediate update is not feasible, it is recommend that organizations take the system offline until it can be fully mitigated. NSA will follow up shortly with more specific guidance.

Trump Accounts may soon be expanded to include any American citizen under 40 with a Social Security Number. So if you are under 40, you may be eligible for the SpaceX shares Elon will start to donate next year. If you are over 40, I'm afraid you get bupkis.