2026-08-18

Google and the UK will steer planes around contrails over the Atlantic

The UK government and Google are launching a trial to steer aircraft around climate-warming contrails. Google announced Operation Blue Skies on Tuesday. It is the first such effort across an entire ocean airspace. AI forecasts will predict where contrails form over the North Atlantic, and controllers will nudge planes to avoid those patches of sky. […]<br /> This story continues at The Nex [...]

2026-08-18

New benchmark ranks search APIs for AI agents on quality, cost, and speed

Artificial Analysis has released the "Search Index," a benchmark that rates search API providers for AI agents on quality, cost, and speed. Of seven providers tested with GPT-5.6 Luna, Parallel, Exa, and Firecrawl scored highest.<br /> The article New benchmark ranks search APIs for AI agents on quality, cost, and speed appeared first on The Decoder. [...]

2026-08-18

Cherokee Nation joins list of tribes banning data centers on tribal lands due to water, energy, noise, and cultural resource protection concerns — and all new projects require ‘early consultation’

Citizens of the Cherokee Nation are concerned about the impact of data centers on water, energy, noise, and cultural resource protection. [...]

2026-08-18

Meta's biggest social media addiction trial opens, with 29 states seeking trillions

A coalition of 29 state attorneys general opened arguments Tuesday in Oakland, with penalties potentially reaching $200 billion [...]

2026-08-18

The best countries to retire abroad on a fixed income, ranked for 2026

Portugal's €920-a-month visa, Panama's tax-free pensions, Vietnam retirees living well on $1,200 — the specific income requirements and real monthly costs behind each country's retiree appeal [...]

2026-08-18

Kalshi files to launch perpetual futures tied to U.S. stock indexes

The prediction market platform is seeking CFTC approval for perps tied to a large-cap U.S. stock benchmark and the spot price of copper [...]

2026-08-18

Pony.ai says its overseas robotaxi pipeline has surpassed 4,000 vehicles

The Chinese autonomous driving company also reported Q2 total revenue of $36.2 million, up 68.8% year over year [...]

2026-08-18

Creator marketing fails without the details

Bad tactics rarely sink a campaign—what sinks it is skipping the unglamorous work of tracking what’s driving results. [...]

2026-08-18

OpenAI Overhauls Safety Protocols After Its AI Agents Went Rogue

The ChatGPT maker says its upcoming Astra model may have reached “critical” cyber capabilities, prompting it to halt a significant number of training runs while it tightens internal safeguards. [...]