Technology

Google's AI satellite generated a poem from orbit. Learn how Project Suncatcher could shape the future of space-based data centers and AI computing.

The post Google’s First Space Data Center Satellite Goes Online and Writes Poetry appeared first on TechRepublic.

OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki seemed to issue a warning on September 6.

In “An Alien Mind,” he argued that current alignment and monitoring techniques may soon prove inadequate for the pace at which machine intelligence is advancing. He also described a future in which AI takes a growing role in improving AI, compressing the time available for human supervision and institutional response.

Much of AI safety research concentrates on behavior. For example, what an AI system is permitted to do, how its actions are monitored and where humans retain approval. Yet every action begins one step earlier, with a judgment about what information deserves belief.

That earlier step is incredibly important.

AI acts on information whose pedigree is often obscure

Before an AI sends a payment, rewrites software or recommends a decision, it first assembles a picture of the world. That picture can draw on search results, corporate records, research papers and material produced by other AI systems.

The web was built for circulation. Information travels easily, while its ancestry often fades as it passes from one publication to another. A claim can begin in a research paper, appear in a news story, be condensed into a blog post and surface months later in a forum thread. By the time an AI encounters the statement, the route back to the original evidence may be difficult to reconstruct.

Authority also gets compressed. A peer-reviewed study, a corporate announcement and an anonymous post can all arrive as text. An AI system can rank and combine them into a polished answer, while the reader sees little of the difference between documented evidence, advocacy and repetition. Disagreement adds a further complication.

Credible sources regularly reach different conclusions, especially in finance, medicine, politics and emerging technology. AI is usually rewarded for producing a useful answer, which creates pressure to reconcile conflict into a single sentence. Uncertainty becomes easy to erase precisely when it deserves to remain visible.

The consequences grew substantially once AI acquired the ability to act. An agent can place a trade, approve a purchase, alter software or send a message on someone’s behalf. An uncertain claim can therefore become the premise for an irreversible action.

Human oversight depends on better evidence

The effectiveness of human oversight depends on the reviewer having superior information or a reliable means of checking what the AI used. In many settings, the human reviewer has access to the same web that the AI searched, only at a fraction of the speed. The AI can scan thousands of pages while the person responsible for approval works through a summary and a handful of links. As capability rises, review risks becoming a procedural signature rather than an independent examination.

Pachocki writes that OpenAI’s ability to rely on chain-of-thought monitoring is diminishing as reasoning becomes more complex and as AI becomes more capable of manipulating its own reasoning process. He calls for safety thresholds that can be enforced by third-party auditors, government agencies or international bodies.

Those safeguards govern capability and behavior. Reliable oversight also requires an evidentiary record showing what information produced the conclusion, where each claim originated, how trustworthy the source is and where credible disagreement remains. Without that record, the reviewer is judging the answer more than the evidence behind it.

AI inherited the web’s weakest habit

AI absorbed an information culture built around speed, reach and replication. Search engines, social feeds, aggregators and reposts made access extraordinarily efficient. They also encouraged a world in which the same statement could appear hundreds of times while tracing back to a single uncertain source.

Generative AI intensifies that effect because AI systems now produce material that later AI systems can ingest. A weak claim can be generated, scraped, summarized and republished until repetition gives it the appearance of consensus.

This creates a provenance problem with compounding consequences. Every additional generation can separate a statement further from the evidence that gave rise to it. Once an autonomous agent treats that statement as reliable, the information chain becomes part of the decision chain. While for consumers, this can mean a poor recommendation, for a financial institution, insurer or government agency, the same weakness can affect money, access, security or public services.

Autonomous AI needs a system of provenance

Take finance. Serious financial activity depends on records that establish who acted, under whose authority, on which terms and with what audit trail. Institutions spend heavily on those records because trust requires more than a plausible outcome. Autonomous AI needs a comparable discipline for information.

Claims should carry provenance that survives copying and transformation. A person or an agent should be able to trace a statement back to its origin, inspect the evidence behind it and see how the statement changed as it travelled. Credible disagreement should remain intact.

Where reputable sources diverge, the system should preserve the competing views and the degree of confidence behind each one. For an autonomous agent, uncertainty can serve as a trigger for further research, human approval or a narrower course of action.

Accountability should travel with information as well. A claim from an identifiable institution with supporting evidence deserves different treatment from an unattributed assertion repeated across dozens of pages. The aim is to give AI a richer sense of evidentiary quality before it commits resources or acts on someone’s behalf.

Governance belongs at a shared level. Provenance standards, verification methods and accountability rules need independent scrutiny and participation from many institutions, rather than dependence on the preferences of a single provider.

Final thoughts

Pachocki argues that current alignment and monitoring techniques may soon constrain the pace at which labs can responsibly scale AI tools, and he expects voluntary slowdowns until shared safety thresholds emerge. He also warns that continued progress could carry AI into recursive self-improvement, with AI driving a larger share of its own development.

That leaves every company building autonomous systems with a fundamental task. Establish what the agent knows before it acts and make that knowledge auditable.

Behavioral safeguards remain essential. So do permissions, audits and human approval. Their value rises sharply when the information beneath every decision carries provenance, context and accountability. The next phase of AI safety, therefore, begins with the evidence an agent sees, the authority it assigns to that evidence and the uncertainty it preserves before taking action.

Autonomy built on verifiable information gives humans a stronger basis for control. Opaque information leaves supervisors judging decisions whose foundations remain difficult to inspect.

Pachocki is right to warn that the window for preparation may be narrow. The industry should use that window to build systems that can show where their knowledge came from before those systems are trusted to act on the world.

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Google confirms a Pixel Watch battery drain issue after owners report severe power loss. Here's which models users mention and what to do while waiting for a fix.

The post Google Confirms Pixel Watch Battery Drain Issue, Promises Fix appeared first on TechRepublic.

Compare Linear vs Jira for the best agile project management tool and explore their pricing, Agile features, AI capabilities, and integrations.

The post Linear vs Jira (2026): Which Is Better for Software & Product Teams? appeared first on TechRepublic.

Apple confirms iOS 27.3 for December, with a developer beta planned for November. Here's what to know about new features, Apple Intelligence, and availability.

The post iOS 27.3 Coming in December: Release Date, Features, and What to Expect appeared first on TechRepublic.

The company will begin testing AI for some orders, including using a form of customer recognition.

There’s a fine line between AI creations inspired by video games and those that are infringing copyright.

If you have a remote that’s less than five years old, you should be able to hunt it down with Find My tracking.

Apple's rumored $1,000 tabletop robot could launch in 2027 with a swiveling display and Siri AI, but software delays may push its release into 2028.

The post Apple’s $1,000 Tabletop Robot Could Arrive in 2027 appeared first on TechRepublic.

The $100 unit was available from outlets including Best Buy and Costco.

You could see these shoes the same day Rockstar releases the long-awaited game.

Research shows that people are drained by meetings – and AI tools exacerbate it. A new initiative by Visit Iceland aims to remind you of what matters most.

Most of it is slated to burn up in the atmosphere, but some fragments may make their way down to Earth.

The carrier has added a top-tier home internet option for households hitting bandwidth limits.

Crank up Céline Dion: You can catch a glimpse into what Google was like back in 1998.

Tell us which fitness trackers, smartwatches and smart glasses earn a spot in your daily routine.

Compare monday.com vs Microsoft Planner and explore pricing, AI features, scheduling, and reporting to find the best tool for your team.

The post monday.com vs Microsoft Planner: Which Is Better for Your Team in 2026? appeared first on TechRepublic.

• The FBI formally attributes $6.7 billion Binance cryptocurrency theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group
• Investigators say the attackers are laundering stolen assets across multiple blockchains and DeFi services
• The breach highlights ongoing threats from Lazarus-linked campaigns targeting crypto, DevOps, and software professionals

The FBI has publicly accused a North Korean state-sponsored threat actor of being behind the recent attack on cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

One of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms on the planet was forced to freeze deposits and withdrawals, before confirming a threat actor stole around $6.7 billion worth of different cryptocurrencies.

Analysts were quick to investigate, with some claiming a known North Korean state-sponsored group called TraderTraitor was behind the heist. TraderTraitor is apparently part of Lazarus Group - a huge cybercriminal operation on North Korea’s payroll, allegedly tasked with stealing money to fund the country’s state apparatus and weapons program.

TraderTraitor

Now, the FBI has issued a new statement, official naming TraderTraitor as the attackers.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is releasing information advising the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion USD in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026. The FBI refers to this specific North Korean malicious cyber activity as ‘TraderTraitor’.,” the announcement reads.

“The FBI, together with partners at the USSS and IRS-CI, has observed TraderTraitor actors converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum (ETH). It is expected these assets will then be further laundered by converting them using DeFi and instant swap services as they prepare them for further laundering stages.”

Binance said one of its DevOps engineers had their laptop compromised which “gave an attacker access to a service container, where they submitted unauthorized withdrawal transactions.” Some speculated the engineer fell to a classic fake job scam, while others argued it was a romance scam.

In the meantime, Binance resumed operations and has covered most of its losses.

Initial reports found that the attackers siphoned out money from 10 different chains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Arbitrum, and others. For Ethereum, they even set up a smart contract that automatically withdrew any new money that was flowing into the account. The silver lining in the attack is that these were not user funds, but rather those of the exchange itself.

Cryptocurrency exchanges are obliged to have two separate wallets - one for their own funds, and one for those of their customers. Binance has a security fund called SAFU (Secure Asset Fund for Users), designed to protect user assets during extreme platform-level incidents, such as this one.

Operations DreamJob and Contagious Interview

Obviously, North Korea has not commented on these allegations, but the cybersecurity community has logn warned about Lazarus Group targeting organizations in the West, sometimes tasked with stealing money, and sometimes with cyber-espionage and eavesdropping.

The group is split into numerous sub-groups, one of them being TraderTraitor, and among other things, the group runs two major scam campaigns: Operation DreamJob, and Contagious Interview. Both are aimed at software developers, blockchain programmers, and DevOps professionals, and the wider software development industry.

As part of these scams, the attackers would create fake companies, fake employees, and fake job offers. They would reach out to their targets on LinkedIn and offer lucrative job positions, only to infect their computers with malware during the interviews. In some cases, they would apply for open positions, impersonating Chinese, Vietnamese, or Thai nationals and would, when they get the job, use the position to steal sensitive data and money.

North Korea is under heavy sanctions from the US, and the country does not allow its companies to hire, or do business with, individuals and organizations in North Korea.

The FBI shared a long list of wallets it believes contain the stolen funds, and has asked THORNode operators, RPC node operators, instant exchanges, DeFi services, blockchain analytics firms, and other virtual asset service providers to block transactions with or derived from these addresses.

• Coolgeek P1 Cassette Player unveiled
• Brings some modern twists like Bluetooth and a HD display
• Kickstarter campaign just launched; MSRP is $179 but cheaper now

The cassette player revival began with retro-inspired models such as the EDITH WE-001 and FiiO CP13, but we're beginning to see more modern versions like, well, this strange wall-mounted system. And another new option — the one you're here to read about — definitely falls into the latter camp.

Coolgeek, whose RGB light-up turntable we covered several months ago, is back with its newest gadget: the P1 Cassette Player.

Like its turntable, this device is being 'released' on Kickstarter, so you can't buy it immediately. However, from what we've been told, it sounds pretty far along in production, so I don't envision the turn-around time being too long here.

While the standard price of the P1 is $179 (about £130, AU$260), in true Kickstarter fashion it's available for much cheaper if you sign up to the campaign earlier; it'll be half that price in the 'Super Early Bird' wave, and slowly increase over time.

What your money gets you

(Image credit: CoolkGeek)

At its core, Coolgeek's P1 Cassette Player is... well, a cassette player (think Walkman, but Sony makes those), so you don't really need me to run you through what it does, do you? It plays cassettes. But there's more, of course, or we wouldn't be covering it.

For one, the model has Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, so you can listen to your tapes using your wireless headphones. There's a 3.5mm jack for wired headphone lovers too, as well as a USB-C port, but the latter's just for charging.

There's also a little HD display, which is primarily used for arranging the Bluetooth connection. Judging by images we've seen, there's also some colorful LED indicator column (ooh, lights!) probably for volume, but we weren't expressly told what it depicts.

Like many retro-inspired gadgets, the P1 is see-through, so you can see your tape spinning around as you listen. Coolgeek told us that it was designed not merely to ape older cassette players, but to have its own design identity.

Plenty of the new cassette players we've seen have playful, pastel-colored designs and curved edges, and Coolgeek's P1 looks a lot more mechanical and industrial in comparison — like true 1970s and 1980s tangible tech. So if you've been wanting an alternative cassette player, the campaign might be worth taking a look at.

When we tested out FastestVPN, we found "above-average speeds and rock-bottom prices" from this service. Now, I'm all for low pricing at a time when everything seems to be costing more and more. But there's something even better hidden in the company's early Black Friday sale that you might've missed. You can get a lifetime premium family password for six users alongside the VPN, for a one-off $27 (was $115) with code FUTUREBF2026.

• Best for: Families bundling together privacy and security tools without ever losing or forgetting passwords again.

• Why we like it: I really appreciate one-time charge - we've all got subscription-fatigue at this point. Our reader-exclusive code drops the price of the lifetime plan to less than the cost of the two-year plan, so you're effectively getting the password manager free on top of the multi-login VPN.

• What you need to know: This deal is for the lifetime plan, but a standard plan for two years is also available. FastestVPN has additional monthly costs for users who need dedicated IP and port forwarding. That might not affect most people, but worth knowing.

Lifetime VPN plan with lifetime family password manager: was $115 now $27
The Lifetime VPN plan bundles together a 6-user family password manager and VPN for 15 devices at once. For the full discount, use code FUTUREBF2026. View Deal

Why we recommend it

There's a lot to like about FastestVPN's lifetime plan - particularly for busy households and home offices. The lifetime password manager for up to six users is the real draw for me, because it means you can protect your accounts with stronger passwords that you won't forget (it feels like I'm reading about password breaches every week these days).

On the VPN side, the service offers WireGuard Protocol, 10 Gbps high-speed servers - despite its name, it's not the fastest VPN we've ever tested, but we scored it 4 stars in our review. The platform also offers streaming-optimized servers for Netflix, Disney+, and other popular sites.

There's app support for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, as well as smart TVs, routers, and Fire Sticks.

For more options, we've rounded up the best password managers and best VPNs we've tested.

Price Context & Historical Value

Considering it's lifetime access for under $30, this is great value for general password management and VPN use. The lifetime plan alone typically costs $40 (or $35 for the two-year plan) in the Black Friday sale. Our reader-exclusive code is what makes this the best value.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the FastestVPN Lifetime Plan if...

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