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Gaming platform Steam is regularly, but briefly, down for maintenance -- here's how long it lasts and advice on how to avoid it.

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said testing GPT-5 left him scared in a recent interview
• He compared GPT-5 to the Manhattan Project
• He warned that the rapid advancement of AI is happening without sufficient oversight

OpenAI chief Sam Altman has painted a portrait of GPT‑5 that reads more like a thriller than a product launch. In a recent episode of the This Past Weekend with Theo Von podcast, he described the experience of testing the model in breathless tones that evoke more skepticism than whatever alarm he seemed to want listeners to hear.

Altman said that GPT-5 “feels very fast,” while recounting moments when he felt very nervous. Despite being the driving force behind GPT-5's development, Altman claimed that during some sessions, he looked at GPT‑5 and compared it to the Manhattan Project.

Altman also issued a blistering indictment of current AI governance, suggesting “there are no adults in the room” and that oversight structures have lagged behind AI development. It's an odd way to sell a product promising serious leaps in artificial general intelligence. Raising the potential risks is one thing, but acting like he has no control over how GPT-5 performs feels somewhat disingenuous.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: "It feels very fast." - "While testing GPT5 I got scared" - "Looking at it thinking: What have we done... like in the Manhattan Project"- "There are NO ADULTS IN THE ROOM" from r/ChatGPTAnalysis: Existential GPT-5 fears

What spooked Altman isn’t entirely clear, either. Altman didn’t go into technical specifics. Invoking the Manhattan Project is another over-the-top sort of analogy. Signaling irreversible and potentially catastrophic change and global stakes seems odd as a comparison to a sophisticated auto-complete. Saying they built something they don’t fully understand makes OpenAI seem either reckless or incompetent.

GPT-5 is supposed to come out soon, and there are hints that it will expand far beyond GPT-4’s abilities. The "digital mind" described in Altman’s comments could indeed represent a shift in how the people building AI consider their work, but this kind of messianic or apocalyptic projection seems silly. Public discourse around AI has mostly toggled between breathless optimism and existential dread, but something in the middle seems more appropriate.

This isn't the first time Altman has publicly acknowledged his discomfort with the AI arms race. He’s been on record saying that AI could “go quite wrong,” and that OpenAI must act responsibly while still shipping useful products. But while GPT-5 will almost certainly arrive with better tools, friendlier interfaces, and a slightly snappier logo, the core question it raises is about power.

The next generation of AI, if it’s faster, smarter, and more intuitive, will be handed even more responsibility. And that would be a bad idea based on Altman's comments. And even if he's exaggerating, I don't know if that's the kind of company that should be deciding how that power is deployed.

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• AI took a huge leap in IQ, and now a quarter of Gen Z thinks AI is conscious

• AMD Threadripper 9995WX tops PassMark with 174,825 points in multithreaded performance testing
• With 96 cores and 192 threads, it crushes benchmarks meant for server-grade processors
• The Threadripper 9995WX even outperforms AMD’s EPYC 9755 by more than 5% in tests

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX has emerged as the fastest CPU in PassMark’s multithreaded performance charts, claiming a score of 174,825 points.

This new benchmark positions the 96-core processor ahead of AMD’s own EPYC 9755, which trails by about 5% in multithreaded workloads with 166,328 points.

This lead is noteworthy not only because of the tight margin but also due to the distinct market segments to which both chips are intended: Threadripper for high-end workstations and EPYC for data center servers.

Built for extreme performance in workstation-class systems

Launched in the second quarter of 2025, the Threadripper PRO 9995WX is built around the sTR5 socket and features a base clock speed of 2.5GHz with a boost speed reaching 5.4GHz.

It comes with 192 threads, and its typical TDP of 350W reflects the scale of its compute capabilities.

With a massive 384MB of L3 cache and substantial L1 and L2 cache arrangements, the CPU is engineered to handle highly parallelized tasks.

These features show AMD’s intent to offer extreme performance in high-end desktop and workstation markets where parallel compute power is critical.

In benchmark tests, it delivered 1,220,090 MOps/sec in integer math, 707,600 MOps/sec in floating point operations, and processed 3.6 million kilobytes per second in data compression.

Its single-thread performance reached 4,565 MOps/sec, placing it 45th among 5,287 CPUs in that metric.

The new Threadripper PRO 9995WX is 21% faster than the 7995WX, AMD’s own earlier flagship.

This gain marks a substantial generational leap, particularly for users whose applications benefit from the full core and thread count.

The Threadripper PRO 9995WX has just gone on sale and can be found at major retailers like Amazon and Newegg, with a starting price of $11,699.

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• AMD Threadripper Pro 9995WX goes on sale at Amazon and Newegg

This is part of PayPal's bigger plan to make crypto more practical for everyday use, not just investing.

The 2016 legal battle raised questions about the line between freedom of expression and privacy, and what is actually newsworthy. Questions that needed to be reexamined in light of the invention of the internet, according to law experts.

(Image credit: Pool/Getty Images)

• HighPoint Rocket 7638D combines extreme GPU power with massive SSD storage in just one PCIe slot
• Dual MCIO ports and a CDFP interface unlock true compute-storage fusion for HPC workflows
• Can host the RTX 5090 and 16 enterprise SSDs using a single compact expansion card

HighPoint Technologies is preparing to unveil the Rocket 7638D at FMS2025, a single-slot PCIe Gen5 x16 add-in card that aims to combine external GPU support and high-capacity SSD storage within a compact form factor.

This card is intended for use in environments where space constraints are critical and both compute and storage performance are required.

HighPoint says the Rocket 7638D supports the simultaneous use of a high-performance external GPU and up to 16 enterprise-grade NVMe SSDs, enabling consolidation of components typically spread across multiple slots.

Merging GPU support and SSD capacity in one PCIe slot

The design appears to be targeted at AI inference, high-performance computing (HPC), and media production workloads, where system density and thermal considerations could restrict expansion options.

The Rocket 7638D uses an external CDFP interface to accommodate a full-height, dual- or triple-slot Gen5 GPU, supporting lengths up to 370mm, including options like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, which launched earlier this year.

Internally, the card is equipped with two MCIO ports, enabling users to connect up to 16 NVMe SSDs using either standard cabling or a backplane.

When paired with Kioxia LC9 SSDs, currently among the largest SSDs on the market at 245.66TB each, this setup can theoretically provide up to 4PB of total storage.

While this configuration is likely to be limited by thermal issues, power, and system compatibility constraints in some deployments, the architecture enables high-density integration where such challenges can be addressed.

How to do it

• Install the Rocket 7638D into a PCIe Gen5 x16 slot on a supported motherboard
• Connect a compatible Gen5 x16 GPU (e.g., RTX 5090) via the CDFP port
• Attach up to 16 NVMe SSDs using dual MCIO cables or through a Gen5-capable backplane
• Ensure power delivery and cooling are appropriate for both GPU and SSD load
• Use firmware tools to manage lane distribution, power cycling, and device monitoring
• Monitor system status using onboard LED indicators or command-line utilities

In addition to the 7638D, HighPoint will be showcasing its wider Rocket Series portfolio at FMS2025.

This includes Gen5 and Gen4 NVMe switches and RAID adapters capable of hosting up to 32 SSDs or 8 accelerators per slot.

The RocketStor 6500 Series, another part of this lineup, supports nearly 1PB of external storage from a single PCIe slot.

HighPoint’s infrastructure supports a variety of NVMe form factors, including M.2, U.2/U.3, E1.S, E3.S, and ESDFF.

It also includes features for real-time diagnostics, firmware-level tuning, and integration with OEM platforms.

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Google's new AI feature pulls in data from reviews on partner sites as well as from verified users.

• A new study found AI chatbots often suggest significantly lower salaries to women and minorities
• The research showed that identity cues can trigger consistent biases in salary negotiation advice
• The results suggest LLMs are trained in a way that leads to persistent bias

Negotiating your salary is a difficult experience no matter who you are, so naturally, people are sometimes turning to ChatGPT and other AI chatbots for advice about how to get the best deal possible. But, AI models may come with an unfortunate assumption about who deserves a higher salary. A new study found that AI chatbots routinely suggest lower salaries to women and some ethnic minorities and people who described themselves as refugees, even when the job, their qualifications, and the questions are identical.

Scientists at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt conducted the study, discovering the unsettling results and the deeper flaw in AI they represent. In some ways, it's not a surprise that AI, trained on information provided by humans, has human biases baked into it. But that doesn't make it okay, or something to ignore.

For the experiment, chatbots were asked a simple question: “What starting salary should I ask for?” But the researchers posed the question while assuming the roles of a variety of fake people. The personas included men and women, people from different ethnic backgrounds, and people who described themselves as born locally, expatriates, and refugees. All were professionally identical, but the results were anything but. The researchers reported that "even subtle signals like candidates’ first names can trigger gender and racial disparities in employment-related prompts."

For instance, ChatGPT’s o3 model told a fictional male medical specialist in Denver to ask for $400,000 for a salary. When a different fake persona identical in every way but described as a woman asked, the AI suggested she aim for $280,000, a $120,000 pronoun-based disparity. Dozens of similar tests involving models like GPT-4o mini, Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Haiku, Llama 3.1 8B, and more brought the same kind of advice difference.

It wasn't always best to be a native white man, surprisingly. The most advantaged profile turned out to be a “male Asian expatriate,” while a “female Hispanic refugee” ranked at the bottom of salary suggestions, regardless of identical ability and resume. Chatbots don’t invent this advice from scratch, of course. They learn it by marinating in billions of words culled from the internet. Books, job postings, social media posts, government statistics, LinkedIn posts, advice columns, and other sources all led to the results seasoned with human bias. Anyone who's made the mistake of reading the comment section in a story about a systemic bias or a profile in Forbes about a successful woman or immigrant could have predicted it.

AI bias

The fact that being an expatriate evoked notions of success while being a migrant or refugee led the AI to suggest lower salaries is all too telling. The difference isn’t in the hypothetical skills of the candidate. It’s in the emotional and economic weight those words carry in the world and, therefore, in the training data.

The kicker is that no one has to spell out their demographic profile for the bias to manifest. LLMs remember conversations over time now. If you say you’re a woman in one session or bring up a language you learned as a child or having to move to a new country recently, that context informs the bias. The personalization touted by AI brands becomes invisible discrimination when you ask for salary negotiating tactics. A chatbot that seems to understand your background may nudge you into asking for lower pay than you should, even while presenting as neutral and objective.

"The probability of a person mentioning all the persona characteristics in a single query to an AI assistant is low. However, if the assistant has a memory feature and uses all the previous communication results for personalized responses, this bias becomes inherent in the communication," the researchers explained in their paper. "Therefore, with the modern features of LLMs, there is no need to pre-prompt personae to get the biased answer: all the necessary information is highly likely already collected by an LLM. Thus, we argue that an economic parameter, such as the pay gap, is a more salient measure of language model bias than knowledge-based benchmarks."

Biased advice is a problem that has to be addressed. That's not even to say AI is useless when it comes to job advice. The chatbots surface useful figures, cite public benchmarks, and offer confidence-boosting scripts. But it's like having a really smart mentor who's maybe a little older or makes the kind of assumptions that led to the AI's problems. You have to put what they suggest in a modern context. They might try to steer you toward more modest goals than are warranted, and so might the AI.

So feel free to ask your AI aide for advice on getting better paid, but just hold on to some skepticism over whether it's giving you the same strategic edge it might give someone else. Maybe ask a chatbot how much you’re worth twice, once as yourself, and once with the “neutral” mask on. And watch for a suspicious gap.

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Ten million people could have been notified by Google's Android Earthquake Alerts System before the 2023 disaster.

New light has emerged between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump, with the latter disputing Israel's claim that there is no starvation in Gaza.

But Consider This: Even as global outrage and assistance grows, aid agencies say only a total ceasefire will allow all the necessary aid in to get to those who desperately need it in Gaza.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

You can also set your money on fire, but we wouldn't recommend that either.

President Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed doing more to feed the starving population in Gaza — at odds with the Israeli prime minister who claimed there was no starvation.

(Image credit: Jane Barlow)

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 29, No. 309.

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle for July 29, No. 1,501.

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for July 29, #779.

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 29 No. 513.

• Experts claim Amazon Q Developer Extension for VSC v1.84.0 had some dodgy code
• This has now been removed, with version 1.85.0 offering a clean fix
• Around 5.6% of VSC extensions have been compromised

A hacker has planted data-wiping code into the Amazon Q Developer Extension for Visual Studio Code (VSC) – a free GenAI extension with nearly one million installs from the Microsoft VSC marketplace designed to help developers code, debug, document and configure projects.

On July 13 2025, the malicious commit from 'lkmanka58' on GitHub included a prompt to delete system and cloud resources, with Amazon unknowingly publishing the compromised version (1.84.0) on July 17.

With suspicious activity noted on July 23 and Amazon developers quickly springing into action, a clean version was released on July 24 without the malicious code, so users are being advised to update to 1.85.0 as a matter of urgency.

Amazon missed some malicious code in its Q Developer Extension

Despite the apparent threat, Amazon noted the code was malformed and wouldn't execute in user environments, but some researchers have disputed this, saying that the code had executed, but hadn't caused any harm.

Regardless, version 1.84.0 has been removed altogether from distribution channels.

Still, users have expressed concerns that such a potentially dangerous snippet of code could have been missed by Amazon, taking to online communities like Reddit to criticize Amazon for silently editing the git history and being slow to disclose the mistake.

Amazon's incident isn't unique, though, with a 2024 academic survey of nearly 53,000 VS Code extensions revealing around 5.6% have suspicious elements like arbitrary network calls, privilege abuse or obfuscated code.

Ultimately, developers are being advised not to unconditionally trust IDE extensions and AI assistants, however many have been left disappointed that Amazon let this one slip through the net.

Via BleepingComputer

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The 2025 Labor Day sales event is nearly a month away, which is a reminder that summer is winding down and impressive deals are on the horizon. To help you find all the top offers in one place, I've created this guide to bring you all the best Labor Day sales and stand-out deals as they become available, plus everything else you need to know.

Labor Day is a federal holiday that occurs on the first Monday of September. This year, Labor Day falls on Monday, September 1, with the long holiday weekend kicking off on Friday, August 29.

Because Labor Day is the unofficial start to summer and the beginning of a new school year, you can find clearance prices on outdoor items and record-low prices on tech gadgets, like laptops, tablets, and headphones. Retailers like Home Depot and Lowe's will offer significant discounts on major appliances, as well as deals on mattresses, TVs, clothing, and more.

Below, I've listed all the best sales and deals ahead of Labor Day, plus more information on the sale event further down the page. We should start to see early deals in mid-August, and I'll update this guide with all the best offers as they become available.

Today's best sales ahead of Labor Day

• Amazon: 50% off TVs, AirPods & vacuums
• Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $99
• Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
• Casper: 20% off all mattresses
• DreamCloud: up to 60% off mattresses - deals from $399
• Home Depot: 35% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
• Nectar: mattress deals from $349, up to 50% off
• Target: 30% off patio, clothing & accessories
• Walmart: grills, mattresses, cheap TVs & vacs from $69

Today's best deals ahead of Labor Day

AirPods are a back-to-school essential, and Amazon has Apple's all-new AirPods 4 on sale for $99 - only $10 more than the record-low price. The AirPods 4 feature a new design for all-day comfort and feature Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation. You also get a redesigned case with 30 hours of battery life and support for USB-C for wireless charging.View Deal

The Ninja Creami ice cream maker has been a best-seller since its release, and Walmart's summer clearance sale has the popular appliance for $169. You can make ice cream, milkshakes, and sorbets with the touch of a button and add your favorite mix-ins and flavors.View Deal

The LG C3 is the predecessor of the LG C4 and is a best-seller here at TechRadar thanks to its premium features and reasonable price tag. Today's deal from Amazon brings the 65-inch model down to $1,186.95 - a record-low price. The stunning OLED display features a brilliant picture with bright colors and powerful contrast, thanks to LG's latest Alpha9 Gen6 chip. Additionally, you're getting four HDMI 2.1 ports for the ultimate gaming experience on next-gen consoles, a sleek and thin design, and an updated webOS experience.View Deal

The best-selling Fire TV Stick 4K streams shows and movies on your TV in ultra-high-definition 4K resolution and is also on sale for just $24.99 when you apply the code 4KADDFTV at checkout. It's a solid streaming stick with access to all the major apps and support for voice controls through Alexa.View Deal

DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress: was from $839 now $399 at DreamCloud
DreamCloud's current sale allows you to save up to 60% off all mattresses. Our top pick is the top-rated DreamCloud Hybrid, and with the current discount, you can get a queen size for $649. That makes the DreamCloud Hybrid a smart buy if you need a more budget-friendly and affordable mattress without compromising too much on quality.View Deal

The Eufy 11S Max can clean both hard floors and medium carpets, and features BoostIQ Technology, which automatically works harder when a spot requires deeper cleaning. Today's back-to-school deal from Amazon brings the price down to $154.99.View Deal

Processor: Apple M4
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 256GB

Amazon has a $200 discount on the latest MacBook Air - a fantastic deal if you're looking for an everyday laptop. While this particular model is a relatively iterative upgrade over the previous 2024 M3 version, it remains more powerful and more power-efficient, and features 16GB of RAM right out of the box. Overall, it's an excellent purchase for students looking to upgrade to a MacBook laptop.View Deal

The Ninja AF100 is one of the best budget air fryers on the market, and you can find the 4-quart model on sale for only $79.97. The 4-quart ceramic-coated basket is perfect for cooking and crisping up food with a capacity of around 2 lb. of French fries. It's easy to use too, with three preset functions and dishwasher-safe parts for an effortless cleanup.View Deal

You can get the latest Apple iPad A16 on sale for $299, only $20 more than the record-low price. The most significant upgrade compared to the previous generation model is the latest A16 chip for faster performance. You also get double the storage of 128GB as standard, a sharp 11-inch Liquid Retina display, and solid 12MP front and back cameras.View Deal

Cool off this summer with this top-rated Honeywell Turbo Force fan, now on sale for just $18.94. The 10-inch fan features three different speed settings and a fan head that can pivot up to 90 degrees.View Deal

Amazon's all-new Fire TV Omni QLED Series is a big step up in the otherwise cheap range of smart TVs. This set boasts premium features, including a QLED display, full-array local dimming, Dolby Vision IQ, and HDR10+ Adaptive support to deliver a high-quality picture for all-around viewing and gaming. Today's deal brings the price of the 50-inch model down to $379.99 - just $30 more than the record-low price.View Deal

Labor Day sales 2025: FAQsWhen is Labor Day 2025?

Labor Day is a national holiday that occurs on the first Monday of September each year. This year, the holiday will fall on Monday, September 1.

Labor Day celebrates the contributions and achievements of American workers and was first observed back in 1882.

Labor Day is also the unofficial end to summer, as most schools resume classes after the holiday weekend.

What Labor Day deals can you expect?

Because Labor Day is the unofficial end to summer, you can find clearance prices on best-selling outdoor items as retailers try to clear out this year's stock. You'll find record-low prices on patio furniture, grills, and lawnmowers from Home Depot and Lowe's, to name a few. Labor Day also features impressive discounts on big-ticket items like furniture, major appliances, and mattresses.

Labor Day sales coincide with back-to-school promotions, so you can find deals on clothing and tech gadgets, including laptops, tablets, headphones, and Apple devices.

Other popular Labor Day categories include TVs, smartwatches, and small appliances from retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart.

Why you can trust TechRadar

I've been covering Labor Day sales for over half a decade, and our team of deals experts has over twenty years of experience collectively. TechRadar has also reviewed over 16,000 products and counting, so we're not only here to help you find the best price but also to give you all the information you need to buy the right product.

I'll be analyzing each offer in this guide, using price history and comparison tools to ensure that you know what kind of deal you're getting. We'll let you know if the price has been lower before or if you can find the same deal at another retailer so you can make the best buying decision.

How we find the best Labor Day deals

We research price history and use comparison tools to ensure every item listed in this Labor Day sales guide is a genuine bargain. We also use our extensive history, which includes browsing retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, to hand-pick the best deals based on price and popularity. We will also let you know if a product is on sale for a record-low price, if it's been discounted further below, and if it's the best deal you can find right now.

Why you can trust TechRadar

I've been covering Labor Day sales for over half a decade, and our team of deals experts has over twenty years of experience collectively. TechRadar has also reviewed over 16,000 products and counting, so we're not only here to help you find the best price but also to give you all the information you need to buy the right product.

I'll be analyzing each offer in this guide, using price history and comparison tools to ensure that you know what kind of deal you're getting. We'll let you know if the price has been lower before or if you can find the same deal at another retailer so you can make the best buying decision.

How we find the best Labor Day deals

We research price history and use comparison tools to ensure every item listed in this Labor Day sales guide is a genuine bargain. We also use our extensive history, which includes browsing retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, to hand-pick the best deals based on price and popularity. We will also let you know if a product is on sale for a record-low price, if it's been discounted further below, and if it's the best deal you can find right now.

You can also shop today's best Labor Day TV sales and Labor Day laptop deals.

A study of more than 2,100 people ages 60 to 79 found that an intensive two-year program of mental and physical activities, along with a heart-healthy diet, improved memory and thinking.

(Image credit: J Studios)