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A Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, made a shocking announcement to the world in 2018: He had secretly engineered the birth of the first gene-edited babies. The birth of the twins was seen as reckless and unethical by the scientific community. That’s because, among other things, the CRISPR gene-editing technique Jiankui used was so new. NPR science correspondent Rob Stein has been following the controversial world of gene-editing and human reproduction, including some companies’ recent quests to push gene-editing technology forward.

Read more of Rob Stein’s reporting on the topic here.

Interested in more science news? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org. 

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

(Image credit: jm1366)

The landscape of smart data capture software is undergoing a significant transformation, with advancements that can help businesses build long-term resilience against disruptions like trade tariffs, labor shortages, and volatile demand.

No longer confined to handheld computers and mobile devices, the technology is embracing a new batch of hybrid data capture methods that include fixed cameras, drones, and wearables.

If you weren’t familiar with smart data capture, it is the ability to capture data intelligently from barcodes, text, IDs, and objects. It enables real-time decision-making, engagement, and workflow automation at scale across industries such as retail, supply chain, logistics, travel, and healthcare.

The advancements it’s currently experiencing are beyond technological novelties; they are further redefining how businesses operate, driving ROI, enhancing customer experience, and streamlining operational workflows. Let’s explore how:

More than just smartphones

Traditionally, smart data capture relied heavily on smartphones and handheld computers, devices that both captured data and facilitated user action. With advancements in technology, the device landscape is expanding. Wearables like smart glasses and headsets, fixed cameras, drones, and even robots are becoming more commonplace, each with its own value.

This diversification leads to the distinction of devices that purely ‘capture’ data versus those that can ‘act’ on it too. For example, stationary cameras or drones capture data from the real world and then feed it into a system of record to be aggregated with other data.

Other devices — often mobile or wearable — can capture data and empower users to act on that information instantly, such as a store associate who scans a shelf and can instantly be informed of a pricing error on a particular item. Depending on factors such as the frequency of data collected, these devices can allow enterprises to tailor a data capture strategy to their needs.

Practical innovations with real ROI

In a market saturated with emerging technologies, it's easy to get caught up in the hype of the next big thing. However, not all innovations are ready for prime time, and many fail to deliver a tangible return on investment, especially at scale. The key for businesses is to focus on practical, easy-to-implement solutions that enhance workflows rather than disrupt them by leveraging existing technologies and IT infrastructure.

An illustrative example of this evolution is the increasing use of fixed cameras in conjunction with mobile devices for shelf auditing and monitoring in retail environments. Retailers are deploying mobile devices and fixed cameras to monitor shelves in near real-time and identify out-of-stock items, pricing errors, and planogram discrepancies, freeing up store associates’ time and increasing revenue — game-changing capabilities in the current volatile trade environment, which triggers frequent price changes and inventory challenges.

This hybrid shelf management approach allows businesses to scale operations no matter the store format: retailers can easily pilot the solution using their existing mobile devices with minimal upfront investment and assess all the expected ROI and benefits before committing to full-scale implementation.

The combination also enables further operational efficiency, with fixed cameras providing continuous and fully automated shelf monitoring in high-footfall areas, while mobile devices can handle lower-frequency monitoring in less-frequented aisles.

This is how a leading European grocery chain increased revenue by 2% in just six months — an enormous uplift in a tight-margin vertical like grocery.

Multi-device and multi-signal systems

An important aspect of this data capture evolution is the seamless integration of all these various devices and technologies. User interfaces are being developed to facilitate multi-device interactions, ensuring that data captured by one system can be acted upon through another.

For example, fixed cameras might continuously monitor inventory levels, with alerts to replenish specific low-stock items sent directly to a worker's wearable device for immediate and hands-free action.

And speaking of hands-free operation: gesture recognition and voice input are also becoming increasingly important, especially for wearable devices lacking traditional touchscreens. Advancing these technologies would enable workers to interact with items naturally and efficiently.

Adaptive user interfaces also play a vital role, ensuring consistent experiences across different devices and form factors. Whether using a smartphone, tablet, or digital eyewear, the user interface should adapt to provide the necessary functionality without a steep learning curve; otherwise, it may negatively impact the adoption rate of the data capture solution.

Recognizing the benefits, a large US grocer implemented a pre-built adaptive UI to enable top-performing scanning capabilities on existing apps to 100 stores in just 90 days.

The co-pilot system

As the volume of data increases, so does the potential for information overload. In some cases, systems can generate thousands of alerts daily, overwhelming staff and hindering productivity. To combat this, businesses are adopting so-called co-pilot systems — a combination of devices and advanced smart data capture that can guide workers to prioritize ROI-optimizing tasks.

This combination leverages machine learning to analyze sales numbers, inventory levels, and other critical metrics, providing frontline workers with actionable insights. By focusing on high-priority tasks, employees can work more efficiently without sifting through endless lists of alerts.

Preparing for the future

As the smart data capture landscape continues to evolve and disruption becomes the “new normal”, businesses must ensure their technology stacks are flexible, adaptable, and scalable.

Supporting various devices, integrating multiple data signals, and providing clear task prioritization are essential for staying competitive in an increasingly complex, changeable and data-driven market.

By embracing hybrid smart data capture device strategies, businesses can optimize processes, enhance user experiences, and make informed decisions based on real-time data.

The convergence of mobile devices, fixed cameras, wearables, drones, and advanced user interfaces represents not just an evolution in technology but a revolution in how businesses operate. And in a world where data is king, those who capture it effectively — and act on it intelligently — will lock in higher margins today and lead the way tomorrow.

We've listed the best ERP software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

The Trump administration has pressured China to have the Hong Kong-based operator of ports at either end of the canal sell those interests to a U.S. consortium.

(Image credit: Matias Delacroix)

Miguel Uribe was shot three times while giving a campaign speech in a park and had since remained in an intensive care unit in serious condition with episodes of slight improvement.

(Image credit: Fernando Vergara)

Google Gemini introduced a new feature aimed at education called Guided Learning this month. The idea is to teach you something through question-centered conversation instead of a lecture.

When you ask it to teach you something, it breaks the topic down and starts asking you questions about it. Based on your answers, it explains more details and asks another question. The feature provides visuals, quizzes, and even embeds YouTube videos to help you absorb knowledge.

As a test, I asked Gemini's Socratic tutor to teach me all about cheese. It started by asking me about what I think is in cheese, clarifying my somewhat vague answer with more details, and then asking if I knew how those ingredients become cheese. Soon, I was in a full-blown cheese seminar. For every answer I gave, Gemini came back with more details or, in a gentle way, told me I was wrong.

The AI then got into cheese history. It framed the history as a story of traveling herders, clay pots, ancient salt, and Egyptian tombs with cheese residue. It showed a visual timeline and said, “Which of these surprises you most?” I said the tombs did, and it said, “Right? They found cheese in a tomb and it had survived.” Which is horrifying and also makes me respect cheese on a deeper level.

In about 15 minutes, I knew all about curds and whey, the history of a few regional cheese traditions, and even how to pick out the best examples of different cheeses. I could see photos in some cases and a video tour of a cellar full of expensive wheels of cheese in France. The AI quizzed me when I asked it to make sure I was getting it, and I scored a ten out of ten.

(Image credit: Gemini screenshots)Cheesemonger AI

It didn’t feel like studying, exactly. More like falling into a conversation where the other person knows everything about dairy and is excited to bring you along for the ride. After learning about casein micelles. starter cultures, and cutting the curd, Gemini asked me if I wanted to learn how to make cheese.

I said sure, and it guided me through the process of making ricotta, including pictures to help show what it should look like at each step.

(Image credit: Gemini screenshots)

By the time I was done with that part of the conversation, I felt like I’d taken a mini‑course in cheesemaking. I'm not sure I am ready to fill an entire cheeseboard or age a wheel of gruyère in my basement.

Still, I think making ricotta or maybe paneer would be a fun activity in the next few weeks. And I can show off a mild, wobbly ball of dairy pride thanks to learning from questioning, and, as it were, being guided to an education.

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Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 12

• Report claims AI adoption depends on critical human abilities
• Ethics, adaptability, and audience-specific communication all named
• The skills gap in AI workplaces is as much human as it is technical

As AI tools become more and more embedded in our everyday work, new research claims the challenge of not getting the best out of them may not lie solely with the technology.

A report from Multiverse has identified thirteen core human skillsets which could determine whether companies fully realize AI’s potential.

The study warns without deliberate attention to these capabilities, investment in AI writer systems, LLM applications, and other AI tools could fall short of expectations.

Critical thinking under pressure

The Multiverse study draws from observation of AI users at varying experience levels, from beginners to experts, employing methods such as the Think Aloud Protocol Analysis.

Participants verbalised their thought processes while using AI to complete real-world tasks.

From this, researchers built a framework grouping the identified skills into four categories: cognitive skills, responsible AI skills, self-management, and communication skills.

Among the cognitive abilities, analytical reasoning, creativity, and systems thinking were found to be essential for evaluating AI outputs, pushing innovation, and predicting AI responses.

Responsible AI skills included ethics, such as spotting bias in outputs, and cultural sensitivity to address geographic or social context gaps.

Self-management covered adaptability, curiosity, detail orientation, and determination, traits that influence how people refine their AI interactions.

Communication skills included tailoring AI-generated outputs for audience expectations, engaging empathetically with AI as a thought partner, and exchanging feedback to improve performance.

Reports from academic institutions, including MIT, have raised concerns reliance on generative AI can reduce critical thinking, a phenomenon linked to “cognitive offloading.”

This is the process where people delegate mental effort to machines, risking erosion of analytical habits.

While AI tools can process vast amounts of information at speed, the research suggests they cannot replace the nuanced reasoning and ethical judgement that humans contribute.

The Multiverse researchers note that companies focusing solely on technical training may overlook the “soft skills” required for effective collaboration with AI.

Leaders may assume their AI tool investments address a technology gap when in reality, they face a combined human-technology challenge.

The study refrains from claiming AI inevitably weakens human cognition, but instead it argues the nature of cognitive work is shifting, with less emphasis on memorising facts and more on knowing how to access, interpret, and verify information.

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While the new ‘Liquid Glass’ look and a way more powerful Spotlight might be the leading features of macOS Tahoe 26, I’ve found that bringing over a much-loved iPhone feature has proven to be the highlight after weeks of testing.

Live Activities steal the show on the iPhone, thanks to their glanceability and effortless way of highlighting key info, whether it’s from a first or third-party app. Some of my favorites are:

• Flighty displays flight tracking details in real-time, for myself, family, or friends
• Airlines like United show my seat, a countdown for boarding, or even baggage claim
• Rideshare apps tell you what kind of car you're driving is arriving in
• Apple Sports displays your favorite teams' live scores in real-time with the game

Now, all of this is arriving on the Mac – right at the top navigation bar, near the right-hand side. They appear when your iPhone is nearby, signed into the same Apple Account, and mirror the same Live Activities you’d see on your phone. It’s a simple but powerful addition.

Considering Apple brought iPhone Mirroring to the Mac in 2024, this 2025 follow-up isn’t surprising. But it’s exactly the kind of small feature that makes a big difference. I’ve loved being able to check a score, track a flight, or see my live position on a plane – without fishing for my phone.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

I’ve used it plenty at my desk, but to me, it truly shines in Economy class. If you’ve ever tried balancing an iPhone and a MacBook Pro – or even a MacBook Air – on a tray table, you know the awkward overlap. I usually end up propping the iPhone against my screen, hanging it off the palm rest, or just tossing it in my lap. With Live Activities on the Mac, I can stick to one device and keep the tray table clutter-free.

Considering notifications already sync, iPhone Mirroring arrived last year, Live Activities were ultimately the missing piece. On macOS Tahoe, they sit neatly collapsed in the menu bar, just like the Dynamic Island on iPhone, and you can click on one to expand and see the full Live Activity. Another click on any of these Live Activities quickly opens the app on your iPhone via the Mirroring app – it all works together pretty seamlessly.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

You can also easily dismiss them, as I have found they automatically expand for major updates, saving screen real estate on your Mac. If you already have a Live Activity that you really enjoy on your iPhone, there’s really no extra work needed from the developer, as these will automatically repeat.

All-in-all, it’s a small but super helpful tool that really excels in cramped spaces. So, if you’ve ever struggled with the same balancing act as I have with a tray table, your iPhone, and a MacBook, know that relief is on the way.

It's arriving in the Fall (September or October) with the release of macOS Tahoe 26. If you want it sooner, the public beta of macOS Tahoe 26 is out now, but you'll need to be okay with some bugs and slowdowns.

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President Trump plans to tap an economist from the conservative Heritage Foundation to oversee the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He fired the previous leader after a disappointing jobs report.

(Image credit: Jim Watson)

She recorded a magical debut album on Blue Note and was later named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment of the Arts.

• Huawei makes its CANN AI GPU toolkit open source to challenge Nvidia’s proprietary CUDA platform
• CUDA’s near 20-year dominance has locked developers into Nvidia’s hardware ecosystem exclusively
• CANN provides multi-layer programming interfaces for AI applications on Huawei’s Ascend AI GPUs

Huawei has announced plans to make its CANN software toolkit for Ascend AI GPUs open source, a move aimed squarely at challenging Nvidia’s long-standing CUDA dominance.

CUDA, often described as a closed-off “moat” or “swamp,” has been viewed as a barrier for developers seeking cross-platform compatibility by some for years.

Its tight integration with Nvidia hardware has locked developers into a single vendor ecosystem for nearly two decades, with all efforts to bring CUDA functionality to other GPU architectures through translation layers blocked by the company.

Opening up CANN to developers

CANN, short for Compute Architecture for Neural Networks, is Huawei’s heterogeneous computing framework designed to help developers create AI applications for its Ascend AI GPUs.

The architecture offers multiple programming layers, giving developers options for building both high-level and performance-intensive applications.

In many ways, it is Huawei’s equivalent to CUDA, but the decision to open its source code signals an intent to grow an alternative ecosystem without the restrictions of a proprietary model.

Huawei has reportedly already begun discussions with major Chinese AI players, universities, research institutions, and business partners about contributing to an open-sourced Ascend development community.

This outreach could help accelerate the creation of optimized tools, libraries, and AI frameworks for Huawei’s GPUs, potentially making them more attractive to developers who currently rely on Nvidia hardware.

Huawei’s AI hardware performance has been improving steadily, with claims that certain Ascend chips can outperform Nvidia processors under specific conditions.

Reports such as CloudMatrix 384’s benchmark results against Nvidia running DeepSeek R1 suggest that Huawei’s performance trajectory is closing the gap.

However, raw performance alone will not guarantee developer migration without equivalent software stability and support.

While open-sourcing CANN could be exciting for developers, its ecosystem is in its early stages and may not be anything close to CUDA, which has been refined for nearly 20 years.

Even with open-source status, adoption may depend on how well CANN supports existing AI frameworks, particularly for emerging workloads in large language models (LLM) and AI writer tools.

Huawei’s decision could have broader implications beyond developer convenience, as open-sourcing CANN aligns with China’s broader push for technological self-sufficiency in AI computing, reducing dependence on Western chipmakers.

In the current environment, where U.S. restrictions target Huawei’s hardware exports, building a robust domestic software stack for AI tools becomes as critical as improving chip performance.

If Huawei can successfully foster a vibrant open-source community around CANN, it could present the first serious alternative to CUDA in years.

Still, the challenge lies not just in code availability, but in building trust, documentation, and compatibility at the scale Nvidia has achieved.

Via Toms Hardware

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and several other researchers and engineers came to Reddit the day after debuting the powerful new GPT-5 AI model for the time-honored tradition of an Ask Me Anything thread.

Though the discussion ranged over all kinds of technical and product elements, there were a few topics that stood out as particularly important to posters based on the frequency and passion with which they were discussed. Here are a few of the most notable things we learned from the OpenAI AMA.

Pining for GPT-4o

The biggest recurring theme in the AMA was a mournful wail from users who loved GPT-4o and felt personally attacked by its removal. That's not an exaggeration, as one user posted, “BRING BACK 4o GPT-5 is wearing the skin of my dead friend.”To which Altman replied, “what an…evocative image. ok we hear you on 4o, working on something now.”

This wasn’t just one isolated request, either. Another post asked to keep both GPT-4o and GPT-4.1 alongside GPT-5, arguing that the older models had distinct personalities and creative rhythms. Altman admitted they were “looking into this now.”

Most requests were a little more subdued, with one poster asking, “Why are we getting rid of the variants and 4o when we all have unique communication styles? Please bring them back!”

Altman’s answer was brief but direct in conceding the point. He wrote, “ok, we hear you all on 4o; thanks for the time to give us the feedback (and the passion!). we are going to bring it back for plus users, and will watch usage to determine how long to support it."

It is interesting that so many heavy users seem to prefer the style of the older model, and prefer it to the objectively better newer ones.

Filtering history

Another big topic was ChatGPT's safety filter, both currently and before GPT-5 which many posted complaints about for being overzealous. One user described a scenario where they’d been flagged for discussing historical topics, with a response about Gauguin getting flagged and deleted because the artist was a "sex pest," and the user's own clarification question itself getting flagged.

Altman’s answer was a mixture of agreement and reality check. “Yeah, we will continue to improve this,” he said. “It is a legit hard thing; the lines are often really quite blurry sometimes.” He stressed that OpenAI wants to allow “very wide latitude” but admitted that the boundary between unsafe and safe content is far from perfect, but that "people should of course not get banned for learning."

New tier

Another questioner zeroed in on a gap in OpenAI’s subscription model: "Are you guys planning to add another plan for solo power users that are not pros? 20$ plan offers too little for some, and the $200 tier is overkill."

Altman’s answer was succinct, simply saying, “Yes we will do something here.” No details, just a confirmation that the idea’s on the table. That brevity leaves open possibilities from 'next week' to just saying 'the discussion starts now.' But the pricing gap is a big deal for power users who find themselves constrained by the Plus tier but can’t justify enterprise pricing. If OpenAI does create an intermediate tier, it could reshape how dedicated individual users engage with the platform.

The future

At the end of the AMA, Altman shared some new information about the current and future state of ChatGPT and GPT-5. He started by admitting to some issues with the release, writing that "we expected some bumpiness as we roll out so many things at once. But it was a little more bumpy than we hoped for!"

That bumpiness ended up making GPT-5 seem not as impressive as it should have until now.

"GPT-5 will seem smarter starting today," Altman wrote. "Yesterday, we had a sev [severity, meaning system issue] and the autoswitcher was out of commission for a chunk of the day, and the result was GPT-5 seemed way dumber."

He also promised more access for ChatGPT Plus users, with double the rate limits, as well as the upcoming return of GPT-4o, at least for those same subscribers. The AMA did paint a clearer picture of what OpenAI is willing to change in response to public pressure.

The return of GPT-4o for Plus users at least acknowledges that raw capability isn’t the only metric that matters. If users are this vocal about keeping an older model alive, future releases of GPT-5 and beyond may be designed with more deliberate flavors built in beyond just the personality types promised for GPT-5.

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• A TikTok user damaged their MacBook display in an unexpected way
• The issue was caused by a piece of card placed under the lid
• Even something as innocuous as this can break a laptop screen

For many MacBook owners, it’s a nightmare come true: you open the lid of your pricey laptop and switch it on, only to find the display is a mess, with black bars and glitchy colors everywhere you look. The screen has been ruined, and it’s going to cost a whole lot to put it right.

Worryingly, it’s actually a lot easier to experience this than you might expect: just one seemingly innocuous action can cause hundreds of dollars of damage.

That’s something TikTok user classicheidi found out the hard way. In a video uploaded to the social media platform, classicheidi explained that they had placed a piece of card on the keyboard of their MacBook Air, then closed the lid.

When they opened it again a while later, the screen was ruined.

A costly mistake @classicheidi

Is this common knowledge omg

♬ original sound - Heidi

This is an unfortunate incident, but there’s a reason it happened. It’s not because the displays of Apple’s laptops (or those of any other manufacturer, for that matter) are weak or poorly made. But while they should certainly be treated with care, there’s another issue at play.

It’s what Apple describes in a support document as the “tight tolerances” of its laptops. Apple’s MacBooks are made to be as thin as possible, which means the gap between the keyboard and display is very small when the lid is closed.

Anything placed in that gap – even something as modest as a piece of card – can be pushed up against the display, with the resulting pressure leading to serious damage.

For that reason, Apple warns that “leaving any material on your display, keyboard, or palm rest might interfere with the display when it’s closed and cause damage to your display.” If you have a camera cover, a palm rest cover, or a keyboard cover, Apple says you should remove it before closing your laptop’s lid to avoid this kind of scenario – unfortunately, it’s something we've seen before.

If you want to sidestep the kind of outcome classicheidi suffered, it’s important to ensure there’s nothing between your laptop’s keyboard and screen when you close it. If there is, you might open it up to “the biggest jump scare of the century,” in classicheidi’s words.

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• Fraudulent TikTok Shops driving victims into fake portals designed to steal cryptocurrency and data
• Scammers mimic trusted seller profiles and lure shoppers with unrealistic discounts across popular platforms
• SparkKitty malware secretly collects sensitive data from devices, enabling long-term unauthorized surveillance and control

Cybercriminals are now making use of TikTok Shops to spread malware and steal funds from unsuspecting young users of the platform.

The campaign, revealed by security experts at CTM360, mimics the profile of legitimate ecommerce sellers to build its credibility, often using AI-generated content.

In addition to TikTok, these fake shops can also be found on Facebook, where their modus operandi is to advertise massive price cuts to lure potential victims.

Exploiting brand trust for profit

The main target of these malicious actors is not only to defraud users, mostly in cryptocurrency, but also to deliver malicious software and steal login details.

At the moment, TikTok Wholesale and Mall pages have been linked to over 10,000 such fraudulent URLs.

These URLs, which look like official platforms, offer “buy links” that redirect visitors to a criminal phishing portal.

Once users click the link and enter the portal, they will be made to pay a deposit into an online wallet or purchase a product – the online wallet is fake and the product does not exist.

Some operations take the deception further by posing as an affiliate management service, pushing malicious apps disguised as tools for sellers.

More than 5,000 app download sources have been uncovered, many using embedded links and QR codes to bypass traditional scrutiny.

One identified threat, known as SparkKitty, is capable of harvesting data from both Android and iOS devices.

It can enable long-term access to compromised devices, creating ongoing risk even after the initial infection.

The malware is often delivered through these fake affiliate applications, turning what appears to be a legitimate opportunity into a direct path for account takeover and identity theft.

Because cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, victims have little recourse once funds are transferred.

A common thread in the campaign is the use of pressure tactics, with countdown timers or limited-time discounts designed to force quick decisions.

These tactics, while common in legitimate marketing, make it harder for users to pause and assess the authenticity of an offer.

Domain checks reveal many of the scam sites using inexpensive extensions such as .top, .shop, or .icu, which can be purchased and deployed rapidly.

How to stay safe

• Make sure you check the website address carefully before entering your payment information. Every detail of the website should match the legitimate domain.
• Ensure that you use secure HTTPS encryption
• If the price cut feels too huge, follow your gut and stay away.
• Do not allow a countdown timer to pressure you into making payment; this pressure is a common tactic my malicious actors
• Always insist on the standard payment methods and avoid direct wire transfers or cryptocurrency, as these are harder to trace and often used in scams.
• Install and maintain a trusted security suite that combines robust antivirus protection with real-time browsing safeguards to block malicious websites.
• Configure your firewall to actively monitor and filter network traffic, preventing unauthorized access and blocking suspicious connections before they reach your device.
• Pay close attention to alerts from reputable security programs, which can detect and warn you about known phishing sites or fraudulent activities in real time.
• Remain cautious even when shopping on professional-looking platforms, as well-designed storefronts can still conceal sophisticated attempts at theft.

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Online game chats are notorious for vulgar, offensive, and even criminal behavior. Even if only a tiny percentage, the many millions of hours of chat can accumulate a lot of toxic interactions in a way that's a problem for players and video game companies, especially when it involves kids. Roblox has a lot of experience dealing with that aspect of gaming and has used AI to create a whole system to enforce safety rules among its more than 100 million mostly young daily users, Sentinel. Now, it's open-sourcing Sentinel, offering the AI and its capacity for identifying grooming and other dangerous behavior in chat before it escalates for free to any platform.

This isn’t just a profanity filter that gets triggered when someone types a curse word. Roblox has always had that. Sentinel is built to watch patterns over time. It can track how conversations evolve, looking for subtle signs that someone is trying to build trust with a kid in potentially problematic ways. For instance, it might flag a long conversation where an adult-sounding player is just a little too interested in a kid’s personal life.

Sentinel helped Roblox moderators file about 1,200 reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in just the first half of this year. As someone who grew up in the Wild West of early internet chatrooms, where “moderation” usually meant suspecting that people who used correct spelling and grammar were adults, I can’t overstate how much of a leap forward that feels.

Open-sourcing Sentinel means any game or online platform, whether as big as Minecraft or as small as an underground indie hit, can adapt Sentinel and use it to make their own communities safer. It’s an unusually generous move, albeit one with obvious public relations and potential long-term commercial benefits for the company.

For kids (and their adult guardians), the benefits are obvious. If more games start running Sentinel-style checks, the odds of predators slipping through the cracks go down. Parents get another invisible safety net they didn’t have to set up themselves. And the kids get to focus on playing rather than navigating the online equivalent of a dark alley.

For video games as a whole, it’s a chance to raise the baseline of safety. Imagine if every major game, from the biggest esports titles to the smallest cozy simulators, had access to the same kind of early-warning system. It wouldn’t eliminate the problem, but it could make bad behavior a lot harder to hide.

AI for online safety

Of course, nothing with “AI” in the description is without its complications. The most obvious one is privacy. This kind of tool works by scanning what people are saying to each other, in real time, looking for red flags. Roblox says it uses one-minute snapshots of chat and keeps a human review process for anything flagged. But you can’t really get around the fact that this is surveillance, even if it’s well-intentioned. And when you open-source a tool like this, you’re not just giving the good guys a copy; you also make it easier for bad actors to see how you're stopping them and come up with ways around the system.

Then there’s the problem of language itself. People change how they talk all the time, especially online. Slang shifts, in-jokes mutate, and new apps create new shorthand. A system trained to catch grooming attempts in 2024 might miss the ones happening in 2026. Roblox updates Sentinel regularly, both with AI training and human review, but smaller platforms might not have the resources to keep up with what's happening in their chats.

And while no sane person is against stopping child predators or jerks deliberately trying to upset children, AI tools like this can be abused. If certain political talk, controversial opinions, or simply complaints about the game are added to the filter list, there's little players can do about it. Roblox and any companies using Sentinel will need to be transparent, not just with the code, but also with how it's being deployed and what the data it collects will be used for.

It's also important to consider the context of Roblox's decision. The company is facing lawsuits over what's happened with children using the platform. One lawsuit alleges a 13‑year‑old was trafficked after meeting a predator on the platform. Sentinel isn't perfect, and companies using it could still face legal problems. Ideally, it would serve as a component of online safety setups that include things like better user education and parental controls. AI can't replace all safety programs.

Despite the very real problems of deploying AI to help with online safety, I think open-sourcing Sentinel is one of the rare cases where the upside of using AI is both immediate and tangible. I’ve written enough about algorithms making people angry, confused, or broke to appreciate when one is actually pointed toward making people safer. And making it open-source can help make more online spaces safer.

I don’t think Sentinel will stop every predator, and I don’t think it should be a replacement for good parenting, better human moderation, and educating kids about how to be safe when playing online. But as a subtle extra line of defense, Sentinel has a part to play in building better online experiences for kids.

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How often do you upgrade your MacBook? I’m willing to bet it’s not very often, and certainly not every year. If so, that’s great news for you, but perhaps not so pleasing for Apple, which would rather you stumped up for one of the best MacBooks as often as possible. Yet is there really a reason to upgrade if your laptop does everything you need for years at a time?

Take me, for example. I’ve had a MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip since 2022, and it’s served me superbly well in that time. It handles all my work without a hitch and gives me strong gaming performance for the titles I play. Even Cyberpunk 2077 performs impressively well if I turn frame generation on, and I’m happy to do that since it boosts the frame rates from my integrated laptop chip – which is several generations out of date – up to the mid-70s.

That all means that over the past few years, I’ve looked at advances in the MacBook Pro and decided to take a pass. New chips have been the only major changes of note, and with no big design adjustments or feature improvements to tempt me – and my M1 Pro chip performing so consistently – there’s been no need to rock the boat.

However, I’m starting to get the feeling that this situation is not going to last. Judging by the latest rumors, things could change in a big way in the next year or two, and it might be harder than ever for me to resist the lure of a new MacBook Pro. The good news, though, is that this step up could last me well into the next decade.

The OLED revolution

(Image credit: Apple)

That idea centers around Apple’s M6 chip, which is expected to land in the MacBook Pro in late 2026 or early 2027. This model is expected to come with an OLED display as well as the new chip, according to Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter.

There, Gurman says that the upcoming M6 MacBook Pro “represents enough of a change to finally move the needle” in his opinion, bringing with it a new chip, an improved screen, plus a thinner, redesigned chassis for the first time in several years.

Gurman is not the only person who could be swayed by this upcoming Mac: it’s the kind of upgrade that might convince me to open the purse strings as well. After all, by the time the M6 model launches, my M1 Pro laptop will be five generations out of date and might start showing its age a little more. It’s still going strong for now, but that won’t be the case forever.

But the bigger change will be the OLED display. This has been rumored for years, but Apple’s obsessive perfectionism has meant we still haven’t seen it in action. When it finally arrives, though, Apple’s gaming gains could finally be married up with the kind of visual output they deserve. The question of whether MacBooks are actually gaming machines has been discussed much over the last few years, but adding an OLED display into the mix would surely settle the question in Apple’s favor once and for all.

What does the future hold?

(Image credit: Future)

But the fact that it would take an upgrade as momentous as this to convince me to get a new MacBook raises another question: what happens after the M6 MacBook Pro has been and gone?

Generally, MacBook upgrades aren’t usually as feature packed as the one we’re expecting when the M6 chip and OLED display come around. The M4 MacBook Pro, for example, offered a new chip, added Center Stage to the front-facing camera, brought Thunderbolt 5 connectivity to the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips, added a nano-texture coating to the display… and not a whole lot else. Those changes are fine, but they’re not groundbreaking.

Apple has, in some ways, created a problem for itself: its chips are now so performant that they can last for generations, dissuading people from upgrading. Contrast that to the bad old Intel Mac days, when the chips were so underpowered that many people felt forced into expensive annual upgrades, and it’s clear that Apple users are in a better spot than ever.

These days, Apple silicon chips have a lot more longevity, which means it’s harder for Apple to persuade its users to buy new MacBooks on the regular. My hope, at least, is this means Apple will bring more significant new features in the coming years in a bid to tempt upgraders.

But even if it doesn’t, just having a chip that lasts years without faltering is a win for Apple fans, and my M1 Pro is a testament to that. If I upgrade to the M6 MacBook Pro and its OLED display, I’m hoping the improvements it brings last me half a decade or more, just as my long-serving M1 Pro chip has done before it.

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Ford announced it will retool its Louisville Assembly Plant to focus on electric trucks. Its goal: to bring down prices for U.S. buyers and compete with Chinese EV makers on the global market.

(Image credit: Darron Cummings)