Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
Want a job at Anthropic? It might help to get a hobby.The AI boom is changing the job requirements for an engineer. Not only do they need to have coding skills, but they also must know how to operate vibecoding tools and stay up to date with new AI models.Anthropic leader Boris Cherny looks for something else: “Side quests.””When I hire engineers, this is definitely something I look for,” he said on “The Peterman Pod.”Cherny’s definition of side quests includes “cool weekend projects,” like someone who’s “really into making kombucha.” It’s a sign that the engineer is curious and interested…
The retail landscape is shifting quickly. After years of leaning heavily into e-commerce during and following the pandemic, major retailers are trying to pull shoppers back into stores, and they’re deploying a wave of new tech to make it happen.Foot traffic has been rising as consumers seek immediacy and hands-on experiences, but their expectations have changed. Shoppers want the convenience they’re accustomed to online, without sacrificing the ability to see products in person. That’s pushing retailers to layer AI and automation directly onto the store floor.Brick-and-mortar stores are rolling out tools like computer-vision inventory tracking, smarter shelves, autonomous checkout, and…
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The investigation into the Brown University mass shooting has dragged on for more than four days with no named suspect, motive, weapon or even a clear image of the assailant’s face that might help bring them to justice. Investigators have been hobbled by the lack of clear eyewitness accounts of the shooter and few, if any, cameras in the wing of the building where the attack happened. Despite these difficulties, frustration was mounting Wednesday over the lack of progress.Here are some answers to questions about the attack and investigation:How many students were shot? Who were they?The…
Google today released its fast and cheap Gemini 3 Flash model, based on the Gemini 3 released last month, looking to steal OpenAI’s thunder. The company is also making this the default model in the Gemini app and AI mode in search. The new Flash model arrives six months after Google announced the Gemini 2.5 Flash model, offering significant improvements. On the benchmark, the Gemini 3 Flash model outperforms its predecessor by a significant margin and matches the performance of other frontier models, like Gemini 3 Pro and GPT 5.2, in some measures. For instance, it scored 33.7% without tool…
Mozilla has appointed Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as its CEO as the Firefox browser maker scrambles to adapt in a rapidly changing browser market. The appointment comes at a time when web browsers are seeing a revitalization of sorts as AI changes how people use the internet. After more than a decade of dominating the market, incumbents like Firefox, Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari are facing a fresh challenge from companies like Perplexity, Arc, OpenAI, and Opera, which are focused on baking in AI models and agents into their browsers to bring AI to users at the first point of contact with…
Google’s vibe-coding tool, Opal, is making its way to Gemini. The company on Wednesday said it is integrating the tool, which lets you build AI-powered mini apps, inside the Gemini web app, allowing users to create their own custom apps, which Google calls Gems. Introduced in 2024, Gems are customized versions of Gemini designed for specific tasks or scenarios. For instance, some of Google’s pre-made Gems include a learning coach, a brainstorming assistant, a career guide, a coding partner, and an editor. Opal, meanwhile, focuses on helping users create mini-apps or mix existing apps. To use the feature, users describe…
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Republican push to make drilling cheaper on federal land is creating new fiscal pressure for states that depend on oil and gas revenue, most notably in New Mexico as it expands early childhood education and saves for the future.The shift stems from the sweeping law President Donald Trump signed in July that rolls back the minimum federal royalty rate to 12.5%. That rate — the share of production value companies must pay to the government — held steady for a century under the 1920 Mineral Leasing Act. It was raised to 16.7% under the…
Underwater autonomous vessels and robots could play a substantial role in defense operations, but submersibles have historically had trouble communicating across large distances unless they rose to the surface. But coming up to transmit poses the very obvious risk of being exposed. Skana Robotics thinks it’s made a breakthrough with underwater communications using AI — but not the large language models the industry touts today. Tel Aviv-based Skana has developed a new capability for its fleet management software system, SeaSphere, that allows groups of vessels to communicate with each other underwater across long distances using AI. The system allows vessels…
The latest Supreme Court case related to abortion is not technically about the legal right to have one. When the court heard oral arguments on Dec. 2, 2025, the word “abortion” came up only three times. The first instance was more than an hour into the 82-minute hearing.Instead, First Choice Women’s Resource Centers Inc. v. Platkin hinges on whether First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association give a chain of five crisis pregnancy centers in New Jersey the right to protect its donor records from disclosure to state authorities. The centers are Christian nonprofits that try to stop…
As child care costs outpace wages, more families are facing difficult decisions about whether to scale back work in order to care for loved ones. Caregiving remains the top reason women ages 25-54 leave the workforce.And it’s not just parents who struggle. Nearly 60 million Americans provide care for an adult family member, and two-thirds say they have trouble balancing their jobs with their caregiving responsibilities. Nearly 1 in 4 working caregivers reported either missing work or being less productive because of their care duties.When the demands become too much to juggle, some people quit their jobs, cut back on…