Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Remember the Apple Vision Pro?Remember? It was a big, ambitious swing from Tim Cook and Co. — a $3,500 headset that lets you experience “augmented reality” — or, if you follow Apple’s demands for branding — “spatial computing.”Apple first showed off the Vision Pro in the spring of 2023, and then started selling the device in February 2024, and since then … you really haven’t heard much about it.Unless you’ve seen periodic articles about how the device hasn’t taken off, so developers aren’t building for it, which makes it harder to sell, which makes developers even less likely to build…

By Nancy Lapid(Reuters) -Novo Nordisk’s and Eli Lilly’s blockbuster weight-loss drugs should be the first medicines doctors reach for to treat obesity and its complications, a major European medical association advised on Thursday.Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic, and tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro by Lilly, are so effective that they should be the first choice in almost all cases when substantial weight loss is necessary, according to a new guideline from the European Association for the Study of Obesity published in Nature Medicine.When a lesser degree of weight loss is required, other medications can be…

Allan Brooks never set out to reinvent mathematics. But after weeks spent talking with ChatGPT, the 47-year-old Canadian came to believe he had discovered a new form of math powerful enough to take down the internet. Brooks — who had no history of mental illness or mathematical genius — spent 21 days in May spiraling deeper into the chatbot’s reassurances, a descent later detailed in The New York Times. His case illustrated how AI chatbots can venture down dangerous rabbit holes with users, leading them toward delusion or worse. That story caught the attention of Steven Adler, a former OpenAI…

AI search startup Perplexity is making its new Comet browser available to everyone in the world for free as it works to position the product against big browsers and search engines. For certain paid subscribers, the startup has also launched a new “background assistant” to handle multiple tasks via Comet.   Perplexity first launched Comet to subscribers of its $200-per-month Max plan three months ago, and since then, “millions” have signed up on the waitlist to download the browser. Comet’s main feature is a sidecar assistant that joins you while you browse, helping to answer any questions you may have about the web page you’re on, summarize content, manage web content, and…

Consumer AI is having its breakout moment — and few startups have captured the spotlight this year quite like Phia. The AI-powered shopping assistant has become one of 2025’s buzziest launches, not only for its vision of how Gen Z shops, but also for the powerhouse founders leading it: Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, happening October 27–29 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, the two will take to the Disrupt Stage to share how they’re building Phia into a durable consumer brand, what it takes to scale in one of tech’s most competitive markets, and how they’re…

On Thursday, Andreessen Horowitz released its first AI Spending Report in partnership with the fintech firm Mercury. Using transaction data from Mercury, the report analyzes the top 50 AI-native application layer companies that startups are spending money on, similar to the previously published Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps.  a16z partners Olivia Moore and Seema Amble say the data shows companies are still adopting a range of different AI products for certain tasks — and new apps are rising and falling very quickly. “There’s a proliferation of tools,” Amble said. “It hasn’t just coalesced around one or two in each category.”…

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley and cornerback Nate Wiggins were back at practice for the Baltimore Ravens, but star quarterback Lamar Jackson and safety Kyle Hamilton were absent Thursday during the portion open to reporters.Jackson also missed practice Wednesday with a hamstring injury. Hamilton did not seem injured during last weekend’s loss at Kansas City, but he showed up on Wednesday’s injury report as limited in that day’s practice because of a groin issue. He was not on the field early in Thursday’s session. Neither were linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring) and cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf).The returns…

OpenAI has sold $6.6 billion in shares held by current and former employees, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The sale pushed OpenAI’s total valuation to $500 billion, the highest ever achieved by a privately held company. Purchasers included SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Thrive Capital, MGX, and T. Rowe Price, the report said. The sale was not a conventional funding round, as the cash went to individuals holding shares or options in OpenAI rather than the company’s own coffers. Still, it’s a powerful retention tool for the company, which has faced significant pressure from Meta’s newly revitalized AI lab.…

With Brian Snitker stepping down in Atlanta, there are now eight major league teams with a managerial opening. Five of those spots became vacant since the end of the season, and three teams have had interim managers in place for a while.With the dust settling, it’s time to take a look at which of these jobs are the most attractive. It’s a subjective exercise of course, and it depends on what a prospective manager values. Some teams can offer a talented current roster, while others might have a better long-term outlook. And of course, the quality of the front office…

As human and AI-generated “slop” floods the internet, Perplexity says it’s fighting back by making Comet — its AI-native browser that normally costs $200 a month — free for anyone in the world, forever.”We want to build a better internet, and that needs to be accessible to everybody,” Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas told Business Insider at a launch event in San Francisco on Wednesday.The free version of Comet, which launches today, will come with rate limits, Srinivas made clear.Comet can summarize webpages, pull key details, and wade through links on a user’s behalf. It first debuted in July but was…