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A Delta Air Lines jet takes off at the Los Angeles International Airport in April. Ed Bastian, the airline's CEO, says the CrowdStrike outage has cost the carrier $500 million.

A Delta Air Lines jet takes off at the Los Angeles International Airport in April. Ed Bastian, the airline's CEO, says the CrowdStrike outage has cost the carrier $500 million. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

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Damian Dovarganes/AP

Business

Delta's CEO says the CrowdStrike outage cost the airline $500 million in 5 days

The airline's CEO, Ed Bastian, says the massive tech outage that stranded countless passengers cost the airline a half-billion dollars. The carrier is now preparing litigation against CrowdStrike, he said.

In a Google ad during the Olympics, a dad uses AI tool Gemini to write a letter from his daughter to star hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

In a Google ad during the Olympics, a dad uses AI tool Gemini to write a letter from his daughter to star hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Screenshot by NPR/YouTube hide caption

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Screenshot by NPR/YouTube

Analysis

2024 Paris Olympics

The antithesis of the Olympics: Using AI to write a fan letter

In one of Google’s Olympics ads, a dad uses AI tool Gemini to craft a fan letter from his daughter to an Olympian. But it’s the wrong approach to express admiration in a star athlete – and to instill confidence in a burgeoning one.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., was diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disorder last year that has inhibited her mobility and hampered her voice. On July, 25 she debuted the use of an AI tool built to mirror her own voice in a speech on the House floor.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., was diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disorder last year that has inhibited her mobility and hampered her voice. On July, 25 she debuted the use of an AI tool built to mirror her own voice in a speech on the House floor. House Television hide caption

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House Television

Politics

A neurological disease stole Rep. Jennifer Wexton's voice. AI helped her get it back.

Wexton spoke on the House floor Wednesday using an "augmentative and alternative communication" program.

Wexton uses AI voice on floor

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Band

The new album Bando Stone & the New World, billed as a soundtrack to a coming film, revives some of the anarchic spirit of Donald Glover's earliest work as Childish Gambino. Pavielle Garcia/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Pavielle Garcia/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Music

Childish Gambino, Denzel Curry and Curren$y channel rap's blog era

Three survivors of a chaotic moment in hip-hop conjure its best qualities, a decade and a few major career twists later, for three new albums released on the same day.

The Instagram logo is seen on a cellphone.

The Instagram logo is seen on a cellphone. Michael Dwyer/AP hide caption

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Michael Dwyer/AP

World

Meta takes down thousands of Instagram and Facebook accounts linked to sextortion

The social media owner announced it has taken down thousands of accounts in Nigeria that were linked to financial sexual extortion scams.

SEXTORTION META

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Visitors watch Jesus VR: The Story of Christ during the 73rd Venice Film Festival in 2016.

Visitors watch Jesus VR: The Story of Christ during the 73rd Venice Film Festival in 2016. Andreas Rentz/Getty Images hide caption

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Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Movies

This could be the way we watch movies in the future

Watching a movie is all about kicking back in a comfy chair with a bucket of popcorn and letting the story unfold. But that might change thanks to virtual reality.

IMPACT OF VR ON TV AND FILM

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In the foreground is a black keyboard with red backlighting. Propped up behind it is a tablet in landscape orientation that's displaying on its screen the name OpenAI and the tech company's logo. In the background stands a metal, humanlike robot that's looking into a mirror.

Many tech entrepreneurs have long suggested that guaranteed income could cushion job losses from artificial intelligence and automation. The latest and largest study of the idea was spearheaded by Sam Altman, the man behind ChatGPT. Michael Dwyer/AP hide caption

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Michael Dwyer/AP

National

As new tech threatens jobs, Silicon Valley promotes no-strings cash aid

Many tech entrepreneurs have long suggested that guaranteed income could cushion job losses from AI and automation. The latest and largest study of the idea was spearheaded by the man behind ChatGPT.

As new tech threatens jobs, Silicon Valley promotes no-strings cash aid

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Sun Kai, the co-founder of Silicon Intelligence, speaks with an AI avatar of his late mother whenever he feels stressed at work.

Sun Kai, the co-founder of Silicon Intelligence, speaks with an AI avatar of his late mother whenever he feels stressed at work. Aowen Cao/NPR hide caption

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Aowen Cao/NPR

Asia

Chinese companies offer to 'resurrect' deceased loved ones with AI avatars

Startups are catering to mourners who want a way to communicate with their lost loved ones — or at least digital likeness of them.

Chinese companies offer to 'resurrect' dead loved ones. It raises questions

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A Crowdstrike office in Sunnyvale, Calif. An overnight outage was blamed on a software update that the cybersecurity firm sent to Microsoft corporate customers, including many airlines.

Microsoft, which hosts cloud services with businesses and governments, said it was grappling with service outages after a glitch triggered by software distributed by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Haven Daley/AP hide caption

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Haven Daley/AP

National

What we know about the computer update glitch disrupting systems around the world

A tech meltdown left workers at airlines, banks and hospitals staring at the dreaded “blue screen of death” as their computers went inert in what is being described as a historic outage.

Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio shakes hands with former President Donald Trump during a rally in Delaware, Ohio in 2023. Vance has ties to tech billionaires who are endorsing his vice-presidential nomination.

Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio shakes hands with former President Donald Trump during a rally in Delaware, Ohio in 2023. Vance has ties to tech billionaires who are endorsing his vice presidential nomination. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Five things to know about J.D. Vance’s ties to tech billionaires

Vance, who has become a darling to the Silicon Valley elite, made inroads in tech and venture capital circles during a stint in San Francisco. Now, Vance is tapping that network to supercharge the Trump re-election bid.

Vance's early roots are in Appalachia. Now he has ties to Silicon Valley

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Elon Musk says he will fight charges of violating Europe's Digital Services Act. Musk during a visit at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair in Paris, on June 16, 2023 and (R) the new Twitter logo rebranded as X, pictured on a screen in Paris on July 24, 2023.

Elon Musk says he will fight charges of violating Europe's Digital Services Act. Musk during a visit at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair in Paris, on June 16, 2023 and (R) the new Twitter logo rebranded as X, pictured on a screen in Paris on July 24, 2023. Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images

Business

EU takes Elon Musk's X to court over blue checks and ads

The European Union has charged Elon Musk’s X with violating new regulations for social media platforms. Musk faces hefty fines over delivering misinformation.

Researchers found that AI could increase the creativity of individual writers, but it also led to many similar stories.

Researchers found that AI could increase the creativity of individual writers, but it also led to many similar stories. Moor Studio/Getty Images hide caption

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Moor Studio/Getty Images

Science

Research shows AI can boost creativity for some, but at a cost

Amateur writers using AI tools produced stories that were deemed more creative, but the research suggests the creativity of the group overall went down.

Research shows AI can boost creativity for some, but at a cost

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A person walked by an AT&T logo on a blue screen.

AT&T announced Friday that hackers stole 2022 data of “nearly all” of its cellular customers off the company's workspace on a third-party cloud platform. Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty Images

Business

AT&T says hackers stole 2022 call and text data from 'nearly all' cell customers

AT&T believes the data, which was stolen in April, is no longer publicly available. Affected current and former customers will be notified by the company but can also check their status online.

Google Vice President Majd Bakar speaks on-stage during an annual conference in San Francisco with the back drop of a massive data center.

Google Vice President Majd Bakar speaks on-stage during an annual conference in San Francisco with the back drop of a massive data center. Josh Edelson/Getty Images hide caption

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Josh Edelson/Getty Images

Business

AI brings soaring emissions for Google and Microsoft, a major contributor to climate change

The tech giants both report surges in greenhouse gas emissions as they double-down on adding artificial intelligence to all of their products.

Artificial intelligence's thirst for electricity

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This U.S. company is helping arm Ukraine against Russia — with AI drones

Palmer Luckey, 31, founder of Anduril Industries, stands in front of the Dive-LD, an autonomous underwater drone at company headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif. Anduril recently won a U.S. Navy contract to build 200 of them annually. Philip Cheung for NPR/NPR hide caption

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Philip Cheung for NPR/NPR

Consider This from NPR

This U.S. company is helping arm Ukraine against Russia — with AI drones

Palmer Luckey launched his first tech company as a teenager. That was Oculus, the virtual reality headset for gaming. Soon after, he sold it to Facebook for $2 billion.

This U.S. company is helping arm Ukraine against Russia — with AI drones

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Valerii Plotnikov (left) from the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha, Yakutsk, Russia, and Daniel Fisher of the University of Michigan examine a woolly mammoth unearthed during a 2018 expedition.

Valerii Plotnikov (left) from the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha, Yakutsk, Russia, and Daniel Fisher of the University of Michigan examine a woolly mammoth unearthed during a 2018 expedition. Love Dalén hide caption

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Love Dalén

Shots - Health News

A 3D reconstruction of the woolly mammoth genome might help revive the extinct species

With a skin sample from a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth, scientists are gaining new insights into what made the animals tick. The findings could also help controversial de-extinction efforts.

Scientists recreate woolly mammoth genome

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Russian state broadcaster RT broadcasting from near Red Square during the 2018 World Cup in Moscow. The Justice Department alleges an RT employee was behind an AI-powered effort to create fake social media profiles of Americans to spread Russian propaganda in the U.S.

Russian state broadcaster RT broadcasting from near Red Square during the 2018 World Cup in Moscow. The Justice Department alleges an RT employee was behind an AI-powered effort to create fake social media profiles of Americans to spread Russian propaganda in the U.S. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images hide caption

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Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

U.S. says Russian bot farm used AI to impersonate Americans

The bot farm used AI to create social media profiles impersonating Americans and posting post support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and other pro-Kremlin narratives.

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