United News of Bangladesh

Artificial intelligence technology bellwether Nvidia overcame a wave of tariff-driven turbulence to deliver another quarter of robust growth amid feverish demand for its high-powered chips that are making computers seem more human. The results announced Wednesday for the February-April period came against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again trade war that has whipsawed Nvidia and other Big Tech companies riding AI mania to propel their revenue and stock prices upward, AP reports. But Trump’s tariffs — many of which have been reduced or temporarily suspended – hammered the market values of Nvidia and other tech powerhouses heading into the springtime earnings season as investors fretted about the trade turmoil dimming the industry’s prospects. Those worries have eased during the past six weeks as most Big Tech companies lived up to or exceeded the analyst projections that steer investors, capped by Nvidia’s report for its fiscal first quarter. Nvidia earned $18.8 billion, or 76 cents per share, for the period, a 26% increase from the same time last year. Revenue surged 69% from a year ago to $44.1 billion. If not for a $4.5 billion charge that Nvidia absorbed to account for the US government’s restrictions on its chip sales to China, Nvidia would have made 96 cents per share, far above the 73 cents per share envisioned by analysts. OpenAI Codex: A Pair Programmer to Shape the Future Coding Paradigm In another positive sign, Nvidia predicted its revenue for the May-July period would be about $45 billion, roughly the level that investors had been anticipating. The forecast includes an estimated $8 billion loss in sales to China due to the export controls during its fiscal second quarter, after the restrictions cost it about $2.5 billion in revenue during the first quarter. In a conference call with analysts, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang lamented that the US government had effectively blocked off AI chip sales to China — a market that he estimated at $50 billion. Huang warned the export controls have spurred China to build more of its own chips in a shift that he predicted the US will eventually regret. “The US based its policy on the assumption that China cannot make AI chips. That assumption was always questionable, and now it’s clearly wrong,” Huang said. Despite Nvidia's lost opportunities in China, investors were heartened by the company's first-quarter performance. Nvidia's shares gained more than 4% in extended trading after the numbers came out. Nvidia’s stock price ended Wednesday’s regular trading session at $134.81, just slightly below where it stood before Trump’s January 20 inauguration. The price had plunged to as low as $86.62 last month during a nosedive that temporarily erased $1.2 trillion in shareholder wealth.

After back-to-back explosions, SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship again on Tuesday evening, but fell short of the main objectives when the spacecraft tumbled out of control and broke apart. The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket blasted off on its ninth demo from Starbase, SpaceX’s launch site at the southern tip of Texas. Residents voted this month to organize as an official city. CEO Elon Musk 's SpaceX hoped to release a series of mock satellites following liftoff, but that got nixed because the door failed to open all the way. Then the spacecraft began spinning as it skimmed space toward an uncontrolled landing in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly,” or burst apart. “Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test,” the company said in an online statement. Musk noted in a post on X it was a “big improvement” from the two previous demos, which ended in flaming debris over the Atlantic. Despite the latest setback, he promised a faster launch pace moving forward, with a Starship soaring every three to four weeks for the next three flights. It was the first time one of Musk's Starships — intended for moon and Mars travel — flew with a recycled booster. There were no plans to catch the booster with giant chopsticks back at the launch pad, with the company instead pushing it to its limits. Contact with the booster was lost at one point, and it slammed into the Gulf of Mexico in pieces as the spacecraft continued toward the Indian Ocean. Amazon launches its first internet satellites to compete against SpaceX's Starlinks Then the spacecraft went out of control, apparently due to fuel leaks. “Not looking great with a lot of our on-orbit objectives for today,” said SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot. The company had been looking to test the spacecraft’s heat shield during a controlled reentry. Communication ceased before the spacecraft came down, and SpaceX ended its webcast soon afterward. The previous two Starships never made it past the Caribbean. The demos earlier this year ended just minutes after liftoff, raining wreckage into the ocean. No injuries or serious damage were reported, although airline travel was disrupted. The Federal Aviation Administration last week cleared Starship for another flight, expanding the hazard area and pushing the liftoff outside peak air travel times. Besides taking corrective action and making upgrades, SpaceX modified the latest spacecraft’s thermal tiles and installed special catch fittings. This one was meant to sink in the Indian Ocean, but the company wanted to test the add-ons for capturing future versions back at the pad, just like the boosters. NASA needs SpaceX to make major strides over the next year with Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built — in order to land astronauts back on the moon. Next year’s moonshot with four astronauts will fly around the moon, but will not land. That will happen in 2027 at the earliest and require a Starship to get two astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back off again.

Money-losing Japanese automaker Nissan is banking on its latest “e-Power” technology for a turnaround. A kind of hybrid, e-Power comes equipped with both an electric motor and gasoline engine, much like the Toyota Motor Corp. Prius. It’s different from a Prius in that it doesn’t switch back and forth between the motor and engine during the drive. That means the car always is running on its EV battery, ensuring a quiet, smooth ride. “Nissan has a proud history of pioneering innovative technology that set us apart,” Chief Technology Officer Eiichi Akashi told reporters on the sidelines of a test drive at its Grandrive course outside Tokyo. The advantage of e-Power vehicles is that they never need to be charged like EVs do. The owner just fuels up at a gas station and the car never runs out of a charge. Nissan Motor Corp., which racked up a $4.5 billion loss for the fiscal year through March, sorely needs a hot-seller, especially in the lucrative North American market. But the U.S. market is proving a big headache for all the Japanese automakers because of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. To achieve a turnaround, Nissan is working on reducing costs, strengthening business partnerships and redefining its lineup. That's where e-Power fits in, according to Akashi. OpenAI Codex: A Pair Programmer to Shape the Future Coding Paradigm Yokohama-based Nissan announced earlier this month that it’s slashing about 15% of its global work force, or about 20,000 employees, and reducing the number of its auto plants to 10 from 17, under an ambitious recovery plan led by its new Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa. Nissan officials did not give a price for the upcoming e-Power models. The only other automaker offers a similar technology is “kei,” or tiny car manufacturer Suzuki Motor Corp. E-Power is already offered on the Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail model in Europe, and the Note in Japan. The upgraded version will be offered in the new Rogue in the U.S. Nissan, a pioneer in EVs with its Leaf, which went on sale in 2010, is also preparing beefed up EV models. It's also working on a solid-state battery which is expected to replace the lithium-ion batteries now widely used in hybrids, EVs and e-Power models. Analysts say Nissan is in danger of running out of cash and needs a partner. Speculation is rife its Yokohama headquarters building will get sold, or one of its Japan plants will be turned into a casino. Google rolls out 'AI Mode' in major search engine overhaul Nissan started talks last year with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. for a business integration but announced in February that it was dropping the talks.

A group of friends gather to play cards in their host’s cozy home when the power cuts. Cellphones die. An eerie snow falls all over the city, killing everyone it touches. The friends struggle to survive, their panic replaced by a growing awareness that humanity itself is at stake. This is the premise of “The Eternaut,” a chilling dystopian drama out of Argentina that premiered its first season on Netflix on April 30. The six-episode, Spanish-language series with its mix of sci-fi elements and focus on human resilience has struck a universal nerve, rocketing to No. 1 among Netflix’s most streamed non-English-language TV shows within days. Netflix already renewed the show for a second season, with filming scheduled to start next year. But “The Eternaut” has touched on something deeper in Argentina, where legendary comic-strip writer Héctor Germán Oesterheld penned the original graphic novel in 1957 — two decades before he was “disappeared” by Argentina’s military dictatorship, along with all four of his daughters. Abroad, publishers are scrambling to keep pace with renewed interest in the source material. The Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books said it would reissue an out-of-print English translation due to the surge in U.S. demand. At home, the TV adaptation has reopened historical wounds and found unexpected resonance at a moment of heightened anxiety about the state of Argentine society under far-right President Javier Milei. “The boom of ‘The Eternaut' has created a cultural and social event beyond the series,” said Martín Oesterheld, the writer’s grandson and a creative consultant and executive producer on the show. “It fills our hearts. It brings us pride.” An alien invasion hits home For years, the surviving Oesterhelds resisted offers from Hollywood to adapt the cult classic, wary of the industry's seemingly irresistible urge to destroy New York City and other Western centers in apocalyptic dramas. Microsoft fires employee who interrupted CEO's speech to protest AI tech for Israeli military To honor his grandfather's creation, Martín Oesterheld said the show had to be filmed in Spanish, with an Argentine cast and set in Buenos Aires. “What he did was to do away with the representations of science fiction that we know in Europe and the United States,” Martín Oesterheld said of his grandfather. “He told it on our own terms, through things that we recognize.” Netflix, pushing to expand beyond its saturated U.S. market into previously untapped regions like Latin America, was a natural fit, he said. The streaming giant wouldn’t disclose its budget, but said the special effect-laden show took four years of pre- and post-production, involved 2,900 people and pumped $34 million into Argentina’s economy. In the show, aliens wreak predictable mayhem on an unpredictable cityscape — wide boulevards, neoclassical buildings, antique pizza halls and grimy suburbs — lending the show a shiver of curious power for Argentines who had never seen their city eviscerated on screen. The protagonists don't play poker but truco, a popular Argentine trick card game. They sip from gourds of mate, the signature Argentine drink made from yerba leaves. The snowfall is uncanny, and not just because it kills on contact. Buenos Aires has only seen snow twice in the last century. “From truco in scene one, which couldn't be more Argentine, we see that ‘The Eternaut’ is playing with these contrasts — life and death, light and darkness, the familiar versus the alien,” said Martín Hadis, an Argentine researcher specializing in science fiction. “It's not just a sci-fi story. It's a modern myth. That’s what makes it so universal.” In updating the story to present-day Argentina, the show brings the nation’s disastrous 1982 war with Britain over Las Malvinas, or the Falkland Islands, into the backstory of its hero, Juan Salvo, played by renowned actor Ricardo Darín. Salvo, a protective father and courageous ex-soldier who emerges to lead the group of survivors, is haunted by the rout of his comrades sent by Argentina's dictatorship to retake the South Atlantic islands. The defeat killed 649 Argentine soldiers, many of them untrained conscripts. “The conflict in Las Malvinas is not closed, it’s still a bloody wound,” Darín told The Associated Press. “It’s bringing the subject back to the table. That has moved a lot of people.” Argentine underdogs Faced with catastrophe, the protagonists rely on their own ingenuity, and on each other, to survive. What comes through, the creators say, is the Argentine saying “atado con alambre” — roughly, “held together with wire” — used to describe the inventive nature of those who do much with little in a nation that has suffered through decades of military rule and economic crises. “It says a lot about being Argentine — taking whatever you have at your disposal and pushing your limitations,” said Martín Oesterheld. He was referring not only to the plot but also to the production at a time when Milei has waged war on Argentina's bloated state and slashed funding to cultural programs like the National Film Institute. “As our culture is being defunded, we’re taking this Argentine product to the world,” Martín Oesterheld said. Netflix's first quarter builds on recent momentum as trade war drags down other tech companies Against this backdrop, the show's message of solidarity has gained an urgent new meaning, with those outraged over Milei’s libertarian ideology transforming the series' motto, “No one gets through it alone,” into a rallying cry. The slogan was scrawled on signs at protests by retirees demonstrating against the government’s sharp cuts to their pensions this month. To protect against police tear gas, some traded bandannas for the gas masks used in the show to shield against toxic snowfall. “There is a general policy these days that the state shouldn't take care of its citizens, which relates to individual freedom,” Darín said. "But there are many cases where, if the state disappears completely, people are left to drift as if they were shipwrecked.” A search reignited As the Netflix series exploded out of the gate, missing-persons flyers for Héctor Oesterheld, his daughters and potential grandchildren popped up on billboards for “The Eternaut” all over Buenos Aires, a reminder of the real-life horror story behind the pulp adventure. By the time the military junta came to power in 1976, Oesterheld, 58, had become known as a committed leftist, his four daughters, ranging in age from 19 to 25, had joined a far-left guerilla group and the whole family had turned into a target of Latin America’s deadliest dictatorship. Two of Oesterheld's daughters were pregnant at the time of their kidnapping. To this day, no one knows what happened to their unborn children, but they are believed to be among the estimated 500 newborns snatched from their parents and handed over to childless military officers, their true identities erased. The three surviving members of the Oesterheld family have never stopped searching. Martín Oesterheld's grandmother, Elsa, who raised him after his mother was killed, banded together with other women dedicated to finding their missing grandchildren. They became known as the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Seizing on national interest in the TV series, the Grandmothers this month issued public appeals for help finding the disappeared grandchildren. The response was overwhelming. Hollywood director arrested for swindling Netflix out of $11 million “It was incredible, it went viral,” said Esteban Herrera, who works with the Grandmothers and is still searching for his own missing sibling. “Since it’s a science-fiction series on a platform like Netflix, we’re reaching homes that the Grandmothers perhaps hadn’t before.” The outpouring of emails and calls raised more questions than answers. Reaching out were hundreds of Argentine viewers newly determined to find their own disappeared relatives or suddenly skeptical about the legality of their own adoptions. “'The Eternaut’ is a living memory, a classic that has been passed down from generation to generation,” said Martín Oesterheld. “For it to be embraced by so many people in this way ... there is no greater social commentary.”

President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50% tax on all imports from the European Union as well a 25% tariff on smartphones unless those products are made in America. The threats, delivered over social media, reflect Trump's ability to disrupt the global economy with a burst of typing, as well as the reality that his tariffs have yet to produce the trade deals he is seeking or the return of domestic manufacturing he has promised voters. The Republican president said he wants to charge higher import taxes on goods from the EU, a longstanding US ally, than from China, a geopolitical rival that had its tariffs cut to 30% this month so Washington and Beijing could hold negotiations. Trump was upset by the lack of progress in trade talks with the EU, which has proposed mutually cutting tariffs to zero even as the president has publicly insisted on preserving a baseline 10% tax on most imports. “Our discussions with them are going nowhere!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States.” Speaking later in the Oval Office, Trump stressed that he was not seeking a deal with the EU and might delay the tariffs if more companies invested in the United States. “I’m not looking for a deal,” Trump told the reporters. “We’ve set the deal. It’s at 50%.” The EU’s top trade official, Maros Sefcovic, posted on the social media site X that he spoke Friday with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “The EU’s fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both,” Sefcovic said. “EU-US trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats. We stand ready to defend our interests.” All smartphones could be affected Trump's tariffs against Europe had been preceded by a threat of import taxes against Apple for its plans to continue making its iPhone in Asia. Apple now joins Amazon, Walmart and other major U.S. companies in the White House's crosshairs as they try to respond to the uncertainty and inflationary pressures unleashed by his tariffs. “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump wrote. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.” OpenAI Codex: A Pair Programmer to Shape the Future Coding Paradigm Trump later clarified his post to say that all smartphones made abroad would be taxed and the tariffs could be coming as soon as the end of June. “It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product,” Trump said. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair.” The statements by Trump are critical in that he suggests the company itself would bear the price of tariffs, contradicting his earlier claims as he rolled out a series of aggressive tariffs over the past several months that foreign countries would shoulder the cost of the import taxes. In general, importers pay the tariffs and the costs are often passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices. In response to Trump’s tariffs on China, Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this month that most iPhones sold in the U.S. during the current fiscal quarter would come from India, with iPads and other devices being imported from Vietnam. After Trump rolled out tariffs in April, bank analysts estimated that a $1,200 iPhone would if made in America jump in price anywhere from $1,500 to $3,500. Stocks sold off after Trump's postings, with the S&P 500 index down roughly 0.67%. The markets have developed a hair-trigger sensitivity to the U.S. president's statements, often slumping when he announces high tariffs and rallying when he retreats from those threats. US vs. EU U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to provide some clarity on Trump's postings in a Friday interview on the Fox News show “America's Newsroom.” Bessent said the EU has a “collective action problem” because its 27 member states are being represented by “this one group in Brussels,” such that the “underlying countries don’t even know what the EU is negotiating on their behalf.” The Treasury secretary said he was not in a White House meeting this week that Cook attended, but he also spoke with the Apple CEO this week. Bessent said the goal was to have Apple bring more of its computer chip supply chain into the U.S. The core of Trump's argument against the EU is that America runs a “totally unacceptable” trade deficit with the 27 member states. Countries run trade deficits when they import more goods than they export. From the vantage point of the EU's executive commission, trade with the U.S. is roughly in balance if both goods and services are included. As a global center for finance and technology, the U.S. runs a trade surplus in services with Europe. That offsets some of the trade gap in goods and puts the imbalance at 48 billion euros ($54 billion). German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the EU's executive commission has his country’s full support in working to “preserve our access to the American market.” “I think such tariffs help no one, but would just lead to economic development in both markets suffering,” Wadephul said in Berlin. “So we are still counting on negotiations, and support the European Commission in defending Europe and the European market while at the same time working on persuasion in America.” Trump aides have said the goal of his tariffs was to isolate China and strike new agreements with allies, but the president's tariff threats undermine the logic of those claims. Not only could the EU face higher tariffs than China, but the bloc of member states might have been better off by establishing a broad front with China and other countries against Trump’s trade policy, said German economist Marcel Fratzscher. Trump signs orders to boost Nuclear Power and speed up project approvals “The strategy of the EU Commission and Germany in the trade conflict with Trump is a total failure,” Fratzscher, the head of the German Institute for Economic Research, said on X. “This was a failure you could see coming — Trump sees Europe’s wavering, hesitation and concessions as the weaknesses that they are.” Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the 50% tariffs on Europe are most likely a “negotiating ploy” by Trump, as he has previously retreated on tariffs after taking a hard line. She said Trump seems to believe that negotiations operate by going to a “threat point” that could risk self-harm to the U.S. just to demonstrate how serious he is, in hopes that doing so would produce an agreement. But Lovely said that in the long-run Trump's approach “suggests that the U.S. is an unreliable trading partner, that it operates on whim, not on rule of law.” A history with Apple Trump has run hot and cold on his relationship with Apple, a sign that currying favor with him might not necessarily shield a company from his anger. He has essentially told companies such as Walmart to “eat” the costs of his tariffs instead of raising prices, even though doing so could squeeze profits and cause layoffs. He now appears to deploying a similar degree of pressure to force Apple to accept the higher costs of relocating its supply chains. Trump had previously created an exemption on electronics imported from China to help companies such as Apple, something he could now remove. He also threatened separate 25% import taxes on computer chips and could have the tariffs schedule rewritten in ways that could expose Apple products to the taxes. Until recently, the U.S. president repeatedly bragged about the $500 billion that Apple in February pledged to invest domestically as part of its development of artificial intelligence technologies. But he publicly turned against the company last week while speaking in Qatar. “I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump told the audience. “I said to him: ‘Tim, you're my friend. I treated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion, but now I hear you’re building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.'” Microsoft fires employee who interrupted CEO's speech to protest AI tech for Israeli military Analysts have been skeptical that Apple could quickly shift device manufacturing to the U.S., mainly because it has spent decades embedding complex supply chains in China to feed the factories. But it also has the challenge of grappling with “the unpredictable nature of the current U.S. administration,” said Ben Wood, chief analyst at U.K.-based research firm CCS Insight. “At any moment, things can change overnight, making it extremely difficult for companies such as Apple to plan their business,” Wood said. “It seems that despite the best efforts of the Apple leadership team to lobby the U.S. administration to treat the iPhone more favorably, a curveball can come out of nowhere and derail any plans they have in place.”

OpenAI, the company behind the phenomenal automated chatbot ChatGPT, launched its next-generation coding agent, Codex, on May 16, 2025. Designed to streamline several fundamental aspects of software programming, Codex will further dynamise the exponentially growing field of automated coding. Let’s look deeper at what Codex is and what it can do. What is Codex? OpenAI Codex is an AI model that translates natural language into computer code. Built on OpenAI 0.3 reasoning model technology and trained on vast codebases, it powers tools like GitHub Copilot, enabling users to write, understand, and automate code tasks across multiple programming languages using plain English instructions. Codex accesses GitHub repositories, collects inspiration from billions of lines of code already stored there, and uses its algorithms to come up with solutions to complex tasks. Development History of OpenAI Codex The invention of the Codex dates back to August 2021, right after OpenAI introduced the GPT-3, a neural prototype trained on text. To tune up the process through which GPT-3 generates results, developers added an extra model of 12 billion parameters and named it Codex. This initial version of Codex could write SQL queries, convert conversations into Python code, and build UI components. Read more: Watch The Skies: World's First AI-dubbed Feature Film to Change The Way of Watching Movies Later, throughout the period 2022 to 2023, Codex continued evolving in smaller versions and got integrated into GPT-4 and ChatGPT Pro. Recently, OpenAI has given Codex its environment and advanced coding functionalities. In doing so, the company has also shifted the reasoning model of Codex from GPT-3 to Codex-1. What Can Codex Do? The new Codex model is apt at executing multiple tasks related to coding. Here is a short glance: Conversational Coding Perhaps one of the most groundbreaking features of Codex is the ability to translate plain English into code. This allows users to instruct the AI with phrases and receive accurate, ready-to-run scripts across a range of programming languages. Developing Software OpenAI’s new code models are transforming the software landscape by allowing developers to generate functional code in seconds. With simple prompts, users can create entire programs without manually writing each line. Read more: Basic to Flagship: Top 5 Official Smartphones Released in Bangladesh in 2025 Analysing Data From spreadsheets to large CSV files, OpenAI’s code tools can now analyse, clean, and visualise data with minimal user input. Journalists, researchers, and business analysts can quickly generate charts or summaries by simply uploading a file and asking questions. Educational Companion for Coding Learners The models serve as a real-time tutor, capable of explaining code line by line, debugging errors, and answering conceptual questions. For students and self-learners, this offers an accessible alternative to traditional learning methods. Accelerating AI-Powered Applications Startups and enterprises alike are leveraging these tools to make prototypes of AI-driven apps without the need for large development teams, cutting costs and speeding up innovation cycles. Common Issues and Concerns on the Rise . Accuracy and Reliability While OpenAI's models can generate functional code with impressive speed, experts caution that the outputs are not always correct or optimal. In complex scenarios, the AI may produce code that looks fine but contains subtle bugs, inefficiencies, or security flaws. Relying on such code without proper review could pose risks, particularly in sensitive applications like healthcare, finance, or cybersecurity. Read more: Best 10 Smartphones Releasing in May 2025 Security and Misuse Risks OpenAI’s code generation capabilities could be exploited to create malicious software. Although safeguards are in place, the potential for misuse remains a real concern. Cybersecurity experts warn that making code generation more public at this scale could empower bad practitioners. Programming Fields As these tools improve, there's a growing debate about the impact on employment. While some argue that AI will complement human developers by automating repetitive tasks, others worry it could eventually reduce demand for entry-level programmers, especially in roles focused on routine coding or bug fixing. Code Licensing Confusion The use of AI-generated code raises legal questions around ownership and licensing. Developers and companies are seeking clarity on how such content can be safely used in commercial products. Skill Dilution Some educators and software veterans fear that easy access to AI-generated code may hinder learning. If new developers rely too heavily on tools like Codex, they may struggle to build a deep understanding of how software works. Over time, this could lead to a generation of coders with limited problem-solving skills or creative confidence. Read more: How Does Fashion Waste Contribute to Environmental Issues? Conclusion OpenAI Codex brings a transformative shift in how we code, making programming faster and more open. While it offers immense potential to streamline development and learning, thoughtful use, ethical oversight, and continued human expertise are essential to harnessing its power responsibly in the evolving tech landscape.

President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Friday aimed at dramatically increasing the U.S. nuclear energy output—by up to four times over the next 25 years—a target energy experts say is highly unlikely. The orders shift key decision-making powers from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the longstanding independent safety body, to the Department of Energy, allowing the energy secretary to fast-track approvals of advanced reactor designs and projects. The move comes amid growing energy demand driven by artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of data centers, which are putting immense pressure on the nation’s electric grid. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said, “What we do over the next five years with electricity will shape the next 50,” emphasizing the urgency of energy expansion to maintain a competitive edge with China in AI development. Still, the goal of quadrupling nuclear output is seen as unrealistic. The U.S. has no operational next-generation reactors, and only two new reactors have been built in the past five decades—both plagued by years of delays and massive cost overruns. Currently, the U.S. operates 94 nuclear reactors, providing about 19% of the country’s electricity. Fossil fuels account for around 60%, while renewables contribute about 21%, according to the Energy Information Administration. Trump Promotes Nuclear at Oval Office Ceremony During the signing event in the Oval Office, President Trump, flanked by energy industry leaders, called nuclear power “a hot industry” and pledged large-scale development. Burgum and others argued that excessive regulation has stifled nuclear innovation for decades. “This marks the end of over 50 years of overregulation,” said Burgum, who heads Trump’s new Energy Dominance Council. The orders propose restructuring the NRC to ensure faster project reviews, including setting an 18-month deadline for decisions. They also launch a pilot program to build three experimental reactors by July 4, 2026, and use the Defense Production Act to secure uranium and other critical fuels. Additional directives include evaluating the reopening of closed nuclear plants and locating new reactors on federal and military land. NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell said the agency is reviewing the orders and will comply with White House instructions. Industry Reacts with Optimism Jacob DeWitte, CEO of nuclear company Oklo, demonstrated nuclear efficiency to Trump by holding up a golf ball—symbolizing the amount of uranium needed to power a person’s lifetime energy use. “It doesn’t get any better than that,” he said. “Very exciting indeed,” Trump responded. Although Trump has previously backed fossil fuel expansion, he praised nuclear energy for being safe and clean—though he didn’t mention its climate advantages. Nuclear energy produces no greenhouse gas emissions, but safety advocates note the risks of accidents, attacks, and unresolved nuclear waste storage. The proposed NRC overhaul includes workforce reductions but stops short of removing the current NRC commissioners. The future of the agency’s current chair, David Wright, remains uncertain as his term ends in June. Criticism from Safety Advocates and Former Officials Critics say Trump’s orders could erode critical safety protections. Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists warned that bypassing or weakening the NRC could threaten public safety. “The U.S. nuclear industry will fail if safety isn’t prioritized,” he said. Former NRC Chair Gregory Jaczko was even more blunt, likening the orders to “a guillotine to the nation’s nuclear safety system,” and accused Trump of making the industry more dangerous and unreliable. Push for Innovation Amid Global Competition Nations like Russia, China, and Canada are advancing rapidly in building next-generation reactors. In Canada, the first of four small modular reactors recently began construction. Meanwhile, the U.S. is working to modernize its own approval processes. Isaiah Taylor, CEO of Valar Atomics, said excessive bureaucracy has slowed U.S. progress while global rivals move faster. He welcomed the new mandate for the Department of Energy to accelerate innovation. The NRC is currently evaluating applications for small modular reactors, with plans for some to begin operating in the early 2030s. The agency expects its reviews to be completed in under three years. Tori Shivanandan, COO of California-based Radiant Nuclear, called Trump’s executive orders a “watershed moment” for the U.S. nuclear industry, expressing confidence they will drive the sector’s success.  

Microsoft has fired an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella to protest the company's work supplying the Israeli military with technology used for the war in Gaza. Software engineer Joe Lopez could be heard shouting at Nadella in the opening minutes Monday of the tech giant's annual Build developer conference in Seattle before getting escorted out of the room. Lopez later sent a mass email to colleagues disputing the company's claims about how its Azure cloud computing platform is used in Gaza. Lopez's outburst was the first of several pro-Palestinian disruptions at the event that drew thousands of software developers to the Seattle Convention Center. At least three talks by executives were disrupted, the company even briefly cut the audio of one livestreamed event. Protesters also gathered outside the venue. Microsoft has previously fired employees who protested company events over its work in Israel, including at its 50th anniversary party in April. Elon Musk, who's suing Microsoft, is also software giant's special guest in new Grok AI partnership Microsoft acknowledged last week that it provided AI services to the Israeli military for the war in Gaza but said it had found no evidence to date that its Azure platform and AI technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. The advocacy group No Azure for Apartheid, led by employees and ex-employees, says Lopez received a termination letter after his Monday protest but couldn't open it. The group also says the company has blocked internal emails that mention words including “Palestine” and “Gaza.” Microsoft confirms supplying AI to Israeli military, denies use in Gaza attacks Microsoft hasn't returned emailed requests for comment about its response to this week's protests. The four-day conference ends Thursday.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has enlisted famed designer Jony Ive — best known for his role in creating Apple’s iPhone — to lead a major new AI hardware initiative. As part of this move, OpenAI is acquiring io Products, a company Ive co-founded, in a deal worth approximately $6.5 billion. Ive gained worldwide recognition during his 27 years at Apple, where he played a key role in defining the design of iconic devices like the iPhone, especially in partnership with Steve Jobs. He left Apple in 2019. Now, Ive is stepping into the forefront of the AI era. While OpenAI hasn’t disclosed exactly what the new product will be, analysts speculate it could involve a physical AI interface — possibly something like AI-integrated glasses, a robot, or even a vehicle — that brings generative AI out of the digital realm and into real-world devices. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reportedly been collaborating with Ive and his design firm LoveFrom since 2023. In a letter posted on OpenAI’s website, Altman and Ive said their shared vision led to the formation of a new company to develop and manufacture a fresh generation of AI products. That company, io, was officially incorporated in Delaware in late 2023 and registered in California in April 2024. OpenAI already held a 23% stake in io through an earlier partnership and will now acquire full control with a $5 billion equity purchase. Ive will not join OpenAI as a staff member; instead, LoveFrom will remain independent while taking on major creative and design roles for both OpenAI and io. All three entities — OpenAI, LoveFrom, and io — are based in San Francisco. Peter Welinder, a longtime OpenAI executive who has led its robotics and early hardware efforts, will head the new io division. Altman, 40, is clearly aiming to replicate the kind of innovation that resulted from the collaboration between Jobs and Ive. When founding LoveFrom, Ive drew inspiration from Jobs’ belief in crafting products with deep care and humanity. His studio is located in a historically artistic part of San Francisco, once frequented by Beat Generation writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. OpenAI, just a couple of miles away, was originally launched as a nonprofit focused on safe AI research. Although it’s now deeply invested in commercial products like ChatGPT, it is still overseen by a nonprofit board. Altman recently announced that OpenAI will retain this governance model while exploring ways to better attract capital and pursue acquisitions — steps meant to keep the company competitive while staying true to its original mission. It’s unclear whether Altman’s work with Ive began before or after his brief ousting from OpenAI in late 2023, which happened between io’s incorporation in Delaware and its later establishment in California.

Google has launched a new "AI Mode" in the U.S. as part of its ongoing revamp of search, aiming to reshape how users find information online. Announced at its annual developer conference, the new feature allows users to interact with the search engine conversationally, like speaking with an expert. This move marks a rapid expansion just two and a half months after limited testing via Google's Labs. The company is also integrating its advanced Gemini 2.5 AI model into search algorithms and testing tools like automatic concert ticket purchasing and live video-based search. Google previewed a new pair of Android XR smart glasses—featuring a built-in AI assistant and camera—signaling a return to the smart glasses market. Designed with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, the glasses will compete with Meta’s Ray-Ban offering. No release date or price was announced. The broader AI push builds on Google's "AI overviews," which now appear atop search results and are used by 1.5 billion people monthly. These summaries have shifted user behavior, leading to longer, more complex queries—but also to a 30% decline in clicks to external websites, per BrightEdge. Elon Musk, who's suing Microsoft, is also software giant's special guest in new Grok AI partnership Despite concerns about misinformation and reduced web traffic, Google is moving forward amid rising competition from AI-powered alternatives like ChatGPT and Perplexity. The company insists this shift strengthens its dominance, with Google still receiving 136 billion monthly visits—far ahead of AI rivals. Upcoming experiments will include AI-assisted booking through Project Mariner, video-based search, and deep topic exploration. A new $250/month "Ultra" subscription tier will offer premium AI tools and 30TB of storage, expanding beyond the current $20/month "Pro" plan. Even Google's own AI admits that AI Mode is likely to increase its influence over online information access—while warning publishers of the potential impact on web traffic. Source: With inputs from agency