Jeff Bezos says his new AI startup, Prometheus, is working toward an "artificial general engineer" capable of helping design complex physical products such as robots, drugs, manufacturing systems, and rocket engines. The Verge reports: The NYT first reported on Prometheus last November, but now Bezos is sharing more information about the startup after a $12 billion funding round, putting the company at a $41 billion valuation. Bezos serves as co-CEO of Prometheus alongside Vik Bajaj, who co-founded Alphabet's health-focused research group, Verily. The startup currently has around 150 employees.
The tools Prometheus intends to build could help develop physical products across several industries, including robotics, drug design, and manufacturing, the NYT reports. "Blue Origin is a perfect example of a company that could benefit from the tools that Prometheus is building," Bezos tells the NYT. "Any company that is building sophisticated devices -- like rocket engines -- would benefit greatly from this kind of technology."
OpenAI laisse désormais les utilisateurs de Codex mettre de côté leurs réinitialisations de quota pour les utiliser quand ça les arrange. Une petite fonction qui en dit long sur la guerre que se livrent OpenAI et Anthropic à quelques mois (semaines ?) de leurs entrées en Bourse.
Coinbase has launched Coinbase for Agents, a tool that lets AI agents like ChatGPT or Claude execute crypto trades and manage payments on a user's behalf. "For example, customers can prompt their agent to rebalance portfolios, identify trading opportunities, execute strategies and manage positions over time," reports CNBC. "It will eventually expand these capabilities to stocks and predictions." From the report: [U]sing Coinbase's machine-to-machine payments protocol, called x402, agents can pay directly for digital services like paywalled research, data APIs and on-demand compute without a human in the loop -- and execute trades based on those insights. The company sees this stage of agentic payments, which lets customers bypass the need to manage traditional logins or subscriptions, as a precursor to agentic shopping, where agents browse, find the best deals, select and make purchases on users' behalf.
[...] The whole idea is to give agents access to money and, through that financial independence, improve their set of capabilities to pretty much anything on the internet," Lincoln Murr, Coinbase's AI product lead, told CNBC. "In the 2010s, every internet company dealt with the transition from desktop and web into a mobile environment. And now in the late 2020s, we're seeing the exact same thing happen where agents are going to be the new primary economic actors on the internet."
The x402 protocol was created in May 2025 and has seen more than 100 million transactions since its debut, Murr said. There are about 157,000 agents acting as buyers using the protocol in the past 30 days, according to x402scan.com. "We saw immediate demand and interest in the ability for agents to pay for things autonomously and that was a huge waking up moment for us [on] the ability of agents to become these new primary financial actors across the internet," he said.
OpenAI is reportedly considering sharp price cuts for paid access to its AI models as competition with Anthropic intensifies and both companies race for users ahead of potential IPOs. "The company is weighing significant cuts to what it charges for tokens, the unit of measurement artificial-intelligence firms use to bill for their products," the Wall Street Journal said, adding that it was "in anticipation of similar cuts the company expects at Anthropic." CNBC reports: The ChatGPT producer, which did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment, currently charges consumers in tiered subscriptions of $8, $20 and $100 and above each month for access to its flagship GPT-5.5 models. Anthropic conversely charges users $17 each month with an annual subscription to Claude Pro, and $100 and above monthly for a subscription to Claude Max. OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO on Monday, just a week after Anthropic made its own filing.
Opendoor is shutting down its India operations less than two years after opening offices there. Slashdot reader alternative_right shares a post from Opendoor CEO Kaz Nejatian: "I shared this note earlier today with the entire team at Opendoor. Today we began to say goodbye to our colleagues in India as we wind down our India operations. Our customers are in America, and that's where our operational work belongs." TechCrunch reports: In announcing the decision on Wednesday, CEO Kaz Nejatian cited a push to bring operational work back to the U.S., where Opendoor's customers are, and a shift toward smaller AI-native teams. The company did not respond to requests for comment on how many employees were affected or how much of the decision was driven by AI efficiency. But the announcement quickly gained traction across Silicon Valley, where founders, investors, and outsourcing experts see it as an early example of how AI is reshaping the economics that made India a global hub for back-office operations.
[...] Some investors viewed the decision as a sign of what AI could mean for India's vast outsourcing workforce. "As manual work gets replaced by AI, a lot of jobs will be lost in India," wrote Sheel Mohnot, co-founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures. Others viewed Opendoor as evidence of a larger shift in how companies are organized. Keshav Lohia, a venture capitalist at Emergent Ventures, described the decision as a "watershed moment" for AI-driven operations, arguing that advances in AI are beginning to challenge the cost-arbitrage model that made India a popular offshoring destination.
Phil Fersht, chief executive of HFS Research, an advisory firm that tracks the global outsourcing and business services industry, told TechCrunch that the development should not be viewed simply as jobs moving from India to the U.S. The more important shift, he said, is that AI is reducing the amount of operational labor companies require in the first place, allowing firms to run leaner organizations regardless of location. "This is not an isolated restructuring," Fersht said. "It is part of a much broader pattern we are starting to see as companies redesign operations around AI, automation, and much leaner workflows." Fersht argued that the winners would be companies that combine AI, software and human expertise to deliver outcomes without continually adding headcount, a model he described as "Services-as-Software." While Opendoor may be one of the first high-profile examples, he said it is unlikely to be the last.
Some investors are already extrapolating beyond individual companies. Varun Rekhi, a venture capitalist at Speedinvest, argued that if AI reduces demand for labor-intensive services, it could eventually pressure one of India's most important export industries, which is built around supplying talent and expertise to global corporations.
Et si les GAFAM avaient déjà leur successeur ? Né sur X le 9 juin 2026, le mème « MANGOS » remplace les géants historiques par Meta, Anthropic, Nvidia, Google, OpenAI et SpaceX. Un acronyme rigolo, mais surtout révélateur d’un basculement de la tech.
Seattle has enacted a one-year moratorium on new datacenters, making it the largest U.S. city to do so as the backlash against AI infrastructure grows across the country. The city council voted unanimously in favor of the ban. The Guardian reports: Lawmakers have framed the pause as an opportunity to draft regulations specifically targeting the electricity-hungry datacenters being built nationwide to serve the AI sector, and to protect local residents from environmental risks and rising electricity bills. According to Seattle mayor Katie Wilson, the moratorium will also let city officials determine whether datacenters are a "good use of urban land," and potentially impose new stipulations on their approval, such as requiring developers to invest in local transit and housing initiatives in exchange for construction permits. "There are times when public pressure forces elected officials to do something they don't want to do, but in other cases, public pressure just supports and helps to spur on elected officials to do things that they already want to do," said Wilson. "I think this was one of those latter cases." [...]
An amendment to the moratorium that passed unanimously last week allows existing datacenters in Seattle to apply for expansions requiring up to 20 megawatts of additional power during the year-long pause. Activists are concerned that the provision may lead to a spike in datacenters' demand for power while the moratorium is in place, and may undermine the premise of the pause. Lawmakers justified the amendment as a way to differentiate between the datacenters that already exist in Seattle and serve a civic purpose, like those powering health facilities and emergency-call systems, from large-scale centers designed to serve the AI sector.
MG Motor lance la MG4 Urban sur le marché. Nous l’avons découverte à l’occasion de sa présentation à la presse à Francfort, où l’on a aussi discuté de sa batterie semi-solide, qui, à terme, devrait se retrouver sur plusieurs modèles du catalogue. Mais surtout, nous en avons pris le volant sur les redoutables routes du Pays basque.
Elle s’appelle aussi MG4, mais elle est très différente
La MG4 Urban arrive en France en tant que voiture électrique plus abordable que la MG4 classique, pour un usage supposément un peu plus citadin, avec des autonomies plus modestes. On a presque failli s’y perdre, mais il s’agit de deux voitures différentes. La MG4 repose sur la plateforme MSP, et l’Urban sur l’E3. Il faut noter que le modèle d’entrée de gamme de la MG4 2026 disparaît, et, d’une certaine façon, la nouvelle venue le remplace. Alors qu’elle a une vocation plus citadine, plus en phase avec une utilisation quotidienne, elle s’avère en fait plus longue de 10 cm que sa grande sœur, à 4,39 m.
Le style s’avère aussi radicalement différent. D’après Joseph Kaban, vice-président du design chez SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation), il faut y voir du Cyberster dans les lignes de la MG4 Urban. On vous laisse en juger. En tout cas, elle apparaît beaucoup plus sobre que la MG4 « normale », avec des lignes très fluides. Il faut rappeler qu’il s’agit du nouveau modèle électrique le moins cher du catalogue MG Motor et que, dans son allure, la voiture n’a pas du tout l’air d’une auto au rabais : entendez par là qu’elle fait bien plus sérieuse qu’une Dacia Spring, par exemple. Avec ses cotes de compacte, on a du mal à voir en elle une citadine.
De l’espace et du coffre
Quand on se glisse à l’intérieur, on se rend compte que, là aussi, elle n’a rien d’une voiture faite juste pour se faufiler en ville. On a tout d’abord de l’espace à toutes les places. On est suffisamment bien installé sur la banquette arrière pour regretter l’absence d’un accoudoir central. Oui, en fait, on en devient un peu gourmand avec autant d’espace. Et les surfaces vitrées supérieures à celles de l’autre MG4 renforcent ce sentiment. Avec son empattement pour le moins confortable de 2,75 m, les occupants aux grandes jambes n’y trouveront rien à redire. Comme toujours, la vie est meilleure à deux sur la banquette plutôt qu’à trois. En enlevant le double fond, on accède à 480 l de capacité. Un record pour une voiture de 4,40 m.
La présentation de la planche de bord apparaît plutôt simple, avec un petit écran derrière le volant et une dalle tactile de très grande dimension. On accède aux fonctions essentielles pour la climatisation ou l’infodivertissement via des boutons physiques. Et, pour ne rien gâcher, on a droit à un grand bac de rangement sur la console centrale, ainsi qu’à deux porte-gobelets sans devoir sacrifier l’un ou l’autre. La recharge à induction fait partie de la dotation, comme toute la connectivité que l’on attend d’une compacte, mais le système a manqué de stabilité. On peut pester contre l’ergonomie des menus, néanmoins, on progresse en la matière chez MG Motor, avec des raccourcis notamment pour désactiver les alertes sonores agaçantes de plusieurs ADAS. Certains trouveront aussi que quelques matériaux mériteraient un meilleur traitement, mais attendez qu’on évoque le tarif…
Une batterie semi-solide très bientôt!
On a parlé batterie quelques jours auparavant à Francfort, à l’occasion d’un « tech day » organisé par la marque. La MG4 Urban sera la première voiture de la marque à recevoir ses nouvelles cellules semi-solides (SolidCore). Ici, il ne s’agit pas d’avoir un pack qui permet une autonomie record, même si elle s’améliore grâce à une meilleure densité énergétique. Tout d’abord, sa structure permet d’améliorer sa sécurité en cas d’accident. On n’entrera pas dans les détails de la chimie. Il faut tout de même noter une légère amélioration de la vitesse de recharge, de l’ordre de 15% par rapport à une LFP de conception classique. Le plus intéressant apparaît surtout dans sa capacité à rester efficace par temps froid, notamment lors de la recharge, puisque l’on peut, selon ses concepteurs, se passer de conditionnement avant une recharge en DC et la remplir à 100% sans que cela ne l’use prématurément. En attendant qu’elle arrive d’ici la fin de l’année, il faut se contenter pour l’instant d’une LFP d’une capacité de 54 kWh dans notre cas.
Cette MG4 Urban à traction (l’autre est une propulsion) dispose de 160 chevaux, qui sont bien suffisants pour le quotidien et même un peu plus. Avec son couple largement dimensionné pour déplacer son modeste poids de 1 520 kilos, elle a franchement l’énergie qu’il faut pour ne paraître ridicule dans aucune situation de conduite. Calmons-nous, elle ne rivalisera pas avec la MG4 au chapitre de la performance pure, avec son 0 à 100 en environ 9 secondes, mais elle ne sera pas la dernière au jeu des relances et des dépassements. Cette voiture, destinée à une utilisation urbaine avec une certaine polyvalence, surprend par sa consommation plutôt contenue, proche des 15 kWh aux 100 km sur un parcours pas du tout favorable comprenant voies rapides et cols de montagne. On table sur un chiffre réel probablement proche des 360 km, voire largement supérieur en usage exclusivement urbain.
Plutôt compacte que citadine, comme son nom ne l’indique pas
Les accros à la conduite à une pédale seront plutôt déçus. Il ne s’agit clairement pas de la meilleure en la matière. On n’a pas grand-chose à dire sur la gestion du freinage régénératif, si ce n’est qu’on aurait aimé des palettes ou, du moins, une gestion qui ne nécessite pas d’aller fouiller dans les menus pour en régler le niveau. On n’est clairement pas au volant de l’autre MG4, avec laquelle, finalement, elle ne partage quasiment rien. Elle fait preuve d’un très bon confort et d’un comportement facile, rassurant. On n’ira pas jusqu’à dire qu’on a pris du plaisir, mais elle fait assez bien son office, avec une rigueur qui la place dans la bonne moitié de tableau sur son segment de marché.
Il faut dire, en outre, qu’avec son poids particulièrement contenu, on a vraiment le sentiment de conduire une auto conventionnelle, comme une compacte thermique finalement, mais avec une fluidité offerte par la propulsion électrique qui renforce le sentiment de confort et de sérénité. Ce silence de roulage est tout juste parfois troublé par une insonorisation que l’on aurait aimée d’un meilleur niveau à haute vitesse. Honnêtement, cette MG4, qui porte si mal son nom d’« Urban », nous rend même gourmands. On la sent capable d’un petit peu plus, dans quasiment tous les domaines.
Dès 19 990 € (remise constructeur de 5 005 € déduite)
En attendant sa batterie « révolutionnaire », cette MG4 Urban se contente d’une recharge de 10 à 80% en une demi-heure. On espère vraiment que la semi-solide promise pour la fin de l’année améliorera ce chiffre. Cette MG4 Urban met tout le monde d’accord avec un tarif d’entrée de gamme de 19 990 €, comprenant une batterie de 43 kWh et un équipement déjà riche. 22 490 € pour la grosse batterie, et moins de 26 000 € pour la version la plus huppée. Oui, les concurrentes des constructeurs historiques sont souvent plus puissantes, mieux finies avec des vitesses de recharge supérieures, mais aussi très chères. En fait, de plus en plus, un constructeur comme MG Motor voit ses principaux concurrents du côté des autres marques chinoises…
Anthropic is releasing Claude Fable 5, a Mythos-class AI model for enterprise customers and paid subscribers. The company says broader access is possible thanks to new safeguards that block high-risk requests in areas like cybersecurity and biology. "For us, it's really around what we call 'race to the top,' being able to provide this technology in a valuable fashion, and at the same time providing the right safety guardrails so that it can do asymmetrically more benefits than harm," Dianne Penn, Anthropic's head of product management for research, told CNBC in an interview. CNBC reports: [W]ith the launch of Claude Fable 5, Anthropic is honoring its stated "eventual goal" to deploy Mythos-class models at scale. It's also capitalizing on growing momentum and investor interest in its technology ahead of a potentially massive IPO, which is expected to take place as soon as this year. Anthropic said Claude Fable 5 shows "exceptional performance" across software engineering and knowledge work tasks. On some benchmarks, it scored more than 10% higher than Claude Opus 4.8, another model the company announced late last month, according to a blog post.
Claude Fable 5 represents a "significant jump" in capability, which is why Anthropic had to implement additional guardrails to prevent misuse, Penn said. If a user asks a high-risk question, like how to make ricin, a toxin, for instance, the model will block its response and fall back to Claude Opus 4.8 to deliver a safe answer. "What we wanted to do was to be very intentional about building new types of classifiers and new types of safety guardrails in place for this launch," Penn said. Anthropic also released an updated Mythos model called Claude Mythos 5. "It's the same underlying model as Claude Fable 5, but with the safeguards lifted in some areas," reports CNBC.
The European Commission says Apple's decision not to launch Siri AI in the EU is Apple's alone, arguing that the company sought an exemption from Digital Markets Act interoperability rules instead of building a compliant privacy- and security-preserving solution. Apple, meanwhile, says regulators rejected its proposals and claims the DMA would require giving third-party AI systems overly broad access to users' devices. MacRumors reports: Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told reporters in Brussels: "The decision not to roll out Siri AI in the EU is Apple's and Apple's only. Apple was simply unable to develop interoperability solutions that meet essential EU privacy and security standards. Instead of trying to find a suitable compliance solution, Apple simply made a request to the European Commission to be exempted from their interoperability obligations. That's not an option."
Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, said the company was "deeply disappointed" and cited what it described as regulators' refusal to accept any of Apple's proposals, including a system called Trusted System Agent that would have allowed third-party virtual assistants to safely access the same device capabilities as Siri AI.
The Commission's account tells a different story. Rather than negotiating over Apple's proposed solutions, regulators say Apple simply requested a blanket exemption from its interoperability obligations under the Digital Markets Act, something the Commission says is not an available option. Apple's statement framed the DMA's requirements as demanding that any AI system be given "nearly unlimited access" to a user's device.
NHS England plans to roll out Microsoft Copilot to 505,000 clinicians and support staff after a 30,000-person pilot claimed the AI assistant saved users an average of 43 minutes a day on administrative work. The Register reports: The rollout won't happen overnight. NHS England said that each trust will receive a central allocation of licenses based on headcount, typically starting with around 2,000 Copilot seats, and that more than half a million staff are expected to have access by October 2026. The NHS has no shortage of administrative work to throw at the software. The rollout envisions Copilot helping with discharge paperwork, bed management, rota planning, meeting minutes, board papers, briefings, data analysis, and assorted HR, finance, and procurement tasks.
NHS organizations will also receive access to Copilot Studio, Microsoft's toolkit for building custom AI agents. NHS England said trusts will be able to develop agents for tasks such as handling Freedom of Information requests, processing complaints, reducing helpdesk workloads, and assisting with financial analysis. A governance framework called Agent 365 will oversee the deployment of those systems.
At WWDC 2026, Apple announced a new "Siri AI," describing it as a more conversational, personalized, and systemwide assistant that can understand on-screen context and interact with apps while relying on on-device processing or Private Cloud Compute. The relaunch comes two years after Apple's original Apple Intelligence promises stumbled and "never fully materialized," reports The Verge. MacRumors reports: Siri is now embedded directly in the Dynamic Island, accessible by swiping down from it, pressing the side button, or saying "Hey Siri." A revamped voice engine makes the assistant sound more expressive, with micro-adjustable voice settings available during initial setup.
During Apple's keynote demo, presenters showed Siri handling chained, multi-step requests with apparent ease. In one sequence, a presenter asked about a Suki Waterhouse concert, was told tickets require a lottery entry, and asked Siri to set a reminder when the lottery opens, which it did. In another, the assistant identified a photo's landmark, pulled up navigation to that location, and surfaced photos from a recent family trip, adding a specific image to a shared family album on request.
Another demo showcased Siri's ability to synthesize information across apps. A presenter asked about a dessert he had heard about at an event, and Siri located the relevant details from his Messages history. It then compiled the information into a watch-party menu, drafted a message to his contacts with the menu included, and presented send and edit options. In a further demo, a presenter asked about something his son had shared in a message and followed it up by asking Siri to compose an email on the subject.
A new dedicated Siri app lets users scroll back through prior conversations and kick off new ones, with conversation history synced via iCloud so sessions carry seamlessly between devices. The app is also coming to watchOS. On the Mac, Siri is now also integrated into Spotlight and available via right-click context menus on any file or window. On visionOS, Siri AI gains a 3D visualization that users can place anywhere in their space.
OpenAI a déployé deux nouvelles options de sécurité pour les comptes ChatGPT : un mode de verrouillage pour limiter les risques d'exfiltration liés aux injections de prompts, et une fonctionnalité de gestion des sessions actives ouverte à tous.
Elle n'a jamais vendu la moindre action, mais le 12 juin, elle pourrait pourtant devenir la 8ᵉ entreprise la plus cotée de la planète : le cas SpaceX est vertigineux et inquiétant pour certains analystes, voici pourquoi.
Dans un article paru le 7 juin 2026, le quotidien britannique The Guardian décrit comment des escrocs sont parvenus à faire remonter des boutiques clonées dans les réponses de ChatGPT. Une technique qui a exploité à la fois les failles des LLM et la disparition d'une marque emblématique.
La 5e édition des eTrophées de l’AMAM (Association des Médias Auto et Moto) s’est tenue en région parisienne les 3 et 4 juin 2026. Il s’agissait de distinguer les meilleures voitures électrifiées lancées en France en 2025. Leblogauto.com était représenté au sein du jury comme l’an passé. Retour sur cet événement qui offre une vision intéressante de notre marché.
28 voitures à l’essai, 35 journalistes au volant
Pendant deux jours, l’association et ses équipes ont rassemblé en un seul lieu 28 voitures, un nouveau record battant les 26 modèles de l’édition précédente, hybrides, PHEV ou 100 % électriques, réparties dans plusieurs catégories. Pour les départager, 35 journalistes issus de médias français, ainsi que, pour la première fois, une consœur et un confrère exerçant respectivement en Suisse et en Belgique. Nous avons pris le volant des véhicules sur un parcours mêlant tous types de routes : nationales, départementales, voies rapides, avec des incursions en milieu urbain et périurbain.
En passant d’un modèle à l’autre, il est ainsi possible de comparer immédiatement les différences entre chacun d’eux, ce dont rêverait n’importe quel acheteur hésitant entre deux voitures. À la fin de chaque journée, les consommations moyennes des véhicules sont relevées et transmises au jury. À l’issue de l’événement, chaque voiture aura parcouru entre 400 et 500 km, ce qui permet d’obtenir des chiffres très proches d’une utilisation réelle.
Autre nouveauté notable de cette édition : l’AMAM a proposé aux constructeurs de devenir leur propre jury. À l’issue d’une session d’essai qui leur était réservée, chaque représentant de marque a pu évaluer plusieurs véhicules concurrents et voter pour celui qui l’avait le plus séduit.
De la mini citadine au grand SUV, en passant par des berlines et même un mini-bus électrique, les modèles engagés dans la compétition étaient les suivants : Alpine A390, Audi Q3 e-hybrid, BMW iX3, BYD Atto 2 DM-i, Cadillac Optiq, Citroën ë-C3, Citroën C5 Aircross PHEV, Cupra Raval VZ, Dacia Bigster Hybrid GPL 4×4, Denza Z9 GT, Honda Prelude, Jaecoo 5 HEV, Lexus RZ, Mazda 6e, MG 4 Urban, Nissan Micra, Nissan Qashqai, Omoda 9 PHEV, Peugeot e-408, Polestar 3, Polestar 4, Porsche Cayenne electric, Renault Twingo, Suzuki eVitara, Volkswagen ID. 3 GTX, Volkswagen ID. Buzz GTX, Volvo ES90 et Zeekr 7X. Sur les 24 marques représentées, cinq sont nouvelles sur le marché français : Denza, Jaecoo, Omoda, Polestar et Zeekr, signe d’un marché en plein renouvellement.
Le Palmarès
Onze prix ont été décernés lors de la cérémonie organisée à l’issue des deux journées d’essai, animée par Nicolas Heidet et Alexandre Lenoir, respectivement Président et Trésorier de l’association.
Meilleure Électrique : 1ère BMW iX3, 2e Porsche Cayenne electric, 3e MG 4 Urban
Meilleure PHEV : 1ère Citroën C5 Aircross, 2e Audi Q3 e-hybrid, 3e BYD Atto 2 DM-i
Meilleure HEV : 1ère Honda Prelude, 2e Jaecoo 5, 3e Nissan Qashqai e-Power
Meilleur Grand SUV : 1er Porsche Cayenne electric, 2e BMW iX3, 3e Polestar 3
Meilleur SUV compact : 1er Jaecoo 5, 2e Dacia Bigster Hybrid GPL 4×4, 3e Nissan Qashqai
Meilleure Familiale : 1ère Polestar 3, 2e BMW iX3, 3e Mazda 6e
Meilleure Compacte : 1ère MG 4 Urban, 2e Volkswagen ID. 3 GTX, 3e Honda Prelude
Meilleure Citadine : 1ère Renault Twingo, 2e Cupra Raval, 3e Nissan Micra
Meilleur Intérieur : 1er Volvo ES90, 2e BMW iX3, 3e Renault Twingo
Meilleure Ergonomie : 1ère BMW iX3, 2e Honda Prelude, 3e Cupra Raval
Prix des constructeurs : Renault Twingo
Le prix « Coup de Foudre » de l’AMAM
Le prix Coup de Foudre, décerné conjointement par le jury et les membres de l’AMAM, a été attribué cette année à la Honda Prelude, saluant son caractère et ses qualités globales qui ont su séduire aussi bien les journalistes que les représentants des constructeurs.
Nicolas Heidet, Président de l’AMAM, a résumé l’esprit de ces cinquièmes eTrophées : « L’AMAM se réjouit que l’engouement autour des eTrophées continue de grandir malgré un marché automobile toujours dans la grisaille en France. C’est la preuve d’un réel dynamisme et d’une forte volonté de la part des constructeurs de proposer de nouvelles solutions aux automobilistes. Depuis maintenant 5 ans, les eTrophées de l’AMAM sont devenus un événement incontournable, tant pour les constructeurs auto qui se prêtent au jeu de la confrontation, que pour les médias français. »
The University of California at Berkeley discovered the percentage of failing grades in multiple CS classes this spring "is significantly higher than past semesters," reports the campus's student newspaper.
"Instructors point to students' increased reliance on AI, lack of mathematical preparedness and understaffing as potential contributing factors."
According to [coursework platform] Berkeleytime, 35.3% of CS 10 students and 10.6% of CS 61A students received F's in spring 2026. In spring 2025 and spring 2024, the percentage of F's did not exceed 10% for either class. The electrical engineering and computer sciences department's grading guidelines state that 7% of students in lower division courses, including CS 10 and CS 61A, should receive D's and F's...
[UC Berkeley teaching professor Dan Garcia, who taught both classes] believes the "primary driver" of these abnormally high failing rates is due to a "vast increase in academic dishonesty" due to students' usage of large language models, such as Claude, ChatGPT and Google Gemini. "Some of the numbers that you saw from the number of students who receive failing grades were because we caught them (cheating) and prosecuted them and are sending their cases to the Center for Student Conduct," Garcia said. "But in other cases, it's students who are leaning a little too hard on LLMs to do their work for them, and then at exam time just really aren't ready." According to Garcia, nearly 30 students in CS 10 were "caught cheating on take-home exams" in spring 2026...
In addition to overreliance on AI, Garcia also pointed out that many students are underprepared mathematically, a concern echoed by campus associate teaching professor Gireeja Ranade. Ranade noticed a similar lack of prerequisite mathematical skills in her spring 2026 EECS 127 class, "Optimization Models in Engineering," which she described as "differently challenging" to teach this semester. The class saw a 16.8% F rate, far higher than the 5% of D's and F's that the EECS department describes as "typical" for an upper division course...
Both Garcia and Ranade have joined more than 1,300 UC faculty in signing a petition calling for the reinstatement of ACT and SAT standardized testing scores for STEM admissions in the UC system.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader theodp for sharing the article.
The company has evolved from an AI culling-focused tool into a full all-in-one platform for culling (Select), AI + manual editing (Edit), retouching (Retouch), and client delivery via Aftershoot Galleries. This shift eliminates the need to switch between multiple apps (e.g., Lightroom for editing/delivery).
Use coupon code RUMORS for a 15% discount at Aftershoot.
Here are the details:
Key Elements of the May 2026 Update
Built-in RAW Editing: New dedicated RAW editor with manual tonal adjustments, batch processing, sliders, and fine-tuning of AI edits. You can now edit RAW files directly in Aftershoot and export JPEGs or TIFFs without leaving the app. This includes self-improving AI profiles that learn from your adjustments, plus pipeline tools such as advanced masking, denoising, object removal, HSL/color grading, and more precise cropping/straightening (including aggressive, subject-focused crops).
Aftershoot Galleries (new, highlighted with “New” on the homepage): Integrated client delivery platform with 100 GB free storage. Features include built-in proofing, face detection/filtering by person, favorites, branded galleries, and direct export from Aftershoot (no re-uploads or downloads needed). It integrates print sales via labs like WHCC, Bay Photo, and Atkins Pro Labs. The goal is a better client experience than basic shares or Google Drive links.
Culling (Select) Enhancements: Smarter duplicate/variation detection (distinguishes intentional variations from true duplicates, ~20% tighter culls), improved blur/closed-eye detection, key subjects prioritization, binary selection states, and “cull to target” (specify how many keepers you want). UI now clearly distinguishes AI Automated Cull vs. AI Assisted Cull.
Editing & Retouching Improvements: More consistent white balance/exposure across albums, better before/after previews, enhanced acne/blemish/hair/glare detection with texture preservation, Background Replacement (beta with custom uploads), Cloth Dewrinkle, object removal, and subtle body reshaping. Retouching works on RAW files.
The update positions Aftershoot as a privacy-focused (local processing), non-destructive workflow tool that learns your style via training on your edits/presets or imported Lightroom profiles. It includes 30+ pro styles in the marketplace.
2026 Roadmap
Aftershoot also published its 2026 Roadmap (full AI Retouching rollout with one-click skin/hair/glare tools, advanced culling, smarter editing, and expanded creator styles/marketplace):
Further AI refinements in culling (smarter technical detection, key subjects, cull-to-target).
Enhanced editing (better profile accuracy, advanced masking/cropping, more marketplace styles with previews).
Expanded RAW Editing (histogram, tone curves, deeper masking, etc.).
More AI Retouching tools (one-click object removal, body reshaping, background removal, natural skin work).
Tethered shooting (sneak peek): Planned rock-solid tethering with fast/stable connections, broad camera support, auto-import/organization, on-set proofing, and instant gallery pushes. Not yet released.
The company claims users save significant time (e.g., 60+ days per year in repetitive work across their user base) while maintaining creative control and style consistency.
Pricing Updates
Aftershoot introduced more flexible modular pricing aligned with the complete workflow:
Aftershoot outlines three firm commitments: they will never create tools to replace you, they will always ask explicit permission before using your images (with easy opt-out or deletion), and they will build the product together with their Founders Community of photographers who help shape the roadmap. A personal note from founder Harshit explains how the company started in 2019 with a simple request to reduce culling time and has stayed true to its mission of returning time to creators ever since.
An official trailer dropped this week for Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis. It's "a full-blown remake of the original 1996 Tomb Raider game," reports Kotaku, "rebuilt from the ground up using Unreal Engine 5." Developed by Flying Wild Hog (with assistance/guidance from longtime Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics), "it will also make some changes to puzzles, combat, platforming..." The game's Steam page acknowledges that AI-assisted tools were used during development "to support some early exploration and temporary development content," but that any AI-assisted assets were "either replaced or refined by humans in order to maintain the creative and artistic vision of the development team." In a statement to Eurogamer, Crystal Dynamics clarifies that they "leverage" AI tools "to help our teams iterate on ideas faster and more efficiently, while ensuring that all finished content in the final product is human-crafted." (But are they considering AI-assisted assets "refined" by humans as "human-crafted"?)
Polygon reports that "The early response to the news has been mixed to negative on the Tomb Raider subreddit, ranging from vague hopes that the generative-AI craze will simply go away to grim resignation that this is the future of game development." Beyond labor concerns, art theft worries, and environmental issues, the most straightforward reason AI art has been unpopular is that many players find it hideous. We'll find out for sure whether Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis' use of AI is particularly blatant when it comes out in February 2027. Its release date is February 12, 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC.
Anthropic is urging leading AI labs to consider slowing development, warning that frontier models are advancing fast enough that they may soon be able to improve themselves without direct human intervention. The company says a global ability to pause or slow AI development would "likely be a good thing," citing internal data about accelerating model capabilities. From a blog post: Using public benchmarks and previously unreported data from within Anthropic, The Anthropic Institute is showing that AI is already accelerating the development of AI systems. To take just one example: today, Anthropic engineers on average ship 8x as much code per quarter as they did from 2021-2025.
The technical trends discussed in this piece suggest that AI systems are going to become much more capable in coming years. These trends have huge implications. AI that can build itself would be a major development in the history of technology -- one that could bring enormous good for the world in science, healthcare, and beyond. But full recursive self-improvement also might increase the risks of humans losing control over AI systems. If systems are capable of fully building their own successors, the ways we secure them, monitor them, and shape their behavior all grow much more important. [...]
If it were possible to effectively slow the development of this technology to give ourselves more time to deal with its immense implications, we think that would likely be a good thing. But if a slowdown simply lets the least cautious actors catch up technologically, it could leave everyone less safe. Without a global coordination mechanism, companies and governments will have to make difficult decisions about safety while under competitive and geopolitical pressures.
We believe it would be good for the world to have the option to slow or temporarily pause frontier AI development to enable societal structures and alignment research to keep up with the advance of the technology. The Anthropic Institute will conduct research -- in collaboration with many others -- and take actions to help build the systems that a credible slowdown or pause would require. These systems would enable frontier AI developers to verify that others globally have actually stopped or slowed, and that a bad actor could not use the auspices of a coordinated slowdown to jump ahead in secret. If such systems existed, we expect that we would slow down or temporarily pause, if other developers at or near the frontier also did so in a verifiable manner...
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