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US Special Forces Soldier Arrested for Polymarket Bets on Maduro Raid
Inside Job

US Special Forces Soldier Arrested for Polymarket Bets on Maduro Raid

The master sergeant allegedly used classified intel to profit on the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, marking the first US arrest for insider trading on a prediction market.
Kate Knibbs and Maddy Varner
Rednote Draws a Line Between China and the World
Made in China

Rednote Draws a Line Between China and the World

Zeyi Yang and Louise Matsakis
Apple’s Next Chapter, SpaceX and Cursor Strike a Deal, and Palantir’s Controversial Manifesto
Uncanny Valley

Apple’s Next Chapter, SpaceX and Cursor Strike a Deal, and Palantir’s Controversial Manifesto

Brian Barrett, Zoë Schiffer, and Leah Feiger

Backchannel

AI Drafting My Stories? Over My Dead Body

AI Drafting My Stories? Over My Dead Body

AI-assisted writing is creeping into newsrooms under the guise of efficiency. But the trade-off may be more profound than publishers are willing to admit.
Steven Levy
This Startup Wants You to Pay Up to Talk With AI Versions of Human Experts

This Startup Wants You to Pay Up to Talk With AI Versions of Human Experts

Onix is launching a “Substack of bots,” where digital twins of health and wellness influencers dispense advice 24/7. And maybe hawk their products.
Steven Levy
John Perry Barlow, JFK Jr., and a Night of Grief I Can’t Forget

John Perry Barlow, JFK Jr., and a Night of Grief I Can’t Forget

Watching Love Story brought back a surreal evening in 1994.
Steven Levy
Apple Still Plans to Sell iPhones When It Turns 100

Apple Still Plans to Sell iPhones When It Turns 100

As the tech giant turns 50, WIRED spoke to executives about how they plan to win in the AI era.
Steven Levy

AI Lab

5 AI Models Tried to Scam Me. Some of Them Were Scary Good

5 AI Models Tried to Scam Me. Some of Them Were Scary Good

The cyber capabilities of AI models have experts rattled. AI’s social skills may be just as dangerous.
Will Knight
AI Could Democratize One of Tech's Most Valuable Resources

AI Could Democratize One of Tech's Most Valuable Resources

AI is making it easier to design chips and optimize software for different silicon. Some startups envision a revolution in chipmaking.
Will Knight
The US Army Is Building Its Own Chatbot for Combat

The US Army Is Building Its Own Chatbot for Combat

The AI system, trained on real military data, is meant to give soldiers mission-critical information.
Will Knight
AI Models Lie, Cheat, and Steal to Protect Other Models From Being Deleted

AI Models Lie, Cheat, and Steal to Protect Other Models From Being Deleted

A new study from researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz suggests models will disobey human commands to protect their own kind.
Will Knight

Model Behavior

At 'AI Coachella,' Stanford Students Line Up to Learn From Silicon Valley Royalty

At 'AI Coachella,' Stanford Students Line Up to Learn From Silicon Valley Royalty

CS 153 has gone viral on the Palo Alto campus—and on X. Not everyone is happy about it.
Maxwell Zeff
Musk v. Altman Is a Battle for OpenAI’s Soul

Musk v. Altman Is a Battle for OpenAI’s Soul

In Musk v. Altman, a jury will soon determine whether OpenAI has strayed from its founding mission to ensure AGI benefits humanity. Here’s what to know.
Maxwell Zeff and Paresh Dave
The 70-Person AI Image Startup Taking on Silicon Valley's Giants

The 70-Person AI Image Startup Taking on Silicon Valley's Giants

Black Forest Labs has long punched above its weight in the AI image generation space. Its next move? Powering physical AI.
Maxwell Zeff
Cursor Launches a New AI Agent Experience to Take On Claude Code and Codex

Cursor Launches a New AI Agent Experience to Take On Claude Code and Codex

As Cursor launches the next generation of its product, the AI coding startup has to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic more directly than ever.
Maxwell Zeff

Made in China

The Online Fiction Boom Reimagining China’s History

The Online Fiction Boom Reimagining China’s History

Chinese fantasy novels reimagine the past with modern tech and ideology. A new book argues they also help reinforce authoritarian politics.
Zeyi Yang
China Is Cracking Down on Scams. Just Not the Ones Hitting Americans

China Is Cracking Down on Scams. Just Not the Ones Hitting Americans

As Beijing clamps down on fraud at home, researchers say crime syndicates are shifting their focus to victims elsewhere.
Lily Hay Newman
AI Research Is Getting Harder to Separate From Geopolitics

AI Research Is Getting Harder to Separate From Geopolitics

A policy change announced by NeurIPS, the world’s leading AI research conference, drew widespread backlash from Chinese researchers this week and then was quickly reversed.
Will Knight and Zeyi Yang
A New Game Turns the H-1B Visa System Into a Surreal Simulation

A New Game Turns the H-1B Visa System Into a Surreal Simulation

Inspired by real immigrant stories, H1B.Life captures the uncertainty, trade-offs, and pure luck that shape the lives of people trying to build a future in the US.
Zeyi Yang

Artificial Intelligence

AI Tools Are Helping Mediocre North Korean Hackers Steal Millions

AI Tools Are Helping Mediocre North Korean Hackers Steal Millions

One group of hackers used AI for everything from vibe coding their malware to creating fake company websites—and stole as much as $12 million in three months.
Andy Greenberg and Matt Burgess
Mozilla Used Anthropic’s Mythos to Find and Fix 271 Bugs in Firefox

Mozilla Used Anthropic’s Mythos to Find and Fix 271 Bugs in Firefox

The Firefox team doesn’t think emerging AI capabilities will upend cybersecurity long term, but they warn that software developers are likely in for a rocky transition.
Lily Hay Newman
A Humanoid Robot Set a Half-Marathon Record in China

A Humanoid Robot Set a Half-Marathon Record in China

An autonomous robot from the company Honor ran a half marathon in 50:26, beating the human record by 7 minutes.
Javier Carbajal
OpenAI Executive Kevin Weil Is Leaving the Company

OpenAI Executive Kevin Weil Is Leaving the Company

The former Instagram VP is departing the ChatGPT-maker, which is folding the AI science application he led into Codex.
Maxwell Zeff

Big Tech

Join Our Livestream: Musk v. Altman and the Future of OpenAI

Join Our Livestream: Musk v. Altman and the Future of OpenAI

On May 8, we’re going live to answer your questions about the Musk v. Altman trial that could determine the fate of OpenAI.
Zoë Schiffer, Paresh Dave, and Maxwell Zeff
Tim Cook’s Legacy Is Turning Apple Into a Subscription

Tim Cook’s Legacy Is Turning Apple Into a Subscription

The soon-to-exit Apple CEO went all in on services. Now, the incoming CEO, John Ternus, will need to embrace the AI era.
Lauren Goode
Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Stepping Down

Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Stepping Down

John Ternus, the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, will replace Cook as CEO on September 1. Cook will stay on as executive chairman.
Lauren Goode and Paresh Dave
Uncanny Valley: OpenAI and Musk Fight Again; DOJ Mishandles Voter Data; Artemis II Comes Home

Uncanny Valley: OpenAI and Musk Fight Again; DOJ Mishandles Voter Data; Artemis II Comes Home

In this episode, the hosts discuss the fight between OpenAI and Elon Musk, the misuse of voter data, and Artemis II’s moonshot.
Brian Barrett and Leah Feiger

Startups and Tech Culture

With One Million Displaced, Lebanon Turns to Digital Wallets for Aid

With One Million Displaced, Lebanon Turns to Digital Wallets for Aid

Amid mass displacement and collapsing trust in institutions, digital wallets are becoming critical conduits for aid, connecting diaspora donors directly with communities on the ground.
Carla Sertin
Meta Pauses Work With Mercor After Data Breach Puts AI Industry Secrets at Risk

Meta Pauses Work With Mercor After Data Breach Puts AI Industry Secrets at Risk

Major AI labs are investigating a security incident that impacted Mercor, a leading data vendor. The incident could have exposed key data about how they train AI models.
Maxwell Zeff, Zoë Schiffer, and Lily Hay Newman
California Suspends Enforcement of Law Requiring VCs to Report Diversity Data

California Suspends Enforcement of Law Requiring VCs to Report Diversity Data

After investors appealed to the governor, California again delayed the deadline for venture firms to disclose the demographics of startup founders they back.
Paresh Dave
‘A Rigged and Dangerous Product’: The Wildest Week for Prediction Markets Yet

‘A Rigged and Dangerous Product’: The Wildest Week for Prediction Markets Yet

As the prediction market boom continues, backlash is growing, too, with Arizona filing criminal charges against Kalshi and public outcry after Polymarket traders threatened a journalist.
Kate Knibbs

Social Media

Meta Is Sued Over Scam Ads on Facebook and Instagram

Meta Is Sued Over Scam Ads on Facebook and Instagram

A lawsuit from the Consumer Federation of America accuses Meta of misleading consumers about its efforts to combat scams advertisements on its platforms.
Maddy Varner
Europe’s Online Age Verification App Is Here

Europe’s Online Age Verification App Is Here

Available for free to any company that wants to use it, the “completely anonymous” app puts the pressure on porn sites and social media platforms to start blocking access by minors.
Valentina Neri
Meta Is Warned That Facial Recognition Glasses Will Arm Sexual Predators

Meta Is Warned That Facial Recognition Glasses Will Arm Sexual Predators

More than 70 organizations, including the ACLU, EPIC, and Fight for the Future, say the AI smart glasses feature would endanger abuse victims, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ people.
Dell Cameron
Meta Ramps Up Efforts to Disrupt Industrialized Scamming

Meta Ramps Up Efforts to Disrupt Industrialized Scamming

Meta removed 10.9 million Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to “criminal scam centers” last year, the company announced on Wednesday.
Lily Hay Newman

Regulation

US Senate Candidate Caught Insider Trading on Kalshi Says He Did It on Purpose

US Senate Candidate Caught Insider Trading on Kalshi Says He Did It on Purpose

Mark Moran, an underdog Senate candidate from Virginia, claims he wanted to get caught violating the prediction market platform’s rules.
Kate Knibbs
New York Bans Government Employees from Insider Trading on Prediction Markets

New York Bans Government Employees from Insider Trading on Prediction Markets

A new executive order seen by WIRED prohibits New York state employees from using insider knowledge to enrich themselves with prediction market bets.
Kate Knibbs
Congress Turns Up Pressure on DHS Over Palantir’s Role in Immigration Crackdown

Congress Turns Up Pressure on DHS Over Palantir’s Role in Immigration Crackdown

Democrats are demanding answers about Palantir and other surveillance firms powering Trump’s hard-line immigration enforcement agenda.
Caroline Haskins
Nobody Knows How to File Taxes on Prediction Market Wins

Nobody Knows How to File Taxes on Prediction Market Wins

Americans flocked to prediction markets last year. Now, it’s time to pay taxes on winnings. How do you do that? Great question.
Kate Knibbs

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

Sam Altman’s Orb Company Promoted a Bruno Mars Partnership That Doesn't Exist

Sam Altman’s Orb Company Promoted a Bruno Mars Partnership That Doesn't Exist

“To be clear, we were never approached … nor were we in any discussions regarding a partnership or tour access,” a spokesperson for the artist tells WIRED.
Maxwell Zeff and Lauren Goode
Gazing Into Sam Altman’s Orb Now Proves You’re Human on Tinder

Gazing Into Sam Altman’s Orb Now Proves You’re Human on Tinder

Honestly, what’s hotter than a real person?
Maxwell Zeff
An FBI ‘Asset’ Helped Run a Dark Web Site That Sold Fentanyl-Laced Drugs for Years

An FBI ‘Asset’ Helped Run a Dark Web Site That Sold Fentanyl-Laced Drugs for Years

A staffer of the Incognito dark web market was secretly controlled by the FBI—and still allegedly approved the sale of fentanyl-tainted pills, including those from a dealer linked to a confirmed death.
Andy Greenberg
The Dollar Is Facing an End to Its Dominance

The Dollar Is Facing an End to Its Dominance

Questions around the reliability of the US greenback are dulling the luster of what was the world’s currency of trade. New, global alternatives are emerging.
Keyu Jin

Computers and Software

Duolingo’s Luis von Ahn Wants to Delete the Blockchain

Duolingo’s Luis von Ahn Wants to Delete the Blockchain

This has nothing to do with the crypto he lost the password for.
Katie Drummond
The IRS Wants Smarter Audits. Palantir Could Help Decide Who Gets Flagged

The IRS Wants Smarter Audits. Palantir Could Help Decide Who Gets Flagged

Documents show the tax agency is testing a Palantir tool to surface “highest-value” audit and investigation targets from a maze of legacy systems.
Caroline Haskins
Arm’s CEO Insists the Market Needs His New CPU. It Could Piss Everyone Off

Arm’s CEO Insists the Market Needs His New CPU. It Could Piss Everyone Off

Arm just confirmed the rumors: It’s producing its own chip for the first time. CEO Rene Haas explains why this won’t alienate the many chipmakers who license the company’s designs.
Lauren Goode
Uncanny Valley: Nvidia’s ‘Super Bowl of AI,’ Tesla Disappoints, and Meta’s VR Metaverse ‘Shutdown’

Uncanny Valley: Nvidia’s ‘Super Bowl of AI,’ Tesla Disappoints, and Meta’s VR Metaverse ‘Shutdown’

In this episode, we dive into Nvidia’s annual developer conference and what CEO Jensen Huang is saying about the future of the company.
Brian Barrett and Zoë Schiffer

Retail and Logistics

Trump Imposes New Tariffs to Sidestep Supreme Court Ruling

Trump Imposes New Tariffs to Sidestep Supreme Court Ruling

The president signed an executive order implementing 10 percent global tariffs after calling the justices who struck down his signature trade policy a “disgrace.”
Zeyi Yang
How China’s ‘Crystal Capital’ Cornered the Market on a Western Obsession

How China’s ‘Crystal Capital’ Cornered the Market on a Western Obsession

Decades ago, Donghai was a backwater county. Today, thanks to an army of 24/7 livestreamers, it orchestrates a multibillion-dollar global industry.
Louise Matsakis and Rachel Zheng
The US Will Prioritize Visa Processing for Fans With World Cup Tickets

The US Will Prioritize Visa Processing for Fans With World Cup Tickets

In the face of heavy travel restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, the United States announced that soccer fans going to the World Cup will enjoy a certain priority for processing tourist visa.
Javier Carbajal
A Journey Into the Heart of Labubu

A Journey Into the Heart of Labubu

I made an epic trek across four countries to answer one question: Why is the world going mad for a plushie monster?
Zeyi Yang

Transportation

Robotaxi Outage in China Leaves Passengers Stranded on Highways

Robotaxi Outage in China Leaves Passengers Stranded on Highways

A suspected system failure froze Baidu’s robotaxis across Wuhan, trapping passengers and reportedly causing traffic disruptions and crashes.
Zeyi Yang
Livestream Replay: The Hype, Reality, and Future of EVs

Livestream Replay: The Hype, Reality, and Future of EVs

Join a panel of WIRED experts for a livestream AMA about the future of the electric vehicle industry.
Aarian Marshall and Jeremy White
How Elon Musk Won His No Good, Very Bad Year

How Elon Musk Won His No Good, Very Bad Year

The billionaire’s involvement with the Trump administration and DOGE had deep impacts on Tesla’s bottom line. But Elon Musk was still able to turn his attention to SpaceX.
Aarian Marshall
Tesla Shareholders Approve Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package

Tesla Shareholders Approve Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package

The unprecedented payday will go into full effect by 2035—as long as Tesla hits ambitious financial and production targets.
Aarian Marshall

Energy

The War on Iran Puts Global Chip Supplies and AI Expansion at Risk

The War on Iran Puts Global Chip Supplies and AI Expansion at Risk

From helium extraction in Qatar to shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, the semiconductor industry depends on fragile links across the Gulf. Escalation could ripple through global chip production.
Carla Sertin
China’s Renewable Energy Revolution Is a Huge Mess That Might Save the World

China’s Renewable Energy Revolution Is a Huge Mess That Might Save the World

A global onslaught of cheap Chinese green power is upending everything in its path. No one is ready for its repercussions.
Jeremy Wallace
Chinese EV Batteries Are Eating the World

Chinese EV Batteries Are Eating the World

China’s lithium batteries aren’t always “made in China.” Companies like BYD and CATL are building factories on nearly every continent.
Zeyi Yang
Billion-Dollar Data Centers Are Taking Over the World

Billion-Dollar Data Centers Are Taking Over the World

The battle for AI dominance has left a large footprint—and it’s only getting bigger and more expensive.
Lauren Goode

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