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<channel>
<title>Ars Technica</title>
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<link>https://arstechnica.com</link>
<description>Serving the Technologist since 1998. News, reviews, and analysis.</description>
<lastBuildDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 23:17:17 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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<title>Ars Technica</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com</link>
<width>32</width>
<height>32</height>
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<item>
<title>More FDA drama: Top drug regulator calls it quits after 3 weeks</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/12/more-fda-drama-top-drug-regulator-calls-it-quits-after-3-weeks/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/12/more-fda-drama-top-drug-regulator-calls-it-quits-after-3-weeks/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Beth Mole]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 23:17:17 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fda]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/12/more-fda-drama-top-drug-regulator-calls-it-quits-after-3-weeks/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[The last Trump official in the position left amid allegations of petty revenge. ]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>The top drug regulator at the Food and Drug Administration, Richard Pazdur, has decided to retire from the agency just three weeks after taking the leading position, according to multiple media outlets.</p>
<p>Pazdur, an oncologist who has worked at the FDA since 1999, was seen as a stabilizing force for an agency that has been mired in turmoil during the second Trump administration. He took over the role of leading the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research on November 11, after the previous leader, George Tidmarsh, left the agency amid an investigation and a lawsuit regarding allegations that he used his position to <a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/11/fda-described-as-clown-show-amid-latest-scandal-top-drug-regulator-is-out/">exact petty revenge</a> on a former business partner. In light of the scandal, one venture capital investor called the agency a “<a href="https://www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/fda-in-disarray-expert-analysis-george-tidmarsh-scandal/">clown show</a>.” Drug industry groups, meanwhile, called the FDA <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/11/21/fda-regulator-richard-pazdur-concerns/">erratic and unpredictable</a>.</p>
<p>Pazdur’s selection was seen as a positive sign by agency insiders, drug industry representatives, and patient advocacy groups, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/12/02/rick-pazdur-fda-resigns/">according to reporting by The Washington Post</a>.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/12/more-fda-drama-top-drug-regulator-calls-it-quits-after-3-weeks/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/12/more-fda-drama-top-drug-regulator-calls-it-quits-after-3-weeks/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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<slash:comments>35</slash:comments>
<media:content url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/GettyImages-496532228-1024x648.jpg" type="image/jpeg" medium="image" width="1024" height="648">
<media:thumbnail url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/GettyImages-496532228-500x500.jpg" width="500" height="500" />
<media:credit>Getty | Congressional Quarterly</media:credit></media:content>
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<item>
<title>This Chinese company could become the country’s first to land a reusable rocket</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/this-chinese-company-could-become-the-countrys-first-to-land-a-reusable-rocket/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/this-chinese-company-could-become-the-countrys-first-to-land-a-reusable-rocket/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Stephen Clark]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 23:04:37 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Space]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[china]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jiuquan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[LandSpace]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[launch]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[long march]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[long march 12a]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[reusable rocket]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[space pioneer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tianlong 3]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[zhuque-3]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/this-chinese-company-could-become-the-countrys-first-to-land-a-reusable-rocket/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[From the outside, China's Zhuque-3 rocket looks like a clone of SpaceX's Falcon 9.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>There’s a race in China among several companies vying to become the next to launch and land an orbital-class rocket, and the starting gun could go off as soon as tonight.</p>
<p>LandSpace, one of several maturing Chinese rocket startups, is about to launch the first flight of its medium-lift Zhuque-3 rocket. Liftoff could happen around 11 pm EST tonight (04:00 UTC Wednesday), or noon local time at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.</p>
<p>Airspace warning notices advising pilots to steer clear of the rocket’s flight path suggest LandSpace has a launch window of about two hours. When it lifts off, the Zhuque-3 (Vermillion Bird-3) rocket will become the largest commercial launch vehicle ever flown in China. What’s more, LandSpace will become the first Chinese launch provider to attempt a landing of its first stage booster, using the same tried-and-true return method pioneered by SpaceX and, <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/11/blue-origin-caps-second-heavy-lift-launch-with-first-offshore-landing/">more recently, Blue Origin</a> in the United States.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/this-chinese-company-could-become-the-countrys-first-to-land-a-reusable-rocket/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/this-chinese-company-could-become-the-countrys-first-to-land-a-reusable-rocket/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>36</slash:comments>
<media:content url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/zq3hangar-1152x648-1764713841.jpg" type="image/jpeg" medium="image" width="1152" height="648">
<media:thumbnail url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/zq3hangar-500x500.jpg" width="500" height="500" />
<media:credit>LandSpace</media:credit><media:text>LandSpace's Zhuque-3 rocket with its nine first stage engines.</media:text></media:content>
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<item>
<title>OpenAI CEO declares “code red” as Gemini gains 200 million users in 3 months</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/openai-ceo-declares-code-red-as-gemini-gains-200-million-users-in-3-months/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/openai-ceo-declares-code-red-as-gemini-gains-200-million-users-in-3-months/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Benj Edwards]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 22:42:09 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[AI]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Biz & IT]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI assistants]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI competition]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[chatbots]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ChatGPT]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[gemini]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Gemini 3]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[google]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Google Gemini]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GPT-5]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[large language models]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[machine learning]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Marc Benioff]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[openai]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[sam altman]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[simulated reasoning]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[SR model]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sundar Pichai]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[vibemark]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[vibemarking]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/openai-ceo-declares-code-red-as-gemini-gains-200-million-users-in-3-months/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Three years after Google sounded alarm bells over ChatGPT, the tables have turned.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>The shoe is most certainly on the other foot. On Monday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly declared a “code red” at the company to improve ChatGPT, delaying advertising plans and other products in the process, The Information <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-ceo-declares-code-red-combat-threats-chatgpt-delays-ads-effort">reported</a> based on a leaked internal memo. The move follows Google’s <a href="https://arstechnica.com/google/2025/11/google-unveils-gemini-3-ai-model-and-ai-first-ide-called-antigravity/">release</a> of its Gemini 3 model last month, which has outperformed ChatGPT on some industry benchmark tests and sparked high-profile praise on social media.</p>
<p>In the memo, Altman wrote, “We are at a critical time for ChatGPT.” The company will push back work on advertising integration, AI agents for health and shopping, and a personal assistant feature called <a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/09/chatgpt-pulse-delivers-morning-updates-based-on-your-chat-history/">Pulse</a>. Altman encouraged temporary team transfers and established daily calls for employees responsible for enhancing the chatbot.</p>
<p>The directive creates an odd symmetry with events from December 2022, when Google management <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/01/fearing-chatgpt-google-enlists-founders-brin-and-page-in-ai-fight/">declared</a> its own “code red” internal emergency after ChatGPT <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/12/openai-invites-everyone-to-test-new-ai-powered-chatbot-with-amusing-results/">launched</a> and rapidly gained in popularity. At the time, Google CEO Sundar Pichai <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-management-issues-code-red-over-chatgpt-report-2022-12">reassigned</a> teams across the company to develop AI prototypes and products to compete with OpenAI’s chatbot. Now, three years later, the AI industry is in a very different place.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/openai-ceo-declares-code-red-as-gemini-gains-200-million-users-in-3-months/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/openai-ceo-declares-code-red-as-gemini-gains-200-million-users-in-3-months/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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<slash:comments>85</slash:comments>
<media:content url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/aaltman_crop-1152x648.jpg" type="image/jpeg" medium="image" width="1152" height="648">
<media:thumbnail url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/aaltman_crop-500x500.jpg" width="500" height="500" />
<media:credit>Anadolu via Getty Images</media:credit><media:text>OpenAI CEO Sam Altman delivers a speech with video at the SK AI Summit 2025 at COEX in Seoul, South Korea on November 3, 2025.</media:text></media:content>
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<title>Mad Men’s 4K debut botched by HBO Max streaming episode with visible crewmembers</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/mad-mens-4k-debut-botched-by-hbo-max-streaming-episode-with-visible-crewmembers/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/mad-mens-4k-debut-botched-by-hbo-max-streaming-episode-with-visible-crewmembers/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Scharon Harding]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:52:10 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[hbo max]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[streaming]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[warner bros. discovery]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/mad-mens-4k-debut-botched-by-hbo-max-streaming-episode-with-visible-crewmembers/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Producer Lionsgate reportedly contributed to the gaffe. ]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>Streaming services have a way of <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/suits-year-end-streaming-record-2023-1235808594/">reviving love for old shows</a>, and HBO Max is looking to entice old and new fans with this month’s addition of <em>Mad Men</em>. Instead, viewers have been <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/ceej.online/post/3m6zi46pxfc27">laughing</a> at the problems with the show’s 4K premiere.</p>
<p><em>Mad Men</em> ran on the AMC channel for seven seasons from 2007 to 2015. The show had a vintage aesthetic, depicting the 1960s advertising industry in New York City.</p>
<p>Last month, HBO Max announced it would modernize the show by debuting a 4K version. The show originally aired in SD and HD resolutions and had not been previously made available in 4K through other means, such as Blu-ray.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/mad-mens-4k-debut-botched-by-hbo-max-streaming-episode-with-visible-crewmembers/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/mad-mens-4k-debut-botched-by-hbo-max-streaming-episode-with-visible-crewmembers/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>51</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>Lionsgate</media:credit></media:content>
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<item>
<title>India orders device makers to put government-run security app on all phones</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/apple-will-refuse-to-preload-state-run-snooping-app-on-iphones-report-says/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/apple-will-refuse-to-preload-state-run-snooping-app-on-iphones-report-says/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Jon Brodkin]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:36:50 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Policy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[apple]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[iphone]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/apple-will-refuse-to-preload-state-run-snooping-app-on-iphones-report-says/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Apple will refuse to preload state-run “snooping” app on iPhones, report says.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>Apple reportedly won’t comply with a government order in India to preload iPhones with a state-run app that can track and block lost or stolen phones via a device’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) code. While the government describes it as a tool to help consumers, privacy advocates say it could easily be repurposed for surveillance.</p>
<p>Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/apple-resist-india-order-preload-state-run-app-political-outcry-builds-2025-12-02/">reported today</a>, citing three anonymous sources, that “Apple does not plan to comply with a mandate to preload its smartphones with a state-owned cyber safety app and will convey its concerns to New Delhi.” Reuters noted that the government mandate has “sparked surveillance concerns and a political uproar.”</p>
<p>The government’s Sanchar Saathi (“Communication Partner”) app is billed as a consumer tool for reporting suspected fraud communications, verifying the genuineness of a phone, and blocking lost or stolen handsets. The app can already be installed by users as it is available on the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/in/app/sanchar-saathi/id6739700695">Apple</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dot.app.sancharsaathi&pli=1">Google Play</a> app stores, but the government wants device makers such as Apple, Google, Samsung, and Xiaomi to load phones with the app before they are shipped.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/apple-will-refuse-to-preload-state-run-snooping-app-on-iphones-report-says/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/apple-will-refuse-to-preload-state-run-snooping-app-on-iphones-report-says/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>55</slash:comments>
<media:content url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/apple-store-india-1152x648-1764709977.jpg" type="image/jpeg" medium="image" width="1152" height="648">
<media:thumbnail url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/apple-store-india-500x500-1764709986.jpg" width="500" height="500" />
<media:credit>Getty Images | Idrees Mohammed</media:credit><media:text>An Apple Store in Bengaluru on September 19, 2025. </media:text></media:content>
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<item>
<title>Testing shows why the Steam Machine’s 8GB of graphics RAM could be a problem</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/steamos-has-problems-with-8gb-gpus-but-valve-is-working-on-it/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/steamos-has-problems-with-8gb-gpus-but-valve-is-working-on-it/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Andrew Cunningham]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 19:26:26 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Gaming]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AMD]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Intel]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[NVIDIA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[steam deck]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[steam machine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[steamos]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/steamos-has-problems-with-8gb-gpus-but-valve-is-working-on-it/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Valve has work to do on the software side—but some fixes are coming. ]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>By Valve’s admission, its upcoming Steam Machine desktop isn’t swinging for the fences with its graphical performance. The specs promise decent 1080p-to-1440p performance in most games, with 4K occasionally reachable with assistance from FSR upscaling—about what you’d expect from a box with a modern midrange graphics card in it.</p>
<p>But there’s one spec that has caused some concern among Ars staffers and others with their eyes on the Steam Machine: The GPU comes with just 8GB of dedicated graphics RAM, an amount that is steadily becoming more of a bottleneck for midrange GPUs like AMD’s Radeon RX 7060 and 9060, or Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4060 or 5060.</p>
<p>In our reviews of these GPUs, we’ve already run into some games where the RAM ceiling limits performance in Windows, especially at 1440p. But we’ve been doing more extensive testing of various GPUs with SteamOS, and we can confirm that in current betas, 8GB GPUs struggle even more on SteamOS than they do running the same games at the same settings in Windows 11.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/steamos-has-problems-with-8gb-gpus-but-valve-is-working-on-it/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/steamos-has-problems-with-8gb-gpus-but-valve-is-working-on-it/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>94</slash:comments>
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<media:thumbnail url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/IMG_1114-500x500-1764692507.jpeg" width="500" height="500" />
<media:credit>Andrew Cunningham</media:credit><media:text>AMD's Radeon RX 7600 GPU is pretty similar to the graphics hardware Valve will ship in the Steam Machine—and its 8GB of dedicated GDDR6 RAM can be a problem.</media:text></media:content>
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<item>
<title>Google announces second Android 16 release of 2025 is heading to Pixels</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/google/2025/12/google-announces-second-android-16-release-of-2025-is-heading-to-pixels/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/google/2025/12/google-announces-second-android-16-release-of-2025-is-heading-to-pixels/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Ryan Whitwam]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 19:11:47 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[AI]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[android]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[android 16]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[google]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Google Pixel]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[smartphones]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/google/2025/12/google-announces-second-android-16-release-of-2025-is-heading-to-pixels/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[The update is rolling out to Pixels starting today. ]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>Google is following through on its pledge to split Android versions into more frequent updates. We already had one Android 16 release this year, and now it’s time for the second. The new version is rolling out first on Google’s Pixel phones, featuring more icon customization, easier parental controls, and AI-powered notifications. Don’t be bummed if you aren’t first in line for the new Android 16—Google also has a raft of general improvements coming to the wider Android ecosystem.</p>
<h2>Android 16, part 2</h2>
<p>Since rolling out the first version of Android in 2008, Google has largely stuck to one major release per year. Android 16 changes things, moving from one monolithic release to two. <a href="https://blog.google/products/android/android-16-december/">Today’s OS update</a> is the second part of the Android 16 era, but don’t expect major changes. As expected, the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/06/android-16-review-post-hype/">first release in June</a> made more changes. Most of what we’ll see in the second update is geared toward Google’s Pixel phones, plus some less notable changes for developers.</p>
<p>Google’s new AI features for notifications are probably the most important change. Android 16 will use AI for two notification tasks: summarizing and organizing. The OS will take long chat conversations and summarize the notifications with AI. Notification data is processed locally on the device and won’t be uploaded anywhere. In the notification shade, the collapsed notification line will feature a summary of the conversation rather than a snippet of one message. Expanding the notification will display the full text.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/google/2025/12/google-announces-second-android-16-release-of-2025-is-heading-to-pixels/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/google/2025/12/google-announces-second-android-16-release-of-2025-is-heading-to-pixels/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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<slash:comments>31</slash:comments>
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<media:thumbnail url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Android-16-1-500x500-1750868871.jpg" width="500" height="500" />
<media:credit>Ryan Whitwam</media:credit><media:text>A new Android 16 is rolling out. </media:text></media:content>
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<title>Meet CDC’s new lead vaccine advisor who thinks shots cause heart disease</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/12/meet-cdcs-new-lead-vaccine-advisor-who-thinks-shots-cause-heart-disease/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/12/meet-cdcs-new-lead-vaccine-advisor-who-thinks-shots-cause-heart-disease/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Beth Mole]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 17:57:42 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ACIP]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[anti-vaccine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CDC]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fda]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kirk Milhoan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[myocarditis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[robert f kennedy jr]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[vinay prasad]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/12/meet-cdcs-new-lead-vaccine-advisor-who-thinks-shots-cause-heart-disease/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Milhoan has a history of touting unproven COVID cures while disparaging vaccines.]]>
</description>
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<![CDATA[<p>When the federal vaccine committee hand-picked by anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. meets again this week, it will have yet another new chairperson to lead its ongoing work of dismantling the evidence-based vaccine recommendations set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>
<p>On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the chairperson who has been in place since June—when Kennedy fired all 17 expert advisors on the committee and replaced them with questionably qualified allies—is moving to a senior role in the department. Biostatistician Martin Kulldorff will now be the chief science officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), HHS said. As such, he’s stepping down from the vaccine committee, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).</p>
<p>Kulldorff gained prominence amid the COVID-19 pandemic, criticizing public health responses to the crisis, particularly lockdowns and COVID-19 vaccines. He was a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration that advocated for letting the deadly virus <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/10/white-house-informally-endorses-letting-pandemic-spread-unchecked/">spread unchecked through the population</a>, which was called unethical by health experts.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/12/meet-cdcs-new-lead-vaccine-advisor-who-thinks-shots-cause-heart-disease/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/12/meet-cdcs-new-lead-vaccine-advisor-who-thinks-shots-cause-heart-disease/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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<slash:comments>111</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>Getty | Elijah Nouvelage</media:credit><media:text>Kirk Milhoan, James Pagano, and Robert Malone are seen during a meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on September 18, 2025 in Chamblee, Georgia. </media:text></media:content>
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<title>Samsung reveals Galaxy Z TriFold with 10-inch foldable screen, astronomical price</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/samsungs-galaxy-z-trifold-is-a-10-inch-tablet-that-fits-in-your-pocket/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/samsungs-galaxy-z-trifold-is-a-10-inch-tablet-that-fits-in-your-pocket/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Ryan Whitwam]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:47:10 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Foldables]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Samsung]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[smartphones]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/samsungs-galaxy-z-trifold-is-a-10-inch-tablet-that-fits-in-your-pocket/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Samsung's long-awaited tri-fold phone is launching in Korea this month, with a US launch early next year.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>Samsung has a new foldable smartphone, and it’s not just another Z Flip or Z Fold. The Galaxy Z TriFold has three articulating sections that house a massive 10-inch tablet-style screen, along with a traditional smartphone screen on the outside. The lavish new smartphone is launching this month in South Korea with a hefty price tag, and it will eventually make its way to the US in early 2026.</p>
<p><a href="https://news.samsung.com/global/introducing-galaxy-z-trifold-the-shape-of-whats-next-in-mobile-innovation">Samsung says</a> it refined its Armor FlexHinge design for the TriFold. The device’s two hinges are slightly different sizes because the phone’s three panels have distinct shapes. The center panel is the thickest at 4.2 mm, and the other two are fractions of a millimeter thinner. The phone has apparently been designed to account for the varying sizes and weights, allowing the frame to fold up tight in a pocketable form factor.</p>
<p>Huawei’s impressive Mate XT tri-fold phones have been making the rounds online, but they’re not available in Western markets. Samsung’s new foldable looks similar at a glance, but the way the three panels fit together is different. The Mate XT folds in a Z-shaped configuration, using part of the main screen as the cover display. On Samsung’s phone, the left and right segments fold inward behind the separate cover screen. Samsung claims it has tested the design extensively to verify that the hinges will hold up to daily use for years.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/samsungs-galaxy-z-trifold-is-a-10-inch-tablet-that-fits-in-your-pocket/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/samsungs-galaxy-z-trifold-is-a-10-inch-tablet-that-fits-in-your-pocket/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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<slash:comments>101</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>Samsung</media:credit></media:content>
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<title>3D model shows small clans created Easter Island statues</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/explore-the-statues-of-easter-island-with-this-fly-through-3d-model/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/explore-the-statues-of-easter-island-with-this-fly-through-3d-model/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Jennifer Ouellette]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:23:24 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Archaeology]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[easter island]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/explore-the-statues-of-easter-island-with-this-fly-through-3d-model/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Study: Moai were created by small, decentralized working groups, not managed by one central "chieftain."]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<div class="ars-video"><div class="relative" allow="fullscreen" loading="lazy" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1142471815?color=ff9933"></div><div class="caption font-impact dusk:text-gray-300 mb-4 mt-2 inline-flex flex-row items-stretch gap-1 text-base leading-tight text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-300">
<div class="caption-icon bg-[left_top_5px] w-[10px] shrink-0"></div>
<div class="caption-content">
Credit: ArcGIS
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</div>
</div>
<p>Easter Island is famous for its giant monumental statues, called moai, built some 800 years ago. The volcanic rock used for the moai came from a quarry site called Rano Raraku. Archaeologists have created a high-resolution interactive 3D model of the quarry site to learn more about the processes used to create the moai. (You can explore the full interactive model <a href="https://gis-core.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/3dviewer/index.html?appid=233cada52d434e9fa4d1741c92e308da">here</a>.) According to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0336251">a paper</a> published in the journal PLoS ONE, the model shows that there were numerous independent groups, probably family clans, that created the moai, rather than a centralized management system.</p>
<p>“You can see things that you couldn’t actually see on the ground. You can see tops and sides and all kinds of areas that just would never be able to walk to,” <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1107271">said co-author Carl Lipo</a> of Binghamton University. “We can say, ‘Here, go look at it.’ If you want to see the different kinds of carving, fly around and see stuff there. We’re documenting something that really has needed to be documented, but in a way that’s really comprehensive and shareable.”</p>
<p>Lipo is one of the foremost experts on the Easter Island moai. In October, <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/10/how-easter-islands-giant-statues-walked-to-their-final-platforms/">we reported</a> on Lipo’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440325002328?dgcid=author">experimental confirmation</a>—based on 3D modeling of the physics and new field tests to re-create that motion—that Easter Island’s people transported the statues in a vertical position, with workers using ropes to essentially “walk” the moai onto their platforms. To explain the presence of so many moai, the assumption has been that the island was once home to tens of thousands of people<em>. </em></p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/explore-the-statues-of-easter-island-with-this-fly-through-3d-model/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/explore-the-statues-of-easter-island-with-this-fly-through-3d-model/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>24</slash:comments>
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<media:thumbnail url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/easterTOP-500x500.jpg" width="500" height="500" />
<media:credit>ArcGIS</media:credit></media:content>
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<title>“Renewable” no more: Trump admin renames the National Renewable Energy Laboratory</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/renewable-no-more-trump-admin-renames-the-national-renewable-energy-laboratory/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/renewable-no-more-trump-admin-renames-the-national-renewable-energy-laboratory/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:01:03 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[national renewable energy laboratory]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[NREL]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[syndication]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/renewable-no-more-trump-admin-renames-the-national-renewable-energy-laboratory/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[A key driver of US renewable energy research is now the National Laboratory of the Rockies.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>The Trump administration has renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, now calling it the National Laboratory of the Rockies, marking an identity shift for the Colorado institution that has been a global leader in wind, solar and other renewable energy research.</p>
<p>“The new name reflects the Trump administration’s broader vision for the lab’s applied energy research, which historically emphasized alternative and renewable sources of generation, and honors the natural splendor of the lab’s surroundings in Golden, Colorado,” said Jud Virden, laboratory director, in a statement.</p>
<p>He did not specify what this “broader vision” would mean for the lab’s programs or its staff of about 4,000.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/renewable-no-more-trump-admin-renames-the-national-renewable-energy-laboratory/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/renewable-no-more-trump-admin-renames-the-national-renewable-energy-laboratory/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>63</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>Gregory Cooper/NREL</media:credit><media:text>Energy Secretary Chris Wright visits the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, in April 2025. </media:text></media:content>
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<title>NASA seeks a “warm backup” option as key decision on lunar rover nears</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/wary-of-picking-just-one-nasa-nears-important-decision-on-a-lunar-rover-selection/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/wary-of-picking-just-one-nasa-nears-important-decision-on-a-lunar-rover-selection/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Eric Berger]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 15:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Space]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[astrolab]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[intuitive machines]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[LTV]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lunar Outpost]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[NASA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[rover]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[space]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/wary-of-picking-just-one-nasa-nears-important-decision-on-a-lunar-rover-selection/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA["This would be a cheap insurance policy."]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>By the time the second group of NASA astronauts reach the Moon later this decade, the space agency would like to have a lunar rover waiting for them. But as the space agency nears a key selection, some government officials are seeking an insurance policy of sorts to increase the program’s chance of success.</p>
<p>At issue is the agency’s “Lunar Terrain Vehicle” (LTV) contract. In April 2024, <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/04/nasa-asks-the-commercial-space-industry-for-a-rugged-long-lived-lunar-rover/">the space agency awarded</a> a few tens of millions of dollars to three companies—Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Astrolab—to complete preliminary design work on vehicle concepts. NASA then planned to down-select to one company to construct one or more rovers, land on the Moon, and provide rover services for a decade beginning in 2029. Over the lifetime of the fixed-price services contract, there was a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion.</p>
<p>The companies have since completed their design work, including the construction of prototypes, and submitted their final bids for the much larger services contract in August. According to two sources, NASA has since been weighing those bids and is prepared to announce a final selection before the end of this month.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/wary-of-picking-just-one-nasa-nears-important-decision-on-a-lunar-rover-selection/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/wary-of-picking-just-one-nasa-nears-important-decision-on-a-lunar-rover-selection/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>69</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>NASA</media:credit><media:text>A rendering of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle NASA may use during the an Artemis mission to the Moon.</media:text></media:content>
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<title>“Players are selfish”: Fallout 2’s Chris Avellone describes his game design philosophy</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/fallout-2-designer-chris-avellone-recalls-his-first-forays-into-game-development/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/fallout-2-designer-chris-avellone-recalls-his-first-forays-into-game-development/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Alan Bradley]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 15:04:53 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Features]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Gaming]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Chris Avellone]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fallout 2]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[planescape: torment]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[TRS-80]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/fallout-2-designer-chris-avellone-recalls-his-first-forays-into-game-development/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Avellone recaps his journey from learning on a TRS-80 to today.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>Chris Avellone wants you to have a good time.</p>
<p>People often ask creatives—especially those in careers some dream of entering—”how did you get started?” Video game designers are no exception, and Avellone says that one of the most important keys to his success was one he learned early in his origin story.</p>
<p>“Players are selfish,” Avellone said, reflecting on his time designing the seminal computer roleplaying game <i>Planescape: Torment</i>. “The more you can make the experience all about them, the better. So <i>Torment</i> became that. Almost every single thing in the game is about you, the player.”</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/fallout-2-designer-chris-avellone-recalls-his-first-forays-into-game-development/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/fallout-2-designer-chris-avellone-recalls-his-first-forays-into-game-development/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>42</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>Chris Avellone</media:credit><media:text>Chris Avellone, storied game designer.</media:text></media:content>
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<title>Syntax hacking: Researchers discover sentence structure can bypass AI safety rules</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/syntax-hacking-researchers-discover-sentence-structure-can-bypass-ai-safety-rules/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/syntax-hacking-researchers-discover-sentence-structure-can-bypass-ai-safety-rules/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Benj Edwards]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 12:15:55 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[AI]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Biz & IT]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI alignment]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI research]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI security]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI study]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Chantal Shaib]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GPT-4o]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[jailbreaking]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[large language models]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[machine learning]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[meta]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[MIT]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Northeastern University]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[OLMo]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[openai]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[prompt injections]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[spurious correlations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Vinith M. Suriyakumar]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/syntax-hacking-researchers-discover-sentence-structure-can-bypass-ai-safety-rules/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[New research offers clues about why some prompt injection attacks may succeed.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>Researchers from MIT, Northeastern University, and Meta recently <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.21155v2">released</a> a paper suggesting that large language models (LLMs) similar to those that power ChatGPT may sometimes prioritize sentence structure over meaning when answering questions. The findings reveal a weakness in how these models process instructions that may shed light on why some <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/twitter-pranksters-derail-gpt-3-bot-with-newly-discovered-prompt-injection-hack/">prompt injection</a> or <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/10/sob-story-about-dead-grandma-tricks-microsoft-ai-into-solving-captcha/">jailbreaking</a> approaches work, though the researchers caution their analysis of some production models remains speculative since training data details of prominent commercial AI models are not publicly available.</p>
<p>The team, led by Chantal Shaib and Vinith M. Suriyakumar, tested this by asking models questions with preserved grammatical patterns but nonsensical words. For example, when prompted with “Quickly sit Paris clouded?” (mimicking the structure of “Where is Paris located?”), models still answered “France.”</p>
<p>This suggests models absorb both meaning and syntactic patterns, but can overrely on structural shortcuts when they strongly correlate with specific domains in training data, which sometimes allows patterns to override semantic understanding in edge cases. The team plans to present these findings at <a href="https://neurips.cc/">NeurIPS</a> later this month.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/syntax-hacking-researchers-discover-sentence-structure-can-bypass-ai-safety-rules/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/syntax-hacking-researchers-discover-sentence-structure-can-bypass-ai-safety-rules/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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<slash:comments>58</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>EasternLightcraft via Getty Images</media:credit></media:content>
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<title>The missile meant to strike fear in Russia’s enemies fails once again</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/the-missile-meant-to-strike-fear-in-russias-enemies-fails-once-again/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/the-missile-meant-to-strike-fear-in-russias-enemies-fails-once-again/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Stephen Clark]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2025 23:36:50 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Space]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ICBM]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[launch]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[russia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sarmat]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[vladimir putin]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/the-missile-meant-to-strike-fear-in-russias-enemies-fails-once-again/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[One of Vladimir Putin's favorite sabres to rattle seems to have lost its edge.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>A Russian intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fired from an underground silo on the country’s southern steppe Friday on a scheduled test to deliver a dummy warhead to a remote impact zone nearly 4,000 miles away. The missile didn’t even make it 4,000 feet.</p>
<p>Russia’s military has been silent on the accident, but the missile’s crash was seen and heard for miles around the Dombarovsky air base in Orenburg Oblast near the Russian-Kazakh border.</p>
<p>A video posted by the <a href="https://t.me/militaryrussiaru/39856">Russian blog site MilitaryRussia.ru on Telegram</a> and widely shared on other social media platforms showed the missile veering off course immediately after launch before cartwheeling upside down, losing power, and then crashing a short distance from the launch site. The missile ejected a component before it hit the ground, perhaps as part of a payload salvage sequence, according to Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/the-missile-meant-to-strike-fear-in-russias-enemies-fails-once-again/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/the-missile-meant-to-strike-fear-in-russias-enemies-fails-once-again/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>226</slash:comments>
<media:content url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/icbmfailure1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" medium="image">
<media:thumbnail url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/icbmfailure1-500x433.jpg" width="500" height="433" />
<media:credit>MilitaryRussia.ru via Telegram</media:credit><media:text>A fireball rises above the Russian steppe after the failure of a Russian missile shortly after launch Friday.</media:text></media:content>
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<item>
<title>Supreme Court hears case that could trigger big crackdown on Internet piracy</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/supreme-court-debates-whether-isps-must-kick-pirates-off-the-internet/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/supreme-court-debates-whether-isps-must-kick-pirates-off-the-internet/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Jon Brodkin]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2025 22:33:25 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Policy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[copyright infringement]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cox]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[DMCA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[piracy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sony]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/supreme-court-debates-whether-isps-must-kick-pirates-off-the-internet/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Justices want Cox to crack down on piracy, but question Sony's strict demands.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>Supreme Court justices expressed numerous concerns today in a case that could determine whether Internet service providers must terminate the accounts of broadband users accused of copyright infringement. <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2025/24-171_4gd5.pdf">Oral arguments</a> were held in the case between cable Internet provider Cox Communications and record labels led by Sony.</p>
<p>Some justices were skeptical of arguments that ISPs should have no legal obligation under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to terminate an account when a user’s IP address has been repeatedly flagged for downloading pirated music. But justices also seemed hesitant to rule in favor of record labels, with some of the debate focusing on how ISPs should handle large accounts like universities where there could be tens of thousands of users.</p>
<p>Justice Sonia Sotomayor chided Cox for not doing more to fight infringement.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/supreme-court-debates-whether-isps-must-kick-pirates-off-the-internet/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/supreme-court-debates-whether-isps-must-kick-pirates-off-the-internet/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>147</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>Getty Images | Ilmar Idiyatullin</media:credit></media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>OpenAI desperate to avoid explaining why it deleted pirated book datasets</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/openai-desperate-to-avoid-explaining-why-it-deleted-pirated-book-datasets/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/openai-desperate-to-avoid-explaining-why-it-deleted-pirated-book-datasets/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Ashley Belanger]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2025 22:16:28 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[AI]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Policy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ChatGPT]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[copyright infringement]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[online piracy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[openai]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[pirating books]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[training data]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/openai-desperate-to-avoid-explaining-why-it-deleted-pirated-book-datasets/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[OpenAI risks increased fines after deleting pirated books datasets.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>OpenAI may soon be forced to explain why it deleted a pair of controversial datasets composed of pirated books, and the stakes could not be higher.</p>
<p>At the heart of a <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/07/book-authors-sue-openai-and-meta-over-text-used-to-train-ai/">class-action lawsuit from authors</a> alleging that ChatGPT was illegally trained on their works, OpenAI’s decision to delete the datasets could end up being a deciding factor that gives the authors the win.</p>
<p>It’s undisputed that OpenAI deleted the datasets, known as “Books 1” and “Books 2,” prior to ChatGPT’s release in 2022. Created by former OpenAI employees in 2021, the datasets were built by scraping the open web and seizing the bulk of its data from a shadow library called Library Genesis (LibGen).</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/openai-desperate-to-avoid-explaining-why-it-deleted-pirated-book-datasets/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/openai-desperate-to-avoid-explaining-why-it-deleted-pirated-book-datasets/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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<slash:comments>84</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>wenmei Zhou | DigitalVision Vectors</media:credit></media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>In Myanmar, illicit rare-earth mining is taking a heavy toll</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/in-myanmar-illicit-rare-earth-mining-is-taking-a-heavy-toll/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/in-myanmar-illicit-rare-earth-mining-is-taking-a-heavy-toll/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Emily Fishbein and Jauman Naw, Undark Magazine]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2025 21:23:29 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Myanmar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[rare earth elements]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[rare earth metals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[syndication]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/in-myanmar-illicit-rare-earth-mining-is-taking-a-heavy-toll/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Uncontrolled mining in areas of Myanmar ruled by powerful ethnic armies has boomed.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p><span class="dropcap">I</span><span class="bolded">n early 2025,</span> Sian traveled deep into the mountains of Shan State, on Myanmar’s eastern border with China, in search of work. He had heard from a friend that Chinese companies were recruiting at new rare-earth mining sites in territory administered by the United Wa State Army, Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic armed group, and that workers could earn upwards of $1,400 a month.</p>
<p>It was an opportunity too good to pass up in a country where the formal economy has <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163706">collapsed</a> since the 2021 military coup, and <a href="https://www.undp.org/press-releases/middle-class-disappearing-and-poverty-deepening-myanmar">nearly half</a> of the population lives on less than $2 a day. So Sian set off by car for the town of Mong Pawk, then rode a motorbike for hours through the thick forest.</p>
<p>Hired for daily wages of approximately $21, he now digs boreholes and installs pipes. It is the first step in a <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/schoolforcross-facultystudies/research/projects/rare_earth_mining_myanmar/briefing_paper_2_the_rare_earth_mining_process_in_myanmar.pdf">process</a> called in situ<em> </em>leaching, which involves injecting acidic solutions into mountainsides, then collecting the drained solution in plastic-lined pools where solids, like dysprosium and terbium, two of the world’s most sought-after heavy rare-earth metals, settle out. The resulting sediment sludge is then transported to furnaces and burned, producing dry rare earth oxides.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/in-myanmar-illicit-rare-earth-mining-is-taking-a-heavy-toll/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/in-myanmar-illicit-rare-earth-mining-is-taking-a-heavy-toll/#comments">Comments</a></p>
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</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>36</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>STR/AFP via Getty Images</media:credit><media:text>This photo taken on May 2, 2025 shows a general view of a China-backed battery metal mine in Pekon township in Myanmar's eastern Shan State. </media:text></media:content>
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<item>
<title>After a Witcher-free decade, CDPR still promises three sequels in six years</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/after-a-witcher-free-decade-cdpr-still-promises-three-sequels-in-six-years/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/after-a-witcher-free-decade-cdpr-still-promises-three-sequels-in-six-years/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Kyle Orland]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2025 19:54:09 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Gaming]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD Projekt RED]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CDPR]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[epic]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[REDengine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[sequels]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Unreal Engine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[witcher]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[witcher 3]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/after-a-witcher-free-decade-cdpr-still-promises-three-sequels-in-six-years/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[CD Projekt Red says shift to Unreal Engine allows for more rapid development.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>It’s been over 10 years since the launch of <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/05/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-review-hunting-fiends-for-fun-and-forever/">the excellent <em>The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt</em></a>, and nearly four years since <a href="https://www.thewitcher.com/us/en/news/42167/a-new-saga-begins">the announcement</a> of “the next installment in The Witcher series of video games.” Despite those long waits, developer CD Projekt Red is still insisting it will deliver the next three complete <em>Witcher</em> games in a short six-year window.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/wp-content/uploads-en/2025/11/transcript-q3-2025-earnings-3.pdf">a recent earnings call</a>, CDPR VP of Business Development Michał Nowakowski suggested that a rapid release schedule would be enabled in no small part by the team’s transition away from its proprietary REDEngine to the popular Unreal Engine <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/03/the-witcher-will-return-as-a-triple-a-rpg-shifting-to-unreal-engine-5/">in 2022</a>. At the time, CDPR said the transition to Unreal Engine would “elevate development predictability and efficiency, while simultaneously granting us access to cutting-edge game development tools.” Those considerations seemed especially important in the wake of <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/12/cd-projekt-red-offers-refunds-to-unsatisfied-cyberpunk-2077-console-players/">widespread technical issues with the console versions of <em>Cyberpunk 2077</em></a>, which CDPR later <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/01/cdpr-ceo-blames-in-game-streaming-for-cyberpunks-console-problems/">blamed on REDEngine’s “in-game streaming system.”</a></p>
<p>“We’re happy with how [Unreal Engine] is evolving through the Epic team’s efforts, and how we are learning how to make it work within a huge open-world game, as [<em>The Witcher 4</em>] is meant to be,” Nowakowski said in the recent earnings call. “In a way, yes, I do believe that further games should be delivered in a shorter period of time—as we had stated before, our plan still is to launch the whole trilogy within a six-year period, so yes, that would mean we would plan to have a shorter development time between <em>TW4</em> and <em>TW5</em>, between <em>TW5</em> and <em>TW6</em> and so on.”</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/after-a-witcher-free-decade-cdpr-still-promises-three-sequels-in-six-years/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/12/after-a-witcher-free-decade-cdpr-still-promises-three-sequels-in-six-years/#comments">Comments</a></p>
]]>
</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>67</slash:comments>
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<media:credit>CD Projekt Red</media:credit><media:text>A new saga begins... and then continues in quick succession.</media:text></media:content>
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<item>
<title>Even Microsoft’s retro holiday sweaters are having Copilot forced upon them</title>
<link>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/even-microsofts-retro-holiday-sweaters-are-having-copilot-forced-upon-them/</link>
<comments>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/even-microsofts-retro-holiday-sweaters-are-having-copilot-forced-upon-them/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator>
<![CDATA[Andrew Cunningham]]>
</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2025 19:43:05 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[copilot]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[microsoft]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Windows]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/even-microsofts-retro-holiday-sweaters-are-having-copilot-forced-upon-them/</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[Microsoft has not one, not two, but three new sweaters available for $60 to $80.]]>
</description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[<p>I can take or leave some of the things that Microsoft is doing with Windows 11 these days, but I do usually enjoy the company’s yearly limited-time holiday sweater releases. Usually crafted around a specific image or product from the company’s ’90s-and-early-2000s heyday—2022’s sweater was Clippy themed, and 2023’s was just the Windows XP Bliss wallpaper in sweater form—the sweaters usually hit the exact combination of dorky/cute/recognizable that makes for a good holiday party conversation starter.</p>
<p>Microsoft is reviving the tradition for 2025 after taking a year off, and <a href="https://www.microsoftmerchandise.com/Shop/#/product/What's+New/MIC060639.000001-Artifact-Sweater--Pre-Order--Multi-XS">the design for this year’s flagship $80 sweater</a> is mostly in line with what the company has done in past years. The 2025 “Artifact Holiday Sweater” revives multiple pixelated icons that Windows 3.1-to-XP users will recognize, including Notepad, Reversi, Paint, MS-DOS, Internet Explorer, and even the MSN butterfly logo. Clippy is, once again, front and center, looking happy to be included.</p>
<p>Not all of the icons are from Microsoft’s past; a sunglasses-wearing emoji, a “50” in the style of the old flying Windows icon (for Microsoft’s 50th anniversary), and a <em>Minecraft</em> Creeper face all nod to the company’s more modern products. But the only one I really take <em>issue</em> with is on the right sleeve, where Microsoft has stuck a pixelated monochrome icon for its Copilot AI assistant.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/even-microsofts-retro-holiday-sweaters-are-having-copilot-forced-upon-them/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/even-microsofts-retro-holiday-sweaters-are-having-copilot-forced-upon-them/#comments">Comments</a></p>
]]>
</content:encoded>
<slash:comments>67</slash:comments>
<media:content url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MIC060639_2-xl-1152x648.jpg" type="image/jpeg" medium="image" width="1152" height="648">
<media:thumbnail url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MIC060639_2-xl-500x500.jpg" width="500" height="500" />
<media:credit>Microsoft</media:credit><media:text>Microsoft is back with another round of ugly holiday sweaters.</media:text></media:content>
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