The Tech That Will Invade Our Lives in 2026
From talking computers to self-driving cars, here are the trends to watch.
Technology
Google and Character.AI to Settle Lawsuit Over Teenager’s Death
The settlement came in the case of a 14-year-old in Florida who had killed himself after developing a relationship with an A.I. chatbot.
California Tech Executives Plot Against Rep. Ro Khanna Over Support of Wealth Tax
It’s hard right now to be a progressive Democrat in the heart of America’s tech industry.
Grok image tool sparks global backlash, exposing AI safety gaps
Regulators warn X and xAI over failures to protect users, mainly women and minors, from image abuse Complaints of abuse flooded the internet after the recent rollout of an “edit image” button on Grok, which enabled users to alter online images with prompts such as “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes.” The … Read more
A.I. Images of Maduro Spread Rapidly, Despite Safeguards
Deepfakes of Venezuela’s ousted president, Nicolás Maduro, flooded the internet after his capture, in a new collision of breaking news and artificial intelligence.
Nvidia Details New A.I. Chips and Autonomous Car Project With Mercedes
At the CES conference, Jensen Huang, the company’s chief executive, said the more efficient and powerful chip would begin shipping later this year.
CES 2026 spotlights self-driving tech and AI as automakers scale back EV plans
AI to expand beyond cars into robots, wearables, home and health tech at CES 2026 A Mirumi companion robot is displayed during CES Unveiled at CES 2026, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US January 4, 2026.REUTERS Autonomous driving technology is expected to dominate the CES trade show in Las Vegas … Read more
Trump blocks chips deal, cites security, China-related concerns
Emcore says HieFo bought its chips and wafer operations for $2.92M, later taken private A central processing unit semiconductor chip is displayed among flags of China and US, in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS President Donald Trump on Friday blocked US photonics firm HieFo Corp’s $3 million acquisition of assets in … Read more
Grok says safeguard lapses led to images of ‘minors in minimal clothing’ on X
Screenshots on X showed Grok’s media tab filled with images users said were altered by the bot “As noted, we’ve identified lapses in safeguards and are urgently fixing them—CSAM is illegal and prohibited,” Grok said, referring to Child Sexual Abuse Material. PHOTO: REUTERS Elon Musk’s xAI artificial intelligence chatbot Grok said on Friday lapses in … Read more
Our 2026 Tech Resolutions + We Answer Your Questions
“When we came into the studio last year to record our resolutions, I had the best of intentions.”
