Judges are using algorithms to justify doing what they already want Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesWhen Northwestern University graduate student Sino Esthappan began researching how algorithms decide who stays in jail, he expected “a story about humans versus technology.” On one side would be human judges, who Esthappan interviewed extensively. On the other would be risk assessment algorithms, whi…

The Amazon Echo graveyard Image: Mojo Wang for The VergeThe Echo ecosystem has seen its fair share of failures while trying to popularize Amazon’s Alexa smart assistant. Continue reading…

Avride rolls out its next-gen sidewalk delivery robots Avride, the robotics company that spun out of Russian search giant Yandex, has a new sidewalk delivery robot to show off. The company currently operates a fleet of six-wheeled delivery robots in Austin, Texas, delivering Uber Eats orders to customers, as well as South Korea. Now Avride’s next generation model is shedding a couple of wheels — and…

Alexa, where’s my Star Trek Computer? Image: Mojo Wang for The VergeWhen Alexa launched 10 years ago, Amazon envisioned a new computer platform that could do anything for you. A decade later, the company is still trying to build it. Continue reading…

Nothing is making a glow-in-the-dark phone Only 1,000 units of the Phone (2a) and Phone (2a) Plus Community Edition will be produced. | Image: NothingNothing has announced a new version of its Phone 2A Plus featuring a customized glow-in-the-dark design and packaging created in part by some of the company’s “most talented followers.” The Phone 2A Plus Community Edition is the result of a…

Sennheiser’s new wireless clip-on mics can convert to a tabletop microphone The Profile Wireless microphones can be clipped or magnetically attached to clothing. | Image: SennheiserSennheiser has announced a new portable wireless microphone kit designed to be an affordable and flexible all-in-one solution for content creators and videographers. The Profile Wireless system features a wireless receiver that can be connect…

Canon’s budget-friendly 3D lens will be available in November Canon’s budget-friendly VR lens will be available in November with an estimated retail price of $449.99. | Image: CanonCanon has officially announced its new RF-S7.8mm F4 STM Dual lens, which features stereoscopic elements that have been squeezed into a body no larger than a traditional 2D camera lens. It was originally teased during the Apple W…

AMD confirms its next-gen RDNA 4 GPUs will launch in early 2025 An AMD Radeon GPU. | Image: AMDAMD’s Q3 2024 earnings call today wasn’t bullish on gaming revenue overall, but it did confirm a hot new rumor on GPUs — specifically, the launch of AMD’s next-gen RDNA 4 parts early next year. “We are on track to launch the first RDNA4 GPUs in early 2025,” said AMD CEO Lisa Su, and the company confirmed to PCWorld…

More than a quarter of new code at Google is generated by AI Illustration: The VergeGoogle is building a bunch of AI products, and it’s using AI quite a bit as part of building those products, too. “More than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers,” CEO Sundar Pichai said on the company’s third quarter 2024 earnings call. It’s a big milestone that m…

Reddit is profitable for the first time ever, with nearly 100 million daily users Image: The VergeReddit just turned a profit for the first time. As part of its third-quarter earnings results released on Tuesday, the company reported a profit of $29.9 million, along with $348.4 million in revenue — a 68 percent increase year over year. The company hasn’t been profitable at any point in its nearly 20-year history. Since going …

An Elon Musk-funded super PAC is putting out fake pro-Harris ads Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty ImagesIf you’re a swing state voter, you may have seen ads claiming that vice president Kamala Harris wants to institute a mandatory gun buyback program and make it easier for undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses. These ostensibly pro-Harris ads are the product of Progress 2025, a campaign desi…

Google accused of violating labor law for asking workers to ‘refrain’ from talking about antitrust case Illustration: The VergeThe Alphabet Workers Union filed a charge against Google with the National Labor Relations Board after Google management asked workers to “refrain” from talking about its ongoing Search antitrust case. The union charges that Google issued an “overly broad directive” on discussing the case to employees, according to a copy …

OpenAI will start using AMD chips and could make its own AI hardware in 2026 Image: OpenAIOpenAI is reportedly working with Broadcom to develop new custom silicon designed to handle its large AI workloads for inference and secured manufacturing capacity with TSMC, according to sources speaking to Reuters. OpenAI has reportedly built a chip development team of about 20 people, including lead engineers who previously worke…

The Scary Movie franchise is getting a Wayans brothers reboot GettyMiramax is ready to put a new Scary Movie into theaters, and this time around, the studio is doing the sensible thing by keeping the Wayans brothers directly involved. Deadline reports that Marlon, Shawn, and Keenen Ivory Wayans have signed on to co-write / co-produce a new Scary Movie reboot for Miramax that will, like earlier installments…

These bookmarking apps can organize all of that content you’re saving for later Screenshot: PocketIt’s hard to keep up with everything you come across on the web, such as an article you don’t have time to read at the moment or a video you’d like to run again later. Years ago, I started getting the better of this issue with Pocket, a well-known app that allows you to bookmark an article to a separate server and then retrieve…

Sony closes Concord studio and permanently shuts down the game Image: SonySony is closing Firewalk Studios, the studio behind its PlayStation Concord game that it took offline last month after a disastrous launch. In a message to PlayStation staff, Hermen Hulst, CEO of the PlayStation studio business group, says Firewalk Studios will close alongside Neon Koi, a mobile game studio. “We have spent considerabl…

Microsoft isn’t secretly installing Recall on your Windows PC Image: MicrosoftMicrosoft’s Recall feature, which creates screenshots of mostly everything you see or do on a Copilot Plus PC, has been mired in controversy ever since it was announced earlier this year. After security researchers found that a pre-release version of the Recall database wasn’t encrypted, Microsoft moved to delay the feature and o…

Netflix’s deal with Universal will add more live-action films Image: UniversalNetflix will bring even more Universal films to its lineup thanks to a new deal that will send the studio’s live-action movies to the streamer starting in 2027. Under the agreement, Universal and Focus Features’ live-action titles will appear on Netflix no later than eight months after their release in theaters. The new arrangeme…

Chrome introduces new ‘Performance’ tools to wrangle the tabs gobbling up your memory Illustration: The VergeGoogle is rolling out some new Chrome memory management features aimed at helping you wrangle out-of-control tabs more easily. The updates include new “Performance issue alerts” and some tweaks to the existing Memory Saver mode, which already tries to free up the resources of inactive tabs in the background. The new alerts…

Sony’s noise-canceling XM5s have dropped to one of their best prices yet Sony’s WH-1000XM5s, our favorite noise canceling headphones, are $100 off. | Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeIt can be hard to get some peace and quiet even on an average day, but with the holidays slowly yet steadily approaching, it’s about to become impossible. Luckily, though, today, Sony’s WH-1000XM5s have dropped to one of their best price…