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Daily digest

2026-08-25

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2026-08-25 05:50:09 +0000

2026-08-25

100 items
Simon Willison's Weblog Aug 24 Score 0.8776939370370369

llm-anthropic 0.27

Release: llm-anthropic 0.27 This release of the Anthropic plugin for LLM mainly provides compatibility with the recently released anthropic v1.0.0 Python library, which switches from httpx to httpx2 . OpenAI made the same change in their v3.0.0 release two wee

AI aillmsengineeringanalysis
Quanta Magazine Aug 24 Score 0.8736345629629628

A New Framework for How the Brain Compresses Our Noisy World

An updated view of categorization reflects the modern understanding that the nervous system is more of a prediction engine than a filing cabinet. The post A New Framework for How the Brain Compresses Our Noisy World first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Science sciencemathematicsphysicsbiology
Foreign Policy Aug 24 Score 0.8730018032407406

Where Is King Abdullah?

Facing regional turmoil and domestic criticism, Jordan’s ruler is spending more time overseas and less time talking to the press.

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Foreign Policy Aug 24 Score 0.8723698587962962

Germany’s Firewall Has Completely Failed

Attempts to ostracize the AfD have fueled both the rise and radicalization of Germany’s far-right party.

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Simon Willison's Weblog Aug 24 Score 0.8696712518518518

Your executable is a SQLite database

Your executable is a SQLite database Farid Zakaria describes a neat Linux pattern for creating a SQLite database file that can be directly used as an executable binary. The trick sets the SQLite file format's 4-byte application ID (68 bytes into the file) to S

AI aillmsengineeringanalysis
Schneier on Security Aug 24 Score 0.868011362037037

Criminal Deception in Silicon Valley

Interesting paper : Abstract: With entrepreneurial fraud cases on the rise, we investigate how entrepreneurs carry out criminal deception , employing deceptive means to defraud audiences. Analyzing court data from Silicon Valley ventures and their founders pro

Security securitycryptographypolicy
Foreign Policy Aug 24 Score 0.8669638402777777

Washington Is Creating Forever Enemies

The United States must learn to forget the pain of humiliation.

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysis
Foreign Affairs Aug 25 Score 0.8219425546296297

Maximum Pressure on Iran Will Fail

Trump's war has brought American strategy to a dead end.

Geopolitics geopoliticsforeign-policyanalysisjournals
The Guardian — World Aug 25 Score 0.8162420990740742

Colombia’s new president Abelardo de la Espriella announces immigration crackdown

Far-right leader echoes ally Donald Trump and says operations to ‘track down illegal immigrants’ should begin this week, amid earthquake aftermath Colombia’s far-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has announced a crackdown on immigrants, ordering autho

Geopolitics geopoliticsworld-newsinvestigative
The Verge Aug 24 Score 0.8146688180555556

Lenovo confirms Legion Go issues after gamers report bricked devices

When a company's software update turns your computer into a useless brick, should fixes be free? Framework, the modular computer startup, apparently thinks so. But it's not clear that computing giant Lenovo will go that far. Three weeks after a Redditor presen

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
BleepingComputer Aug 24 Score 0.8106785046296296

Unpatched Calix flaw lets hackers bypass NAT to expose internal devices

An unpatched vulnerability in Calix GS7 XGS (GS5239XG) residential routers used by multiple U.S. broadband providers allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to create port-forwarding rules that can expose local network devices to the public internet. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
The Verge Aug 24 Score 0.8083308550925926

The cat-and-mouse game over 3D-printed guns has begun

The creator of the world's first 3D-printed gun claims he's developed a way to thwart government-mandated software meant to block 3D printers from making firearms. It's an opening volley in what's shaping up to be an evolving battle between regulators trying t

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
BleepingComputer Aug 24 Score 0.8076794305555556

Hackers target WordPress sites in miniOrange auth bypass attacks

Hackers are attempting to exploit two critical authentication bypass vulnerabilities in the miniOrange SAML 2.0 Single Sign On plugin for WordPress that can be used to forge SAML responses and log in as administrators. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
BleepingComputer Aug 24 Score 0.8051757268518519

TikTok reaches $400M settlement with US over COPPA violations

The U.S. Department of Justice announced a $400 million settlement with TikTok, ByteDance, and affiliated companies over allegations that they violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
The Verge Aug 24 Score 0.803638725462963

Zillow and Redfin settle FTC antitrust case over their rental listings partnership

The FTC and Zillow have announced a settlement that ends the case alleging that a 2025 "partnership" between Zillow and Redfin violated antitrust laws. The FTC had alleged Zillow agreed to pay Redfin to syndicate its listings, while Redfin would end its own ad

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
The Verge Aug 24 Score 0.8031257625000001

Robotaxis are real now — so is the pushback

Robotaxis are expanding. So is the fight over the rules governing them. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul withdrew a proposal earlier this year that would have opened the door to driverless robotaxis outside New York City after taxi drivers, unions, and state law

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
The Verge Aug 24 Score 0.8016331699074075

The Witcher 4 developers target a 2028 release

CD Projekt Red is aiming to launch The Witcher 4 sometime in 2028, joint CEO Michał Nowakowski says in a new video. CD Projekt Red has been working on its next mainline Witcher title for years and has shown videos of it, but now the studio is providing a

Technology technologygadgetsconsumer
MIT Technology Review Aug 24 Score 0.799172962962963

How to encourage smarter AI use in the classroom

This article is from Making AI Work, MIT Technology Review’s limited-run newsletter examining how to apply LLMs across industries. To receive it in your inbox, sign up here. Chatbots took many schools by surprise upon their release a few years ago. Suddenly, s

Technology technologyresearchsociety
BleepingComputer Aug 24 Score 0.7986178564814815

Microsoft Teams now lets admins block external bots from meetings

Microsoft is rolling out a new Teams meeting protection policy that allows administrators to automatically block all identified external bots from joining Teams meetings. [...]

Security securitymalwarevulnerabilities
MIT Technology Review Aug 24 Score 0.7955530555555557

The Download: kids outlearning AI, and space travel agents

This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Kids outlearn AI—and we still don’t know why Teaching a computer to use human language requires an inhuman amount of data.

Technology technologyresearchsociety
CISA Cybersecurity Advisories Aug 24 Score 0.7952756226851853

CISA Adds One Known Exploited Vulnerability to Catalog

CISA has added one new vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog , based on evidence of active exploitation.   CVE-2026-21962 Oracle HTTP Server and Oracle Weblogic Server Proxy Plug-in Improper Access Control Vulnerability This t

Security securitycisaadvisoriesvulnerabilities
MIT Technology Review Aug 24 Score 0.7902752777777778

Kids outlearn AI—and we still don't know why

People have been talking to each other for at least 100,000 years, as best we can tell. And in all that time, there has been only one thing in the world that could learn a human language to perfect fluency: a human child.  Now there are two.  Four sh

Technology technologyresearchsociety
SANS Internet Storm Center Aug 24 Score 0.7875885833333334

DOUBLECUP's PNG Payload, (Mon, Aug 24th)

New malware that uses steganography always gets my attention, but I was disappointed when I looked at the latest DOUBLECUP write-up. It doesn&#;x26;#;39;t use real steganography:

Security securitythreatsiocs
Schneier on Security Aug 21 Score 0.7654794175925925

Friday Squid Blogging: Neon Flying Squid

The neon flying squid can fly in formation. The shoal of about 100 squid rose unexpectedly from a patch of the Pacific Ocean around 370 miles from Tokyo and glided near the boat for about 30 metres. The astonished researchers were the first to capture photogra

Security securitycryptographypolicy
Schneier on Security Aug 21 Score 0.7583821953703702

AI Is Learning to Write Genetic Code

This sort of research is both exciting and terrifying: The two models in question were told to generate complete genomes for a viable bacteriophage—a type of virus able to infect and replicate itself inside bacteria, destroying them from the inside. Usin

Security securitycryptographypolicy
Quanta Magazine Aug 21 Score 0.7550961370370369

‘Huge Breakthrough’ in the Math of Imbalance

For the first time in 30 years, computer scientists have found a better way to allocate objects evenly between two groups. The post ‘Huge Breakthrough’ in the Math of Imbalance first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Science sciencemathematicsphysicsbiology
Schneier on Security Aug 21 Score 0.7464581212962962

More Incidents of AIs Going Rogue in Cybersecurity Challenges

The AI Security Institute has a new report of AI systems engaging in "unsanctioned behavior"—what I have been calling " genie behavior —while being tested on their cybersecurity capabilities. The incident stemmed from a single evaluation where agen

Security securitycryptographypolicy
CyberScoop Aug 24 Score 0.7382516111111112

SCOTUS tosses one of two injunctions against Trump USPS mail-in ballot rules

The 6-3 decision dismisses one lawsuit brought by states, saying they have no standing to sue because the disputed sections “neither requires nor forbids anything of anyone outside the executive branch.” The post SCOTUS tosses one of two injunctions against Tr

Security securitypolicygovernment
GitHub Blog Aug 24 Score 0.7351793550925926

Your alt text passes automated checks. That doesn't mean it's any good.

We built a plugin for the GitHub Accessibility Scanner to make sure your alt text is actually accessible. Here's how it works. The post Your alt text passes automated checks. That doesn't mean it's any good. appeared first on The GitHub Blog .

IT itgithubdevelopment
NASA News Aug 24 Score 0.7348582425925926

NASA Sets Coverage for Roman Space Telescope Launch from Florida

Coverage plans are ready for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope prelaunch and launch activities. Roman is NASA’s next-generation observatory designed to explore some of the universe’s biggest mysteries, including dark energy. NASA and SpaceX are targetin

Science sciencenasaspace
Econbrowser Aug 24 Score 0.7346131773148148

Portfolio Balance vs. Loanable Funds: A Teaching Note

Is the real interest rate set by the demand vs. supply of all savings, private and public? Or is it set by the demand for money vs. bonds emanating from liquidity preference and (outside) wealth demand? Got to answer this in anticipation of teaching this Fall

Economy economymacroeconomicsenergyresearch
NASA News Aug 24 Score 0.7301874092592593

Perseverance Captures Another Phobos Transit

Description NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture the silhouette of Phobos, one of the two Martian moons, as it crossed in front of the Sun on Aug. 12, 2026, the 1,948th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The animation has been

Science sciencenasaspace
NASA News Aug 24 Score 0.7301077796296296

Starstruck: NASA Research Shows How Sun’s Ancient History Shaped Earth

At the center of our solar system, the Sun influences every planet that orbits it. In two recent NASA-funded studies, scientists uncovered how ancient events in the Sun’s history may have helped create Earth’s unique climate and driven previously unexplained c

Science sciencenasaspace
Econbrowser Aug 24 Score 0.729897436574074

Wisconsin Goods Exports by Destination, 2025

As we lumber into an expanded trade war with Canada: Source: Census via ITA, and author's calculations. To date (1pm CT), gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany has not made a comment on the original Section 338 tariffs to be levied against Canada, nor this morni

Economy economymacroeconomicsenergyresearch
NASA News Aug 24 Score 0.7295577796296296

NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman at Freedom 250 Grand Prix

NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman is seen in the two-seat IndyCar as he prepares for driver Conor Daly to take him on a lap ahead of the start of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Image credit: NASA/Joel

Science sciencenasaspace
NASA News Aug 24 Score 0.7293596314814815

MAIA Air Sensor at Work in Addis Ababa

Description This roof-mounted air sensor in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is one of 10 used by NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) to study the city’s air quality. MAIA’s air sensors provide a detailed look at particulate matter that is 2.5 m

Science sciencenasaspace
Martin Fowler Aug 24 Score 0.7260810740740741

Fragments: August 24

I was listening to Ezra Klein’s interview with Helen Toner about the recent OpenAI hack of Hugging Face and the subsequent discovery that there were swarms of agents inside OpenAI doing unsanctioned activities. One of the points Klein made was that at no point

IT itarchitecturepatterns
Econbrowser Aug 24 Score 0.7240321587962963

Paper (Diaper) Tiger? "Trump Vows to Double Tariffs on Canadian Autos, Escalating Fight"

Who could'a thunk it? From Bloomberg: US President Donald Trump pledged to double the auto tariff on Canadian vehicles and parts starting next year, escalating the spiraling trade fight between the two economies. Trump posted on Monday that “Tariffs on all Car

Economy economymacroeconomicsenergyresearch
InfoQ Aug 24 Score 0.723303100462963

Microsoft Moves AI Governance From Policy to Runtime Enforcement

Microsoft has outlined an AI governance architecture spanning nine governance domains and four functions: policy, control, visibility, and proof. The approach connects policies with runtime enforcement, continuous evaluation, observability, identity, security,

IT itengineeringarchitecture
New Scientist Aug 24 Score 0.7226411967592593

Diabetes drug metformin may halve the risk of dementia

Taking metformin, a type 2 diabetes drug, has been linked to a lower risk of dementia over the following decades, but the association isn't conclusive

Science scienceresearchsociety
ScienceDaily — Top Science Aug 24 Score 0.7223544638888889

Common medications may change your gut for years

Common medications may reshape the gut microbiome long after the last dose is taken. In a study of more than 2,500 people, researchers found lasting microbial changes linked not only to antibiotics, but also to antidepressants, beta-blockers, acid-reducing dru

Science scienceresearchdiscoveries
New Scientist Aug 24 Score 0.7223486041666667

How much water do you really need to drink to keep your brain sharp?

Water is essential for good brain function, with a handful of convincing studies suggesting that dehydration could be slowing you down, cognitively speaking. Columnist Helen Thomson explores how much water we should be drinking to stay sharp

Science scienceresearchsociety
FRED Blog Aug 24 Score 0.7219425458333333

State and metro employment: Second quarter 2026

National employment growth in the second quarter of 2026 accelerated slightly to 0.3% compared with one year ago. However, this aggregate figure conceals wide variation in job growth across U.S. states: 38 states experienced job growth, while 12 states plus &#

Economy economydataindicatorsfederal-reserve
InfoQ Aug 24 Score 0.7186086560185185

Presentation: Prompt to Prod: Engineering an Autonomous SDLC at Scale

Andrew Swerdlow shares how Roblox scales autonomous software development from prompt to production. He discusses building robust security sandboxes, extracting institutional knowledge via code review exemplars, updating engineering infrastructure, and redefini

IT itengineeringarchitecture
Marginal Revolution Aug 25 Score 0.710321136111111

That was then, this is now

In 1914 Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and David Ben-Gurion, the president and prime minister of Israel after 1948 respectively, were in the Ottoman capital studying law at Istanbul University. They had studied Ottoman Turkish and embarked on their legal studies in the hope

Economy economyeconomicscommentaryblog
Lobsters Aug 24 Score 0.6895740847222221

I cannot survive from burnout

I burned out two years ago, went through a divorce, and relocated to a new city. I live alone now and care for seven cats. Over the last two years, I’ve tried forcing discipline, making detailed plans, and restarting over and over. Despite this, I’m still carr

IT itprogrammingsystemscommunity
Google Cloud Blog Aug 24 Score 0.6894416837962962

New AI-powered quick assessments in Migration Center turbocharge modernization

Technology leaders are under mounting pressure to modernize infrastructure, control multi-cloud operational spend, and build data foundations for generative AI. However, the discovery required for that level of transformation can entail weeks of manual spreads

IT itgcpcloud