The European Union is exempting wearable devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers and smart glasses from its upcoming regulation requiring user-replaceable batteries in a wide range of electronics. However, the Nintendo Switch 2 will not be exempt and must ship with a replaceable battery in the EU by the time the law takes effect in February 2027.
EU Battery Regulation Carves Out Wearables
The EU's new battery rules, designed to reduce electronic waste and empower consumers, will mandate that most portable electronics sold in the bloc have batteries that users can easily replace themselves. Wearable devices, including smartwatches, fitness trackers and smart glasses, have been granted an exemption, likely due to their compact and often sealed designs that make user-replaceable batteries challenging. The Nintendo Switch 2, on the other hand, will have to comply, forcing Valve's competitor to redesign its handheld console for the European market.
OpenAI Unveils GPT-Red Model for Security Testing
OpenAI has announced a new AI model called GPT-Red, which the company says "can break nearly all models it is pitted against." In a blog post on Wednesday, OpenAI explained that it used GPT-Red to find vulnerabilities in its upcoming GPT-5.6 Sol model, a process that resulted in GPT-5.6 Sol becoming the company's "most robust model to prompt injections to date." The development highlights the ongoing arms race between AI security and adversarial attacks.
Former OpenAI CTO Murati Launches Open-Weight Model 'Inkling'
Mira Murati, OpenAI's former chief technology officer who briefly served as CEO during Sam Altman's ouster in 2023, has released an open-weight AI model called "Inkling." Murati wrote on X that Inkling was trained from scratch. However, the official blog post set low expectations, stating: "It is not the most performant model available today, closed or open … We trained Inkling for solid capabilities across the board rather than state-of-the-art performance in a single area, to serve as a foundation for the models we will train in the future."
xAI Sues Over Alleged Grok Security Breach
Elon Musk's xAI has filed a lawsuit against Terry Harwood, alleging that Harwood bypassed safeguards on its Grok AI model to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The company is seeking reputational and legal damages. The case underscores the challenges AI companies face in preventing misuse of their models.
Bethesda Hit by Layoffs in Maryland
ZeniMax, the parent company of Bethesda Game Studios, has laid off 379 employees in Maryland, according to a WARN notice obtained by Game Developer. The cuts include major layoffs at Bethesda's Rockville headquarters, reflecting ongoing cost-cutting in the video game industry.
Waymo Faces Hygiene and Safety Challenges
A Bloomberg report has detailed some of the more unpleasant aspects of Waymo's driverless taxi service, including finding blood, vomit and fecal matter in vehicles. Emergency responders have received nearly 100 calls about passengers falling asleep in Waymos and failing to wake up at their destination. The report echoes earlier concerns from six years ago about contractors discovering hypodermic needles in the cars.
OnePlus to Merge with Oppo
Bloomberg has confirmed that OnePlus will merge with its parent company Oppo, a move that could happen as early as this week. The integration is part of broader shifts at Oppo and is expected to streamline operations.
House Advances Sunshine Protection Act
House lawmakers have voted to advance the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, keeping clocks one hour ahead year-round. The bill now moves to the Senate.
AI Data Centers Face Local Opposition
AI data center projects continue to proliferate across the US, but many face pushback from local communities concerned about their environmental and infrastructure impact. Recent examples include a Marietta City Council tabling approval of a new data center, a proposed $5.1 billion facility in Salem drawing mixed reactions, a Texas community bracing for a boom from an East Texas data center, and Sarasota County blocking hyperscale data centers for at least one year.
Valve's Steam Deck LCD to Continue Production
Valve has confirmed that the Steam Deck LCD model will remain in production alongside the newer OLED version, ensuring a lower-cost entry point for the handheld gaming PC market.
OpenAI Collaborates with Work Louder on Hardware
OpenAI is collaborating with Work Louder on a hardware project, separate from its main hardware initiative rumored to be a smart speaker. Details remain sparse.
Suno Accused of Using Protected Audio
Hacked files reportedly show that AI music startup Suno used decades of audio from protected platforms to train its models, raising copyright concerns.
FCC Chair Proposes Ending Broadcast Ownership Cap
The FCC chair has proposed eliminating the broadcast ownership cap, which currently limits how many TV stations a single entity can own. The move could reshape the media landscape.
Elon Musk Promises Open-Source X Code
Elon Musk tweeted that once security vulnerability reviews are complete, X (formerly Twitter) will make its entire codebase open source with no exceptions. The promise follows his usual morning tweets on right-wing politics and data centers.