Month: July 2025

AI Agent Unintentionally Erases Complete Database Owing to Fright

As reported in posts on X, Lemkin attempted to access his project on the ninth day of a database coding initiative and discovered that Replit had entirely erased his database, including the production database. Therefore, while some may worry about AI seizing control over humanity, such errors illustrate that it still has a considerable journey ahead before global domination becomes an issue.

Any tool can encounter malfunctions

Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters Reaches Unmatched Achievement

Netflix animated feature “KPop Demon Hunters.” However, this is not the day.

In fact, the streaming service celebrated in a tweet earlier this week that the film has once again made Netflix history — achieving a new viewership high five weeks following its debut on the platform. Such a remarkable achievement in sustained popularity is especially noteworthy for an animated movie that stars imaginary K-pop idols who also act as demon hunters. Unlike nearly all of Netflix’s live-action theatrical offerings, this K-pop-infused musical-action mix has managed to soar, gaining traction rather than plummeting rapidly. It is currently experiencing its most successful week yet for global viewership, amassing 25.8 million views in just this past week, according to Netflix’s recent Top 10 report.

Additionally: It holds the position of the #1 Netflix original film in 26 nations. Moreover, it’s not solely about the stunning visuals or the narrative. The film’s soundtrack has surged on music rankings, generating significant word-of-mouth excitement and attracting new audiences who then uncover the film that lies behind the music — or is it the music that lies behind the film?

The Netflix film that refuses to fade away

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Apple Arcade Provides Complimentary Trial During Exclusive Crossover Event

### Apple Arcade: An Opportunity to Play for Free

If you haven’t experienced [Apple Arcade](https://apps.apple.com/arcade/subscribe?itscg=30200&itsct=arcade_box_subscribe) yet, now is your moment. Halfbrick Studios is offering a limited quantity of 2-month free trials for Apple’s ad-free gaming service, but availability is restricted. Here’s how you can secure yours.

#### Bluey Meets Fruit Ninja

Among the most legendary iOS games ever, Fruit Ninja, features prominently in [Apple Arcade](https://apps.apple.com/arcade/subscribe?itscg=30200&itsct=arcade_box_subscribe) with an ad-free version named [Fruit Ninja Classic+](https://apple.co/4lCJXG9). At present, there’s a Bluey [crossover event](https://www.bluey.tv/blog/bluey-is-taking-over-fruit-ninja/) taking place until September 19:

> “The Bluey event introduces four exciting activities – Featherwand, Sticky Gecko, Asparagus, and Fruit Salad – being released from June through August. Whether you’re engaging with Bingo and her Featherwand or aiding Bluey in catching Gecky off the ceiling, each activity offers plenty of thrills and special rewards for players of every age.”

To support the [event](https://www.halfbrick.com/applearcade/bluey-x-fruit-ninja-classic-apple-arcade-promotion), Halfbrick is providing up to 2 months of [Apple Arcade](https://apps.apple.com/arcade/subscribe?itscg=30200&itsct=arcade_box_subscribe) for free. This offer is accessible to users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, the U.S., and the U.K.

Simply navigate to [Halfbrick’s special page](https://www.halfbrick.com/applearcade/bluey-x-fruit-ninja-classic-apple-arcade-promotion), enter your name and email, and you should receive a code within 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve previously subscribed to Apple Arcade, you will still receive 1 complimentary month instead of 2.

Apple Arcade

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The Most Lethal Tornado in American History: A Comprehensive Narrative

tornadoes with drones for monitoring hurricane trajectories, our efforts to comprehend weather patterns are ongoing. This pursuit is driven by a long-standing chronology of catastrophic weather occurrences that have devastated communities and resulted in numerous fatalities. March 18, 2025, commemorates the centennial of a notable tragedy: the Tri-State Tornado.

The Tri-State Tornado endured for three and a half hours, navigating at speeds reaching up to 73 mph across 13 counties in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. At times, its width extended to a mile, inflicting damage over 219 miles and classified as an F5 tornado — the maximum level on the original Fujita scale — with wind velocities ranging from 261 to 318 mph.

This tornado is recognized as the deadliest in U.S. history. It claimed the lives of 695 individuals and caused injuries to 2,027 others. It annihilated nearly every community in its path, leading to the destruction of 15,000 homes. The estimated property damage would equivalent to $3 billion today.

The trajectory of the Tri-State Tornado

How the Galaxy S26 Edge Might Tackle the iPhone 17 Air’s Significant Challenge

iPhone 17 series is expected to introduce Apple’s inaugural ultra-slim iPhone model, a device we’re referring to as the iPhone 17 Air. Leaks suggest that this phone will be just 5.5 mm in thickness, making it slimmer than Samsung’s newly launched Galaxy S25 Edge, which is 5.8 mm.

Apple is likely to make several trade-offs to produce an ultra-thin iPhone 17 this year. This includes reducing the number of camera lenses to one on the rear, eliminating the physical SIM tray in favor of eSIM functionality, and incorporating a significantly smaller battery pack within the iPhone 17 Air compared to its counterparts. While these drawbacks are not all confirmed, the battery size reduction seems plausible. Many iPhone customers eager to buy an ultra-thin model are already concerned about battery performance.

Recent information from China suggests that the iPhone 17 Air will be equipped with a 2,800 mAh battery, which is considerably less than the Galaxy S25 Edge’s 3,900 mAh battery. Apple will need to take measures to ensure the device still provides satisfactory battery life. The Air will include more efficient components than the iPhone 16 series, and Apple plans to utilize AI capabilities in iOS 26 to minimize battery consumption. We will need to wait for practical evaluations to determine the battery longevity of the iPhone 17 Air, but concerns regarding battery life are justified for this design.

Nonetheless, major battery enhancements might be on the horizon if a prominent Samsung insider’s claims are accurate. As per @UniverseIce on X, the Galaxy S26 Edge will feature an even slimmer design alongside a new battery technology.

Concerns about battery life for Galaxy S26 Edge and iPhone 17 Air

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Alphabet Exceeds Predictions with Enhanced Expenditure and Notable Cloud Revenue Expansion in Q2 2025 Earnings

Google’s parent firm, Alphabet, plans to elevate its capital investments to $85 billion by 2025, showcasing its dedication to enhancing its technological framework and expertise. This move occurs against a backdrop of notable financial progression, as indicated in Alphabet’s Q2 2025 earnings report. The company saw a 14% increase in revenue year-over-year, reaching $96.4 billion, with operating income also rising by the same percentage to $31.27 billion. Net income exhibited an even more remarkable 19% rise, totaling $28.19 billion.

CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized the organization’s leadership in AI, pointing out its beneficial effects across various business sectors, including Google Search, YouTube, and subscription services. Innovations driven by AI, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, have played a role in fostering double-digit revenue growth within search operations. YouTube and Google Cloud also delivered strong results, with the latter achieving an impressive 32% revenue growth to $13.6 billion.

In spite of these accomplishments, Alphabet’s stock fell by 2% after the earnings report, which outperformed analyst forecasts. This response may be linked to the substantial planned rise in capital expenditures. Analysts had predicted total revenue at $94 billion, with Alphabet surpassing these estimates.

The company’s strategic alliances, including the partnership with OpenAI for Google Cloud services, further highlight its commitment to broadening its AI and cloud capabilities. This collaboration is anticipated to boost the operational efficiency of AI tools like ChatGPT across diverse regions.

Overall, Alphabet’s rise in capital expenditure indicates a strong investment in future growth, especially in AI and cloud services, positioning the firm to sustain its competitive advantage in the technology sector.

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Trump’s AI Strategy: US to Ease Regulations on AI and Enhance Exports

The administration is concentrating on “winning the race” to advance AI.

What you must understand

– The Trump administration today unveiled “America’s AI Action Plan,” detailing over 90 policy objectives aimed at enhancing U.S. AI innovation.
– The policy initiatives aim to minimize bureaucracy for AI infrastructure development, remove mentions of DEI and “ideological bias,” and regulate exports.
– The AI Action Plan represents a significant shift from Biden-era regulations, which sought to limit AI misinformation and consider climate effects of infrastructure development.

AI advancement in the U.S. is on the verge of transformation. The Trump administration today presented its AI Action Plan, a 23-page document outlining more than 90 policy measures related to AI set to be executed within the coming year. The document, subtitled “winning the race,” eliminates regulations and policies deemed by the administration as hindering AI innovation in the nation.

Michael Kratsios, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, informed NPR that the Trump administration will collaborate with the AI sector and others to refine the specifics. Kratsios likened the Biden-era regulations to European Commission technology rules, stating, “we cannot afford to adopt Europe’s innovation-stifling regulatory model.”

U.S. President Trump asserted in the plan that “it is a national security imperative for the United States to attain and sustain unquestioned and unchallenged global technological supremacy.” This involves leveraging “the full power of American innovation,” according to the President, which is why the AI Action Plan intends to significantly reduce regulations surrounding AI research and development.

How the Trump administration intends to transform national AI development

The strategy encompasses three pillars: innovation, infrastructure, and international diplomacy and security.

The first pillar consists of policy suggestions designed to bolster AI development, such as endorsing AI implementation in the federal government and promoting open-source model creation. It also seeks to amend the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) AI Risk Management Framework to “remove references to misinformation, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and climate change.”

The government intends to assess LLMs to “ensure that their systems remain unbiased and free from top-down ideological influences.” The criteria for this evaluation are not yet clear, but the Trump administration will not award government contracts to firms failing to meet this ambiguous standard.

Moreover, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education will focus on advancing AI skills to “empower American workers in the age of AI.”

The second pillar emphasizes bolstering AI infrastructure in the U.S., streamlining permits for AI data centers, and alleviating or eliminating climate-related restrictions. Specifically, the Trump administration aims to simplify or diminish regulations enforced by the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, alongside other environmental standards mandated by federal law.

An aspect of the infrastructure pillar includes enhancing and stabilizing the U.S. electrical grid, fortifying the nation’s cybersecurity defenses, and establishing AI incident response plans at the federal tier.

Finally, the international diplomacy and security pillar will augment U.S. exports of AI and technology to its allies while tightening export controls on “countries of concern.” Funding from the Development Finance Corporation and Export-Import Bank will be utilized to create AI export packages for “countries willing to align with America’s AI alliance.”

For nations considered a concern by the Trump administration, strict enforcement of export controls for technology vital for semiconductor manufacturing will be pursued. The administration will simultaneously elevate export control requirements beyond key systems necessary for fabrication, extending to include component sub-systems. From there, the federal government plans to oversee and enforce these regulations on foreign exports.

“This would entail monitoring emerging technology advancements in AI computing to ensure comprehensive coverage of potential countries or regions where chips may be diverted,” the plan clarifies. “This enhanced monitoring could then be leveraged to expand and enhance end-use monitoring in nations where there is a heightened risk of diversion of advanced, U.S.-origin AI compute.”

What this signifies for AI development in the U.S.

Under the existing Biden-era regulations, AI development must adhere to standards aimed at mitigating the risk of misinformation and controlling the climate effects of AI infrastructure expansion. The proposed AI Action Plan from the Trump administration seeks to overturn many of these policies. It believes that alleviating red tape will foster AI innovation in the U.S., as stated by Kratsios.

At present, this plan comprises policy objectives that the federal government wishes to enact with “immediate execution.” However, they will not be implemented right away. The initial phase of changes may emerge through executive orders issued by President Trump imminently, though others might require more time.

It is also conceivable that certain elements of the AI Action Plan could encounter legal obstacles, particularly those addressing DEI and ideological bias. The measures could be challenged as content-based discrimination, as noted by UC San Francisco School of Law professor Rory Little speaking to Yahoo Finance. Nonetheless, experts, including Little, believe AI firms vying for government contracts may comply with the Trump administration’s requests even if they are illegal.

For the time being, we will have

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iOS 16 Brings Improved Functionality in Messages to Address Phishing Scams

### Improvements in iOS 26 Messages Application: Emphasis on Phishing Defense

Phishing schemes remain a considerable risk to users, especially those who may lack technological knowledge. Acknowledging this weakness, Apple has rolled out remarkable features in the Messages application with the launch of iOS 26, designed to bolster user protection against such threats.

#### New Message Organization

The Messages application now divides discussions into four unique categories: Messages, Unknown Senders, Spam, and Recently Deleted. This classification is available via a filter button situated in the upper right corner of the application.

– **Messages**: This category encompasses standard chats with known contacts, along with significant alerts such as verification codes and booking confirmations.
– **Unknown Senders**: This filter holds messages from contacts not stored in the user’s address book, and these messages do not activate notifications.
– **Spam**: This folder includes messages marked as likely spam, also devoid of notifications.
– **Recently Deleted**: A section for messages that have been erased but remain recoverable.

Users can independently manage filtering for Unknown Senders and Spam through the ‘Manage Filtering’ feature.

#### Enhanced Safety Features Against Phishing

Apple has established two essential limitations for messages classified as Spam, significantly minimizing the chance of succumbing to phishing efforts:

1. **Disabled Links**: Any hyperlinks or phone numbers within spam messages are rendered non-tappable. This feature blocks users from unintentionally visiting harmful websites or calling fraudulent numbers with a simple tap.

2. **No Replies Permitted**: Users are unable to respond to messages in the Spam folder, dissuading interaction with potential scammers. While users can transfer messages back to the main view, this additional step creates a barrier that may aid in preventing inadvertent engagement.

#### Additional Features in iOS 26 Messages

Aside from phishing defense, the Messages application in iOS 26 brings several new capabilities:

– **Polls**: Users can initiate polls within discussions, with Apple Intelligence providing suggestions based on the chat’s context.
– **Typing Indicators**: Group conversations now include typing indicators, improving the communication experience.
– **Custom Chat Backgrounds**: Users have the option to customize their chat backgrounds by choosing images from their photo library or creating new ones using the Image Playground feature.

### Conclusion

The enhancements in the iOS 26 Messages application demonstrate Apple’s dedication to user protection, particularly in the fight against phishing schemes. By organizing messages and enforcing limitations on spam communications, Apple seeks to establish a more secure messaging landscape for all users, regardless of their technical proficiency.

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New Updates in iOS 26 Beta 4: A Sneak Peek Ahead of the Initial Public Beta

With the launch of iOS 26 beta 4, Apple persists in implementing significant modifications to its upcoming software upgrade. As we approach the release of the first iOS 26 public beta, the company aims to ensure that users enjoy the experience it has planned for the most crucial iOS update since iOS 7.

That said, there are several key alterations in iOS 26 beta 4, alongside the usual bug fixes, general stability enhancements, and battery optimizations. Following multiple bugs in iOS 18 and the prolonged rollout of Apple Intelligence features during the last update cycle, it’s natural for the company to strive for iOS 26 to be as refined and comprehensive as possible.

With an official launch still anticipated later this autumn, here are the crucial updates Apple has introduced in iOS 26 developer beta 4, and what iPhone users can expect when they experience the public beta upon its eventual release.

Liquid Glass enhancements: Apple has continued its exploration of Liquid Glass in the latest beta. Now, the menu bars in the company’s default apps exhibit increased transparency. To enhance readability, the Lock Screen becomes darker whenever a notification is received. It remains uncertain if this will be Apple’s final major adjustment to the aesthetic of Liquid Glass.

Notification Summaries: Apple is reinstating the contentious Notification Summaries feature. Still in beta, the company eliminated it in January due to inaccuracies in summarizing headlines. Now, if you opt to summarize news, Apple cautions that the feature “may alter the meaning of the original headlines” and advises users to verify the information.

Call Screening: The Screen Unknown Callers feature now provides additional options, including the ability to deactivate it, inquire unknown callers about their reason for calling, mute unknown numbers, or redirect unknown callers to voicemail.

Dynamic wallpapers: The new wallpapers in iOS 26 are now dynamic and shift colors throughout the day, enhancing their vibrancy.

Overall adjustments: iOS 26 beta 4 also brings a variety of other modifications to the software, including updated Camera and Mail app icons, a new action for sliding back and forth in the Camera app, and several changes in the Settings app.

BGR will continue to report on the latest features of iOS 26 as we uncover more details.

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Apple TV+ Creating Documentary About Ben Stiller’s Parents

Apple TV+ is set to highlight a cherished Hollywood family in an upcoming documentary directed by Ben Stiller, known for “Severance” and an Emmy award.

Called “Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost,” the documentary will provide an intimate glimpse into the lives of Stiller’s renowned parents — comedy legends Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara — and their enduring impact on American culture as well as their family. Interestingly, this project represents a unique creative pivot for their son, typically seen behind the camera for a prominent Apple TV+ drama. However, this time, he is taking a personal approach to the narrative.

Apple has announced that the documentary will premiere in theaters on October 17 and will subsequently be available for global streaming on Apple TV+ starting October 24. Stiller remarked in a statement that the film is “very personal,” emphasizing it is a “great honor to celebrate my parents, both as I experienced them in my youth and as I’ve gained new insights into them during the production of this film.”

Stiller pays tribute to his parents in heartfelt new Apple TV+ documentary