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 OpenAI today said it is "pausing" activities involving its upcoming AI model Astra, because its cyber capabilities are potentially too dangerous. OpenAI says its newest internal evaluations show "significant advancements in agentic coding and cybersecurity," and it cannot rule out "critical cyber capabilities." Prior OpenAI models, including GPT-5.6 Sol, were labeled as "High."
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 Some of the best Apple deals of the summer arrived this week, including the AirPods Pro 3 for $189.99, up to $500 off select MacBook Pro models, and the lowest iPad Air prices since Apple's price hike. Additionally, you'll find a solid offer on the MacBook Neo at Best Buy this weekend.
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Demis Hassabis, the driving force behind Google DeepMind, is ascending to the role of chief scientist at Alphabet, Google's parent company, replacing Jeff Dean who is leaving to work at a start-up.
The role will enable Hassabis to "put his full attention on actively shaping the future of AGI," or artificial general intelligence, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai wrote on the company's Inside Google blog.
Hassabis' attention will still be divided, however: He will continue to lead research at Google spin-off Isomorphic Labs, which works on drug discovery, and although he will no longer be CEO of DeepMind, he will be its chair. Koray Kavukcuoglu will take over DeepMind, reporting directly to Pichai. He is currently its CTO.
Hassabis has been a strong promoter of AGI, defined by Google as the "hypothetical intelligence of a machine that possesses the ability to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can."
He has a long career in AI, having helped found DeepMind in 2010. He has been a prominent figure in the AGI field, prophesying in May that it will be a viable technology within three years. He has been keen to tackle any barriers in the way of developing the technology; just last month,
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The iPhone Air reaches one year on sale next month, and Apple is now closer to launching its successor than it is to the original's debut. On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss what's next for the device.
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 Apple's software engineers are internally testing iOS 26.6.1, according to the MacRumors visitor logs.
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 The iPhone 18 Pro, ?iPhone 18 Pro? Max, and foldable "iPhone Ultra" could be in short supply this year, leading to long wait times and an initial sellout during preorders.
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 Best Buy is still hosting its big Back to School sale this week, with notable markdowns on Apple devices, TVs, headphones, monitors, and much more. This event is set to last for the rest of this week, and you don't need to be a My Best Buy Plus or Total member to see the deals.
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 Apple Card users now have a new benefit available to them at Booking.com, with users automatically being upgraded to Genius Level 2 after completing just one eligible stay or car rental rather than the usual standard of five bookings within a two-year period.
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 U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer has teamed up with several of his Senate colleagues to demand Apple commit to not purchasing chips from Chinese companies ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) or Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC). [PDF]
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