Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn MorePerplexity has launched an aggressive bid to capture the enterprise AI search market, unveiling Sonar, an API service that outperforms offerings from Google, OpenAI and Anthropic on key benchmarks while also undercutting their prices.The move signals a significant shift in the AI landscape, as Perplexity now valued at $9 billion directly challenges larger competitors by making its real-time, web-connected search capabilities available to developers and enterprises.The companys dual-tier strategy offering both a lightweight Sonar service and a more robust Sonar Pro version targets different segments of the growing AI integration market.Perplexitys Sonar Pro outperforms major AI competitors in the SimpleQA benchmark, which measures response accuracy. (Credit: Perplexity)Sonars real-time advantage: Bringing fresh data to enterprisesZoom has already integrated Sonar into its AI Companion 2.0 product, allowing users to access real-time information without leaving video conferences a capability that could reshape how businesses conduct remote meetings and research.The pricing structure appears to be designed to disrupt the market. Sonars base tier costs $5 per 1,000 searches plus minimal token fees, while Sonar Pro, despite higher token costs, offers doubled citation density and multi-search capabilities for complex queries.What sets Sonar apart is its real-time web connection, a feature absent in many competing APIs that rely solely on training data. This approach could prove particularly valuable for enterprises requiring current information, although it may face challenges in applications requiring deterministic outputs.Perplexitys two-tier API offering shows the feature differences between Sonar Pro (left) and the base Sonar service (right), with Pro featuring enhanced citation capability and support for complex queries. (Credit: Perplexity)Disruptive pricing: Affordable AI search for the enterprise marketThe launch comes at a pivotal moment in the AI industry, when companies are increasingly seeking ways to integrate AI search capabilities into their products. With recent benchmarks showing Sonar Pro achieving an 85.8 F-score on the SimpleQA benchmark significantly outperforming GPT-4o and Claude Perplexity appears positioned to capitalize on growing enterprise demand for accurate, citation-backed AI responses.The timing of this launch comes as Perplexity demonstrates significant market momentum, having just secured a $500 million funding round led by Institutional Venture Partners, which valued the company at $9 billion. This strategy could prove particularly effective as enterprises increasingly prioritize AI tools that provide verifiable, current information over black-box solutions.For technical decision makers, Sonars launch represents a new option in the AI toolkit, particularly for applications requiring real-time information access and citation tracking. However, the true test will be whether Perplexity can maintain its performance edge and pricing advantage as larger competitors inevitably adjust their strategies.Daily insights on business use cases with VB DailyIf you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI.Read our Privacy PolicyThanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here.An error occured.

Bambu Lab, the company behind my favorite 3D printers, has given itself one hell of a week. Now, Ive got answers to some of my burning questions, answers which you might also hopefully appreciate. But first, some backstory.Since last Thursday, some creators have pledged not to buy Bambu printers anymore, even removed some of their 3D models from its online repository, after the company revealed it would add a new proprietary authentication mechanism that could keep you from using third-party tools to remote control your printer. While youd still be able to stick a file on an SD card and physically put it into your printer or use Bambus proprietary cloud, the old way of printing remotely from a third-party slicer would be no more unless you downloaded a new proprietary Windows and Mac Bambu Connect desktop app to be the middleman between your slicer and Bambus hardware.Unauthorized third-party software will be prohibited from executing critical operations BambuWhile Bambu was clear early on that this would be an optional update, one you could simply choose not to install, the company also positioned it as a necessary one to secure printers against remote hacks. Some owners immediately saw that as a potential bridge to enshittification, however.They noted how Bambu printers can already detect if youre using an official roll of filament and imagined a future where Bambu can keep you from using third-party filament at all. They noted how Bambu already seems to be planning a subscription service for its print farm software, one that requires regular cloud activations and imagined a future where your Bambu printer stops working if you dont pay up. Bambu has denied these and many other such fears in a subsequent setting the record straight blog post, and explained that its new tool doesnt require internet access or a user account and has also backpedaled very slightly, pledging to offer an at-your-own-risk Developer Mode that maintains local access to your printer without any new proprietary authentication at all. Unfortunately, that mode may also disable your ability to access your printer via the cloud. Meanwhile, Bambu didnt do itself any favors by keeping people from using the Wayback Machine to scrutinize its changing statements, by allegedly censoring criticism of the company on its subreddit, and by claiming that the developer of Orca Slicer was working with Bambu on a seamless way to continue to print directly from his popular third-party slicer when they had not actually pledged their support. It has also not helped confidence that Bambus own security around its new Bambu Connect app is such that hackers have already extracted its private key and authentication certificate, or that users have discovered that Bambu gives itself the right to block new print jobs until a printer has finished automatically downloading firmware updates in its Terms of Use.Anyhow, I think the real question here is: are these changes a stepping stone to more enshittification, or at least more of a walled garden, or not? Here are the questions I sent Bambu and the answers I got, via spokesperson Nadia Yaakoubi:1) Will Bambu publicly commit to never requiring a subscription in order to control its printers and print from them over a home network?For our current product line, yes. We will never require a subscription to control or print from our printers over a home network. However, there might be specific business scenarios in the future that require exceptions, i.e a 3DP vending machine, but these would apply to entirely different applications and customer needs. If such a product line is introduced, we will clearly communicate this before its launch.1b) If not, why not?N/A.1c) Will Bambu publicly commit to never putting any existing printer functionality behind a subscription?Yes.2) Will Bambu publicly commit to never restricting the use of third-party filament in any way, shape, or form?For our current product line, yes. We have no plans to restrict the use of third-party filament in any way.3) Will Bambu publicly commit to never monitor files and prints transmitted between users and their printers over a home network?Lets be clear about how this works:LAN mode: Nothing is transmitted through our servers.Cloud mode: Users control their privacy through incognito printing. When enabled, no print history is recorded, and files are not stored in the cloud.Cloud features: For features like re-printing, files are temporarily stored in the cloud to allow users to access their print history. Under no circumstances do we look into the print file/model without the explicit consent of our customers.Bambu has additionally agreed to add a new Developer mode. Some users are concerned that this move is just temporary and that Bambu can simply remove the developer mode and claim that it was too much of a security risk or say that not enough users opted to use it to justify keeping it around. 4) Will Bambu publicly commit to permanently keep the Developer mode with local MQTT, livestream and FTP and never remove it in any future update or shipping batch ofthe X1, P1, A1, and A1 Mini?Yes. However, if a severe security issue arises in the future, we may need to make adjustments to address it. Users can always choose whether to update their printer firmware or not.5) Will Bambu publicly commit to offering and keeping the local Developer mode available in any future printers it releases?We cannot commit to features for non-existent future printers.However, we will clearly communicate all relevant details before customers make their purchase decisions.6) Will Bambu publicly commit to its current and future printers permanently being remotely controllable over LAN without user account or Internet access?For current models: Yes. For future products, while we aim to retain this functionality, we believe committing to a specific technical approach indefinitely is not responsible. However, we will clearly communicate all relevant details before customers make their purchase decisions.Bambu has announced that Bambu Connect will integrate with third-party slicers like Orca, but some users are confused why an app like Bambu Connect is required at all when you could instead add more secure authentication to the printer itself, with industry standard practices like having the printer generate a secure token/API key instead of creating a proprietary middleman authentication app.7) Did Bambu consider and reject interoperable ways of securing its printers, like tokens?Yes.7b) Will Bambu commit to changing its authentication system to an interoperable one? If Bambu did reject interoperable secure authentication systems, why?If software communicates and interacts with our cloud system, it is reasonable for us to have a say in how it operates. As highlightedin our blog post, unauthorized third-party software has created ongoing challenges to the stability of our cloud services and machines for a long time. While we trust that most developers act with good intentions, users are often unaware of the hidden complexities within such software and the security requirements. This lack of transparency of all software makes interoperable secure authentication systems insufficient to fully resolve these issues. Our goal is to safeguard the entire Bambu Lab product ecosystem, providing every user with confidence that our products are secure and easy to usefree from concerns about complex network configurations. And with the changes done, we are one step closer to integrate third-party access in a secure way.8) Is it true that the developer of Orca Slicer was not actually working with Bambu on the integration and that Bambu announced their involvement without approval?We have been in ongoing discussions with SoftFever, the developer of Orca Slicer, since January 14 regarding the firmware update and potential integration into the new release. Work with might be ambiguous. To be more specific, messages were exchanged, files were sent, and their receipt was confirmed along with an indication that they would be reviewed.9) Will Panda Touch and similar accessories continue to work under Developer Mode?We guarantee keeping the port/channel open, but implementations are up to third-party developers.9b) Is Bambu answering that companys questions?Since the release, we have received many inquiries from third-party software developers, including BigTreeTech, viadevpartners@bambulab.com. We are currently in the process of finalizing our response. Its worth noting that we warned third party developers in ablog postfrom March 2024:If youre developing a device that controls the entire printer, including heating elements and motion systems, please do not expect long-term support unless it has been approved by us in advance. This is especially applicable to for-profit organizations.10) Will you allow users to roll back to the old firmware, for reasons like if they accidentally upgrade without understanding the limitations?Yes. Firmware rollback was and always will be available.11) Does the private key leaking change any of your plans?No, this doesnt change our plans, and weve taken immediate action.

On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump issued a pardon to Ross Ulbricht, who ran the dark web marketplace Silk Road under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts. Ulbricht has been serving a life sentence without parole since 2015, when he was convicted of multiple charges, including the distribution of narcotics.The Silk Road marketplace, which was only accessible through the Tor network, became one of the most prevalent early commercial uses of Bitcoin. Buyers and sellers traded in illicit drugs, forged passports, and more. In the intervening years, Ulbricht became a cause celebr for a certain segment of the right-wing, particularly in the crypto crowd that embraced Trump last year. To his supporters, Ulbrichts life sentence is unusually punitive. Similar offenses have garnered much more lenient sentences for instance, Blake Benthall, who operated Silk Road 2.0, was sentenced to time served and three years of probation. Ulbrichts lieutenant, Thomas Clark, also known as Variety Jones, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year. Although the criminal offenses were nonviolent in nature, the judge who sentenced Ulbricht took into account multiple deaths attributable to drugs bought through the Silk Road. Throughout his trial, Ulbricht denied that he had committed the crimes at issue. Because law enforcement had arrested him with his laptop open, they had access to all his files, which included the code of the website, private messages between him and employees of the Silk Road, and a diary whose entries corresponded to OKCupid messages tied to Ross Ulbrichts real identity.

LatestMachine LearningFine-Tuning LLMs with Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) 0 like January 21, 2025Share this postAuthor(s): Ganesh Bajaj Originally published on Towards AI. This member-only story is on us. Upgrade to access all of Medium.Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) allows LLMs to learn directly from the feedback received on its own response generation. . By including human preferences into the training process, RLHF enables the development of LLMs which are more aligned with user needs and values.This article is about the core concepts of RLHF, its implementation steps, challenges, and advanced techniques like Constitutional AI.Image Taken from Deeplearning.ai: Generative AI with LLM courseAgent: LLM acts as the agent whose job is to generate text. Its objective is to maximize alignment of its generation with human preferences like like helpfulness, accuracy, relevance, and non-toxic.Environment: The environment is the LLMs context window the space in which text can be entered via a prompt.State: The state is the current context within the context window which model considers to generate next token/action. It includes the prompt and the text generated up to the current point.Action: The LLMs action is generating a single token (word, sub-word, or character) from its vocabulary.Action Space: The action space comprises the entire vocabulary of the LLM. The LLM chooses the next token to generate from this vocabulary. The size of Read the full blog for free on Medium.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

How AI is Transforming Evaluation Practices 0 like January 21, 2025Share this postAuthor(s): Mirko Peters Originally published on Towards AI. This post explores the transformative effects of advanced data integration and AI technologies in evaluation processes within the public sector, emphasizing the potential, challenges, and future implications of these innovations.This member-only story is on us. Upgrade to access all of Medium.Source: Data & Analytics YouTube ChannelWhen I first stumbled upon the complexities of blending diverse data sources, I felt like I was trying to solve a puzzle where pieces came from entirely different sets. This revelation led me down a fascinating path exploring how todays technology reshapes our understanding of massive, intertwined data landscapes. As I dived deeper, I realized that this wasnt just about managing data; it was about transforming how we evaluate public policies and services in a digitally driven age. This post unpacks the integral role of AI, machine learning, and other tech advancements in honing our evaluation practices.Source: Mirko Peters Challenges in Data Integration [Napkin.AI]When I think about the challenges we face in the realm of data, a vivid image comes to mind: a jigsaw puzzle scattered across a table. Each piece represents a different type of data. Some are traditional databases, while others emerge from social media, online surveys, and various digital sources. The task at hand is clear: we must find a way to fit these pieces together to see the whole picture.The integration of data is not just about quantity; its Read the full blog for free on Medium.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

It's a glorious hump day of hot discounts galore. Cases in points: great prices for Bravely Default II, Tekken 8, and Miles Morales Ultimate. I also have a lot of time for The Surge going for a mere 3 bucks on Xbox. Pretty great sci-fi Soulslike, so absolutely sacrifice the price of a coffee for a play of it.In retro news, it's been 16 years since we (repeatedly and hilariously) flung ourselves down hills and into the Hall of Meat in Skate 2. This second entry in the series was a pretty phenomenal upgrade over the OG and cemented the franchise as a proper threat to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater empire. Needless to say, I'm still jonesing mighty hard for the 'Skate 4' spiritual successor/F2P reimagining. This Day in Gaming Aussie birthdays for notable games.- Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (GB) 1999. eBay- Skate 2 (PS3,X360) 2009. eBay- Trauma Center: New Blood (Wii) 2009. eBayTable of ContentsNintendo SwitchPCXboxPlayStationLEGONice Savings for Nintendo SwitchYooka-Laylee (-80%) - A$6.50Hot Wheels Unleashed (-85%) - A$8.24Sonic X Shadow Generations (-14%) - A$69Namco Museum (-80%) - A$7.80Expiring Recent DealsDKC Returns HD (-20%) - A$64NBA 2K25 (-57%) - A$30Shadow of the Ninja - Reborn (-30%) - A$34Iconoclasts (-75%) - A$7.49Pac-Man World Re-Pac (-80%) - A$11.99LEGO City Undercover (-61%) - A$39Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.Switch Console PricesHow much to Switch it up?Back to topPurchase Cheap for PCHalo MC Collection (-75%) - A$14.98Total War: Three Kingdoms (-70%) - A$27.44FC 25 (-60%) - A$43.98Forza Horizon 5 (-50%) - A$44.97Halo Wars: DE (-75%) - A$7.48Manor Lords (-30%) - A$41.99Expiring Recent DealsCorsair Scimitar Elite (-22%) - A$109Metro Awakening (-30%) - A$41.96AC Directors (-75%) - A$3.73AC II (-75%) - A$3.73AC Brotherhood (-75%) - A$5.73Assassins Creed Mega Bndl (-73%) - A$209.10Or just get a Steam Wallet CardPC Hardware PricesSlay your pile of shame.Back to topExciting Bargains for XboxSniper Elite 5 (-57%) - A$38.72Tekken 8 (-33%) - A$79.95The Crew Motorfest CG (-70%) - A$32.98Watch Dogs 2 Gold (-85%) - A$16.49The Surge (-85%) - A$3.36Expiring Recent DealsSuicide Squad: KTJL (-73%) - A$32F1 24 (-80%) - A$21.99Logitech G920 wheel (27%) - A$399.95Spyro Reignited Trilogy (-36%) - A$45Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (-81%) - A$19Or just invest in an Xbox Card.Xbox Console PricesHow many bucks for a 'Box?Back to topPure Scores for PlayStationAstro Bot (-19%) - A$89Spidey Miles Morales Ult. (-45%) - A$69The First Berserker: Khazan (-11%) - A$89Cocoon (-58%) - A$25Star Wars Outlaws (-36%) - A$69LEGO DC Super-Villains Del. (-92%) - A$8.79Persona 5 (-85%) - A$12.74Mortal Kombat XL (-88%) - A$8.39Expiring Recent DealsDynasty Warriors: Origins (-16%) - A$96Split Fiction (-16%) - A$59Blasphemous (-80%) - A$7.59Control Ultimate Ed. (-27%) - A$44.95Sackboy: A Big Adventure (-28%) - A$79Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (-50%) - A$62.47Injustice 2 Leg. (-90%) - A$7.79PS+ Monthly FreebiesYours to keep from Jan 7 with this subscriptionSuicide Squad: KTJL [PS5]NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered [PS4]The Stanley Parable: Ultra [PS4/5]Or purchase a PS Store Card.What you'll pay to 'Station.Back to topLegit LEGO DealsSonic: Tails Workshop and Tornado (-37%) - A$73.94Marvel: Electro Dinosaur Chase (-34%) - A$29.99Star Wars: Mandalorian Ambush (-34%) - A$23Expiring Recent DealsStar Wars: Onyx Cinder (-31%) - A$159 City: Tow Truck / Sports Car (-27%) - A$22Wicked: Emerald City (-24%) - A$129Back to top Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube.

At the beginning of the year, we saw Amazon post a recently released 27" AOC Q27G4ZD gaming monitor, featuring a QD-OLED display, 2560x1440 resolution, and 240Hz refresh rate, all for just $470. It did sell out quickly, but it's back today at an even lower price. This is the best price we've seen on a true OLED gaming monitor, even during Black Friday or Cyber Monday. AOC, a Taiwanese brand, is one of the biggest sellers of gaming monitors globally.27" AOC 1440p 240Hz QD-OLED Monitor for $429.19New Release.27" AOC 1440p 240Hz QD-OLED Gaming MonitorThe AOC Q27G4ZD is a 27" 2560x1440 or QHD resolution monitor, which offers a respectable 108ppi pixel density. It also features a 240Hz refresh rate, which should be more than enough for most FPS gamers, and it's certified G-Sync compatible. The Q27G4ZD uses a Samsung quantum dot OLED panel, which is brighter than traditional OLED panels while maintaining the same incredible black levels, color range, and near instantaneous response times that OLEDs are known for. According to the spec sheet, it is HDR True Black 400 certified and boasts a 110% DCI-P3 / 148% sRGB color range.Connectivity wise, the AW2725QF has two HDMI 2.0 ports that two DisplayPort 1.4 ports. It also has built-in speakers for the times you don't need a headset. AOC includes a 3 year warranty with a zero bright pixel guarantee.We haven't yet reviewed this monitor ourselves, so we can't yet compare it to the other best gaming monitors currently available. However, OLED is a tried and true technology that usually commands a premium price tag, and here's the best opportunity we've seen to get an OLED equipped monitor at a reasonable price.Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Today Apple pushed out the release candidate for iOS 18.3, this comes on the heels of last Thursdays release of iOS 18.3 developer beta 3. In its release notes, Apple states that the update brings improvements to Visual Intelligence, along with the boilerplate other enhancements, bug fixes, and security updates.But theres much more than meets the eye when it comes to this iOS 18.3 release candidate. Beneath the surface, theres new evidence of the upcoming iOS 18.4 Siri updates, future changes with screen recording/streaming, and new animations for Shortcuts and Messages. In this hands-on video, we take a look at whats new in iOS 18.3 RC. Be sure to subscribe to us on YouTube for more iOS Decoded.Whats new in iOS 18.3 Release CandidateiOS 18.3 RC ships with build number22D60and wasreleased to developers and public beta testers on January 21, 2025.On the outside, iOS 18.3 isnt as feature laden as previous releases, like iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2, but this is historically par for the course when it comes to x.3 iOS releases. That all being said, there are quite a few changes underneath the hood in iOS 18.3, and a fair share of user-facing updates as well.Visual IntelligenceA new feature for iPhone 16 users lets you add an event to the Calendar from a poster or flyer, and easily identify plants and animals. I tested both, and they both worked as expected.Notification SummaryArguably the biggest feature in iOS 18.3 was revealed last week with the updated Notification Summaries. Apple is now making it super-clear that the feature is a beta, and in order to avoid issues with so-called AI hallucinations, it disabled summaries for the entire News & Entertainment app category. Thats a pretty drastic step, but its necessary given the type of false headlines that the feature was generating for prominent news services like BBC News and the New York Times. For more details, be sure to watch our full roundup on iOS 18.3 beta 3:Calculator repeats the last mathematical operationThis feature appeared in previous iOS 18.3 betas, but its sure to be a hit once iOS 18.3 goes live to the public. Like you could with iOS releases prior to iOS 18, you can now continuously press the equals sign to repeat mathematic operations.New zoom transition in Shortcuts also being worked on for MessagesiOS 18.3 hints at new transition animations for Shortcuts and the Messages app. Watch the video embedded at the top of the page for a hands-on look at the new Zoom animation in action. Its a small, but nice change.Hints at Apple Intelligence in ShortcutsSo far Apple Intelligence has not been integrated with Shortcuts, but it look as if Apple is working on this integration according to new strings found in iOS 18.3 code.Upcoming screen recording / streaming featuresIts not yet live in iOS 18.3, but weve seen new details on upcoming screen recording and streaming features. In a future update users will be able to do the following:Record using stereo microphone audioDisplay a live camera overlay using picture-in-picture UIHave HDR support for screen recording9to5Macs TakeiOS 18.3, while not sporting headline features like the two previous big iOS updates, has quite a few significant changes. These include both user-facing features, and under-the-hood updates that hint at future iOS updates and hardware. Well be back next week with a full roundup of everything new once iOS 18.3 goes live to the public. In the meantime, share your thoughts below!Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Artificial Intelligence AgenciesThe CIA Is Quietly Using AI to Build Emulated Versions of World LeadersbyNoor Al-SibaiThat's one way to use chatbot technology.Jan 21, 4:16 PM ESTMikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesThat's one way to use chatbot technology.Spy FamilyThe Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been stepping up its efforts in the world of AI including an eyebrow-raising use of chatbot tech.As theNew York Timesreports, the CIA has been quietly developing a platform that lets analysts "talk" to foreign leaders,in a bid to predict how they might react in certain situations.The human variety of this type of behavior-predicting analysis has been the bread and butter of the agency's behind-the-scenes grunts for a very long time. Instead of painstakingly compiling "profiles" on world leaders based on public information and gathered intelligence, however, those analysts will engage in faux conversation with large language models (LLMs) trained on similar intelligence and information that's presumably being fed into its training data.TheNYT didn't say how formally the chatbot has been deployed, or who helped develop it. However, an interview with the CIA's first chief technology officer, ex-Pentagon AI czar Nand Mulchandani, reveals that its opacity is very much by design.Mulchadani, a Silicon Valley veteran, has a chart in his offices showing all the layers of approval it takes to get any private sector collaboration approved within the secretive agency. From handing issues with contracts to taking care of any project roadblocks, each step requires an incredible amount of bureaucracy and clandestine discussion hurdles that the CIA acknowledges are hindering its quest to keep up with innovation and China, America's main tech adversary.Training DayThe agency's now-CTO was, as theNYT notes, hired to help spearhead a forward-thinking sea change within the CIA. In the two-and-a-half years since he was brought on, Mulchadani has apparently made it easier for private companies to start working with the intelligence agency and reading between the lines, it seems he's held the hands of tech CEOs through the labyrinthine bureaucracy."The more we share about how we employ technology, how we procure technology, what were going to do with it, will make companies want to work with us and want to team with us more," explained Juliane Gallina, the deputy director of the CIA's digital innovation arm, in an interview with theNYT.According to Gallina, the agency is looking to declassify and "expose a little bit" of its secret technological sauce to help procure private sector contracts.There was no mention, however, of whether the public will be given a look behind the curtain of what their tax dollars are helping to fund.More on spies: Hackers Apparently Stole the FBI's Call Logs With Confidential InformantsShare This Article

The new star ofStar Wars could be ... Ryan Gosling?Thats the word fromThe Hollywood Reporter, which writes that Gosling is in negotiations to star in one of the many differentStar Wars movies that has been in development at Lucasfilm in recent years this one directed by Shawn Levy, and written by Jonathan Tropper.Gosling is coming off last summersvery entertaining but financially disappointing blockbusterThe Fall Guy.Levy recently directed Marvels 2024 massive blockbusterDeadpool & Wolverine.He has supposedly been developing thisStar Warsproject since 2022.FoxFoxloading...READ MORE: EveryStar WarsMovie, Ranked From Worst to BestTHRhad zero details about what LevysStar Wars will be about, beyond the fact that it is to be unconnected to the so-called Skywalker Saga and will be a stand-alone movie.It has now been five years and counting since the lastStar Wars feature hit theaters. That was 2019sStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.Since then, Lucasfilm has released onlyStar Wars television series on Disney+; most recently theGoonies-esque kids-in-space adventureSkeleton Crew.In the interim, the companydeveloped all sorts of different possibleStar Wars movies including projects from directors like Rian Johnson and Patty Jenkins but none have come to fruition. (The only one thats even gotten into production isThe Mandalorian and Grogu, a big-screen spinoff ofThe Mandalorian TV series.)Gosling certainly has the action/adventure chops for a Star Warsmovie, and hes also appeared in numerous high-profile franchise gigs, includingBlade Runner 2049 and, of course,Barbie.On the flip side, Star Wars tends to draw from more the ranks of up-and-coming actors rather than A-list names. The Sequel Trilogy centered on three young actors Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac with either fairly limited Hollywood experience or little mainstream name recognition. Ditto Alden Ehrenreich when he was chosen to play the young Han Solo. Evan Ewan McGregor was mostly known as an indie movie guy when he became Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequels.The nextStar Wars movie,The Mandalorian and Grogu, is currently scheduled to open in theaters on May 22, 2026.Get our free mobile appActors Who Were Wasted in Star Wars RolesThese wonderful stars have appeared in Star Wars movies and shows, but only in parts so small they left us disappointed.