As the GenAI hype cycle continues, there is a parallel discussion about the ways in which this technology will be misused and weaponized by threat actors. Initially, much of that discussion was speculation, some of it dire. As time went on, real-world examples emerged. Threat actors are leveraging deepfakes and threat analysts are sounding the alarm over more sophisticated phishing campaigns honed by GenAI.How is this technology being abused today, and what can enterprises leaders do as threat actors continue to leverage GenAI?Threat Actors and GenAI Use CasesIts hard not to get swept up in GenAI fever. Leaders in nearly every industry continue to hear about the alluring possibilities of innovation and productivity gains. But GenAI is a tool like any other that can be used for good or ill.Attackers are just as curious as we are. They want to see how far they can go with an LLM just like we can. Which GenAI models will allow them to produce malicious code? Which ones are going to let them do more? Which ones wont? Crystal Morin, cybersecurity strategist at Sysdig, a cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP), tells InformationWeek.Just as business use cases are in their early days, it appears to be the same for malicious intent.Related:While AI can be a useful tool for threat actors, it is not yet the game-changer it is sometimes portrayed to be, according to a new report from the Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG).GTIG noted that advanced persistent threat (APT) groups and information operations (IO) actors are both putting GenAI to work. It observed groups associated with China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia using Gemini.Threat actors use large language models (LLMs) in two ways, according to the report. They either use LLMs to drive more efficient attacks, or they give AI models instructions to take malicious action.GTIG saw threat actors using AI conduct various types of research and reconnaissance, create content, and troubleshoot code. Threat actors also attempted to use Gemini to abuse Google products and tried their hand at AI jailbreaks to bypass safety controls. Gemini restricted content that would enhance attackers malicious aims, and it generated safety responses to attempted jailbreaks, according to the report.One way threat actors are looking to misuse LLMs is by gaining unauthorized access via stolen credentials. The Sysdig Threat Research Team refers to this threat as LLMjacking. They may simply want to gain free access to an otherwise paid resource for relatively benign purposes, or they may be gaining access for more malicious reasons, like stealing information or using the LLM to enhance their campaigns.Related:This isn't like other abuse cases where [they] trigger an alert, and you can find the attacker and shut it down. It's not that simple, says Moring. There's not one detection analytic for LLMjacking. There are multiple things that you have to look for to trigger an alert.Counteracting GenAI MisuseAs threat actors continue to use GenAI, whether to improve tried and true tactics or eventually more in novel ways, what can be done in response?Threat actors are going to try to use any and all available platforms. What responsibility do companies offering GenAI platform have to monitor and counteract misuse and weaponization of their technology?Google, for example, has AI principles and policy guidelines that aim to address secure and safe use of its Gemini app. In its recent report, Google outlines how Gemini responded to various threat actor attempts to jailbreak the model and use it for nefarious purposes.Similarly, AWS has automated abuse detection mechanisms in place for Amazon Bedrock. Microsoft is taking legal action to disrupt malicious use of its Copilot AI.Related:From a consumer point of view, I think we'll find that there'll be a growing impetus for people to expect them to have secure applications and rightly so, says Carl Wearn, head of threat intelligence analysis and future ops at Mimecast.As time goes on, attackers will continue to probe these LLMs for vulnerabilities and ways to bypass their guardrails. Of course, there are a plethora of other GenAI platforms and tools available. And most threat actors look for the easiest means to their ends.DeepSeek has been dominating headlines not only for toppling OpenAI from its leadership position but also for its security risks. Enkrypt AI, an AI security platform, conducted red teaming research on the Chinese startups LLM and found the model to be highly biased and susceptible to generating insecure code, as well as producing harmful and toxic content, including hate speech, threats, self-harm, and explicit or criminal material.As enterprise leaders continue to utilize AI tools in their organizations, they will be tasked with recognizing and combatting potential misuse and weaponization. That will mean considering what platforms to use -- is the risk worth the benefit? -- and monitoring the GenAI tools they do use for misuse.To spot LLMjacking, Morin recommends looking for spikes in usage that are out of the ordinary, IPs from strange regions, or locations that are out of the ordinary for your organization, she says. Your security team will recognize what's normal and what's not normal for you.Business leaders will also have to consider the use of shadow AI.I think the biggest threat at the moment is going to be that potential insider threat from individuals searching unauthorized applications or even authorized ones but inputting potentially PII or personal data or confidential data that really shouldn't be entered into these models, says Wearn.Even businesses that abjure AI use internally will still face the prospect of attackers using GenAI to target them.Advancing GenAI CapabilitiesThreat actors may not yet be wielding GenAI for novel attacks, but it doesnt meant that future isnt coming. As they continue to experiment, their proficiency with the technology will grow and so will the possibility of adversarial innovation.I think attackers will be able to start customizing their own GenAIweaponizing it a little bit more. So, we're at the point now where I think we will start to see a little bit more of those scary attacks that we've been talking about for the last year or two, says Morin. But I think we're ready to combat those, too.

How do you cook your eggs?The Daniel Heighton Food Collection/AlamyCooking a perfect boiled egg takes at least half an hour, physicists have claimed, as they say the best method for a tasty and nutritious breakfast involves switching repeatedly between pans of different temperatures.As anyone who has ever struggled to get an egg to their liking will know, an even boil is difficult because the yolk and white cook at different temperatures. Cooking at a vigorous boil works for the white, which requires temperatures of 85C (185F) for optimum consistency, but can also result in a hard yolk, which only needs 65C (149F). Chefs have found immersing the egg in a water bath at a steady temperature of between 60C and 70C (140F and 158F) can lead to better cooked yolks, but this sous vide method also risks an undercooked white. AdvertisementNow, Ernesto Di Maio at the University of Naples, Italy, and his colleagues have found a better way to evenly boil an egg, by swapping it between boiling water and 30C (86F) water every two minutes for eight cycles, taking a total of 32 minutes.Many people have tasted [the egg cooked in this way], and they were amazed by the taste and the texture, says Di Maio. Yes, it takes more time than usual cooking, but I think if you love someone, you should invest your time to do something properly. This is how to properly do an egg.To develop this method, Maio and his team first created a model of how an egg cooks by calculating the way energy spreads from the shell to the centre over time, using two equations to describe this process. By solving these equations, they found that the best way to evenly cook it would be to alternate between two different temperatures, which allows the two parts to cook separately. The latest science news delivered to your inbox, every day.Sign up to newsletterThe many ways to cook an eggPellegrino Musto and Ernesto Di MaioAfter cooking eggs in this way, the team studied them using spectrometry and an MRI-like scanner. The researchers found that proteins in the egg yolk were less denatured and in the white they were more denatured, in each case meaning that part was better cooked, than in soft-boiled or sous vide eggs. They then asked people to try the eggs cooked with their method, and found that the egg white was slightly sweeter and the yolk was less sweet than in eggs cooked in other ways. They also found the whites texture was similar to a soft-boiled egg, while the yolk was more like a sous vide egg.The periodic egg also contained a higher amount of nutrients, such as antioxidants called polyphenols, compared with soft-boiled or sous vide eggs, though Di Maio and his team dont know why.Its fun and its good for a laugh, says Peter Barham at the University of Bristol, UK. Spending 30 minutes taking an egg in and out two different temperatures of water just to get it to cook slightly better than you would by others means where you can leave it alone is, shall we say, not very practical.Cooking food using alternately hot and cold environments isnt a new idea, says Herv This at AgroParisTech in France. It is not original, as it was proposed about one century ago for meat. It is also important to compare the eggs cooked in this way to eggs cooked sous vide at different temperatures, as this can dramatically change the cooked egg, he says.Journal reference:Communications Engineering DOI: 10.1038/s44172-024-00334-wArticle amended on 6 February 2025We have corrected the name of the journalTopics:

The Super Bowl has embraced creators as the NFL looks to expand the audience for the game.The league is bringing a host of creators to New Orleans and partnering with platforms like YouTube.Brands are also looking for new ways to include creators in their Super Bowl marketing.Influencers are everywhere at the Super Bowl this week as brands consider the game a key fixture of culture and entertainment.The NFL plans to host over 150 creators in New Orleans for the big game, from local names to international figures, Ad Age reported. YouTubers Kai Cenat and Darren Jason Watkins Jr., known online as IShowSpeed, are set to lead a flag football game with creators like Carter Kench and Matthew "MMG" Meagher and other big names on the Saturday before the main event,YouTube announced.The Super Bowl embraced content creators in a big way last year as part of a growing partnership between the NFL and YouTube. It came as YouTube started streaming the NFL's Sunday Ticket package in 2023.This year, influencers in sports, fashion, gaming, and other niches are getting involved again to connect with Gen Z and other young audiences. The NFL is expanding its partnerships with social platforms, including working with Snapchat. And brands are looking for new ways to include creators in their Super Bowl marketing."By working with influencers and creators, you're meeting the audience where it is," said Alex Sheinman, cofounder and talent manager at the Snapback Agency, which works with content creators and athletes. "If I'm on Instagram or TikTok, the NFL is now coming to where I am That's why it's so powerful."How the NFL is working with platforms like YouTube and SnapchatSnapchat struck a new partnership with the NFL this year that will bring some of its creators to the Super Bowl. Snapchatters such as Katie Austin, Ross Smith, Jack Mancuso, and Treasure Wilson are set to get access behind the scenes and to special augmented-reality lenses created with the NFL, Snapchat said.The platform prioritized creators in areas other than football, such as fitness, food, lifestyle, fashion, and entertainment. The NFL was looking to include creators who aren't exposed to the league so it "can kind of drive new fandom," Anmol Malhotra, head of sport and media partnerships for Snapchat's parent company, told BI."Our goal was to capture the casual fan," Malhotra said. "The person who may not know who Patrick Mahomes is, that Travis Kelce is dating Taylor Swift, or who Jalen Hurts is, but can relate to a tailgate."YouTube is also expanding its partnership with the NFL. In addition to the flag football game, YouTube is hosting a tailgate concert headlined by rapper Post Malone. Several top YouTube creators will also be creating content from New Orleans.Influencers are high on the list for brand activations and sponsorshipsInfluencers are also showing up in traditional TV ads during the game. TikTok influencer Alix Earle is in ads from Carl's Jr. and Poppi. Poppi's ad also features creators like Jake Shane and Rob Rausch.Major brands like Gatorade and Verizon are inviting influencers to their activations around the Super Bowl and incorporating them into their marketing strategies around the game again this year, as well.For example, Gatorade is on the ground with athletes like Caitlin Clark and George Kittle and influencers like The Pointer Brothers and Katie Feeney for its Gatorade Lab activation. And, Verizon's activation will feature influencer Tineke Younger, who will host a brunch and cook her favorite Super Bowl dishes, as well as designer Kristin Juszczyk, who will showcase her designers.Still, some in the influencer industry said they noticed a dip in the number of brand activations and opportunities compared to last year's game. That's in part because there's more limited space for these activations in New Orleans compared to last year's Super Bowl host."There's definitely still stuff going on, but it's just a noticeable dip," Jack Settleman, a sports content creator and CEO of Snapback Agency's sister company, Snapback Sports, told BI.Settleman is doing brand work with Crown Royal while in the Big Easy. He has been to the Super Bowl several times and witnessed it embrace creators firsthand. He went from having to sneak his way into Radio Row to having his own booth among the media outlets on the convention center floor."The NFL has absolutely embraced creators," said Settleman. "As a creator, it's really exciting to see those opportunities."With a wide audience tuning in for the big game, spanning generations, partnering with content creators is an easy way for these brands and the NFL to appeal to everyone and get content directly to specific audiences that may be outside the traditional football fandom."The NFL is seeing more new fans than ever before," Emily Boido, head of consumer engagement for Gatorade, told BI. "By partnering with a wide variety of influential voices in and around the sport, we have the opportunity to reach these expanding audiences in a way that's authentic to the brand."

Evangelical leaders are pushing back on President Donald Trump's cuts to foreign aid.Trump and Elon Musk have targeted USAID in their sweeping cost-cutting efforts.Some of the actions have been "damaging and wasteful," a leader of an evangelical organization said."Let's bring God back into our lives," President Donald Trump said Thursday morning.While most evangelical leaders would agree with the spirit of Trump's comments at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, some have begun to push back on his recent executive actions.At a press panel following the event, a groupUS Agency for International Developmentas part of his cost-cutting efforts."We affirm that there are aspects of our foreign aid programs that should be ended and others that could be reformed for greater effectiveness," Galen Carey, the vice president of government relations at the National Association of Evangelicals, said. "However, this review and reform can be achieved without the wholesale disruption of the many programs that are working well and saving lives."Founded in 1942, the National Association of Evangelicals represents millions of people from over 40 denominations. As a nonpolitical religious group, it participates in advocacy work but does not endorse politicians."We affirm the goal of eliminating wasteful spending throughout government but caution against hastily pursued measures that will prove costly. The abrupt closure of many effective aid programs will mean that some of the money already spent will have been wasted," Carey said. "Commodities will be lost and food will rot, medicines expire. Other supplies may be stolen or misappropriated because the staff and the partners are not allowed to receive them."Trump campaigned on the promise to reduce government spending and has appointed Elon Musk and the new Department of Government Efficiency to spearhead changes that they say could save the government as much as $2 trillion.Musk has highlighted departments, agencies, and expenses that he says are a "crazy waste" of taxpayer dollars.While legal experts told Business Insider that some of the cuts may not be lawful and some of Trump's executive orders have been shut down by the courts, many of the changes have left some nongovernment organizations that rely on federal aid reeling.Emily Chambers Sharpe, the director of Health and Nutrition at World Relief, a Christian humanitarian organization, said the "stop-work orders have made things really challenging for us in the last few weeks."Carey said there is an "urgent need" for clarity around the announcements."Indiscriminate stop-work orders issued with little or no advanced notice have created chaos and confusion on the ground. This is damaging and wasteful," Carey said. "Some of our members and partners are experiencing crippling cashflow crises, necessitating mass layoffs and abrupt termination of services with no time for responsible transitions."Gabriel Salguero, the National Latino Evangelical Coalition president, said he has seen how US foreign aid saves lives."The President just finished saying he wants to be known as a peacemaker and as a person who builds bridges, and we think that foreign aid and PEPFAR are two key instruments or two key tools to contribute to that legacy," he said, referring to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. TheCarey said the drastic actions may sour how other nations view the United States."Community relationships will suffer, and it'll be hard to rebuild organizations that are destroyed in this way. Much goodwill toward the US and gratitude for our assistance may be lost," he said. "We urge the administration to rethink the assumption that effective international assistance does not benefit our national security, peace and prosperity."

The Logoff is a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.Welcome to The Logoff. Todays edition is about a court order pushing back Elon Musks deadline for federal workers to take him up on his offer for a deferred resignation. That might sound niche, but its important for anyone who relies on a functional government. It also offers an insight into how the courts might derail Donald Trumps broader agenda if he complies with their orders.Whats the latest? Midnight was supposed to be the deadline for workers to decide whether they would take Musks DOGE up on the offer to resign at the end of September, with (possibly) paid time off until then. But a federal judge suspended that deadline until Monday, setting up a per-deadline hearing to determine whether the deferred resignation offer was even legal.So, is it legal? Well, a Georgetown Law School professor told Vox this: Theyre making a promise that is contrary to federal law and that has very serious consequences.Are people taking the DOGE offer? The White House says about 40,000 federal workers have accepted the offer the federal government employs about 2.4 million people, though not all of them have been offered the buyout.Whats the point of the offer? Relatively few workers have taken it so far, but the offer is part of a broader plan alongside threats of coming mass layoffs to shrink the federal workforce at breakneck speed. Its a bet that Trumps team can rapidly cut the workforce without undermining the governments ability to perform the essential services we depend on.Whats the bigger context? Instead of pushing his agenda through Congress, Trump is claiming massive new powers for the executive branch and, specifically, for himself. But for that to work, he needs the courts to go along. If they wont, Trump will either have to defy the courts triggering a constitutional crisis even larger than the one were in already or watch as big chunks of his agenda will fall apart.And with that, its time to log off ...Say you, hypothetically, were experiencing anxiety these days? And say, on top of that, you were struggling to focus? I can relate, which is why I found this Vox piece on journaling so helpful. Its about the solid scientific proof that the simple act of writing about our feelings is good for our brains, and its a nice reminder to take care of oneself. See you back here tomorrow.See More:

A brief spat between Elon Musk and the news organization Politico is making something quite obvious: The nations governance is increasingly at the whim of online conspiracy theorists.This incident began with two unrelated events: On Tuesday, staffers at Politico reported that the company had missed payroll. Those issues were resolved later that day. Separately, Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team were in the middle of gutting USAID, freezing its operations and spending under the guise of reviewing how money was being spent.Posters on X, however, saw something more nefarious about both facts. It couldnt just be a coincidence, they said, that Politico wasnt paying its staff after USAID money stopped flowing. The more likely explanation, they concluded, was that the news organization was dependent on some kind of USAID money, and that federal funding had been funneled to mainstream news organizations for better coverage and to attack Trump and Musk.Online sleuths did their own research (i.e., they looked up federal expenditures on the federal governments open database USASpending.gov) and found something to support their claim. Federal agencies, including but not limited to USAID, had paid $8.2 million last year for subscriptions to the news organizations Politico Pro service, a paywalled news, legislation, and research database that plenty of industry professionals, corporations, and government staffers find useful.Those payments were everything the entire federal government had paid, and USAIDs expenditure was a tiny share of that overall amount (some $44,000 for a couple of subscriptions over two years). And they werent subsidies, grants, or gifts to exert editorial control; they were normal transactions paying the subscription cost for the services Politico Pro provides.And its not just Politico all kinds of government users and agencies find the services and coverage that media organizations provide to be useful, and so pay for subscriptions to places like the New York Times, Axios, or the Associated Press, as the investigative journalist Byron Tau pointed out on Wednesday.None of this seemed to matter to Musk, who quickly encountered these online conspiracies and responded that hed shut down the payments. Not an efficient use of taxpayer funds. This wasteful expenditure will be deleted, he said in response to a post claiming employees at the Food and Drug Administration were paying $517,855 for Politico Pro subscriptions. The Tesla CEO spent much of the rest of the day on X reposting and amplifying posts about government payments to news organizations, NGOs, and nonprofits and eventually, the conspiracies made their way to the White House. Speaking from the briefing room, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed Politico directly, saying she was made aware of the funding from USAID to media outlets including Politico who I know has a seat in this room and said that the more than $8 million in taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers dime will no longer be happening.By Thursday morning, President Donald Trump had weighed in: THE LEFT WING RAG, KNOWN AS POLITICO, SEEMS TO HAVE RECEIVED $8,000,000. Did the New York Times receive money??? Who else did??? THIS COULD BE THE BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL, PERHAPS THE BIGGEST IN HISTORY! THE DEMOCRATS CANT HIDE FROM THIS ONE. TOO BIG, TOO DIRTY!The whole incident is messy, but illuminates a few things. The federal government, and its agencies and departments, of course dont have an obligation to subscribe to any news organizations. Its within their rights to cancel subscriptions if they want to, just like I can cancel a subscription to Mubi after Ive paid to watch The Substance.But this media scrutiny and ensuing uproar began because of a handful of conservative influencers and average Joes just posting their thoughts and conspiratorial webs online, for Musk to see. All it took was a few posts for Musk, who now seems to wield limitless power in the federal bureaucracy, to launch a new crackdown, and now at least one federal department, the US Department of Agriculture, is complying and stopping payments, according to independent journalist Marisa Kabas. Another, the General Services Administration, is being ordered to cancel every single media contract the agency expenses, including Politico, its subsidiaries, and the BBC, per Axios.For now, its just subscriptions to news services affected by these posters those companies will surely take a financial hit, and more media layoffs may ensue.But they also sum up the risks of Musk and DOGEs frenzied drive to cut federal funding for a variety of other purposes. Not only is cutting-government-spending-by-conspiracy-theory risky youre relying on folks who preface their claims with assuming this is accurate, for one it also opens up the real possibility that high-stakes decisions are made about important and valuable government services and programs without considering the negative, harmful effects they might have on everyday people.Musk, at least, has signaled through posts on X that hell force cuts and audits at the Treasury Department, at the Pentagon, at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, and at the Social Security Administration; additional cuts are likely coming to departments of labor and education. Has every proposed reduction been scrutinized? Will specific cuts to programs or grants that cant be undone happen because a random troll gets Musks or Trumps attention? Are specific cuts there contingent just on what DOGE staff finds? Or can social media sleuths and conspirators now force specific government responses, all because Musk and Trump can see and respond to their theories?See More:

Rockstar Games' parent company just held its earnings call, and Take-Two has confirmed that GTA 6 is on track to launch in 2025 here's all we learned about itTech21:51, 06 Feb 2025Updated 22:17, 06 Feb 2025We'll be meeting Lucia soon(Image: Rockstar)Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two held its first earnings call of 2025 this evening, and it's revealed more about Grand Theft Auto 6's eventual release.GTA 6 has been the subject of intense speculation after Rockstar Games went radio silent after the first trailer, but we now have more information about the game's release window, as well as whether or not if it'll launch in two parts.Here's everything we learned about GTA 6 from Take-Two's earnings call, and more.Rockstar could headline one of the best years in gaming(Image: Rockstar)The biggest deal is confirmation that GTA 6 will launch in 2025, something that wasn't a certainty despite Rockstar claiming it would arrive in this calendar year.With Mafia: The Old Country prepped for Summer, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick confirmed that GTA 6 is still targeting this Fall (that's Autumn for UK gamers)."Looking ahead, this calendar year is shaping up to be one of the strongest ever for Take-Two, as we plan to launch Sid Meiers Civilization VII on February 11th, Mafia: The Old Country in the Summer, Grand Theft Auto VI in the Fall, and Borderlands 4," Zelnick said.As part of the call, GTA 5 is reported to have hit 210 million sales, ensuring it remains the second best-selling game of all time after Minecraft.GTA Plus, the optional premium subscription for GTA Online, is up 10% year-on-year, according to the earnings call.Elsewhere, the call touched on WWE 2K, NBA 2K, Civilization 7 and Borderlands 4 from 2K.Article continues belowCiv 7 has set a new preorder record according to the earnings call, while WWE 2K will come to mobile this Fall in collaboration with Netflix.Take-Two said NBA 2K's success helped "offset moderation experienced in several of our mobile franchises", and the company expects it to be a big revenue driver in 2025, too.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

Hasbro already brought one big Wizards of the Coast game to the big screen recently with the perpetually underappreciatedDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thievesbut there is, of course, another wildly popular game packed with lore to transform into sweeping transmedia adventures at WOTC. And now, its taking the leap too, once it gives its deck a shuffle. This afternoon Hasbro announced that it was teaming up with Legendary Entertainment to develop alive-actionMagic: The Gathering movie. This is an exciting and complementary partnership, uniting one of the worlds most iconic brands with a powerful and proven steward, Hasbros head of film, Zev Foreman, said in a press statement. Magic: The Gathering has inspired decades of epic world-building and creative storytelling. It is a perfect match for Legendarys diversified approach to marquee IP, and we are excited to work together to build a whole new Magic: The Gatheringuniverse. According to the press release, plans for the partnership will begin with a movie, but have the potential to expand to live-action television series and other content should things go well. Little is known about justhow Legendary will approach adaptingMagicwhether were in for something meta about the act of playing the legendary TGC or were going to be following notable Magic characters like the dimension-hopping Planeswalkers as they sling spells and face grand threats remains to be seen. The only certainty at the moment is that Hasbro and Legendarys plansdont change the deal the toy maker has already established with Netflix, where it is developing an animatedMagic series for the streamer withStar Trek: Picards Terry Matalas. Funnily enough, its not the first news item where Legendary has stepped into something Netflix had cooking recently, with the re-confirmation this week that the studio would develop the live-actionMobile Suit Gundam movie that had previously been stuck in development limbo at Netflix for several years. Well bring you more on Hasbro and Legendarys plans forMagic as and when we learn them. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

By Thomas Maxwell Published February 6, 2025 | Comments (0) | Ford expects to continue losing a lot of money on EVs in 2025. Joe Raedle/Getty Ford continues to lose a lot of money on electric vehicles like the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E. New tariffs on Mexico and Chinawhich may or may not go into effectas well as the elimination of former President Bidens EV incentives are not likely to help. The silver lining is that Ford still prints money on its gas-powered cars, so the company overall remains profitable and can use that money to fuel its continued pivot to electrification, where it thankfully seems to remain committed. For the full year of 2024, Ford posted a net income of $5.9 billion on adjusted earnings of $10.2 billion. Its electric vehicle business, however, lost $5.1 billion, even worse than its loss of $4.7 billion the year prior. It expects to lose even more, $5.5 billion, on EVs in 2025. Shifting to an entirely new type of automotive platform requires a lot of upfront research and development, supply chain, and marketing spend. Automakers have to reckon with basic economies of scale. Ford needs to sell a lot of electric cars in order to recoup its investment and start making money on each vehicle, but the cars need to be affordable for people to actually buy them. In the United States, the only electric vehicle maker to actually start seeing profits on each vehicle is Tesla, and that company started by selling luxury cars to wealthy tech executives, even still living on the precipice of bankruptcy for years. Losses are pretty much guaranteed for years. In the past, there was concern that automakers like Ford and General Motors were only paying lip service to electrification. During President Trumps first administration, for instance, GM supported his plan to eliminate Californias heightened emissions standards. The gas-powered vehicle business has been very profitable for a long time, so legacy automakers have not had an incentive to go electric. It is the whole Innovators Dilemma issue. Whatever you want to say about Tesla CEO Elon Musk, he did help force this transition. GM is in a much different place in 2025, however, with a wide range of electric vehicles now on the market that have been well-reviewed, like the Silverado EV. The automakers CEO Mary Barra has said its EV business will turn profitable this year. It seems, despite a slowing in growth, that EVs have reached a tipping point where they are inevitable. Most people who have driven an electric car recognize they are just a lot more fun and pleasant, but companies like Rivian have not been able to get stubbornly high prices down. That company promises its R2 will be more accessible with a starting price around $45,000still too high for most, but better than its existing lineup.Similar to how gas-powered cars were supported by decades of investment, including President Eisenhowers investment in an interstate highway network, it is taking some time for EV infrastructure to build out. Charging remains an issue but continues to improve. Ford has walked back its most ambitious EV commitments more recently as investors have demanded the company improve its financial performance and sales growth in EVs slows. It canceled a three-row electric SUV and its F-150 Lightning has become a bit old in the tooth. Sales of the pickup fell 15.5% to just 1,907 last month, compared to 2,258 in January 2024. The Mustang Mach-E still performs well, howeverFord sold 2,539 of the vehicles in January, according to Electrek, up 172% from the 1,295 units sold in the same month last year. The automaker hopes a new platform it is developing will enable it to release EVs that are more affordable to the average buyer. Ford is also releasing more hybrid-electric cars and electric vehicles with small gas generators that can charge the battery and extend their range, offering up to 700 miles on a charge. That is something Volkswagens subsidiary Scout is doing in the U.S. after earlier committing to making pickups that were entirely electric.Musk has been supportive of President Trumps plans to end EV incentives. Critics believe that is in part because Tesla is already profitable on a per-car basis, so it does not need tax incentives as much as traditional automakers might. He long said that he was interested in doing whatever was best for the electrification movement as a whole, even if it hurt his own company, but few believe that anymore. Recent sales data from California and Germany suggest his politics are hurting Tesla sales, setting back the EV transition. Musks support for President Trump has made him deeply unpopular in California, the largest U.S. market for electric cars, and in Germany he has recently supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has dismissed the countrys Nazi past. It is all sad because Chinas electric carmakers are running circles around the United States, entering Europe and markets like Brazil and Mexico with affordable electric cars that threaten the dominance of American automakers. China plowed money into the electric vehicle sector to try and make its country more influential around the world, and it seems to be working. Meanwhile, President Trump and Musk are more focused on generative AI these days, so Americans will probably have to accept a slower EV transition for the next few years and a potential diminishing in U.S. automotive influence.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Lucas Ropek Published February 3, 2025 By Matt Novak Published January 20, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published January 17, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published January 16, 2025 By Matt Novak Published January 13, 2025 By AJ Dellinger Published January 7, 2025

La Cache Modular Residences / DELORDINAIRESave this picture! Felix MichaudHousesCanadaArchitects: DELORDINAIREYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Felix MichaudMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Nestled along the shores of the vast Lake Saint-Jean in Quebec, Delordinaire Architects in consortium with Annie Sylvain Architects has unveiled The Cache, a signature project that encapsulates their distinctive architectural philosophy. This endeavor builds on Delordinaire's exploration of residential typologies, which began in 2020 with High House a stilt house that had already made an impression with its innovative approach.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!For The Cache, the practice envisioned a modular system designed to integrate delicately into the surrounding vegetation. The stilt typology requires minimal foundations and modification of the natural topology, creating a protected outdoor area under the house for the warmer months and producing unique viewpoints from the elevated position inside.Save this picture!Save this picture!True to Delordinaire's philosophy, the interplay between indoors and outdoors creates a total immersion in landscapes enhanced by exceptional viewpoints. This unique experience is enhanced by the intimate scale and secluded location. These exceptional 50 m houses with meticulously crafted larch cladding stand out for their clean lines and striking geometry. Primarily prefabricated north of Montreal before being installed on-site, they elegantly reinterpret the art of living in harmony with nature. "Through our creations, we aim to offer more than a functional habitat. It is a way of living, contemplative moments suspended in time. The heart of our architectural approach is about creating spaces that "resonate": encouraging mindfulness, connection, and sensitivity." Delordinaire ArchitectsSave this picture!Each Cache was designed to adapt to a specific location. The height and orientation are adjusted to optimize architectural considerations such as natural light and views. The living area, the focal point of the dwelling, has a large bay window and is bathed in natural light, opening wide to the horizon, erasing distinctions between the interior and the great outdoors. This remarkable design elevates daily life, drawing occupants into an intimate communion with the lake's scenery. Through the thoughtful use of natural materials, precise proportions, and strategically placed openings, Delordinaire aims to establish a dynamic interplay between residents and the surrounding landscape. The Cache transcends the simple function of a dwelling to become a haven of serenity, where architecture becomes a bridge between people and nature.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeDELORDINAIREOfficeMaterialWoodMaterials and TagsPublished on February 06, 2025Cite: "La Cache Modular Residences / DELORDINAIRE" 06 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026500/la-cache-modular-residences-delordinaire&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream