What just happened? A significant vulnerability, known as EntrySign, has been uncovered by Google security researchers, affecting all AMD Zen processors from Zen 1 to Zen 4. This flaw allows attackers with local administrator privileges to bypass AMD's cryptographic verification system and install custom microcode updates on affected CPUs. The vulnerability stems from AMD's use of AES-CMAC as a hash function in its signature verification process, which is a critical cryptographic error. AES-CMAC is designed as a message authentication code, not a secure hash function, making it unsuitable for this purpose.The researchers discovered that AMD had been using a publicly available example key from NIST documentation since Zen 1, which allowed them to forge signatures and deploy arbitrary microcode modifications. These modifications can alter the CPU's behavior at a fundamental level, enabling sophisticated attacks that persist until the next system reboot. For instance, the researchers demonstrated modifying the RDRAND instruction to consistently return predetermined values, effectively compromising the CPU's random number generation.To facilitate further research, Google's security team has released zentool, an open-source jailbreak toolkit that allows researchers to create, sign, and deploy custom microcode patches on vulnerable processors. It includes capabilities for microcode disassembly, patch authoring with limited assembly support, and cryptographic signing functions.The toolkit provides researchers with a platform to explore custom microcode updates and develop security features similar to those available for Intel processors.AMD has responded by issuing microcode updates that replace the compromised validation routine with a custom secure hash function. These patches leverage the AMD Secure Processor to update the validation routine before x86 cores can process potentially tampered microcode. Although the attack requires local administrator access and does not persist through power cycles, it poses significant risks to confidential computing environments using technologies like SEV-SNP and DRTM. // Related StoriesModern x86 CPUs, including those from AMD and Intel, use microcode to implement complex instructions. These updates are crucial for patching hardware bugs without requiring costly hardware redesigns.In the case of AMD Zen processors, microcode updates are double-checked against a series of strings and keys signed by AMD and confirmed against a hard-coded public key in the CPU. The EntrySign exploit works because AMD used AES-CMAC to allow researchers to reverse-engineer the security keys, preventing end-users from pushing unsigned microcode updates. Reusing a publicly accessible NIST example key as the security key further facilitated this exploit.

This week sees a special cosmic event for skywatchers in North America and many other parts of the world as well, as a total lunar eclipse will be visible on the night of March 13 to 14. This Thursday night, if skies are clear youll have the opportunity to catch this striking lunar phenomenon, and you can see it either with the naked eye or using a telescope or binoculars.A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun, so that Earths shadow blocks out light from the moon. As the moon enters the Earths shadow is will gradually darken, until the lunar disk turns from bright white to orange or deep red. This color explains from where lunar eclipses get their other name: Blood Moons.Recommended VideosThis video from NASA shows the kind of view that you can expect to see during the lunar eclipse, created by Ernie Wright of NASAs Scientific Visualization Studio:March 2025 Total Lunar Eclipse: Telescopic View (UTC).mp4Its worth taking the time to view this eclipse as its not a frequent occurrence. Make sure you dont miss this disappearing act, for its the first total lunar eclipse visible anywhere since November 2022, advises Diana Hannikainen, Editor in Chief at Sky & Telescope.A lunar eclipse happens when the Sun, Earth, and a full Moon form a near-perfect lineup in space, in what is known as syzygy.Please enable Javascript to view this contentTo check when the eclipse will be visible in your region, you can consult this map created by NASA:Map showing where the March 13-14, 2025 lunar eclipse is visible. Contours mark the edge of the visibility region at eclipse contact times, labeled in UTC. NASAs Scientific Visualization StudioThe totality, when the moon is fully covered, will last for 66 minutes so you should have a decent window to catch the event. Its worth looking up in the hours before the totality though so you can see the moon begin to dim and a chunk of the moon disappearing as Earths shadow moves in. Likewise, after the totality the effect will occur in reverse, so you can observe the moon brightening again.To get the best view of the eclipse, look for a viewing spot with minimal lights, and give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness by avoiding looking at your phone. If you have a telescope or binoculars, do make use of them as this will give you a much more detailed view. While the eclipse is happening you should also look to the west to see Jupiter and Mars, which will appear brighter without the moons brightnese.Editors Recommendations

The chatbot startup has problems, but its founder doesnt want new shareholders to be one of them.

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. The cheapest way to supercharge Americas power grid Brian Deese is an innovation fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as director of the White House National Economic Council from 2021 to 2023. Rob Gramlich is founder and president of Grid Strategies and was economic advisor to the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during the George W. Bush administration. US electricity consumption is rising faster than it has in decades. Accommodating that growth will require building wind turbines, solar farms, and other power plants faster than we ever have beforeand expanding the network of wires needed to connect those facilities to the grid. But one major problem is that its expensive and slow to secure permits for new transmission lines and build them across the country. Fortunately, there are some shortcuts that could expand the capacity of the existing system without requiring completely new infrastructure: a suite of hardware and software tools known as advanced transmission technologies (ATTs), which can increase both the capacity and the efficiency of the power sector. ATTs have the potential to radically reduce timelines for grid upgrades, avoid tricky permitting issues, and yield billions in annual savings for US consumers. So why are we not seeing an explosion in ATT investment and deployment in the US?Read the full story. Interested in learning more about this topic? Read more of our stories: + Whats driving electricity demand? It isnt just AI and data centers. + That said, AIs search for energy is growing more urgent. + Why this developer wont quit fighting to connect the USs grids. + Here are four ways AI is making the power grid faster and more resilient. The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 China claims to have created the worlds first fully autonomous AI agent The agent, called Manus, can allegedly operate fully free of human intervention. (Forbes)+ But its not clear if the hype can be justified at this stage. (TechCrunch)+ Two former DeepMind researchers are chasing superintelligence. (Bloomberg $)+ Four Chinese AI startups to watch beyond DeepSeek. (MIT Technology Review)2 Meta went to extreme lengths to win Chinas approval Including developing a censorship system to comply with the CCP. (WP $)+ However, its attempts to curry favor with the party did not bear fruit. (Gizmodo)3 Anonymous Chinese investors are quietly funding Elon Musks ventures Theyre happy to invest tens of millionsso long as their identities remain under wraps. (FT $)+ Despite the influx of cash, SpaceX isnt having a great year. (NYT $)+ Starlink is reaping the benefits of its founders proximity to the White House. (NBC News)4 Ukraine doesnt have minable rare earths And even if it did, it would take at least 15 years to reach them. (IEEE Spectrum)+ The country is preparing to hold negotiations with the US this week. (Economist $) 5 Farewell, the Athena lunar lander It landed sideways in a crater and has been officially written off. (The Register)+ Intuitive Machines, the company behind it, is contracted for another two landings. (AP News)+ Firefly Aerospace, another private firm, had better luck. (Economist $)6 The American public really doesnt like DOGE And Donald Trump is starting to pay attention. (The Atlantic $)+ Musk represents the problem he is claiming he wants to solve. (Wired $)+ The Trump administration is threatening scientific progress. (New Yorker $)+ Anti-Musk protestors are targeting Tesla stores and infrastructure. (WP $)7 Wikipedia is struggling to document the war in the Middle EastCertain editors have been forbidden from working on related pages. (Bloomberg $) 8 How to store the worlds dataHard discs seem the obvious choicefor now. (WSJ $) + Music labels are going after the Internet Archive for copyright infringement. (Ars Technica)+ The race to save our online lives from a digital dark age. (MIT Technology Review)9 YouTube bros are peddling Taliban tourism Inside the depressing rise of videos purporting to show another side to Afghanistan. (Insider $)10 Amazon and Googles AI calls Mein Kampf a true work of art Thats what happens when you search for positive reviews of the Nazi manifesto. (404 Media)+ Want AI that flags hateful content? Build it. (MIT Technology Review)Quote of the day The US won the internet and the US should win crypto. Tyler Winklevoss, who runs crypto exchange Gemini with his twin brother Cameron, could not be happier with the outcome of Donald Trumps crypto summit, according to a post on X. The big story How this Turing Awardwinning researcher became a legendary academic advisor October 2023 Every academic field has its superstars. But a rare few achieve superstardom not just by demonstrating individual excellence but also by consistently producing future superstars.Computer science has its own such figure: Manuel Blum, who won the 1995 Turing Awardthe Nobel Prize of computer science. He is the inventor of the captchaa test designed to distinguish humans from bots online.Three of Blums students have also won Turing Awards, and many have received other high honors in theoretical computer science. More than 20 hold professorships at top computer science departments. So whats the formula to his success? Read the full story.Sheon HanWe can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + Looking for some books to make you laugh out loud? Look no further.+ What cant White Lotus star Walton Goggins live without? An orange pen and 22-year old sand, apparently.+ When its time to take a break, heres how to recharge properly.+ $40 for magic yogurt? What the hell, sure.

Meghan Trainor is so hilariously frank as we chat about her daily routinesSpeaking to Business Insider as part of her advertising campaign for the product, the 31-year-old multi-platinum singer has a twinkle in her eye when she says using the sheets is her version of biohacking.But she's so unashamedly open about everything from her marriage to her mental health, I only warm to her more when she mentions the sheets four times on our call.This playfulness has earned Trainor a legion of fans who love her as much for her relatability as her music.Unlike some celebrities, Trainor doesn't hide the fact that she is privileged enough to have a nanny to help with childcare. In fact, asking for help is one of her key pieces of advice for moms. That, and using Arm and Hammer Power Sheets, of course. Meghan Trainor promoting Arm and Hammer's Power Sheets. Arm and Hammer In the latest installment of BI's "5 to 9" series, where celebrities share how they spend the hours they're not working, the Grammy Award-winner shares a glimpse into her life with her husband, the actor Daryl Sabara, and their sons Riley, four, and Barry, 20 months.What time do you start the day?My husband is an early riser. He gets up at 5 a.m.gaspsI know, he's crazy, but that's when he meditates. My two little boys get up around 6:30 a.m. They all run to my room at around 7 a.m. and wake me up, which is my favorite.We feed the boys pretty healthily at breakfast, with lots of fruit. They won't eat anything green but we do sneak vegetables into things like pancakes.I always have fruit, too. Sometimes, I have a couple of eggs, maybe yogurt. Today, I had ginger tea that I ordered from Goop. I always have my giant Stanley cup full of electrolytes and a tiny espresso cup full of vitamins.When I'm on tour, sometimes we splurge. Recently we were trying to decide which hotel has the best French toast, so we had it at every one.Important research.We're saving the world with that.Are you a coffee person?Oh yeah. After breakfast, my husband often makes me a coffee with protein blended in. It tastes delicious and also has about 20 grams of protein, so I'm like, "we're biohacking."Strength training and nerding out about proteinHow do you fit movement into your day? Meghan Trainor and Daryl Sabara in December 2024. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for iHeartRadio I have such a crazy schedule that trying to put anything in there is impossible, but we do it.I need products that make my life simple and convenience is key, so I built a gym in one of the tiny rooms in my house. I try to get in there three times a week at least.But that's where products like dry shampoo or Arm and Hammer Power Sheets for laundry help me so I can dedicate more time to fitness and my family.Very smooth. How do the Power Sheets help?They save so much time because it's not a big jug of gooey liquid detergent; it's just an eco-friendly sheet that you toss in there.So what type of workouts do you do?I'm all strength training now.I remember one week I was like, "I'm going to be a runner. I'm going to be that girl." And I tried for four days straight and I gained four pounds of pure inflammation, pure anger. My body was like, "No, thank you."So I tried strength training and my body is so happy. Now I'm a nerd about building muscle and eating protein, but I wish they taught me that in elementary school.I didn't know food was energy and fuel, so I'm trying to teach my kids that. I say to them, "What are eggs? Protein!"We're of similar ages, and growing people weren't as aware of the importance of strength training for health.Yeah, we talk to our kids positively about it. We say, "We're going to go and exercise and build our strong muscles!" And they love it.I'm trying so hard not to be mean to my body or myself in front of them. I tell them that exercising means I'm strong enough to pick them up, or they've got to exercise so they can play on the big playgrounds.Couples counseling and accepting helpWhat do you have for dinner and who cooks?I really wish I knew how to cook, but I'm not the best. My husband cooks a mean steak. Some nights when we realize we forgot about our own dinner, he cooks steak and I microwave a bag of rice, and that's me cooking. Meghan Trainor, Daryl Sabara, and their son, Riley, at Disneyland in June 2024. Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images Do you have any other essentials for your physical and mental health?Therapy once a week, I'm on my beautiful antidepressants that I love so much, and actually, we've just started marriage counseling once a month.We always brag that we have the best marriage ever, and we do. We're best friends, and I love him dearly. We heard our friends were in couples therapy, which made us wonder if we should do that, too. We said to ourselves, "Let's try it and see how we can get even closer."We're biohacking kings and queens. I love a good hack. I love something that could help me feel better fast. And that's another reason I was like, Arm and Hammer Sheets, this makes so much sense.People say you should have therapy before you really need it, and I think people don't necessarily take that approach to couples counseling.Exactly. We loved it. It was so cool. He brought up how your childhood trauma can affect your relationships. And we were like, "Oh my god, this makes so much sense."Do you and your husband have a good balance when it comes to chores, parenting, and work? I'm sure the Arm and Hammer Sheets help with that too.You know it. The Arm and Hammer Sheets have changed our lives. I'm so happy. I want to brag about it to everyone because laundry is so much easier now.Also, a lot of people don't ask for help, they suffer in silence, and it just gets worse and worse. I constantly ask my friends, my mom, and my brothers to come over and help with the kids. We have an incredible nanny who comes Monday through Friday. I don't know how we'd live without her.Bedtime is the best part of the dayWhat do your evenings look like?We're pretty tight on our routine, and I love it. We try to eat together as a family at 5:30 p.m., which seems early, I know. When my friends say, "Let's go out to dinner at 9 p.m.," I'm like, "I'm asleep by then. You're crazy." Meghan Trainor performing at iHeartRadio Q102's Jingle Ball 2024 Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for iHeartRadio We made going out more a goal for 2025 but we went out once for dinner and I was literally hungover for two days from going to bed extra late. I can't recover anymore. If I have one bad sleep, don't talk to me for two days.So we do bath time at 6 p.m., then we bring the boys downstairs, sit on the couch, and watch music videos. They love it so much; it's so cute. Sometimes, we watch my music videos. Riley loves Miley Cyrus, Kid Laroi, and Tate McRae.Then we go upstairs and have lay-down time. Each parent gets one kid for cuddles and we switch each night. I don't know what we're going to do when we have three. It's the best part of our day. If you miss bedtime, it's devastating.By 7:30 p.m., we're done. We run to shower and get in bed, then watch "ER." It's like our date night; we're always so happy we made it.Do you have a favorite wind-down drink, be that alcoholic or a cup of tea?Oh, we're sober. My brother got sober three years ago and my husband followed him a year after. No one really drinks around here, so I just kind of got sober too. I was never very good at drinking I get a headache right away or my cheeks get really red. I'm already hungover from tiredness.So I usually just drink water, a Zevia, or maybe ginger ale. Sometimes I snack on Hu Chocolate, I love it. Just two little squares as my treat for the night.Are you good at skincare?No. I need to start being a grown-up and doing retinol and all that, but when I was pregnant, I had perioral dermatitis, so I had little red bumps all over my face and dry patches. I had to use a really gentle wash and lotion called Avne, so I still use that. I also use a snail mucin serum because TikTok got me on that. And then Avne lotion and that's it.There's probably such a thing as too many products.I've been that girl and it was exhausting.What time do you go to sleep?Once we're in bed watching movies or TV, we blink, and it's 10:30 p.m. My husband falls asleep first because he's up so early. We're kind of boring. We do the same thing every day, but I love it so much.Well, you've got a lot going on so it's not surprising that you're tired.I'm doing the best I can, and that's all anyone can ever do. So, if you're a mom out there, if you're doing the best you can, that's great. Give yourself grace and use Arm and Hammer Sheets.

2025-03-10T14:15:48Z Read in app The author has always been an advocate for her siblings. Courtesy of Carly Newberg This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? I'm nearly 10 years older than my younger siblings, and have always helped take care of them.I've given them baths, fed them, advocated for them at school, and hosted them in my apartment.Having this kind of relationship has made me more confident I can be a good parent.When I was little, I begged my mom for a younger sibling, but she swore she was done having kids. I dreamt of feeling her belly kick, going on stroller walks, and helping hush the sound of loud cries.Roughly five years later, my dream came true not just once, but twice. My younger sister arrived first, followed by my younger brother just 13 months later. I was so excited that my fourth-grade teacher let me count down the days until my mom's first round of labor on the classroom whiteboard.By then, my parents had been divorced for a few years. My older brother and I lived with our dad, and we didn't have much contact with our mom. But when she told us she was having a baby, everything changed.I felt destined to be a big sisterI had always known I was meant to be a big sister. Every chance I got, I was at my mom's house, giving baths, feeding bottles, and waiting impatiently for the babies to wake from their naps so we could play outside. My mom never asked me to help; these were things I insisted on doing.As I got older, I understood just how vital my role as a big sister was. My siblings' father was either incarcerated or absent in their early years, and my mom had little help. It wasn't until they were five and six years old that he started seeing them consistently. By then, my older brother and I had stepped into the roles their father hadn't, becoming more like parents than siblings.When I left for college, my responsibilities didn't fade. My siblings spent weekends in my dorm room and, later, in my tiny apartments. I took them to the beach, museums, theater productions, and the zoo. Once, I even organized a monthlong trip for them to give my mom a break when my mom was overwhelmed by being a single parent over the summer.A few years earlier, she had moved away from where most of our family lived for a fresh start and to be closer to her parents. Since I was still near most of our extended family, I saw a way to help. I reached out to family members who I knew would be delighted to host my siblings and put together a calendar, including a week staying with me, full of activities. That summer was one I don't think they'll ever forget, one filled with swimming pools, time with their cousins, and endless love.All I asked of my mom was that she drive five hours to drop them off at my apartment at the start of the trip. From there, I handled the rest and returned them home safely after their summer adventure was over. The author is about 10 years older than her younger siblings. Courtesy of Carly Newberg Taking care of my siblings was normal for meI never questioned whether this kind of sibling-parenting was normal because, for me, it just was. It was second nature to always pack snacks, keep sunscreen handy, and hold hands while crossing the street.I protected my siblings like they were my own children because, on some days, it felt like they were.Now, my younger siblings are in high school, but my role in their lives hasn't changed. They know they can call me if they need a ride, advice, or someone to vent to. I'm the person they reach out to when they have big news to share, need photos before a school dance, or want me in the crowd at their extracurricular activities.When I briefly worked as a substitute teacher after moving to the same city as them, I even taught in their classes. Instead of being embarrassed, they seemed proud to have me there.Being a big sister has meant celebrating their wins, showing up when it counts, and stepping in when they need me most. Last year, my sister was harassed and cyberbullied by a group of girls. When the cruel behavior wouldn't stop, I marched into her school and demanded action from the principal.When I get nervous about becoming a parent, I realize I already have experienceI will never stop advocating for my younger siblings not because they need me to, but because I want to.I'm almost 30 now, standing on the edge of motherhood. And some days, the thought of being a mom scares me. That is, until I remember: I've already been a parent figure to two of the most incredible people I know.I've never doubted my mom's strength, but I'm grateful I could step in and share the load of caregiving with her.

My job, like many of yours, demands more from my brain than it is biologically capable of.For all its complexity, the human brain is frustratingly slow, running at about 10 bits per second less bandwidth than a 1960s dial-up modem. Thats not enough to keep up with the constant firehose of information were exposed to every day. Raw-dogging cognition while competing in todays economy is like bodybuilding without steroids: a noble pursuit, but not a way to win.Inside this story:The philosophical argument that phones, the internet, and AI tools are extensions of our mindsWhy humans love to outsource thinking How relying on devices changes our brainsWhat happens when technological tools both enhance and undermine our ability to think for ourselvesHumans have never relied on sheer brainpower alone, of course. We are tool-using creatures with a long history of offloading mental labor. Cave paintings, for example, allowed our prehistoric relatives to share and preserve stories that would otherwise be trapped in their heads. But paleolithic humans didnt carry tiny, all-knowing supercomputers in their loincloths.Using tools from hand-written texts to sophisticated navigation apps allows humans to punch above our biological weight. Even basic applications like spellcheck and autofill help me write better and faster than my monastic ancestors could only dream of. Todays generative AI models were trained on a volume of text at least five times greater than the sum of all books that existed on Earth 500 years ago. A recent paper by researchers at Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University found that higher dependence on AI tools at work was linked to reduced critical thinking skills. In their words, outsourcing thoughts to AI leaves peoples minds atrophied and unprepared, which can result in the deterioration of cognitive faculties that ought to be preserved.The mind is so deeply attached to the self that it can be unsettling to consider how much thinking we dont do ourselves. Reports like this may trigger a sense of human defensiveness, a fear that the human brain you, really is becoming obsolete. It makes me want to practice mental math, read a book, and throw my phone into the ocean.But the question isnt whether we should avoid outsourcing cognition altogether we cant, nor should we. Rather, we need to decide what cognitive skills are too precious to give up.The extended mind, explainedIn 1998, philosophers Andy Clark and David Chalmers published their theory of the extended mind, positing that the mind extends beyond the boundaries of skin and skull, such that the biological brain couples with the technology, spaces, and people it interacts with. Following this logic, by outsourcing my cognitive faculties to my phone, it becomes part of my mind.I call my friends without knowing their phone numbers, write articles without memorizing source texts, and set calendar reminders to juggle more tasks than I could remember myself. The intimate coupling between my brain and my devices is both self-evident and extremely normal.In fact, Clark and Chalmers point out that the brain develops with the assumption that we will use tools and interact with our surroundings. Written language is a prime example. Reading isnt hard-coded into our genome, like the capacity for speech is, and until recently, only a small minority of humans were literate. But as children learn to read and write, neural pathways that process visual information from the eyes reorganize themselves, creating a specialized visual word form area which responds to written words more than other images about an inch above the left ear. The process physically reshapes the brain.And as the tools we use evolve, for better or for worse, the mind appears to follow. Over the last 40 years, the percentage of 13-year-olds who reported reading for fun almost every day dropped from 35 percent to 14 percent. At the same time, they are doing worse on tests measuring critical thinking skills and the ability to recognize reliable sources. Some cognitive neuroscience research even suggests that shifting from deep reading to shallower forms of media consumption, like short-form videos, can disrupt the development of reading-related brain circuits. While evidence is still limited, several studies have found that short-form video consumption negatively impacts attention, an effect sometimes called TikTok Brain. Ned Block, Chalmers colleague at New York University, says that the extended mind thesis was false when it was introduced in the 90s, but has since become true. For the brain to be truly coupled with an outside resource, the authors argue, the device needs to be as reliably accessible as the brain itself. To critics, the examples Clark and Chalmers came up with at the time (e.g., a Filofax filled with notes and reminders) felt like a bit of a stretch.But today, my phone is the first thing I touch when I wake up, and the last thing I touch before going to bed. Its rarely out of arms reach, whether Im at work, a bar, or the beach. A year after the first iPhone was released, a study coined the term nomophobia, short for no-mobile-phone-phobia: the powerful feeling of anxiety one gets when theyre separated from their devices. RelatedWhy you should make your phone boringIn their paper, Clark and Chalmers introduced a thought experiment: Imagine two people, Inga and Otto, both traveling to the same familiar place. While Inga relies on her memory, Otto who has Alzheimers disease consults his notebook, which he carries everywhere. (Today, we could imagine Otto consulting his smartphone.) In the really deep, essential respects, Ottos case is just like Ingas, they write. The information is reliably there, easily and automatically accessible, and it plays a central role in guiding Ottos thought and action. That, they argue, is enough.Of course, if it doesnt matter whether my cognitive faculties live in my skull or my smartphone, why bother using my brain at all? I could simply outsource the work, keep up appearances in society, and let my brain rot in peace.The potential side effects of the extended mind are difficult to study. Our reliance on digital tools is relatively new, and the tools neuroscientists have to observe human brain activity are imprecise and confined to labs. But emerging research points to a reality as uncomfortable as it is self-evident: Allowing digital prosthetics to think for us may compromise our ability to think on our own.Why we outsource our mental laborHumans generally dont like thinking too hard. One recent analysis of over 170 studies spanning 29 countries and 358 different tasks from learning how to use new technology to practicing golf swings found that in all cases, people felt greater frustration and stress when they had to use more brainpower. When given the option, lab rats and humans alike usually choose the path of least resistance. Human study participants have even opted to squeeze a ball really hard or get poked by a burning hot stick to avoid mental labor.Still, people choose to do challenging things for fun, even! all the time. Working harder tends to lead to better outcomes, like earning a promotion or resolving a time-sensitive problem. And when cognitive effort is rewarded, people learn to value mental labor itself, even in the absence of an obvious short-term payoff.But the world gives us plenty of reasons to work smarter, not harder. When external pressures, like tight deadlines or intense competition, raise the stakes, were forced to triage our cognitive resources. The demands of always-on capitalism compel the mind to rely on cloud storage, calendar reminders, and chatbots.Julia Soares, an assistant professor of cognitive science at Mississippi State University, said this tendency aligns with the decades-old social science concept of the cognitive miser. People get a little bit cheap with their cognitive resources, she said, especially when they get stuck on using digital devices. Thats why rather than constantly juggle an overwhelming to-do list in my mind, for example, I choose to set reminders, alerts, and events for everything short of brushing my teeth. Theres a word for this habit: intention offloading, or the act of using external tools to help us remember to do things in the future. These tools can be low-tech, like leaving a package by the door so you remember to return it. They can also be digital and relatively hands-off, like recurring Google Calendar events or Slack reminders at work. Either way, we can notice the information disappearing from peoples brains after they know that its also stored outside, said Sam Gilbert, a cognitive neuroscientist at University College London.A decade ago, his research group ran an experiment where people had to remember a to-do item while lying in an fMRI scanner. In different conditions, they either tried to remember it on their own or were instructed to set an external reminder. Gilbert observed that brain activity in the part of the prefrontal cortex that normally reflects future plans was strongly reduced when an external reminder was used.That sounds scary, but I think thats exactly as it should be, Gilbert told me. Once you know that information is duplicated outside the brain, you can use your brain for something else.Something similar seems to happen when people follow turn-by-turn directions instead of navigating on their own. Networks of cells in the posterior hippocampus part of a seahorse-shaped brain region best known for its role in memory and navigation form our mental map of the world. This map literally grows with practice. London taxi drivers, who have to memorize all possible routes across tens of thousands of roads to earn their license, have a larger and more developed posterior hippocampus relative to London bus drivers, who simply follow pre-set routes. ShutterstockGrowing up zillennial, I remember watching my parents print out and memorize MapQuest directions before heading off on a long drive. By the time I could get behind the wheel, I had a smartphone equipped with GPS. As a new driver, I let my phone handle directions while I handled singing along to Arctic Monkeys songs. It may be no coincidence that my sense of direction today is awful. I cant remember a parking spot to save my life, and one tiny detour or a dead phone can have me accidentally taking the road less traveled.My posterior hippocampus probably isnt withering away the navigation its involved in extends to more abstract scenarios, like navigating social media networks so the cognitive liberation provided by GPS feels worth the cost. Navigation doesnt feel central to my identity. Im willing to outsource it. But as newer technologies take over more of our intimate thought processes, its worth carefully weighing the consequences of relinquishing control, lest we lose things we truly value.Do our devices actually make us less smart? Back in 2004, Google co-founder Sergey Brin told Newsweek, Certainly if you had all the worlds information directly attached to your brain, or an artificial brain that was smarter than your brain, youd be better off.We essentially live in that world today, but its not clear that were better off. As I write this, I have the power to answer nearly any question imaginable using one of the two incredibly powerful computers in front of me. The internet provides instant access to a sea of information, and AI search can save me the trouble of having to wade through it. All of the knowledge we need lives in data centers, which increasingly makes storing any of it in my brain feel like an unnecessary luxury.As Nicholas Carr wrote for The Atlantic nearly 17 years ago, when early Google was our main cognitive partner: My mind expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.A couple of years later, the leading academic journal Science published a study declaring that Google does indeed make us less intelligent. Researchers found that when people expect to have future access to information as one does when the entire internet lives in their pocket their memory retention and independent problem-solving skills decline. This sparked broader conversations about what some experts call digital dementia, essentially the academic term for brain rot: the theory that overusing digital devices breaks down cognitive abilities. One group of Canadian researchers even published a paper predicting that excessive screen time will cause rates of Alzheimers disease and related dementias to skyrocket by 2060.However, long-term studies tracking older adults over time show that seniors who use their phones to help them remember things are actually less likely to develop dementia. Technology that automates recurring, mundane tasks the stuff our brains struggle with anyway isnt the problem. What should concern us is surrendering our intellectual autonomy by letting devices think for us, rather than with us. And thats precisely what appears to be happening with AI.Ten years ago, a series of experiments led by Matthew Fisher, now a marketing professor at Southern Methodist Universitys Cox School of Business, found that people who searched the internet for information felt smarter than they actually are. Fisher suspects that this is because old-school internet searching, following hyperlinks and stumbling across information, feels like following your own native train of thought. But its important to know what you dont know.The conversational nature of AI chatbots draws a clear psychological boundary that traditional web searches dont. While the internet feels like an extension of the mind, When Im talking to ChatGPT, it doesnt feel like its a part of me. If anything, I feel kind of dumb talking to it, Fisher told me. It highlights my own ignorance.Recognizing AI as separate from ourselves could theoretically inspire us to question its responses. But if interacting with AI as if its an oracle like many do risks blindly accepting its outputs. As soon as ChatGPT was released, students began submitting AI-written essays filled with hallucinated references. AI-powered hiring tools regularly review AI-generated job applications, and some doctors use ChatGPT in their practice, despite its not always reliable ability to cite its sources.This tension between preserving our cognitive integrity and embracing technological assistance permeates the workplace, where today, the brain alone is rarely enough.Whats the real trade-off?Theres something in economics called the Jevons paradox: the idea that increased efficiency leads to increased consumption. When applied to AI, it suggests that as digital tools make workers more efficient, it increases demand for their labor. Given the opportunity to expand our minds with automated workflows and generative AI, well take it. And as technology advances, expectations expand to match, leaving us with higher baseline demands.To keep up with the requirements of a knowledge sector job in 2025, you need more than your own mind. The standard for productivity has shifted dramatically in recent years. Under-resourced newsrooms, for example, require journalists to not only report and write, but also fact-check, monitor trends, and maintain a personal brand across multiple platforms. Software engineers face ever-tightening sprint deadlines while creating the very tools upending their jobs. Across fields, the processing limits of the human brain cant compete with expectations of constant availability, instant information recall, and perpetual content creation.How to fight brain rot:Immerse yourself in reading. If not a book, try sitting with a magazine feature. Its one of the best ways to improve focus, imagination, and overall brain health. Multitask less. Our brains are horrible at it. Ron Swanson was right when he said, Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing. Think before handing AI the wheel. Ask yourself: Would solving this problem myself be a total waste of time? Or will it help me understand something more deeply? If the answer leans more towards the latter, take a stab at it yourself before passing the question off to a chatbot. Try a digital detox (yes, really). Taking intentional time away from social media, your phone, or screens altogether can help reset your relationship with your devices.Insisting on avoiding the tools in front of you can mean failing to meet increasingly high expectations. If Im going to see my doctor, said Fisher, I dont want them to only give me information theyve memorized. I want them to have as many resources at their disposal as possible to find the correct answer. In high-stakes situations, prioritizing accuracy over cognitive self-reliance seems obvious. The challenge becomes knowing where to draw the line.Some tasks, like memorizing phone numbers and drafting insurance appeal letters, weve happily surrendered without much consideration. The patience and focus required to solve hard problems, however, seems worth holding onto. As a kid, I could sit and read a book for hours without even thinking about getting up. Now, I can barely read a single 800-word news article without feeling a physical compulsion to check Instagram.Its increasingly difficult to convince myself that solving a hard problem is actually worth solving when easier alternatives are just a click away. Why bother taking the time to write a LinkedIn post promoting my work, when AI can do it faster (and likely better)? Everyone else is doing it.But taking the time to wrestle with challenging ideas on your own can give you surprising insights or perspectives that wouldnt have been otherwise available to you, said Fisher. For example, Soares told me that putting pen to paper, while a kind of analog offloading itself, exponentially increases my ability to think by creating a change in the world the writing on the page in front of me.The connections we make between seemingly unrelated concepts often come when were showering or taking a walk, alone with our wandering thoughts. This cant happen when the information lives elsewhere. Soares cautioned that we should be mindful about allowing tech to steal something away from us that we would not have otherwise like mind wandering.When used with intention and discernment, you can reap the benefits of AI without compromising your cognitive integrity. Its similar to todays food environment: in theory, we have unprecedented access to healthy options, but only if youre informed, deliberate, and in many cases, wealthy. But the food environment, like the digital tool environment, is built to push you toward options that are highly palatable and cheap to produce often, not whats actually good for you.The ability to use AI selectively, without losing your mind, might be an elite privilege. While wealthier households generally have more digital devices, poor teens spend more time on their devices than those from rich families. It seems that as peoples access to technology increases, so does their ability to restrict that access. The same may be true for AI: while people with higher incomes and education levels are more aware of examples of AI use in daily life, a study published earlier this year found that less educated people are more likely to blindly trust AI. The more people trust AI, the more likely they are to hand over their mental workload, without bothering to evaluate the outcome. They write, This trust creates a dependence on AI for routine cognitive tasks, thus reducing the necessity for individuals to engage deeply with the information they process.We wont know for many years exactly what our devices are doing to our brains; we dont have the neurological tools, and there hasnt been enough time for longitudinal studies to track the full impact. But we have an intuitive sense of what our devices are doing to our psyche, and its not great. The scattered attention, the weakened ability to focus, the constant urge to check for updates these are tangible changes to how we experience the world.Even more worrying than brain rot is the fact that a handful of very rich people are developing AI at breakneck speed, without asking society for permission. As my colleague Sigal Samuel has written, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, literally said his companys goal is to create magic intelligence in the sky without attempting to seek buy-in from the public. The question isnt just how these tools reshape our individual cognition, but how they will irrevocably change society.Plagiarism, misinformation, and power imbalances worry me 100 times more than I worry that we might be losing our cognitive abilities by overusing technology, Gilbert said. The real risk may not be that we outsource too much thinking, but that we surrender our agency to decide which thoughts are worth thinking at all.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

One of the PS5's biggest games of 2025, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, finally has a release date and a stunning new trailer is going to make the wait until June harder than everTech13:36, 10 Mar 2025The Death Stranding 2 universe gets weirder and weirder(Image: Kojima/Guerrilla Games)There's nothing quite like a Hideo Kojima game to catch you off-guard with a new trailer, and the legendary man behind the Metal Gear Solid series is back with another sterling effort for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.We tipped it to be one of the biggest games of 2025, and alongside Ghost of Yotei, it marks one of two big sequels for PlayStation fans in 2025.Now, we have a confirmed release date and another fantastic trailer as we inch closer to Summer 2025. Here's all we've learned about the game so far.The latest trailer shows off a very Solid Snake-looking character, who is even seen wearing the iconic bandana, while Norman Reedus is back as Sam Porter Bridges. The ten minute trailer is long, and packs a whole host of story beats so those of a sensitive disposition to spoilers might want to look away.The trailer explains that Deliveries, the main gameplay loop of the first game, are now automated, with a "mysterious faction spreading" while "Chiralium warps the environment".Is that who we think it is?(Image: Kojima/Guerrilla Games)We see Sam walking through sandstorms, crossing rivers, climbing snowy mountains and crossing lush jungles, as well as another glimpse of Puppetman and Fragile.It looks like there's more of a focus on combat, too, which will please those that thought the first game was a little on the slower side. Near the end of the trailer, the words "We should not have connected" appear sounds like when you clicked on the wrong button on LinkedIn.The big news is that the game will launch on June 26 as a PS5 exclusive (at least for now), and you can get early access from June 24 with Early Access afforded by the Collector's Edition which also includes figures, in-game weapons, a 15" Magellan man statue and a letter from Kojima himself.For more on PlayStation, be sure to check out how you can get a PS5 console for 11 a month, or the news that Gears of War is reportedly coming to Sony systems.Article continues belowFor more of the latest news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up for one of our newsletters here.

GTA 6 fans have spotted a sneaky clue that teased Trailer 1's release date and offers a date for the next one but is it all an elaborate hoax, or will we get news on April 1?Tech13:19, 10 Mar 2025Will we see GTA 6 next month?(Image: Still)Grand Theft Auto 6 is, as far as publisher Take-Two is concerned, due to launch in 2025, but Rockstar Games has said nothing since December 2023.After a whole year of nothing, fans thought they'd found a developer that 'confirmed' that the game is still on track for this year, but the wait goes on for the illusive Trailer 2.With fans still digging through the first trailer 15 months later, we're still waiting for a second look at Leonida and Vice City but fans think it's coming on April 1. While that might sound like an April Fool's joke, here's why it's more plausible than you might think.Content cannot be displayed without consentThe GTA fanbase found a T-shirt in GTA Online that correctly dated the game's first trailer, and it features additional dates around the outside.The number 040125 suggests April 1 could be the day, while the T-shirt is called the "One Day Will Reveal All" shirt lending further credence to the idea it's teasing something.Naturally, April Fool's occurs on April 1, so it could be a funny ruse, plus it'd lead to a lot of fun with the community. Imagine the scenes: "Trailer 2 is out!""Yeah, nice one Rockstar, pull the other one."Still, one GTA 6 source has suggested that the April date might be not too far off at all. The GTA 6 O'Clock newsletter has suggested that the company's push to shorter marketing cycles could mean early April is likely."We receive a lot of emails from people claiming to be insiders and this historical marketing pattern chimes with one of our more credible tip offs (which was more definitive in tipping April for Trailer 2)," the newsletter says.Content cannot be displayed without consent"To paraphrase Nobel laureate Eugene Fama (in relation to the stock market), the past does not predict the future, but we are talking about a more controlled, tried-and-tested promotion strategy, potentially executed by a core group of the same Rockstar employees.""So, er, yeah: were expecting GTA 6 Trailer 2 by early April. Conviction: 39/50 Spaceship Parts."Article continues belowFor more on GTA 6, check out Rockstar's surprising link to British actor Danny Dyer, as well as everything we know about the game so far.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

Wanderstop bringing burnout to the boil (Annapurna Interactive)The director behind The Stanley Parable and The Beginners Guide returns with a narrative adventure set in a tea shop, which challenges the very nature of video games.While farming simulators, cooking games, and virtual pets have existed for years, these experiences are now commonly filed under the moniker of cosy game. In recent years, the label has become popular shorthand for anything cutesy, but when boiled down, the term is so broad and vibes-based it can encompass almost anything, depending on the person.Cute cats and flowery fields are the default cosy aesthetic for normies, but whos to say popping heads in Call Of Duty doesnt offer the same kind of soothing mental cleansing as tending the weeds?The purpose and nature of these games is explored in Wanderstop, a narrative-driven title which has all the conventional cosy tenets plants to water, animals to pet, and a cuddly art style to sink into but uses the concept to say something deeper about the importance of taking time out when you feel lost in life.The unlikely protagonist for the game is Alta, a highly-driven fighter who has dedicated her entire life to the craft, but who suddenly loses her mojo after someone breaks her undefeated streak. Baffled by the loss, she decides to seek out a legendary warrior to help her train but, while on the trip through a forest, she collapses and can no longer carry her sword.She is saved and nursed back to health by Boro, the chirpy owner of the Wanderstop tea shop. When she wakes up, Alta is initially stubborn to rest, brushing her fall off as a minor hiccup, but after subsequent runs through the forest end in the same way, she takes up Boros offer of helping him manage the tea shop while she figures out whats going on.This starts the relaxed gameplay loop of Wanderstop. Boro teaches you how to grow plants using different coloured seeds, with the colour you use combined with how theyre placed on a hexagonal grid across the ground altering the end result.Place three in a straight line and youll grow a plant to generate more seeds, while a larger triangular formation will grow a hybrid plant. These plants sprout fruits with distinctive flavours which you can infuse into your tea, which is required to fulfil the specific requests of customers who float in and out of Wanderstop.These requests escalate in complexity, throwing in other considerations like mushrooms which can change the colour of fruits, while some require you to study an in-game guidebook so you can match the vaguer orders to the descriptions of specific plants. Wanderstop isnt challenging but is instead a stress-free experience you tackle at your own pace, with zero time pressure and no repercussions for getting an order wrong.The act of brewing tea is consistently satisfying thanks to the stellar animation, sound design, and elaborate Willy Wonka-like contraption you have to utilise at the shops centre. You whip around the towering machine on a rolling ladder; pulling a rope to pour water, slapping bellows in the right rhythm to boil it up, adding ingredients, and opening valves to allow the glowing mixture to swirl around the tubes, before it finally sloshes into your mug.Theres even an art to pulling the final rope for a set time to fill your cup without any overflow, which is acknowledged by Boro, but is otherwise entirely there for your personal amusement. This isnt your average kettle (Annapurna Interactive)Wanderstop is very unconcerned with rewarding players in the traditional sense. Youre progressing through a narrative, but trinkets you find from trimming weeds or sweeping leaves disappear when you decide to progress to the next season as dictated by a stone shrine which glows after youve completed all the tea orders of that cycle.This goes for all your plants too, so while you can spend hours just decorating the fields around the tea shop it wont last and the changing of the seasons will wash away all your hard work.This all connects to Wanderstops central theme of dealing with change. Interestingly, the only tangible progress which does carry over between seasons are photographs (taken through an in-game camera or given to you by characters) that you can place in frames around the tea shop.Even the vaguely-worded achievements are tied to a time delay after youve triggered them, further distancing itself from the idea of completing tasks to fulfil a dopamine checklist.The cosy nature of Wanderstop isnt just about the pleasing aesthetic but the solace of pulling yourself off the typical tracks of progress and finding gratification in the smaller moments. It wants you to dally and dawdle with its plant combinations, read funny stories about a fictional action hero sent in the mailbox, or serve tea to the roaming Pluffin birds so they change colours and fly after you.The game wants your mind to wander, reflect, and breathe in the small stuff, even if it isnt contributing towards any specific goal.This is a tough statement to make in a video game, a medium built on the satisfaction of filling progress bars and levelling up, but Wanderstops characters are the gratifying sweetener in the brew.In each season, customers will approach Alta with various problems, which you try to alleviate with tea specific to their tastes. All of these encounters are memorable, sharply written, and very funny, from Gerald the wannabe knight who is trying to impress his son despite a witchs curse, to a combative nan who is obsessed with overthrowing Boros tea shop through her advanced knowledge of economics.These stories arent all given a clean resolution a tea shop is for fleeting visits after all but they all feed into Wanderstops overall message. The thornier issue is Alta herself, whose arc is largely obvious and poorly paced. A meditation on burnout and overcoming mental roadblocks is naturally going to involve some frustration but over the course of 10 hours, Wanderstop labours the same point to an irritating degree taking some of your sympathies for Alta along with it.While the game has a sumptuous pastel art style and a fantastic soundtrack by Minecraft composer Daniel Rosenfeld, aka C418, there are jarring inconsistencies in the presentation.More TrendingOnly certain lines from Alta are voice acted, which isnt an obstacle per se, but the back and forth feels like an awkward choice when no other characters (including Boro, who is the most likeable) have a voice. The same applies in the switch to static 2D artwork during specific cut scenes, which while nicely drawn comes off as a cost-cutting measure rather than an artistic choice.Wanderstop is difficult to critique because of its unique intentions but, looking back, Ive enjoyed thinking about it more than actually playing it which almost feels like the point.Its the ultimate pallet cleanser, a pleasant space to occupy and recalibrate against the noise, wrapped in a charming tea-brewing game which wants you to slow down and better yourself. Its a flawed experiment, with bumps along the way, especially if youre looking for clear cut resolutions and payoffs, but this understated wander through cosy tropes has a pungent and thoughtful aftertaste.Wanderstop review summaryIn Short: A fascinating cosy experiment, packed with memorable characters and sharp writing, but which occasionally stumbles in the execution.Pros: Brewing tea is very fun and satisfying. Excellent cast of characters, led by Boro. A visual treat with one of the best soundtracks of the year. A unique blend of concept and narrative, with a theme rarely tackled in games.Cons: Alta as a character can be grating and her story has some pacing issues. Some design choices might rub players the wrong way, even if well intentioned.Score: 7/10Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PCPrice: TBAPublisher: Annapurna InteractiveDeveloper: Ivy RoadRelease Date: 11th March 2025Age Rating: 12 Planting the seeds (Annapurna Interactive)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy