Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More When Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently announced that the company would not hire any more engineers in 2025, citing a “30% productivity increase on engineering” due to AI, it sent ripples through the tech industry. Headlines quickly framed this as the beginning of the end for human engineers — AI was coming for their jobs. But those headlines miss the mark entirely. What’s really happening is a transformation of engineering itself. Gartner named agentic AI as its top tech trend for this year. The firm also predicts that 33% of enterprise software applications will include agentic AI by 2028 — a significant portion, but far from universal adoption. The extended timeline suggests a gradual evolution rather than a wholesale replacement. The real risk isn’t AI taking jobs; it’s engineers who fail to adapt and are left behind as the nature of engineering work evolves. The reality across the tech industry reveals an explosion of demand for engineers with AI expertise. Professional services firms are aggressively recruiting engineers with generative AI experience, and technology companies are creating entirely new engineering positions focused on AI implementation. The market for professionals who can effectively leverage AI tools is extraordinarily competitive. While claims of AI-driven productivity gains may be grounded in real progress, such announcements often reflect investor pressure for profitability as much as technological advancement. Many companies are adept at shaping narratives to position themselves as leaders in enterprise AI — a strategy that aligns well with broader market expectations. How AI is transforming engineering work The relationship between AI and engineering is evolving in four key ways, each representing a distinct capability that augments human engineering talent but certainly doesn’t replace it.  AI excels at summarization, helping engineers distill massive codebases, documentation and technical specifications into actionable insights. Rather than spending hours poring over documentation, engineers can get AI-generated summaries and focus on implementation. Also, AI’s inferencing capabilities allow it to analyze patterns in code and systems and proactively suggest optimizations. This empowers engineers to identify potential bugs and make informed decisions more quickly and with greater confidence. Third, AI has proven remarkably adept at converting code between languages. This capability is proving invaluable as organizations modernize their tech stacks and attempt to preserve institutional knowledge embedded in legacy systems. Finally, the true power of gen AI lies in its expansion capabilities — creating novel content like code, documentation or even system architectures. Engineers are using AI to explore more possibilities than they could alone, and we’re seeing these capabilities transform engineering across industries.  In healthcare, AI helps create personalized medical instruction systems that adjust based on a patient’s specific conditions and medical history. In pharmaceutical manufacturing, AI-enhanced systems optimize production schedules to reduce waste and ensure an adequate supply of critical medications. Major banks have invested in gen AI for longer than most people realize, too; they are building systems that help manage complex compliance requirements while improving customer service.  The new engineering skills landscape As AI reshapes engineering work, it’s creating entirely new in-demand specializations and skill sets, like the ability to effectively communicate with AI systems. Engineers who excel at working with AI can extract significantly better results. Similar to how DevOps emerged as a discipline, large language model operations (LLMOps) focuses on deploying, monitoring and optimizing LLMs in production environments. Practitioners of LLMOps track model drift, evaluate alternative models and help to ensure consistent quality of AI-generated outputs. Creating standardized environments where AI tools can be safely and effectively deployed is becoming crucial. Platform engineering provides templates and guardrails that enable engineers to build AI-enhanced applications more efficiently. This standardization helps ensure consistency, security and maintainability across an organization’s AI implementations. Human-AI collaboration ranges from AI merely providing recommendations that humans may ignore, to fully autonomous systems that operate independently. The most effective engineers understand when and how to apply the appropriate level of AI autonomy based on the context and consequences of the task at hand.  Keys to successful AI integration Effective AI governance frameworks — which ranks No. 2 on Gartner’s top trends list — establish clear guidelines while leaving room for innovation. These frameworks address ethical considerations, regulatory compliance and risk management without stifling the creativity that makes AI valuable. Rather than treating security as an afterthought, successful organizations build it into their AI systems from the beginning. This includes robust testing for vulnerabilities like hallucinations, prompt injection and data leakage. By incorporating security considerations into the development process, organizations can move quickly without compromising safety. Engineers who can design agentic AI systems create significant value. We’re seeing systems where one AI model handles natural language understanding, another performs reasoning and a third generates appropriate responses, all working in concert to deliver better results than any single model could provide. As we look ahead, the relationship between engineers and AI systems will likely evolve from tool and user to something more symbiotic. Today’s AI systems are powerful but limited; they lack true understanding and rely heavily on human guidance. Tomorrow’s systems may become true collaborators, proposing novel solutions beyond what engineers might have considered and identifying potential risks humans might overlook. Yet the engineer’s essential role — understanding requirements, making ethical judgments and translating human needs into technological solutions — will remain irreplaceable. In this partnership between human creativity and AI, there lies the potential to solve problems we’ve never been able to tackle before — and that’s anything but a replacement. Rizwan Patel is head of information security and emerging technology at Altimetrik.  Daily insights on business use cases with VB Daily If you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI. Read our Privacy Policy Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here. An error occured.

The NAACP is calling on local officials to halt operations at Colossus, the “supercomputer” facility operated by Elon Musk’s xAI in South Memphis. As reported in NBC News, leaders from the civil rights group sent a letter Thursday to the Shelby County Health Department and Memphis Light Gas and Water criticizing the organizations’ “lackadaisical approach to the operation of this dirty data center” and calling on them to “issue an emergency order for xAI to stop operations completely” — or if there’s no order, to at least cite and stop the company from allegedly violating clean air laws. The letter expressed particular concerns around the gas turbines that xAI runs to power Colossus. The company has applied for a permit to continue operating 15 gas turbines at the facility, although the NAACP said authorities have “allowed xAI to operate at least 35 gas turbines without any permitting” over the past year. City officials have previously said xAI did not need permits for the turbines’ first year of use. These turbines reportedly emit hazardous air pollutants, including formaldehyde, at levels exceeding EPA limits. The NAACP’s letter also pointed to the turbines’ nitrogen-oxide emissions. Noting that the Colossus facility is located near South Memphis’ Boxtown neighborhood, which the letter described as a “historically Black community,” the NAACP said the location perpetuates “the trend of industries adding pollution to communities who do not cause the problem.” “Instead of [the Shelby County Health Department] working to reduce health issues known in the area including that cancer risks are already four times the national average, it has allowed xAI to operate above the law,” the NAACP added. The NAACP’s letter is addressed to Shelby County Health Department Director Michelle Taylor, as well as Memphis Light Gas and Water’s commissioners; Taylor is leaving her role in Shelby County to become the commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW TechCrunch has reached out to the NAACP and xAI for comment. A spokesperson for Memphis Light Gas and Water told NBC News that it had not yet received the NAACP letter.

Author Hey! I'm Sam from Mythcarver Games, a small and passionate dev studio from Canada, and we’re on the lookout for our next exciting project (Unity & Unreal)!📺 Portfolio with some of our workWe partner with indie creatives, and while we can be ‘engineering muscles for hire’, the team is not just comprised of exceptional developers. We know the gaming business deeply, and collaborate closely with our partners to build successful games. We’ve delivered over 50 projects since 2017!What we do:💻 Game Development (Unity & Unreal): We focus on programming to build full games or jump in tactically where things get complex.📈 Real Traction: We’ve helped run Kickstarter campaigns (over 4x the $ avg) and land publishing deals.🤝 Extend Your Team: We’re senior-only devs (7+ years exp avg), transparent, and with minimal overhead.💪 We Understand the Indie Struggle: This is a paid engagement. We don’t charge Californian AAA rates and are open to cost + revshare deal if the fit is right.Serious about making your game? Say hi, we don't bite =]💬 Discord: samgomes✉ [email protected]  Hey Sam, thanks for sharing this. I've just checked out some of the work from Mythcarver; it's excellent stuff. The focus on senior-only devs and being open to flexible models like cost + revshare is definitely interesting, especially for smaller teams trying to scale up. I'm curious, how do you usually handle communication and project management when working with distributed indie teams? Advertisement Bonjour!!! I like your website art.

Nintendo is bringing one of its exclusive games to PC claims Microsoft website GameCentral Published May 31, 2025 3:51pm Updated May 31, 2025 4:02pm Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition – not available on PC (Nintendo) A listing for a Nintendo first party game has appeared on Microsoft’s Edge Game Assist webpage and it’s either a mistake or the biggest news in gaming for a decade. Although Sony has finally embraced the PC market it seems impossible to imagine that any Nintendo-made game would ever appear on a modern PC, especially given some of the failed experiments in the 90s, with titles like Mario’s Game Gallery. The question must certainly have come up, amongst Nintendo’s execs, and you can guarantee that Microsoft has encouraged them to release games on the format, but there’s never been any outward sign that they’ve considered it… until now. To be clear, this is almost certainly a mistake of some kind, but nevertheless, the recently re-released Xenoblade Chronicles X is currently listed as one of various ordinary PC games that are ‘enhanced for Microsoft Edge Game Assist.’ We’ll be honest, we’ve never heard of Edge Game Assist until now, and we imagine most other people haven’t either, but according to Microsoft, ‘for a selection of popular PC games’ it highlights ‘helpful resources whenever you open a new tab. Many popular PC games are already enhanced for Game Assist, with more on the way.’ While there is an infinitesimally small chance that Microsoft has convinced Nintendo to release games on PC, and that fact has been accidentally revealed early – ahead of the Xbox Games Showcase next Sunday – the much more likely explanation is that this is some kind of error. Perhaps it’s a disgruntled employee or intern but it’s a very odd mistake to make for a human and yet seems like exactly the sort of error an AI would make. Microsoft is obsessed with AI at the moment, in terms of both using it and selling it to others, and don’t seem to care whether it does what it’s supposed to or not – reportedly Xbox use it for language translations in Europe, even for things as important as the Xbox dashboard, and there are often very obvious mistakes. Given how unpopular Xbox is on the Continent you might have thought they’d learn from that, but it seems not. As it is, at time of writing, Xenoblade Chronicles X is still listed amongst the supported games. You can’t see what kind of assistance is being offered though, as you have to start the game first… which doesn’t exist on PC. More Trending Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition was released on Nintendo Switch this March, as the last major Wii U game to be ported to the format. That means that all the Xenoblade Chronicles games are now available on Switch, following Nintendo’s move to buy 100% of developer Monolith Soft – who they also use as a support studio for major games such as Zelda: Breath Of the Wild. A new Xenoblade game is expected early on in the Switch 2’s lifespan, and Monolith Soft is already working on a new role-playing game of some sort. So, the chances of Microsoft teaming up with Nintendo to release Xenoblade, or any other exclusive, on PC seem miniscule. And mistakes like this are only likely to put Nintendo off the idea even more. Another AI blunder? (Microsoft) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign 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

Best of the rest Research roundup: 7 stories we almost missed Also: drumming chimpanzees, picking styles of two jazz greats, and an ancient underground city's soundscape Jennifer Ouellette – May 31, 2025 5:37 pm | 4 Time lapse photos show a new ping-pong-playing robot performing a top spin. Credit: David Nguyen, Kendrick Cancio and Sangbae Kim Time lapse photos show a new ping-pong-playing robot performing a top spin. Credit: David Nguyen, Kendrick Cancio and Sangbae Kim Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more It's a regrettable reality that there is never time to cover all the interesting scientific stories we come across each month. In the past, we've featured year-end roundups of cool science stories we (almost) missed. This year, we're experimenting with a monthly collection. May's list includes a nifty experiment to make a predicted effect of special relativity visible; a ping-pong playing robot that can return hits with 88 percent accuracy; and the discovery of the rare genetic mutation that makes orange cats orange, among other highlights. Special relativity made visible Credit: TU Wien Perhaps the most well-known feature of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity is time dilation and length contraction. In 1959, two physicists predicted another feature of relativistic motion: an object moving near the speed of light should also appear to be rotated. It's not been possible to demonstrate this experimentally, however—until now. Physicists at the Vienna University of Technology figured out how to reproduce this rotational effect in the lab using laser pulses and precision cameras, according to a paper published in the journal Communications Physics. They found their inspiration in art, specifically an earlier collaboration with an artist named Enar de Dios Rodriguez, who collaborated with VUT and the University of Vienna on a project involving ultra-fast photography and slow light. For this latest research, they used objects shaped like a cube and a sphere and moved them around the lab while zapping them with ultrashort laser pulses, recording the flashes with a high-speed camera. Getting the timing just right effectively yields similar results to a light speed of 2 m/s. After photographing the objects many times using this method, the team then combined the still images into a single image. The results: the cube looked twisted and the sphere's North Pole was in a different location—a demonstration of the rotational effect predicted back in 1959. DOI: Communications Physics, 2025. 10.1038/s42005-025-02003-6  (About DOIs). Drumming chimpanzees A chimpanzee feeling the rhythm. Credit: Current Biology/Eleuteri et al., 2025. Chimpanzees are known to "drum" on the roots of trees as a means of communication, often combining that action with what are known as "pant-hoot" vocalizations (see above video). Scientists have found that the chimps' drumming exhibits key elements of musical rhythm much like humans, according to  a paper published in the journal Current Biology—specifically non-random timing and isochrony. And chimps from different geographical regions have different drumming rhythms. Back in 2022, the same team observed that individual chimps had unique styles of "buttress drumming," which served as a kind of communication, letting others in the same group know their identity, location, and activity. This time around they wanted to know if this was also true of chimps living in different groups and whether their drumming was rhythmic in nature. So they collected video footage of the drumming behavior among 11 chimpanzee communities across six populations in East Africa (Uganda) and West Africa (Ivory Coast), amounting to 371 drumming bouts. Their analysis of the drum patterns confirmed their hypothesis. The western chimps drummed in regularly spaced hits, used faster tempos, and started drumming earlier during their pant-hoot vocalizations. Eastern chimps would alternate between shorter and longer spaced hits. Since this kind of rhythmic percussion is one of the earliest evolved forms of human musical expression and is ubiquitous across cultures, findings such as this could shed light on how our love of rhythm evolved. DOI: Current Biology, 2025. 10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.019  (About DOIs). Distinctive styles of two jazz greats Jazz lovers likely need no introduction to Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery, 20th century guitarists who influenced generations of jazz musicians with their innovative techniques. Montgomery, for instance, didn't use a pick, preferring to pluck the strings with his thumb—a method he developed because he practiced at night after working all day as a machinist and didn't want to wake his children or neighbors. Pass developed his own range of picking techniques, including fingerpicking, hybrid picking, and "flat picking." Chirag Gokani and Preston Wilson, both with Applied Research Laboratories and the University of Texas, Austin, greatly admired both Pass and Montgomery and decided to explore the underlying the acoustics of their distinctive playing, modeling the interactions of the thumb, fingers, and pick with a guitar string. They described their research during a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in New Orleans, LA. Among their findings: Montgomery achieved his warm tone by playing closer to the bridge and mostly plucking at the string. Pass's rich tone arose from a combination of using a pick and playing closer to the guitar neck. There were also differences in how much a thumb, finger, and pick slip off the string:  use of the thumb (Montgomery) produced more of a "pluck" compared to the pick (Pass), which produced more of a "strike." Gokani and Wilson think their model could be used to synthesize digital guitars with a more realistic sound, as well as helping guitarists better emulate Pass and Montgomery. Sounds of an ancient underground city Credit: Sezin Nas Turkey is home to the underground city Derinkuyu, originally carved out inside soft volcanic rock around the 8th century BCE. It was later expanded to include four main ventilation channels (and some 50,000 smaller shafts) serving seven levels, which could be closed off from the inside with a large rolling stone. The city could hold up to 20,000 people and it  was connected to another underground city, Kaymakli, via tunnels. Derinkuyu helped protect Arab Muslims during the Arab-Byzantine wars, served as a refuge from the Ottomans in the 14th century, and as a haven for Armenians escaping persecution in the early 20th century, among other functions. The tunnels were rediscovered in the 1960s and about half of the city has been open to visitors since 2016. The site is naturally of great archaeological interest, but there has been little to no research on the acoustics of the site, particularly the ventilation channels—one of Derinkuyu's most unique features, according to Sezin Nas, an architectural acoustician at Istanbul Galata University in Turkey.  She gave a talk at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in New Orleans, LA, about her work on the site's acoustic environment. Nas analyzed a church, a living area, and a kitchen, measuring sound sources and reverberation patterns, among other factors, to create a 3D virtual soundscape. The hope is that a better understanding of this aspect of Derinkuyu could improve the design of future underground urban spaces—as well as one day using her virtual soundscape to enable visitors to experience the sounds of the city themselves. MIT's latest ping-pong robot Robots playing ping-pong have been a thing since the 1980s, of particular interest to scientists because it requires the robot to combine the slow, precise ability to grasp and pick up objects with dynamic, adaptable locomotion. Such robots need high-speed machine vision, fast motors and actuators, precise control, and the ability to make accurate predictions in real time, not to mention being able to develop a game strategy. More recent designs use AI techniques to allow the robots to "learn" from prior data to improve their performance. MIT researchers have built their own version of a ping-pong playing robot, incorporating a lightweight design and the ability to precisely return shots. They built on prior work developing the Humanoid, a small bipedal two-armed robot—specifically, modifying the Humanoid's arm by adding an extra degree of freedom to the wrist so the robot could control a ping-pong paddle. They tested their robot by mounting it on a ping-pong table and lobbing 150 balls at it from the other side of the table, capturing the action with high-speed cameras. The new bot can execute three different swing types (loop, drive, and chip) and during the trial runs it returned the ball with impressive accuracy across all three types: 88.4 percent, 89.2 percent, and 87.5 percent, respectively. Subsequent tweaks to theirrystem brought the robot's strike speed up to 19 meters per second (about 42 MPH), close to the 12 to 25 meters per second of advanced human players. The addition of control algorithms gave the robot the ability to aim. The robot still has limited mobility and reach because it has to be fixed to the ping-pong table but the MIT researchers plan to rig it to a gantry or wheeled platform in the future to address that shortcoming. Why orange cats are orange Credit: Astropulse/CC BY-SA 3.0 Cat lovers know orange cats are special for more than their unique coloring, but that's the quality that has intrigued scientists for almost a century. Sure, lots of animals have orange, ginger, or yellow hues, like tigers, orangutans, and golden retrievers. But in domestic cats that color is specifically linked to sex. Almost all orange cats are male. Scientists have now identified the genetic mutation responsible and it appears to be unique to cats, according to a paper published in the journal Current Biology. Prior work had narrowed down the region on the X chromosome most likely to contain the relevant mutation. The scientists knew that females usually have just one copy of the mutation and in that case have tortoiseshell (partially orange) coloring, although in rare cases, a female cat will be orange if both X chromosomes have the mutation. Over the last five to ten years, there has been an explosion in genome resources (including complete sequenced genomes) for cats which greatly aided the team's research, along with taking additional DNA samples from cats at spay and neuter clinics. From an initial pool of 51 candidate variants, the scientists narrowed it down to three genes, only one of which was likely to play any role in gene regulation: Arhgap36. It wasn't known to play any role in pigment cells in humans, mice, or non-orange cats. But orange cats are special; their mutation (sex-linked orange) turns on Arhgap36 expression in pigment cells (and only pigment cells), thereby interfering with the molecular pathway that controls coat color in other orange-shaded mammals. The scientists suggest that this is an example of how genes can acquire new functions, thereby enabling species to better adapt and evolve. DOI: Current Biology, 2025. 10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.075  (About DOIs). Not a Roman "massacre" after all Credit: Martin Smith In 1936, archaeologists excavating the Iron Age hill fort Maiden Castle in the UK unearthed dozens of human skeletons, all showing signs of lethal injuries to the head and upper body—likely inflicted with weaponry. At the time, this was interpreted as evidence of a pitched battle between the Britons of the local Durotriges tribe and invading Romans. The Romans slaughtered the native inhabitants, thereby bringing a sudden violent end to the Iron Age. At least that's the popular narrative that has prevailed ever since in countless popular articles, books, and documentaries. But a paper published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology calls that narrative into question. Archaeologists at Bournemouth University have re-analyzed those burials, incorporating radiocarbon dating into their efforts. They concluded that those individuals didn't die in a single brutal battle. Rather, it was Britons killing other Britons over multiple generations between the first century BCE and the first century CE—most likely in periodic localized outbursts of violence in the lead-up to the Roman conquest of Britain. It's possible there are still many human remains waiting to be discovered at the site, which could shed further light on what happened at Maiden Castle. DOI: Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2025. 10.1111/ojoa.12324  (About DOIs). Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 4 Comments

Gironda Residence | © Simone Bossi Located just steps from Piazza del Popolo in Ravenna, the Renaissance-era Casa Guaccimanni holds centuries of architectural and historical weight. Constructed in the fifteenth century for the Venetian podestà Nicolò Giustinian, the building evolved through noble ownership and later became home to Vittorio and Alessandro Guaccimanni, sons of Risorgimento figure Luigi Guaccimanni. Architecturally, the structure is characterized by a tripartite plan with a central corridor flanked by large rooms, an interior courtyard with a double loggia, and decorative elements spanning Renaissance to Neoclassical periods. Once concealed beneath plaster, its frescoed veranda and exposed wooden ceilings speak to a layered history of intervention, concealment, and rediscovery. Gironda Residence in Casa Guaccimanni Technical Information Architects1-13: Giovanni Mecozzi Architetti Location: Casa Guaccimanni, Via Armando Diaz, Ravenna, Italy Client: Emanuela Docimo Project Years: 2022 – 2024 Original Structure: 15th Century Photographs: © Andrea Sestito, © Simone Bossi, © Omar Sartor The new and the old never touch, but gently brush against each other, maintaining a distance capable of generating tension. – Giovanni Mecozzi Gironda Residence in Casa Guaccimanni Photographs © Omar Sartor © Andrea Sestito © Andrea Sestito © Andrea Sestito © Omar Sartor © Simone Bossi © Simone Bossi © Simone Bossi © Omar Sartor © Omar Sartor © Omar Sartor © Andrea Sestito © Omar Sartor Design Intent: Reversibility and Temporal Tension The recent architectural project by Giovanni Mecozzi Architetti centers on the noble floor of the palazzo, reinterpreted as a contemporary residence named Gironda. Rather than imposing a new visual regime onto the historic shell, the intervention operates with restraint, foregrounding the building’s original character while establishing new spatial and material conditions. At the core of the project lies a design philosophy rooted in reversibility. Mecozzi’s intervention resists permanence. The furnishings and spatial devices introduced into the historic rooms are self-supporting and detached from the structure. No new element makes physical contact with the floors, ceilings, or walls, preserving the integrity of the original surfaces. This strategy avoids irreversible alterations and allows the architecture to remain temporally flexible. Architect Giovanni Mecozzi articulates this approach succinctly: “The new and the old never touch, but gently brush against each other, maintaining a distance capable of generating tension.” This spatial tension is not decorative but conceptual, prompting occupants to consider the relationship between historical continuity and contemporary transformation. The design does not attempt to erase time but rather exposes its layers through careful juxtaposition. The project draws conceptual and chromatic inspiration from Ravenna’s early Christian and Byzantine mosaics. Rather than replicate ornamental motifs, Mecozzi extracts abstract qualities such as color, luminosity, and surface texture, integrating them as subtle spatial references throughout the residence. Gironda Residence Material Strategy Access to the residence is organized through a longitudinal hallway that bisects the plan, connecting a balcony on the north façade with a loggia overlooking the garden to the south. This corridor becomes a spine for circulation and orientation, punctuated by entries into five main rooms: the kitchen, veranda, and three independent suites. Each suite functions as a self-contained spatial environment. The original large rooms have been reimagined with integrated volumes housing diverse domestic functions: bathrooms, saunas, walk-in closets, reading nooks, and home cinemas. These new programmatic layers are embedded within freestanding furniture structures, which operate more as inhabitable objects than architectural partitions. Color becomes an operative tool for spatial differentiation. The three principal suites, the Gold Room, the Blue Room, and the Green Room, are introduced chromatically through thresholds that face the main corridor. This prelude of color sets the tone for each room’s unique interior experience. Within, glossy glass tiles, gilded surfaces, and a reduced palette of materials establish a scenographic yet restrained environment. The flooring, a Venetian terrazzo installed during earlier restoration work in the 2000s, has been retained. Its beveled borders and rounded corners respond to the proportions of each room, reinforcing a visual continuity that binds the new interventions with the inherited context. In contrast to the historical envelope, the furniture and spatial devices employ a language of monochromatic forms and minimal detailing, occasionally verging on neoplastic abstraction. This tension between old ornament and new abstraction is one of the project’s defining features. Furnishings curated by Atelier Biagetti, known for their theatrical and ironic sensibility, further enrich the atmosphere. These pieces do not mimic the historical setting but create moments of visual friction and playful ambiguity, enhancing the multi-temporal character of the interiors. Architectural Significance and Cultural Dialogue The Gironda residence exemplifies a growing discourse in contemporary architecture around adaptive reuse that neither mimics nor erases the past. Rather than treating heritage as a constraint or an aesthetic to be curated, Mecozzi engages it as an active agent in spatial transformation. The project is a case study in reversible architecture, where temporality is embedded in the design, not just its historical references. This intervention prompts broader questions about the role of preservation in contemporary practice. Can architectural interventions occupy historic contexts without becoming parasitic or nostalgic? Mecozzi’s project suggests that they can adopt a posture of critical distance and conceptual clarity. Gironda does not attempt to restore Casa Guaccimanni to a previous state or impose a singular vision of modernity. Instead, it crafts a dialogue between past and present, structured through spatial strategies, material choices, and chromatic cues. In doing so, it opens a new chapter in the building’s ongoing life, one that is fully contemporary yet deeply rooted in architectural memory. Gironda Residence in Casa Guaccimanni Plans Floor Plan | © Giovanni Mecozzi Architetti Golden Room Layout | © Giovanni Mecozzi Architetti Door Detail | © Giovanni Mecozzi Architetti Gironda Residence in Casa Guaccimanni Image Gallery About Giovanni Mecozzi Giovanni Mecozzi is an Italian architect based in Ravenna, Italy, and the founder of Giovanni Mecozzi Architetti (GMA), a multidisciplinary studio specializing in architecture, interior design, and landscape projects. After graduating from the University of Ferrara with an architecture degree, Mecozzi gained international experience working in Spain, including collaborating with Mendaro Arquitectos in Madrid. Upon returning to Italy, he co-founded GMA, focusing on projects emphasizing the relationship between architecture, the client, and the context, with a particular interest in renovating and transforming historical buildings.  Credits and Additional Notes Design Team: Giovanni Mecozzi, Cecilia Verdini, Filippo Minghetti Construction: Edilcostruzioni (Leoni Andrea) Electrical Systems: Elektra Service (Andrea Baiardi) Mechanical and Hydraulic Systems: Nuova OLP Structural Alterations: Not applicable (intervention is fully reversible) Custom Furniture: Idea Legno (Paolo Berdondini) Curtains and Fabrics: Selezione Arredamenti, Ravenna Lighting: Viabizzuno (via Tutto Luce, Cesena) Resin Coatings and Flooring: Kerakoll Rugs and Carpeting: Centro Moquette, Rimini Bathroom Furnishings: Salaroli, Ravenna Furniture, Artwork, and Design Objects Selected by: Atelier Biagetti (Milan) Furniture Designers: Alberto Biagetti and Laura Baldassarri

3D printer manufacturer Bambu Lab has issued a new update after an early fix was withdrawn. Termed a critical calibration bug, the company has acted swiftly to deliver new code to its many users. The Shenzhen-based company has now released firmware version V01.01.02.07 for its H2D 3D printer through its Public Beta Program. Rolled out on May 23, this update introduces a comprehensive set of new features, performance enhancements, and critical bug fixes designed to elevate print quality, expand hardware compatibility, and offer users greater control. The release builds on feedback gathered from earlier beta phases. The Bambu Lab H2D Laser Full Combo in a workshop. Image via Bambu Lab. Features and Improvements Firmware V01.01.02.07 adds native support for the CyberBrick time-lapse kit. It also expands the H2D’s onboard AI failure detection system, now giving users the ability to individually toggle detection functions for nozzle clumping, spaghetti printing, air printing, and purge chute pile-ups from the printer’s interface. Hardware compatibility has been further extended. The AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT systems now support RFID-based automatic matching of drying parameters and can perform drying operations without rotating spools. Additionally, the Laser & Cut module can now initiate tasks directly from USB drive files, improving workflow support. Performance updates include improved foreign object detection on the smooth PEI plate, better regulation of heatbed temperatures, enhanced first-layer quality, more reliable chamber temperature checks before printing begins, and improved accuracy of laser module flame detection. The update also enhances the accuracy of nozzle clumping and nozzle camera dirty detection, while optimizing the pre-purging strategy. A collision issue between the nozzle flow blocker and nozzle wiper—previously triggered during flow dynamics calibration—has been resolved. Calibration reliability for the liveview camera has also improved, and issues with pre-extrusion lines sticking to prints during layer transitions have been addressed. Bambu Lab H2D Launch. Image via Bambu Lab. However, two known issues remain in this beta release: detection of filament PTFE tube detachment is currently disabled, and users cannot adjust heatbed temperature via the Bambu Handy app. The latter is expected to be fixed in a future app update. This version replaces V01.01.02.04, which was briefly released on May 20 before being withdrawn due to a critical calibration bug. That earlier version caused the right nozzle to crash into the wiper during left-nozzle calibration, damaging the printer. The firmware also temporarily disabled filament detachment detection. Bambu Lab quickly pulled the update and advised users to revert to the previous stable firmware while working on a corrected release—now realized in version V01.01.02.07. Accessing the Firmware To access the beta firmware, users can opt into the Public Beta Program through the Bambu Handy app by navigating to the “Me” section and selecting “Beta Firmware Program.” Once enrolled, the update will be rolled out gradually. Participants can leave the program at any time and revert to the most recent stable firmware version. Bambu Lab recommends updating Bambu Studio Presets before installing the firmware to ensure full compatibility. Full technical documentation and the official changelog are available on Bambu Lab’s website. Bambu Lab Hardware Line: H2D and Beyond The new firmware update applies to the H2D 3D printer, Bambu Lab’s flagship desktop manufacturing system unveiled in March 2025. Designed for professional users, the H2D offers the company’s largest build volume to date—350 x 320 x 325 mm—and includes two new AMS systems with integrated filament drying. Dual-nozzle extrusion and servo-driven precision deliver high accuracy, while a 350°C hotend and 65°C heated chamber allow reliable printing with high-performance, fiber-reinforced materials. With a toolhead speed of up to 1000 mm/s and acceleration of 20,000 mm/s², the H2D is built for productivity without compromising quality. The Bambu Lab H2D’s digital cutter. Image via Bambu Lab. Bambu Lab’s broader portfolio also includes the X1E, released in 2023 as an enterprise-grade upgrade to its X1 series. Developed with professional and engineering applications in mind, the X1E features LAN-only connectivity for secure, offline operation, enhanced air filtration, and precise thermal regulation. An increased maximum nozzle temperature expands its material compatibility, making it suitable for demanding industrial applications. At its core, the X1E builds on the proven performance of the X1 Carbon, extending the system’s capabilities for use in sensitive or regulated environments. Take the 3DPI Reader Survey — shape the future of AM reporting in under 5 minutes. Who won the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards? Subscribe to the3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up with the latest 3D printing news. You can also follow us on LinkedIn, and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry Youtube channel to access more exclusive content. Featured image shows Bambu Lab H2D Launch. Image via Bambu Lab. Paloma Duran Paloma Duran holds a BA in International Relations and an MA in Journalism. Specializing in writing, podcasting, and content and event creation, she works across politics, energy, mining, and technology. With a passion for global trends, Paloma is particularly interested in the impact of technology like 3D printing on shaping our future.

It’s no surprise that many big, left-leaning social media accounts have recently joined Bluesky — but a new analysis from the Pew Research Center attempts to quantify that shift. This comes as an update to Pew’s news influencer report released in November 2024, which did not include Bluesky in its numbers. The report focused on a relatively small group of 500 influencers, all of whom have more than 100,000 followers on at least one major platform and post regularly about current events. For this Bluesky-centric update, Pew looked at those same influencers (as opposed to accounts that may have found a big audience on Bluesky exclusively) and saw that in February/March, 43% of them had an account on Bluesky. Just over half (51%) of those accounts were created after the 2024 presidential election. There’s a big divide between influencers on the right and the left, with 69% of the left-leaning accounts (the ones that explicitly identified as liberals or Democrats and expressed support for Kamala Harris or Joe Biden before the presidential election) making the jump to Bluesky, while only 15% of the conservative ones did the same. This movement wasn’t necessarily at the expense of X (formerly Twitter). While X owner Elon Musk’s alliance with now-President Donald Trump seemed to drive new users to Bluesky, 82% of the influencers tracked by Pew still had an account on X, down only slightly from 85% in summer 2025. In other words, even if left-leaning influencers are dipping their toes into Bluesky, most of them (87%) haven’t abandoned X. Pew also says most influencers continue to post more regularly on X than on Bluesky. However, Bluesky activity does appear to be picking up — the number of influencers on Bluesky who are actually posting grew from 54% in the first week of January to 66% in the last full week of March. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW

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Apple Intelligence has been off to a rocky start, especially when it comes to Siri. The assistant still has a lot to be desired, and that should definitely be at the forefront of Apple’s priorities. Regardless, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple plans on expanding current Apple Intelligence capabilities to additional apps in iOS 26, and I figured I’d throw out some ideas I’d like to see. Summaries in more places I think providing summaries is probably one of the better use cases of on-device large language models. Apple introduced notification summaries in iOS 18, and while there were some major inaccuracies early on, things seem to be mostly fine. Apple recently enabled Apple Intelligence on compatible devices by default, rather than making it an opt-in feature. For one, I think it’d be neat if there were an API for developers to use summarization models in their apps. I’m sure Apple would put strict guardrails on it, but allowing third-parties to utilize Apple’s summarization models would be a big win. It’d empower indie developers to create AI features without having to worry about an OpenAI bill. On top of that, I’d really like to see some summarization improvements in the Messages app, particularly in group chats. If you missed out on a 100-message conversation, Apple should provide a more detailed summary than what can fit within two lines. Or, say you’re a student – imagine being able to summarize the notes you took in a class after the fact. You’d still need to read the notes to get a thorough understanding, but a note summary could serve as a great way to jog your memory if you’re quickly trying to recall something. Genmoji for everyone Genmoji is probably one of the most popular Apple Intelligence features unveiled at WWDC24. Unfortunately though, it’s only available on some of the most recent iPhone models: iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max, iPhone 16e, iPhone 16/16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max. If you have anything older, including the one-year-old iPhone 15, you can’t use Genmoji. I don’t expect Apple to make its models run locally on less capable hardware, as nice as that would be. However, they did announce Private Cloud Compute – a private server for handling Apple Intelligence requests in the cloud. Those servers were likely low capacity when they just begun rolling them out, but it’ll have been over a year since the rollout begun by the time iOS 19 releases to the public. While I don’t expect Apple to give out Private Cloud Compute usage for free, I think it’d be pretty neat if they bundled Genmoji in iCloud+ subscriptions for users with older devices – giving people a taste of what Apple Intelligence offers. More customizable focus modes One of my favorite features in iOS 18 has been the new Reduce Interruptions focus mode. In short, it analyzes every notification that comes through, and only presents what it thinks is important. The rest just stay in notification center. I agree with the more granular focus options. I'd like a focus option for when I connect to my home wifi. A separate focus for different workout options...I'd like to be "more" silent when running outside, and less when working out in the gym. Just a few ideas here, and they should be able to work within the present APP options. View all comments I’d really like to see Apple offer additional granularity here. For example, you could configure a focus mode that only triggers on key words that you set up. I could also see the inverse being useful, where you’d normally allow an app to notify you, but you’d like notifications with matching key words to be muted. That’s just scratching the surface, but I really think there could be a lot of opportunity for AI to enable more granular notification management. The new “Reduce Interruptions” focus is just the start. My favorite Apple accessory recommendations: Follow Michael: X/Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.  FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel