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YouTube, Meta, and Twitch won’t say if they’ll allow the US government to livestream an execution

YouTube, Twitch, Meta, and X aren't saying whether they'll allow the US government to livestream an execution on their platforms. The four companies didn't respond to The Verge's requests for comment after an unnamed Pentagon official said yesterday that the execution of Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of a mass shooting at a Texas military base in 2009, will be livestreamed. Two platforms responded to The Verge's inquiries. Jamie Favazza, a spokesperson for TikTok's US operations, pointed to the platform's policies banning "shocking and graphic content," including "the moment of someone's death." Kick, a platform known for taking a hands-of … Read the full story at The Verge.

The AI is in the computer

It's gadget season, and a lot of companies are launching a lot of new products. But whether it's Microsoft dropping a high-end laptop, Amazon shipping a fancy Android tablet, or Apple diving headlong into the smart home, the actual strategy appears to be almost always the same. All these companies believe AI assistants and agents are the future of computing, and they're building devices that put them front and center. On this episode of The Vergecast, David and Nilay dig into all this new hardware to figure out whether any of it has the right take on AI. (Or if "the AI should run the computer" is even the right idea in the first place.) The … Read the full story at The Verge.

Yandex Takes a Second Data Center Hit in 48 Hours

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TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 starts in 4 days — lock in your pass savings of up to $100 before prices rise

Four days until TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 starts, when 10,000 founders, investors, and tech leaders gather in San Francisco's Moscone West on October 13-15. Save up to $100 on your price. Plus, save 50% on a second pass of the same type.

TechCrunch·Oct 9, 2026

Instinct was the buzziest AI agent around — can it survive Muse?

Instinct’s agent is always just a text away. Before there were cute little guys, there was Instinct. In August, the startup got its AI agent to market with an unusual playbook: invite-only, no marketing, and barely so much as a website. And yet, Instinct quickly became the buzziest thing in AI, garnering praise for its straightforward, text message-based interface and its ability to handle chores like booking DMV appointments and sending follow-up emails. Then Muse arrived, followed not long after by Dots. The same products, more or less, from two far more powerful companies. With Big Tech players suddenly in the mix, it was looking dubious that the startup's buzzy launch could keep … Read the full story at The Verge.

A week with Googlebooks: four notes from our testing so far

Software, software, software. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge Google's new operating system is off to a rocky start. The five newly launched Googlebook laptops have hardware that ranges from great to excellent, but the software in its current state is the weak point. There are four of us on staff at The Verge actively testing Googlebooks and, frankly, our internal Slack discussions have been mostly filled with collective venting of frustrations, disappointments, and bewilderment. The promise of Googlebooks as a fresh and smartly designed alternative to Windows or Mac for Android phone owners sounds great, but there's more than just a few kinks and quirks to work out. Some of its issues and challenges … Read the full story at The Verge.

Iranian campaign planted fake articles in real U.S. publications using ChatGPT

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Pointing AI at archives found a forgotten meteorite, lost rhinos, and more

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Let your AI agents paint big arrows, boxes and text on your screen

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OpenAI fires three safety researchers for "mishandling research information"

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OpenAI doubles down on decision to fire three AI safety researchers

OpenAI is standing firm on its decision to fire three safety researchers after an investigation found they committed "a significant breach of trust." In a post on X on Friday, the company said Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak and Mikita Balesni were dismissed for violating "clear policies on handling sensitive information." It insisted the decision was not about the trio speaking out about the company and their concerns about AI safety. The post is a direct response to an open letter the researchers published on Thursday urging OpenAI to be more transparent about the decision. In it and a series of social media posts, the group said they believ … Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft 365 Family subscribers will finally be able to share AI benefits

Microsoft bundled its AI-powered Office features into Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions last year, but it only allowed the primary account holder to access the AI benefits. Now, Microsoft is about to let Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscribers share Copilot and AI usage features, alongside access to Office apps and OneDrive storage, with up to five other people on a plan. In an email to Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscribers seen by The Verge, Microsoft outlines the changes that are coming to subscription plans over the coming months: AI for everyone on your plan: Share your Copilot benefits and AI usage with othe … Read the full story at The Verge.