Straight AI industry news Archives | The Cool Down

A person wearing headphones and writing.

Tech

Audible wants audiobooks to talk back, with AI character chats, guides, and visuals

A historical site featuring several wooden buildings and old train cars in a grassy area.

Business

Every household in this rural town will get $10,000 if a data center gets built

An artist painting on a canvas.

Tech

After an AI boycott, artists are returning to an Australian portrait prize

A person using a smartphone with a laptop in front, displaying chatbot conversation interfaces.

Tech

UK gov't draft tells staff not to thank chatbots, and to use shorter prompts to save energy

A McDonald's restaurant with a drive-thru and several parked cars in front.

Tech

Sydney McDonald's tests Australia's first AI drive-thru, and some customers want 'a real person'

A smartphone screen displaying various app icons on a background with a laptop keyboard.

Tech

Survey finds AI optimism worldwide, but the US is one of few countries where negativity leads

Business

Georgia county moves closer to Google data center deal, says it could lower property taxes

A man with two robots interacting with a digital interface in a high-tech environment.

Tech

Software engineers replaced by AI retaliate by building AI system to replace CEOs

A large industrial data center labeled "Hut 8" with rows of equipment in an open landscape.

Business

Texas data center plan carries $19.6 billion in leases as residents push back

A Microsoft building.

Tech

Developer digs into Microsoft Paint and Photos, finds invisible watermark on AI-made images

An Amazon fulfillment center with a prominent sign and a green bus parked nearby.

Tech

Amazon's 'Tetromino' could build fully automated delivery hubs, sorting packages 2.5 times faster

A person edits photos on dual monitors in a creative workspace.

Tech

Digital artists are fighting the 'AI look' with rough edges, brush marks, and wobble