AI and robotics innovations are advancing with GEN-1's high-reliability robotics model and Google's new offline AI dictation app, while OpenAI faces internal leadership distrust and proposes economic frameworks like robot taxes amid new venture capital funding and integrations for ChatGPT apps, even as geopolitical tensions surface with threats to AI data centers.

• From folding boxes to fixing vacuums, GEN-1 robotics model hits 99% reliability — Ars Technica -
• OpenAI alums have been quietly investing from a new, potentially $100M fund — TechCrunch -
• “The problem is Sam Altman”: OpenAI Insiders don’t trust CEO — Ars Technica -

• Google quietly launched an AI dictation app that works offline — TechCrunch -
• Iran threatens ‘Stargate’ AI data centers — TechCrunch -
• OpenAI’s vision for the AI economy: public wealth funds, robot taxes, and a four-day workweek — TechCrunch -
• How to use the new ChatGPT app integrations, including DoorDash, Spotify, Uber, and others — TechCrunch -
• Spain’s Xoople raises $130 million Series B to map the Earth for AI — TechCrunch -

Significant legal rulings are shaping the tech landscape, from RFK Jr.'s increased power over the CDC vaccine panel and sports bets being classified as "swaps" to Apple's ongoing App Store legal battle and a spyware maker avoiding jail time.

• After court loss, RFK Jr. gives himself more power over CDC vaccine panel — Ars Technica -
• Sports bets on prediction markets ruled to be "swaps," exempt from state laws — Ars Technica -
• Apple moves to take its App Store fight back to the Supreme Court — TechCrunch -

• Convicted spyware maker Bryan Fleming avoids jail at sentencing — TechCrunch -

North Korea is actively engaging in cyber espionage and illicit activities, including the hijack of a widely used open-source project and attempts to place fake IT workers in remote roles, highlighting persistent geopolitical tech tensions.

• Watch this video of how a job interviewer exposes a North Korean fake IT worker — TechCrunch -
• North Korea’s hijack of one of the web’s most used open source projects was likely weeks in the making — TechCrunch -

The used EV market is experiencing a sales spike driven by both gas prices and other factors, while Tesla's remote parking feature investigation has concluded without major incidents, and Netflix expands into children's gaming amidst smartphone innovations like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and insights into why rollable phones haven't taken off.

• Gas prices aren’t the only factor fueling used EV sales — TechCrunch -
• Netflix is expanding into kids’ games with a new stand-alone app — TechCrunch -
• Why safety regulators closed their investigation into Tesla’s remote parking feature — TechCrunch -

• Teardown of unreleased LG Rollable shows why rollable phones aren't a thing — Ars Technica -
• Used EV sales spike alongside gas prices — Ars Technica -
• Xiaomi 17 Ultra pushes smartphone photography even further — TechCrunch -

NASA's lunar exploration efforts are progressing with Moon ships and rockets performing well despite upcoming low-resolution video from a lunar flyby, while science funding faces potential massive cuts in the next budget proposal.

• Trump's next budget once again calls for massive cuts to science — Ars Technica -
• NASA's Moon ship and rocket seem to be working well, so what about the landers? — Ars Technica -
• Why will today's lunar flyby only beam back low-resolution video? — Ars Technica -

TechCrunch is promoting upcoming industry events, with significant ticket savings for Disrupt 2026 and open applications for Startup Battlefield 200 offering **VC access and a $100K prize**.

• Startup Battlefield 200 applications open: a chance for VC access, TechCrunch coverage, and $100K — TechCrunch -
• Ticket savings of up to $500 this week for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 — TechCrunch -

The enduring themes of memory and identity in Christopher Nolan's "Memento" continue to resonate 25 years after its release.

• What Memento reveals about human nature, 25 years later — Ars Technica -