A new study from Arizona State University researchers suggests that the celebrated “Chain-of-Thought” (CoT) reasoning in Large Language Models (LLMs) may be more of a “brittle mirage” than genuine intelligence. The research builds on a growing body of work questioning the depth of LLM reasoning, but it takes a unique “data distribution” lens to test where and why CoT breaks down…
When OpenAI launched GPT-5 about two weeks ago, CEO Sam Altman promised it would be the company’s “smartest, fastest, most useful model yet.” Instead, the launch triggered one of the most contentious user revolts in the brief history of consumer AI.
Now, a simple blind…
Retro cameras are making a comeback. Bad photography is trending right alongside them
August 26, 2025
Blurry photos. Wild colors. Grainy images. The harshness of direct flash. Digital cameras have been slowly evolving to correct some of the most common mistakes in photography, fixing blur with stabilization, lowering grain with better processors and larger sensors, and…
Among this year’s 2025 World Press Photo winners is Carlos Barrera, a documentary photographer and photojournalist. His photo story, titled ‘Life and Death a Country without Constitutional Rights’, won the North America and Central America Long-Term Projects category, and hits particularly hard as a Salvadoran and journalist.
El Salvador has long been synonymous with violence. The…
Shadowplay! Craft three unique portrait looks at home with our easy one-light camera setups
August 26, 2025
Portraiture can at times feel like a bit of a dark art. There’s so much jargon and little pieces of equipment to get up to speed on, from flashes to guide numbers, and lighting modifiers to triggers. It can be difficult to know where to start!
That’s why we’re…
China debuts new warship, boosts South Pacific presence
August 26, 2025
China has debuted yet another new warship built to launch amphibious landings in military exercises held this month.
China’s naval branch, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, announced it launched its fourth Type 075 Amphibious Assault Ship, CNS Hubei, during…
Vulcan Elements, a 2-year-old startup manufacturing rare earth magnets in North Carolina, has quietly landed more than $10 million in Defense Department contracts across every branch of the U.S. military.
The deals underscore how urgent the Pentagon’s need has become to build a domestic supply chain for one of the most critical components in modern technology. China currently produces 94% of the…
US Coast Guard offloads record amount of narcotics
August 26, 2025
The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded 76,140 pounds of illicit narcotics on Monday, the largest single illegal drug dump in Coast Guard history.
The illegal narcotics surrendered by the Coast Guard cutter Hamilton in Port Everglades are valued at $473 million, according to a…
Dolby Atmos in your living room isn’t as easy as it sounds. Whether you’re dealing with a component A/V system or a soundbar, your speakers must be carefully positioned and calibrated to create that immersive Atmos experience—and if your furniture is in the way…
A free VPN allegedly takes screenshots of Chrome users
August 26, 2025
“If the product is free, you are the product.”
You can apply that thinking to pretty much anything supported by advertising or data collection, including tools like Chrome and Gmail. (And you’re not paying to read these words, are you? Food for thought.) But one VPN tool, claiming to increase user privacy and security, might be snooping on the people it’s claiming to protect.
That’s…
