Latest news with #blog
The Verge
17-06-2025
- Business
- The Verge
it turns out that Nexus Mods is
Jay Peters A little more about the Nexus Mods news. As reported by , now owned by a company called Chosen that, on its website, advertises itself as a better option than venture capital or private equity. In a pinned comment on yesterday's blog post, it sounds like the new owners generally want to keep the site the same, but they acknowledge that building trust 'takes time.' Nexus Mods' new owners promise they won't monetise the site to death as users panic at the whiff of venture capital: 'The new owners are here… not sitting in a distant tower, remotely directing us all towards some nefarious goals' [
TechCrunch
09-06-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Anthropic's AI-generated blog dies an early death
Claude's blog is no more. A week after TechCrunch profiled Anthropic's experiment to task the company's Claude AI models with writing blog posts, Anthropic wound down the blog and redirected the address to its homepage. Sometime over the weekend, the Claude Explains blog disappeared — along with its initial few posts. A source familiar tells TechCrunch the blog was a 'pilot' meant to help Anthropic's team combine customer requests for explainer-type 'tips and tricks' content with marketing goals. Claude Explains, which had a dedicated page on Anthropic's website and was edited for accuracy by humans, was populated by posts on technical topics related to various Claude use cases (e.g. 'Simplify complex codebases with Claude'). The blog, which was intended to be a showcase of sorts for Claude's writing abilities, wasn't clear about how much of Claude's raw writing was making its way into each post. An Anthropic spokesperson previously told TechCrunch that the blog was overseen by 'subject matter experts and editorial teams' who 'enhance[d]' Claude's drafts with 'insights, practical examples, and […] contextual knowledge.' The spokesperson also said Claude Explains would expand to topics ranging from creative writing to data analysis to business strategy. Apparently, those plans changed in pretty short order. '[Claude Explains is a] demonstration of how human expertise and AI capabilities can work together,' the spokesperson told TechCrunch earlier this month. '[The blog] is an early example of how teams can use AI to augment their work and provide greater value to their users. Rather than replacing human expertise, we're showing how AI can amplify what subject matter experts can accomplish.' Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Claude Explains didn't get the rosiest reception on social media, in part due to the lack of transparency about which copy was AI-generated. Some users pointed out it looked a lot like an attempt to automate content marketing, an ad tactic that relies on generating content on popular topics to serve as a funnel for potential customers. More than 24 websites were linking to Claude Explains posts before Anthropic wound down the pilot, according to search engine optimization tool Ahrefs. That's not bad for a blog that was only live for around a month. Anthropic might've also grown wary of implying Claude performs better at writing tasks than is actually the case. Even the best AI today is prone to confidently making things up, which has led to embarrassing gaffes on the part of publishers that have publicly embraced the tech. For example, Bloomberg has had to correct dozens of AI-generated summaries of its articles, and G/O Media's error-riddled AI-written features — published against editors' wishes — attracted widespread ridicule.
WIRED
09-06-2025
- WIRED
The Dome 2 Is a Silicon Valley Air Fryer That Will Cook Faster, Clean Itself, and Bake a Pizza
Typhur lets you control this the way sophisticated toaster ovens like Breville's do: through settings like 'grill' or 'broil' that modulate both fan speed and primary heat source. The grill setting combines the crispness of an air fryer with direct heat from the bottom of the basket—meaning I can brown and even lightly grill-char a pair of chicken legs at 450 degrees Fahrenheit, leading to deliciously crispy-fatty skin. This is also how the oven does pizza and pancakes, heating each from below but at a much lower fan setting to avoid drying out the crust or batter. This said, Typhur doesn't make its settings overly easy to parse, except via a recent blog post that still requires a little parsing. I'd love if the device or app offered indicators to show which burners were most active, and the speed of the fan, for each setting. But for now, below is a handy chart explaining the various cooking modes. In general, the higher the fan speed, expect more browning or crisping on the surface as the air draws across the surface and steals the moisture—which is the main reason air fryers are so effective at creating crispy food. That said, too much fan can dry out the food over time. Fan Speed and Heat Source for Each Cooking Mode on Typhur Dome 2 AccordionItemContainerButton Live By the App, Die By the App Photograph: Matthew Korfhage But you won't get full use out of the Dome 2 unless you pair it to your phone. Many functions aren't accessible from the eight-button control panel on the device itself. The app's most straightforward bonus is a 48-deep menu of recipes designed specifically for the Dome 2. These range from simple recommendations for bacon, chicken legs, or asparagus to air fryer cakes and cookies, and chicken cordon bleu. Once you choose a recipe, you can tweak both temperature and time, based on how much food you've added or how thick you've sliced your bacon. Then click start, and the device's setting will pair up with the recipe on the app. You'll still have to physically press start on the device, as a safety measure. But many useful functions are app-only, including dehydrate, bake, and roast—plus an added Steak preset. No baking or steaking if the Wi-Fi's down! (The Wings and Bacon presets, oddly, are the buttons on the device that are most similar to the baking function.) The self-clean function, which heats the oven at high temps to burn gunk off the heating elements, is also app-only. The basket and griddle grate are coated with PFAS- and PTFE-free ceramic nonstick, and it's pretty easy to wipe clean—but the self-clean, meant for monthly use, is a good backup for the oven interior. Price aside —this Typhur isn't cheap—reliance on the app is one of the main sticking points on an otherwise terrific device. (Though I'd also like more visibility on fan speed and primary burners.) I've accepted, for whatever reason, that my Google TV is a brick without a remote or a phone app. But I guess I still want to be able to bake cookies when my phone's dead. Maybe I need to learn to stop worrying and love the smart kitchen.
The Verge
07-06-2025
- The Verge
'You can now easily pause, play, skip forward or backward, and seek via the progress bar right from the picture-in-picture window,'
Microsoft Edge's picture-in-picture mode is getting better controls. according to a blog post. I don't use Edge, but these seem like good upgrades.
TechCrunch
03-06-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Anthropic's AI is writing its own blog — with human oversight
Anthropic has given its AI a blog. A week ago, Anthropic quietly launched Claude Explains, a new page on its website that's generated mostly by the company's AI model family, Claude. Populated by posts on technical topics related to various Claude use cases (e.g. 'Simplify complex codebases with Claude'), the blog is intended to be a showcase of sorts for Claude's writing abilities. It's not clear just how much of Claude's raw writing is making its way into Claude Explains posts. According to a spokesperson, the blog is overseen by Anthropic's 'subject matter experts and editorial teams,' who 'enhance' Claude's drafts with 'insights, practical examples, and […] contextual knowledge.' 'This isn't just vanilla Claude output — the editorial process requires human expertise and goes through iterations,' the spokesperson said. 'From a technical perspective, Claude Explains shows a collaborative approach where Claude [creates] educational content, and our team reviews, refines, and enhances it.' None of this is obvious from Claude Explains' homepage, which bears the description, 'Welcome to the small corner of the Anthropic universe where Claude is writing on every topic under the sun.' One might be easily misled into thinking that Claude is responsible for the blog's copy end-to-end. Anthropic's Claude has its own blog — with human editors. Image Credits:Anthropic Anthropic says it sees Claude Explains as a 'demonstration of how human expertise and AI capabilities can work together,' starting with educational resources. 'Claude Explains is an early example of how teams can use AI to augment their work and provide greater value to their users,' the spokesperson said. 'Rather than replacing human expertise, we're showing how AI can amplify what subject matter experts can accomplish […] We plan to cover topics ranging from creative writing to data analysis to business strategy.' 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 | REGISTER NOW Anthropic's experiment with AI-generated copy, which comes just a few months after rival OpenAI said it had developed a model tailored for creative writing, is far from the first to be articulated. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg has said he wants to develop an end-to-end AI ad tool, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently predicted that AI could someday handle '95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists, and creative professionals for today.' Elsewhere, publishers have piloted AI newswriting tools in a bid to boost productivity and, in some cases, reduce hiring needs. Gannett has been especially aggressive, rolling out AI-generated sports recaps and summaries beneath headlines. Bloomberg added AI-generated summaries to the tops of articles in April. And Business Insider, which laid off 21% of its staff last week, has pushed for writers to turn to assistive AI tools. Even legacy outlets are investing in AI, or at least making vague overtures that they might. The New York Times is reportedly encouraging staff to use AI to suggest edits, headlines and even questions to ask during interviews, while The Washington Post is said to be developing an 'AI-powered story editor' called Ember. Yet many of these efforts haven't gone well, largely because AI today is prone to confidently making things up. Business Insider was forced to apologize to staff after recommending books that don't appear to exist but instead may have been generated by AI, according to Semafor. Bloomberg has had to correct dozens of AI-generated summaries of articles. G/O Media's error-riddled AI-written features, published against editors' wishes, attracted widespread ridicule. The Anthropic spokesperson noted that the company is still hiring across marketing, content and editorial, and 'many other fields that involve writing,' despite the company's dip into AI-powered blog drafting. Take that for what you will.
