Tag Archives: language|en-US

FAA opens up real world testing for air taxi startups

Posted on by

US regulators have approved eight pilot programs across 26 states that will allow Archer, Joby and other eVTOL companies to finally start testing aircraft this summer, according to a US Department of Transportation (DoT) press release. That will allow those manufacturers to run trials for use cases like urban air taxi services, regional passenger transportation, cargo, emergency medical operations and autonomous flight technology. 

The new projects were made possible by the White House's Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (e-IPP) approved last year to allow certification for such aircraft to progress after being stuck in the mud for years. "By safely testing the deployment of these futuristic air taxis and other AAM vehicles, we can fundamentally improve how the traveling public and products move," US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the time. 

Other FAA aircraft partners include Beta, Electra, Elroy Air, Wisk, Ampaire and Reliable Robotics. Key pilot programs were approved for the Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and North Carolina Departments of Transportation, along with New York and New Jersey Port Authority and the City of Albuquerque. We've already glimpsed some of the ideas, like Archer's plan to use air taxis between New York's major airports and city heliports.

A number of eVTOL startups have launched in recent years, but so far none of the aircraft have received "type certificates" for carrying passengers or other commercial purposes. Archer and Joby are the farthest along in that process, having been granted the FAA's final airworthiness criteria — the final step before full approval. 

The delays are mostly about safety and working eVTOL planes into existing aviation flows. "The gap isn't technical capability anymore. It's regulatory synchronization," the FAA's Kalea Texeira said last year on LinkedIn. "[That includes factors like] vertiports. Energy supply chains. Part 135 [commercial] integration. Pilot training frameworks that match the aircraft timeline." In the same post, Texeira added that Joby wouldn't certify until mid-2027 at the earliest, with Archer following in 2028.

The new program could help accelerate plane-makers' plans. In a YouTube video, Beta CEO Kyle Clark said selection for the program will help his company start operations a year earlier than it previously expected. Archer, meanwhile, compared the program to robotaxi testing and said it will help build trust with the public for its Midnight aircraft. "This is the clearest sign yet... that bringing air taxis to market in the United States is a real priority," said Archer CEO Adam Goldstein.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/faa-opens-up-real-world-testing-for-air-taxi-startups-112219316.html?src=rss

The Morning After: The new iPad Air M4 is Apple’s best overall tablet

Posted on by

Now that Apple is designing and engineering its own silicon, the updates come fast. It’s been less than two years since the company released the M2-powered iPad Air and we’re already on our third iPad Air iteration, one with the M4 inside. That’s the same chip that was inside the iPad Pro in 2024.

That’s one way of expressing how powerful 2025's iPad Air now is – and it remains a step above the base iPad in most ways. However, there’s room for improvement. Apple has stuck with the same display for another year. The 11-inch iPad Air that Nathan Ingraham reviewed seems to have has the same screen in 2026 as it did when the first no-Home button iPad Air was released in late 2020. (And that’s the one I’m still using!) Also, why still no FaceID?

– Mat Smith

Qualcomm, which bought microcontroller board manufacturer Arduino last year, just announced a new single-board computer that marries AI with robotics. The Ventuno Q is more sophisticated (and expensive) than Arduino's usual AIO boards, thanks to the Dragonwing IQ8 processor that includes an 8-core ARM Cortex CPU, Adreno Arm Cortex A623 GPU and Hexagon Tensor NPU that can reach up ot 40 TOPs. It also pacs in Arduino App Lab, with pre-trained AI models including LLMs, VLMs, gesture recognition and object tracking, all running offline.

Continue reading.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is back with the latest rumors on new Apple hardware and the company’s continued Siri woes. His sources say that Apple is expected to postpone its smart home display until later in 2026, possibly September, when it often introduces another barrage of new gadgets. The hardware has reportedly been finished for months, but the AI-centric overhaul of Siri is still not done.

Continue reading.

TMA
Engadget

Dell’s revamped XPS 14 is more powerful than ever. The XPS series has long been a favorite at Engadget, and this one’s lightweight and features a gorgeous OLED screen. However, Dell’s keyboard this year has a baffling flaw: its keyboard. It somehow forces you to type more slowly to log each key press. And this isn’t a capacitive touchscreen or anything complicated. According to Dell, “a small batch of early XPS units” have these quick typing issues. They also say the issue is currently resolved and doesn’t affect XPS units shipping now. We’ll be checking once a firmware update, meant to fix the issue, lands.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111539860.html?src=rss

The Oversight Board says Meta needs new rules for AI-generated content

Posted on by

The Oversight Board is once again urging Meta to overhaul its rules around AI-generated content. This time, the board says Meta should create a separate rule for AI content that's independent of its misinformation policy, invest in more reliable detection tools and make better use of digital watermarks among other changes. 

The group's recommendations stem from an AI-generated video shared last year that claimed to show damaged buildings in the Israeli city of Haifa during the Israel-Iran conflict in 2025. The clip, which racked up more than 700,000 views, was posted by an account that claimed to be a news outlet but was actually run by someone in the Philippines.

After the video was reported to Meta, the company declined to remove it or add a "high risk" AI label that would have clearly indicated the content had been created or manipulated with AI. The board overturned Meta's decision not to add the "high risk" label and says the case shines a light on several areas where the company's current AI rules are falling short.

"Meta must do more to address the proliferation of deceptive AI- generated content on its platforms, including by inauthentic or abusive networks of accounts and pages, particularly on matters of public interest, so that users can distinguish between what is real and fake," the board wrote in its decision. Meta eventually disabled three accounts linked to the page after the board flagged "obvious signals of deception."

One of the board's top recommendations is that Meta create a dedicated rule for AI-generated content that's separate from its misinformation policy. The rule, according to the board, should include specifics about how and when users are required to label AI content as well as information about how Meta penalizes those who break the rule. 

The board was also highly critical of how Meta uses its current "AI Info" labels, noting that the way they are applied is "neither robust nor comprehensive enough to contend with the scale and velocity of AI-generated content,” especially in times of conflict or crisis. “A system overly dependent on self-disclosure of AI usage and escalated review (which occurs infrequently) to properly label this output cannot meet the challenges posed in the current environment.”

Meta, the board said, also needs to invest in more sophisticated detection technology that can reliably label AI media, including audio and video. The group added that it was "concerned" about reports that the company is "inconsistently implementing" digital watermarks on AI content created by its own AI tools. 

In a statement, Meta said it “welcomed” the decision and that it would also take action “on content that is identical and in the same context” when “it is technically and operationally possible to do so.” The company has 60 days to formally respond to its recommendations. 

The decision isn't the first time the board has been critical of Meta's handling of AI content. The group has described the company's manipulated media rules as "incoherent" on two other occasions, and has criticized it for relying on third-parties, including fact checking organizations, to flag problematic content. Meta's reliance on fact checkers and other "trusted partners" was again raised in this case, with the board saying that it had heard from these groups that Meta "is less responsive to outreach and concerns, in part due to a significant reduction in capacities for Meta’s internal teams." Meta, the board writes, "should be capable of conducting such assessments of harm itself, rather than rely solely on partners reaching out to them during an armed conflict."

While the Oversight Board's decision relates to a post from last year, the issue of AI-generated content during armed conflicts has taken on a new urgency during the latest conflict in the Middle East. Since the start of the US and Israel's strikes on Iran earlier this month, there has been a sharp rise in viral AI-generated misinformation across social media. The board, which has previously hinted that it would like to work with generative AI companies, included a suggestion that would seem to apply to not just Meta. 

"The industry needs coherence in helping users distinguish deceptive AI-generated content and platforms should address abusive accounts and pages sharing such output," it wrote.

Update, March 10, 10:53AM ET: This story was updated to reflect Meta’s response to the Oversight Board.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/the-oversight-board-says-meta-needs-new-rules-for-ai-generated-content-100000268.html?src=rss

TikTok can continue its operations in Canada after agreeing to enhanced security measures

Posted on by

TikTok doesn’t have to close its offices in Canada after all. The country will allow TikTok to keep its business operational after a national security review, Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly has announced. This is a complete 180 of the country’s decision back in 2024 to order TikTok to shut down its operations, citing unspecified “national security risks” posed by the company and its China-based parent ByteDance. Canadian authorities said back then that their decision was based on evidence collected by the country’s security and intelligence community.

As Bloomberg notes, the order was paused shortly after Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister in early 2025. Carney was the first Canadian PM to visit China in years and had a discussion with President Xi Jinping about tariffs. Joly said TikTok will be allowed to operate in Canada with new enhancements in data security and regulatory oversight. To start with, it will have to implement privacy-enhancing technologies to reduce the risk of unauthorized access that compromise Canadians’ personal information. It will also have to add enhanced protections for minors and ensure transparency by letting an independent third party “audit and continuously verify data access controls.”

“…this decision will protect Canadian jobs, ensuring that TikTok Canada maintains a physical presence in Canada, with commitments to invest in its cultural sector,” Joly said in a statement. “TikTok Canada will support the growth of Canadian creators, artists and cultural organizations, while strengthening the production and accessibility of Canadian cultural content in both official and Indigenous languages across the country.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/tiktok-can-continue-its-operations-in-canada-after-agreeing-to-enhanced-security-measures-095239399.html?src=rss

Rode’s Rodecaster Video Core makes livestreaming even cheaper

Posted on by

Rode’s not done releasing trimmed-down versions of its production tools with an eye on budget conscious creators. Today, it’s launching Rodecaster Video Core, an all-in-one studio setup which sits below its flagship Rodecaster Video and its (now) mid-range Video S. It’s aimed at folks who are either dipping a toe into this world, or already have audio gear and just want to broaden out to HD video as well. Arguably, the biggest change is the lack of any controls on the hardware itself, as you’ll be running the show entirely from inside the Rodecaster App.

In terms of connectivity, you’ll find three HDMI-in, one HDMI-out, four USB-C, two 3.5mm and two Neutrik combo ports ‘round back. Connect a compatible video device to a USB-C port and you’ll be able to run up to four sources at a time, and you can even use network cameras via Ethernet. Plus, you’ll be able to use the Rode Capture app to wirelessly connect the feed from an iOS device to your setup. And you’ll even be able to set it up to automatically switch between feeds based on audio inputs, reducing your need to micromanage multi-person feeds.

Port selection
Rode

And, if you’re already rocking one of Rode’s audio consoles, the Rodecaster Sync app will make your life a lot easier. Essentially, if you’ve got a Rodecaster Pro 2 or Duo, you’ll be able to hook it up to your Video Core, allowing you to set shortcuts directly to your pads. In fact, you can run your audio and video setup from the one desk, hopefully reducing the amount of fiddling you need to do in the middle of your stream.

Core is designed to stream straight to YouTube, Twitch and any other platforms you’d care to use instead. You’ll be able to record your footage to an external drive and, thanks yo a new firmware update across the range, you’ll also be able to output a EDL file for DaVinci Resolve. Oh, and you’ll now be able to import media in non-standard resolutions and aspect ratios — such as square footage from social media — which will be automatically scaled and optimized for your show.

Rodecaster Video Core is available to pre-order now for $599, but there’s no word yet on when the sturdy boxes will start winging their way around the world.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/rodes-rodecaster-video-core-makes-livestreaming-even-cheaper-230053061.html?src=rss

You can (sort of) block Grok from editing your uploaded photos

Posted on by

People can block the xAI's Grok chatbot from creating modifications of their uploaded images on social network X. Neither X or xAI, both Elon Musk-owned businesses, have made a public announcement about this feature, which users began noticing on the iOS app within the image/video upload menu over the past few days. 

This option is likely a response to Grok's latest scandal, which began at the start of 2026 when the addition of image generation tools to the chatbot saw about 3 million sexualized or nudified images created. An estimated 23,000 of the images made in that 11-day period contained sexualized images of children, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Grok is now facing two separate investigations by regulators in the EU over the issue.

The positive side of the recent feature addition is that X and xAI have taken a step toward limiting inappropriate uses of Grok. This block is a simple toggle and it hasn't been buried in the UI. So that's nice.

The negative side, however, is that this token gesture that doesn't amount to any serious improvement to how Grok works or can be used. It's great that the chatbot won't alter the file uploaded by one person, but as reported by The Verge, the block only limits tagging Grok in a reply to create an image edit. There are plenty of workarounds for those dedicated individuals who insist on being able to use generative AI to undress people without their consent or knowledge. 

Hopefully xAI has more powerful protective tools in the works. The limitations Grok on putting real people in scanty clothing that X announced in January seem to have had only partial success at best. If this additional and narrow use case is all the company offers, then the claims of being a zero-tolerance space for nonconsensual nudity are going to ring hollow. Especially since, as we noted at the time, xAI could stop allowing image generation at all until the issue is properly and thoroughly fixed.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/you-can-sort-of-block-grok-from-editing-your-uploaded-photos-215356117.html?src=rss

Dutch intelligence services warn of Russian hackers targeting Signal and WhatsApp

Posted on by

The Netherlands’ military intelligence service and domestic intelligence agency have issued a join warning claiming that Russian hackers have launched "a large-scale global cyber campaign to gain access to Signal and WhatsApp accounts belonging to dignitaries, military personnel and civil servants." According to the Dutch alert, hackers are imitating support chatbots to trick key targets into revealing their PINs for those communication platforms, which allows the bad actors to access incoming messages.

Last year in the US, the Pentagon advised members not to use Signal after the platform was subjected to similar phishing scams by Russian hackers. (Although the same US military leaders proved capable of creating their own security breaches without foreign interference just days prior.) 

Having another national government raise concerns about Signal and WhatsApp phishing scams offers yet another reminder to never provide security details or click links without a check on who is really asking for your info.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/dutch-intelligence-services-warn-of-russian-hackers-targeting-signal-and-whatsapp-203707202.html?src=rss

Bluesky’s CEO is stepping down after nearly 5 years

Posted on by

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber, who has led the upstart social platform since 2021, is stepping down from her role as its top executive. Toni Schneider, who has been an advisor and investor in Bluesky, will take over the job temporarily while Graber stays on as Chief Innovation Officer. 

"As Bluesky matures, the company needs a seasoned operator focused on scaling and execution, while I return to what I do best: building new things," Graber wrote in a blog post. Schneider, who was previously CEO at Wordpress parent Automattic, will be that "experienced operator and leader" while Blueksy's board searches for a permanent CEO, she said.

Graber's history with Bluesky dates back to its early days as a side project at Jack Dorsey's Twitter. She was officially brought on as CEO in 2021 as Bluesky spun off into an independent company (it officially ended its association with Twitter in 2022 and Dorsey cut ties with Bluesky in 2024). She led the company through its launch and early viral success as it grew from an invitation-only platform to the 43 million-user service it is today. During that time, she's become known as an advocate for decentralized social media and for trolling Mark Zuckerberg's t-shirt choices. 

Nearly three years since it launched publicly, Bluesky has carved out a small but influential niche in the post-Twitter social landscape. The platform is less than a third of the size of Meta's competitor, Threads, which has also copied some of Bluesky's signature features. Bluesky also has yet to roll out any meaningful monetization features, though it has teased a premium subscription service in the past.

As Chief Innovation Officer, Graber will presumably still be an influential voice at the company going forward. And, as Wired points out, she still has a seat on Bluesky's board so she will get some say in who steps into the role permanently. Until then, Schneider, who is also a partner at VC firm Tre Ventures, will lead the company. "I deeply believe in what this team has built and the open social web they're fighting for," he wrote in a post on Bluesky. 


This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/blueskys-ceo-is-stepping-down-after-nearly-5-years-201900960.html?src=rss

Apple reportedly delays its planned smart display launch to fall

Posted on by

Mark Gurman at Bloomberg is back with the latest rumors about what's afoot with Apple's future plans, and how its ongoing difficulties with artificial intelligence seem to be creating further delays for its next wave of product launches. His sources say that Apple is expected to postpone the debut of its smart home display until later in 2026, likely September when it often introduces new gadgets. Although the hardware has reportedly been finished for months, this delay is being credited to the company's AI-centric overhaul of Siri still not being complete.

The device, internally known as J490, has been one of Apple's many poorly-kept secrets. Rumors about a HomePod smart speaker coupled with a screen first emerged back in 2022 and have resurfaced from time to time in the interim, often with promises that the device's arrival was imminent. The latest claims anticipated that the official announcement was coming this spring, possibly as soon as this month. However, appears to Apple once again be hamstrung by an AI strategy that has left it scrambling to catch up to other industry leaders.

Apple has been working to incorporate more AI capabilities into Siri for more than a year as part of its Apple Intelligence package. Gurman reports that the new timeline from Apple aims to have the revamp completed for the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro, which is also expected for September. Apple may unveil this long-awaited Siri-as-chatbot during its WWDC keynote in the summer before it shows up in any devices.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/apple-reportedly-delays-its-planned-smart-display-launch-to-fall-194539082.html?src=rss

Uber expands its program that helps pair women riders and drivers

Posted on by

Uber has expanded its program that helps pair women riders and drivers. The Women Preferences feature is now available nationwide, after being tested in several cities. It has previously been available in many countries around the globe and started in Saudi Arabia back in 2019.

It's pretty easy to use. Women riders will see an option for Women Drivers when requesting a trip, and this also works when making a reservation in advance. Users can also make a preference for a woman driver in the settings app, though this doesn't guarantee anything and depends on the driver pool.

The feature works in much the same way for drivers. Women drivers will be able to request trips with women riders via the settings.

Uber isn't the only rideshare company trying to make half of the world's population a bit safer during trips. Lyft has been expanding its own take on the feature, which it also recently took nationwide. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/uber-expands-its-program-that-helps-pair-women-riders-and-drivers-184832010.html?src=rss