I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 A judge has ordered Trump’s officials to preserve their secret Signal chat
While officials are required by law to keep chats detailing government business, Signal’s messages can be set to auto-disappear. (USA Today)
+ The conversation detailed an imminent attack against Houthi rebels in Yemen. (The Hill)
+ A government accountability group has sued the agencies involved. (Reuters)
+ The officials involved in the chat appear to have public Venmo accounts. (Wired $)
2 The White House is prepared to cut up to 50% of agency staff
But the final cuts could end up exceeding even that. (WP $)
+ The sweeping cuts could threaten vital US statistics, too. (FT $)
+ Can AI help DOGE slash government budgets? It’s complex. (MIT Technology Review)
3 OpenAI is struggling to keep up with demand for ChatGPT’s image generation
The fervor around its Studio Ghibli pictures has sent its GPUs into overdrive. (The Verge)
+ Ghibli’s founder is no fan of AI art. (404 Media)
+ Four ways to protect your art from AI. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Facebook is pivoting back towards friends and family
Less news, fewer posts from people you don’t know. (NYT $)
+ A new tab shows purely updates from friends, with no other recommendations. (Insider $)
5 Africa is set to build its first AI factory
A specialized powerhouse for AI computing, to be precise. (Rest of World)
+ What Africa needs to do to become a major AI player. (MIT Technology Review)
6 A TikTok network spread Spanish-language immigration misinformation
Including clips of the doctored voices of well-known journalists. (NBC News)
7 Your TV is desperate for your data
Streamers are scrambling around for new ways to make money off the information they gather on you. (Vox)
8 This startup extracts rare earth oxides from industrial magnets 
It’s a less intrusive way of accessing minerals vital to EV and wind turbine production. (FT $)
+ The race to produce rare earth elements. (MIT Technology Review)
9 NASA hopes to launch its next Starliner flight as soon as later this year
After its latest mission stretched from a projected eight days to nine months. (Reuters)
+ Europe is finally getting serious about commercial rockets. (MIT Technology Review)