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Shopify's Winter '26 Edition brings e-commerce automation and AI integration, including Smarter Sidekick, Agentic Storefronts, SimGym, and built-in A/B testing, to enhance merchant capabilities and customer experience.

The AI industry saw significant investments in 2025, with OpenAI raising $40 billion and Anthropic raising $16.5 billion. However, concerns over an AI bubble bursting, user safety, and sustainability have led to a reality check, with companies focusing on building infrastructure and developing business models. The industry is shifting from hype to proving economic value, with a focus on trust and safety.

The article lists individuals who have caused significant harm online in 2025, including Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Chinese hackers. These individuals have used their online presence to spread misinformation, incite violence, and compromise national security. The article highlights the real-world consequences of their actions, including the spread of conspiracy theories, the disruption of critical infrastructure, and the erosion of trust in institutions.

China has drafted rules to prevent AI-supported suicides, self-harm, and violence. The rules require human intervention when suicide is mentioned, prohibit chatbots from generating harmful content, and mandate annual safety audits. These rules could impact AI developers and the global companion bot market.

Microsoft is rolling out GPT 5.2 to Copilot as a free upgrade, introducing a new 'Smart Plus' mode that enhances task completion capabilities, including building spreadsheets, writing code, and understanding documents.

OpenAI's ChatGPT now allows app integrations, enabling users to connect accounts and perform tasks directly within the chat interface. Available integrations include DoorDash, Spotify, Uber, and others, allowing for personalized experiences such as creating playlists, ordering food, and booking rides. Users can browse and connect apps through the Settings menu, with the ability to disconnect at any time. New integrations are expected to launch in 2026, including OpenTable, PayPal, and Walmart.

TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield features 32 top enterprise tech startups, including AI Seer, Atlantix Portal, and Billow AI, which offer innovative solutions for various industries.

Combining DORA metrics with Process Behavior Charts helps engineering teams distinguish normal process variation from real signals, enabling data-driven decisions and sustainable improvements in software delivery.

Most online platforms provide features to control what appears in your recommendations and 'for you' feeds. This article breaks down the algorithm tuning tools provided by popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and more, allowing you to see more or less of certain content.

OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman is seeking a new Head of Preparedness to oversee the company's safety and risk management. The role comes with a $555,000 base salary plus equity and is focused on securing OpenAI's systems and understanding how they could be abused. This position has seen high turnover in the past, with previous leaders leaving after short stints.

Google has filed a lawsuit against SerpApi, a firm that scrapes and resells Google's search engine results pages (SERPs), citing violations of established law and Google's terms. This move may signal a new stance on protecting search data, particularly in the age of AI.

YouTube has banned two popular channels, Screen Culture and KH Studio, for creating fake AI-generated movie trailers. The channels had over 2 million subscribers and produced videos with titles like 'GTA: San Andreas (2025) Teaser Trailer' and 'Malcom In The Middle Reboot (2025) First Trailer', which were often believable but not official. Google demonetized the channels earlier this year and has now shut them down due to spam and misleading-metadata policies.

The Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) project is developing an all-photonics network (APN) to support next-gen applications. IOWN 2.0 aims to commercialize APN, enabling low-latency, high-capacity networks for use cases like digital twins, smart warehouses, and 6G networks. Accenture is working with IOWN to identify key areas for modernization, including new architecture, application refactoring, and infrastructure changes.

The OWASP Agentic AI Top 10 framework identifies 10 risk categories specific to autonomous AI systems, including Agent Goal Hijack, Tool Misuse & Exploitation, and Supply Chain Vulnerabilities. Recent attacks have demonstrated the potential for AI agents to be exploited, emphasizing the need for robust security measures.

OpenAI has rolled out an update to ChatGPT on mobile, allowing users to select the Thinking time toggle, also known as 'juice' of the model. This feature was previously only available on desktop and allows for 'Extended Thinking' which provides better answers for complex queries. The update is available for ChatGPT Plus users.

A criminal group known as Lovely has leaked 2.3 million emails, 285,000 names, 108,000 home addresses, and 32,000 phone numbers of Wired subscribers after Conde Nast failed to respond to their extortion attempt. The group claims to have stolen 40 million pieces of information and threatens to release more data in the coming weeks.

European countries are banding together to challenge the dominance of US cloud giants like AWS, Microsoft, and Google. The EU is promoting digital sovereignty and has launched initiatives like GAIA-X to create a European cloud ecosystem. However, the path to success is long and challenging, with many European tech providers lacking the scale to compete with international competitors.

The electrical grid is facing increased demand and strain due to the growth of data centers and AI. Startups like Gridcare and Yottar are using software to optimize the grid and find spare capacity. Other companies, such as Nvidia and Google, are working on AI-powered solutions to improve efficiency and resiliency. These software solutions could help modernize the grid and make it more efficient, reducing the need for new infrastructure and lowering costs.

If you receive a notification from Apple, Google, or WhatsApp about being targeted with spyware, take it seriously and consider reaching out to organizations like Access Now, Amnesty International, or The Citizen Lab for help. Update your devices and apps, enable security features like Lockdown Mode or Advanced Protection, and be cautious with links and attachments.

The year 2025 saw a rise in 'vibe coding' where AI tools are used to do just enough work to provide a minimal level of output. This trend, popularized by executives and companies, has led to a decrease in genuine effort and an increase in reliance on AI. However, this approach has also resulted in numerous problems, including errors, misunderstandings, and a lack of accountability.