Boone Ashworth

Why Is Alexa+ So Bad? I stuck Amazon’s Echo Show 15 and its Alexa+ AI assistant in my kitchen for a month. Things have not gone well.

By building their voice assistant around generative AI, Amazon has created an Alexa that simply doesn’t work.

Easy tasks, like playing music or pulling up YouTube videos, go haywire.

It’s an AI flop.

www.wired.com/story/why-is...

The Controversies Finally Caught Up to Kristi Noem Donald Trump said he would replace the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Noem's tenure was marked by aggressive anti-immigration tactics and ICE's killing of two US protestors.

well well well if it isn't the consequences of someone's own actions (w @dell.bsky.social )

The Controversies Finally Caught Up to Kristi Noem Donald Trump said he would replace the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Noem's tenure was marked by aggressive anti-immigration tactics and ICE's killing of two US protestors.

Bye, babe:

Big Tech Signs White House Data Center Pledge With Good Optics and Little Substance “Data centers … they need some PR help,” said President Donald Trump at the event.

NEW from me: the pledge big tech companies signed at the white house today is supposed to protect ratepayers from high utility bills due to data centers — but the WH actually has little ability to make that happen

"this is theater," @aripeskoe.bsky.social told me

Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei’s Death Sparks Revolt Among Kalshi Customers How Kalshi decided to settle a market tied to Iran’s Supreme Leader prompted anger among traders who felt the rules weren’t clear.

NEW: Took a look at the Kalshi Khamenei shitshow.

The company lost over $2 million in its quest to appease pissed-off customers

www.wired.com/story/irania...

ByteDance is still trying to make the VR workplace happen

Pico’s Project Swan XR Headset Wants to Go Where the Apple Vision Pro Failed The ByteDance company wants to make the case that XR is “not just for gaming” anymore by giving you a digital office.

The ByteDance company wants to make the case that XR is “not just for gaming” anymore by giving you a digital office.

OpenAI Fires an Employee for Prediction Market Insider Trading Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi are big business, and some Big Tech employees are testing boundaries by making trades based on insider knowledge.

SCOOP: OpenAI fired an employee for their prediction market activity www.wired.com/story/openai...

The Latest Repair Battlefield Is the Iowa Farmlands—Again A new bill that would give farmers in Iowa the right to repair is a big threat to tractor manufacturer John Deere.

A new bill that would give farmers in Iowa the right to repair is a big threat to tractor manufacturer John Deere. www.wired.com/story/latest...

Hands-On With Nano Banana 2, the Latest Version of Google's AI Image Generator Google’s latest image model, Nano Banana 2, is a powerful AI photo editor that punctures reality. Well, sometimes.

come for the old @thiccreese.bsky.social stay for the cold @thiccreese.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/google...

I'm so proud of the entire @wired.com team for four ASME nominations, including General Excellence. The most nominations for WIRED in at least a decade! Everyone here earned all of this and more, so today we brag!

• WIRED for "How to Win a Fight," including "The WIRED Guide to Protecting Yourself From Government Surveillance," by Andy Greenberg and Lily Hay Newman, June 16, and "Print. Fold Share. Download WIRED's 'How to Win a Fight' Zine Here" compiled by Reece Rogers, June 20, at wired.com

So so proud to be a finalist for this year’s national magazine awards, as part of @wired.com’s “How to Win a Fight” package.

You can read the zine I helped compile here:

www.wired.com/story/downlo...

@wired.com is nominated for the ASMEs!!! FOUR times!!!

I am so so proud of the whole WIRED newsroom, and just a special shout out to my politics team -- this time last year, we were barely sleeping as we unveiled a government takeover in real time. It's a real honor to have that recognized here!

i think about horses

Everyone Speaks Incel Now After migrating from misogynist forums to social media feeds, terms like “looksmaxxing” and “mogged” are now impossible to avoid.

Incel slang is now so ingrained in the mainstream discourse that its origins have been obscured. How did we get here?

Kalshi Suspended a California Politician and a YouTuber for Insider Trading Leading prediction market Kalshi has revealed details of two recent insider trading cases it flagged to authorities, giving a rare look at how the platform enforces its policies.

NEW: Kalshi announces details into two insider trading investigations. WIRED confirms that one suspended account belongs to California congressional candidate Kyle Langford: www.wired.com/story/kalshi...

The Righteous EV Owners Who Won’t Let Their Broken Cars Die Fisker went out of business in 2024, but its biggest fans want to bring the “right to repair” to the masses.

On the plight of Fisker Ocean owners, who discovered when the EV manufacturer that made their software-stuffed cars went bankrupt that they maybe never owned them at all

Now a group of very dedicated owners are fighting to take their EVs back

www.wired.com/story/the-ri...

Tide’s Evo Tiles Are a Fresh, Overengineered Take on the Tide Pod Tide’s Evo Tiles are lightweight, fibrous squares of detergent that simplify the laundry process—and also act as a slightly more eco-friendly alternative to the Tide Pod.

Tide's new Evo tiles may have taken a decade to create, but aside from being dry it's not quite clear how different from Tide Pods they work. Especially since they still use PVA plastics, and Tide wouldn't say how much PVA is in there compared to a Tide Pod.
@wired.com
www.wired.com/story/tide-e...

The Righteous EV Owners Who Won’t Let Their Broken Cars Die Fisker went out of business in 2024, but its biggest fans want to bring the “right to repair” to the masses.

"This was about more than an electric car, or a hobby, or even a community. It was about taking back control of an economy run by rent-seeking tech companies that will jack up prices until the day they drop you."
Incredible @wired.com tale by @aarianmarshall.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/the-ri...

‘Heated Rivalry’ Is Bringing New Fans to Hockey. Does the Sport Deserve Them? Obsession over a show about two closeted hockey players has brought new fandom to the sport just ahead of the Olympics. But men's hockey's lack of support for LGBTQ+ players and fans is notable.

A lot of people are sharing that clip of the US men's hockey team laughing about the women's team with Trump/Kash Patel. A couple weeks ago, I wrote about how, despite the Heated Rivalry effect, hockey culture still sucks: www.wired.com/story/winter...

like, c'mon this is the gif I'm gonna use to react to everything now

hey so turns out the Olympics are the best

Inside the Rolling Layoffs at Jack Dorsey’s Block Workers describe a deteriorating culture at Block, the company behind Square and Cash App, where layoffs continue and employees are expected to use AI tools daily.

"Rather than a one-off event, management has slowly enacted the firings over the course of weeks and told employees that the process will continue through the end of this month."

Inside the Rolling Layoffs at Jack Dorsey’s Block Workers describe a deteriorating culture at Block, the company behind Square and Cash App, where layoffs continue and employees are expected to use AI tools daily.

NEW: “Top-down mandates to use large language models are crazy,” says one current Block employee. “If the tool were good, we’d all just use it.”

My latest for @wired.com

www.wired.com/story/inside...

A $10K Bounty Awaits Anyone Who Can Hack Ring Cameras to Stop Sharing Data With Amazon The Fulu Foundation, a nonprofit that pays out bounties for removing user-hostile features, is hunting for a way to keep Ring cameras from sending data to Amazon—without breaking the hardware.

Want to make a quick $10K? Just hack a Ring camera
www.wired.com/story/a-10k-...

Leaked Email Suggests Ring Plans to Expand ‘Search Party’ Surveillance Beyond Dogs Ring's CEO told staff the feature is “first for finding dogs,” indicating a plan to expand.

Scoop: Ring's CEO told staff Search Party is not going to be just for dogs, according to a leaked email I obtained. Said it is "first for finding dogs" before suggesting it would be expanded to be used for crime:

www.404media.co/leaked-email...

Makers Are Building Back Against ICE In hacker spaces and at their homes, creative protesters are laser-cutting and 3D-printing tools to resist an occupation.

“We’re not fucking around in the dream space anymore,” @lasermistress.bsky.social says “This is a particularly fucking fraught time. But we are still going to live our lives.”

a look at the crafters and makers pushing back against ICE who say resistance is practical

www.wired.com/story/makers...

OpenAI’s President Gave Millions to Trump. He Says It’s for Humanity In an interview with WIRED, Greg Brockman says his political donations support OpenAI's mission—even if some employees at the company disagree.

New: In an interview with WIRED, Greg Brockman tells me his $50M donation to Trump and AI Super PACs was part of an effort to make sure AI benefits all of humanity.

However, he acknowledges AI is not very popular with humanity right now. www.wired.com/story/openai...

OpenAI’s President Gave Millions to Trump. He Says It’s for Humanity In an interview with WIRED, Greg Brockman says his political donations support OpenAI's mission—even if some employees at the company disagree.

OpenAI president Greg Brockman donated millions to super PACs aligned with President Trump -- much to the dismay of many inside the company.

He tells @wired.com that the donations are about being "team humanity."

Great story from @mzeff.bsky.social