Welcome to Week in Review. This week, we're taking a closer look at OpenAI's newly released AI agent called Operator. We'll also take a look at where TikTok stands after its resurgence, and whether it's time to return to Tumblr. Let's get started.
OpenAI launches research preview Operators are general-purpose AI agents that can independently perform specific actions, such as booking travel accommodations, making restaurant reservations, or shopping online. When a user activates an Operator, a small window pops up that displays a dedicated web browser that the agent uses to complete its tasks, as well as text that describes the agent's behavior. The feature will initially roll out to U.S. users of ChatGPT's $200 per month Pro subscription plan.
Elon Musk and Sam Altman are fighting About Stargate in X. The massive infrastructure project will see up to $500 billion from investors including SoftBank and Middle East AI fund MGX poured into data centers that will support OpenAI's AI workloads. But Musk insists Stargate doesn't have that much money to speak of. However, it is important to note that he is not a neutral party and just happens to be involved in a lawsuit with OpenAI.
Hackers discover how to unlock remotelyWired reports that it has activated and tracked millions of Subarus. Two security researchers have discovered a vulnerability in Subaru's web portal that could allow them to take control of the car and track the driver's location data. Subaru fixed the vulnerability after researchers reported their findings to the Japanese automaker.
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Unboxing Samsung: Samsung's annual Unpacked event took place this week, featuring the announcement of the Galaxy S25 series, new features in Gemini Live, advancements in smart home technology, and more. We've put together a quick summary of all the information you may have missed. read more
Perplexity launches an AI agent. Perplexity Assistant, an AI-powered search engine startup, uses inference, search, and apps to help you with your daily tasks, the company says. The assistant is available on Android devices and can perform “multi-app actions.” read more
Will MrBeast acquire TikTok? YouTube celebrity MrBeast is in talks to join multiple bids for TikTok's U.S. operations, but has not yet made an exclusive choice. MrBeast is certainly wealthy, but it's his celebrity that attracts multiple bidders. read more
Fitbit burns: Fitbit has settled with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission over a long-standing defect that caused some wearers to get burned. Fitbit will pay a $12.25 million penalty for issues surrounding its Ionic smartwatch. read more
Dust off your Tumblr blog: Tumblr has finally launched Tumblr TV. Tumblr TV is a GIF discovery feature that has been in development for a decade, and has since evolved to also host short-form videos to compete with TikTok. I wonder if the fandom GIFs I made in 2012 still exist… read more
Well, that's what I call small 🤏: The team at AI development platform Hugging Face has released SmolVLM-256M and SmolVLM-500M, claiming to be the smallest AI models capable of analyzing images, short videos, and text. read more
This is one way to charge a fee. Carnegie Mellon researchers have announced Power Over Skin. This technology allows electrical current to pass through the human skin to power things like blood sugar monitors, pacemakers, and even consumer wearables. read more
Stripe Axes 300 employees: The fintech giant will lay off 300 people, according to a leaked memo reported by Business Insider. However, Stripe plans to continue hiring in 2025, increasing its total headcount by 17%. read more
Meta imitation cap cut: Meta has announced a new video editing app called Edits, shortly after ByteDance's video editing app CapCut was removed from Apple's App Store and Google Play Store as part of the US ban on TikTok. read more
In case TikTok really goes dark: TikTok is back online in the US, but its future remains uncertain. Bookmark backup service Dewey has a solution to save your favorite TikToks and always have access to them, even if they disappear again. read more
