Technology

Cube Wellness, a subsidiary of GBT Technologies, acquired 23 additional AI-enabled wellness machines, bringing its deployed and deployment-ready total to 36 and beginning onboarding for a university rollout.

Federal payments of about $235 million were released after a federal judge's Feb. 6 order, allowing work on the $16 billion Gateway rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey to resume next week.

A Pew survey found 64% of teens use AI chatbots, and education researchers say parents, schools and lawmakers each have roles in guiding children's use while product safeguards and legislation continue to develop.

Microsoft and other hyperscalers are stepping up investment in quantum computing, and Microsoft says machines with commercial value could be operating in data centers by 2029.

Chicago’s City Council unanimously codified the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism after student-led lobbying, while New York City recently reversed its prior adoption under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Tim Stevens, founder of the Black Political Empowerment Project in Pittsburgh, reflected on Rev. Jesse Jackson's decades of civil-rights work as reports said Jackson died peacefully at age 84.

Dozens held a vigil after a shooting at a Pawtucket-area hockey game that left multiple people dead or injured, and teammates, coaches and families gathered to grieve.

A Change.org petition asking OpenAI to bring back GPT-4o has accumulated about 21,900 signatures after the company announced the model's deprecation; OpenAI cited low usage and earlier feedback said to have influenced newer models.

WordPress has added an AI Assistant to WordPress.com, integrated into the editor and Media Library and available at no extra cost for Business and Commerce plan sites.

The European Commission has opened a Digital Services Act investigation into Shein over the suspected sale of products the commission said could constitute child sexual abuse material; regulators will also examine the platform's recommendation system and design risks.

An annular solar eclipse, known as a 'ring of fire,' will occur on Feb. 17 and reach its peak during morning hours ET; the full ring will be visible only along a narrow path across parts of Antarctica while a wider partial eclipse will be seen from some southern hemisphere regions.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that Peter Steinberger, creator of the viral AI agent OpenClaw, has joined OpenAI to lead development of next‑generation personal AI agents; Altman said OpenClaw will continue as an open‑source project supported by OpenAI.

India is hosting a five-day AI Impact Summit in New Delhi with heads of state and major tech executives; themes are "people, progress, planet" and the summit is not expected to produce a binding agreement.

Chainalysis reports cryptocurrency payments to suspected human trafficking syndicates rose 85% in 2025, with hundreds of millions of dollars traced on public blockchains; most activity was linked to a criminal ecosystem in Southeast Asia while customers originated from the Americas, Europe and Australia.

The Department of War airlifted a next-generation nuclear reactor from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah and said the reactor will be moved to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab in Orangeville for testing and evaluation.

Route 66 marks its 100th anniversary and interest in the route has grown; Tripadvisor reports a 20% year‑over‑year rise and, with Choice Hotels, launched a 'Century of Route 66' interactive map highlighting stops across the eight states the highway crosses.

J.D. Power's 2025 Initial Quality Survey, based on responses from more than 92,000 buyers, named Lexus the top brand with 166 reported problems per 100 vehicles in the first 90 days.

About 10,500 nurses at Montefiore and Mount Sinai ratified three-year contracts and returned after a month-long strike, while more than 4,200 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian remain on strike after rejecting a mediator's proposal.

Researchers say digital tools — including automatic scheduling, biometric logins and language models — can help some people with dementia continue working by reducing cognitive and physical barriers.

NASA announced that Crew-12 and Artemis II will be the first missions to carry personal smartphones, a policy change meant to let crews capture more personal photos and video. Photos cannot be sent directly in space; crews must upload images to spacecraft systems and relay them to NASA via encoded satellite transfers.

Hinge is the third-largest U.S. dating app and, despite positioning itself as more intentional, many users report unanswered messages, disappointing dates and limits on free features; a columnist surveyed friends who described mixed outcomes and reasons they return.

A day-in-the-life column traces how AI is moving from tools to operating systems, highlighting Mumbai's AI-planned "Third Mumbai," MIT's shift toward agent literacy, and a new Massachusetts AI Coalition and state AI rollout.

Dan Barefoot of Johnstown made his Olympic debut in the men's skeleton and is sitting in 19th place after two heats; additional runs are scheduled for Friday.

Trend Micro's Mobile Security app provides one‑tap malware scans, settings alerts, and lost‑device tools; a free tier is available and a single‑device annual subscription is $29.99, with a $39.99 plan covering five devices.

YouTube Music has introduced AI-generated playlists powered by Google's Gemini for premium subscribers on iOS and Android, announced via the official Updates From YouTube account. The company has not specified whether the feature will appear on the web.

A Hell's Kitchen wine bar hosted an event where patrons brought phones and tablets to 'date' AI companions from the EvaAI app, and organizers said the effort aimed to destigmatize AI relationships while not replacing human connections.

Industry figures including Geoff Keighley, Hideo Kojima, Phil Spencer and Todd Howard paid tribute to Vince Zampella during a DICE Summit 2026 keynote, recalling his leadership and mentorship; Zampella died in December in a car accident at age 55.

Merlin Entertainments has paused a trial to tighten eligibility for its Ride Access Pass after strong criticism, and said it will keep existing criteria while launching a wider consultation on accessibility.

Pokopia is a new Switch 2 Pokémon title that removes traditional battles and focuses on building habitats to attract roaming Pokémon.

IGN's preview describes Pokémon Pokopia as a life-sim that stars Ditto, who transforms into a human, and emphasizes building habitats, befriending Pokémon, and discovery; developers estimate about 20–40 hours to reach the end credits.