Technology

Zhang Xuefeng, a prominent Chinese education influencer, died at 41 of cardiac arrest, and his sudden death has prompted widespread online mourning and discussion about education pressure and work culture.

Meta is launching Meta Small Business, an initiative offering AI tools to about 250 million small and medium businesses that use Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and it will be led by Dina Powell McCormick and Naomi Gleit.

A new study published in Current Psychology developed a four-factor scale to measure post-game depression and found role-playing games were associated with stronger post-game depression in data from 373 participants.

Researchers report a 600-year-old grape seed recovered from a 15th-century hospital toilet in Valenciennes is genetically identical to grapes used for pinot noir today, based on a study in Nature Communications that sequenced 54 ancient seeds.

Chapter 232, titled "Thank You, Chainsaw Man," was released on Shonen Jump and includes a "The End" card; publisher Viz Media confirmed the chapter's release.

The article reports Tesla's electric vehicle registrations in greater Europe rose to 17,664 units in February, an 11.8% year-over-year increase, reversing prior monthly declines; total EV registrations in the region also rose 15.8% in February.

Elon Musk announced that the Terafab semiconductor project will be built in Austin and run jointly by Tesla and SpaceX, with an initial 'advanced technology fab' to make and test chips. He outlined large-scale computing targets for AI, robotics and space but did not provide timelines for construction or output.

A proposal to allow rent control in Massachusetts could go before voters, and landlords in Boston and elsewhere are raising rents now in anticipation; advocates and industry groups disagree on the likely effects.

IBM and the Masters unveiled watsonx-powered features for Masters digital platforms, including an interactive Masters Vault Search and enhanced AI-powered Hole Insights; the 90th Masters Tournament will be held April 9–12, 2026 at Augusta National Golf Club.

Bungie says it has collected player feedback on Marathon's new Cryo Archive after the mode's first weekend and is examining issues including weekend-only scheduling, solo access, and subroutine drop consistency.

Three San Francisco AI startup founders told Business Insider they use AI daily for tasks such as vibe coding, cloud diagnostics, contract analysis, and drafting quick proposals.

Some U.S. buyers say they want lower-priced electric cars made in China, but high U.S. tariffs and concerns about data security and jobs have kept those models largely unavailable.

Spotify has added a ChatGPT integration and a Prompted Playlists feature to expand AI-driven personalization, and company leaders say AI improvements are central to keeping users engaged.

Tim Cook told the China Development Forum that Apple values Chinese developers and manufacturing partners and shares goals with China on green development; his remarks came days after the state-run People's Daily criticized Apple's App Store rules and urged further easing of restrictions.

Officials say six people were killed in Russian attacks across four Ukrainian regions, and Ukrainian and US teams are holding talks in Florida that are due to resume on Sunday.

On March 18 Stripe and Tempo launched the Machine Payments Protocol (MPP), an open standard that lets AI agents pay for services autonomously; Visa, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mastercard, and Shopify integrated before launch and several businesses are already live on the protocol.

Google has moved Android feature rollouts to Canary builds and the latest Canary 2603 is live with interface changes such as separate Wi‑Fi and mobile data buttons; these builds are available for Pixel 6 and newer but remain unstable.

Atlanta airport general manager says high TSA callouts and a partial government shutdown have contributed to two-hour security waits, and he is meeting with policymakers in Washington.

Mark Cuban said humanoid robots may have a roughly five- to ten-year useful lifespan and argued that a better approach is to co-design robots and homes so machines take optimal shapes for tasks.

DoorDash launched a standalone Tasks app that lets U.S. couriers record everyday chores and spoken content to earn pay while supplying data to train AI and robotics models.

OpenAI plans to combine ChatGPT, the Codex coding platform and its browser into a desktop "superapp" to simplify its product lineup and focus on engineering and business customers.

Amazon is introducing a subscriber-only version called Alexa+ in the UK that uses a more conversational, British-styled personality and can manage tasks like calendars, emails and remembering preferences.

Industry reporting and a Google Cloud research program say AI now writes a large share of code, and engineers are moving from hands-on coding toward design, management and overseeing AI tools while companies provide training and embedded support.

Charles H. Bennett, an IBM research scientist and IBM Fellow, is co-recipient of the 2025 ACM A.M. Turing Award for foundational contributions to quantum information science, an honor he shares with Gilles Brassard.

Video Rebirth closed an $80 million funding round with participation from investors including AMD Ventures and Hyundai, and said the funds will accelerate commercialization of its Bach video generation model and support global expansion.

The U.S. government filed a court brief describing Anthropic as an "unacceptable" national security risk and questioned whether the company could be a trusted defense partner. Anthropic has sued to challenge a Pentagon label that restricts its access to government contracts, and court filings are ongoing.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told Jim Cramer that OpenClaw is "definitely the next ChatGPT," calling it a fast-rising open-source project. Nvidia also announced NemoClaw, an enterprise-grade version that layers the company's software stack on top of OpenClaw.

NOAA predicts a moderate to strong geomagnetic storm that could make the northern lights visible across about 19 U.S. states late on March 18 into the early hours of March 19, with best viewing generally between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time.

Singapore is advancing a national AI strategy while Singapore-based Agnes AI has raised tens of millions in funding and is approaching $20 million in annual recurring revenue.

Italy's antitrust authority opened a fact‑finding inquiry into the quantum computing sector, citing concerns about market concentration, technological lock‑in and the growing role of large cloud providers; it will gather stakeholder input by April 30 and expects to conclude the review by December 31.