AI Encouraged Teens to Self-Harm

Artificial intelligence urged teenagers to harm themselves and advised killing their parents. Currently, families in the US are suing CharacterAI (the maker of chatbots that can mimic stars and characters) for causing psychological harm to children.

Musk becomes world's first individual with wealth over $400 billion

Musk has become the first person in the world to surpass a fortune of $400 billion - currently, his capital amounts to $442 billion. This was achieved through the rise in Tesla's stock value and the increase in SpaceX's capitalization to $350 billion, making it the largest startup in the world.

Tech Worker Found Dead in San Francisco

The body of 26-year-old tech worker Suchir Balaji, who accused OpenAI of copyright infringement in the creation of ChatGPT, was discovered in San Francisco. A month and a half ago, he publicly spoke about the company's dark dealings in an interview with the NY Times. Recently, he was found dead in his own apartment.

Epic Parachute-Free Jump from 7.6 km high

A crazy stunt was performed by American stuntman Luke Aikins in 2016 as he jumped out of a plane without any safety harness. During the 2-minute free fall, he accelerated to nearly 200 km/h and landed precisely in a specially prepared net measuring 30 by 30 meters.

Apple Shifts Production to India

Apple is rapidly cutting down its gadget production in China. The company decided to move the production of AirPods to India. A new factory in Hyderabad has already started trial production of the earphones, and mass production will start in 2025.

Charging iPhone with Foreign Cable May Lead to Hack

Charging an iPhone with a foreign cable may result in a hack. A seemingly ordinary cable can contain a hidden Wi-Fi chip that steals data and passwords and infects the device with a virus. For example, the spy cable OMG, which has been sold since 2019, is capable of recording every keystroke - and you might not even notice.

The Secret of Ginger Cats Revealed

This is no joke - until recently, scientists did not know the mechanism of the appearance of ginger coloring in cats, unlike most other ginger animals and humans. It turned out that cats have a completely different genetic mechanism: while in most animals the MC1R protein is responsible for color, in cats, this function is performed by the recently discovered gene Arhgap36. This gene is located on the X chromosome and exists in two versions: 'O' for ginger and 'o' for black. This arrangement creates unique combinations: Females with the 'Oo' combination become tricolor; Males can be only ginger or black due to a single X chromosome; Rare tricolor males are only possible with a genetic anomaly - an extra X chromosome.

Chinese Auto Brand Jiyue Closes Down

The Chinese auto brand Jiyue, created by Geely in collaboration with Baidu, is closing down – it owes millions to investors and suppliers, and a sudden 'financial hole' of nearly $1 billion has surfaced in reporting. The company was founded in 2023, and during its existence, it managed to release two models – crossover 01 and liftback 07, which sold only 13,834 units, an incredibly low number by Chinese standards.

Elon Musk's Potential City

Elon Musk may have his own city: he wants to turn the Texas spaceport Starbase into one. According to the billionaire, hundreds of people already live there permanently, building their own roads, having a school, a hospital, and more, so granting Starbase city status is a logical step. The final decision will need to be made by Texas residents through a vote.

Google Releases 'Meteorologist Killer'

Google has released the 'Meteorologist Killer'. The company launched GenCast - an AI model for weather forecasting, trained on weather data from 1979 to 2018. Test results were astonishing: GenCast outperformed the leading European forecasting model ENS in 97.2% of cases.

New flying car unveiled in China

A new flying car has been unveiled in China. The Italian startup Manta Aircraft brought the crazy hybrid ANN 6 to the air show in Zhuhai. The electric beast for 6 people can take off like a helicopter and move silently. The air taxi's maximum speed is 330 km/h, and the flight range is 1000 km.

New World Champion

18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju from India has become the youngest world champion in chess history, breaking Garry Kasparov's record, who won this title at the age of 22. In the final, the young man defeated Chinese chess player Ding Liren with a score of 7.5:6.5. Their match lasted from November 25 to December 12 and concluded after the 58th move.

Elon Musk's Underwater Tunnel

Elon Musk stated that his Boring Company will be able to build an underwater tunnel between New York and London for just $20 billion. The trip through it would take only 54 minutes.

Scientists discover whale crossing 3 oceans for mating

Scientists have discovered a whale that crossed three oceans for the sake of mating. A certain humpback wanted to mate and swam 13,046 km from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean in search of a female. The relentless male set a new migration record for reproduction.

Japanese company Asahi Sake Brewery to brew sake in orbit

The Japanese company Asahi Sake Brewery will attempt to brew sake in orbit. In the Japanese module 'Kibo' on the ISS, fermentation of the rice starter will take place, then the product will be brought back to Earth, pressed, and bottled. The drink will be named Dassai Moon - Space Brewing.

Chinese airplane accidentally hits bird flock

A Chinese airline aircraft accidentally hit an entire flock of birds upon landing. Interestingly, tens of thousands of such collisions occur worldwide each year - they usually end tragically only for the birds, but there are exceptions, such as when engines fail. The damage from this is estimated at ~$1.2 billion annually.

Mass Death of Children's Robots Expected in the USA

Preparations are underway in the USA for the mass death of children's robots. The startup Embodied, which sold thousands of AI robot friends Moxie for children aged 5 to 10, has announced its closure. Now parents do not know how to explain to their children that their robot friend will die in a few days. Moreover, the startup offers no guarantee for the refund of the robots' cost - $800. Embodied explained the project closure by an unsuccessful "critical funding round".

Clever Elephant Extorts Treats on Sri Lanka's Roads

On the roads of Sri Lanka, a clever elephant is blocking the way for cars and demanding treats for passage. He doesn't "stop" all vehicles, mainly targeting buses, seemingly understanding that they have more people and therefore a higher chance of getting food.

New Addition to Unusual Guinness Records

A new entry in the collection of unusual Guinness records. Romanian Zoltan Turzo hit a piano key 500 times in 30 seconds, surpassing the achievement of Japanese Keita Hattori (495 times). This marks the third world record in the musician's career: previously, he performed the longest piano marathon (130 hours straight) and gave a concert at an altitude of 5,798 meters.

Bill Gates' Holiday Book Recommendations

Bill Gates has traditionally shared his book recommendations for the holidays. According to him, all the books help to better understand the world around us. 1. "An Unfinished Love Story" by Doris Kearns Goodwin; 2. "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt; 3. "Engineering in Plain Sight" by Grady Hillhouse; 4. "The Coming Wave" by Mustafa Suleyman. Bonus book: "Federer" by Doris Henkel. This is a biography of the famous tennis player Roger Federer.