← Latest technology roundup All past issues

technologyFriday, August 7, 2026

AI-designed viruses and Google's talent exodus

Today's tech news is split between two big AI stories: Stanford researchers used AI to design brand-new viruses, a first for synthetic biology, and Google is losing the very people who built its AI empire. Meanwhile, a court ordered Meta to pay $567m over child mental health harms, and a mysterious buyer is snapping up used books worldwide.

Sources

AI's double edge

AI is both creating new biological threats and reshaping the companies that build it.

#01www.bbc.comAug 7

Artificial Intelligence used to design brand new viruses

Stanford's AI-designed viruses are fully functional and replicating, a first for whole genomes. The breakthrough is a 'very significant turning point' but raises dual-use concerns, even if these specific viruses only infect bacteria.

8 min readRead original

#02www.abc.net.auAug 7

Stanford researchers create viruses not found in nature using genomes designed by artificial intelligence

This ABC piece adds detail on the genome language models Evo 1 and Evo 2, which work like LLMs for DNA. The fact that AI can now generate novel, functional genomes moves synthetic biology from editing to creating.

5 min readRead original

#03techcrunch.comAug 7

Jeff Dean and other top AI researchers are leaving Google to launch their own startup

Jeff Dean's departure to launch Discovery Loop with other top Google researchers is a major brain drain. The startup's structure as a 'research lab' suggests it may prioritize long-term AI research over product, a direct challenge to Google's commercial focus.

#04www.cnbc.comAug 7

Google is expanding its AI empire — and losing the people who built it

Google's cloud revenue is booming, but the exodus of AI talent like Jeff Dean highlights a paradox: commercial success in AI is driving away the researchers who made it possible. The piece questions whether Google can sustain its AI leadership while losing its architects.

Tech accountability

Courts and regulators are starting to hold tech companies accountable for their products' harms.

#05www.theguardian.comAug 7

New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567m over harms to children’s mental health

The $567m ruling against Meta is a landmark in tech accountability, with $420m earmarked for children's mental health treatment. It sets a precedent that social media companies can be held liable for algorithmic harms, not just privacy violations.

Also today13

OpenAI and Jony Ive Are Building a $300 Doughnut-Shaped Speaker for 2027startupfortune.com
OpenAI is reportedly developing its first hardware product: a screenless, doughnut-shaped smart speaker designed in collaboration with Jony Ive's LoveFrom studio. Priced between $300 and $400 and roughly the size of a hockey puck, the device is targeted for release in 2027. It wi
UNC6671 Rebrands: Multi-Brand Vishing Extortion Targets Financial Services and Enterprise Cloud Environmentswww.hendryadrian.com
Google Threat Intelligence Group reports on UNC6671, an active extortion operation that combines vishing (voice phishing), AiTM (adversary-in-the-middle) credential theft, and SaaS data exfiltration. The operation operates under multiple brands including BlackFile, Redact, Pink,
Why uninstalling a Windows 11 app might not free up any storagewww.pcworld.com
This article explains that uninstalling apps from the Microsoft Store (which use the MSIX package system) may not actually free up storage space on Windows 11. When users uninstall an MSIX app, Windows sometimes doesn't truly remove it from disk—instead, it makes the app invisibl
Have I Been Pwned: Exact Sciences Data Breachhaveibeenpwned.com
In July 2026, Exact Sciences (now owned by Abbott Laboratories) was targeted by the ShinyHunters hacking group in a "pay or leak" extortion campaign. The group claimed to have obtained data from the company's cancer diagnostics business and later published it publicly. The breach
Ransom! www.ernat-bureau-etudes.fr (AUG-2026)www.hendryadrian.com
A ransomware incident has impacted the website www.ernat-bureau-etudes.fr in France, attributed to the threat actor "krybit." The victim is ERNAT (Etudes Réalisations Négoce Assistance Technique) SARL SCOP, a French worker cooperative. The post is based on public claims made by t
NASA’s Just Prolonged Voyager 2’s Science Mission With A Big Banghackaday.com
JPL engineers have successfully executed a 'big bang' power switch on Voyager 2 to extend its science mission. The maneuver involved two heaters and another device that was kept on to provide sufficient heat to the spacecraft, allowing it to continue functioning in deep space whe
Android’s new Quick Settings editor has another trick: A customizable QQS layoutwww.androidauthority.com
Android's latest Canary build introduces a new Quick Quick Settings (QQS) layout editor that allows users to reposition the media player above the first row of Quick Settings tiles. By default, Android shows four Quick Settings tiles (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Modes, Wallet) at the top o