#BrainUp Daily Tech News – (Friday, May 22ⁿᵈ)
Welcome to today’s curated collection of interesting links and insights for 2026/05/22. Our Hand-picked, AI-optimized system has processed and summarized 21 articles from all over the internet to bring you the latest technology news.
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1. Samsung’s next Galaxy Buds reportedly using the ‘clip’ open-ear style, Xiaomi too
A new report says @Samsung’s next earbuds, reportedly called “Galaxy Buds Able,” will adopt a clip-type #open-ear design that attaches to the side of the ear. Korean outlet @ETNews claims Samsung is preparing this clip form factor, similar to products like @Sony’s LinkBuds Clip, and notes that @Xiaomi is also pursuing the same style. Xiaomi has now launched “Xiaomi Clip” in China, featuring an open-ear design, 11mm drivers, AI features, and up to 38 hours of battery life with the case. Previous leaks, including a software leak showing a likely design, suggest Samsung’s earbuds look very similar to Xiaomi’s and other clip-style models. Samsung has not teased the product, but the article suggests a potential launch window around the late July #GalaxyZFold8 event.
Xreal Project Aura is a hybrid pair of smart glasses built to deliver a full #AndroidXR VR experience in a glasses-like form factor by offloading most hardware to a pocketable compute puck. The glasses include dual displays, speakers, cameras, and an upgraded X1S chip for better speed and multitasking, while the puck houses the battery, a @Snapdragon processor (unspecified model), and heavier components to keep the glasses light. Unlike wearable-monitor-only products such as Xreal 1S or Viture Beast that must be plugged into a phone or laptop, Aura is intended to run on its own via the puck and provide spatial tracking of your surroundings, hand tracking, and support for existing Android 2D and spatial apps, while still optionally functioning as a wearable monitor. Xreal says Aura should make its commercial debut in 2026, with timing possibly aligned with other upcoming smart glasses launches, and frames the puck as an evolution of the 2024 Xreal Beam Pro with dual USB-C ports. The design positions Aura as a different approach from all-in-one XR glasses by aiming for substantially more capability without the bulk of a traditional VR headset.
3. Google has tripled Gemini usage limits for Antigravity, twice
After #Gemini introduced compute-based #usageLimits across its tools, @Google increased quotas specifically inside #Antigravity, its AI-powered coding tool, in response to user frustration. The limits went live earlier this week, and many users reportedly hit them quickly, sometimes within about an hour, prompting Google on Wednesday to raise Gemini model rate limits in Antigravity by 3x and reset weekly quotas for all users. The company then tripled Antigravity’s weekly quota again, with @Varun Mohan from @DeepMind noting some users were reaching weekly caps after just a couple work sessions and confirming paid-plan quotas were reset a second time. While the larger quotas should reduce disruption, users pointed out the new limits still remain lower than before, and Google has not changed usage limits for Gemini tools outside Antigravity.
4. Anker’s new earbuds are the first with its AI chip that boosts noise reduction
Anker introduced the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max, its first earbuds to use the Thus #AI audio chip to improve #noiseReduction and call clarity, plus faster responses to voice controls. The Liberty 5 Pro costs $169.99, comes in blue, white, black, and pink, and keeps the charging case touchscreen, now a 0.96-inch LCD on the outside for easier access to ANC and transparency settings, with up to 6.5 hours of ANC listening and 28 hours total with the case. Anker claims the chip makes ANC 100 percent more effective than the Liberty 4 Pro, reduces background noise so your voice is clearer on calls, and enables 20 built-in voice commands for volume, playback, and ANC modes. The Liberty 5 Pro Max costs $229.99 in black or titanium-gold, matches the Pro’s battery life, IP55 rating, and support for Apple’s #FindMy, but adds a 1.78-inch AMOLED case display and the ability to record meetings. Those recordings are sent to the Soundcore app for processing into transcripts, speaker identification, and highlighted action items, extending the AI features beyond listening into note-taking.
5. A Ukrainian ground robot defended a position from Russian assault for six weeks
A single remote-controlled Ukrainian #UGV, a Droid TW 12.7 armed with a machine gun, defended a key intersection under constant Russian attack for 45 days in what a 3rd Army Corps spokesperson described as Ukraine’s first fully robotic defensive operation of a position. The operator, located about 10 kilometers away, used #drones for continuous surveillance to detect enemy movement in real time, then engaged confirmed threats, reportedly disrupting every attempted breakthrough and preventing infiltration with no Ukrainian casualties. Ukrainian ground robots are also increasingly used beyond combat, with @Olena Kryzhanivska reporting they perform about 80 percent of front-line logistics tasks, and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense aiming for 100 percent, while unit costs are estimated at $10,000 to $30,000. Officials say scaling this approach faces practical limits such as insufficient battery capacity and ammunition load, plus the higher training burden and terrain-navigation complexity of ground-robot operations compared with #UAVs. Even as autonomy improves and one soldier may eventually control multiple robots, Ukraine is restricting lethal autonomy in civilian-populated areas and insists humans remain in the decision loop for high-responsibility missions.
6. Social Media Is Misinforming You About Relationships
Social media can spread #relationship misinformation, false or misleading relationship claims, by algorithmically feeding users anti-relationship content that frames partners as adversaries. Algorithms infer preferences from engagement, so lingering on breakup blame or negative dating advice can quickly snowball into a feed dominated by hostile narratives. In an illustrative test with new accounts, the authors observed gendered patterns: men were shown content portraying women as untrustworthy, chaotic, and likely to cheat, while women were shown content casting men as liabilities and urging constant vigilance for red flags. The post argues these distorted patterns can polarize beliefs about dating, especially when concepts like #avoidant attachment and #narcissistic personality disorder are oversimplified, despite research suggesting true narcissism is under 5 percent of the population. By repeatedly amplifying these messages, social media may contribute to a broader decline in interest in relationships and shape what partners believe about each other.
7. Sadiq Khan sparks row with Met after blocking £50m AI deal with Palantir
@Sadiq Khan, through #Mopac, blocked a proposed £50m #MetropolitanPolice contract to use @Palantir’s #AI technology to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations, triggering a public dispute with Scotland Yard. The mayor’s office cited “serious concerns” about how the deal was struck, saying there was a clear and serious breach of procurement rules, that the Met had not obtained required approval for its procurement strategy, and that police appeared to have seriously considered only one supplier, creating legal and reputational risks. The Met called the veto disappointing, arguing it needs modern technology to keep pace with hostile states and organised criminals, and warned that without new tech it may have to cut officer numbers, especially amid a £125m funding shortfall and planned job cuts. The controversy is heightened by wider backlash over the British state’s use of @Palantir, including its links to @PeterThiel and work for the Israeli military and US immigration enforcement, while Khan’s office argues strict scrutiny is even more important given tight budgets. The dispute centers on whether adopting #AI tools quickly justifies the procurement approach, versus the mayor’s insistence on robust processes and value-for-money accountability for large public contracts.
8. A Hacker Group Is Poisoning Open Source Code at an Unprecedented Scale
A cybercriminal group called TeamPCP is carrying out #software supply chain attacks at unusually high frequency by poisoning open source developer tools to distribute malware and expand access to more organizations. GitHub disclosed it was breached after a developer installed a poisoned #VSCode extension, and TeamPCP claimed it accessed about 4,000 repositories, while GitHub said it found at least 3,800 compromised repositories containing GitHub’s own code, not customers’ code. Security firms cited in the report say the group has launched 20 recent “waves” that hid malware in more than 500 distinct software packages, enabling breaches of hundreds of companies, with victims including #OpenAI and Mercor, according to @Ben Read of Wiz and research from Socket. The group’s approach is described as a self-reinforcing cycle where malware steals credentials that let attackers publish further malicious versions of developer tools, creating what Read calls a “flywheel” of compromises, and it may be increasingly automated via a self-spreading worm known as Mini Shai-Hulud. The GitHub incident is presented as the latest example of how TeamPCP’s scaling of #open source poisoning is undermining trust in the software ecosystem relied on to build much of the world’s code.
US political operatives developed a surveillance app targeting Alberta separatists, aiming to destabilize Canada by monitoring and influencing regional separatist movements. The app collects extensive user data and provides tools to surveil and manipulate key groups advocating for Alberta’s separation. This effort aligns with broader attempts to exploit internal divisions and political unrest within Canada. The involvement of foreign actors in domestic political matters raises concerns about sovereignty and the integrity of Canadian democratic processes. This incident highlights the vulnerability of political movements to external interference and the need for robust countermeasures.
10. Cisco used AI to write security incident reports, with mixed results
Cisco tested #AI and #LLMs for writing long-form security incident reports from a tabletop incident response exercise and found they can cut drafting time but introduce reliability risks. In a Cisco Talos Incident Response blog post, Nate Pors said LLMs can produce significant inaccuracies, inconsistent writing, and unusual conclusions because they act like autocomplete, and he described common failure modes such as non-repeatable results across queries, divergent recommendations from the same data, unpredictable structure and formatting, and dropped critical details. Cisco reduced these issues by using granular single-task prompts, specifying allowed sources, and enforcing style and format rules, which helped cut report drafting time by about 50 percent and passed a blind QA review with no perceived drop in quality, including fewer typos than average. However, the team saw cross-contamination when editing multiple reports in one session, with content bleeding between reports even after deleting prior reference notes, and recommended starting a fresh session and re-entering prompts for each report. They also found an LLM-based spelling and grammar prompt performed poorly, hallucinating issues, missing real ones, and behaving inconsistently.
11. The Young Are Being Battered by AI as Hiring Shifts to Older Workers
Early-career workers are facing a worsening job market as companies use #AI to automate tasks that once went to new graduates and shift hiring toward more experienced employees. A New York Fed report found the market for 22-to-27-year-olds deteriorated, with @Jerome Powell suggesting #AI is partly responsible, and an @Oliver Wyman CEO survey shows 43% now plan to reduce junior roles, up from 17% last year, while about 30% are shifting hiring to mid-level roles, up from 10%. CEOs describe this as moving toward a structurally leaner, #AI-augmented operating model, even though most firms are still in planning or pilot phases and only 27% say AI returns meet or exceed expectations, with nearly a quarter seeing no revenue impact. A small group of more advanced adopters report higher inclination to hire juniors, arguing #AI can increase entry-level talent value, but the broader trend is reduced hiring overall, with 74% of CEOs freezing or cutting headcount, especially in tech, media, and telecommunications. The report warns that cutting staff faster than meaningful #AI deployment, or overrelying on still-maturing systems, can leave organizations exposed.
12. SpaceX considers IPO as Elon Musk weighs AI opportunities
SpaceX is reportedly exploring the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) as part of founder Elon Musk’s broader strategy to capitalize on emerging artificial intelligence (AI) advancements. Recently, @ElonMusk has signaled a growing interest in #AI technologies, which could influence the space company’s financial and technological trajectory. This consideration reflects the integration of cutting-edge AI within aerospace innovation, potentially attracting significant investor attention. As SpaceX moves toward public markets, the infusion of AI expertise might enhance operational efficiencies and competitive positioning. This development aligns with Musk’s vision of leveraging new technologies to sustain leadership in both space exploration and AI sectors.
13. Acrisure layoffs to number 2,250, attributed to AI advancements
Grand Rapids based Acrisure plans to cut 2,250 jobs over the next year as it restructures its North American workforce in response to #AI and other technology shifts. The reductions, about 11% of the company’s workforce, will be phased between now and 2027 and primarily affect U.S.-based employees, following an earlier warning that about 400 layoffs would occur at the start of 2026, mostly in accounting, due to #artificial_intelligence and technology advancements. Co-founder and CEO @Greg_Williams told employees that advances in #technology, #AI, and #digital_platforms are changing client expectations and how value is created, and said Acrisure must increase revenue growth through greater connectivity, tighter alignment, and continued investment in technology. He said the company aims to have people collaborate with tech platforms, using #data, #automation, and AI to reduce manual work, deliver faster and more consistent outcomes, and build digital capabilities. Williams said impacted employees will receive comprehensive severance, extended benefits for a period of time, and outplacement support, framing the layoffs as part of changing how work gets done to build the company’s future.
A wave of commencement boos is spotlighting Gen Z graduates’ anxiety that #AI, especially #generativeAI, is worsening an already difficult entry-level job market. Recent grads and students cited by CNBC say landing entry-level work feels increasingly competitive, with New York Fed data showing a 5.6% unemployment rate for recent college graduates (ages 22 to 27) in March versus 4.2% for all workers, and ZipRecruiter reporting higher clicks per posting, fewer entry-level roles, and a rising share of competition for those jobs. Members of the class of 2026, who entered college around the launch of #ChatGPT and had much of their undergraduate experience shaped by the AI boom, describe an “ambient anxiety” that AI will make opportunities “dramatically worse” and “take away job opportunities.” The tension played out at ceremonies where speakers like @EricSchmidt urged graduates to shape AI’s impact, while others, including Gloria Caulfield and Scott Borchetta, drew boos for framing AI as an industrial revolution or telling students to “Deal with it,” reflecting a clash between optimistic AI rhetoric and graduates’ fear of eroding career prospects.
@Steve Wozniak drew laughter and applause at Grand Valley State University by framing #AI anxiety with reassurance that graduates already have “AI,” meaning actual intelligence. In his commencement remarks, he said it would take too long to fully explain his views, but described #AI as an attempt to replicate aspects of a brain by duplicating routines at massive scale. The response contrasted with other recent ceremonies where @Eric Schmidt and real estate executive @Gloria Caulfield were booed for AI related comments. Wozniak also acknowledged that #AI is reshaping the job market, including changing required skills, hiring assessments, and contributing to AI related layoffs, and he advised graduates to “think different” and avoid following the same path as everyone else. The speech positioned human creativity and originality as an advantage for new workers entering an economy increasingly influenced by #AI.
16. Google Health 5.0 rolling out with new stats widget on Android
Google Health 5.0 is rolling out on Android as an update to the Fitbit app, adding a new homescreen #QuickAccessWidget. It replaces the circular Steps widget with a layout similar to the focus section at the top of the Today tab, showing up to six user selected metrics in a maximum 5×3 size, with options to remove rings for a denser view, shrink to one stat, and tap through to the full stats page. The widget includes shortcuts to open the app, jump to the Health Coach, refresh, and it displays the last update time. The update also introduces a new Google Health icon and removes Fitbit branding from the app, keeping the Fitbit name for hardware, and version 5.0 is required to set up the Fitbit Air launching next week. Rollout began May 19 with full availability expected by May 26, furthering Google’s shift from Fitbit app branding to #GoogleHealth.
17. The Gemini app becomes more agentic, delivering proactive, 24/7 help
Google says the #Gemini app is becoming a more agentic assistant, aimed at proactive, 24/7 help through new models, agents, and a redesigned experience. It reports growth from 400 million users at Google I/O last year to more than 900 million monthly users across 230 countries and 70+ languages, and introduces updates timed for Google I/O 2026 including #Gemini 3.5 Flash, the #Neural Expressive design language, #Gemini Omni for turning text, images, and video prompts into cinematic video, plus the #Daily Brief and #Gemini Spark agents. The new UI adds fluid animations, typography, and haptic feedback, integrates #Gemini Live to switch between typing and conversation, improves the microphone experience, plans regional dialect voices, and generates richer response formats such as imagery, interactive timelines, narrated videos, and dynamic graphics. #Gemini Omni is positioned as a conversational video creation and editing tool with templates, prompt-based effects like zooms and background swaps, and optional custom AI avatars, rolling out to Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers, while #Neural Expressive rolls out globally on web, Android, and iOS to support the app’s push toward more proactive assistance.
18. SpaceX Starship Flight 12 live launch updates: 1st Starship V3 launch scrubbed, may fly May 22
SpaceX scrubbed the first launch attempt of its upgraded #Starship V3 megarocket on May 21 and is now targeting no earlier than Friday, May 22 at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT) from Starbase, Texas, with a 90 minute window and a livestream beginning at 5:45 p.m. EDT (2145 GMT). The countdown reached T minus 40 seconds and entered a hold after a water diverter system tripped, and @Dan Huot said a last minute technical issue led SpaceX to call off the attempt while teams learned the new rocket and new pad systems and aimed to try again the next day. The article frames Flight 12 as the 12th Starship test flight since 2023, the first this year, and the first in seven months, highlighting it as a critical test for the new V3 design. During the prelaunch coverage, @Nicki Minaj appeared on site to watch, and SpaceX also announced that Fram2 Dragon commander Chun Wang will lead a first Starship Mars flyby mission that would also swing by the moon. Overall, the live updates emphasize the scrub, the revised May 22 target, and the early operational learnings associated with debuting #StarshipV3 hardware and pad upgrades.
19. Quantum stocks soar as U.S. plans $2 billion funding incentives and equity stakes
Quantum computing stocks jumped after the U.S. said it plans to award $2 billion in grants to nine #quantum computing firms and take minority, non controlling equity stakes as part of the deals. The @National Institute of Standards and Technology said it signed letters of intent, with funding coming from the 2022 #Chips and Science Act, and the deals still need to be formally completed. @IBM is set to receive $1 billion and its shares rose 12%, while GlobalFoundries is slated for $375 million and D-Wave, Rigetti, Infleqtion, PsiQuantum, and Diraq are among other recipients, with several of their stocks surging 30% plus. @IBM said it will work with the U.S. to develop America’s first purpose built quantum foundry, with the proposed award supporting a new standalone company, Anderon, and @IBM matching the grant with a $1 billion investment to build a 300 millimeter quantum wafer foundry in Albany, New York. The announcement boosted broader sector sentiment, lifting even non recipients such as Arqit, IonQ, and Quantum Computing, linking government incentives and equity participation to investor expectations for accelerated U.S. leadership in #quantum technology and related manufacturing.
20. Apple will broadcast a Major League Soccer game captured entirely with iPhones – Engadget
@Apple says it will broadcast the May 23 @Major League Soccer match between Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo using only iPhones to capture the entire production. The 10:30PM ET game is described as the first major live pro sports event shot solely on iPhones, with a crew using 15 iPhone 17 Pro devices for player warmups, introductions, crowd shots, and even goal views from inside the net. Apple argues the iPhone’s small form factor enables #dynamic new perspectives that bring viewers closer to the action. The effort builds on a September test where an iPhone 17 Pro was used for parts of an @MLB game (Boston Red Sox vs. Detroit Tigers) and follows continued use of iPhones in its regular rotation for Friday Night Baseball and MLS broadcasts this year. This MLS broadcast is presented as a milestone for #smartphone-based live sports production and Apple’s expanding use of iPhone in professional sports coverage.
21. AMD’s Next Big Chip Hopes To Beat Nvidia’s CPUs While They’re in the Crib
@AMD is positioning its new #Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 495 APU to challenge rumored @Nvidia laptop CPUs and win more mindshare with #AI developers, while also pushing a $4,000 mini PC meant to rival @Nvidia’s DGX Spark. The 495 centers on a #Zen 5 CPU with 16 cores and 32 threads up to 5.2GHz, keeps the same #RDNA 3.5 GPU design as the prior Max+ 395 with a Radeon 8065S and 40 compute units, and can be configured with up to 160GB of VRAM, with AMD claiming it is the first x86 processor able to run a 300B parameter AI model on its own. AMD also announced Ryzen AI Max Pro 490 and 485 variants with fewer CPU cores and a smaller 32 compute unit GPU. Separately, AMD introduced the #Ryzen AI Halo “AI developer platform,” a 6 by 6 inch mini PC using the previous gen Max+ 395 with up to a 2TB SSD and 128GB unified memory, supporting both Windows and Linux, and it argues the chip delivers 4x generative AI workloads versus an M4 Pro while competing against @Nvidia’s Linux based, ARM and #Blackwell powered $4,000 #DGX Spark. Preorders for the 395 based system are slated for June, a 495 version is “coming soon,” and AMD says new laptops from @Asus, @HP, and @Lenovo using the 495 should arrive in Q3 as @Nvidia and @Intel’s Panther Lake also vie for laptop dominance.
That’s all for today’s digest for 2026/05/22! We picked, and processed 21 Articles. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s collection of insights and discoveries.
Thanks, Patricia Zougheib and Dr Badawi, for curating the links
See you in the next one! 🚀
