2026 jul 20

[rcjordan]

TLDR; heart & brain cells won't go the distance
Somatic mutations impose an entropic upper bound on human lifespan | npj Aging
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41514-026-00421-6

How Google's A.I. Search Is Imperiling the Open Web - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/technology/google-ai-open-web.html

'Vibecoded' Apps Are Flooding Apple's App Store - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/technology/apple-app-store-vibecoding.html

EU's AI labeling rules take effect next month
https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/07/20/eus-ai-labeling-rules-take-effect-next-month/5274917

Watching the world burn as all the money flows into a multitrillion-dollar Magic 8 Ball
https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/07/20/watching-the-world-burn-as-all-the-money-flows-into-a-multitrillion-dollar-magic-8-ball/5274553

UK chief financial officers turn more hopeful about AI | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-chief-financial-officers-turn-more-hopeful-about-ai-2026-07-19/

AI Jobs Spread Well Beyond Silicon Valley - Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-jobs-spread-beyond-silicon-valley-indeed-2026-7

something, something, Skynet
How armed robots could become the military's weapon of choice - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/07/20/how-armed-robots-could-become-military-weapon-choice/

Jeff Bezos and UK government invest in £2bn British startup CuspAI | AI (artificial intelligence) | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/20/jeff-bezos-uk-government-invest-in-2bn-british-startup-cuspai

AI is more likely than humans to form biases when hiring | MIT Technology Review
https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/20/1140655/ai-biases-hiring-humans/

I hate that I don't hate this song made with Suno
1010Benja shows Suno can be more than an AI music slop engine | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/967678/1010benja-semiramis-dream-suno-ai-music

[rcjordan]

eSIM was supposed to replace SIM cards, but carriers turned it into a trap
https://www.howtogeek.com/esim-was-supposed-to-replace-sim-cards-carriers-turned-it-into-a-trap/

I ditched Bitwarden's subscription for a $35 Raspberry Pi running Vaultwarden
https://www.howtogeek.com/ditched-bitwardens-subscription-for-chea-raspberry-pi-vaultwarden/

Automakers figured out how to charge you forever for features you already own
https://www.howtogeek.com/automakers-charge-you-forever-features-you-already-own/

AliExpress hit with record $625M fine after failing to make EU-ordered fixes - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/aliexpress-fined-625m-for-failing-to-remove-unsafe-toys-dangerous-cosmetics/

Climate scientists have predicted greater flooding in Texas for decades. It's happening now | Texas Standard
https://texasstandard.org/stories/floods-texas-weather-climate-change-warming-air-gulf-water/

NY Fed survey finds highest credit application rate in nearly five years | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/business/ny-fed-survey-finds-highest-credit-application-rate-nearly-five-years-2026-07-20/?link_source=ta_bluesky_link

[rcjordan]

A wave of student loan borrowers have entered default since pandemic-era protections lapsed | PBS News
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/a-wave-of-student-loan-borrowers-have-entered-default-since-pandemic-era-protections-lapsed

scroll for charts
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2026 | Prison Policy Initiative
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2026.html

The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel - European Digital Rights (EDRi)
https://edri.org/our-work/the-eu-is-about-to-sell-our-most-sensitive-data-to-the-us-for-visa-free-travel/

scroll to vids
Robotics @ XIAOMI
https://robotics.xiaomi.com/xiaomi-robotics-1.html

...and Skynet. Don't forget Skynet.
Archer, Anduril unveil autonomous aircraft platform for defense, commercial markets | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/archer-anduril-unveil-autonomous-aircraft-platform-defense-commercial-markets-2026-07-20/

[ergophobe]

> Vaultwarden

"It JUSTrequires a Raspberry Pi, about an hour to set up, and a willingness to maintain good backups... Flash the card, install Docker, run one container... disable new signups immediately. Enforce two-factor authentication and add Fail2Ban to mitigate any brute-force attempts... Finally, keep your image up to date by running docker compose pull and skimming the release notes before jumping to major new versions... The real "snag," such as there is one, is the responsibility. Your password manager holds the passwords for all of your essential services. If you break it or the save gets corrupted, you're the one that has to fix it."

I love it when people JUST write articles like this for the unwashed masses like me.

[ergophobe]

> Incarceration

You can debate who deserves what, but the 426,000 people being held without conviction is just not right. In our county, someone accused of arson was held for 3.5 years without a trial. In ill health and in a wheelchair, he was finally released to home release and is set to go to trial this year.

My guess is that he is guilty and deserves a severe penalty. Friends we know lost homes. But the "innocent until proven guilty" concept is a dead letter if people not proven guilty can be incarcerated for years before their day in court. If he were not 72 years old and in ill health, he would still be in jail awaiting trial after over four years.

[ergophobe]

> scroll to vids

Wow... these "soft goods" tasks have traditionally been some of the hardest to automate. That's amazing.