With physical products these go through refurbishing channels if there are enough units to warrant it.What if a batch of products is determined to have some QA problems? One challenge we discovered the hard way is that there are a lot of companies who will claim to recycle your products or donate them to good causes in other countries, but actually they'll just end up on eBay or even in some cases being injected back in to retail channels through some process we could never figure out. At least with hardware products we could track serial numbers to discover when this was happening.It gets weirder when you have a warranty policy. You start getting warranty requests for serial numbers that were marked as destroyed or that never made it to the retail system. This is less of a problem now that Amazon has mechanisms to avoid inventory co-mingling (if you use them) but for a while we found ourselves honoring warranty claims for items that, ironically enough, had already been warrantied once and then “recycled” by our recycling service.So whenever I see “unsold” I think the situation is probably more complicated than this overview suggests. I assume companies will be doing something obvious to mark the units as not for normal sale like punching holes in tags or marking them somewhere] What if a batch of products is determined to have some QA problems? One challenge we discovered the hard way is that there are a lot of companies who will claim to recycle your products or donate them to good causes in other countries, but actually they'll just end up on eBay or even in some cases being injected back in to retail channels through some process we could never figure out. At least with hardware products we could track serial numbers to discover when this was happening.It gets weirder when you have a warranty policy. You start getting warranty requests for serial numbers that were marked as destroyed or that never made it to the retail system. This is less of a problem now that Amazon has mechanisms to avoid inventory co-mingling (if you use them) but for a while we found ourselves honoring warranty claims for items that, ironically enough, had already been warrantied once and then “recycled” by our recycling service.So whenever I see “unsold” I think the situation is probably more complicated than this overview suggests. I assume companies will be doing something obvious to mark the units as not for normal sale like punching holes in tags or marking them somewhere] It gets weirder when you have a warranty policy. You start getting warranty requests for serial numbers that were marked as destroyed or that never made it to the retail system. This is less of a problem now that Amazon has mechanisms to avoid inventory co-mingling (if you use them) but for a while we found ourselves honoring warranty claims for items that, ironically enough, had already been warrantied once and then “recycled” by our recycling service.So whenever I see “unsold” I think the situation is probably more complicated than this overview suggests. I assume companies will be doing something obvious to mark the units as not for normal sale like punching holes in tags or marking them somewhere] I assume companies will be doing something obvious to mark the units as not for normal sale like punching holes in tags or marking them somewhere] A robust liquidation market does a lot to prevent waste, and it reduces the cost of living for those who participate, so finding ways to allow products to be truly sold as-is is vital, otherwise the next most logical option is to put those items in a landfill.It's also important that there's no legislative hurdles to seelling items as-is, or there may be no legal way to sell a salvage products without completely overhauling them, which is usually not cost effective. It's also important that there's no legislative hurdles to seelling items as-is, or there may be no legal way to sell a salvage products without completely overhauling them, which is usually not cost effective. With hardware we had the serial number recorded.But consumers don't care. If they buy something from a vendor they think is selling them something as new and the vendor tells them to go the manufacturer, the customer doesn't care that you marked it as not eligible for warranty. They just want that coverageWe even had customers write ragebait Reddit posts claiming we were unfairly denying warranties, people sending stories to popular newsletters and journalists, and other attempts to make us look bad for not honoring warranties on products they bought through gray market channels. If they buy something from a vendor they think is selling them something as new and the vendor tells them to go the manufacturer, the customer doesn't care that you marked it as not eligible for warranty. They just want that coverageWe even had customers write ragebait Reddit posts claiming we were unfairly denying warranties, people sending stories to popular newsletters and journalists, and other attempts to make us look bad for not honoring warranties on products they bought through gray market channels. We even had customers write ragebait Reddit posts claiming we were unfairly denying warranties, people sending stories to popular newsletters and journalists, and other attempts to make us look bad for not honoring warranties on products they bought through gray market channels. Retailers should cover the statutory warranty on any product they sell. Unless the defects make the product somehow dangerous, this means that it found its way to users who are OK with it, thus avoiding waste. (all assuming the product is not sold as "new") (all assuming the product is not sold as "new") It's bad for the original maker.Imagine a factory mix-up means some ExampleCo jeans are made of much lower quality materials than normal. But ExampleCo's quality control does its job, notices the inferior quality before they hit store shelves, and sends them for recycling.If the recycler sells them on ebay as 'never worn ExampleCo jeans' then:1. Some people who would have paid ExampleCo for jeans instead pay the recycler - leading to lost sales.2. Some of the customers ask for replacements, which are provided at ExampleCo's expense. Imagine a factory mix-up means some ExampleCo jeans are made of much lower quality materials than normal. But ExampleCo's quality control does its job, notices the inferior quality before they hit store shelves, and sends them for recycling.If the recycler sells them on ebay as 'never worn ExampleCo jeans' then:1. Some people who would have paid ExampleCo for jeans instead pay the recycler - leading to lost sales.2. Some of the customers ask for replacements, which are provided at ExampleCo's expense. If the recycler sells them on ebay as 'never worn ExampleCo jeans' then:1. Some people who would have paid ExampleCo for jeans instead pay the recycler - leading to lost sales.2. Some of the customers ask for replacements, which are provided at ExampleCo's expense. Some people who would have paid ExampleCo for jeans instead pay the recycler - leading to lost sales.2. Some of the customers ask for replacements, which are provided at ExampleCo's expense. Some of the customers ask for replacements, which are provided at ExampleCo's expense. Some of the customers ask for replacements, which are provided at ExampleCo's expense. I suspect this will need to be a cultural change. If ExampleCo does it but not RandomCo, of course your reputation will suffer. But if the law is for all of EU, it gives everyone an equal footing. People buying it may or may not be ok with the defect.Think bad welds, usually they're fine for a while and then they're very much not. And that is a very big assumption to make. Recycling is ripe with fraud simply because how much money is in the system.The only way you can really be sure that "recycling" companies don't end up screwing you over is to do rough material separation on your own and dispose of the different material streams (paper packaging, manuals, plastics, PCBs) by different companies. The only way you can really be sure that "recycling" companies don't end up screwing you over is to do rough material separation on your own and dispose of the different material streams (paper packaging, manuals, plastics, PCBs) by different companies. I think some brands destroy the items to create an artificial scarcity that keeps their stuff 'exclusive'. https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/the-destr... says "Based on available studies, an estimated 4-9% of all textile products put on the market in Europe are destroyed before use, amounting to between 264,000 and 594,000 tonnes of textiles destroyed each year." My initial thought was "reusing an item is even better than recycling" but then realized that a warrantied item is quite likely to have flaws and get warrantied again very soon.I have recently been trolling eBay for used computing equipment rather than buying new, after it was suggested I sell my old hardware that I don't think anyone would want. And man has that been a great experience, it's way more fun than browsing Newegg or doing pc part picking from new catalogs. I need neither the compute hardware nor the cost savings but it's a fun activity on its own, not unlike so many computer games where you do deck optimization or similar. And man has that been a great experience, it's way more fun than browsing Newegg or doing pc part picking from new catalogs. I need neither the compute hardware nor the cost savings but it's a fun activity on its own, not unlike so many computer games where you do deck optimization or similar. It's where I first heard the phrase "slightly irregular". It's a shame, because some of those boards could (and would, they are valuable enough) be fully repaired by a skilled repair person. Instead, the chips are picked off and the rest goes to waste.I did buy a batch once that didn't have holes drilled, and they all turned out to have all sorts of strange, often random issues, so I suspect those were RMAs that somehow "fell off the back of a truck" and escaped the drilling. I did buy a batch once that didn't have holes drilled, and they all turned out to have all sorts of strange, often random issues, so I suspect those were RMAs that somehow "fell off the back of a truck" and escaped the drilling. The spirit of the regulation is targeting fast-fashion on-prem retailers (think H&M, Primark, Zara and the likes) and online retailers like Shein, who have heaps of products that just aren't sold because they're not wanted - and also the occasional luxury brand trying to maintain scarcity [1].> but for a while we found ourselves honoring warranty claims for items that, ironically enough, had already been warrantied once and then “recycled” by our recycling service.Yikes. > but for a while we found ourselves honoring warranty claims for items that, ironically enough, had already been warrantied once and then “recycled” by our recycling service.Yikes. As if companies are just out here wantonly destroying otherwise valuable goods that could have been easily sold at a profit instead.I guarantee this problem is far more complex and troublesome than the bureaucrats would ever understand, much less believe, yet they have no problem piling on yet another needless regulatory burden. I guarantee this problem is far more complex and troublesome than the bureaucrats would ever understand, much less believe, yet they have no problem piling on yet another needless regulatory burden. The price point is already high enough that taxing raw materials doesn't really push the needle on price, they'll just pass the costs on.Utilitarian brands already don't want to destroy clothing because their customers are price sensitive.This forces the brands to do something with excess clothing. I suspect they'll do whatever is the closest to destroying the clothing, like recycling them into rags or shredding them for dog bed filler or something. Maybe even just recycling them back to raw fibers. Utilitarian brands already don't want to destroy clothing because their customers are price sensitive.This forces the brands to do something with excess clothing. I suspect they'll do whatever is the closest to destroying the clothing, like recycling them into rags or shredding them for dog bed filler or something. Maybe even just recycling them back to raw fibers. This forces the brands to do something with excess clothing. I suspect they'll do whatever is the closest to destroying the clothing, like recycling them into rags or shredding them for dog bed filler or something. Maybe even just recycling them back to raw fibers. If the regulation specifically prohibits burning, it makes sense, as a measure to limit unproductive CO₂ emissions. (And many of these large shipments do not end-up as donations by the time they get to their destination, but are actually sold by weight and then resold again)But yes - distribution/logistics of donated goods needed to those who need them should be a "solved problem", but unfortunately it is not - regulations could help. (In countries/regions where governments actually WANT to regulate and then subsequently FOLLOW the regulations rather than cancel, ignore or throw them out entirely... Pretty sure everyone knows which country I am referring too...) But yes - distribution/logistics of donated goods needed to those who need them should be a "solved problem", but unfortunately it is not - regulations could help. (In countries/regions where governments actually WANT to regulate and then subsequently FOLLOW the regulations rather than cancel, ignore or throw them out entirely... Pretty sure everyone knows which country I am referring too...) Some perspectives would say that they serve no real purpose other than performative wealth display and distribution. They appeal to everyone at fundamental psychological levels to "fit in" with a popular trend or "in group".Their actual quality is often no better than other manufactured goods. I can admit that certain "luxury brands" are definitely appealing to me personally, even if they make little "logical sense" to own - maybe not clothing so much, but... watches...) Their actual quality is often no better than other manufactured goods. I can admit that certain "luxury brands" are definitely appealing to me personally, even if they make little "logical sense" to own - maybe not clothing so much, but... watches...) I can admit that certain "luxury brands" are definitely appealing to me personally, even if they make little "logical sense" to own - maybe not clothing so much, but... watches...) I think the reason that brands don't want to donate is because they don't want their brands to be associated with poor people. Instead of discarding stock, companies are encouraged to manage their stock more effectively, handle returns, and explore alternatives such as resale, remanufacturing, donations, or reuse.I guess remanufacturing/reuse might be the intended solution if it's absolutely not to be worn. Edit: "To prevent unintended negative consequences for circular business models that involve the sale of products after their preparation for reuse, it should be possible to destroy unsold consumer products that were made available on the market following operations carried out by waste treatment operators in accordance with Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council3. In accordance with that Directive, for waste to cease to be waste, a market or demand must exist for the recovered product. This is a rather interesting paragraph which seems to imply you can destroy clothes if truly nobody wants it. from TFA> companies are encouraged to manage their stock more effectively, handle returns, and explore alternatives such as resale, remanufacturing, donations, or reuse.Worst case would be recycling the fibers, presumably. > companies are encouraged to manage their stock more effectively, handle returns, and explore alternatives such as resale, remanufacturing, donations, or reuse.Worst case would be recycling the fibers, presumably. In theory companies would eventually be forced to produce less items nobody wants, although this is just an additional incentive in that natural process. I assume it's not actually a really strong incentive in context. This might become a bad deal if dealing with the 6000 extra units costs you money. This can be profitable for the customer, if they can't just easily get rid of those 1000 they can't sell, it's presumably less profitable. So you have to underproduce always, and maybe not even make things that aren't a safe bet to sell out. Isn't that another version of the Broken Window Fallacy? Destroying things to create jobs re-creating them is a net loss. The elites grab the crates and hoard them, leveraging their existing power to make sure they enrich themselves and extend their power. Whether or not #1 happens, it becomes impractical to make any of these goods for a living, so people stop. If the aliens ever get wiped out, or just elect a populist who doesn't like to give aid to inferior planets, then we won't have any cars, or clothes, or computers. Whether or not #1 happens, it becomes impractical to make any of these goods for a living, so people stop. (And yeah, I get it - no one "really" wants to work on a "soul-crushing" assembly/production-line... People want to make art (or games) or write novels... (both areas of creative work which are ALSO being targeted by AI)... but people definitely want to "eat" and have shelter and our whole system is built on having to pay for those priviledges...) They'll find another way to destroy them.2018 article reports that Burberry destroyed £28 millions worth of clothes to keep their brand "exclusive": https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44885983 2018 article reports that Burberry destroyed £28 millions worth of clothes to keep their brand "exclusive": https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44885983 What we really need is 10x more expensive, durable clothing that you buy every 10 years. And the cultural shift to go along with it. Not Mao suits for everyone but some common effing sense. You are certainly entitled to the opinion that fast fashion is not a good thing. Nearly all of the clothes you can buy contain a decent amount of plastic (elastane, polyester etc are just nice names for plastic).in fact, I've been trying to buy plastic-free clothing for a few years (ever since micro-plastic was linked to diminished testosterone & fertility in men) I am finding it difficult, you often have to buy luxury and even then it's no guarantee.fast fashion is by far the worst offender though. in fact, I've been trying to buy plastic-free clothing for a few years (ever since micro-plastic was linked to diminished testosterone & fertility in men) I am finding it difficult, you often have to buy luxury and even then it's no guarantee.fast fashion is by far the worst offender though. fast fashion is by far the worst offender though. "Instead of discarding stock, companies are encouraged to manage their stock more effectively, handle returns, and explore alternatives such as resale, remanufacturing, donations, or reuse." A bit like feeding everyone vs. having an obesity crisis. Most member states have also realized that we have a lot of "environmental" regulation that is expensive without helping the environment much (and some cases harming it). Maybe this particular regulation will also be rolled back during the 10th European Parliament.---The linked page has this text:"Every year in Europe, an estimated 4-9% of unsold textiles are destroyed before ever being worn. It has lower CO₂ emissions per capita than most member states due to it having hydropower and nuclear power, but still... call it a round 1% of the total EU CO₂ emissions in round Fermi numbers.The remaining 91-96% would presumably also generate CO₂ emissions -- 11-20 times as much, in other words roughly 11-20% of the EU CO₂ emissions. all have to share the remaining 80-91%.I don't think that is very believable. (A lot of the strangeness comes from using "total net emissions" which allows Sweden's number to go from around 30 million tons to apparently 6-7 million tons. Most member states have also realized that we have a lot of "environmental" regulation that is expensive without helping the environment much (and some cases harming it). Maybe this particular regulation will also be rolled back during the 10th European Parliament.---The linked page has this text:"Every year in Europe, an estimated 4-9% of unsold textiles are destroyed before ever being worn. It has lower CO₂ emissions per capita than most member states due to it having hydropower and nuclear power, but still... call it a round 1% of the total EU CO₂ emissions in round Fermi numbers.The remaining 91-96% would presumably also generate CO₂ emissions -- 11-20 times as much, in other words roughly 11-20% of the EU CO₂ emissions. all have to share the remaining 80-91%.I don't think that is very believable. (A lot of the strangeness comes from using "total net emissions" which allows Sweden's number to go from around 30 million tons to apparently 6-7 million tons. ---The linked page has this text:"Every year in Europe, an estimated 4-9% of unsold textiles are destroyed before ever being worn. It has lower CO₂ emissions per capita than most member states due to it having hydropower and nuclear power, but still... call it a round 1% of the total EU CO₂ emissions in round Fermi numbers.The remaining 91-96% would presumably also generate CO₂ emissions -- 11-20 times as much, in other words roughly 11-20% of the EU CO₂ emissions. all have to share the remaining 80-91%.I don't think that is very believable. (A lot of the strangeness comes from using "total net emissions" which allows Sweden's number to go from around 30 million tons to apparently 6-7 million tons. The linked page has this text:"Every year in Europe, an estimated 4-9% of unsold textiles are destroyed before ever being worn. It has lower CO₂ emissions per capita than most member states due to it having hydropower and nuclear power, but still... call it a round 1% of the total EU CO₂ emissions in round Fermi numbers.The remaining 91-96% would presumably also generate CO₂ emissions -- 11-20 times as much, in other words roughly 11-20% of the EU CO₂ emissions. all have to share the remaining 80-91%.I don't think that is very believable. (A lot of the strangeness comes from using "total net emissions" which allows Sweden's number to go from around 30 million tons to apparently 6-7 million tons. "Every year in Europe, an estimated 4-9% of unsold textiles are destroyed before ever being worn. It has lower CO₂ emissions per capita than most member states due to it having hydropower and nuclear power, but still... call it a round 1% of the total EU CO₂ emissions in round Fermi numbers.The remaining 91-96% would presumably also generate CO₂ emissions -- 11-20 times as much, in other words roughly 11-20% of the EU CO₂ emissions. all have to share the remaining 80-91%.I don't think that is very believable. (A lot of the strangeness comes from using "total net emissions" which allows Sweden's number to go from around 30 million tons to apparently 6-7 million tons. It has lower CO₂ emissions per capita than most member states due to it having hydropower and nuclear power, but still... call it a round 1% of the total EU CO₂ emissions in round Fermi numbers.The remaining 91-96% would presumably also generate CO₂ emissions -- 11-20 times as much, in other words roughly 11-20% of the EU CO₂ emissions. all have to share the remaining 80-91%.I don't think that is very believable. (A lot of the strangeness comes from using "total net emissions" which allows Sweden's number to go from around 30 million tons to apparently 6-7 million tons. The remaining 91-96% would presumably also generate CO₂ emissions -- 11-20 times as much, in other words roughly 11-20% of the EU CO₂ emissions. all have to share the remaining 80-91%.I don't think that is very believable. (A lot of the strangeness comes from using "total net emissions" which allows Sweden's number to go from around 30 million tons to apparently 6-7 million tons. (A lot of the strangeness comes from using "total net emissions" which allows Sweden's number to go from around 30 million tons to apparently 6-7 million tons. (A lot of the strangeness comes from using "total net emissions" which allows Sweden's number to go from around 30 million tons to apparently 6-7 million tons. Now of course this might be a totally acceptable price to pay, I'm not necessarily arguing against it. Supply control usually benefits the producers, despite what it may seem (destroying items). If people spent less on clothes, they'd have more to spend on other goods and services or invest in productive endeavors. I'd say it is good in the long run. If people spent less on clothes, they'd have more to spend on other goods and services or invest in productive endeavors. I live in America and I would like it to continue to be the leading economic zone.The more Europe (and others) lag behind, the better my life will be :). Weird that they worded it in a way that makes their argument weaker.>Based on available studies, an estimated 4-9% of all textile products put on the market in Europe are destroyed before use, amounting to between 264,000 and 594,000 tonnes of textiles destroyed each year. Weird that they worded it in a way that makes their argument weaker.>Based on available studies, an estimated 4-9% of all textile products put on the market in Europe are destroyed before use, amounting to between 264,000 and 594,000 tonnes of textiles destroyed each year. >Based on available studies, an estimated 4-9% of all textile products put on the market in Europe are destroyed before use, amounting to between 264,000 and 594,000 tonnes of textiles destroyed each year. So a noble idea for sure, but it will fail because it goes against the core of the society we live in today. If you buy from (It's mostly menswear brands here, sorry ladies) companies who specialize in actually quality vs "fake exclusivity", trends, or hype, than you'll never have to worry about this.I'm specifically talking about selvedge denim brands (i.e. brave star, naked and famous, the osaka 5 brands, etc) high end leather makers (i.e. Horween, Shinki, and the people who make stuff with them like Schott), goodyear welted boots/shoes (i.e. Whites, Nicks, Grant Stone, Meermin, etc), high end made in the USA brands (i.e. Gustin) - this will literally never happen. It's far too damaging for them to destroy any kinds of their stock given it's natural exclusivity and the fact that they always sell basically everything they've got.The fact that they had to pass this ban at all is a signal that normies are bad at buying clothes, and they should feel really bad about it too. I'm specifically talking about selvedge denim brands (i.e. brave star, naked and famous, the osaka 5 brands, etc) high end leather makers (i.e. Horween, Shinki, and the people who make stuff with them like Schott), goodyear welted boots/shoes (i.e. Whites, Nicks, Grant Stone, Meermin, etc), high end made in the USA brands (i.e. Gustin) - this will literally never happen. It's far too damaging for them to destroy any kinds of their stock given it's natural exclusivity and the fact that they always sell basically everything they've got.The fact that they had to pass this ban at all is a signal that normies are bad at buying clothes, and they should feel really bad about it too. The fact that they had to pass this ban at all is a signal that normies are bad at buying clothes, and they should feel really bad about it too. Except that's not why the majority of clothes are thrown away. The real reason they are thrown away is because of size changes and fashionability.HN probably has an over representation of the types of people who wear out clothes and even here it's likely a minority that actually do wear out clothes. HN probably has an over representation of the types of people who wear out clothes and even here it's likely a minority that actually do wear out clothes. Coincidentally, it's why the brands I listed above are exclusively heritage brands, who have basically no regards for trends.There's a reason HN is poorly dressed. This is a very niche feature of low volume brands. My personal opinion is that the business model of selling status items - specifically those which only have status because of an artificially limited supply they control - is inherently predatory and should be restricted. Not because I'm the morality police and want to stop people from buying a bag that says "I spent $2000 on a bag", but because there is nothing that stops the company from cost-reducing that to oblivion. Clothing has been used as wealth/class indicator for thousands of years, trying to change that will be extremely difficult lift. IMO selling the clothes to people that otherwise couldn't afford them is always better than destroying them, so EU is doing the right thing here. The "fuckton of failure and waste" which has brought technological advancements to humanity didn't come from destroying unsold clothing, and the risks involved in actual technological advancements are orders of magnitude larger than the risk of not being able to destroy unsold consumer products without penalty. Premium brands really don't want to seel it UNLESS it's to the right people for the high price: https://fashionlawjournal.com/deadstock-destruction-why-fash... I understand this argument in engineering and medical fields, but in clothing industry, does incentivising risk and innovation really matter that much? Sarcasm aside, I wonder if they calculated how much we save by not trashing these items, versus the cost in time, bureaucracy, and administration this will demand. There is an episode of Freconomics that covered this. But that someone else's problem.While I think we deeply disagree with what "hard" means, it does feel like its the kind of cost a reasonable organization would willingly take on. I compare it to the chefs, or restauranteers who after they're done cooking for the day bring all the food that they have to a local food bank or shelter instead of throwing it away. That's an equally expensive endevor, just on different scale. I think it's reasonable to expect all organizations to act with some moral character, and given larger companies have demonstrated they lack moral character, and would otherwise hyper optimize into a negative sum game they feel they can win. You don't?Everyone should be discouraged from playing a negative sum game. While I think we deeply disagree with what "hard" means, it does feel like its the kind of cost a reasonable organization would willingly take on. I compare it to the chefs, or restauranteers who after they're done cooking for the day bring all the food that they have to a local food bank or shelter instead of throwing it away. That's an equally expensive endevor, just on different scale. I think it's reasonable to expect all organizations to act with some moral character, and given larger companies have demonstrated they lack moral character, and would otherwise hyper optimize into a negative sum game they feel they can win. You don't?Everyone should be discouraged from playing a negative sum game. Everyone should be discouraged from playing a negative sum game.

Today, the company's strategy has shifted from building a better enterprise chatbot to becoming the connective tissue between models and enterprise systems. “The layer we built initially – a good search product – required us to deeply understand people and how they work and what their preferences are,” Jain told TechCrunch on last week's episode of Equity, which we recorded at Web Summit Qatar. He says that while large language models are powerful, they're also generic. “The AI models themselves don't really understand anything about your business,” Jain said. Glean's pitch is that it already maps that context and can sit between the model and the enterprise data. The Glean Assistant is often the entry point for customers — a familiar chat interface powered by a mix of leading proprietary (ie, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) and open-source models, grounded in the company's internal data. But what keeps customers, Jain argues, is everything underneath it. “Our product gets better because we're able to leverage the innovation that they are making in the market,” Jain said. Glean integrates deeply with systems like Slack, Jira, Salesforce, and Google Drive to map how information flows across them and enable agents to act inside those tools. “You need to build a permissions-aware governance layer and retrieval layer that is able to bring the right information, but knowing who's asking that question so that it filters the information based on their access rights,” Jain said. In large organizations, that layer can be the difference between piloting AI solutions and deploying them at scale. Enterprises can't simply load all their internal data into a model and create a wrapper to sort out the solutions later, says Jain. Also critical is ensuring the models don't hallucinate. Jain says its system verifies model outputs against source documents, generates line-by-line citations, and ensures that responses respect existing access rights. If Copilot or Gemini can access the same internal systems with the same permissions, does a standalone intelligence layer still matter? Glean raised a $150 million Series F in June 2025, nearly doubling its valuation to $7.2 billion. Unlike the frontier AI labs, Glean doesn't need massive compute budgets. “We have a very healthy, fast-growing business,” Jain said. Rebecca Bellan is a senior reporter at TechCrunch where she covers the business, policy, and emerging trends shaping artificial intelligence. Hear from 250+ tech leaders, dive into 200+ sessions, and explore 300+ startups building what's next. The great computer science exodus (and where students are going instead) A Stanford grad student created an algorithm to help his classmates find love; now, Date Drop is the basis of his new startup Spotify says its best developers haven't written a line of code since December, thanks to AI MrBeast's company buys Gen Z-focused fintech app Step YouTube TV introduces cheaper bundles, including a $65/month sports package Discord to roll out age verification next month

After the Justice Department released a trove of new documents tied to infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, journalists digging through them have found extensive connections to Silicon Valley. TechCrunch's Sean O'Kane examined how a mysterious businessman named David Stern built a relationship with Epstein and pitched him investments in multiple electric vehicle startups, including Faraday Future, Lucid Motors, and Canoo. You can read a preview of our conversation, edited for length and clarity, in the transcript below. Sean: There are always people at the edges who don't necessarily want to be front and center in the investment scene. And that was why I started looking through these files, in part because a long time ago, flashback 10 years ago on my beat especially, there was just a ton of Chinese investment in the space. This was before even the rush of EV startups in China that we see today […] In autonomous vehicles, but electric vehicles especially, there was this moment where Chinese investors and Chinese companies, state-owned automakers, all they wanted to do was to be looked at like Silicon Valley startups. And there was so little information about this guy. The only thing I really remember hearing at the time was that he was close with Prince Andrew, which I just thought was very strange, this idea that someone had even told me a long time ago, probably in 2018 or 2019, that Prince Andrew was involved with this company Canoo in some way, maybe not invested, but advising or something. It was something that stuck in my head for a very long time, clearly, because I went looking for that information as more of these files came out, assuming that proximity to Prince Andrew means proximity to someone like Epstein. And that was the case here, more so than I could have imagined, because this guy Stern turned from an enigma or a ghost into someone who was present through all this dealmaking 10 years ago, where we see him pitching, in the span of about a year and a half, investments in Faraday Future, trying to convince Epstein to maybe throw a couple hundred million dollars into that company, trying to buy the 30% stake that Faraday Future's founder had bought or acquired in Lucid Motors arrival at the time, which I feel is an overlooked dynamic [in] how those companies grew around then — and then also in Canoo. Epstein never invested in any of those companies despite that proximity, but it was just such a revealing thing. And I get into it in the story that I wrote last week, but we get this sweep of a decade of relationship that Stern had with Epstein from approaching him initially in 2008, kind of hat in hand, and introducing himself and saying, “Hey, I want to invest in China. Kirsten: The whole thing is really interesting, and it goes back to my initial comments about how sometimes when you get a chance to look back at with new information at how deals were unfolding, it really just changes your perception and perspective of the time. And for those who didn't follow quote-unquote “mobility,” think of it as how we're thinking about physical AI these days. Sean, one of the points you made to me as I was working on the story with you, in terms of editing it, you were [saying], it was very clear that Epstein and David Stern weren't really about investing and building companies. And that, I think, is really historically important and interesting and gives you a little bit of an insight into — in addition to all the horrible, horrifying, terrible things he did to human beings, [Epstein] was a complete operator as well, in order to make money as quickly as possible. Sean: Yeah, to both of those points really, I open the story with a moment in time where Lucid Motors […] they had been basically a battery supplier for a long time and then they pivoted into the passenger vehicle startup that we know them as today, but they were really struggling to raise their Series D at the time, and they really needed that money to start production of their first electric sedan. They were struggling, behind the scenes in large part because the founder of Arrival quietly amassed this major stake and was kind of pushing people away and making it look like an uninvestable company in some ways, but the hype around all of that at the time was creating opportunities for people like Stern and Epstein, and we see them talk in these emails about, you know, Stern comes to Epstein and basically says, “I heard that they're raising. Epstein turns around and passes that information back, and then you see this discussion about, okay, well, Morgan Stanley says Ford — which was reported at the time — had kind of an investment offer, potential acquisition offer, on the table for Lucid Motors [and] was going to come in in that Series D. And they're chopping up — do we invest in this and maybe get a big return down the road? Or is it something that we sell as Ford comes in a couple months later, if we can get this stake now at fire sale prices? Ultimately, they didn't go through with that, but Stern did eventually invest in Canoo and help get that company off the ground. Anthony: One thing — maybe pulling back a little bit from the specific industries or investments — that's also an important piece of context that generally gets mentioned in any of these stories about Epstein in Silicon Valley, but is worth repeating here, is that he [pleaded] guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008. Almost all the emails that we're talking about with these stories [and] in pretty much any other story about Epstein in Silicon Valley comes after that. So it's also partly a story about how people get comfortable with the idea that, okay, this guy has a pretty shady past already. You can contact or verify outreach from Anthony by emailing anthony.ha@techcrunch.com. Hear from 250+ tech leaders, dive into 200+ sessions, and explore 300+ startups building what's next. The great computer science exodus (and where students are going instead) A Stanford grad student created an algorithm to help his classmates find love; now, Date Drop is the basis of his new startup Spotify says its best developers haven't written a line of code since December, thanks to AI YouTube TV introduces cheaper bundles, including a $65/month sports package

Pretty much everyone I know is unhappy with their hair in some way. I got a pixie cut in spring of 2011, and my hair did not touch my shoulders until the end of 2013. Plus, because my hair is super thin, when I pull it back, it separates, and you can see my scalp underneath. Overall, I'm unhappy with my hair and its lack of growth or fullness, so I wanted to see if CurrentBody's cord-free, Bluetooth-enabled LED Hair Growth Helmet would work for my slew of hair issues. Red-light-therapy devices for hair are similar to red-light therapy masks for your face, using red lights to increase hair growth and promote a healthy scalp. While my results weren't super visually dramatic, I noticed my hair feeling thicker while shampooing, and I saw a lot more “baby hairs” spring up on my hairline after about three months of testing. Unlike more discreet red-light hair growth devices, like the HigherDose Red Light Hat (see our full review here), CurrentBody's entry is a full-on helmet, lined with 10 strips of 12 red lights each on a spectrum of 620 to 660 nm (nanometers, the unit of measure for the wavelength of visible light). This works similarly to red-light-therapy face masks, which aim to improve skin conditions and spur new cell growth using red-light therapy in the mid-600-nm range. Red-light wavelengths are clinically proven to energize hair follicles; improve scalp blood flow; reduce inflammation; lower dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels, a hormone that causes hair loss and thinning; and support production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which helps to store and release energy in cells. This wavelength of red light triggers follicles to stay in the hair growth phase by providing oxygen and blood flow to the scalp. The helmet is FDA-cleared (meaning it's been determined to be equivalent to a similar, legally marketed device) and is FSA (flexible spending account) or HSA (health spending account) eligible with a letter of medical necessity. It comes in two sizes: medium, for a skull circumference of 21.3 to 23.2 inches, or large, for 23.3 to 25 inches. It takes about three hours to fully charge the helmet, and it lasts about a week on a single charge. The ear cups keep sensitive ears protected with plush, removable faux leather and can be moved several inches up or down to ensure a comfortable fit. You can also connect the device to Bluetooth and play any type of music or video through the ear cups, because God forbid I be left alone with my thoughts for 10 minutes a day. You'll need to make sure your hair is clean and dry before using. ), I tend to wash my hair only about three times a week. The helmet can't be worn when hair is dirty or wet (after showering), so the window for ideal wear was small. You'll see best results when worn every day for the first three months, and it's advised to continue use at least five times a week to maintain growth results after. During each session, I felt super-faint tingles that meant that blood flow was circulating to my scalp and my follicles were getting aroused. I could definitely feel the red light targeting my scalp and increasing blood flow; it was interesting to be able to physically feel effects before seeing the results. After 12 weeks, I didn't notice a huge difference in actual length growth (although I got a haircut halfway through testing), but I did notice that my hair seemed to be sprouting new follicles along my scalp and sideburn area in particular. The biggest change was that I started to see small baby hairs along my hairline that I had never seen before. Although it was only a quarter-inch high or so, there was definitely new hair growth around the crown of my head. Neither of us noticed major improvements in the actual length growth of my hair, but it did feel stronger. In the shower, I noticed less hair loss while shampooing and conditioning, which was a major improvement. My balding roommate also tested it (though not daily as I do) and noted that his hair felt thicker and showed new growth around his scalp. Although progress didn't happen overnight, I'm hopeful that with continued use over the year, I'll be able to see more dramatic results. I'm super excited to keep testing this product to improve the health of my scalp and get more new growth for fuller hair. Just you wait—I'll look like Fabio on the cover of a romance novel by next year. WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.

Olympic bobsledding often gets called the “Formula 1 of ice.” Tracks are more than 1.5 kilometers (nearly a mile) long, and athletes often race down them at speeds nearing 145 kilometers per hour (90 mph). At the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games, they're using tech aimed at making each phase of the race, from initial push to technical driving to final braking, just a little bit more precise than in previous Games. While the earliest bobsleds were made of wood, the sport has been synonymous with steel for years, although in recent decades it has been replaced by carbon fiber, which provides greater lightness and strength. Each new technological development in the sport has come amid the constraints necessary to keep athletes safe, such as weight and sled sizes. The two-person bobsled can have a max length of 2.7 meters (about 8.9 feet) and a max weight of 390 kilograms (859.8 pounds), including crew. A four-person bobsled cannot exceed 630 kilograms (1,388.9 pounds), including bobbers, and 3.8 meters (12.47 feet) in length. This is far from coincidental, because this is one of the areas where technology makes the biggest impact bobsledding. At the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, Germany won 27 medals, 16 of which came from bobsledding, luge, and skeleton. Automaker BMW, for example, is a strategic partner of the the German federation that oversees bobsledding, luge, and skeleton (Bob- und Schlittenverband für Deutschland) and is credited with the introduction of custom studded shoes, a crucial tool for bobbers' performance. A couple of years ago, BMW realized that innovations in the bobbers' footwear could improve their performance during that crucial time. Looking at the preferences for each team member, BMW made custom spike plates that can be integrated into any type of shoe. Working this way allowed them to experiment and modify designs quickly. To avoid excessive wear or breakage, the spikes are given greater hardness through plasma nitriding, in which nitrogen is ionized in a high-temperature vacuum and diffused into the steel. Like Germany, the US is a bobsledding powerhouse. Traditional insoles are “passive devices that absorb shock and support,” Arciuolo says, but his insole “is shaped, and when placed on a flat surface only touches the heel and toe of the foot.” Snowflake's AI allowed coaches to identify which push pairings worked best for two- and four-person crews. The new Cortina Sliding Centre provides the ideal place for Germany's bobsled and luge teams to test out Data Coach, their new system for analyzing data from sensors installed on the sled. Thanks to software developed by Julian von Schleinitz, a former world luge champion and current head of BMW Group's tech and AI solutions division, the team can study the best trajectories with which to approach curves and facilitate race strategy. As the data set has grown, Data Coach has refined its effectiveness and even made it possible to test out new components and configurations before trying out a new sled. Moving at speeds close to 90 mph puts a strain on the spine and neck. To help, China has built a sled from T800 carbon fiber, a composite often used by the aerospace industry for its lightness and rigidity. In addition to reducing the overall weight by nearly 20 percent compared to conventional models, the bobsled made in China can reportedly withstand bad impacts, making it more durable and safe. Many of the more serious accidents in bobsledding happen during runway exists, collisions, and rollovers. A year ago, the German federation and Allianz launched an initiative to address those accidents. The Allianz Safety Sled appeared as a prototype during last year's World Championships, and during the Milano Cortina Games it's being used to analyze ice and runway conditions, allowing riders to prepare for their decent. One of the Safety Sled's most notable features is the Head Impact Protector, which was designed to be easily integrated into existing bobsleds without hindering athletes' mobility during entry into the sled. “These are measures aimed at preventing athletes from being thrown out of the bobsled by high collision forces and suffering damage generated by contact with the sled,” Reinkemeyer says. How Curling Became the Winter Olympics' Favorite Fixation Bidets Are Confusing Visitors at the 2026 Winter Olympics WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.

Meta, it should be noted, is the parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Administrative subpoenas used for this purpose represent an escalation. This tool, which comes not from a judge but from DHS itself, was formerly reserved for situations like child abductions, according to the Times. A Google spokesperson replied to the Times with a statement, saying “When we receive a subpoena, our review process is designed to protect user privacy while meeting our legal obligations,” and “We inform users when their accounts have been subpoenaed, unless under legal order not to or in an exceptional circumstance. We review every legal demand and push back against those that are overbroad.” Gizmodo requested comment from Meta, Discord, and Reddit. According to the Times, one or multiple of the relevant companies have stated that they notify users of these requests from DHS, and give them a 14-day window to “fight the subpoena in court” before complying. In October, Amazon-owned Ring announced a partnership with Flock that would loop the AI-powered network into the content coming from users' doorbell cameras. According to a 404 Media investigation, that network feeds information to law enforcement agencies at the local and federal levels, allowing for reasonable concern that ICE has access to all that footage. Protesters have launched an effort called “Resist and Unsubscribe” targeting ten tech companies they perceive as exceptionally supportive of ICE. That list includes Meta, Google, and Amazon, but not Reddit. Subscribe and interact with our community, get up to date with our customised Newsletters and much more. Just ahead of Valentine's Day, Score wants to be more inclusive. The search giant announced new tools aimed at giving people more control over how their information appears online. Meet Ferreiraella populi, a weird mollusk discovered in Japan. Keep reading to find out how Rihanna is involved.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Colin from This Does Not Compute (TDNC) says he was drawn to the handsome Maclock on Amazon ($30). However, its pleasingly faithful looks made him wish that it could do more than basic alarm clock duties. TDNC remembered a mini Mac project that looked very similar to the Maclock. In contrast, that project was let down somewhat by a poorly detailed chassis. But it packed a Raspberry Pi Zero for some real classic Mac emulation fun. The original Maclock screen couldn't be re-purposed, but TDNC found a 2.8-inch Waveshare SVGA resolution touchscreen part that interfaces with the Raspberry Pi Zero W, and fitted very nicely into the alarm clock chassis. Before going further with physically fitting the added Pi and new screen hardware, a few software steps were taken. This part of the project started with installing the latest Pi OS on an SD card and adding Waveshare 2.4-inch touchscreen drivers. TDNC first thought about using a modern Mac emulator called Snow, but after a series of issues, decided on the older, lightweight Mini vMac. This wasn't a cinch to get running, either, but after Colin recompiled the latest beta from source, it worked fine on the Pi Zero. Lastly, on the software side, Mini vMac was set to autorun from boot for a nice, slick, hands-off startup experience. These power leads were then soldered to two pads on the Pi Zero W's PCB. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. It all worked, with a few tiny niggles. These are great resources if you want to replicate or build upon this super cute classic mini Mac project. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds. Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason. Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York,

Something strange happened at University of California campuses this fall. System-wide, it fell 6% last year after declining 3% in 2024, according to reporting this past week by the San Francisco Chronicle. Even as overall college enrollment climbed 2% nationally — according to January data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center — students are bailing on traditional CS degrees. This all might look like a temporary blip tied to news about fewer CS grads finding work out of college. In China, fluency with AI isn't optional anymore; it's table stakes. Over the last two years, dozens have launched AI-specific programs. As reported by the New York Times in December, the University of South Florida enrolled more than 3,000 students in a new AI and cybersecurity college during its fall semester. The University at Buffalo last summer launched a new “AI and Society” department that offers seven new, specialized undergraduate degree programs, and it received more than 200 applicants before it swung open its doors. When I spoke with UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts in October, he described a spectrum — some faculty “leaning forward” with AI, others with “their heads in the sand.” Roberts, a former finance executive who arrived from outside academia, was pushing hard for AI integration despite faculty resistance. Roberts had also appointed a vice provost specifically for AI. “Yet we have faculty members effectively saying that right now.” Parents are playing a role in this rocky transition, too. David Reynaldo, who runs the admissions consultancy College Zoom, told the Chronicle that parents who once pushed kids toward CS are now reflexively steering them toward other majors that seem more resistant to AI automation, including mechanical and electrical engineering. But the enrollment numbers suggest students are voting with their feet. According to a survey in October by the nonprofit Computing Research Association — its members include computer science and computer engineering departments from a wide range of universities — 62% of respondents reported that their computing programs saw undergraduate enrollment declines this fall. Students aren't abandoning tech; they're choosing programs focused on AI instead to land work. But it's certainly a wake-up call for administrators who've spent years wrestling with how to handle AI in the classroom. The debate over whether to ban ChatGPT is ancient history at this point. The question now is whether American universities can move fast enough or whether they'll keep arguing about what to do while students transfer to schools that already have answers. Hear from 250+ tech leaders, dive into 200+ sessions, and explore 300+ startups building what's next. The great computer science exodus (and where students are going instead) Spotify says its best developers haven't written a line of code since December, thanks to AI

I've had more success hosting an invidious instance and using the materialious client for mobile. And a bonus is that it comes with sponsorblock built in.https://invidious.io/https://materialio.us/ On average it has always been more reliable than Newpipe. It continues to work when Newpipe fails and I can fix it quickly when there is a YouTube changeHowever I noticed recently Newpipe, the original, not SponsorBlock, old version, no updates, had been going many weeks without failure. However I noticed recently Newpipe, the original, not SponsorBlock, old version, no updates, had been going many weeks without failure. Will try this again when it fails the next time Bookmarking or downloading interesting videos is also handy, since they aren't mixed in with my general bookmarks (in a web browser). I do, it's marvellous.On mobile I use PipePipe for listening to stuff (like presentation videos) in the background and downloading offline audio and video. The Javascript source code for Google's YouTube player and the YouTube website is obfuscated and/or minifiedThe Java or Kotlin source code for Newpipe is notIf one does not like something about Newpipe, one can change or remove it The Java or Kotlin source code for Newpipe is notIf one does not like something about Newpipe, one can change or remove it It also seems kind of potentially antisocial/annoying behavior if you share yoir bed with someone. “My Google account got suspended because of NewPipe” - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21247759 - Oct 2019 (522 comments) It sounds like you found no reference to portrait aspect ratio videos in the article either. Either way, I also knew what they meant, because "vertical video" is not an inscrutable term that leaves any room to guess it's meaning incorrectly. It's entirely scrutable.You can keep trying to defend the obtuse complaint that all videos have a vertical dimension, but if it were me I think I would not be so eager to advertise that I was this baffled by this. You can keep trying to defend the obtuse complaint that all videos have a vertical dimension, but if it were me I think I would not be so eager to advertise that I was this baffled by this. We are oft implored, not only by our famous and much-valued dang, but also the other guy (whatever his name is. He does a great job too though), not to editorialize the titles by submitting submissions with titles other than the actual title. (Which is another way of restating the previous paragraph.) And, yes, I have visited youtube.com, and have had a big pile of portrait shorts shit up the feed, same as everybody else. They'd just chuckle at my attempt to amuse the reader, or roll their eyes at it and ignore it, and then go on to moan at me about some other part of my post. Though, reading my post again, more fool me perhaps. And, yes, I have visited youtube.com, and have had a big pile of portrait shorts shit up the feed, same as everybody else. Though, reading my post again, more fool me perhaps. I did in fact intend to share NewPipe as an antidote to the "en-short-ification" of YouTube after reading a couple of threads earlier today from other Hackers complaining exactly about that. And yes, calling it "vertical video" is a sloppy way of expressing that.I too will try to do better in the future. I too will try to do better in the future. Only complaint is I can't select a livestream quality/resolution. In such cases, I would just open them on Firefox, set to desktop mode, and listen from there. "www.youtube.com##ytd-browse[page-subtype="home"]"Sadly, you can't do this on Chrome/Chromium anymore with manifest v3. Sadly, you can't do this on Chrome/Chromium anymore with manifest v3. I wouldn't mind working a bit for the permanent solution but revanced worked for me once, required a weird microg or a weird play services replacement installation, and then spending endless hours trying to build an working apk. In practice this means that Revanced will be much more feature complete than NewPipe. Worth noting that ReVanced has a lot more patches than just YouTube. Though I don't think it will ever happen... > an online, interactive learning platform designed to teach STEM subjects—math, science, and computer science—through active problem-solving rather than passive, pre-recorded video lectureshttps://nebula.tv/ was the other one I was thinking of. Nebula is an exclusive invite only platform where no creators outside of English mains and hard left ones are present.I am not on the right to be specific but I speak other languages and would like more non English content as well.Same for the exclusivity. Small creators don't exist on either of them.Ideally we need a video delivery and servicing platform where I can pay like 10 usd per month for my small audience of friends and to view with the convenience of YouTube and good features...All platforms like these are exclusive for my tastes. I don't sub to any channels with over 100k subs and rest are just programming adjacent content. I am not on the right to be specific but I speak other languages and would like more non English content as well.Same for the exclusivity. Small creators don't exist on either of them.Ideally we need a video delivery and servicing platform where I can pay like 10 usd per month for my small audience of friends and to view with the convenience of YouTube and good features...All platforms like these are exclusive for my tastes. I don't sub to any channels with over 100k subs and rest are just programming adjacent content. Small creators don't exist on either of them.Ideally we need a video delivery and servicing platform where I can pay like 10 usd per month for my small audience of friends and to view with the convenience of YouTube and good features...All platforms like these are exclusive for my tastes. I don't sub to any channels with over 100k subs and rest are just programming adjacent content. Ideally we need a video delivery and servicing platform where I can pay like 10 usd per month for my small audience of friends and to view with the convenience of YouTube and good features...All platforms like these are exclusive for my tastes. I don't sub to any channels with over 100k subs and rest are just programming adjacent content. All platforms like these are exclusive for my tastes. I don't sub to any channels with over 100k subs and rest are just programming adjacent content. I don't really want to use the official YT client, or give Google any money, so I just buy some merch from my favorite creators once in a while, or support them on Patreon.