DOGE Put Him in the Treasury Department. His Company Has Federal Contracts Worth Millions

There is some precedent for corporate executives to simultaneously work in the US government. When the US was at war in the early 1900s, the federal government recruited business leaders to fill key posts. They retained their private sector jobs and wages; the government pitched in a $1 annual salary to the executives who became…

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Braces for Mass Firings

Sweeping layoffs architected by the Trump administration and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency may be coming as soon as this week at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a nonregulatory agency responsible for establishing benchmarks that ensure everything from beauty products to quantum computers are safe and reliable. According to several current…

This USAID Program Made Food Aid More Efficient for Decades. DOGE Gutted It Anyways

Chemonics spokesperson Payal Chandiramani says USAID has indicated that Fews Net should qualify for a waiver, and it is working with the agency to determine how it should apply. USAID and the US State Department did not respond to requests for comment. From the beginning, Fews Net was notable for the sheer range of variables…

Xbox Pushes Ahead With Muse, a New Generative AI Model. Devs Say ‘Nobody Will Want This’

Microsoft is wading deeper into generative artificial intelligence for gaming with Muse, a new AI model announced today. The model, which was trained on Ninja Theory’s multiplayer game Bleeding Edge, can help Xbox game developers build parts of games, Microsoft says. Muse can understand the physics and 3D environment inside a game and generate visuals…

The DOGE Squad Is Squandering a Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

When news first broke about Elon Musk’s tech takeover of the United States government, a number of people who had spent years trying to transform federal IT practices were surprisingly hopeful. Maybe, they dreamed, Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would provide a long-needed jolt to an intransigent and…

Director of the Game ‘Avowed’ Says AI Can’t Replace Human Creativity

As the video games industry continues to face massive layoffs, narrative jobs are taking the biggest hit. The industry’s job cuts over the past couple of years—more than 30,000 roles were eliminated in 2023 and 2024—disproportionately affected narrative designers, the creative professionals who craft the story elements of the game and give a title its…

Binance Moved Fast, Broke Things—and Paid the Price. Richard Teng Is Cleaning Up

But do you expect to find it difficult to bring about a new era at Binance when the founder—who is synonymous with the company—remains the largest shareholder? We are very clear in terms of what we are trying to build: a best-in-class, sustainable, and global platform. Again, I work very closely with the senior management…