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Get all of your scaling and tech questions answered at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Here's the full breakout session agenda, happening October 13-15 in San Francisco. Register now to join and save up to $100, and get a second pass at 50% off. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/06/get-all-your-questions-answered-at-techcrunch-disrupt-2026-the-full-breakout-session-agenda-revealed/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

The deal brings together two major streaming platforms, Paramount+ and HBO Max, along with networks including CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central, and Food Network. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/06/paramount-closes-historic-warner-bros-merger-to-form-skydance/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Called Explore, Glimpse's new image processing software lets hardware makers speed up quality control checks using CT scanners. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/06/glimpse-wants-to-give-hardware-companies-an-x-ray-view-of-every-critical-part/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Flai's revenue has grown 20x in a year, and the company just closed a $27 million Series A funding round. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/06/flais-ai-dealership-software-is-booking-50000-appointments-per-month/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Meta is testing a new Facebook UX in India that sends some users directly into full-screen video when they open the app, putting Reels front and center. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/06/facebook-tests-going-reels-first-in-india/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Since August 2023 attackers have published eight malicious packages as part of the MALFEX supply chain campaign.
Source: SecurityWeek
https://www.securityweek.com/long-running-npm-malware-campaign-accumulates-40000-downloads/

Google is removing free access to its Gemini Flash and Pro models on October 9. Free Gemini users will lose access to the Flash and Pro AI models.
Source: Engadget
https://www.engadget.com/2278504/google-removes-free-access-gemini-flash-pro-october-9/
#AI #Google #Gemini

Type One Energy is betting that its lean approach to fusion power will get a power plant on the grid faster, and investors have rewarded it with $200 million. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/06/type-one-energy-raised-200m-to-build-a-fusion-power-plant-by-2034/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Ofcom is investigating Meta over its Instagram Instants feature to determine if the company carried out adequate risk assessments required by the Online Safety Act.
Source: The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/06/ofcom-investigates-meta-instagram-instants-safety-checks
#TechPolicy #Meta

Anthropic took a dig at OpenAI over late breach alerts and urged Australia to force AI transparency before a parliamentary inquiry.
Source: Startup Daily
https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning/anthropic-takes-a-sly-dig-at-openai-before-parliamentary-inquiry/
#TechPolicy #Anthropic #OpenAI

McDonald's is being sued over its AI pricing system accused of coordinating menu prices. The suit notes other fast-food firms are also turning to AI for pricing and operations.
Source: Business Today
https://www.businesstoday.in/world/story/mcdonalds-sued-over-ai-pricing-system-accused-of-coordinating-menu-prices-559853-2026-10-06?utm_source=rssfeed
#TechPolicy

Supply chain failures often stem from energy, computer or data-network issues. Addressing these failures requires a way to make interdependencies visible.
Source: Nature
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03105-z
#MachineLearning

LG Electronics has signed a long-term agreement to supply chillers for data center projects totaling more than 5GW of capacity in the US and Canada.
Source: DigiTimes Asia
https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20261006VL220/lg-electronics-data-center-cooling-capacity.html
#AI

Autonomous delivery vehicles and robotaxis are rolling out across the UAE. Faisal Al Bannai stated that cities will soon treat advanced robotics as everyday infrastructure.
Source: Gulf News
https://gulfnews.com/uae/abu-dhabi/you-wont-be-able-to-miss-them-robots-will-soon-be-everywhere-in-the-uae-1.500700154
#Robotics

ROAR is a new infrastructure that unifies and analyzes heterogeneous AI-driven research system runs.
Source: arXiv
https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03966
#MachineLearning

Behavioral history outperforms descriptions of the person for LLM synthetic personas. A respondent's past answers add more to individual-level prediction than a description of who they are.
Source: arXiv
https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03998
#MachineLearning

OpenAI announced visual ads for ChatGPT image generation. The initial testing will use American users.
Source: Stuff South Africa
https://stuff.co.za/2026/10/06/openai-starts-adding-visual-ads-to-chatgpt/
#AI #OpenAI #ChatGPT

Smart glasses could trigger a major privacy crisis as AI wearables become discreet, cheap and mainstream.
Source: Nature
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03131-x
#TechPolicy

Researchers propose the Agent Policy-Value Audit to separate transition composition from event selection in financial LLM agents.
Source: arXiv
https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.04040
#MachineLearning

Researchers introduced Auto-Diagnosis and Skill Discovery, a framework linking numerical diagnosis to reusable solver self-improvement across four domains.
Source: arXiv
https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03872
#MachineLearning