Is AI Reasoning Right for the Wrong Reasons?

https://www.quantamagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/AI-Reasoning-cr.Celsius-Pictor-Element-1.webp
Researchers are debating whether large reasoning models (LRMs) truly reason or just mimic human-like responses through "wishful mnemonics," a mix of shorthand and suspended disbelief. The actual processes driving LRM performance remain unclear, with some arguing that the models' outputs are more a result of clever training and data manipulation than genuine reasoning.

Elevators

https://john.fun/metadata/elevator/twitter-card.png
Elevators use complex algorithms like SCAN and LOOK to optimize traffic flow. The best algorithm varies depending on building size and traffic patterns, with simpler algorithms sometimes outperforming more advanced ones.

DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 Intelligence, Performance and Price Analysis

https://artificialanalysis.ai/opengraph-image.png?732728ccc2829321

Google fixed more Chrome bugs in June than over the past two years, thanks to AI

https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog-publish-prod/images/Bug_Fixes_by_Milestone_2.width-1200.format-webp.webp
The Chrome Security team is using Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate vulnerability discovery and fix hundreds of security bugs faster than ever, aiming for greater resilience and comprehensive remediation. By combining AI-powered vulnerability detection with traditional security testing and mitigation strategies, Chrome is driving towards a browser that is continuously protected without ...

The session you cannot take with you

https://earendil.com/static/og/posts/session-portability.png
Inference APIs are moving away from a simple, user-controlled model where sessions can be inspected, archived, and replayed, instead returning a mixture of text and provider-bound state that is non-portable. The authors propose a set of rules for inference providers and agent builders to adopt, including making local event logs canonical, storing data explicitly, and providing readable ...

New Defcon Badges Pack a Unique Open-Source Chip That Doubles as a Security Key

https://media.wired.com/photos/6a6b9eaea28bf27471a166b3/1:1/w_2560%2Cc_limit/DefCon%2520Human%2520badge%2520with%2520lights.jpg
Defcon's conference badges this year feature an innovative open source chip called the Baochip-1x designed by Andrew "bunnie" Huang, which aims to advance security, transparency, and trustworthiness in computing. The chip can be removed from the badge and used as a hardware security token, and its design allows for inspection and verification of its internal structures, making it a more ...

Winding Down Artichoke Ruby

https://hyperbo.la/social/w/winding-down-artichoke-ruby.png
The author archived Artichoke, a Ruby implementation in Rust, after six years of development, citing a shift in focus and joy. The project pushed the author's learning and growth, and its code and architecture remain public for study and reference.

The Maxwell Conjecture Is False (GPT 5.6 Sol)

https://arxiv.org/static/browse/0.3.4/images/arxiv-logo-fb.png
Researchers found a configuration of 5 point charges with at least 24 non-degenerate critical points, disproving Maxwell's conjecture. Maxwell's conjecture stated that n point charges have at most (n-1)^2 non-degenerate critical points.

Show HN: Gander, an Android file viewer that asks for no permissions at all

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mokshablr/gander/main/docs/social-preview.png
Gander is a tiny, open source Android app that opens various file types offline without permissions or ads. It offers features like search, share, and locate, with automatic updates available through Obtainium.

Stacked PRs are now live on GitHub

https://github.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/628819269-72b7da6d-d10f-44b3-9ba6-2034ca0fbe5d.jpg?resize=2064%2C864
Stacked pull requests break large changes into small, reviewable pieces, allowing independent review and merge of each layer. They're built into GitHub, working with existing reviews, checks, and merge requirements.

DeepSeek-V4-Flash Update

https://cdn.deepseek.com/official_account.jpg
The DeepSeek-V4-Flash API is now in public beta with enhanced agent capabilities and benchmark results exceeding V4-Pro-Preview. It supports Responses API format and is adapted for Codex, with unchanged API calling method.

Moonshot built on 20k Nvidia chip cluster from Alibaba

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our and .

Tasklet (YC P26) Is Hiring a Customer Success Engineer

https://tasklet.ai/og-image.png
Tasklet is hiring a customer-facing owner to handle support, automate workflows, and improve internal tooling. The ideal candidate is a tech-savvy, charismatic communicator with 1-5 years of experience in a high-agency role.

U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

Better to Beg Forgiveness

https://i0.wp.com/craphound.com/images/31Jul2026.jpg?w=840&ssl=1
The author discusses copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use, first sale, and di minimis, which allow for uses of copyrighted works without permission. The author argues that Creative Commons licenses can simplify permission for certain uses but also contribute to a culture of asking permission for everything.

I flagged two research papers for fake authors and both were accepted as orals

Gemini Robotics 2 brings whole body intelligence to robots

https://storage.googleapis.com/gdm-deepmind-com-prod-public/media/original_images/MVCfTE-4h3AwDVPZ/gemini-robotics-2__general-whole-body-manipulation__light.svg
Gemini Robotics 2 is a major advance in robotics, enabling intelligent whole-body control, advanced dexterity, and multi-robot collaboration. It unlocks a broad range of tasks, from cleaning up a cluttered room to complex workflows, and can run locally on-device while adapting to new robotic bodies.

JEP 401: Value Objects (Preview) merged to OpenJDK master

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/67ff84f5a8a75f99e077db391d0d67e1d514afcfbe5eb82238682cd748f13270/openjdk/jdk/pull/31120
User is trying to apply a suggestion to a GitHub conversation but is encountering various errors such as no code changes, deleted lines, and pull request queue. The suggestion cannot be applied at this time due to these restrictions.

The End of an Era

https://i0.wp.com/hughhowey.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-31-at-6.22.53-AM.png?resize=1024%2C516&ssl=1
The author discusses the impact of AI on the writing industry, predicting a future where AI-generated books will coexist with human-written ones, and readers will have varying opinions on the authenticity of books. The author advises aspiring and established writers to focus on writing for the love of it, rather than seeking external validation, and believes that the personal connection ...

Detect Dark Matter's Mark from Your Backyard

https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/an-inverted-pyramidal-antenna-sits-atop-a-metal-box-with-a-feed-running-to-a-nearby-laptop.png?id=67528383&width=1200&height=1120
The author built a homemade radio telescope to detect dark matter by measuring the speed of interstellar hydrogen clouds orbiting the Milky Way's center. The results showed that orbital velocities do not decrease with distance, suggesting the presence of dark matter.

Premier league bans gambling sponsors

https://www.footyheadlines.com/static/img/post/2026/07/25/SIPavWuHHsmuJhN/betting-ban-takes-effect-no-more-gambling-sponsors-in-the-premier-league.jpg
The Premier League's front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship ban took effect for the 2026-27 season, eliminating betting companies from jerseys and shifting the commercial landscape. Finance and other sectors now dominate, with three clubs (Sunderland, Nottingham Forest, and Chelsea) without a front-of-shirt sponsor.

The mean means nothing: data visualization to debug a latency problem

The user encountered a frustrating situation where performance improvements in benchmarks did not translate to live-production dashboards due to noisy data, but leveraging a cumulative distribution function (CDF) helped visualize the data and reveal the story behind it. By using various visualizations, including CDFs, ridgelines, and jointplots, the user was able to understand the complex ...

We shall dwell amidst wonder and glory for ever: On weird fiction

https://i0.wp.com/clereviewofbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/WEIRD-PENGUIN_Website.png?resize=819%2C1024&ssl=1
Weird fiction is a fictional mode that combines elements of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, often involving a sense of wrongness and dread. It emerged from the Gothic and was influenced by writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft.

The fragile foundations of CoT monitoring

https://web.stanford.edu/~cgpotts/blog/cot/graffitos.png
Last week, I attended a workshop on Chain of Thought (i.e., reasoning chain) monitorability. Many of the most influential researchers and “members of technical staff” working on this topic were present. I felt lucky to be there, since pretty much everything I know about CoT monitoring I learned from Peter Hase. I have, however, worked extensively on interpretability, and there seems to be a ...

The Religion of Speed

https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/graybearding/roxy.svg
The pursuit of speed has become a moral position, where moving fast is seen as proof of seriousness, but real speed requires understanding, clear constraints, and well-made decisions. Slowing down means refusing to skip the part where work becomes legible, asking boring questions that ensure progress, not just motion.

Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

https://krebsonsecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/h96-amazon.png
Security experts warn that generic TV boxes secretly rent users' Internet connections and participate in ad fraud networks. These devices, often marketed as streaming devices, also install residential proxy software that rents users' addresses to anonymous customers.

Where USB Memory Sticks are Born (2013)

https://bunniestudios.com/blog/images/usb1q13_1.jpg
The author visited a factory that manufactured USB memory sticks and received a raw chip-on-flex to take home. The factory uses manual die placement and automated wirebonding to assemble the sticks, which are then overmolded with epoxy.

Anti-fraud tools can't keep pace with scammers exploiting cheap internet calling

https://storage.ghost.io/c/29/97/29976d9d-89ea-4c77-8c0b-0e8a0eafed35/content/images/size/w1200/2026/07/photo-1740479049014-274a2c756317.jpeg
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2026 — The tools to fight phishing, robocalls and spam have multiplied over the past decade, but the criminals behind them keep adapting faster than any single defense can keep up, industry experts said Wednesday during a Broadband Breakfast Live Online panel. Panelists said that there were no simple answers to the knot of problems. Authentication frameworks, traceback ...

Situational Awareness Down 67% in July in AI Stock Rout

Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker

Simulating TCP loss and congestion in browser using Go/WASM