Psychological Tricks Can Get AI to Break the Rules

If you were trying to learn how to get other people to do what you want, you might use some of the techniques found in a book like Influence: The Power of Persuasion. Now, a preprint study out of the University of Pennsylvania suggests that those same psychological persuasion techniques can frequently “convince” some LLMs…

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Squishy Fidget Toys Can Be a Sticky Mess—or Worse

Toy companies are not required by law to list their ingredients or material makeup on the toys’ packaging, but some companies do. The Nee-Doh packages and the Schylling website say that the gel inside the Nice Cube is “Maltose” or “100% Malt Extract” (a type of sugar made from barley) and the Nee-Doh Groovy Glob…

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One Year After the Fire, Crisis Still Looms

Browne, a retired bus driver, now finds himself staring down estimated rebuilding costs of as much as $1.8 million. “A lot of people are selling and going elsewhere to start over, saying it’s too hard to come back here,” Browne says. “I gotta come back.”   In Altadena, the decision to stay or go is at…

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Talking Cars 490: Driving the 2026 Hyundai Palisade Hybrid

Main theme: We bought a 2026 Hyundai Palisade Hybrid Calligraphy AWD for our test program, Hyundai’s first model to use its new hybrid system based on a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder. The podcast panelists share first impressions of this three-row family hauler, covering performance, fuel economy, interior space, cabin luxury, and daily usability. Then they discuss…

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Pros and Cons of Inverter Generators

To help you make better sense of your size options, we break our inverter generators into four groups, divided by their output wattage: Large Inverter GeneratorsMost large inverter generators in our ratings weigh from about 150 to about 300 pounds (wheels included). That’s too heavy to haul along on a camping trip or to a…

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Anthropic Denies It Could Sabotage AI Tools During War

Anthropic cannot manipulate its generative AI model Claude once the US military has it running, an executive wrote in a court filing on Friday. The statement was made in response to accusations from the Trump administration about the company potentially tampering with its AI tools during war. “Anthropic has never had the ability to cause…

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