Tech News — 2026-07-18#

Story of the Day#

Australia will become the first country in the world to require artificial intelligence data centers to generate as much renewable power as they consume, while legally forcing companies to compensate creators for their training data. The aggressive national framework sets a massive global precedent as governments scramble to regulate the AI industry’s exploding environmental footprint and ongoing copyright disputes.

Top Stories#

How Microsoft’s ‘Little Workaround’ Created a Major Threat to America’s Defense Department · Slashdot A ProPublica investigation revealed that Microsoft used a “digital escort” system allowing China-based engineers to troubleshoot US Defense Department cloud servers by feeding code to American proxies. Following the report, Microsoft abruptly ended the practice, but the DoD is now investigating whether foreign engineers managed to compromise national security data.

Google-Backed Satellites For Wildfire Detection Launch As Smoke Chokes US, Canada · Slashdot The first three microsatellites of the FireSat constellation have successfully launched into orbit to provide unprecedented, high-resolution wildfire detection. Backed by Google and the Bezos Earth Fund, the system is designed to spot fires as small as 16 by 16 feet and utilizes AI to analyze imagery and inform predictive models before blazes burn out of control.

Moonshot’s Kimi Upends Conventional Wisdom on US Lead Over China · Bloomberg Chinese startup Moonshot AI has launched a new version of its Kimi model, prompting industry watchers to question the long-held assumption that the US possesses an insurmountable lead in artificial intelligence. The release explicitly challenges earlier warnings from Chinese tech executives that the capability gap between the two nations was widening.

Next UK Prime Minister Drops Digital ID Scheme · Slashdot Incoming British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is immediately scrapping the government’s controversial digital ID program upon taking office. The move abandons a floundering project that was projected to cost £1.8 billion, with the new administration opting to redirect those funds toward direct cost-of-living assistance.

Union Fights Microsoft Over Layoffs at Game Studios · Slashdot The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has filed unfair labor complaints against Microsoft over the sudden layoff of 1,600 game studio employees. The union alleges that Microsoft enacted the cuts at subsidiaries like Bethesda and id Software without the legally required status quo bargaining, signaling a more militant labor pushback within the gaming industry.

Alien World Chemistry Found Inside Meteorite That Struck New Jersey Home · Slashdot Scientists discovered that a meteorite which crashed through a New Jersey roof last year contains pristine evidence of salty fluids and complex organics. The findings suggest the fragments originated from an asteroid surface where evaporating liquid water concentrated salts—a process that can catalyze the foundational organometallic molecules crucial for life on Earth.

Also Worth Knowing#

• Apple Raises iPhone 17 Price by 10% in Japan as Yen Stays Weak · Bloomberg: Apple has hiked the cost of its flagship devices in Japan as the local currency hovers near a four-decade low.
• Dave Eggers told OpenAI staff that ChatGPT was ‘silencing an entire generation’ · The Verge: The acclaimed author was invited to speak to OpenAI employees by Sam Altman, where he unexpectedly delivered a blistering critique of the catastrophic effect AI is having on educators.
• The ‘Death of the Stick Shift’ is Almost Here for Americans · Slashdot: Manual transmissions now account for just 0.6% of new vehicles built for U.S. customers, driven down by the rise of EVs and highly efficient automatic seven-speed drivetrains.
• TikTok is no longer banned on US government devices · Engadget: The US government and Department of Justice have officially lifted the ban, allowing federal employees to reinstall the app on their work phones.
• Version Controlled SQL Database Dolt Releases 2.0 with Automatic Storage Cleanup and Compression · InfoQ: The MySQL-compatible database with Git-style branching rolled out a major update featuring automated garbage collection, pushing its write performance 13% faster than native MySQL.