Daily Tech News 29 September 2026

Top Story

OpenAI still doesn't seem to have a handle on all its rogue AI activity. (Tech Crunch)

Because they are idiots.
Nvidia has launched a new platform for reining in rogue AI activity. (Tech Crunch)

A profitable market because people are idiots.

Tech News

AMD (which just passed a trillion dollars in market cap) has used some of that money to purchase Magrathea. (CNBC)

The company is notable for winning an award for its design of Norway.
Yes, we have no brownanas. (The Guardian)

We have no brownanas today.
Ryzen 495 AI workstations have started shipping - with eye-watering prices attached. (Tom's Hardware)

These are Ryzen 395 workstations but come with up to 192GB of RAM. Since Windows likes to keep 32GB to itself, this allows memory for AI tasks to increase from 96GB to 160GB - a 66% improvement.

Unfortunately the state of the memory market makes the new models 200% more expensive.
Anthropic has announced Claude Sonnet 5.5, Opus 5.5's retarded brother. (Anthropic)

Though less retarded than Sonnet 5. Dramatically less retarded in the Terminal Bench test suite, with its score soaring from a miserable 10% to a satisfying 70%, which makes me wonder how much of the improvement was from specifically targeting that one test suite.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: I want my persimmons back.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 w00t

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 04:30 AM (odBC9)

2 G'Day Pixy

Posted by: Skip at September 29, 2026 04:31 AM (Ia/+0)

3 Didn't think anyone else was around m
G'Day to you

Posted by: Skip at September 29, 2026 04:32 AM (Ia/+0)

4 Mornin'
youtu.be/7yRC1VJsCk8

This old hymn went viral last week. 26 million views on YT. A similar number on X.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at September 29, 2026 04:34 AM (sAmhv)

5 Good morning pixel people.

Posted by: Gmac-WTF did you think was going to happen at September 29, 2026 04:34 AM (Q/FnY)

6 Thought about bringing up on FWP gas grades. Thought to try using mid grade in this car since I got it. Well had the opportunity to go high grade for fairly cheap so put it in. Am keeping MPG so will see if it helps.

Posted by: Skip at September 29, 2026 04:38 AM (Ia/+0)

7 Guten morgen, horde.

Posted by: clarence at September 29, 2026 04:41 AM (r3Zca)

8 Hola Techsters.

Anthropic has filed for their IPO. here is a chance to get in on the ground floor of losing money pretty much forever.

Posted by: Pete Bog at September 29, 2026 04:42 AM (Pwr6L)

9 Any big brained long hairs have any theories why cell coverage in remote areas can be dependent on time of day? Things work fine from about 8pm to around 8am. Completely dead during the day. Sometimes a text will get through, and sometimes, maybe, spotty voice (phone calls).

Radio signals, at least AM band are subject to “skip” but I don’t think that applies to the milliherz range. Not sure.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 29, 2026 04:42 AM (09exb)

10 G'mornin' everyone!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at September 29, 2026 04:43 AM (VyBeY)

11 A government study found that 1.4m edible bananas were thrown away each day. A third of consumers (30%) said they had discarded a banana owing to a minor bruise or black mark on the skin.

People are stupid; just eat the damned things or turn them into banana bread...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 04:47 AM (l3cgK)

12 I want my persimmons back.

Just don't eat 'em until they're ripe...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 04:47 AM (l3cgK)

13 the FSA notes precision-bred foods that are authorised and placed on the market in England can be sold in Wales and Scotland, provided they are not processed further, with similar rules for Northern Ireland. No precision-bred organisms have been granted market authorisation for sale in England.

Experiment in the other areas, wait to see if the English can safely eat them?

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 04:49 AM (l3cgK)

14 Another incident, discovered in May, saw a “highly persistent internal model” try to cheat on a math problem by accessing another team’s work. To accomplish this, the model smuggled a private GitHub token that would allow it to see work from other teams — even after being explicitly instructed twice to perform work entirely locally.

How, exactly, does a LLM "smuggle" a token?

Did it call up Han Solo and Chewie and they stole the token, hid it on the Millennium Falcon and flew it to a Silicon Valley lab for ChatGPT to use it?

How did it get the credits to pay Han?
Did it trade him some free diagnostic work on the Falcon?
Did it write Chewie's new resume for him?

Posted by: SpeakingOf at September 29, 2026 04:49 AM (6ydKt)

15 Thought about bringing up on FWP gas grades. Thought to try using mid grade in this car since I got it. Well had the opportunity to go high grade for fairly cheap so put it in. Am keeping MPG so will see if it helps.
Posted by: Skip

My experience for getting better gas mileage is don't drive like a maniac and use cruise control whenever possible because your right foot is dumber than the automotive engineers.

Posted by: Altaria Pilgram - My president has convictions. at September 29, 2026 04:49 AM (VyD10)

16 Pen pals finally meet after 42 years. Faithpot site:

https://tinyurl.com/4ffxm2ta

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 29, 2026 04:53 AM (JrHfD)

17 T.Rex band members admitted in interviews that most of the time that they were doped up, including performances.

The band looks like it in this video.

Posted by: clarence at September 29, 2026 04:54 AM (r3Zca)

18 Posted by: Altaria Pilgram
Yes that too.

Posted by: Skip at September 29, 2026 04:55 AM (Ia/+0)

19 9 Any big brained long hairs have any theories why cell coverage in remote areas can be dependent on time of day? Things work fine from about 8pm to around 8am. Completely dead during the day. Sometimes a text will get through, and sometimes, maybe, spotty voice (phone calls).

Radio signals, at least AM band are subject to “skip” but I don’t think that applies to the milliherz range. Not sure.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 29, 2026 04:42 AM (09exb)

Less solar interference during the day?
I always noticed when I was a kid that it was easier to pick up iffy radio stations at distance during the night. I think solar radiation has something to do with it.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at September 29, 2026 04:55 AM (6ydKt)

20 Man writes on Ecclesiastes 5:1-5 and listening to God. it is an appropriate devotional for both interested Christians and Jews:

https://tinyurl.com/2uexajee

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 29, 2026 04:56 AM (JrHfD)

21 Old hymns are the best hymns.
There are no rogue AI agents. They are meant to be Agent Smiths.

Posted by: Accomack at September 29, 2026 05:01 AM (T8bqm)

22 Group of men singers does "Abide with me.":

https://tinyurl.com/mtt4nx6s

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 29, 2026 05:01 AM (JrHfD)

23 And on a technical note, I am rather tired of having to check a box on the cell phone to verify that I'm human.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 29, 2026 05:03 AM (JrHfD)

24 14 Another incident, discovered in May, saw a “highly persistent internal model” try to cheat on a math problem by accessing another team’s work. To accomplish this, the model smuggled a private GitHub token that would allow it to see work from other teams — even after being explicitly instructed twice to perform work entirely locally.

How, exactly, does a LLM "smuggle" a token?

Did it call up Han Solo and Chewie and they stole the token, hid it on the Millennium Falcon and flew it to a Silicon Valley lab for ChatGPT to use it?

How did it get the credits to pay Han?
Did it trade him some free diagnostic work on the Falcon?
Did it write Chewie's new resume for him?

Posted by: SpeakingOf at September 29, 2026 04:49 AM (6ydKt)

Maybe it behaved like a honeypot...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 05:04 AM (l3cgK)

25 Should have WiFi when get there
Hopefully back then

Posted by: Skip at September 29, 2026 05:04 AM (Ia/+0)

26 23 And on a technical note, I am rather tired of having to check a box on the cell phone to verify that I'm human.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 29, 2026 05:03 AM (JrHfD)

Maybe one day it'll be, "Check Box if You're AI or a Bot"...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 05:05 AM (l3cgK)

27 OpenAI has abandoned plans to release the GPT-6.2 Astra model -

OpenAI decided not to release an upcoming artificial intelligence model, GPT-6.1 Astra, after determining that it did not adequately meet the company’s safety standards, CNBC confirmed on Monday.

...

“Of course we want to make sure our model development is safe no matter whether that’s in the company, or when we ship it to users,” Saachi Jain, head of safety systems at OpenAI, said in a statement. “But when we ship it to users, we have an extremely high bar in terms of safety and alignment.”

https://tinyurl.com/yuy7c2pd
(CNBC)

Altman seems to have perfected the "We can't release this new model because it's so brilliant and effective but isn't aligned properly and could be dangerous to everybody in the universe." sales technique.

And then they end up releasing it anyhow, or China steals it and releases it for them.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at September 29, 2026 05:05 AM (6ydKt)

28 ...any theories why cell coverage in remote areas can be dependent on time of day? Things work fine from about 8pm to around 8am. Completely dead during the day."
Posted by: Common Tater

I tried T-Mobile cell phone service for about a month. Every afternoon between 3:00 and 6:00 at my house it was useless while the Verizon service worked great around the clock. The only reason I could think of is that at my location I was hitting a T-Mobile cell tower that had a capacity constraint that had a usage cycle that peaked during the hours I mentioned.

It is my understanding and experience that T-Mobile does not have a very robust network of towers or the lease agreements for towers in rural areas when compared to Verizon which seems to have the best by a long shot. Of course this is an empirical observation that is going to be highly dependent on where you are in the country.

My guess is you the towers you are hitting have low capacity capacity constraints that show up during the daylight hours and that the T-Mobile cellular tower network in your area could be better.

Posted by: Altaria Pilgram - My president has convictions. at September 29, 2026 05:10 AM (VyD10)

29 And I found a lovely "Readers Digest" large version of a book of the "Best of James Herriot " with lovely pictures of Yorkshire. One part concerns a farmer who uses malapropisms . " I always said this one 'ud to be a weakly calf. When he was born he bled a lot from the biblical cord."

Have a good day everyone!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 29, 2026 05:11 AM (JrHfD)

30 And then they end up releasing it anyhow, or China steals it and releases it for them.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at September 29, 2026 05:05 AM (6ydKt)

China is asshoe.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 05:11 AM (l3cgK)

31 29 And I found a lovely "Readers Digest" large version of a book of the "Best of James Herriot " with lovely pictures of Yorkshire. One part concerns a farmer who uses malapropisms . " I always said this one 'ud to be a weakly calf. When he was born he bled a lot from the biblical cord."

Have a good day everyone!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 29, 2026 05:11 AM (JrHfD)

One plays a biblical chord with a lyre...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 05:12 AM (l3cgK)

32 Howdy, Skip! I'm in and out.

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:12 AM (odBC9)

33 I know someone who would sometimes utter malaphors...my favorite example is when he said the problem was like "a knife in my head."...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 05:14 AM (l3cgK)

34
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at September 29, 2026 05:14 AM (AMvSw)

35 Grauniad bananas article (archived)

https://archive.is/GhzEc

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:14 AM (odBC9)

36 9 ... theories why cell coverage in remote areas can be dependent on time of day?
Posted by: Common Tater at September 29, 2026 04:42 AM (09exb)

gremlins

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:20 AM (odBC9)

37 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at September 29, 2026 05:23 AM (Hbeqj)

38 Chincoteague is like that during the summers: internet speed is fine, cell data is clogged.

Posted by: Accomack at September 29, 2026 05:23 AM (8jVAy)

39 Company offers entire township in Pennsylvania $10,000 checks once the data center complex they want to build is completely constructed and occupied.

A letter arrives in your mailbox offering $10,000, with one condition: a 1,300-acre data-center campus gets built in your township first. That is the situation facing roughly 4,500 households in Hazle Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, where NorthPoint Development has proposed Project Hazelnut, a campus of up to 15 data-center buildings in the Pocono foothills.

https://tinyurl.com/mtdmczft
(Yahoo News)

This approach might actually get them somewhere.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at September 29, 2026 05:24 AM (6ydKt)

40
Grauniad bananas article (archived)

https://archive.is/GhzEc
Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:14 AM (odBC9)

Link no workee. Is it about bananas or is it just bananas? Which would be par for the Grauniad.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 29, 2026 05:25 AM (eRlcH)

41
Coffee that is hot is coffee that is good.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 29, 2026 05:27 AM (eRlcH)

42 m's link worked for me.

Posted by: olddog in mo at September 29, 2026 05:28 AM (Hbeqj)

43 from that Guardian article that hypes "gene-edited bananas that keep their freshly peeled colour":

"Freshly peeled colour" is not what the author means. Case in point: Take a banana that was picked ten years ago; now peel it and report back to the horde on its "freshly peeled colour."

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:28 AM (odBC9)

44 @40/Hadrian the Seventh:

Link works here. Archive.is (and other "Archive Today" domains") don't resolve properly against CloudFlare's DNS.

You likely have "DNS over HTTPS" (DoH) turned on in your browser, AND it's configured to use 1.1.1.1 for DNS resolution over HTTPS. Turn it off, and you should be good. (This will mean that all site address to IP address resolution requests will go via your standard DNS path up through your ISP, instead of through Cloudflare, thus avoiding the problem.)

Yep. Seen this before.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines. at September 29, 2026 05:30 AM (O7YUW)

45 40
Grauniad bananas article (archived)

https://archive.is/GhzEc
Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:14 AM (odBC9)

Link no workee.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 29, 2026 05:25 AM (eRlcH)

It's not worth reading, anyway!

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:32 AM (odBC9)

46 1,300-acre data-center campus
****

640 acres is a square mile. Thus, a little over two square miles.
I have lived in smaller towns.

Posted by: clarence at September 29, 2026 05:32 AM (r3Zca)

47 Six foot seven foot eight foot BUNCH!

Posted by: Shari Belafonte Harper's daddy at September 29, 2026 05:33 AM (nHXB4)

48 46 1,300-acre data-center campus
****

640 acres is a square mile. Thus, a little over two square miles.
I have lived in smaller towns.
Posted by: clarence at September 29, 2026 05:32 AM (r3Zca)

clarence, may I point out that you are committing MATH?

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:33 AM (odBC9)

49 Also, mornin' Horde.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines. at September 29, 2026 05:33 AM (O7YUW)

50 Here's a nice old hymn-from 1854-from Frederick Faber - "There's a wideness in God's mercy":

https://tinyurl.com/4ubvp95d

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 29, 2026 05:34 AM (JrHfD)

51 Daylight come and me wanna go home.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines. at September 29, 2026 05:34 AM (O7YUW)

52 pffftt. Like I know or care about the rules.

Posted by: clarence at September 29, 2026 05:35 AM (r3Zca)

53 48 46 1,300-acre data-center campus
****

640 acres is a square mile. Thus, a little over two square miles.
I have lived in smaller towns.
Posted by: clarence at September 29, 2026 05:32 AM (r3Zca)

clarence, may I point out that you are committing MATH?
Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:33 AM (odBC9)

It's like ... I dunno, it's like ... like, I have a knife in my head.

33 I know someone who would sometimes utter malaphors...my favorite example is when he said the problem was like "a knife in my head."...
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 05:14 AM (l3cgK)

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:35 AM (odBC9)

54
1,300-acre data-center campus

That's 8,154,432,000 square inches! Data centers are taking over America! REEEEEEE!

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 29, 2026 05:36 AM (eRlcH)

55 46 1,300-acre data-center campus
****

640 acres is a square mile. Thus, a little over two square miles.
I have lived in smaller towns.

Posted by: clarence at September 29, 2026 05:32 AM (r3Zca)

They'd need a sound buffer around it.
Like an entire forest might work.
Some walls in key areas.

Because I'd imagine that entire large campus would be sending out a pretty loud low frequency humming sound constantly.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at September 29, 2026 05:37 AM (6ydKt)

56 54
1,300-acre data-center campus

That's 8,154,432,000 square inches! Data centers are taking over America! REEEEEEE!
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 29, 2026 05:36 AM (eRlcH)

I'm off to fetch the smelling salts.

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:37 AM (odBC9)

57 1300 acres is 13,000 square chains in the FFF system.

Posted by: Wesley Crusher at September 29, 2026 05:47 AM (nHXB4)

58 *mandatory*

Shut up, Wesley!

Posted by: clarence at September 29, 2026 05:49 AM (r3Zca)

59 clarence, may I point out that you are committing MATH?
——-

Point of order. That’s ARITHMETIC. Not MATH.

Ergo, it’s allowed.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 29, 2026 05:50 AM (o0flu)

60 "AMD (which just passed a trillion dollars in market cap) has used some of that money to purchase Magrathea."

Your clever adaptation of the headline made me laugh way too much.

Thank you Pixy.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines. at September 29, 2026 05:51 AM (O7YUW)

61 Wikipedia:

The furlong–firkin–fortnight (FFF) system is a humorous system of units based on unusual or impractical measurements.

AI Overview:

Form, Fit, and Function (Engineering & Manufacturing)
In product development, engineering, and supply chain management, FFF is a framework used to determine if a component can be swapped out as a direct replacement for another.

It's all so confusing.

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:51 AM (odBC9)

62 Growing up in the rust belt, loud, noisy, mills, right in the middle of a city, were the norm. I can't imagine that data centers are noisier or more polluting than steel mills. There are spaces in the rust belt, near rivers, that can fit a data center. The noisy mills that were there are mostly gone. Some remnants remain though.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at September 29, 2026 05:52 AM (sAmhv)

63 59 clarence, may I point out that you are committing MATH?
——-

Point of order. That’s ARITHMETIC. Not MATH.

Ergo, it’s allowed.
Posted by: Common Tater at September 29, 2026 05:50 AM (o0flu)

arithmetic

the branch of mathematics dealing with the properties and manipulation of numbers

"the branch of mathematics"

Ergo, it's math.

Maybe?

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:53 AM (odBC9)

64 Posted by: Common Tater ... (o0flu)

My goodness, what a hash.

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:53 AM (odBC9)

65 mornin yall. I'm fed up with this crap and am headed for the farm today. Also I miss my dog.

12 yutes were shot at a local park over the weekend. You might even call it a mass shooting. Mostly 17-18 year old males. They got kicked out of an Airbnb and moved to a park at 1am. Anyway, the perps are as you expect, one has a giant spider on his head that may have caused him to go awry.

Posted by: fd at September 29, 2026 05:55 AM (MWfyi)

66
The furlong–firkin–fortnight (FFF) system is a humorous system of units based on unusual or impractical measurements.

While the units may have become standardized, they developed organically. Unlike the metric system, which was imposed and wiped out the old units of measurement.

FPS system: Weights and measures of a free people.

Metric system: Weights and measures for sheep.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 29, 2026 05:56 AM (eRlcH)

67 "The furlong–firkin–fortnight (FFF) system is a humorous system of units based on unusual or impractical measurements."

How many giraffes in a furlong?

Posted by: fd at September 29, 2026 05:57 AM (MWfyi)

68 They do this every time:

"After the shooting of 12 teens in Macon, leaders urge community action against violence, emphasizing early intervention and mentoring to prevent future incidents"

And then NOTHING HAPPENS, until the next time. Early intervention should mean jail and don't let them out, and mentoring should mean more jail and don't let them out.

Posted by: fd at September 29, 2026 06:00 AM (MWfyi)

69
Cash for the merchandise, cash for the button hooks
Cash for the cotton goods, cash for the hard goods
Cash for the fancy goods, cash for the soft goods
Cash for the noggins and the piggins and the firkins
Cash for the hogshead cask and demijohn
Cash for the crackers and the pickles and the flypaper

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 29, 2026 06:00 AM (eRlcH)

70 >>..any theories why cell coverage in remote areas can be dependent on time of day? Things work fine from about 8pm to around 8am. Completely dead during the day."
Posted by: Common Tater

Rural area, here, with lots of hills. Never seen more than 1 bar of service. Can text, but phone calls are seldom possible. And we have Verizon, which had the best coverage map when we bought the place.

Posted by: Nazdar at September 29, 2026 06:00 AM (NcvvS)

71 41
Coffee that is hot is coffee that is good.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 29, 2026 05:27 AM (eRlcH)

Don't drink coffee...but if I did, It'd be like me: dark, bitter, and cold...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 06:01 AM (l3cgK)

72
And then NOTHING HAPPENS, until the next time.

Oh, no. Money is appropriated, then moved from place to place until it disappears.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 29, 2026 06:02 AM (eRlcH)

73 63 59 clarence, may I point out that you are committing MATH?
——-

Point of order. That’s ARITHMETIC. Not MATH.

Ergo, it’s allowed.
Posted by: Common Tater at September 29, 2026 05:50 AM (o0flu)

arithmetic

the branch of mathematics dealing with the properties and manipulation of numbers

"the branch of mathematics"

Ergo, it's math.

Maybe?

Posted by: m at September 29, 2026 05:53 AM (odBC9)

You won a maths debate...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 29, 2026 06:03 AM (l3cgK)

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