Here are today’s 6 verified tech & science stories, covering Tech & Apps, AI Tools and Science & Space.
Table of Contents
Every item below links to its original source.
The TLDR
- Tech & Apps: Cards Against Humanity is crowdfunding an Elon Musk monument
- AI Tools: Microsoft merges its Copilot apps and cuts flop features
- Science & Space: EU’s push for lithium and rare earths sidelines calls to use less
Tech & Apps
Cards Against Humanity is crowdfunding an Elon Musk monument
Cards Against Humanity is crowdfunding what it calls “a grand monument” to Elon Musk on land the company owns near his SpaceX Starbase, Texas facility, inviting fans to pay $10 to join a design committee that will help decide what it looks like, according to The Verge. The stunt continues a long-running feud between the two companies, which previously included a lawsuit over SpaceX allegedly trespassing on the same land that was settled in 2025 on undisclosed terms.
Apple accused of missing ‘obvious’ App Store ratings fraud
StopTheMadness developer Jeff Johnson says he keeps stumbling on “obvious” App Store ratings fraud that Apple’s review process fails to catch, most recently a paid Safari extension whose store listing displayed a fake 4.9-star screenshot, according to 9to5Mac. Johnson argues Apple already has the ratings data needed to catch this kind of false advertising and simply isn’t acting on it. If you’re trying to manage app clutter in general, our list of the best free screen time apps is a good place to start.
Apple warns users in 110 countries about spyware
Apple has sent a fresh round of mercenary spyware threat notifications to users in 110 countries, part of an ongoing effort to warn people it believes were individually targeted by state-linked surveillance tools, according to 9to5Mac. Apple recommends anyone who gets a warning turn on Lockdown Mode, update their software, and contact Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline for free assistance.
AI Tools
Microsoft merges its Copilot apps and cuts flop features
Microsoft is folding its consumer Copilot app and its business-focused Microsoft 365 Copilot into a single product, while retiring underperforming features including AI-generated podcasts, Group Chats, Deep Research, and the animated Mico character, according to TechCrunch. Microsoft says its multi-app approach had become too complicated to compete with ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Professional users losing Deep Research will be pointed to a new tool called Researcher instead.
Writer launches a cheaper AI model built to cut token costs
AI startup Writer unveiled a new model called Palmyra X6, built on top of Z.ai’s open-source GLM-5.2, paired with an upgraded task “harness” meant to cut how many tokens its AI agents burn on multi-step work, according to TechCrunch. Writer says the combination can cut customer costs by as much as 50% on basic tasks. Businesses trying to trim their own software costs might also check out our list of the best AI bookkeeping tools for solopreneurs.
Science & Space
EU’s push for lithium and rare earths sidelines calls to use less
A study in Communications Earth & Environment finds that as the EU worked to secure its own supply of lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements, calls to simply reduce raw material consumption got pushed to the margins, according to Phys.org. Researchers at Germany’s Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research reviewed more than 180 EU policy documents from 2000 to 2024 and found the political narrative shifted from competitiveness to environmental protection to, most recently, “strategic autonomy” — with supply security the one constant. The EU’s 2024 Critical Raw Materials Act reflects that same supply-first approach, the study argues.
Explore more: yesterday’s roundup, the best free screen time apps, the best AI bookkeeping tools for solopreneurs, Celestron vs. Sky-Watcher telescopes.
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Photo: NASA Johnson Space Center / ROBERT MARKOWITZ NASA-JSC / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.