On Thursday, the Laude Institute announced its first batch of Slingshots grants, aimed at “advancing the science and practice of artificial intelligence.” Designed as an accelerator for researchers, the Slingshots program is meant to provide resources that would be unavailable in most academic settings, whether it’s funding, compute power, or product and engineering support. In exchange, the recipients pledge to …

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest phones, smartwatches, apps, and other gizmos that swear they’re going to change your life. Optimizer arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 10AM ET. Opt in for Optimizer here. Imagine you’re minding your business on a high-speed train hurtling at …

🔥 Trending now in : US Democrats still face big questions, despite election wins Courtney Subramanianin Washington Watch: US election night’s big winners… in 90 seconds A year after the Democrats found themselves out of power and without a leader, the party is standing at a crossroads. After months of downbeat introspection, three election races this week gave them a …