OpenAI’s ChatGPT service was down all day for many users after the platform started experiencing performance issues on Tuesday morning. The chatbot responded with a “Hmm…something seems to have gone wrong” error message to my colleague after failing to load, and users across X and Reddit are reporting platform outages.

Downdetector showed that issues started at around 3AM ET, with multiple regions impacted globally. OpenAI’s own status page said that some users started experiencing “elevated error rates and latency” at that time, noting that the issues were affecting ChatGPT, its Sora text-to-video AI tool, and OpenAI APIs. OpenAI added a separate line for “elevated error rates on Sora” at 5:23AM ET, and later updated the status for both to “partial outage.”

As of 6:32PM ET, OpenAI’s tracker reported a “full recovery in the API,” and that “Nearly all ChatGPT components are now working properly for all users.” The one spot of trouble, however, is voice mode, which still has elevated error rates.

Some users were able to access ChatGPT, but found that the service was sluggish and taking much longer than usual to respond. Others, like myself, were able to use the chatbot without any issues, so the outages and errors didn’t seem to impact everyone.

Perplexity, the AI search engine service that utilizes some OpenAI models, also reported experiencing outages and reporting “slowness and elevated error rates” on its status page. Perplexity’s issues started at around 7AM ET, according to Downdetector.

Update, June 10th: Noted OpenAI and Perplexity’s status updates.

Warner Bros. Discovery has announced plans to split itself into two companies, separating its streaming and studios divisions from its linear television businesses. The split is expected to be completed by mid-2026 and is supposed to help “maximize the potential” of its portfolio of brands, according to the company.

Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max, alongside their respective film and television libraries, will fall under a new “Streaming and Studios” company. Another company, described as “Global Networks,” will run entertainment, sports, and news television brands, including CNN, Bleacher Report, the Discovery Plus streaming service, TNT Sports in the US, and Discovery TV channels across Europe.

WBD had previously announced plans in December to restructure its business into two operating divisions, with WBD serving as the parent company. Now, it’s clear that was a precursor to this forthcoming split.

“The cultural significance of this great company and the impactful stories it has brought to life for more than a century have touched countless people all over the world. It’s a treasured legacy we will proudly continue in this next chapter of our celebrated history,” said WBD CEO David Zaslav. “By operating as two distinct and optimized companies in the future, we are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in today’s evolving media landscape.”

Final names for the two companies weren’t given, so it’s not clear which will get the Warner Bros. brand. Zaslav will serve as President and CEO of Streaming and Studios, while WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will be President and CEO of the Global Networks company. Both will continue in their current roles at WBD until the separation. Global Networks will receive a 20 percent stake in the Streaming and Studios spinoff.

The Financial Times reported in July 2024 that Zaslav was considering creating a new company to separate WBD’s streaming business from the growing debts of its suffering legacy TV networks. As today’s announcement doesn’t mention leadership plans for WBD following the separation, the future of the WBD brand is uncertain.

Smart wearables company Ultrahuman has launched a new device that monitors changes in home environments that could impact your health. Ultrahuman says its $549 Home gadget tracks air quality, temperature, noise, light, and humidity, helping users optimize the climate within their homes to improve breathing and sleeping habits.

The Ultrahuman Home resembles a Mac Mini in terms of size and appearance. Its air quality features monitor levels of fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and chemical pollutants like acetone and formaldehyde. The device also tracks noise levels and various types of light exposure, including UVA, UVB, UVC, blue, red, green, and infrared, to help users “align home lighting with their body’s natural rhythm,” according to Ultrahuman.

Users who have an Ultrahuman Ring wearable can pair it with the Home device to unlock an “UltraSync” feature that suggests how environmental data may be impacting heart rate, sleep, and recovery patterns. For example, Ultrahuman says that UltraSync can suggest if the user was woken during the night by elevated noise or light levels.

We should note that the Ultrahuman Home won’t actually address the concerns it detects. The device is equipped with sensors and microphones for monitoring environmental changes via a mobile app, but it doesn’t include features like a built-in dehumidifier or air purification, and it doesn’t offer any way to integrate it into smart home ecosystems. There’s no recurring subscription to pay, and Ultrahuman says the “data and insights are with the user, always.” 

Still, $549 is expensive for a device that doesn’t actually do anything — except maybe increase paranoia —  unlike smart indoor air quality sensors available from Ikea, Amazon, SwitchBot and others.

There are some questionable sources underpinning Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial “Make America Healthy Again” commission report. Signs point to AI tomfoolery, and the use of ChatGPT specifically, which calls into question the veracity of the White House report meant to address reasons for the decline in US life expectancy.

An investigation by NOTUS found dozens of errors in the MAHA report, including broken links, wrong issue numbers, and missing or incorrect authors. Some studies were misstated to back up the report’s conclusions, or more damningly, didn’t exist at all. At least seven of the cited sources were entirely fictitious, according to NOTUS.

Another investigation by The Washington Post found that at least 37 of the 522 citations appeared multiple times throughout the report. Notably, the URLs of several references included “oaicite,” a marker that OpenAI applies to responses provided by artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT, which strongly suggests its use to develop the report

Generative AI tools have a tendency to spit out false or incorrect information, known as “hallucinations.” That would certainly explain the various errors throughout the report — chatbots have been found responsible for similar citation issues in legal filings submitted by AI experts and even the companies building the models. Nevertheless, RFK Jr has long advocated for the “AI Revolution,” and announced during a House Committee meeting in May that “we are already using these new technologies to manage health care data more efficiently and securely.”

In a briefing on Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to concerns about the accuracy of the citations while evading any mention of AI tools. Leavitt described the errors as “formatting issues” and defended the health report for being “backed on good science that has never been recognized by the federal government.” 

The Washington Post notes that the MAHA report file was updated on Thursday to remove some of the oaicite markers and replace some of the non-existent sources with alternative citations. In a statement given to the publication, Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said “minor citation and formatting errors have been corrected, but the substance of the MAHA report remains the same — a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation’s children.”

ChatGPT’s latest image generator had an explosive debut thanks to the viral Studio Ghibli art trend, and LinkedIn users have now jumped on a new gimmick: turning yourself into a toy.

There are several flavors of the trend being shared. The “AI Action Figure” variant appears to have gained the most traction, in which a person generates a plastic version of themselves in a blister pack, alongside various accessories — typically a laptop, a book, and a coffee cup, which is fitting given LinkedIn is largely driving this trend. Other versions try to specifically emulate recognizable branding, such as the “Barbie Box Challenge.” 

While the trend started on LinkedIn, it’s since started to leak over to other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. It hasn’t taken off to anywhere near the extent that the Ghibli art craze did, however, which is still outperforming every AI Barbie/action figure/doll term I could think of in Google’s Search rankings. The Ghibli art style trend also attracted some online backlash from creatives and fans of the animation studio over ethical, environmental, and copyright concerns, but that hasn’t popped up to the same extent — yet, at least — with this latest viral bandwagon.

The common theme across every AI-generated figurine is that ChatGPT is typically the only AI image generator mentioned. The text-to-image update was so popular at launch last month that OpenAI had to limit image generation and push back access to free ChatGPT accounts to prevent its servers from being overloaded. This action figure trend may be far smaller than the Ghibli images that preceded it, but it sets another precedent for ChatGPT being the AI service that lures in everyday joes.

Most of this new semi-viral trend is contained within LinkedIn, shared by marketers and wannabe thought leaders with very little engagement to show for it. A few notable brands like Mac Cosmetics and NYX Cosmetics have jumped on board, but recognizable stars and influencers don’t seem interested in joining in. The closest thing to a “famous person” I’ve seen to try it out is Marjorie Taylor Greene. Make of that what you will.

Universal, having just completed its latest Nintendo- and Harry Potter-filled theme park in the US, is now planning to build a new theme park and resort in the United Kingdom. The multi-billion dollar project will be Universal’s first European theme park, with construction on the 476-acre complex expected to start next year in Bedford, England, located around 60 miles north of London.

Set to open in 2031, the UK government says the theme park will be “one of the largest and most advanced in Europe,” projected to generate nearly £50 billion ($64 billion) for the British economy by 2055 and attract 8.5 million visitors in its first year. Rumors about the project have been circling since Comcast NBC Universal acquired the sizable chunk of Bedford land in December 2023, with today’s announcement finally confirming that plans to build the park are going ahead — subject to securing planning approval.

“Today we closed the deal on a multi-billion-pound investment that will see Bedford home to one of the biggest entertainment parks in Europe, firmly putting the county on the global stage,” said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who added that the project is expected to create “28,000 new jobs across sectors such as construction, AI, and tourism.”

This announcement comes ahead of Universal opening its third Orlando park, Epic Universe, on May 22nd. The Orlando expansion contains new lands themed around Nintendo, Harry Potter, classic movie monsters, and the How To Train Your Dragon franchise, and showcases some of the entertainment giant’s most advanced ride and animatronics technology to date.

It’s too early to say exactly what the new park will entail, but proposals from Universal Destinations & Experiences include a theme park with “several themed lands featuring Universal’s distinct brand of immersive storytelling,” rides, attractions, and other forms of entertainment that utilize “sophisticated and advanced technology.” Plans for the resort include a 500-room hotel with on-site retail, dining, and entertainment options.

We will have to wait and see if Universal will be bringing any of its existing land themes or ride experiences to the UK project, or opt for something new entirely. I’d expect the Harry Potter branding to be involved in some way — Universal has already built six lands themed around the franchise across other global parks, and this is its opportunity to fully lean into its native British setting.

Bill Gates celebrated Microsoft’s 50th Anniversary by sharing the source code that created the company’s foundation. The 157-page PDF available to download on Gates’ blog contains the origins of Altair Basic — a programming language interpreter for the MITS Altair 8800 microcomputer — and “remains the coolest code I’ve ever written to this day,” according to the Microsoft co-founder.

Altair Basic was developed by Gates, fellow Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and programmer Monte Davidoff. The trio reportedly coded “day and night for two months” in 1975. Personal computers were extremely rare, but after seeing the Altair 8800 on the cover of a magazine, Gates and Allen believed that enabling its chip to run a version of the Basic programming language would revolutionize the industry.

“We considered creating a similar tool called a compiler that translates the entire program and then runs it all at once,” Gates said on his blog. “But we figured the line-by-line approach of an interpreter would be helpful to novice programmers since it would give instant feedback on their code, allowing them to fix any mistakes that crop up.”

MITS decided to license the software from Gates and Allen, and Altair Basic became the first product under their new company Micro-soft. You can check out the full code document below or on Gates’ blog. Not only does it have some other details about the early history of Microsoft, but the web page UI has been designed with some funky animations and graphics that pay homage to the retro coding project.