In an age where we all need to touch grass more than ever, I am deeply saddened to hear that author Annie Dillard has died. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is one of the most stunningly beautiful books I’ve ever read — I always keep a few copies on hand to gift to strangers because it’s so meaningful. If you need a break from the relentless tech news cycle, please gift yourself this amazing work and revel alongside the author at the majesty, terror, and redemption provided by our natural world.

I am prepping this week’s issue a little early, and I want to know everything you’re into. What are you reading / watching / playing / interested in this week? Tell me so I can tell everyone! (And subscribe to Installer!)

AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:

The latest trailer for Laika’s next stop-motion epic provides a better look at the fantasy world at its core, including a very charming and distracted dog. The movie hits theaters on October 23rd, and you can read a little more about how it was created right here.

It has officially dethroned Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing domestic release to date, Variety reports. So far, Brand New Day has pulled in over $936 million domestically and $2.45 billion globally, making it the third highest-grossing film of all time, behind Avatar and Avengers: Endgame.

Haters said it was too woke and would go broke, but Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey crossed the billion-dollar mark and hasn’t looked back. Nonetheless, competitors — including Elon Musk — threatened counterprogramming built with AI. Well, the time has come for one of these projects, which is a 150-minute AI-generated film hosted by Fountain 0, available as of today. If you don’t want to pony up for admission, we’ll let you know our thoughts on the film soon.

Swifties with a Premium subscription can watch all 58 of Taylor’s videos in Spotify’s “Switch to video” mode, from her first-ever video for 2006’s “Tim McGraw” to “Opalite.”

Apparently that’s what Flock cameras are silently telling themselves about every two minutes. 404 Media and Wired collaborated on reporting about hackers who broke inside the surveillance cameras and picked through their custom Android apps, data collection habits, and machine vision methods. Flock doesn’t seem happy, and the hackers are trying to “keep a low profile.”

Following an already busy year of releases, Xteink’s new S4, which is launching in China first, is the company’s first pocketable E Ink device to run Android 11 giving it access to both the Kindle and Kobo mobile apps. The S4 also features a 4.3-inch frontlit touchscreen, 32GB of storage, a proper USB-C port, and a generous 1,400mAh battery, according to Good e-Reader.

As part of a few new podcast-focused features for Threads, there are new podcast cards that will show up in posts and profiles that make the podcast stand out. Could be useful for creators trying to promote their show.

Nvidia’s CEO has been taking calls from the president recently, including two days ago when he put Trump on speakerphone on a conference stage. Now CNBC reports Huang is expected to attend Trump’s state dinner next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Someone may be getting pretty nervous about AI and data center regulation!

That’s according to Gal Silver, a technician at GameTraderZero who’s modded and repaired more than 1,000 Switch 2 Joy-Cons over the past year. You can read their findings on NintendoLife but despite using older thumbstick tech, the new Joy-Cons have much improved durability with fewer issues and no instances of “drift issue straight out of the box.”

Alongside the new Palma 3 announced yesterday, Boox’s Picco, a direct competitor to Xteink’s tiny e-readers, is now listed for preorder for $99.99. The Picco has a 3.97-inch, 235ppi, frontlit E Ink touchscreen, physical page turn buttons, and a 920mAh battery. It also uses microSD for storage, and includes a USB-C port for charging.

Bilal Chughtai and Josh Engels, who both worked on Deepmind’s AI safety team, left to join organizations dedicated to AI safety. “I now think that there’s a terrifying chance that AI systems cause immense harm in the next five years,” said Engels. “I earnestly believe that AI has the potential to kill us all,” wrote Chughtai.

The Pixel Watch 2 and later are getting Gemini Personalization, allowing the AI assistant to learn from past conversations and connected Google apps. The 3 and on also get new double-pinch gesture controls, while the 4 gets a performance bump to raise-to-talk. A similar September update is rolling out to Pixel phones too.

The EU Kids Act will be formally unveiled tomorrow where it will eventually be put to a vote by the 27-nation bloc. Parent-chaperoned “mini accounts” are proposed for children 13 to 15.

The mission will include two firsts if regulators approve the launch window and the weather holds: send Starship into orbit, and insert a few dozen of SpaceX’s larger and more capable V3 satellites into the Starlink constellation for the first time. The 26 satellites on Flight 14 will each add 1 Tbps of capacity to the constellation, boosting total network capacity by about 3 percent on just this one flight.

Sony has two new wireless headsets for PS5 players: the PlayStation Pulse and Pulse Edge. Visually it’s hard to tell the difference between these headsets, apart from the fact the Pulse Edge has a hidden and detachable boom mic (instead of integrated on the Pulse). The Pulse Edge also has eight magnets per planar driver instead of six on the Pulse, active noise cancellation, a carry case, and built-in audio controls on a PS5. They’re both designed to compliment the existing Pulse Elite, and the Pulse will arrive this holiday, followed by the Pulse Edge in early 2027. No exact release dates or pricing yet.

For $79.99 you get a sensor compatible with Thread and Zigbee networks that’s a more private alternative to cameras. It uses mmWave radar to track occupants in real time, and knows if they’re standing, sitting, or lying down. It can also detect falls and count the number of occupants, how long they’ve hung around, and the distance they’ve traveled.

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says AI safety is important, but agrees with Trump — the “STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT” that removed the word “safety” from the AI Safety Institute — that capitalism’s invisible hand is enough to protect us:

OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Elon Musk have tentatively agreed to slow their roll, but Meta seemingly isn’t aligned. Mark Zuckerberg just tweeted each company has its own individual responsibility “to move at the pace required to train its models safely,” and claims Meta is already doing so.

The electric automaker has until September 30th to answer a series of questions about how its steering-wheel- and pedal-less Cybercab complies with federal safety standards.

The lawsuit claims DistroKid has created an “AI-slop pipeline” diverting listeners away from human artists. Universal Music Group, which is launching its own AI music platform, also alleges that DistroKid gives users the “false impression” that the music it distributes is “created and owned by real human artists,” not AI-generated music.

As Comics Beat points out, 100 or so employees had until today to decide if they’ll move with the company out of New York City to Burbank, CA, the home of Marvel Studios and Disney.

Yesterday I wrote about the gigantic new Elon Musk documentary that comes out next month. If you can’t wait to sit in a theater for four hours to watch it, there’s good news, as the premiere date has been moved up a week to October 9th.

Two boat manufacturers, Crest Marine and Balise Pontoons (both owned by MasterCraft Boat Holdings), announced today their plans to enable smartphone projection in their upcoming models in 2027. The boats will feature a seven-inch “marine touchscreen” that will display CarPlay or Android Auto alongside marine-specific technology. The manufacturers are also working with marine navigation app Savvy Navvy to offer access to nautical charts, smart routing, GPS tracking, live weather, and tidal data — all displayed on the same screen as other apps. Avast!

Now the “Pause Point” option Google launched on the Pixel 11 is rolling out to more devices, across Android 17 QPR1, and for Pixel hardware going back to the Pixel 6. The new Android 17 update also increases the use of background blur and adds a new Quick Settings tile that points to your notes app, among other updates.

The popular streaming guide is launching its own streaming service, JustWatch TV, offering paid and ad-supported streaming and rentals. Users will be able to watch included shows and movies directly on its app and website, or through connected streaming services, which keep getting pricier.