Technology
Google DeepMind co-founder joins Microsoft as CEO of its new AI division
Microsoft has hired Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman. In a post on X, Suleyman announced that he’s joining Microsoft as the CEO of a new team that handles the company’s consumer-facing AI products, including Copilot, Bing, and Edge.
Suleyman will also serve as executive vice president of Microsoft AI and join the company’s senior leadership team that reports directly to CEO Satya Nadella. Suleyman co-founded the AI lab DeepMind in 2010, which was later acquired by Google in 2014.
DeepMind has remained a pioneering AI force within Google. However, Suleyman hasn’t been part of the division in many years. He was placed on leave in 2019 over controversy surrounding some of the projects he led, according to a report from Bloomberg. The Wall Street Journal later reported Google and DeepMind opened an investigation into Suleyman over complaints he bullied staff.
After getting placed on leave at DeepMind, Google announced it had hired Suleyman as vice president of AI product management and AI policy. Suleyman left Google in 2022 to co-found the startup Inflection AI.
In addition to hiring Suleyman, Microsoft is also bringing on some of Inflection AI’s employees, including co-founder Karén Simonyan, who will serve as the chief scientist of the consumer AI group. Kevin Scott will remain as Microsoft’s chief technology officer and executive vice president of AI.
“I’ve known Mustafa for several years and have greatly admired him as a founder of both DeepMind and Inflection, and as a visionary, product maker, and builder of pioneering teams that go after bold missions,” Nadella says in a memo to employees published by Microsoft. “We have a real shot to build technology that was once thought impossible and that lives up to our mission to ensure the benefits of AI reach every person and organization on the planet, safely and responsibly.”
Microsoft has poured billions into its partnership with OpenAI and recently struck a deal with AI startup Mistral. The formation of a new AI team doesn’t mean Microsoft has forgotten about these partnerships. Microsoft says it “will continue to build AI infrastructure inclusive of custom systems and silicon work in support of OpenAI’s foundation model roadmap,” as well as “build products on top of their foundation models.”
Update March 19th, 1:38PM ET: Added context about Suleyman’s time at DeepMind.
Technology
Meta’s glasses will turn off the camera if you tamper with the privacy light
Amid public backlash over its smart glasses, Meta announced that it will be updating its glasses with a new feature that will disable the camera when it detects that someone has tampered with or destroyed the glasses’ privacy LED light. The update is meant to address modders who have taken actions such as physically drilling into the LED light.
Meta has previously tried to discourage tampering with the LED light. For example, starting with its second generation glasses, blocking the light with tape or other objects will trigger a prompt asking users to uncover the recording light. However, many modders have found various workarounds for that particular measure.
Meta’s VP of wearables Alex Himel told The Verge that the privacy-focused update was on the way a few weeks ago after launching cheaper Meta Glasses without Ray-Ban branding. At the time, Himel acknowledged that the company was aware of increasing misuse alongside wider adoption of the devices.
Technology
Discord accidentally banned over 8,000 people for posting grids and other ‘benign’ images
Stanislav Vishnevskiy, Discord co-founder and chief technology officer, writes that the bug impacted around 200 users who posted “grid-like” pictures, in addition to about 8,000 people who posted “other benign images” since May 2026. “Everyone affected has now been unbanned,” Vishnevskiy says.
In a thread on X, Discord writes that its safety system is designed to flag content by “matching it against known harmful material.” This system can produce “false positives,” Discord explains, which is when an employee would step in to review the flagged content. But instead of just temporarily preventing the account from uploading content during the review, a glitch led its system to ban users entirely.
“When our staff reviewed and cleared those accounts, the same bug prevented the ban from being lifted automatically, so it just stayed in place,” Discord says.
Technology
Hoto’s PixelDrive screwdriver is down to $60, matching its best price
If your Prime Day purchases included a new desk, TV stand, bookshelf, or other furniture you still haven’t assembled, Hoto’s PixelDrive cordless screwdriver can help speed up the process. It’s currently on sale for $59.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, matching its best price to date.
From tightening loose screws on furniture to repairing electronics, the PixelDrive is designed to handle a wide range of household projects. Hoto includes 30 screwdriver bits that cover many of the most common screw types, all neatly organized in a small cylindrical case. It also offers six adjustable torque settings, allowing you to use less power when working with fragile electronics or increase it when putting together a desk, bookshelf, TV stand, or other furniture. You can also switch between a slower 80RPM mode for more precise work and a faster 200RPM mode with the press of a button.
Hoto also added several features that make assembling projects a little easier. A built-in display lets you quickly check your current torque setting and remaining battery life, while an integrated LED light helps illuminate dim spaces, whether you’re working under a desk or inside a cabinet. The rechargeable 2,000mAh battery also charges over USB-C, so you won’t need to keep buying disposable batteries.
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