Enlarge / NatGeo Explorer Albert Lin sits on the edge of a cliff during his quest to find the lost city of the Cloud Warriors in Peru. (credit: National Geographic/Disney/Rochio Lira)

National Geographic Explorer Albert Lin is something of a modern-day Indiana Jones, traveling to remote locations all over the globe to take part in a variety of archaeological missions. His most recent expeditions are chronicled in the new NatGeo documentary series, Lost Cities Revealed with Albert Lin, premiering on Thanksgiving Day. The episode (“The Warrior King”) follows Lin as he navigates a sacred mountain and a flooded tomb underneath a pyramid in the Sudanese desert, hunting for the lost capital of the Kingdom of Kush.

A California native, Lin holds a PhD in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He subsequently founded UCSD’s Center for Human Frontiers, which focuses on harnessing technology to augment human potential. So it’s not surprising that he first made a name for himself by combining satellites, aerial remote sensing (drones), and Lidar mapping with more traditional ground exploration to hunt for the missing tomb of Genghis Khan in 2009.

The Valley of the Khans Project also successfully employed crowdsourcing (via more than 10,000 online volunteers) to help analyze the resulting satellite and aerial photography images, looking for unusual features across the vast landscape. That led to the confirmation of 55 archaeological sites in the region, a 2011 NatGeo documentary,  and a 2014 scientific paper detailing the benefits of so-called “collective reasoning” to archaeology.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

It may have been a chaotic week at OpenAI, but the company has somehow still found time to roll out a product. “ChatGPT with voice” is available to free users of the ChatGPT app. This feature launched for paying users in September, and if you haven’t heard, it’s a full-blown voice assistant. The feature is still slowly rolling out to devices; on my Android phone, I don’t have a “headphone” icon anywhere, even with a Plus subscription.

When you have the feature, you can open the app, press the “headphone” icon, ask a question, and a stilted robot voice will read out a reply. It’s just like the voice assistants from Apple, Amazon, or Google, but this one is powered by a large language model. ChatGPT’s voice model is purely a question-and-answer type of voice assistant, though. Usually, these things are handy for what they can do on your behalf—make a phone call, control a smart home, take a note, or make a calendar appointment—but this can only answer questions.

ChatGPT with voice is now available to all free users. Download the app on your phone and tap the headphones icon to start a conversation.

Sound on pic.twitter.com/c5sCFDAWU6

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) November 21, 2023

Google and Amazon are rebooting their voice assistants to use large language models, so ChatGPT’s voice functionality is definitely a preview of the future. The demo about buying pizza for a large group is more complicated than the current Big Tech voice assistants can handle. ChatGPT’s response is also longer-winded than most voice assistants, giving a 66-word, 23-second answer describing the imagined pizza-eating scenario in excruciating detail.

Enlarge / Apple’s AirPods Max, a close analog to what Sonos plans to launch in April. (credit: Apple)

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman isn’t just reporting about the inner workings of Apple; he’s breaking news about upcoming Sonos products. In a report published Tuesday, Gurman revealed that Sonos is months away from releasing a competitor to high-end wireless headphones after years of vague rumors.

Additionally, Sonos is reportedly working on a Roku Ultra- or Apple TV 4K-like set-top box that would allow users to watch video from a wide range of streaming TV apps.

The Bloomberg article says the device will cost between $150 and $200 and will be a small black box. We’ve seen some prior reports that flesh this out a bit; Sonos has been working on something called Home Theater OS (which would be Android-based) for some time, and voice control is said to be a key feature. Sonos is also considering launching its own streaming video service. The device will support Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, and it will seamlessly work with Sonos’ existing home theater speakers.

Enlarge (credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto)

A Florida judge, Reid Scott, has ruled that there’s “reasonable evidence” to conclude that Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk knew of defects in Autopilot systems and failed to fix them. Testimony from Tesla engineers and internal documents showed that Musk was “intimately involved” in Tesla’s Autopilot program and “acutely aware” of a sometimes-fatal defect—where Autopilot repeatedly fails to detect cross traffic, Scott wrote.

“Knowing that the Autopilot system had previously failed, had limitations” and, according to one Tesla Autopilot systems engineer, “had not been modified, Tesla still permitted the ‘Autopilot’ system to be engaged on roads that encountered areas of cross traffic,” Scott wrote.

Because a jury could perhaps consider that a “conscious disregard or indifference to the life” of Tesla drivers, Scott granted a motion to seek punitive damages to Kim Banner, whose husband Jeremy was killed in 2019 when his “Model 3 drove under the trailer of an 18-wheeler big rig truck that had turned onto the road, shearing off the Tesla’s roof,” Reuters reported. Autopilot allegedly failed to warn Jeremy or respond in any way that could have avoided the collision, like braking or steering the vehicle out of danger, Banner’s complaint said.

The first-of-its-kind cluster—in five women all linked to one infected man—raises the possibility that a new strain of syphilis bacteria has adapted to more easily cause systemic syphilis, particularly disease that affects the eyes and central nervous system. A report of the cluster and what it might mean is published today by Michigan health officials in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Eye syphilis, aka ocular syphilis, is not new. Syphilis bacteria, Treponema pallidum (formerly Spirochaeta pallida) are known to be able to spread to the eye, as well as the inner ear, and central nervous system when the sexually transmitted infection is left untreated. This spread can lead to blindness, deafness, and life-threatening neurosyphilis if it remains untreated.

Enlarge (credit: Getty | YinYang)

In August, the Department of Health and Human Services announced 10 drugs selected for the first round of Medicare price negotiations—a landmark effort established by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to try to drag down the country’s uniquely astronomical prescription drug prices.

Pharmaceutical companies publicly balked—and also sued—then eventually came to the table. But it was far from their first protest of the Democrat-led effort to reform drug pricing in the US, which pays far more for prescription drugs than other high-income countries.

In 2022, the pharmaceutical industry’s top lobbying group, PhRMA, gave a record $7.5 million to the GOP-linked dark money group, American Action Network (AAN), which spent millions on advertising that year opposing drug pricing reforms, some of which made it into the Inflation Reduction Act.

Enlarge / Risk of Rain was the work of two college students and GameMaker. (credit: Gearbox Publishing)

That changed this fall, when popular pick Unity went from a remarkable anybody-can-make-a-game tool to a developer-enraging, threat-generating, CEO-resignation mess. CD Projekt Red, maker of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, made a point of stating that its next games would be built with the Unreal Engine, not its in-house REDengine. After Cities: Skylines 2 launched with notably rough performance, deep decompilation analysis found a bunch of seemingly Unity-related, or at least Unity-adjacent, issues.

That’s why this news about another big change in a popular game engine is so striking: it’s generally good. GameMaker (formerly Game Maker Studio), a 2D engine that was acquired by browser firm Opera in 2021, has simplified its licensing structure, declaring it “Free for Non-Commercial Use.”

Enlarge / OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the APEC CEO Summit at Moscone West on November 16, 2023 in San Francisco. (credit: Getty Images | Justin Sullivan )

After five days of chaos triggered by OpenAI’s firing of CEO Sam Altman, the executive is set to return to the company, while the board of directors that fired him is to be almost entirely remade. OpenAI said last night that it “reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO.”

Altman had accepted a job on Sunday from Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI. Microsoft also offered to hire OpenAI’s employees, who threatened to resign en masse if Altman wasn’t brought back. According to Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella supported his return to OpenAI.

“with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft,” Altman wrote. Altman also wrote, “i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together.”

Enlarge (credit: Roberto Baldwin)

The issue was the tires—they’re not developed to handle frigid weather. Teams were tracking air temperatures and formulating plans to keep their cars on the road instead of sliding into a wall. There was some relief the night of the race, as the weather was warmer than it was during Friday night’s qualifying session. At the start of the race (according to Weather Underground) it was roughly 60° F (15.5° C), and the actual lowest air temperature was still 10° F warmer than the historical average for November 18; turns out climate change is real and happening.

There’s nothing subtle about Formula 1. Big egos, big money, big tracks, and thanks to a certain Netflix show, big-time fan growth in the United States. But at its core, the actual cars themselves, relatively speaking, don’t have that big of an impact on the environment. Sure, they’re loud V6 engines, and the tires get depleted quicker than a pizza at a children’s birthday party; but transporting the cars and pit equipment and tires and team members to each race uses far more energy than the race itself. And of course, if you factor in fans flying in from all over the world for the 23 races per year, you get a larger carbon footprint than, say, your kid’s soccer game.

Enlarge (credit: LG)

• Hisense 55-inch Class U6 Series Mini-LED 4K Google Smart TV for $348 (was $398) at Amazon
• Hisense 65-inch Class U8 Series Mini-LED 4K Google Smart TV for $897 (was $1,400) at Amazon
• TCL 75-inch S4 4K LED Smart TV with Fire TV for $500 (was $529) at Amazon
• TCL 55-inch Q7 QLED 4K Smart TV with Google TV for $498 (was $750) at Amazon
• TCL 55-inch Q6 QLED 4K Smart TV with Google TV for $348 (was $500) at Amazon
• LG 42-inch Class C3 Series OLED evo 4K TV for $897 (was $997) at Amazon
• LG 65-inch Class C3 Series OLED evo 4K TV for $1,597 (was $1,697) at Amazon
• LG QNED85 Series 65-Inch Class QNED Mini-LED Smart TV (2022) for $1,097 (was $1,800) at Amazon
• LG 65-inch Class G3 Series OLED 4K UHD TV for $2,300 (was $3,000) at Best Buy
• Amazon Fire TV 43-inch Omni Series 4K UHD smart TV for $280 (was $400) at Amazon
• Amazon Fire TV 75-inch Omni QLED Series 4K UHD smart TV for $880 (was $1,100) at Amazon
• Amazon Fire TV 43-inch 4-Series 4K UHD smart TV with Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote for $250 (was $370) at Amazon
• Sony 55-inch 4K Ultra HD TV X85K Series LED Smart Google TV for $698 (was $778) at Amazon
• Sony 55-inch Class Bravia XR A95K 4K HDR OLED Google TV for $1,700 (was $2,800) at Best Buy
• Sony 55-inch 4K Ultra HD TV X90K Series BRAVIA XR Full Array LED Smart Google TV for $798 (was $1,300) at Amazon
• Sony 65-inch Mini LED 4K Ultra HD TV X93L Series BRAVIA XR Smart Google TV for $1,598 (was $1,698) at Amazon
• Sony 65-inch 4K Ultra HD TV X80K Series LED Smart Google TV for $698 (was $900) at Amazon
• Sony 65-inch Class Bravia XR A80L OLED 4K smart Google TV for $1,700 (was $2,600) at Best Buy
• Samsung 120-inch Class The Premiere LSP7T 4K Smart Laser Projector for $2,800 (was $3,000) at Samsung
• Samsung 130-inch Class The Premiere LSP7T 4K Smart Laser Projector for $5,500 (was $6,000) at Samsung
• Samsung 55-inch Class QLED 4K Q70C for $750 (was $1,000) at Samsung
• Samsung 85-inch Class The Frame QLED 4K LS03B for $3,300 (was $4,300) at Samsung
• Samsung 65-inch Class OLED S90C TV for $1,600 (was $2,600) at Samsung
• Samsung 65-inch Class OLED S95C TV for $2,400 (was $3,300) at Samsung
• Samsung 55-inch Class TU690T Crystal UHD 4K TV for $300 (was $380) at Samsung
• Samsung 98-inch Class QLED 4K Q80C TV for $5,000 (was $8,000) at Samsung
• Samsung 65-inch Class Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN800C TV for $2,600 (was $3,500) at Samsung
• Samsung 70-inch Class QLED 4K QE1C TV for $880 (was $1,800) at Samsung
• Samsung 55-inch Class Samsung Neo QLED 4K QN85C TV for $1,000 (was $1,500) at Samsung
• Samsung 43-inch Class Samsung Neo QLED 4K QN90C TV for $1,000 (was $1,200) at Samsung
• Samsung 65-inch Class Samsung Neo QLED 4K QN90C TV for $1,700 (was $2,800) at Samsung
• Samsung 65-inch Class Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN800C TV for $2,600 (was $3,500) at Samsung
• Samsung 65-inch Class Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN900C TV for $3,300 (was $5,000) at Samsung
• Samsung 86-inch Class Crystal UHD TU9010 (2021) TV for $1,600 (was $1,700) at Samsung

Soundbars and home audio

• Bose Smart Soundbar 600 for $399 (was $499) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Bose Smart Soundbar 900 for $600 (was $750) at Best Buy
• Yamaha SR-C20A 2.1-Channel Soundbar for $130 (was $180) at Best Buy
• Sony HT-S2000 soundbar for $348 (was $498) at Crutchfield
• Sony HT-A3000 soundbar for $498 (was $698) at Crutchfield
• Sony HT-A5000 Dolby Atmos soundbar for $698 (was $998) at Crutchfield
• Sony HT-A7000 Dolby Atmos soundbar for $998 (was $1,398) at Crutchfield
• Vizio P-Series Elevate Dolby Atmos Soundbar for $597 (was $800) at Amazon
• Vizio M-Series 5.1.2 Immersive Sound Bar with Dolby Atmos for $350 (was $500) at Amazon | Best Buy
• JBL Bar 1300X 11.1.4-channel Soundbar for $1,000 (was $1,700) at Amazon
• JBL Cinema SB170 2.1-channel Soundbar for $150 (was $250) at Best Buy
• Klipsch Cinema 600 Sound Bar 3.1 Home Theater System for $367 (was $549) at Amazon
• Sonos Beam Gen 2 Dolby Atmos Soundbar for $399 (was $499) at Best Buy
• Sonos Ray Soundbar for $223 (was $279) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Sennheiser AMBEO Dolby Atmos Soundbar | Max for $1,700 (was $2,500) at Crutchfield
• Samsung A-series 2.1.ch Dolby & DTS Soundbar for $120 (was $280) at Best Buy
• Samsung HW-B650 Powered 3.1-channel soundbar for $208 (was $398) at Crutchfield
• Samsung S-series 3.0 ch. Soundbar S50B for $150 (was $250) at Samsung
• Samsung Sound Tower Party Audio ST40B for $230 (was $500) at Samsung
• Samsung HW-Q600C 3.1.2 ch Dolby Atmos Soundbar for $330 (was $600) at Best Buy
• Samsung HW-Q700C 3.1.2 ch. Dolby Atmos Soundbar for $400 (was $700) at Samsung
• Samsung HW-Q750C 5.1.2 ch Dolby Atmos Soundbar for $480 (was $800) at Best Buy
• Samsung HW-Q800C 5.1.2 ch. Dolby Atmos Soundbar for $690 (was $1,000) at Samsung
• Samsung HW-Q900C 7.1.2 ch. Dolby Atmos Soundbar for $990 (was $1,400) at Samsung
• Samsung HW-Q910C 9.1.2 ch. Dolby Atmos Soundbar for $990 (was $1,400) at Samsung
• Samsung HW-Q990C 11.1.4 ch. Dolby Atmos Soundbar for $1,400 (was $1,900) at Best Buy
• Samsung HW-S50B/ZA 3.0ch All-in-One Soundbar for $148 (was $248) at Amazon
• KEF Q150 5.25-inch 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers (Pair) for $350 (was $600) at Best Buy
• KEF Q350 6.5-inch 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers (Pair) for $500 (was $800) at Best Buy
• LG 3.1 Channel Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer and DTS Virtual:X for $200 (was $350) at Best Buy
• LG 3.1.3 Channel Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for $400 (was $600) at Best Buy
• LG 5.1.2 Channel Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer for $300 (was $449) at Best Buy
• LG 5.1.3 Channel Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for $500 (was $800) at Best Buy
• LG 9.1.5 Channel Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for $1,000 (was $1,400) at Best Buy
• LG Eclair 3.0 Channel Soundbar with Dolby Atmos for $300 (was $450) at Best Buy
• LG 4.1 ch Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer and Rear Speakers for $180 (was $400) at Best Buy
• JBL Boombox3 Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $350 (was $500) at Best Buy

Enlarge / Well, at least they got the look of the hardware right.

If you’ve ever tried plugging an unmodified early generation gaming console into an HDTV, you already know that modern flat screens do a pretty poor job with RF signals that were designed for a completely different CRT display setting. The recently released Atari 2600+ helps fix this specific problem, giving retro gamers a way to get their classic Atari cartridges looking nice and sharp on an HD screen.

Unfortunately, that’s about all this bare-bones, $130 hardware does. If you’re expecting the kind of modern quality-of-life features you’ve seen on other retro console revamps in recent years, lower your expectations accordingly here.

A cute curio

Let’s start with the physical hardware itself, which earns points for authenticity. At a glance, the 2600+ looks exactly like an Atari 2600 unit you might remember from decades past (albeit a four-switch “CX2600-A” model introduced in 1980, not one of the larger “Sixer” models from the late ’70s). The fake wood grain and suitably springy front switches are sure to activate the nostalgia centers deep in the brains of gamers of a certain age. There’s even a charming, working switch for flipping from Color to Black and White display, an option that hasn’t been relevant to most living room entertainment centers since the Carter administration (at the latest).

Enlarge / Behold, it’s the Devil’s Milky Way. (credit: Taylor Thomas)

Welcome to the Daily Telescope. There is a little too much darkness in this world and not enough light, a little too much pseudoscience and not enough science. We’ll let other publications offer you a daily horoscope. At Ars Technica, we’re going to take a different route, finding inspiration from very real images of a universe that is filled with stars and wonder.

Enlarge / Apple’s AirPods Max noise-canceling headphones. (credit: Jeff Dunn)

The best headphone Black Friday deals have landed, and we’ve pulled all our favorite models, many of which are hitting the lowest price we’ve seen. From Apple’s futuristic AirPods Max and beloved AirPods Pro to top offerings from Bose, Sony, Sennheiser, and more, you can’t go wrong with the list below. So find your favorite deal of the season and get ready to rock out.

Earbuds

• Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen, USB-C) Wireless Earbuds for $190 (was $249) at Amazon
• Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II Noise Canceling Earbuds for $199 (was $279) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Bose QuietComfort Ultra Noise Canceling Earbuds for $249 (was $299) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Noise Canceling Earbuds for $160 (was $190) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Sony WF-1000XM5 Wireless Bluetooth Noise Canceling Earbuds for $248 (was $300) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Sennheiser Sport True Wireless Earbuds for $80 (was $150) at Amazon
• Sennheiser CX Plus True Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds for $100 (was $180) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Sennheiser  IE 200 In-Ear Wired Headphones for $111 (was $150) at Amazon
• Jabra Elite 7 Active True Wireless Noise Canceling In-Ear Headphones for $115 (was $180) at Best Buy
• Jabra Elite 7 Pro True Wireless Noise Canceling In-Ear Headphones for $120 (was $200) at Best Buy
• Jabra Elite 4 Noise Canceling Sports Buds for $60 (was $100) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Beats Studio Buds Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds for $100 (was $150) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Beats Fit Pro True Wireless Noise Canceling In-Ear Earbuds for $180 (was $200) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Soundcore by Anker Space A40 Active Noise Canceling Wireless Earbuds for $55 (was $100) at Amazon
• Soundcore by Anker P20i True Wireless Earbuds for $20 (was $40) at Amazon
• Soundcore by Anker A20i True Wireless Earbuds for $20 (was $40) at Amazon
• Soundcore by Anker Life P3i Hybrid Active Noise Canceling Earbuds for $35 (was $60) at Amazon

Headphones

• Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Canceling Over-the-Ear Headphones for $170 (was $350) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Apple AirPods Max Wireless Over-Ear Headphones for $450 (was $549) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones with Spatial Audio for $379 (was $429) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Bose QuietComfort 45 Wireless Bluetooth Noise Canceling Headphones for $199 (was $329) at Amazon
• Bose Headphones 700 Wireless Noise Canceling Over-the-Ear Headphones for $259 (was $379) at Best Buy
• Sony-INZONE H9 Wireless Noise Canceling Gaming Headset for $221 (was $300) at Amazon
• Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Over-Ear Headphones for $328 (was $400) at Amazon
• Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Premium Noise Canceling Overhead Headphones for $248 (was $278) at Amazon
• Sony WH-XB910N EXTRA BASS Noise Canceling Headphones for $118 (was $250) at Amazon
• Sony WH-CH720N Noise Canceling Wireless Headphones for $98 (was $150) at Amazon
• 1MORE SonoFlow Active Noise Canceling Headphones for $64 (was $100) at Amazon
• Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Adaptive Noise-Canceling Over-The-Ear Headphones for $260 (was $350) at Amazon 
• Sennheiser HD 660S2 Wired Audiophile Bass-boosted Over-the-Ear Headphones for $400 (was $600) at Amazon | Best Buy
• Sennheiser HD 458BT Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones for $100 (was $200) at Best Buy
• Sennheiser HD 560S Wired Open Aire Over-the-Ear Audiophile Headphones for $150 (was $230) at Best Buy
• Marshall Major IV Bluetooth Headphone with wireless charging for $100 (was $150) at Best Buy
• Beats Solo 3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones for $130 (was $200) at Best Buy
• Poly – formerly Plantronics – Voyager 4320 for $145 (was $170) at Best Buy

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Enlarge / Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao leaves the US District Court on November 21, 2023 in Seattle. (credit: David Ryder / Stringer | Getty Images North America)

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has resigned as CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange after agreeing to plead guilty to money laundering violations, the US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.

The DOJ’s settlement concludes a three-year investigation into Binance that found “willful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen wrote in a statement. According to the plea agreement, Zhao will pay a $50 million fine, and Binance—which also pled guilty to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and violating sanctions against Iran, Cuba, and Syria—will pay a $4.3 billion fine.

“Today’s historic penalties and monitorship to ensure compliance with US law and regulations mark a milestone for the virtual currency industry,” Yellen said. “Any institution, wherever located, that wants to reap the benefits of the US financial system must also play by the rules that keep us all safe from terrorists, foreign adversaries, and crime or face the consequences.”

Enlarge (credit: Scharon Harding)

At the same time, there’s still much to learn about OLED monitor burn-in. Since OLED monitor selection only started significantly improving over the last couple of years, long-term usage is minimal. Further, new types of OLED monitor technologies, like QD-OLED, are still evolving.

Enlarge / Amazon’s third-gen Echo Show 5. (credit: Amazon)

Amazon is going through yet another round of layoffs, reports Computerworld, and once again the company’s devices-and-services division appears to be bearing the brunt of it. The layoffs will primarily affect the team working on Alexa, the Amazon voice assistant that drives the company’s Echo smart speakers and other products.

“Several hundred roles are impacted,” the company said in a statement, “a relatively small percentage of the total number of people in the Devices business who are building great experiences for our customers.”

Amazon says these layoffs result from “discontinue[d] initiatives” that have been discarded as the company invests more resources in generative AI products; the company didn’t specify exactly which initiatives were being discontinued. Amazon hasn’t released an AI-powered version of Alexa yet, but it showed “an early preview” of its efforts in September, “based on a new large language model that’s been custom-built and specifically optimized for voice interactions.”

Enlarge / Then-OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at APEC CEO Summit at Moscone West on November 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (credit: Getty Images | Justin Sullivan )

“Discussions are happening between Altman, CEO Emmett Shear and at least one board member, Adam D’Angelo,” Bloomberg wrote, citing anonymous sources. “The talks also involve some of OpenAI’s investors, many of whom are pushing for his reinstatement.” OpenAI shareholders reportedly lobbying for Altman’s reinstatement include Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Tiger Global Management.

Altman was fired on Friday by the board of directors of OpenAI, Inc., the nonprofit that controls the for-profit subsidiary OpenAI Global. An Altman return could be paired with changes to the board.