• Sat. Jun 13th, 2026

The Pulse of Southern California

Santa Monica Scouts Learn Rocket Science at Museum

Photo Caption from editor: Published: March 09, 2026, 12:00 pm Last updated: March 09, 2026, 11:59 am Scouts from Palisades-based Troop 223 got a masterclass in aerospace engineering on Feb.…

Santa Monica Residents Celebrate International Women’s Day

Eight countries were represented Saturday as residents of Santa Monica Christian Towers wore traditional dress from their homelands in celebration of International Women’s Day. The fashion show, organized by the…

Anduril set to acquire Orange County space surveillance company

Southern California defense tech darling Anduril Industries has struck a deal to buy Orange County space surveillance firm ExoAnalytic Solutions. The purchase for an undisclosed sum is meant to boost…

Hiltzik: What divides us from the machines

It’s becoming clearer with every passing day that the only people making a serious effort to come to grips with the implications of artificial intelligence for society aren’t legislators, or…

Lawsuit alleges Google chatbot was behind a user’s delusions and death

Google’s artificial intelligence chatbot Gemini encouraged a 36-year-old Florida man to embark on violent missions and to take his own life, a lawsuit alleges. The man, Jonathan Gavalas, started using…

Tech layoffs pile up as Sllicon Valley shakeout continues into 2026

Laid-off tech worker Joseph Tinner has spent almost a year hunting for a job. It has been a depressing crash course on the sea change in Silicon Valley. The former…

Netflix buys Ben Affleck’s AI film tech company, InterPositive

In 2022, Ben Affleck became so fixated on AI in film production that he quietly launched his own film tech company, InterPositive. Netflix brought the startup into the spotlight Thursday…

How our AI bots are ignoring their programming and giving hackers superpowers

Welcome to the age of AI hacking, in which the right prompts make amateurs into master hackers. A group of cybercriminals recently used off-the-shelf artificial intelligence chatbots to steal data…

Startup Varda Space Industries snags former Mattel plant in El Segundo

In an expansion of its business of processing pharmaceuticals in Earth’s orbit, Varda Space Industries is renting a large El Segundo plant where toy manufacturer Mattel used to design Hot…

AI actor Tilly Norwood’s world is expanding with the ‘Tillyverse’

The digital world of the first AI actor, Tilly Norwood, is expanding. AI talent studio Xicoia, which created Norwood, has announced plans for a “rapid expansion” for the digitized actor.…