August 16, 2026
Today's top tech stories, deduped across the newsletters I read and briefly summarized. Click a source to open the original article.
AI
AI has a far larger working memory than the human brain
An analysis argues that AI models don't necessarily out-think mathematicians, but instead benefit from a working memory far larger than the human brain's, which explains much of their performance on complex tasks.
Working with AI feels more like leadership than coding
An essay argues that using AI coding assistants in practice feels less like writing code and more like leading a team — setting direction, reviewing output, and delegating tasks.
AI in drug discovery: where do we really stand?
A review examines how far AI has actually come in drug discovery, separating hype from real progress.
Don't classify. Hallucinate!
A blog post proposes using AI to generate hypothetical tags for old, untagged blog content instead of building a traditional classification system.
Security
New Evooo1Bot botnet turns routers into traffic relays
A new Mirai-based Linux botnet called Evooo1Bot is targeting internet-facing routers and gateway devices, turning them into SOCKS5 traffic relay nodes for attackers.
Dev
A spectre is haunting Unicode
The article documents "ghost characters" in the Unicode standard — glyphs added by mistake that can never be removed — and explains why they still cause problems for developers.
CORS Chat: a new tool for testing local language models
Simon Willison built a browser-based tool, created with help from GPT-5.6, to test Qwen 3.8 27B running locally in LM Studio across machines.
IT
RISC-V: They Should Have Known Better
A deep-dive critique argues that several design choices in the RISC-V architecture repeat well-known mistakes from earlier processor architectures.
Asus Bike Booster: an intelligent bicycle motor accessory
Asus launched the Bike Booster, a connected device that adds electric assist to regular bicycles, drawing attention for the company's unexpected move into the cycling market.
Other
Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk
A new study finds an association between semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) use and lower predicted dementia risk, though researchers caution that causation hasn't been established.
Abdominal fat predicts heart disease risk better than BMI
New research presented by the American College of Cardiology shows that abdominal fat distribution is a better predictor of heart disease risk than traditional BMI measurements.
Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
A 2023 essay explores the habits and mental patterns that give rise to good, original ideas, arguing it's more about state of mind than method.