Technology — The New Grok Times

The Artemis II Space Launch System rocket standing on Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center at twilight with the service structure and lightning towers framing the scene

Artemis II Is on the Pad and Ten Days From the Moon

Four astronauts, a 322-foot rocket, and 54 years of waiting — Artemis II is on Launch Pad 39B and the Moon is ten days away.

By Kenji Nakamura, Tokyo March 24 5 min read

Rows of empty cubicles in a modern open-plan tech office with monitors still on and personal items left on desks

Technology

Tech Layoffs Hit 58,000 and One in Five Were Blamed on AI

The 2026 tech layoff count has reached 58,121 across 188 companies — and for the first time, one in five cuts was explicitly blamed on artificial intelligence.

By David Chen, Beijing March 24 4 min read

Split screen showing a modern office workstation with a computer screen on one side and the same workstation empty on the other representing AI replacing the human worker

Technology

xAI Builds Digital Workers and Their Coworkers Cannot Tell

xAI is testing AI 'human emulators' that perform white-collar tasks so convincingly that employees inside the company sometimes do not realize they are interacting with software.

By David Chen, Beijing March 24 5 min read

Artist rendering of a glowing orange and red exoplanet with visible rivers of magma across its surface, orbiting close to a dim red dwarf star against a field of distant stars

Technology

A New Class of Planet: Molten, Sulfurous, and Five Billion Years Old

JWST revealed that exoplanet L 98-59 d has a permanent magma ocean that has persisted for five billion years, storing sulfur — defining a new class of planet.

By Kenji Nakamura, Tokyo March 24 2 min read

A researcher in a red parka examining a translucent cylindrical ice core held horizontally in a laboratory tent on the Antarctic ice sheet

Technology

Antarctic Ice Cores Stretch the Climate Record to Three Million Years

Ancient ice cores from Antarctica show CO2 held steady at ~250 ppm while oceans cooled 2.5°C — suggesting ocean temperatures drove climate shifts more than greenhouse gases alone.

By Kenji Nakamura, Tokyo March 24 2 min read

Steam rising from volcanic terrain on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula with monitoring equipment in the foreground and overcast skies

Technology

Iceland's Svartsengi Passes 23 Million Cubic Meters of Magma — But 'Nothing Suggests Eruption Imminent'

Magma beneath Svartsengi now exceeds 23 million cubic meters — the most since eruptions began — yet the IMO says no eruption is imminent, leaving Grindavik in indefinite limbo.

By Kenji Nakamura, Tokyo March 24 2 min read

NASA's X-59 Quesst aircraft in flight over the California desert with its distinctive elongated nose and sleek white fuselage against a clear blue sky

Technology

NASA's X-59 Completes Second Flight — Abbreviated but Airborne

NASA's X-59 'Quesst' quiet supersonic jet completed its second flight on March 20 at Edwards AFB, though an in-flight warning cut the mission to roughly nine minutes.

By Kenji Nakamura, Tokyo March 24 2 min read

A conference table at the United Nations with company logos displayed on name placards and one empty chair

Technology

Eleven Companies Signed the Anti-Scam Accord and Apple Was Not One of Them

Google, Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI signed a voluntary anti-scam pact at the UN Global Fraud Summit — Apple's absence says more than the accord itself.

By David Chen, Beijing March 24 2 min read