The Hallucination HQ
AI news that's actually fun to read — 2026-05-19
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Today's Hallucination HQAnthropic Buys the Tool That Builds Tools for Its Rivals. Awkward.
Anthropic has quietly acquired Stainless, a New York startup that automates the creation of SDKs — the libraries developers use to connect to AI APIs. The twist: Stainless's clients include OpenAI, Google, and Cloudflare. Anthropic has essentially purchased the plumber who also services its competitors' pipes. Founded in 2022, Stainless built genuine infrastructure for the industry. Whether those rival contracts survive the acquisition is, one imagines, currently the subject of some very polite emails.
Source: TechCrunch
Scientists Scan Brains to Learn Why We Believe AI Nonsense
Researchers have published a neuroimaging study examining what happens in the human brain when someone encounters — and either spots or swallows — an AI hallucination. The goal is to map the cognitive mechanisms behind why some people catch fabricated content while others accept it without a flicker of doubt. It is, in essence, a scientific investigation into gullibility. Reassuringly, the study confirms the problem is real. Less reassuringly, it does not appear to have solved it.
Source: ArXiv AI
A Jury Politely Informed Elon Musk He Filed His Lawsuit Too Late
On Monday, a unanimous jury delivered an advisory verdict in Musk v. Altman, finding that Elon Musk's claims against OpenAI are barred by the statute of limitations — meaning he waited too long to sue, and the court has no interest in rewinding the clock on his behalf. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers accepted the verdict immediately, with the energy of someone who had cleared their afternoon for precisely this. Musk has announced plans to appeal, which will surprise no one.
Source: MIT Technology Review
Alexa Will Now Host a Podcast About Anything, Whether You Asked or Not
Amazon's upgraded Alexa Plus can now generate on-demand AI podcasts on "virtually any topic" — complete with AI hosts who will discuss your chosen subject with the enthusiasm of people paid to care. Users can preview the planned talking points before the show generates, which is a generous nod toward editorial control. The world currently has approximately 4.5 million podcasts. Amazon has decided the correct response to this is: more podcasts, faster, made by no one.
Source: The Verge
Meta and Anduril Are Building Smart Glasses That Can Call in a Drone Strike
Defense firm Anduril has shared details of its augmented-reality military headset, being prototyped in partnership with Meta, which would allow soldiers to order drone strikes using eye-tracking and voice commands. It is, in a sense, the logical endpoint of wearable technology — you started by checking your notifications on your wrist, and here we are. Anduril VP Quay Barnett is leading the effort. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses these are not.
Source: MIT Technology Review
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As ever, the machines are learning. Whether we are is a separate question.
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