U.S. confirms weapons are in orbit

PLUS: A brain implant that decodes your body language

Good morning, tech enthusiasts. The U.S. military confirmed for the first time that it has weapons in orbit. Officials won’t say what they are, how many exist, or what they can do, but China is already warning of a space arms race.

Also today: A UCSF brain implant turns speech and gestures into a digital avatar, and your car may be harvesting a surprising amount of your data.

In today’s tech rundown:

  • The Pentagon just admitted it has weapons in space

  • UCSF implant decodes thoughts into digital avatars

  • Your car is selling a ‘staggering’ amount of your data

  • Amazon brings TikTok-style news to Prime

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

SPACE DEFENSE

Image source: Boeing

The Rundown: The U.S. military has publicly acknowledged for the first time that it has weapons deployed in orbit, revealing a once-secret capability as competition with China and Russia increasingly extends into space.

The details:

  • Air Force Secretary Troy Meink disclosed that the Space Force now has “on-orbit space control weapons” capable of protecting U.S. forces against hostile action.

  • Meink offered no details about what the weapons are, how many exist, when they were deployed, or whether they’ve been tested.

  • Possible technologies include jammers, laser systems, and weapons capable of damaging spacecraft, though officials haven’t revealed what’s actually in orbit.

  • China has already pushed back, urging the U.S. to halt military preparations in space and warning against an accelerating arms race.

Why it matters: Meink paired the reveal with news that space-based interceptors for Trump’s Golden Dome have reached flight-ready hardware, with the Space Force aiming to demo an initial capability by 2028. Together, the announcements put the U.S. officially on record with weapons already in orbit — and more potentially on the way.

BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACES

Image source: UCSF

The Rundown: A brain implant can now turn a paralyzed person’s attempted speech and gestures into a digital body, decoding words and movements simultaneously to control a personalized full-body avatar in real time.

The details:

  • UCSF researchers implanted a 253-electrode ECoG array on the brain’s surface, which picks up signals associated with speech and movement.

  • Three people with severe paralysis took part, including people with brainstem strokes and ALS; the research was published in Nature.

  • Machine-learning models decode attempted speech and gestures separately, turning words into text while animating an avatar’s movements.

  • One participant’s system decoded gestures with 85% accuracy and speech with 75% accuracy; another hit a median of 100% for both across three test blocks.

Why it matters: BCIs are getting better at restoring speech, typing, and movement, but conversation is more than words. This study shows a single implant could eventually restore several forms of expression at once, moving brain interfaces closer to digital embodiment, although for now experiments used small, controlled vocabularies.

CONNECTED CARS

Image source: Images 2.5 / The Rundown

The Rundown: Connected vehicles are feeding location, braking, speeding, and other behavioral data into an expanding ecosystem of brokers and insurers, often with drivers barely aware it’s happening, The Verge reports.

The details:

  • The FTC barred GM for 5 years from sharing certain location and driving data with consumer-reporting agencies after alleging unauthorized collection.

  • GM’s system tracked details including hard braking, rapid acceleration, speeds above 80 mph, seat-belt use, timestamps, and precise location.

  • In May, GM also agreed to a $12.75M California settlement; regulators said it made about $20M nationwide selling driver data beginning in 2020.

  • Consumer Reports found nearly every automaker in its 15-company survey collects and shares some form of driving-behavior data.

Why it matters: Cars have become powerful data-collection machines, gathering info that can influence insurance and other financial decisions, and potentially fuel increasingly targeted ads. Regulators are starting to push back, but as long as driver data remains profitable, automakers may have little incentive to curb the practice.

AMAZON

Image source: Amazon

The Rundown: Amazon is chopping the news into short clips on Prime Video, becoming the latest streamer to graft a social-video format onto an app built for hour-long shows, following Peacock, HBO Max, Netflix, and Disney+.

The details:

  • News Clips are curated playlists pulling short videos from multiple outlets, covering national headlines, local stories, and weather.

  • They live in the Trending Topics and Local News carousels of Prime Video's news hub on TVs and other living-room devices; mobile and web come later.

  • Access is free to all U.S. Amazon customers, alongside Prime Video’s existing live feeds from ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, and Fox.

  • Short-form has swept streaming this year, with Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video, Peacock, and HBO Max all rolling out or expanding TikTok-style feeds.

Why it matters: TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts are now primary news sources for a growing share of Gen Z. Amazon has no social app to reach them, so it’s putting short clips inside Prime Video, which is free to every U.S. user and runs on thousands of devices.

QUICK HITS

The EU is preparing a proposed Kids Act that would block under-15s from social media, AI chatbots, video platforms, and online games.

Apple released iOS 27, bringing its long-delayed Siri AI overhaul in beta alongside new Liquid Glass controls, redesigned app icons, and other updates.

Tesla said it will finally unveil its long-delayed, second-gen Roadster on Oct. 1, nearly nine years after first announcing the electric supercar.

Defense-tech startup Shield AI is reportedly in talks to raise funding at a valuation of at least $20B, following new military wins for its Hivemind autonomous-flight software.

Biotech firm Definium Therapeutics said a single dose of its LSD-based DT120 cut generalized anxiety symptoms in a Phase 3 trial, with an FDA filing planned for 2027.

BioNTech said its experimental lung-cancer drug gotistobart nearly doubled overall survival versus standard chemotherapy in a Phase 3 trial.

Revolut confirmed that fraudsters used fake government requests to access sensitive data from almost 700 customers, the Financial Times reports.

Dutch AI-chip startup Euclyd raised $230M in a Samsung-backed round to take on Nvidia with a more energy-efficient inference chip.

Instagram is testing a $7.99-a-month Meta One subscription that gives users more access to its new AI photo-editing effects after free usage limits are reached.

Maersk plans to test a 115-ft. spinning “rotor sail” from Anemoi on a container ship, using wind to cut fuel consumption and emissions.

Amazon is pausing cargo operations with 21 Air, the carrier that operated a flight that overran a runway at Miami International Airport on Sept. 6, killing five people.

That's it for today's tech rundown!

We'd love to hear your feedback on today's newsletter so we can continue to improve The Rundown experience for you.

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

See you soon,

Rowan, Zach, Shubham, Jennifer, and Nate — The Rundown’s editorial team

Reply

or to participate.