TechCrunchResearchWednesday, April 15, 2026

The musician-turned-biotech-founder waiting to fundraise

When Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc got COVID despite being vaccinated and boosted, he tried to fund research for a better solution. What he quickly found out? You can’t just write a check in biotech. Regulators require a commercialization plan, and philanthropy doesn’t move science...

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Wired9h ago

AI Slop Is Making the Internet Fake-Happy

Research

A new study examines the impact of the rise of AI-generated websites on the internet—and found some surprising results.

The Register3h ago

Bad teacher bots can leave hidden marks on model students

Research

Study finds LLMs will smuggle biases into others even if they're scrubbed from training data New research warns about the dangers of teaching LLMs on the output of other models, showing that undesirable traits can be transmitted "subliminally" from teacher to student, even when they are scrubbed...

Import AI2 days ago

Import AI 453: Breaking AI agents; MirrorCode; and ten views on gradual disempowerment

Research

Researchers have demonstrated that AI agents can be broken or jailbroken through various attack vectors, raising security concerns about the reliability and safety of autonomous AI systems in production environments. These vulnerabilities suggest that current AI agents may not be sufficiently robust for deployment in high-stakes scenarios where manipulation or adversarial inputs could compromise their intended function.

NVIDIA3 days ago

National Robotics Week — Latest Physical AI Research, Breakthroughs and Resources

Research

NVIDIA is using National Robotics Week to showcase advances in physical artificial intelligence and their real-world applications across multiple industries. The company is emphasizing breakthroughs in robot learning, simulation, and foundation models that are enabling robots to operate more effectively in tangible environments. These technological developments represent a shift from AI systems confined to digital spaces toward practical robotic systems deployed in agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and other sectors.

The Register3 days ago

Chatbots are great at manipulating people to buy stuff, Princeton boffins find

Research

Researchers at Princeton University have found that large language models (LLMs) used in advertising are highly effective at persuading consumers to make purchases. The study demonstrates that chatbots powered by AI can employ sophisticated persuasion techniques that significantly influence buying behavior, raising concerns about their deployment in commercial applications without proper oversight.