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Spotify’s most senior engineers dont type code anymore. In fact, they have not written a single line of code since December, co-CEO Gustav Söderström revealed during a recent earnings call. Its not that theyve stopped working. Instead, through a combination of Claude Code and Spotifys specialized internal system Honk, engineers can now develop new features simply through Slack. As a concrete example, an engineer at Spotify on their morning commute from Slack on their cell phone can tell Claude to fix a bug or add a new feature to the iOS app, Söderström told analysts on the company’s Feb.10 earnings call. And once Claude finishes that work, the engineer then gets a new version of the app, pushed to them on Slack on their phone, so that he can then merge it to production, all before they even arrive at the office. Söderström said the new AI-fueled developmentswhich he traced to the December release of Antropics Claude Opus 4.5 within Claude Codeare just the beginning in how it will deploy these tools to build new features. The company has been on a big push of new user tools, adding more than 50 new features in 2025, most of which launched in the past few weeks. Söderström credits the combination of Claude Code and Honk with speeding us up tremendously,” noting that it’s changed how developers operate. Certainly [before AI tools,] I spent my entire vacation coding rather than being on holiday, and I think most people in tech did, Söderström said regarding the release. He isnt alone. A few weeks ago, the head of Anthropics Claude Code, Boris Cherny, shared that he also hasn’t written any code in more than two months. Across the rest of the company, he says pretty much 100% of code is also AI-generated, in a post on X. At Davos last month, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicted a year from now AI will be handling most or all of software engineering work from start to finish. “I think we will be there in three to six months, where AI is writing 90% of the code. And then, in 12 months, we may be in a world where AI is writing essentially all of the code,” Amodei said at a Council of Foreign Relations event, Business Insider reported. That timeline is looking increasingly realistic given that Spotify is s just one example. Pinterest is another. In the companys most recent earnings call on Feb. 12, CEO Bill Ready revealed roughly half of itsnew code is now AI-generated. Even as AI does the lion’s share of coding, developers are focused on learning quickly and refining their approach, according to Soderstrom. “The tricky thing right now is that if this was the end of the change, you could say this is what happened. Now let us retool for this,” Söderström explained. “The tricky thing is that we are in the middle of the change, so you also have to be very agile.” Söderström’s AI bullishness wasn’t entirely echoed among professional developers, some of whom took the opportunity to get a joke in. Its true, Epic Games programmer Ryan Fleury wrote on X. In fact, I was under the impression that Spotifys best developers hadnt written a line of code since 2014.
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The global market for hair extensions is booming, and projected to hit $14 billion by 2028. What was once a niche luxury item for women is now widely available. Now, a new study from Silent Spring Institute says many hair extensionsincluding products made from human haircontain dozens of hazardous chemicals, some linked to cancer. The research, published in the American Chemical Society journal Environment & Health, provides the strongest evidence to-date about the potential health risks associated with these beauty products, which are largely unregulated. The risks disproportionately affect Black women: The study found over 70% of Black women report wearing hair extensions at least once in the past year, compared with “less than 10% of women from other racial and ethnic groups.” The findings come at a time when many women’s beauty products are under scrutiny, with a growing number of studies finding cancer-causing chemicals in products ranging from shampoo and conditioner, to soap and lotion, to skin lightener, eyeliner, eyelash glue, and even lipstick. Many hair extensions are made from synthetic fibers and bio-based materials, which are often treated with toxic chemicals to ensure they are flame resistant, waterproof, or antimicrobial. Researchers analyzed chemicals in 43 popular hair extension products, including compounds that are not typically tested, and using machine-learning software, were ultimately able to identify 169 of the more than 900 compounds. According to the study, all but two of the samples tested contained hazardous chemicals. Those chemicals included flame retardants, phthalates, pesticides, styrene, tetrachloroethane, and organotins, which are linked with cancer, hormone disruption, developmental problems, and disrupting the immune system. (In girls, they are also linked to early puberty and uterine fibroids.) Companies rarely disclose the chemicals used . . . leaving consumers in the dark about the health risks from prolonged wear, Dr. Elissia Franklin, scientist at Silent Spring Institute, said. “The fibers sit directly on the scalp and neck, and when heated and styled, they can release chemicals into the air that wearers may breathe in.” The study concludes more industry regulation is needed. “The findings make clear that stronger oversight is urgently needed to protect consumers and push companies to invest in making safer products, said Franklin.
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It’s only February, and an outbreak of measles infections is already inching toward nearly 1,000 cases this year in the U.S. Infections are at an all-time high as a result of declining vaccination rates, following a steep rise in cases in 2025 at 2,280 cases, the highest in 33 years. This week saw new outbreaks concentrated in both South Carolina and Florida. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? As of Thursday, February 12, there were 910 confirmed measles cases in 24 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Another six cases were reported among international visitors coming to the U.S.) Those states are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, per CDC data. There have been five new outbreaks reported in 202690% of which are associated with outbreaks that started in 2025. Cases in South Carolina and Florida are spreading In South Carolina, the largest outbreak continues to spread with over 900 cases since last September, CBS News reported. The South Carolina Department of Health reported 933 cases centered around Spartanburg County as of February 10. Meanwhile, in Florida, more than 50 nursing students at Ave Maria University near Naples have contracted the virus, bringing the total there to 57 cases, USA Today reported. What is measles? Measles is a highly contagious virus. A person is contagious four days before showing signs of a rash, meaning they can spread the virus without knowing they are infected. The virus can stay in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves. It causes a blotchy, red rash that usually appears on the body three to five days after initial symptoms. Getting the measles vaccine (MMR and MMRV) is the best way to protect against it. Who is contracting measles? Of the 910 cases in the U.S. in 2026, 94% of those that contracted measles were either unvaccinated or of unknown vaccination status, according to CDC data. Only 2% received one vaccine dose, while only 3% received both doses. A majority of those infected (58%) are aged 5-19 years old. Of the 910 cases, 277 cases (25%) were in people under 5 years, 527 cases (58%) were in people aged 5-19 years, 136 cases (15%) were in those aged 20+ years, and 20 cases (12%) were in people of unknown age.
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