June 15, 2026

One quality will be most in-demand from job-seekers in the AI era, Animoca co-founder Siu says Animoca co-founder Yat Siu says AI will disrupt labor markets but ultimately create more jobs freeing humans to focus on creativity and coordination while machines handle coding and routine work boosting productivity despite short-term disruption. CNBC

Sponsor Counterfeit Components Identified With X-ray Inspection Automated component sourcing and procurement platform relies on real-time X-ray inspection to remove counterfeit components from supply chain. Glenbrook Technologies

Elon Musk drifted from Larry Page over a decade ago, but their companies are closer than ever Elon Musk and Larry Page’s feud over AI ethics began in 2015 but their companies increasingly intertwined through investments and cloud deals Despite rivalry across Waymo Tesla and OpenAI origins SpaceX and Google deepen cooperation via massive AI infrastructure agreements CNBC

Evaluation of Techniques for Intentional Contamination of PWB Substrates for Quantitative Cleanliness Analyses Intentional contamination of PWBs offers a practical and controlled approach for evaluating cleanliness analysis techniques and for developing meaningful and effective cleanliness guidelines. Technical Paper

What's The Difference Between Wi-Fi And Bluetooth? Wi-Fi and Bluetooth power today’s wireless connectivity. Wi-Fi delivers high-speed, long-range internet and multi-device networking, while Bluetooth enables low-power, short-range device pairing. Together they complement each other, balancing performance, convenience, and energy efficiency across modern digital devices. BGR

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Microsoft president says AI backlash at graduation events should be wake-up call for the tech industry Microsoft president Brad Smith says rising backlash against AI should be taken seriously, urging tech leaders to listen to graduates worried about job loss while arguing AI remains a transformative tool that should augment rather than replace workers. TechSpot

De-Ionized Water Affected By the Atmosphere Resistivity readers of the de-ionized water are above 15 megohms. Resistivity results of the samples tested by the outside lab have been approximately 1 megohm. Board Talk

Technical Papers ■ Unlocking Academic-Industry Synergy: A Collaborative Model for Hands-On Electronics Manufacturing Education ■ Viscosity Does Not Equal Rheology: What Solder Paste Measurements Really Tell You ■ Salvaging Electronic Components: A Reliable Method for Reducing Electronic Waste and Ensuring Economic Reuse ■ Digital Warehouse Automation in High-Mix PCB Assembly ■ Evaluation of Techniques for Intentional Contamination of PWB Substrates for Quantitative Cleanliness Analyses ■ Scaling SMT Traceability ■ The Drawbacks of Internal Recycling Systems for Solder Dross ■ Engineering ESD-Safe PCB Assembly for High-Reliability IoT and Industrial Electronics ■ The Analysis of Variance: Drawing Conclusions from Data That Are Correct, Unambiguous, and Defensible ■ PCB Rework Evolves, With X-ray a Constant Support MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

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How can self-driving cars see better? Make their sensors more human. Penn State researchers developed a grain-sized photomemristor inspired by human eyes to improve autonomous vehicle vision in mixed lighting. The sensor adapts within seconds, outperforming traditional systems with 95% accuracy in tests, enhancing reliability for robotaxis in challenging conditions. Popular Science

Visual Language Models Train Robots to Read Human Emotions Researchers trained collaborative robots to interpret human emotions using vision-language models that consider context beyond facial expressions. In trials with 40 volunteers, these robots outperformed traditional systems and improved interaction quality, but trust depended more on task performance than apologies. IEEE Spectrum

Detect PCB Stack-up Error with Machine Learning Methods With high frequency and high-speed transmission in information industry, PCB customers demand stricter signal transmission integrity of PCB. Technical Paper

Sponsor Optimize Your Process on Full SMT Demo Line Validate your process in our demo lab. Our full line—printing, P&P, reflow, and AOI—is ready to optimize your profile and prove performance. Send us your boards to start. Heller Industries

Exclusive: Tata's iPhone parts factory contaminated farmland water, India pollution body alleges An Indian pollution regulator alleges wastewater from a Tata Electronics factory supplying Apple iPhone components has contaminated groundwater near farms and threatens a shutdown unless the company explains. Tata plays a key role in Apple’s China diversification strategy. Reuters

Do China’s export curbs on tungsten threaten Japan’s AI chip supply chain? Two major Japanese chemical producers plan to suspend tungsten hexafluoride output as China’s export controls and tight tungsten supplies drive a 200%+ price surge, threatening semiconductor AI chip production while demand growth and speculation further strain global supply chains. South China Morning Post

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Bioaccumulative Substances The re-classification and regulation of EDCs and bioaccumulative substances is expected to multiply the materials that require control or replacement. Technical Paper

Sponsor Let our contract cleaning services help If you have a technical cleaning question, or if you are facing process challenges or performance challenges, use this technical hotlist form to get help from a KYZEN Technical Care Expert. KYZEN

7 AI Tools That Build a One-Person Business in a Weekend — No Staff. No Code. No Stress. Solopreneurs have spent two years building patchwork automations using tools like Zaps and AI prompts, but these fragile systems depend on constant oversight. Most of these workflows will become outdated within the next 12 months. Entrepreneur

UCLA’s $125M Semiconductor Hub: “We Want High Impact, Not Incremental Research” UCLA Samueli partners with major tech firms to launch a $125 million semiconductor hub advancing AI chip research and workforce training. The initiative promotes high-risk innovation, industry-academia collaboration, and an integrated Ph.D. pipeline to accelerate breakthroughs in computing systems. EE Times

Sponsor Affordable Profiling Excellence Four channels of precision data capture from the most trusted name in thermal profiling. New and improved V-M.O.L.E.™ 2 is the ideal solution for budget-conscious electronics pros. Learn more here. ECD

Award-Winning Researcher Trains Robots to Make Educated Guesses Yen-Ling Kuo, inspired by early computing experiences in Taiwan, built a career bridging AI and robotics. After work at Google and MIT PhD, she developed Diff-DAgger to improve robot uncertainty handling, reduce supervision, and advance real-world learning systems. IEEE Spectrum

Ultrasonics as an Option for Electronics Assembly Cleaning Ultrasonic cleaning parameters including frequency, power, time, temperature and chemistries results demonstrate developments in technology. Technical Paper

SpaceX goes public in the largest IPO ever, and Musk crosses the trillion-dollar line SpaceX debuted on Nasdaq under ticker SPCX in the largest IPO in history, raising $75 billion and valuing the company at $1.77 trillion. The listing briefly made Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, as investors bet on its AI-driven future. TechSpot

Industry’s need for water, electricity will be met: Lai Taiwan President William Lai launched a semiconductor supply chain zone in Pingtung, promising water, power, land, and talent support. He highlighted TSMC’s continued investment, expanding an S-shaped industry corridor and positioning Taiwan as a global AI hub. Taipei Times

Sponsor J-STD-001 Solder Training Kit BEST's IPC J-STD-001 Revision H-J training kit features circuit boards representing actual soldering conditions including multilayer boards with challenging thermal conditions. BEST Inc

Jeff Bezos Isn’t Worried About AI Taking Jobs — And Now He’s Launching a New AI Venture Companies are cutting jobs as AI drives layoffs, with a report citing 21,490 U.S. losses in April. Jeff Bezos counters that AI will create a labor shortage, launching Prometheus to boost engineering productivity and accelerate invention. Entrepreneur