Shopify returns to native apps & OpenAI trust questions for researchers - Hacker News (Sep 11, 2026)

Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Invest Like the Pros with StockMVP - https://www.stock-mvp.com/?via=ron - Discover the Future of AI Audio with ElevenLabs - https://try.elevenlabs.io/tad - Prezi: Create AI presentations fast - https://try.prezi.com/automated_daily Support The Automated Daily directly: Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/theautomateddaily Today's topics: Shopify returns to native apps - Shopify is moving major mobile apps from React Native back to native Swift and Kotlin, arguing AI coding agents have changed the productivity math. The shift highlights how AI, LLMs, mobile development, and app architecture are now influencing long-term engineering strategy. OpenAI trust questions for researchers - In a new update to the OpenAI math controversy, Andreas Thom says researchers still lack a clear answer on whether confidential chats can later affect model training. The story centers on AI trust, privacy, transparency, and the risks for unpublished scientific work. Microsoft gives Rust top billing - Microsoft has made Rust a Tier-1 language for internal development, putting it alongside C++, C#, and TypeScript. The move signals stronger Rust support, Windows integration, security tooling, and a long-term role in hybrid Rust and C++ systems. NASA image tech finds art - A NASA image-processing technique has become a powerful archaeology tool for revealing faded rock art and buried details. The story connects satellite imaging, Dstretch, Angkor Wat, archaeology, and digital preservation. Teen builds sonic fire extinguisher - A 16-year-old student in Mexico created an acoustic fire extinguisher that uses sound waves to put out small fires without water or chemicals. It is an eye-catching example of student innovation, fire safety, and experimental engineering. In defense of old cables - A lighthearted post argues that saving old cables is not clutter but practical wisdom. The piece resonates with everyday tech culture, adapters, legacy hardware, and the universal mystery box of cords. - Shopify Moves Mobile Apps Back to Native With AI Assistance - Andreas Thom Warns OpenAI’s AI Could Undermine Trust in Unpublished Math - Microsoft Elevates Rust to Tier-1 Language Status - Don’t Let Anyone Take Away Your Big Box of Cables - Cognition Announces SWE-2 Coding Model - NASA Image Technique Reveals Hidden Ancient Art - OpenAI Agents API Overview - Mexican Teen Invents Sound-Based Fire Extinguisher - PlanetScale Launches Neki, a Sharded Postgres Platform - Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom Table of Contents Episode Transcript Shopify returns to native apps We’ll start with Shopify, which says it is moving major mobile apps away from React Native and back to native Swift and Kotlin. What makes this interesting is the reasoning. Shopify says AI coding agents have changed the economics of building for both iOS and Android, so native development no longer carries the same productivity penalty it did a few years ago. According to the company, AI now helps enough with feature implementation, parity work, testing, and review that the tradeoff looks different. Shopify also says it is using internal safeguards to keep AI-generated code from sliding through without proper checks, and it plans to transition some React Native open-source projects carefully. The broader point is the real headline here: AI is starting to influence foundational architecture choices, not just make developers a bit faster. OpenAI trust questions for researchers In a new development on the OpenAI math story we’ve been following, mathematician Andreas Thom says the company still has not answered the core trust question for researchers. His concern is not simply whether someone at OpenAI directly read a chat, but whether d...