Catching you up on a bunch of other Microsoft announcements we missed yesterday. Is Nvidia trying to break open the black box of AI? It’s absolutely wild that there’s still no viable YouTube app for the Vision Pro. And we were worried about disruption to the semiconductor industry if a typhoon hit Taiwan, but it turns out, a hurricane hitting North Carolina can be bad too.Links:Microsoft is using AI to improve Windows search (The Verge)Microsoft starts paying publishers for content surfaced by Copilot (TechCrunch)Telegram CEO Downplays Service Term Changes Amid French Probe (Bloomberg)Nvidia just dropped a bombshell: Its new AI model is open, massive, and ready to rival GPT-4 (VentureBeat)Threads users can now see who follows them from other fediverse servers (TechCrunch)Christian Selig’s unofficial YouTube app for the Vision Pro just got taken down (The Verge)Hurricane Helene Will Send Shockwaves Through the Semiconductor Industry (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Do we have the first IPO of the AI era? Do we have the first AI model beyond the transformer architecture? Microsoft has a bunch of new AI tools inside Windows. We try to explain that whole controversy around PearAI. And what about that NotebookLM feature that lets you create a two-hander podcast out of any text.Links:AI chipmaker Cerebras files for IPO to take on Nvidia (CNBC)MIT spinoff Liquid debuts non-transformer AI models and they’re already state-of-the-art (VentureBeat)Microsoft Copilot can now read your screen, think deeply, and speak aloud to you (TechCrunch)Oura Nears $500 Million in Annual Revenue and Readies New Ring (Bloomberg)Y Combinator is being criticized after it backed an AI startup that admits it basically cloned another AI startup (TechCrunch)NotebookLM’s automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective (Simon Willison's Blog)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

That controversial AI bill in California has been vetoed by Governor Newsom. Is even Apple now thinking that its Vision Pro strategy might need a rethink? What really is OpenAI’s situation right now, and this time I’m talking money-wise? And the strange resurrection of the point and shoot camera.Links:California’s Gavin Newsom Vetoes Controversial AI Safety Bill (WSJ)California Passes Law Protecting Consumer Brain Data (NYTimes)Meta’s New Headsets Show Apple Has Lost Its Way With the Vision Pro (Bloomberg)OpenAI’s Complex Path to Becoming a For-Profit Company (WSJ)Songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, Green Day, Many More Blocked by YouTube in Legal Dispute (Variety)This Camera Went Viral Two Years Ago. You Still Can’t Buy One (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Founder Mode? Not for me, says Sam Altman, but we will see. A few new gadgets from Samsung. Maybe ARM should buy Intel. Are AI startups hitting revenue traction faster than SaaS startups did? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Sam Altman tells OpenAI staff there’s no plan for him to receive a ‘giant equity stake’ in company (CNBC)Samsung Galaxy S24 FE goes official starting at $649 – is it still a ‘Fan Edition?’ (9to5Google)Arm Is Rebuffed by Intel After Inquiring About Buying Product Unit (Bloomberg)Exponential growth brews 1 million AI models on Hugging Face (ArsTechnica)AI start-ups generate money faster than past hyped tech companies (FT)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:McDonald’s touchscreen kiosks were feared as job killers. Instead, something surprising happened (CNN)Apple Rolls Back Its Big Plans to Release Movies in Theaters (Bloomberg)The 27-Year-Old Economic Adviser for Gen Z (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s only two stories really. If you can believe it, more executive departures at OpenAI, as it looks like they’re serious about going for profit. And yes, Meta announced a new Quest headset, but the real headlines are the Orion smartglasses, which you can’t actually buy. What? I’ll explain.Sponsors:Thorne.fit/ridehomeLinks:OpenAI considering restructuring to for-profit, CTO Mira Murati and two top research execs depart (CNBC)Exclusive: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity (Reuters)Meta’s cheaper Quest 3S might just be an upgrade (The Verge)A Few Brief Thoughts on Meta Connect 2024 (Daring Fireball)Meta pitches VR to mobile developers with new support for Android apps on Quest (TechCrunch)Meta’s big tease (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Caroline Ellison benefits from being cooperative. Has your company unknowingly hired remote workers from North Korea? What is going on with this WordPress back and forth? Why OpenAI has to let people look at their training data. And why is everyone upset at Marquess Brownlee?Sponsors:Hims.com/rideLinks:Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years in prison for her role in FTX scandal (Axios)Dozens of Fortune 100 companies have unwittingly hired North Korean IT workers, according to report (The Record)The DOJ sues Visa for locking out rival payment platforms (The Verge)Automattic sends WP Engine its own cease-and-desist over WordPress trademark infringement (TechCrunch)OpenAI Training Data to Be Inspected in Authors’ Copyright Cases (The Hollywood Reporter)Marques Brownlee says ‘I hear you’ after fans criticize his new wallpaper app (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sam Altman has a manifesto. Kinda. Telegram is beginning to walk things back a bit. Cloudflare wants to help you block the AI bots. New streaming device from Roku. And I guess TikTok can’t win at everything.Sponsors:Lumen.me/rideLinks:The Intelligence Age (Sam Altman)Sam Altman catapults past founder mode into ‘god mode’ with latest AI post (TechCrunch)OpenAI CEO: We may have AI superintelligence in “a few thousand days” (ArsTechnica)Some Kaspersky customers receive surprise forced-update to new antivirus software (TechCrunch)Telegram CEO Durov Says App to Provide More Data to Governments (Bloomberg)New Cloudflare Tools Let Sites Detect and Block AI Bots for Free (Wired)The new Roku Ultra is faster, has better Wi-Fi, and comes with a backlit remote (The Verge)Spotify’s AI playlist builder is now available in the US (The Verge)TikTok to Shut Down its Music Streaming Business in November (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Qualcomm as a white knight to save Intel? A huge bitcoin heist gets busted for the usual reasons. What if the US bans imports of all cars from China? And why can’t US car makers keep up when it comes, simply, to software?Sponsors:Timeline.com/rideLinks:Qualcomm Approached Intel About a Takeover in Recent Days (WSJ)Intel Gets Multibillion-Dollar Apollo Offer as Qualcomm Circles (Bloomberg)Chip Giants TSMC and Samsung Discuss Building Middle Eastern Megafactories (WSJ)Suspects behind $230 million cryptocurrency theft arrested in Miami (BleepingComputer)US proposes banning Chinese software and components in vehicles (FT)Israel’s Pager Attacks Have Changed the World (NYTimes)Toyota and VW fall further behind in the software race (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You might want to hold off on updating to macOS 15 Sequoia. What, exactly, is Europe trying to get Apple to do? The AI energy crunch means they’re turning Three Mile Island back on. Could AI usage mean we use up all our 5G capacity? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:1password.com/rideQualiaLife.com/ride and code rideLinks:Apple’s new macOS Sequoia update is breaking some cybersecurity tools (TechCrunch)EU to tell Apple how to do interoperability, DMA style (TechCrunch)Microsoft AI Needs So Much Power It's Restarting Site of US Nuclear Meltdown (Bloomberg)AI is stressing networks out - Nvidia thinks AI can help (Fierce Network)Huawei 'super fans' fuming as left empty handed by $2,800 phone launch (Reuters)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:American Vulcan - Palmer Luckey (TabletMag)The Death of the Minivan (The Atlantic)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looks like they finally got around to suing that Palworld game. Google volunteered to break up some of its businesses but the EU said no. AI is coming to YouTube in a big way. A new social media platform that is ENTIRELY AI. And Amazon wants to get into the Shark Tank business.Sponsors:LinkedIn.com/rideLinks:Nintendo and Pokémon are suing Palworld maker Pocketpair (The Verge)Exclusive: Google offered to sell part of ad tech business, not enough for EU publishers (Reuters)YouTube will use AI to generate ideas, titles, and even full videos (The Verge)Apple Gets EU Warning to Open Up iPhone Operating System (Bloomberg)Musk's satellites 'blocking' view of the universe (BBC)SocialAI offers a Twitter-like diary where AI bots respond to your posts (TechCrunch)Amazon’s New ‘Shark Tank’-Style Show Gives Winners Top Billing in Its Store (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Messages between Android and iOS are about to be encrypted. A new XR headset from HTC and new Spectacles from Snap. A big movie studio has signed up to use AI. Neuralink has implants for blindness. And why I’m kinda NOT gonna do a review roundup of the new iPhones.Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeLinks:RCS texts on the iPhone aren’t encrypted now, but that could change (The Verge)Here’s how green bubbles are getting upgraded in iOS (The Verge)HTC Vive's Focus Vision is a $999 stab at high-end VR and mixed reality (Engadget)Snap’s new Spectacles inch closer to compelling AR (The Verge)Instagram, Facing Pressure Over Child Safety Online, Unveils Sweeping Changes (NYTimes)Lionsgate, Studio Behind ‘John Wick,’ Signs Deal With AI Startup Runway (WSJ)Musk's Neuralink gets FDA's breakthrough device tag for 'Blindsight' implant (Reuters)Apple iPhone 16 Pro review: small camera update, big difference (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Intel announces a bunch of ways its hoping to turn its business around sooner rather than later. Is OpenAI about to have its chat bots query you? The whole TikTok divestment case is coming to a head right now. And speaking of turn arounds, darn if Netflix didn’t pull ITS turnaround off perfectly. Hollywood, not so much.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideLinks:Intel stock jumps on plan to turn foundry business into subsidiary and allow for outside funding (CNBC)Intel to Make Custom AI Chip for Amazon, Delay German Plant (Bloomberg)EssilorLuxottica extends smart glasses partnership with Meta (Reuters)OpenAI Says It's Fixed Issue Where ChatGPT Appeared to Be Messaging Users Unprompted (Futurism)TikTok is about to get its day in court (The Verge)Judges Show Some Skepticism of TikTok’s Fight Against Potential U.S. Ban (NYTimes)How Netflix won the streaming wars (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A bunch of Apple stories today. FDA approval for sleep apnea detection for the watch. Signs of poor pre-order sales for the phone. And a quick review of the new Airpods. Also, how did Intel lose out on making the chips for the next gen Playstation. And are dating apps responsible for income inequality?Sponsors:ArcticWolf.com/registerLinks:Apple Watch sleep apnea detection gets FDA approval (TechCrunch)iPhone 16 first weekend pre-order analysis: estimated total sales of about 37 million units; Pro series demand lower than expected (Ming-Chi Kuo)France picks Sejourne as nominee for EU Commission after Breton clash (Reuters)Slack now lets users add AI agents from Asana, Cohere, Adobe, Workday and more (VentureBeat)Exclusive: How Intel lost the Sony PlayStation business (Reuters)Apple AirPods 4 review: defying expectations (The Verge)Online Dating Caused a Rise in US Income Inequality, Research Paper Shows (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The first of the Strawberry models is here. YC plans to have four cohorts a year, but each one is getting smaller. Waymo is already ready to expand to more pretty big markets. And in the long reads, a deep dive look into the options Intel has at this point in time.Sponsors:HensonShaving.com/ride code rideLinks:OpenAI releases o1, its first model with ‘reasoning’ abilities (The Verge)Notes on OpenAI’s new o1 chain-of-thought models (Simon Willison's Weblog)OpenAI's new models 'instrumentally faked alignment' (TransformerNews)Apple AirPods Pro granted FDA approval to serve as hearing aids (TechCrunch)Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator to Double Number of Cohorts Per Year (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Intel Has Only Tough Options After Its Long and Stinging Fall From Grace (Bloomberg)Link to the twitter poll about adsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As expected, OpenAI is in talks for a new capital raise at a $150B valuation. More layoffs in Microsoft’s gaming division. More holes poked in our creaking internet infrastructure. The tiny SpaceX competitor who’s stock has been soaring lately. And a look at what Apple’s recent AirPods announcement could do to the hearing aid industry.Links:OpenAI Fundraising Set to Vault Startup’s Valuation to $150 Billion (Bloomberg)The AI Spending Spree, in Charts (WSJ)Microsoft Lays Off Another 650 Staff From Its Video Game Workforce, Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Sends Memo to Staff (IGN)Rogue WHOIS server gives researcher superpowers no one should ever have (ArsTechnica)Adam Neumann’s Climate Company Is Issuing Refunds After Failing To Launch Crypto Token (Forbes)SpaceX’s Tiny Rival Soars 1,300%. Now Comes the Satellite Launch (Bloomberg)Apple turning AirPods into hearing aids underscores effort to crack massive health market (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mistral goes multimodal for the first time. Meta admits to scraping the data of every adult Australian. The details on the new PS5 Pro. Wouldn’t it be wild if, through stablecoins, crypto BECOMES the banking system instead of replacing it. And a weird mystery in AI land.Sponsors:Promevo.com/techmemeLinks:Mistral releases Pixtral 12B, its first multimodal model (TechCrunch)Facebook admits to scraping every Australian adult user's public photos and posts to train AI, with no opt-out option (ABC News)The $700 PS5 Pro doesn’t come with a disc drive (The Verge)Exclusive Hands-On: I Played Sony's All-New PS5 Pro (CNET)Americans used record 100 trillion megabytes of wireless data in 2023 (Reuters)Payments in Singapore With Stablecoins Rise to Almost $1 Billion (Bloomberg)Reflection 70B model maker breaks silence amid fraud accusations (VentureBeat)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple loses its longest standing regulatory battle in the EU. Some drips and drabs from yesterday’s iPhone event. Would a phone you can fold three times be more enticing than a phone that folds two times? And are we about to see that new Strawberry AI model from OpenAI by the end of the month?Sponsors:Timeline.com/rideLinks:Apple must pay 13 billion euros in back taxes, EU’s top court rules (CNBC)iPhone 16 battery life: How much better is it? (9to5Mac)Huawei launches $2,800 trifold phone hours after Apple debuts iPhone 16 (CNBC)Oracle’s Missteps in Cloud Computing Are Paying Dividends in AI (WSJ)New Details on OpenAI’s Strawberry; Apple’s Siri Makeover; Larry Ellison Doubles Down on Data Centers (The Information)Audible to Start Generating AI Voice Replicas of Select Audiobook Narrators (Bloomberg)JPMorgan Plans to Report Customers Who Exploited TikTok ‘Glitch’ to Authorities (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from today’s iPhone event. It IS interesting the degree to which Elon’s various businesses have potential synergy. The Times digs into the content on Telegram and says, it ain’t pretty. And e-bikes seem to be back. In London, at least, anyway.Links:Apple Announces iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max with Larger Displays, New Camera Control, and More (MacRumors)Apple announces iPhone 16: camera button, new colors, AI features (9to5Mac)AirPods Pro 2 adds ‘clinical grade’ hearing aid feature (9to5Mac)Musk’s xAI Has Discussed Deal for Share of Future Tesla Revenue (WSJ)How Telegram Became a Playground for Criminals, Extremists and Terrorists (NYTimes)London e-bike boom leads to clashes with councils (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pavel Durov speaks, and Telegram blinks, both for the first time since the French arrest. Are XR glasses tethered to smartphones the next big product category? What if your smartphone could cure your vision problems? And in the longreads, if Waymo is about to scale, what, exactly, is the business model, long-term?Links:Pavel Durov: Telegram founder says France arrest is ‘misguided’ (The Guardian)Exclusive: Qualcomm explores acquiring pieces of Intel chip-design business (Reuters)Qualcomm says it’s working on mixed reality smart glasses with Samsung and Google (CNBC)Review: Honor Magic V3 (Wired)Exclusive: Honor's latest devices use AI to try to reverse nearsightedness (Android Central)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Waymo’s Robot Taxis Are Almost Mainstream. Can They Now Turn a Profit? (NYTimes)When the Bitcoin Scammers Came for Me (The Atlantic)Among the Idlers (Curbed)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The DOJ says it has taken down a big election influence campaign allegedly directed by Russia. The Internet Archive loses a big case. Android 15 is here. And two really interesting new gadgets, one I probably need to buy and one I want to buy but probably won’t.Sponsors:LinkedIn.com/rideLinks:Biden administration announces major actions to tackle Russian efforts to influence 2024 election (CNN)The Internet Archive Loses Its Appeal of a Major Copyright Case (Wired)Android 15 will be available on supported Pixel devices in the coming weeks (TechCrunch)DJI Neo hands-on: A powerful and lightweight $200 drone (Engadget)The Remarkable Paper Pro is as outrageous as it is luxurious (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SpaceX has agreed to block access to X, in Brazil, on Starlink. Looks like YubiKeys are hackable. Who is the mystery platform looking to expand AI datacenters at an historic scale? And the Catch 22 that Intel is in. They need CHIPS Act money, but can their troubles mean the CHIPS Act money shouldn’t be spent on them?Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeLumen.me/rideLinks:Starlink backtracks, complies with order blocking X in Brazil, says regulator (Reuters)No X in Brazil? No problem, Brazilians say. (Washington Post)Microsoft to announce ‘next phase of Copilot’ on September 16th (The Verge)YubiKeys are vulnerable to cloning attacks thanks to newly discovered side channel (ArsTechnica)Nvidia Gets DOJ Subpoena in Escalating Antitrust Probe (Bloomberg)Two AI Developers Are Plotting $125 Billion Supercomputers (The Information)Exclusive: Intel manufacturing business suffers setback as Broadcom tests disappoint (Reuters)Intel’s Money Woes Throw Biden Team’s Chip Strategy Into Turmoil (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We missed a pretty big story this weekend. X getting banned in Brazil. I’ll try to catch you up on all the contours of this. Canva’s raising prices and it’s pissing people off because, I mean, they are REALLY raising prices. And the two pretty big success stories in crypto this year that we haven’t spoken about yet.Sponsors:DataTribe.com/challengeHims.com/rideLinks:Brazil’s Most Powerful Judge Is in the Spotlight—Again (Americas Quarterly)How Brazil’s Experiment Fighting Fake News Led to a Ban on X (NYTimes)Canva says its AI features are worth the 300 percent price increase (The Verge)HP to Pursue $4 Billion Damages After Mike Lynch Yacht Death (Bloomberg)Pump.fun surpasses $100 million in revenue as Polymarket outshines NFTs in August (The Block)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At this point it would be quicker to name the big tech company that’s NOT investing in OpenAI’s latest round. Amazon’s new Alexa service is just going to be Anthropic’s Claude in drag disguise I guess. I’m starting to get really worried about Intel y’all. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:OpenAI Funding Round Tempts Nvidia as Big Tech Leans on ChatGPT (Bloomberg)Apple, Nvidia Are in Talks to Invest in OpenAI (WSJ)Ask Claude: Amazon turns to Anthropic's AI for Alexa revamp (Reuters)ChatGPT’s weekly users have doubled in less than a year (The Verge)Intel Weighs Options Including Foundry Split to Stem Losses (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Sunk cost (the Open Sea story) (The Verge)The secret inside One Million Checkboxes (eieio.games)I Watched Footage of Jerry Lewis’s Unreleased 1972 Holocaust Film (The New Republic)End of the Road: An AnandTech Farewell (AnandTech)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nvidia’s earnings were huge but because they didn’t manage to beat the biggest expectations out there, it’s kind of a miss? Pavel Durov has been formally charged by France. Does TikTok fall outside of Section 230 protection? And it seems like the effort by the car companies to wean themselves off of smartphone tech is… not going great.Links:Nvidia’s CEO Says New Chip Will Have ‘Lots and Lots’ of Supply (Bloomberg)Telegram CEO Charged in France for Crimes Committed on His App (Bloomberg)TikTok must face lawsuit over 10-year-old girl's death, US court rules (Reuters)OpenAI in Talks for Funding Round Valuing It Above $100 Billion (WSJ)Top Movie Piracy Ring Taken Down, Major Studios’ Enforcement Group Claims (The Hollywood Reporter)GM's 'Google Built-In' Is Glitchy, Requires A Subscription To Use Google Maps (Jalopnik)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I explain why everyone has been posting strawberries in AI circles. It’s cause of a potential new breakthrough at OpenAI. Cerebras launches the first new AI chip competition to Nvidia. China has reportedly burrowed into US ISPs. And continuing interesting details pouring out of that Pavel Durov situation.Sponsors:Timeline.com/rideLinks:OpenAI Shows ‘Strawberry’ AI to the Feds and Uses It to Develop ‘Orion’ (The Information)OpenAI Races to Launch ‘Strawberry’ Reasoning AI to Boost Chatbot Business (The Information)Cerebras Systems throws down gauntlet to Nvidia with launch of ‘world’s fastest’ AI inference service (SiliconAngle)Chinese government hackers penetrate U.S. internet providers to spy (Washington Post)Google Meet’s automatic AI note-taking is here (The Verge)Instagram adds what photos have always needed: words (The Verge)Telegram Founder Was Wooed and Targeted by Governments (WSJ)Can Tech Executives Be Held Responsible for What Happens on Their Platforms? (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As more details come out about the arrest of the founder of Telegram, a deeper look at Pavel Durov himself. We have the date of the iPhone event. We have a new record gaming number from Steam. And are Apple’s experiment with big budget Hollywood movies losing them bucket loads of money?Sponsors:DataTribe.com/challengeThorne.fit/ridehomeLinks:Telegram Founder’s Arrest Part of Broad Investigation, French Prosecutors Say (NYTimes)Macron loves Telegram. French judges hate it. (Politico)How Telegram’s Founder Went From Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg to Wanted Man (NYTimes)Steam surpasses 37 million concurrent users for the first time ever thanks to Black Myth: Wukong (PC Gamer)Anthropic publishes the ‘system prompts’ that make Claude tick (TechCrunch)Apple Rethinks Its Movie Strategy After a String of Misses (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

French authorities have arrested Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. Chinese tech companies are spending like crazy on AI too, btw. What are the smart glasses and VR gear Meta is poised to give us next month? And Nvidia might make you rich, but it still seems like a bear of a place to work at.Sponsors:Lumen.me/rideLinks:Telegram CEO Held Over Alleged Child Protection Failures on App (Bloomberg)Telegram messaging app CEO Durov arrested in France (Reuters)Is Telegram really an encrypted messaging app? (Matthew Green)China’s tech giants splash out on AI despite US restrictions (Financial Times)Apple Explores Robotics in Search of Life Beyond the iPhone (Bloomberg)Nvidia Rally Mints Millionaires Too Busy to Bask in New Wealth (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Breaking down the Crowdstrike outage with Overmind.techSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft deprecating a feature that it launched back in 1985. There’s a pretty big loophole that is still letting China use H100 chips. The weird saga evolving over at Bolt. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Microsoft finally officially confirms it's killing Windows Control Panel sometime soon (Neowin)Exclusive: Chinese entities turn to Amazon cloud and its rivals to access high-end US chips, AI (Reuters)AI-powered coding pulls in almost $1bn of funding to claim ‘killer app’ status (Financial Times)Bolt investors baffled by massive new deal proposal (Axios)Ryan Breslow’s ‘Lead Investor’ Blindsided By $450 Million Bolt Fundraise: ‘We Were Never In This Deal’ (Forbes)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:New Breed of EV Promises 700 Miles per Charge (Just Add Gas) (Bloomberg)Popping the Bubble of Noise-Cancelling Headphones (The New Yorker)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As Mike Lynch’s body is recovered off Sicily, a deeper look at what was a roller coaster of a life. More cross posting for Meta’s apps. We have a date for the re-release of Recall. Interesting executive shuffle at Apple. And more data showing the degree to which free streaming is upending the Streaming Wars.Sponsors:QualiaLife.com/rideLinks:Bodies of Mike Lynch and four yacht guests pulled from Bayesian wreck (Financial Times)Mike Lynch’s journey from tech founder to long legal battle (Financial Times)Meta lets you cross-post from Instagram and Facebook to Threads. Here’s how to do it. (TechCrunch)Microsoft’s Recall AI feature won’t be available for Windows testers until October (The Verge)Neuralink Says Second Brain Device Implant ‘Went Well’ (Bloomberg)Apple’s App Store Head to Leave in Reorganization Amid Global Scrutiny (Bloomberg)Report: “FAST correcting issues that VoD created” (Advanced Television)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AI news has been a bit quiet for a little while now, but the headlines came roaring back today. More evidence Waymo might be having some sort of tipping point. Can we really get 3D without the need to wear glasses? And the the interesting raise startup that is actually, literally, going to the moon, not in a figurative sense.Sponsors:LinkedIn.com/rideLinks:Gemini in Gmail can now help polish up your drafts (The Verge)Microsoft releases powerful new Phi-3.5 models, beating Google, OpenAI and more (VentureBeat)OpenAI makes fine-tuning for GPT-4o customization generally available (SiliconAngle)Waymo says it has doubled its weekly paid robotaxi trips to 100,000 since May (CNBC)Samsung’s new Odyssey monitor lets you play games in glasses-free 3D (The Verge)Microsoft Teams’ new single app for personal and work is now available (The Verge)Big Tech’s bid to rewrite the rules on net zero (Financial Times)Starpath accelerates moon water mining plans with $12M in funding (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New Raspberry Pi 5. Waymo’s rolling out its new self-driving tech. A major developer draws plaudits for going anti-AI. The tragic and odd story of that tech exec who is missing after his yacht sank. And after six months, how is the Apple Vision Pro evolving? What if it kind of isn’t?Sponsors:TakeThesis.com code RIDELinks:Raspberry Pi 5’s new 2GB model benchmarked: Do you need 2, 4 or 8GB? : We test against the 4 and 8GB versions (Tom's Hardware)Waymo is developing a roomier robotaxi with less-expensive tech (CNBC)Procreate’s anti-AI pledge attracts praise from digital creatives (The Verge)Search continues for British tech magnate and 5 others after luxury superyacht sinks off Sicily (AP)Apple Vision Pro review: six month stasis (Apple Insider)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is X closing up shop in Brazil? Remember how Apple is trying to make their own modems? How’s that going? Why is the online dating sector suddenly struggling? And could the next big advertising platform actually be Walmart?Sponsors:ArcticWolf.com/techmemeLinks:X says it’s closing operations in Brazil (TechCrunch)AMD Buys AI Equipment Maker for Nearly $5 Billion, Escalating Battle With Nvidia (WSJ)Apple Is Playing the Long Game With Switch From Qualcomm Modems (Bloomberg)‘Bumble fumble’: online dating apps struggle as people swear off swiping (The Guardian)How Walmart became a force in a $54bn retail advertising industry (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Epic saga has reached a sort of conclusion. Epic saga. See what I did there? That California AI safety bill has been pruned a bit. You can now add you California drivers license to your smartphone wallet. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Fortnite Maker Epic Games Challenges Apple’s Dominance With New iOS App Store (Wired)California weakens bill to prevent AI disasters before final vote, taking advice from Anthropic (TechCrunch)Exclusive: Apple, Google wallets to carry California driver's licenses (Axios)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Inside the Snowflake-Databricks Rivalry, and Why Both Fear Microsoft (Bloomberg)The Little Streamer That Could (NYTimes)Your Air Conditioner Is Lying to You (The Atlantic)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The new version of Grok will pretty much let you make an AI image of anything or anyone. More rumors of an iPad/robot/smart home hybrid from Apple. Masa Son wanted Intel to spin up a competitor to Nvidia, but Intel reportedly couldn’t hack it. And is Sonos going to just say, heck with it, and re-release their old app that actually worked?Sponsors:Acorns.com/rideGreenlight.com/rideLinks:X’s new AI image generator will make anything from Taylor Swift in lingerie to Kamala Harris with a gun (The Verge)Apple Pushes Ahead With Tabletop Robot in Search of New Revenue (Bloomberg)Apple is finally going to open up iPhone tap-to-pay (The Verge)The FTC finalizes its rules clamping down on fake online reviews (Engadget)SoftBank discussed AI chips tie-up with Intel to rival Nvidia (Financial Times)Sonos considers relaunching its old app (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the details from yesterday’s pixel event, but especially the AI features that show how far ahead Google is. At least when it comes to putting AI on phones. We have official post quantum computing cryptography standards. And why they’re using iPhones to make offsides calls in soccer this season.Sponsors:DataTribe.com/challengeHims.com/rideLinks:The Google Pixel 9’s AI Camera Features Let You Reshape Reality (Wired)Google Gemini’s voice chat mode is here (The Verge)Apple relents and approves Spotify app with EU pricing (The Verge)The first post-quantum cryptography standards are here (TechCrunch)The English Premier League Will Ditch Its Hated VAR Offside Tech for a Fleet of iPhones (Wired)Fantasy League Links:https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/s5r9c8 Code: s5r9c8https://fplchallenge.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/8znkcc Code: 8znkccSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Patreon is forced to change how it does things because Apple finally came to claim their vig. Have basically all our social security numbers been leaked? Crowdstrike owns its mistakes in person. And even if you build it, the chip factories might not come if nobody shows up to work.Sponsors:HensonShaving.com/ride and code rideShopify.com/rideLinks:Apple says Patreon must switch to its billing system or risk removal from App Store (TechCrunch)‘Apple’s Requirements to Hit Creators and Fans on Patreon’ (Daring Fireball)Hackers leak 2.7 billion data records with Social Security numbers (BleepingComputer)FBI probing alleged Iran hack attempts targeting Trump, Biden camps (Washington Post)CrowdStrike Exec Shows Up to Accept 'Most Epic Fail' Award in Person (PCMag)TikTok comes for messaging apps with the addition of group chats (TechCrunch)Chipmakers face a labour crisis (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, want to know the iPhone product road map for the next year or so? I wonder why that’s coming out today? Instagram is copying something it forgot to copy from Snapchat. Celsius wants a ton of bitcoin back from Tether. Flux continues to wow, and is Iran the biggest cyber threat of this election year.Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeWashingtonPost.com/rideLinks:Apple’s iPhone 16 Will Keep Sales Stable Until Bigger Changes Arrive (Bloomberg)Instagram is testing its own take on Snap Map (The Verge)Amid Layoffs and CPU Controversy, Intel Postpones Innovation Event (PCMag)Celsius targets Tether, Badger DAO, Compound, and Netanyahu's niece and nephew in lawsuits (The Block)Forget Midjourney — Flux is the new king of AI image generation and here’s how to get access (Tom's Guide)Iran Emerges as the Most Aggressive Foreign Threat to U.S. Election (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple’s new EU rules still aren’t acceptable to Spotify and Epic. Could we be getting a new, smaller Mac Mini this year? Perplexity AI is showing some real numbers in its effort to unseat Google Search. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Links:Apple announces new fee structure for apps in the EU that link out to the web for purchases (9to5Mac)Spotify and Epic Games call Apple’s revised DMA compliance plan ‘confusing,’ ‘illegal’ and ‘unacceptable’ (TechCrunch)Apple’s Mac Mini With M4 Chip Will Be Its Smallest Computer Ever (Bloomberg)ChatGPT now lets free users generate up to two images per day made by DALL-E 3 (The Verge)Perplexity’s popularity surges as AI search start-up takes on Google (Financial Times)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Why are so many car YouTubers quitting? (The Verge)Moscow’s Spies Were Stealing US Tech — Until the FBI Started a Sabotage Campaign (Politico Magazine)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TikTok launches Spotlight. Meta’s budget kills a VR studio. Why did everyone think Logitech was going to create a mouse you had to pay a subscription to use? And did you know how big Anime is? I did not.Links:TikTok adds in-app hubs for videos about movies and TV shows (The Verge)Exclusive: Meta is closing a beloved first-party Quest studio (AndroidConnect)UK regulator launches formal probe into Amazon’s $4bn Anthropic deal (Financial Times)Humane’s daily returns are outpacing sales (The Verge)Logitech Insists It’s Not Making a Mouse With a Subscription Fee (Gizmodo)Anduril now valued at $14 billion, set to build autonomous weapons factories (Axios)Crunchyroll Passes 15 Million Monthly Paid Subscribers (The Wrap)Crunchyroll Is Thriving Thanks to Gen Z and Appointment Anime Viewing, COO Says (The Wrap)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google’s new TV streaming appliance, plus lots of lot of Gemini stuff is coming to Google Home and Nest and such. Elon tries to get advertisers to come back to X by… suing them. That time Intel had a chance to invest in OpenAI. And what new products can Airbnb dream up to make more money?Links:The Google TV Streamer might be the Apple TV 4K rival we’ve been waiting for (The Verge)Gemini intelligence is coming to Google Home (The Verge)Scoop: X sues major brands, ad industry group for antitrust (Axios)‘There’s no price’ Microsoft could pay Apple to use Bing: all the spiciest parts of the Google antitrust ruling (The Verge)How chip giant Intel spurned OpenAI and fell behind the times (Reuters)The limited edition OnePlus Open is the most striking foldable phone yet (The Verge)Airbnb details plans to expand beyond short-term rentals, including co-hosting and relaunching ‘experiences’ (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Three big stories to catch you up on. A federal judge has ruled Google is an illegal monopoly. The Game Of Thrones style drama at OpenAI is just getting weirder. And what if all those weird acquihires in all but name are actually mercy killings?Sponsors:Lumen.me/rideLinks:Google Monopolized Search Through Illegal Deals, Judge Rules (Bloomberg)Forget Apple, the biggest loser in the Google search ruling could be Mozilla and its Firefox web browser (Fortune)How the Google Antitrust Ruling May Influence Tech Competition (NYTimes)OpenAI co-founder Schulman leaves for Anthropic, Brockman takes extended leave (TechCrunch)Struggling AI Startups Look for a Bailout from Big Tech (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why is OpenAI sitting on technology that could detect AI cheating? Why is Bitcoin so correlated to the stock market? Why is Elon restarting his lawsuit against OpenAI? Why are the Chinese launching a Starlink competitor? And are the go-go days for music streaming over?Sponsors:Dell.com/dealsHelloMood.com code RIDELinks:There’s a Tool to Catch Students Cheating With ChatGPT. OpenAI Hasn’t Released It. (WSJ)Bitcoin tumbles below $50,000 for the first time since February (CNBC)Elon Musk Revives Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Sam Altman (NYTimes)China launches first satellites of constellation to rival Starlink, newspaper reports (Reuters)AI Chip Startup Groq Gets $2.8 Billion Valuation in New Funding Round (Bloomberg)Is the Music Industry Slowdown a Crisis or a Blip? (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So, tech earnings continued to be boring. Apple was fine. Amazon was not quite so fine. And then someone we don’t cover closely really messed the bed. I’ll tell you who. Are we starting to see the first next-generation AI startups? I’ll tell you about an interesting new model. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Amazon Beats On Earnings, Revenue Comes In Light Despite Strong Cloud Performance (Investor's Business Daily)Intel is laying off over 15,000 employees and will stop ‘non-essential work’ (The Verge)23andMe Board Committee ‘Disappointed’ in CEO Anne Wojcicki’s Take-Private Proposal (Bloomberg)Stable Diffusion creators launch Black Forest Labs, secure $31M for FLUX.1 AI image generator (VentureBeat)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:A $500 Open Source Tool Lets Anyone Hack Computer Chips With Lasers (Wired)The AI Keeps Score (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So I guess Zuck has convinced Wall Street that all the capex spending on AI is fine. How good a business is Tether? A gooooood business. The first arrival of Apple Intelligence is sort of a ho-hum for now. And how sports is completely transforming the streaming wars battlefield.Links:Meta’s Lesson in Allaying Wall Street’s A.I. Fears (Dealbook/NYT)Meta’s AI Costs Surge as Digital Advertising Revenue Grows (WSJ)Reddit CEO says Microsoft needs to pay to search the site (The Verge)Tether Nets $5B Profits This Year, Says Its US Debt Holdings Surpassed Germany's (CoinDesk)A first look at Apple Intelligence and its (slightly) smarter Siri (The Verge)Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Sports Streamer Venu to Launch at $42.99 per Month (Variety)How the NBA’s Slam-Dunk Deals Will Reshape TV (The Hollywood Reporter)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Another big pullback of a major AI tool. Microsoft earnings. How CapCut is taking over the creator tools space. Amazon speedy delivery is rolling out to the nooks and crannies of North America. And the startup taking a new run at AI wearable hardware.Links:Meta Scraps Celebrity AI Chatbots That Fell Flat With Users (The Information)The Rise of ByteDance’s CapCut Threatens Adobe and Canva (Bloomberg)Amazon Pushes Fast Delivery Into Rural Areas in Challenge to Post Office (WSJ)Wear This AI Friend Around Your Neck (Wired)Video Announcing the Friend AI deviceSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Perplexity wants to share ad revenue with publishers. But lots of AI companies are continuing to gamble with scraping. Meta’s new Segment Anything 2 model. AI influencers on Instagram. Canva makes an AI acquisition. And in non-AI news, Meta makes a huge settlement with Texas.Links:Perplexity is cutting checks to publishers following plagiarism accusations (The Verge)Websites are Blocking the Wrong AI Scrapers (Because AI Companies Keep Making New Ones) (404Media)Zuckerberg touts Meta’s latest video vision AI with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (TechCrunch)Instagram creators can now make AI doppelgangers to chat with their followers (Engadget)Canva acquires Leonardo.ai to boost its generative AI efforts (TechCrunch)Meta to pay $1.4 billion to settle Texas facial recognition data lawsuit (Reuters)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple Intelligence might be coming sooner than we dared hope. Might want to check your settings on X. The universe of alt coins is back. A big tech IPO coming from an unexpected source. And is that Galaxy Ring a thing or no?Links:Apple's AI Features Rollout Will Miss Upcoming iPhone Software Overhaul (Bloomberg)Elon Musk calls Grok 'the most powerful AI by every metric' but 'secretly' trains the new model with your X data by default (WindowsCentral)A Digital Coin Based on Baby Trump? Yup. (NYTimes)Honeywell Weighs Quantinuum IPO at $10 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg)Amazon Paid Almost $1 Billion for Twitch in 2014. It’s Still Losing Money. (WSJ)The Galaxy Ring keeps you in Samsung’s orbit (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI takes on Google search directly. Another Hollywood strike with the same underlying causes. We know absolutely everything about the new Pixel 9 series already. Is WhatsApp finally catching on in the US? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Thorne.fit/ridehome, promocode: ridehome.Links:OpenAI announces SearchGPT, its AI-powered search engine (The Verge)Video game performers will go on strike over artificial intelligence concerns (AP)[Exclusive] Google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro Fold promo material reveals design, specs, AI, and other features (91Mobiles)Uber, Lyft, DoorDash Prevail in California Gig-Worker Ruling (Bloomberg)Mark Zuckerberg says WhatsApp has 100M monthly active users in the US (TechCrunch)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Airbnb Hosts Want Guests to Come to Them Directly (Bloomberg)Physicists may now have a way to make element 120 – the heaviest ever (New Scientist)He says he invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. He didn’t, said Frito-Lay. Now he’s suing (LATimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Once again, Reddit looks like it’s not worried about upsetting people. New generative search on Bing, new models from Mistral and a new video model from Stability. But did Runway train it’s video models on YouTube videos? We might have a smoking gun. But what if the dream of synthetic data for AI training is a mirage?Sponsors:Lumen.me/rideLinks:Google's Exclusive Reddit Access (404Media)Microsoft unveils Bing Generative Search — enhanced with AI, it's a complete overhaul of traditional search (WindowsCentral)Mistral shocks with new open model Mistral Large 2, taking on Llama 3.1 (VentureBeat)Stability AI steps into a new gen AI dimension with Stable Video 4D (VentureBeat)Runway Ripped Off YouTube Creators (404Media)The problem of ‘model collapse’: how a lack of human data limits AI progress (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta’s Llama 3.1 shows that open models can at least go toe to toe with proprietary AI models. Why did the Google-Wiz deal fall apart? Was the CrowdStrike outage a part of it? Kamala Harris, AI czar? And what do the reviews of the recent Samsung foldable phones say to us about those Apple foldable phone rumors?Links:Meta puts open source AI on the podium. (Ben's Bites)The first GPT-4-class AI model anyone can download has arrived: Llama 405B (ArsTechnica)Google’s Aborted Deals Show Antitrust’s Long Shadow Over Tech (Bloomberg)Google’s $23 Billion Snub From Wiz Will Sting Them Both (Bloomberg)A Kamala Harris Presidency Could Mean More of the Same on A.I. Regulation (NYTimes)Apple Moves Forward With Foldable iPhone (The Information)The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a great phone that’s out of ideas (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I try to get my head around the whole Google and third-party cookies thing. Wiz turns down Google’s big money acquisition offer. Spot ether ETFs can begin trading. And why weather prediction might be the first big scientific breakthrough of this AI era.Links:After years of uncertainty, Google says it won’t be ‘deprecating third-party cookies’ in Chrome (Digiday)Wiz walks away from $23 billion deal with Google, will pursue IPO (CNBC)This ‘Google TV Streamer’ set-top box is what comes after Chromecast [Gallery] (9to5Google)Spot Ethereum ETFs get final sign off to begin trading Tuesday (The Block)Delta CEO sees flight disruptions lasting for another couple of days (Reuters)Alexa Is in Millions of Households—and Amazon Is Losing Billions (WSJ)AI helps to produce breakthrough in weather and climate forecasting (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wait, did any news happen this weekend? IT people don’t know about it cause they’re still digging out from the CrowdStrike thing. But why is everybody pointing fingers at Microsoft? Samsung jumps on the Google Messages bandwagon. Japan wants AI startups. And what do you do when you need 22 thousand football player avatars real quick? AI of course!Links:CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor also linked to Linux kernel panics and crashes (The Register)Microsoft’s global sprawl comes under fire after historic outage (Washington Post)Blue Screens Everywhere Are Latest Tech Woe for Microsoft (WSJ)Samsung going all in on Google Messages in US, stops pre-installing Samsung Messages on Galaxy phones (9to5Google)Japan’s copyright rules draw AI groups — and alarm from creators (FT)How AI Brought 11,000 College Football Players to Digital Life in Three Months (WSJ)Review: CMF Phone 1 (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The big tech outage caused by a single software update that even my mom is texting me about. The new mini AI models are bring prices down as we hoped. How Netflix completely righted its ship. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Miro.comThe Next Wave PodcastLinks:Major Windows BSOD issue takes banks, airlines, and broadcasters offline (The Verge)Global IT Collapse Puts Cyber Firm CrowdStrike in Spotlight (Bloomberg)Samsung halts Galaxy Buds 3 Pro shipments over quality issues (The Verge)OpenAI debuts mini version of its most powerful model yet (CNBC)OpenAI's 4o-mini brings big brains on a budget. (Ben's Bites)Netflix Q2 Profits Surge 44% to $2.15 Billion As Streamer Adds 8 Million Subscribers (The Wrap)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:A One-Man Telemundo on TikTok (NYTimes)Pooping on the Moon Is a Messy Business (Wired)Interesting Raise Story About San Francisco Compute Co. (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It looks like crypto exchange hacks are back. And so are the North Koreans, I guess. Are the Meta Ray-Bans selling so well Zuck might invest in the Ray-Ban maker? The continuing trend of tech companies withholding products from Europe. And the state of play in terms of whether or not the cops can get into your phone.Sponsors:The Next Wave PodcastLinks:WazirX Hacked for $230M, Largely in SHIB, as Elliptic Says North Korea Behind Attack (CoinDesk)$235 million lost by WazirX in North Korea-linked breach (Elliptic)Meta explores stake in Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica (FT)Reality Comes to Meta’s Reality Labs (The Information)Scoop: Meta won't offer future multimodal AI models in EU (Axios)Apple says its OpenELM model doesn’t power Apple Intelligence amid YouTube controversy (9to5Mac)Apple, Nvidia, Anthropic Used Thousands of Swiped YouTube Videos to Train AI (Proof)Leaked Docs Show What Phones Cellebrite Can (and Can’t) Unlock (404 Media)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sorry, we gotta do more politics. Can’t avoid it cause now Trump likes TikTok and seemingly hates Mark Zuckerberg. Mistrals two new models. A big Pixel phone leak. And the interesting new “sketch to image” AI tool on the new Galaxy phones.Sponsors:CleanMyMac X with promocode: techmemeLinks:Trump on Taxes, Tariffs, Jerome Powell and More (Bloomberg)Exclusive: Google-backed software developer GitLab explores sale, sources say (Reuters)Mistral releases Codestral Mamba for faster, longer code generation (VentureBeat)Giant Pixel 9 leak gives us our first real-world look at the Fold, faster charging specs, and more (AndroidAuthority)Samsung’s new image-generating AI tool is a little too good (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

JD Vance becomes the first Tech industry player, and especially Venture Capitalist, to ever be on a major presidential ticket. It’s never been easier for the cops to break into your phone. Why are the major record labels suing Verizon? And why an AI innovation around spreadsheets could be a big deal.Sponsors:Vanta.com/ride for $1000 offCleanMyMac X with promocode: techmemeLinks:J.D. Vance Is Trump’s Pick for Vice President (Wired)It’s never been easier for the cops to break into your phone (The Verge)Microsoft Investigated by UK Over Ex-Inflection Staff Hires (Bloomberg)Record labels sue Verizon for not disconnecting pirates’ Internet service (ArsTechnica)Microsoft’s new AI system ‘SpreadsheetLLM’ unlocks insights from spreadsheets, boosting enterprise productivity (VentureBeat)Apple releases public betas for iOS 18, macOS, and more (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The biggest tech exit in years might be in the offing as Alphabet eyes scooping up Wiz. The weird story of that huge AT&T hack. A new ARM-powered CoPilot+ PC is maybe the most powerful yet. And is India the reason Apple’s stock has been on the rise lately?Sponsors:ArcticWolf.com/techmemeShopify.com/rideLinks:Google Near $23 Billion Deal for Cybersecurity Startup Wiz (WSJ)Zero to Billions: The Startup on the Verge of the Biggest Tech Exit in Years (WSJ)AT&T says criminals stole phone records of ‘nearly all’ customers in new data breach (TechCrunch)AT&T Paid a Hacker $370,000 to Delete Stolen Phone Records (Wired)HP's new OmniBook Ultra beats every single Copilot+ PC on the market in TOPS, and it runs on an AMD Ryzen AI 300 processor (Windows Central)Apple’s India Sales Surge 33% to Record in Shift From China (Bloomberg)India clings to cheap feature phones as brands struggle to tap new smartphone buyers (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More about Josh Wolfe and Lux Capital here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from what was largely a foldable phone event from Samsung yesterday. Apple has settled with the EU. More numbers on Apple Vision Pro sales. Why the sparkle emoji is the defacto symbol of AI. And, of course, the Weekend Longread Suggestions.Sponsors:Lumen.me/rideLinks:Galaxy Z Fold 6 goes official with 7 years of updates, wider displays, starting at $1,899 (9to5Google)Galaxy Z Flip 6 starts at $1,099 with battery, cover display, and camera upgrades (9to5Google)Apple Avoids EU Antitrust Threat With Tap-and-Pay Probe Settlement (Bloomberg)Apple’s Vision Pro Won’t Cross 500,000 Sales This Year, IDC Says (Bloomberg)Has Artificial Intelligence Co-opted the Sparkle Emoji? (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Defeated by A.I., a Legend in the Board Game Go Warns: Get Ready for What’s Next (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Suddenly nobody wants to be on OpenAI’s board, even as observers. I’ll tell you why. More on how AI has thrown everybody’s carbon neutral plans into chaos. A monster raise in the AI and robotics space. And a16z has found a way to get chips into the hands of their AI startups.Links:Microsoft and Apple drop OpenAI seats amid antitrust scrutiny (FT)Microsoft gives up observer seat on OpenAI board (Axios)Google Is No Longer Claiming to Be Carbon Neutral (Bloomberg)Amazon Says It Reached a Climate Goal Seven Years Early (NYTimes)Microsoft is hiking the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and launching a new ‘Standard’ tier (The Verge)This $1.5 Billion AI Company Is Building A ‘General Purpose Brain’ For Robots (Forbes)Andreessen Horowitz Is Building a Stash of More Than 20,000 GPUs to Win AI Deals (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The new nothing phone costs almost nothing. I’m not punning. Sam Altman has founded yet another AI startup. Is the hype around AI PCs underdelivering? And two other back the future stories about updating Notepad in Windows, and abandoning floppy disks in Japan.Sponsors:Dragon Ball LegendsLinks:Nothing’s CMF Devices Prove Yet Again Cheap Doesn't Have to Mean Boring (Wired)Amazon announces new $79 Echo Spot alarm clock (CNBC)OpenAI and Arianna Huffington are working together on an ‘AI health coach’ (The Verge)Spotify is going to let you leave comments on podcast episodes (The Verge)Qualcomm, Microsoft Lean on AI Hype to Spur PC Market Revival (Bloomberg)After 41 years Microsoft quietly adds spellchecking and autocorrect to Windows Notepad (Tom Hardware)Japan declares victory in effort to end government use of floppy disks (Reuters)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ok, fine. Give me a thinner watch if it’ll also somehow have a bigger screen. Apple and Epic are just petty, squabbling children at this point. What if AI as it currently exists, is simply too expensive to be profitable? And a new social network is sort of back to the future.Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeMiro.comLinks:What’s Next for the Apple Watch: Bigger Screens But a Similar Look (Bloomberg)Apple okays Epic Games marketplace app in Europe (Reuters)In a major update, Proton adds privacy-safe document collaboration to Drive, its freemium E2EE cloud storage service (TechCrunch)AI industry needs to earn $600 billion per year to pay for massive hardware spend — fears of an AI bubble intensify in wake of Sequoia report (Tom's Hardware)noplace, a mashup of Twitter and Myspace for Gen Z, hits No. 1 on the App Store (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This about the man who invented the modern disc operating system (the OS) and the concept of the software platform. That man was Gary Kildall. And the question we examine in this episode is, why is Bill Gates the richest man in the world, and not Gary Kildall? Could things have turned out differently?In this episode we use audio from the following documentaries:Triumph of the NerdsandComputer ChroniclesSpecial thanks to Justin Schwinghamer for the original score and the voice acting.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This about the man who invented the modern disc operating system (the OS) and the concept of the software platform. That man was Gary Kildall. And the question we examine in this episode is, why is Bill Gates the richest man in the world, and not Gary Kildall? Could things have turned out differently?In this episode we use audio from the following documentaries:Triumph of the NerdsandComputer ChroniclesSpecial thanks to Justin Schwinghamer for the original score and the voice acting.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The deploying and then walking back of AI products and features is becoming something of a routine at this point. Apple is joining OpenAI’s board, kinda-sorta. Meta outlines 3D Gen. Proof that VC funding is coming back, baby. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:A Better Paradise PodcastLinks:Figma Disables AI App Design Tool After It Copied Apple’s Weather App (404 Media)Figma pulls AI tool after criticism that it ripped off Apple’s design (The Verge)Apple Poised to Get OpenAI Board Observer Role as Part of AI Pact (Bloomberg)Meta drops ‘3D Gen’ bomb: AI-powered 3D asset creation at lightning speed (VentureBeat)Investors Pour $27.1 Billion Into A.I. Start-Ups, Defying a Downturn (NYTimes)Weekend Longreads SuggestionsInternet Browsers Are Getting a Makeover for the Workplace (WSJ)A.I. Begins Ushering In an Age of Killer Robots (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A recent Evolve Bank and Trust cyberattack might impact a lot of tech customers. Why single points of failure impact cyberattacks. YouTube will soon let you take down videos like you’re a Hollywood studio. And big tech’s playbook for AI acquisitions that the regulators can’t frown at.Sponsors:CleanMyMac X Promocode: techmemeLinks:Fintech company Wise says some customers affected by Evolve Bank data breach (TechCrunch)CDK Global Hack Shows Risk of One Software Vendor Dominating an Industry (WSJ)Supreme Court orders new look at social media laws in Texas and Florida (CBSNews)Exclusive: Nvidia set to face French antitrust charges, sources say (Reuters)YouTube now lets you request removal of AI-generated content that simulates your face or voice (TechCrunch)This is Big Tech’s playbook for swallowing the AI industry (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta’s turn to be accused of breaching the DMA. Smarter AirPods as part of an AR/VR strategy. Better AI leaderboards. And is the Surface Laptop finally a true MacBook Air killer?Sponsors:Dragon Ball LegendsLinks:Meta's pay or consent model in crosshairs for breaching EU tech rules (Reuters)Kuo: Apple to begin mass production of AirPods with cameras by 2026 (9to5Mac)‘Boring’ Bitcoin Sends Weekend Trading Volume to All-Time Lows (Bloomberg)Amazon’s Bargain Store Would Use Same Trade ‘Loophole’ as Temu, Shein (The Information)Chinese AI models storm Hugging Face's LLM chatbot benchmark leaderboard — Alibaba runs the board as major US competitors have worsened (Tom's Hardware)Surface Laptop review: Microsoft’s best MacBook Air competitor yet (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Find out more about Casemark at Casemark.ai.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The growing backlash over Perplexity is getting interesting. OpenAI possibly exiting China will be interesting in terms of a massive land grab. AI Al Michaels will deliver personalized Olympics updates for you. And in the Longreads: is the real King of All Media… YouTube?Sponsors:ConstantContact.comLinks:Amazon Is Investigating Perplexity Over Claims of Scraping Abuse (Wired)OpenAI’s China Block to Reshape AI Scene as Big Players Pounce (Bloomberg)OpenAI Wants AI to Help Humans Train AI (Wired)An AI version of Al Michaels will deliver Olympic recaps on Peacock (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:YouTube dominates streaming, forcing media companies to decide whether it’s friend or foe (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is Uncle Sam about to unload a ton of Bitcoin? AI has helped Google Translate almost double the number of languages it supports. No surprise, but Amazon is gonna take a page out of Temu’s book. Figma’s big redesign. And another way the AI era is rhyming with the DotCom era: the consultants are back.Sponsors:Miro.comLinks:Bitcoin Falls After U.S. Sends $240M Worth of Silk Road-Related BTC to Coinbase (Coindesk)Google Translate is getting support for more than 110 new languages (The Verge)Amazon To Launch Temu-Like Discount Section With Direct Shipping From China (The Information)Amazon Hits $2 Trillion in Value as AI Frenzy Fuels Rally (Bloomberg)Figma announces big redesign with AI (The Verge)Webtoon Entertainment to debut on Nasdaq as latest Korean cultural export success (Financial Times)The A.I. Boom Has an Unlikely Early Winner: Wonky Consultants (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The ChatGPT macOS app is now available for everybody. Google drops continuous scroll for search. Waymo drops the waitlist in San Francisco. Are the AI characters on Character.ai somehow… changed? And is there an eInk phone that I might actually have to try out?Sponsors:Lumen.me/rideLinks:OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Mac app is now available to everyone (9to5Mac)Google dropping continuous scroll in search results (Search Engine Land)Waymo ditches the waitlist and opens up its robotaxis to everyone in San Francisco (The Verge)Tech Investor Sean Parker Leads Rescue of Struggling AI Startup (WSJ)‘No Bot is Themselves Anymore:’ Character.ai Users Report Sudden Personality Changes to Chatbots (404 Media)The Boox Palma is an amazing gadget I didn’t even know I wanted (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

History is rhyming today as AI music startups get the Napster treatment and Microsoft gets dinged for product bundling. Google wants you to build your own AI celebrity. Amazon wants to go at ChatGPT directly. And two hella-interesting and hella-big AI raises.Sponsors:Miro.comLinks:Major record labels sue AI company behind ‘BBL Drizzy’ (The Verge)EU charges Microsoft with antitrust violations over Teams (FT)Apple Spurned Idea of iPhone AI Partnership With Meta Months Ago (Bloomberg)Uber Is Locking Out NYC Drivers Mid-Shift to Lower Minimum Pay (Bloomberg)Google Develops Challenger to Meta’s Chatbots and Character.AI (The Information)Amazon is secretly working on a ChatGPT killer (Business Insider)Etched is building an AI chip that only runs one type of model (TechCrunch)EvolutionaryScale lands $142 mln to advance AI in biology (Reuters)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Could Apple soon owe Europe a ton of money as they are the first to run afoul of the DMA? Could Meta soon join OpenAI as part of Apple Intelligence. Why food delivery apps are seeing plunging usage in NYC and Seattle. And a big new AI focused bill in California that AI startups are worried about.Sponsors:1password.com/rideWashingtonPost.com/rideLinks:Brussels accuses Apple of breaking EU ‘gatekeeper’ rules (FT)Apple is first company charged with violating EU’s DMA rules (The Verge)Apple Won’t Roll Out AI Tech In EU Market Over Regulatory Concerns (Bloomberg)Apple, Meta Have Discussed an AI Partnership (WSJ)Delivery Drivers Got Higher Wages. Now They’re Getting Fewer Orders. (WSJ)AI Doesn’t Kill Jobs? Tell That to Freelancers (WSJ)‘Little Tech’ brings a big flex to Sacramento (Politico)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The government has banned Kaspersky antivirus sales in the US. People are losing their minds over Claude 3.5 Sonnet from Anthropic. Soon all devices can pair to your iPhone as easily as AirPods do. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:US bans sale of Kaspersky software citing security risk from Russia (TechCrunch)Anthropic claims its latest model is best-in-class (TechCrunch)Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet wows AI power users: ‘this is wild’ (VentureBeat)New iOS 18 API brings AirPods setup experience to third-party accessories (9to5Mac)SpaceX unveils backpack-sized ‘Starlink Mini’ satellite internet antenna for $599 (CNBC)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Why are mobile game ads so weird and bad? (Sherwood)From Infocom to 80 Days: An oral history of text games and interactive fiction (ArsTechnica)The song Stevie Nicks wrote to “haunt” Lindsey Buckingham (Far Out)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ilya Sutskever wants to go straight to Safe Superintelligence, do not pass go, but do probably collect hundreds of millions of dollars. Is Perplexity ignoring robots.txt files? Xreal’s hybrid AR glasses play. And how many apps did Apple sherlock at WWDC last week?Sponsors:GreenLight.com/rideLinks:Ilya Sutskever Has a New Plan for Safe Superintelligence (Bloomberg)Perplexity Is a Bullshit Machine (Wired)For Apple’s AI Push, China Is a Missing Piece (WSJ)Xreal’s new gadget is a phone-sized Android tablet just for your AR glasses (The Verge)iOS 18 could ‘sherlock’ $400M in app revenue (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Does Apple pumping the breaks on the Vision Pro indicate problems for the category, or was this always the plan? What if AI means bots do the social media-ing for you? Actual RISC-V PCs coming to market. And a review of the new slate of CoPilot+ PCs that are available now.Links:Apple Suspends Work on Next Vision Pro, Focused on Releasing Cheaper Model in Late 2025 (The Information)Former Snap engineer launches Butterflies, a social network where AIs and humans coexist (TechCrunch)The Framework Laptop 13 is about to become one of the world’s first RISC-V laptops (The Verge)Here are all of the Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X chips that were released today (Engadget)ASUS VivoBook S 15 Copilot+ PC Review: Is the Snapdragon X Elite hype real? (Windows Central)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The regulators have come for adobe and their alleged subscription shenanigans. Apple might settle with the EU. But it’s also shutting down its BNPL service. The Threads API is here. Tether is making bank. Uber might be having a breakthrough moment. And back to using Reddit for search.Sponsors:A Better Paradise PodcastLinks:US sues Adobe for ‘deceiving’ subscriptions that are too hard to cancel (The Verge)Apple to settle ‘tap-and-go’ payments probe with EU (FT)Apple discontinuing Apple Pay Later, ahead of new features launching this fall (9to5Mac)Threads finally launches its API for developers (TechCrunch)Tether Announces a New Synthetic Dollar That Is Backed by Gold (Bloomberg)A Robotaxi Business Is A Dream For Elon Musk–But Already A Reality For Waymo (Forbes)Can You Replace Google Search With Reddit? I Tried It for a Week (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark Gurman says Apple is going to go all in on making the thinnest and lightest devices in the industry. Though the Apple Watch is probably going to get a bigger screen. McDonalds pumps the breaks on AI in the drive through. And two contradictory anecdotal stories about what happens when AI comes for your job.Sponsors:ArcticWolf.com/techmemeMiro.comLinks:Apple’s Slow Rollout of Intelligence Features Will Stretch Into 2025 (Bloomberg)Kuo: Apple Watch Series 10 to Get Larger Screen and Thinner Design (MacRumors)Privacy app maker Proton transitions to non-profit foundation structure (TechCrunch)McDonald's is ending its drive-thru AI test (Restaurant Business Online)AI took their jobs. Now they get paid to make it sound human (BBC)AI in finance is like ‘moving from typewriters to word processors’ (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The recall of some Microsoft AI products continues as literally Recall gets delayed. Another deep dive into how Apple’s AI actually works. Dream Machine is an open source AI video generator you can use this weekend. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, the people who have found everyday use cases for the Apple Vision Pro.Links:Microsoft’s all-knowing Recall AI feature is being delayed (The Verge)Here’s how Apple’s AI model tries to keep your data private (The Verge)Luma AI debuts ‘Dream Machine’ for realistic video generation, heating up AI media race (VentureBeat)As streaming becomes more expensive, Tubi cashes in on the value of free (Los Angeles Times)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:I Know What the Apple Vision Pro Is For (Intelligencer)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple isn’t paying OpenAI anything for their partnership. Guess they’ll make it up on volume. More details on how much money OpenAI IS making. The surprise Galaxy Watch FE. And do you think you’d have the skills to compete in the Excel World Championships?Links:Apple to ‘Pay’ OpenAI for ChatGPT Through Distribution, Not Cash (Bloomberg)OpenAI’s Annualized Revenue Doubles to $3.4 Billion Since Late 2023 (The Information)Perplexity was planning revenue-sharing deals with publishers when it came under media fire (Semafor)You’ll soon be able to join Discord calls directly from your PS5 (The Verge)Nintendo Switch Update 18.1.0 Pulls X/Twitter Support, Bringing It In-Line With PlayStation and Xbox (IGN)Samsung’s Galaxy Watch FE is its new entry-level smartwatch (The Verge)Spreadsheet Superstars (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon Musk has withdrawn his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI. I guess Wall Street likes Apple’s AI strategy. But why is Microsoft already putting the brakes on some of its AI features? BeReal gets acquired. What does the word “slop” mean when it comes to AI? And what happens when you add modern technology to the humble walkie talkie?Links:Elon Musk drops suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman (CNBC)X is officially making likes (mostly) private for everyone (Engadget)Apple quietly improves Mac virtualization in macOS 15 Sequoia (ArsTechnica)Microsoft is killing off GPT Builder in Copilot Pro for consumers, just three months after broad availability (XDA Developers)OpenAI ex-employees worry about company’s control over their millions of dollars in shares (CNBC)Photo-sharing app BeReal acquired by Voodoo for €500mn (FT)First Came ‘Spam.’ Now, With A.I., We’ve Got ‘Slop’ (NYTimes)Raleigh smart walkie-talkie startup Relay raises $35M from investors (Axios)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All of the drips and drabs details from yesterday’s WWDC keynote. Spotify is about to announce a higher tier of membership with some perks. Mistral raises a big new round. The Raspberry Pi IPO is a success. And what if AI could actually make every stoplight in the country more intelligent in real time?Sponsors:Vanta.com/rideLumen.me/rideLinks:Apple’s AI promise: “Your data is never stored or made accessible to Apple” (ArsTechnica)How will Apple’s new AI change your phone? I asked Tim Cook. (Washington Post)Thoughts on #WWDC24 (Chris Messina)Apple’s Push to Infuse Devices With AI Will Take Years to Pay Off (Bloomberg)Spotify to Introduce More Expensive Subscription Tier for Music Lovers (Bloomberg)Mistral secures €600mn funding as valuation soars to almost €6bn (Financial Times)Raspberry Pi shares jump more than a third on first day of trading (Financial Times)The Smart, Cheap Fix for Slow, Dumb Traffic Lights (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from WWDC. All the AI goodness, even if Apple spent half the time not even mentioning the words Artificial Intelligence. Also, what if the audio quality of cell phones didn’t have to suck? And what if AI could actually make every stoplight in the country more intelligent in real time?Sponsors:Miro.comShopify.com/rideSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Get observability for your LLM application at TraceLoop.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we prep for WWDC on Monday, word of a completely new Passwords app from Apple. Also, it’s a day of backlashes. The backlash against Adobe’s terms of service. The backlash against Windows Recall. The new social media app that is riding the backlash against AI. And, of course, the Weekend Longread Suggestions.Sponsors:get.StoryBlok.com/ridehomeLinks:Here’s Everything Apple Plans to Show at Its AI-Focused WWDC Event (Bloomberg)Apple to Debut Passwords App in Challenge to 1Password, LastPass (Bloomberg)Adobe responds to vocal uproar over new Terms of Service language (VentureBeat)Adobe terms clarified: Will never own your work, or use it for AI training (9to5Mac)A PR disaster: Microsoft has lost trust with its users, and Windows Recall is the straw that broke the camel's back (WindowsCentral)A social app for creatives, Cara grew from 40k to 650k users in a week because artists are fed up with Meta’s AI policies (TechCrunch)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Behind ‘Suicide Squad,’ the Year’s Biggest Video-Game Flop (Bloomberg)The Unistellar Odyssey smart telescope made me question what stargazing means (ArsTechnica)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nvidia hits $3T. US regulators aren’t sleeping on the AI market, including Nvidia itself. Humane tells users of the AI Pin to stop using the charging case “immediately.” Google is gonna store your Maps data on device. And would you take a job at Ikea... but in the Metaverse?Sponsors:get.StoryBlok.com/ridehomeKolide.com/rideLinks:U.S. Clears Way for Antitrust Inquiries of Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI (NYTimes)FTC Opens Antitrust Probe of Microsoft AI Deal (WSJ)US antitrust enforcer says ‘urgent’ scrutiny needed over Big Tech’s control of AI (Financial Times)Humane warns AI Pin owners to ‘immediately’ stop using its charging case (The Verge)‘This Is Going to Be Painful’: How a Bold A.I. Device Flopped (NYTimes)Google Maps is making a big privacy change to protect your location history (The Verge)Stability AI releases a sound generator (TechCrunch)Ikea Is Hiring Roblox Players To Run Its Virtual Store (The Gamer)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As I said on that bonus episode with Alex Kantrowitz, the research side of OpenAI isn’t happy, and they’re starting to speak out. More details on AI at WWDC next week. More price hikes in digital media. Palmer Luckey can’t stop; won’t stop. And how CoreWeave became one of the biggest winners of the AI era.Links:OpenAI Insiders Warn of a ‘Reckless’ Race for Dominance (NYTimes)Apple Made Once-Unlikely Deal With Sam Altman to Catch Up in AI (Bloomberg)Twitch is raising US subscription prices for the first time (Engadget)Quest v66 Update "Significantly" Reduces Quest 3 Passthrough Distortion & Warping (UploadVR)How an upstart is using its Nvidia ties to challenge cloud computing giants (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More headlines from Computex. More layoffs at Microsoft, but why? Instagram is copying YouTube’s unskippable ads. Why Samsung is pre-emptively suing Oura. And Palmer Lucky is personally bankrolling a modern-day Gameboy.Sponsors:CrunchLabs.com/rideLinks:Intel CEO Takes Aim at Nvidia in Fight for AI Chip Dominance (Bloomberg)E*Trade Considers Kicking Meme-Stock Leader Keith Gill Off Platform (WSJ)Microsoft is laying off hundreds in its Azure cloud business, sources say (BusinessInsider)Microsoft cuts jobs in Azure, HoloLens, and other units in latest move to control costs (GeekWire)Instagram confirms test of ‘unskippable’ ads (TechCrunch)Samsung sues Oura preemptively to block smart ring patent claims (The Verge)Palmer Luckey is now selling pixel-perfect ultrabright magnesium Game Boys for $199 (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Computex brings a slew of announcements from AMD and Nvidia, including an AI bot to help you with your gaming. Another price hike from Spotify. Perplexity launches Pages. X is now officially NSFW. And a look at Sam Altman’s investment portfolio.Sponsors:WashingtonPost.com/rideMackWeldon.com code: BRIANLinks:Nvidia’s G-Assist is an AI chatbot that guides you through games and optimizes your PC (The Verge)Spotify is increasing US prices again (The Verge)Perplexity will research and write reports (The Verge)X tweaks rules to formally allow adult content (TechCrunch)The Opaque Investment Empire Making OpenAI’s Sam Altman Rich (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI Teases GPT-5, Musk Raises $6B for xAI, Loneliness in Remote Work Era.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI has a new “affordable” version of ChatGPT for universities and schools. They also are planning to get back into robotics in a big way. Behind the scenes, TikTok is forking its algorithm just in case. Why doesn’t Apple just euthanize the Siri brand? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:OpenAI has a has a new version of ChatGPT just for universities (Engadget)OpenAI Is Rebooting Its Robotics Team (Forbes)OpenAI finds Russian and Chinese groups used its tech for propaganda campaigns (Washington Post)Apple Plans AI-Based Siri Overhaul to Control Individual App Functions (Bloomberg)Exclusive: TikTok preparing a US copy of the app’s core algorithm, sources say (Reuters)Spotify offers Car Thing refunds as it faces lawsuit over bricking the streaming device (TechCrunch)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Disney Is Banking On Sequels to Help Get Pixar Back on Track (Bloomberg Businessweek)They Built a $100 Million Watch Empire. Then the Market Tanked. (WSJ)The Creator Of ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Knows Exactly Where It All Went Wrong (Defector)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Global authorities take down what they say is the biggest botnet of all time. More big AI deals for big media. More on the delicate dance between OpenAI and Microsoft. Why aren’t there more smartwatches for tweens? And the AR laptop that might give the Apple Vision Pro a run for its money.Links:US dismantles 911 S5 botnet used for cyberattacks, arrests admin (BleepingComputer)Exclusive: The Atlantic, Vox Media ink licensing, product deals with OpenAI (Axios)OpenAI CEO Cements Control as He Secures Apple Deal (The Information)Internal divisions linger at OpenAI after November’s attempted coup (Financial Times)Amazon to Expand US Drone Service After Getting Regulator’s Nod (Bloomberg)Apple Signals That It’s Working on TV+ App for Android Phones (Bloomberg)Google announces Fitbit Ace LTE for kids with Wear OS, Pixel Watch 2 specs (9to5Google)The Spacetop G1 Arrives This Fall. We Try the AR Laptop With No Screen (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A big leak at Google might be the tech equivalent of the secret formula for Coca-Cola being revealed for the first time. The ex-OpenAI board members are starting to explain why they tried to fire Sam Altman. Did the Biden administration pass on TikTok’s concessions to avoid a ban? And remember delivery apps? How they doin’ these days?Sponsors:Lumen.me code: RIDELinks:An Anonymous Source Shared Thousands of Leaked Google Search API Documents with Me; Everyone in SEO Should See Them (SparkToro.com)Ex-OpenAI Director Says Board Learned of ChatGPT Launch on Twitter (Bloomberg)Anthropic hires former OpenAI safety lead to head up new team (TechCrunch)YouTube’s free games catalog ‘Playables’ rolls out to all users (TechCrunch)How the U.S. ignored a chance to make TikTok safer (Washington Post)Food delivery apps rack up $20bn in losses in fierce battle for diners (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We have a rough timeline of when we can expect GPT5 and it looks like it won’t be this summer. xAI has a big raise. Another in-depth look at Apple’s AI strategy. The surprising old school companies getting boosted by the AI boom. And more data on how popular ad-supported streaming is becoming.Sponsors:YahooFinance.com1Password.com/rideLinks:OpenAI Says It Has Begun Training a New Flagship A.I. Model (NYTimes)Elon Musk’s xAI raises $6 billion to fund its race against ChatGPT and all the rest (The Verge)Apple Bets That Its Giant User Base Will Help It Win in AI (Bloomberg)Google adds AI-powered features to Chromebook (TechCrunch)The future of financial analysis: How GPT-4 is disrupting the industry, according to new research (VentureBeat)AI Is Driving ‘the Next Industrial Revolution.’ Wall Street Is Cashing In. (WSJ)What Happened to Our Ad-Free TV? (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Out of nowhere, the SEC has approved spot ETFs for ether. Spotify is killing its Car Thing. Google’s AI Overview is giving crazy answers all over the place. But Meta already wants to charge more for their AI bots. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Miro.comLinks:US SEC approves exchange applications to list spot ether ETFs (Reuters)Spotify is going to break every Car Thing gadget it ever sold (The Verge)Google's AI search feature suggested using glue to keep cheese sticking to a pizza (Business Insider)Save $200+ on your upgrade to The Information Pro (The Information)The Daylight DC1 is a $729 attempt to build a calmer computer (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:VCs and the military are fueling self-driving startups that don’t need roads (TechCrunch)Two students find security bug that could let millions do laundry for free (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nvidia’s earnings are still historic, but what could upset their apple cart? A few things, actually. I think we know the truth or at least the timeline of JohanssonGate. Big new media deal for OpenAI. Likes are going private on X. And would you clone your voice to answer the phone on your behalf?Sponsors:Vanta.com/rideLinks:Nvidia shares pass $1,000 for first time on AI-driven sales surge (CNBC)Nvidia’s Business Is Booming. Here’s What Could Slow It Down. (WSJ)OpenAI didn’t copy Scarlett Johansson’s voice for ChatGPT, records show (Washington Post)OpenAI, WSJ Owner News Corp Strike Content Deal Valued at Over $250 Million (WSJ)Crypto Lobby Wins: House Passes FIT21 as Democrats Deride Historic Regulatory Framework (Decrypt)Elon Musk Wants to Make X's Likes Private to Hide Your Favorite 'Edgy' Content (Gizmodo)Truecaller and Microsoft will let users make an AI voice to answer calls (The Verge)The story about my wife's theater project (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the AI announcements from Microsoft Build. I know it’s only been a minute, but is Humane already circling the Deadpool? They’re supposedly shopping themselves, but at a valuation that seems… shall we say, on brand for them? Don’t forget Alexa needs an AI upgrade. And the efforts to peek inside the black box that is the Large Language Model.Links:Microsoft’s new Copilot AI agents act like virtual employees to automate tasks (The Verge)Microsoft is bringing ‘Windows Volumetric Apps’ to Meta Quest headsets (The Verge)Wearable AI Startup Humane Explores Potential Sale, Sources Say (Bloomberg)Google Search’s New AI Overviews Will Soon Have Ads (Wired)Amazon plans to give Alexa an AI overhaul — and a monthly subscription price (CNBC)AI Is a Black Box. Anthropic Figured Out a Way to Look Inside (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are only 2 stories today, but they’re big ones. First, at an event yesterday, Microsoft showed off what they want the PC to look like in the AI era. Plus, this Recall app is super interesting. Then, look, it’s the Scarlett Johansson/OpenAI thing. It’s gotten weird. And more importantly, it’s continuing to highlight how OpenAI itself is… weird.Sponsors:Miro.com for 3 free boards!Links:The new, faster Surface Pro is Microsoft’s all-purpose AI PC (The Verge)Microsoft announces an Arm-powered Surface Laptop (The Verge)Microsoft unveils Copilot+ PCs with generative AI capabilities baked in (Engadget)Recall is Microsoft’s key to unlocking the future of PCs (The Verge)Scarlett Johansson says she was 'shocked, angered' when she heard OpenAI's voice that sounded like her (NBCNews)Midler v. Ford Motor Co. (Wikipedia)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

No, that ChatGPT voice is not Scarlett Johansson, stop asking. In fact, that voice is going away. What does it mean if OpenAI’s entire superalignment team has gone away? Is Apple News+ the partner publishers have been waiting for? And if you want to be a digital nomad, you’ve got a lot of options these days.Sponsors:Pivotal PodcastTo access The Washington Post for just 50 cents per week, head to WashingtonPost.com/rideLinks:OpenAI to Pull Johansson Soundalike Sky’s Voice From ChatGPT (Bloomberg)What We Lose When ChatGPT Sounds Like Scarlett Johansson (NYTimes)Apple Needs to Evolve to Compete in the Artificial Intelligence Era (Bloomberg)OpenAI’s Long-Term AI Risk Team Has Disbanded (Wired)As clicks dry up for news sites, could Apple’s news app be a lifeline? (Semafor)Countries wooing corporate digital nomads hope to make them stay (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As telegraphed for the last year, Reddit is going all in on being an all you can eat buffet for AI companies. Will new batteries give iPhones longer battery life like I want, or will they just make the phones thinner? A subtle but important improvement to ChatGPT and in the Longreads, a deep dive into what happened at Cruise.Links:OpenAI strikes deal to bring Reddit content to ChatGPT (Reuters)OpenAI strikes Reddit deal to train its AI on your posts (The Verge)Grand Theft Auto VI is launching in fall 2025 (The Verge)iPhone 16 Pro Max to get new battery that could last longer (AppleInsider)ChatGPT now lets you import files directly from Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive (VentureBeat)Twitter is officially X.com now (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:In a single night, self-driving startup Cruise went from sizzling startup to cautionary tale. Here’s what really happened—and how GM is scrambling to save its $10B bet (Fortune)How cuddly robots could change dementia care (MIT Technology Review)Where Did All The Stocks Go? (Sherwood)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some AI companies want to go after web search. But by hiring an Instagram founder, is Anthropic going in a social or app direction? Will AI kill the carbon neutral ambitions of the major tech players? Will tech companies now have to onshore EMPLOYEES from China? And Netflix with ads? Definitely working.Links:EU launches probe into Meta over social media addiction in children (Financial Times)Instagram’s co-founder is Anthropic’s new chief product officer (The Verge)Android will be able to detect if your phone has been snatched (The Verge)Microsoft’s AI Push Imperils Climate Goal as Carbon Emissions Jump 30% (Bloomberg)Microsoft Asks Hundreds of China-Based AI Staff to Consider Relocating Amid U.S.-China Tensions (WSJ)Stability AI, Facing Cash Crunch, Discusses Sale (The Information)Netflix ad-supported tier has 40 million monthly users, nearly double previous count (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the announces from Google’s massive I/O event yesterday, including, yes, generative AI summaries are fully coming to Google Search. Plus, the camera-based AI system they teased that looks really cool. Ilya Sutskever officially leaves OpenAI. And is crypto the only place left where you can raise a billion-dollar seed round?Sponsors:Lumen.me code RIDE for $100 offLinks:Google rolls out AI Overviews in US with more countries coming soon (SearchEngineLand)Can Google Give A.I. Answers Without Breaking the Web? (NYTimes)Google's Project Astra uses your phone's camera and AI to find noise makers, misplaced items and more. (Engadget)OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever says he will leave the startup (CNBC)TikTok creators sue U.S. government over potential ban (Washington Post)Humanity Protocol Becomes Crypto’s New Digital Identity Unicorn (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI unveils GPT-4o which makes Siri look like the technical cul-de-sac it very much is. But what does it mean that this was NOT GPT-5? What does it mean for the gaming industry that the PS5 might be underperforming? More streaming bundles. And the 2024 iPad refresh reviews.Sponsors:YahooFinance.comConstantContact.comLinks:OpenAI debuts GPT-4o ‘omni’ model now powering ChatGPT (TechCrunch)OpenAI debuts new model with enhanced real-time voice abilities (Axios)Tom Warren's PS5 sales TweetComcast to Launch Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ Bundle at a ‘Vastly Reduced Price’ (Variety)The new Apple iPad Air is great — but it’s not the one to get (The Verge)Apple iPad Pro (2024) review: the best kind of overkill (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well, looks like my worries about solar weather being a threat to technology wasn’t just in my head. Ask farmers. Squarespace to go private. Raspberry Pi to go public? Waymo is setting some impressive records. And the new type of deal Apple and the other streamers want to offer Hollywood.Sponsors:ArcticWolf.com/techmemeShopify.com/rideLinks:Solar Storm Knocks Out Farmers' Tractor GPS Systems During Peak Planting Season (404Media)Website-design firm Squarespace to go private in $6.9 billion deal with Permira (Reuters)British tech firm Raspberry Pi lines up £500m float (The Times)Microsoft set to face EU competition charges over Teams software (Financial Times)Google’s Waymo Crosses 50,000 Paid Driverless Rides Per Week (The Information)Apple Nears Deal With OpenAI to Put ChatGPT on iPhone (Bloomberg)Apple, Netflix Amazon Want to Change How They Pay Hollywood Stars (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well that was fast. Apple apologized for the “Crush” Ad, saying they missed the mark on that one. Microsoft is launching a mobile game app store. Elevenlabs is getting into the music generating game. And of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Apple apologizes for iPad ‘Crush’ ad that ‘missed the mark’ (The Verge)Apple doesn’t understand why you use technology (The Verge)Microsoft Plans Mobile-Game Store, Vying With Apple, Google (Bloomberg)Apple to Power AI Tools With In-House Server Chips This Year (Bloomberg)ElevenLabs previews music-generating AI model (VentureBeat)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Tim Cook Can’t Run Apple Forever. Who’s Next? (Bloomberg)World’s Biggest Construction Project Gets a Reality Check (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AlphaFold 3 is a new AI model to predict interactions and structures of proteins, the better to cure diseases and create medicine with. More cuts in Microsoft gaming. The community backlash erupting over at Stack Overflow. And that really weirdly tone deaf Apple commercial that has everyone so upset.Links:Google DeepMind unveils AI model for living cells (FT)Microsoft’s Xbox Is Planning More Cuts After Studio Closings (Bloomberg)Stack Overflow bans users en masse for rebelling against OpenAI partnership — users banned for deleting answers to prevent them being used to train ChatGPT (TomsHardware)Alphabet Progressing in Talks to Buy HubSpot, Sources Say (Bloomberg)That Weird Apple Ad "Crush!"See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Multiple Bethesda studios are being shut down by Xbox and gamers are worried. The new Pixel phone announcement yesterday that probably nobody heard about. What if OpenAI decides to go after web search? And the surprising fact that FTX investors could be made whole, and then some. With interest!Links:Microsoft Closes Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks, and More in Devastating Cuts at Bethesda (IGN)US revokes licences for supply of chips to China’s Huawei (Financial Times)Exclusive: In Tesla Autopilot probe, US prosecutors focus on securities, wire fraud (Reuters)Google’s New $500 Pixel 8A Smartphone Will Get 7 Years of Software Updates (Wired)OpenAI Is Readying a Search Product to Rival Google, Perplexity (Bloomberg)TikTok Sues U.S. Government Over Law Forcing Sale or Ban (NYTimes)FTX Has Billions More Than Needed to Pay Bankruptcy Victims (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from today’s Spring Apple event. New iPads? M4 chip? I don’t actually know cause I’m recording this bit beforehand. I can tell you Apple might make its own server chips tho. Nintendo has outlined plans to replace the Switch. And Microsoft is training its own high-end LLM, separate from OpenAI.Links:Apple Is Developing AI Chips for Data Centers, Seeking Edge in Arms Race (WSJ)Nintendo Teases Long-Awaited Switch Successor as Profit Slides (Bloomberg)Meet MAI-1: Microsoft Readies New AI Model to Compete With Google, OpenAI (The Information)Amazon’s Delivery Drones Won’t Fly in Arizona’s Summer Heat (Wired)China hacked Ministry of Defence, Sky News learns (SkyNews)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jack Dorsey abandoned Twitter and now he’s abandoned Bluesky as well. YouTube rolls out Jump Ahead. Threads launches post quote controls. More than 40 thousand books on Audible are now voiced by AI. The Air Force is planning more than a thousand AI fighter jets by the end of the decade. And if you’re listening to this on Apple Podcasts, please listen to the end for an important announcement.Sponsors:1Password.com/rideMackWeldon.com promocode: rideLinks:Jack Dorsey departs Bluesky board (TechCrunch)YouTube's AI-powered 'Jump Ahead' feature rolling out widely to Premium users (AndroidAuthority)Farewell, dunks? Threads launches quote controls for all users (TechCrunch)AI-Voiced Audiobooks Top 40,000 Titles on Audible (Bloomberg)An AI-controlled fighter jet took the Air Force leader for a historic ride. What that means for war (AP)Hugging Face launches LeRobot open source robotics code library (VentureBeat)Washed Out’s new music video was created with AI. Is it a watershed moment for Sora? (LATimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple earnings are out and revenue was down almost everywhere. Boy, AI can’t come fast enough for them. Did you know you can send Bluetooth signals to satellites in space? The full Rabbit R1 reviews turned out exactly how we expected. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions.Links:Apple Sales Fall as iPhone, China Businesses Remain Sluggish (WSJ)FDA Qualifies Apple’s AFib History feature as an MDDT (MyHealthyApple)Hubble Network makes Bluetooth connection with a satellite for the first time (TechCrunch)Coinbase’s First-Quarter Profit, Revenue Top Forecasts (Bloomberg)Rabbit R1 review: nothing to see here (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Revenge of the Home Page (The New Yorker)Nick Bostrom Made the World Fear AI. Now He Asks: What if It Fixes Everything? (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The music is back on TikTok with a new deal struck. Maybe a third of Americans were affected by that Change Healthcare hack. Why are companies suddenly cutting teams you’d think would be sacred cows? Airbnb wants you to stay in the house from the movie Up. And we finally know just how much Google pays Apple for the search default in iOS.Sponsors:Kolide.com/rideLinks:TikTok and Universal Music Group Settle Royalty Dispute With New Licensing Agreement (Variety)UnitedHealthcare CEO says ‘maybe a third’ of US citizens were affected by recent hack (TechCrunch)UnitedHealth CEO tells lawmakers the company paid hackers a $22 million ransom (CNBC)Google lays off hundreds of ‘Core’ employees, moves some positions to India and Mexico (CNBC)Amazon-backed Anthropic launches iPhone app and business tier to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT (CNBC)In Latest Stunt, Airbnb Lists the ‘Up’ House. It Floats. (NYTimes)Google’s Payments to Apple Reached $20 Billion in 2022, Antitrust Court Documents Show (Bloomberg)Microsoft Concern Over Google’s Lead Drove OpenAI Investment (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Binance founder CZ looks like he’s heading to jail too, but for way less time than SBF. Is the Rabbit R1 just a fancy device for a glorified Android app? Has OpenAI floated a secret pre-release of GPT5? And finally, so much has happened, I decided we had to do an omnibus catch up with what’s going on in the world of Elon.Links:Binance founder Changpeng Zhao sentenced to four months in prison (The Verge)Rabbit R1, a thing that should just be an app, actually is just an Android app (Updated) (Android Authority)Powerful New Chatbot Disappears as Mysteriously as It Arrived (Gizmodo)Tesla conducting more layoffs, including entire Supercharger team (Electrek)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The FCC has fined all the major telecom companies. You’ll never guess why. Why the DMA actions from the EU might be a constant thing. Devs, how about an AI-powered IDE? You’ll never guess why Peacock thinks it can raise prices again. And is Marquess Brownlee right about underbaked hardware releases?Sponsors:ZocDoc.com/techmemeConstantContact.comLinks:FCC fines AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon nearly $200 million for illegally sharing location data (The Verge)Meta Risks EU Fines Over Kremlin Lies on Facebook, Instagram (Bloomberg)How an empty S3 bucket can make your AWS bill explode (Maciej Pocwierz)Copilot Workspace is GitHub’s take on AI-powered software engineering (TechCrunch)Peacock Hikes Subscription Prices Ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics (The Hollywood Reporter)Rabbit R1 Review (MKBHD)Marques Brownlee slams another AI product as “barely reviewable” after Humane AI Pin controversy (Dexerto)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple continues discussions with folks to partner for AI product. Will the upcoming iPad event kick off Apple’s AI strategy? Why does spending on AI seem to work for Google and Microsoft but not for Meta? Why were a bunch of Apple users signed out of their accounts this weekend? And has AI already ruined Meta’s family of apps?Sponsors:CutsClothing.com/ride, promocode RIDE for 20% offYahooFinance.comLinks:Apple Intensifies Talks With OpenAI for iPhone Generative AI Features (Bloomberg)Apple Rivals Retool to Challenge the iPhone and Vision Pro (Bloomberg)Investors Cheer AI Spending Boom in Big Tech—Just Not at Meta (WSJ)The Financial Times and OpenAI strike content licensing deal (Financial Times)Apple users are being locked out of their Apple IDs with no explanation (9to5Mac)AI is making Meta's apps basically unusable (Fast Company)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Net Neutrality has been voted back into existence. Earnings from Microsoft and Google, but it’s the YouTube numbers that continue to impress me. ByteDance claims it would rather be banned than sell US TikTok. The Onion finds a benevolent billionaire. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:F.C.C. Votes to Restore Net Neutrality Rules (NYTimes)Google parent announces first-ever dividend; beats on sales, profit; shares soar (Reuters)OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Other Tech Leaders to Serve on AI Safety Board (WSJ)Exclusive: ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail, sources say (Reuters)The Onion Is Sold by G/O Media (NYTimes)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Chips Act has been surprisingly successful so far (Financial Times)Why You Can’t Get a Restaurant Reservation (The New Yorker)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta’s earnings were fine, but it’s what Zuck warned about spending that has Wall Street nervous. Sub 2nm chips are on their way. An AI startup has a big new raise after its big raise just a month ago. Google Meet lets you jump devices. And the first reviews of the Rabbit R1 are out.Links:Zuckerberg Asks for Patience as Meta’s AI Push Spooks Market (Bloomberg)Zuckerberg says it will take Meta years to make money from generative AI (The Verge)TSMC aims to produce ultra-advanced 1.6-nm chips by 2026 (NikkeiAsia)Six-Month-Old AI Coding Startup Valued at $2 Billion by Founders Fund (The Information)Google Meet will let you transfer calls between web and phone with ‘Switch here’ (9to5Google)A morning with the Rabbit R1: a fun, funky, unfinished AI gadget (The Verge)Rabbit R1 hands-on: Already more fun and accessible than the Humane AI Pin (Engadget)Rabbit’s R1 is a little AI gadget that grows on you (TechCrunch)First Ones videos on YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The TikTok divestment bill has probably already been signed into law. What happens now? What are the legal arguments that this thing can stick? What about things like, you know, the First Amendment? Also, ads in Windows? Time to take Meta’s RayBan smartglasses seriously? And what it’s like to use AI inside of Instagram.Links:Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to President Biden’s desk (The Verge)TikTok Ban Looms With Biden Poised to Start 270-Day Countdown (Bloomberg)How the TikTok ban could survive a court challenge (Platformer)Windows 11 Start menu ads are now rolling out to everyone (The Verge)The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses get video calling, Apple Music, and a new style (The Verge)Meta’s A.I. Assistant Is Fun to Use, but It Can’t Be Trusted (NYTimes)"First Ones" YouTube VideosSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft has launched new lightweight AI models. Perplexity has a big new raise. Meta wants other people to build Quest headsets. Another reason Apple needs to find new revenue. And if Congress really is going to ban TikTok, are they ever going to tell us exactly why?Links:Microsoft launches Phi-3, its smallest AI model yet (The Verge)Meta Expands Its Mixed Reality Beyond the Quest Headsets (CNET)Meta wants to be the Microsoft of headsets (The Verge)China Smartphone Sales Remain in Black on Huawei, HONOR, Xiaomi Outperformance (Counterpoint)AI Search Startup Perplexity Valued at $1 Billion in Funding Round (Bloomberg)Adobe’s new Firefly model makes it easier to use Photoshop’s AI tools (The Verge)If TikTok Is Such a Threat, Show Us the Receipts (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I know we’ve said this before, but TikTok really seems on the brink this time. What the heck is going on with Tesla? Tinder wants you to share your date. Streamers want you to stop dating around and playing the field. An open-source smarthome standard. And again, do we really need standalone AI devices when we already have smartphones?Links:TikTok ‘ban’ passes in the House again, moving to the Senate in foreign aid package (The Verge)Tesla lowers price of ‘Full Self-Driving’ to $8,000, down from $12,000 (Electrek)Tinder gets a ‘Share My Date’ feature for users to send date plans to their curious friends (TechCrunch)Americans’ New TV Habit: Subscribe. Watch. Cancel. Repeat. (NYTimes)The little smart home platform that could (The Verge)The future of AI gadgets is just phones (The Verge)Space Ghost Coast To Coast MarathonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta released Llama 3 yesterday, and some of the moves they made have made be consider if Zuck could win these first AI wars. Is Zuck also getting aggressive in VR? Why Apple had to take down the WhatsApp and Threads apps in China. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Links:Meta’s battle with ChatGPT begins now (The Verge)Meta, in Its Biggest A.I. Push, Places Smart Assistants Across Its Apps (NYTimes)Meta gives the Quest 2 its second permanent price cut in four months (Engadget)Cool or creepy? Microsoft's VASA-1 is a new AI model that turns photos into 'talking faces' (Tom's Guide)China Orders Apple to Remove Popular Messaging Apps (WSJ)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How Perfectly Can Reality Be Simulated? (The New Yorker)The Life and Death of Hollywood (Harper's Magazine)How Neopets’ nostalgic revival tripled users in six months (The Guardian)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google has fired 28 employees for political protests yesterday. A well-known coding school has been fined by the CFPB. Game emulators come to the iPhone. TikTok’s Instagram clone is rolling out. Has Sony perfecting Mini LED TVs? And the Atlas robot has been reborn in a new body!Links:Google fires 28 employees after sit-in protest over Israel cloud contract (The Verge)Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fines BloomTech for false claims (TechCrunch)Third-party iPhone app store AltStore PAL is now live in Europe (The Verge)TikTok Notes starts rolling out as a new rival to Instagram (The Verge)US Air Force confirms first successful AI dogfight (The Verge)Sony might have perfected Mini LED TVs with its new 2024 lineup (The Verge)Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot goes electric (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

T-Mobile and Verizon employees are being offered bribes for SIM swaps. How much coding copilots have taken over. How much would you value Mistral or Cohere in the LLM race? How popular has Airchat gotten? How big has Amazon Prime gotten? And one of the original modern robots is being retired.Links:T-Mobile, Verizon workers get texts offering $300 for SIM swaps (BleepingComputer)Microsoft’s AI Copilot Is Starting to Automate the Coding Industry (Bloomberg)Mistral, an OpenAI Rival in Europe, in Talks to Raise Capital at a $5 Billion Valuation (The Information)Invitation-Only Audio Social Network Is the Hot New App in Tech Circles (Bloomberg)Musk’s Starlink Cracks Down on Growing Black Market (WSJ)Amazon Prime Memberships in US Gain 8% to New High After Lull (Bloomberg)Atlas shrugged: Boston Dynamics retires its hydraulic humanoid robot (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft continues to spread its AI bets. Disney wants to bring back tv channels. YouTube is not gonna let you block ads. What did Humane get wrong with the AI Pin? And can Limitless do any better with its AI Pendant?Sponsors:MackWeldon.com, promocode rideYahooFinance.comLinks:Microsoft to invest $1.5bn in Abu Dhabi AI group G42 (Financial Times)To Keep Viewers, Disney Plans a New Streaming Concept: Old-Style TV Channels (The Information)YouTube cracking down on third-party apps that block ads (9to5Google)YouTube Accounted for Nearly 10% of All TV Viewing in March, Nielsen Says (TheWrap)Oh the Humanity (Sandofsky.com)Limitless is a new AI tool for your meetings — and an all-hearing wearable gadget (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Really looks like high-end re-shoring of chip tech is happening, and happening soon. What if satellite telephony becomes a table-stakes smartphone feature? Get ready for the bitcoin halving. Does anyone have invites to Airchat? And get ready for 4TB, yes, TB, SD cards.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideArcticWolf.com/techmemeLinks:Samsung boosts Joe Biden’s chipmaking ambitions with Texas plant upgrade (Financial Times)Exclusive: Google Pixel 9 series to get emergency satellite connectivity, new modem (Android Authority)Bitcoin ‘Halving’ Will Deal a $10 Billion Blow to Crypto Miners (Bloomberg)ChatGPT essay cheats are a menace to us all (Financial Times)Naval Ravikant’s Airchat is a social app built around talk, not text (TechCrunch)4TB SD cards are arriving in 2025 for your cameras and laptops (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Really looks like high-end re-shoring of chip tech is happening, and happening soon. What if satellite telephony becomes a table-stakes smartphone feature? Get ready for the bitcoin halving. Does anyone have invites to Airchat? And get ready for 4TB, yes, TB, SD cards.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideArcticWolf.com/techmemeLinks:Samsung boosts Joe Biden’s chipmaking ambitions with Texas plant upgrade (Financial Times)Exclusive: Google Pixel 9 series to get emergency satellite connectivity, new modem (Android Authority)Bitcoin ‘Halving’ Will Deal a $10 Billion Blow to Crypto Miners (Bloomberg)ChatGPT essay cheats are a menace to us all (Financial Times)Naval Ravikant’s Airchat is a social app built around talk, not text (TechCrunch)4TB SD cards are arriving in 2025 for your cameras and laptops (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Now a big business intelligence company has been breached. Do you get the sense that people are laying the groundwork for something? Google discontinues a product, but this time, its probably our fault. M4 chips are coming from Apple. OpenAI continues to be the drama queen of Silicon Valley. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:US government urges Sisense customers to reset credentials after hack (TechCrunch)Google One VPN will be discontinued, Pixel VPN remains with upgrade coming (9to5Google)X’s Premium users can no longer hide their blue checks (The Verge)Apple Plans to Overhaul Entire Mac Line With AI-Focused M4 Chips (Bloomberg)OpenAI Researchers, Including Ally of Sutskever, Fired for Alleged Leaking (The Information)Is Google's AI Actually Discovering 'Millions of New Materials?' (404 Media)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:AI-Music Arms Race: Meet Udio, the Other ChatGPT for Music (RollingStone)How Bluey Became a $2 Billion Smash Hit—With an Uncertain Future (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple is notifying people their iPhones may have been compromised. Spotify wants you to mix up your music. Adobe is paying handsomely for videos. And the biggest new gadget review event in a long time.Link:Apple alerts users in 92 nations to mercenary spyware attacks (TechCrunch)Spotify Plans New Remixing Tools for the TikTok Generation (WSJ)Adobe Is Buying Videos for $3 Per Minute to Build AI Model (Bloomberg)Humane AI Pin review: not even close (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More AI announces from Google. More hints on how Apple will bring AI to iPhones. And a bunch of interesting datapoints: how much Apple has moved away from manufacturing in China, how much money TikTok’s parent company is making, are kids warming up to VR and are alternative browsers benefitting from the DMA?Links:Google Launches Coding AIs That Could Rival Microsoft's Github Copilot (PCMag)Apple's new AI model could help Siri see how iOS apps work (AppleInsider)Apple’s India iPhone Output Hits $14 Billion in China Shift (Bloomberg)ByteDance Profit Jumps 60%, Taking It Past Archrival Tencent (Bloomberg)Exclusive: EU's new tech laws are working; small browsers gain market share (Reuters)Survey shows that teenagers are using more VR devices in the US (9to5Mac)Kobo announces its first color e-readers (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google has a ton of AI announces, including new Arm-based AI chips, utilizing Google search in Gemini, and more. They also released their own Find My network. Microsoft is confident they can release chips that can best Apple Silicon. And maybe OpenAI DID train on YouTube videos after all. Everybody is desperate for data right now.Sponsors:1Password.com/rideLinks:Google Expands In-House Chip Efforts in Costly AI Battle (WSJ)Google Shows AI Model Is Enterprise-Ready After Gemini Mishaps (Bloomberg)Gmail adding voice input, Gemini for Google Chat, Meet ‘Translate for me,’ & more (9to5Google)Google rolling out Find My Device network for Android (9to5Google)Microsoft is confident Windows on Arm could finally beat Apple (The Verge)Spotify launches personalized AI playlists that you can build using prompts (TechCrunch)How Tech Giants Cut Corners to Harvest Data for A.I. (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Marcus comes on the pod to discuss what he's been working on since leaving Meta. Specificially: Lightspark, and efforts to expand the Lighting Network and bitcoin.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple joins the tech layoff club. Microsoft warns China is planning to disrupt elections using AI. Disney+ is joining Netflix in cracking down on password sharing. How much is the going rate to buy pictures or videos to train AI models on? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions.Links:Apple Cut at Least 600 Workers When Car, Screen Projects Stopped (Bloomberg)China will use AI to disrupt elections in the US, South Korea and India, Microsoft warns (The Guardian)Disney+ will crack down on password sharing in June (CNN)Inside Big Tech's underground race to buy AI training data (Reuters)YouTube Says OpenAI Training Sora With Its Videos Would Break Rules (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How One Tech Skeptic Decided A.I. Might Benefit the Middle Class (NYTimes)How WhatsApp became the world’s default communication app (Engadget)The 18 most interesting startups from YC’s Demo Day show we’re in an AI bubble (TechCrunch)YC’s latest Demo Day shows fascinating wagers on healthcare, chip design, AI and more (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is Apple pivoting to home robotics now that the Apple Car project is dead? Is Google about to pivot to subscription based search? Why is X handing back blue checkmarks whether people want them or not? Why Amazon merchants are upset over return scams. And why the band Kiss might live forever.Sponsors:Kolide.com/rideLinks:Apple Explores Home Robotics as Potential ‘Next Big Thing’ After Car Fizzles (Bloomberg)Google considers charging for AI-powered search in big change to business model (FT)X’s ‘complimentary’ Premium push gives people blue checks they didn’t ask for (The Verge)Washington state judge blocks use of AI-enhanced video as evidence in possible first-of-its-kind ruling (NBCNews)Amazon Sellers Plagued by Surge in Scam Returns (WSJ)Business Schools Are Going All In on AI (WSJ)Rock band Kiss sells rights for $300mn to firm behind Abba hologram show (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Have we just had a major breakthrough in Quantum Computing? The earthquake in Taiwan might lead to some chip issues. We don’t quite know yet. Amazon is retooling it’s Just Walk Out technology. Venture capitalists are having a hard time raising money. And in the last segment of the show, I actually break some news about Coinbase.Links:Microsoft and Quantinuum say they’ve ushered in the next era of quantum computing (TechCrunch)AI-generated songs are getting longer, not necessarily better (The Verge)Top musicians among hundreds warning against replacing human artists with AI (Axios)TSMC Facilities to Resume Production Overnight After Quake (Bloomberg)Amazon’s Grocery Stores to Drop Just Walk Out Checkout Tech (The Information)Venture capital reckons with the end of ‘megafund’ era (Financial Times)YouTube Of Our Interview With David MarcusSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Big trove of AT&T customer data dumped online. Microsoft is unbundling Teams. Amazon is readying its own big LLM. We should probably assume Section 230 does not cover AI. And what do you name an AI supercomputer? Stargate, apparently.Links:AT&T resets account passcodes after millions of customer records leak online (TechCrunch)Exclusive: Microsoft to separate Teams and Office globally amid antitrust scrutiny (Reuters)Amazon scrambles for its place in the AI race (The Verge)Gen-AI Search Engine Perplexity Has a Plan to Sell Ads (Adweek)The AI Industry Is Steaming Toward A Legal Iceberg (WSJ)Microsoft and OpenAI Plot $100 Billion Stargate AI Supercomputer (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What prolific AI investor Nat Friedman expects from GPT-5, Microsoft's general strategy in AI, how he invests in startups, and his background an philosophy when it comes to investing.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SBF gets 25 years. X is maybe about to NSFW. Apple’s new OLED iPads should be coming in May. I can’t cram another acronym in here to tell you about Apple suing an employee for leaking. And, of course, the WLS… Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years for multi-billion dollar FTX fraud (Reuters)Elon Musk’s X Is Testing ‘Adult Content’ Groups for Users (Bloomberg)Apple Sues Former Employee for Leaking iPhone's Journal App and More (MacRumors)Apple Plans New iPad Pro for May as Production Ramps Up Overseas (Bloomberg)Reddit shares plunge almost 25% in two days, finish the week below first day close (CNBC)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How We’ll Reach a 1 Trillion Transistor GPU (IEEE Spectrum)How Jesse Plemons Came to Star in, Well, Pretty Much Everything (Texas Monthly)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s a new king of the AI hill as Anthropic bests OpenAI for the first time. Amazon invests more in Anthropic and is investing a TON more in datacenters. Is that GPT sort of App Store not exactly catching fire? A big acquisition in gaming. And the tiny Caribbean island nation that is one of the biggest winners of the AI moment so far.Links:“The king is dead”—Claude 3 surpasses GPT-4 on Chatbot Arena for the first time (ArsTechnica)Amazon spends $2.75 billion on AI startup Anthropic in its largest venture investment yet (CNBC)Amazon Bets $150 Billion on Data Centers Required for AI Boom (Bloomberg)OpenAI’s app store draws investors and students seeking artificial aids (FT)Oregon’s governor signs right-to-repair law that bans ‘parts pairing’ (The Verge)Take-Two Buys Gearbox From Embracer, Confirms Development on New Borderlands Game (IGN)The A.I. Boom Makes Millions for an Unlikely Industry Player: Anguilla (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Disney launches Hulu on Disney+. Apple schedules WWDC. Some Apple users report being victims of MFA bombing attacks. What it will mean to be certified as an AI PC. And more crazy data on the hunt for talent in the AI Wars.Links:Hulu on Disney+ Launches Out of Beta With Marketing Push to Grow Subscribers (The Hollywood Reporter)The Disney Plus-Hulu merger is way more than a streaming bundle (The Verge)Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14 (MacRumors)Recent ‘MFA Bombing’ Attacks Targeting Apple Users (KrebsonSecurity)Databricks launches DBRX, challenging Big Tech in the open source AI race (VentureBeat)Databricks open-sources its own large language model, DBRX (SiliconAngle)Databricks spent $10M on new DBRX generative AI model, but it can’t beat GPT-4 (TechCrunch)Intel shares Microsoft's new AI PC definition, launches AI PC Acceleration Programs and Core Ultra Meteor Lake NUC developer kits at AI conference (Tom's Hardware)The Fight for AI Talent: Pay Million-Dollar Packages and Buy Whole Teams (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Executive shuffling indicates that Microsoft is serious about reorganizing itself around AI. The US and UK move against those alleged Chinese infrastructure hackers. OpenAI seems to be courting Hollywood for its Sora tool. And is the IPO window finally open for tech companies?Links:Microsoft has a new Windows and Surface chief (The Verge)Canva Strikes Biggest Acquisition Yet in Chase to Take on Adobe (Bloomberg)US sanctions APT31 hackers behind critical infrastructure attacks (BleepingComputer)OpenAI shows off first examples of third-party creators using Sora (VentureBeat)OpenAI Courts Hollywood in Meetings With Film Studios, Directors (Bloomberg)Reddit options launch draws bulls, as shares soar (Reuters)IPO Window Cracks Open and Silicon Valley Sees Some Daylight (Bloomberg)Meta’s new opt-out setting limits visibility of politics on Instagram and Threads (The Verge)Elon Musk’s Starlink Terminals Are Falling Into the Wrong Hands (Bloomberg)Nat Friedman YouTube VideoSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

They said this law would be one that was capable of moving fast. The EU has already opened formal DMA investigations into Apple and Google. Stability AI seems to be circling the Deadpool. Checking in on the health of X. Greater homescreen control coming to iPhones? And what should we make of tech insiders selling massive amounts of shares?Sponsors:MackWeldon.com promocode RIDELinks:EU probes Apple, Meta and Alphabet under landmark new law (Financial Times)Stability AI Founder Emad Mostaque Plans To Resign As CEO, Sources Say (Forbes)Fewer people are using Elon Musk’s X as the platform struggles to attract and keep users, according to analysts (NBCNews)Spotify adds video learning courses in latest experiment (The Verge)Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid (MacRumors)Justice Department Risks Picking the Wrong Fight With Apple (Bloomberg)Thiel, Bezos and Zuckerberg join parade of insiders selling tech stocks (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Everyone is analyzing the DOJ’s case against Apple. An unpatchable vulnerability in Apple Silicon has been uncovered. Threads joins the Fediverse. How that whole Microsoft hiring the Inflection AI team actually maths out. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Apple CarPlay is anticompetitive, too, US lawsuit alleges (The Verge)U.S. versus Apple: A first reaction (Six Colors)Unpatchable vulnerability in Apple chip leaks secret encryption keys (ArsTechnica)Threads’ fediverse beta opens to share your posts on Mastodon, too (The Verge)Microsoft Agreed to Pay Inflection $650 Million While Hiring Its Staff (The Information)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:8 Google Employees Invented Modern AI. Here’s the Inside Story (Wired)China’s Super-Cheap EVs Offer Hope for Average American Buyers (Bloomberg Businessweek)Indie, rocked (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The DOJ opened a lawsuit against Apple. Reddit’s IPO should be happening today. An Epic Games Store on iOS should be coming later this year. Carvana is a Covid-times high-flier that has actually recovered. And Neuralink’s first human patient reveals himself to the world.Links:U.S. Sues Apple, Alleges Tech Giant Exploits Illegal Monopoly (WSJ)Reddit prices IPO at $34 per share in first major social media offering since 2019 (CNBC)The Epic Games Store is coming to Android (9to5Google)Apple Faces Legal Protest From Meta, Microsoft, X, Spotify and Match (WSJ)Carvana makes U-turn away from financial abyss (Financial Times)Amazon’s New Focus: Fending Off Rivals Temu and Shein (WSJ)Watch Neuralink’s First Human Subject Demonstrate His Brain-Computer Interface (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft hiring DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman to run their new AI division might sound like boring c-suite musical chairs, but it’s actually super interesting. Intel gets the first huge check from the CHIPS Act. Stardew Valley is breaking gaming records. And the interesting startup that does AI music.Links:Microsoft Hires DeepMind Co-Founder Suleyman to Run Consumer AI (Bloomberg)Microsoft bets on start-ups to extend AI lead with hiring of Inflection chief (Financial Times)Intel to receive $8.5bn in US funding for high-end chip manufacturing (Financial Times)Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update smashes its Steam player record (The Verge)A ChatGPT for Music Is Here. Inside Suno, the Startup Changing Everything (Rolling Stone)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nvidia announced… well, a ton of things. Two new AI tools show that video is having an AI moment. An update on how TikTok is faring in the Senate. And an interesting raise from a startup that wants to become a major new platform player in Gaming.Sponsors:FactorMeals.com/ride50 and code ride50Links:Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announces new AI chips: ‘We need bigger GPUs’ (CNBC)Nvidia launches NIM to make it smoother to deploy AI models into production (TechCrunch)Nvidia enlists humanoid robotics’ biggest names for new AI platform, GR00T (TechCrunch)Nvidia announces Earth-2 digital twin to forecast planet’s climate change (VentureBeat)Google researchers unveil ‘VLOGGER’, an AI that can bring still photos to life (VentureBeat)Stability AI brings a new dimension to video with Stable Video 3D (VentureBeat)DOJ to Push for TikTok Divestiture in Senate Briefings (Bloomberg)Playtron: the startup hoping to Steam Deck-ify the world (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I did NOT have on my bingo card Apple turning to Google to power its first big foray into modern AI on its hardware. Even while a new Apple AI model might be pointing to breakthroughs in AI reasoning. One of the biggest e-sports competitions in the world has been hacked by cheaters. And some pretty bearish news for the VR industry.Links:Apple Is in Talks to Let Google Gemini Power iPhone AI Features (Bloomberg)Apple researchers achieve breakthroughs in multimodal AI as company ramps up investments (VentureBeat)xAI open-sources base model of Grok, but without any training code (TechCrunch)Musk’s Grok AI goes open source (VentureBeat)Massive ‘Apex Legends’ Hack Disrupts NA Finals, Raises Serious Security Concerns (Forbes)Sony Hits Pause on PSVR2 Production as Unsold Inventory Piles Up (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas tell Chris and I to expect more partnerships like the recent one with Yelp; how Perplexity thinks of search differently than Google does; and the competition Perplexity fears beyond Google.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Remember that Apple has quietly made more AI acquisitions than anyone else? They quietly made another one. The FCC has a new definition for broadband. Looks like everybody knows the EU is a stick they can beat Apple with now. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Robinhood.com/boostLinks:Apple Buys Canadian AI Startup as It Races to Add Features (Bloomberg)FCC scraps old speed benchmark, says broadband should be at least 100Mbps (ArsTechnica)Spotify says its iPhone app updates in the EU are getting held up by Apple (The Verge)Pornhub Disables Website in Texas Over Age-Verification Law (Variety)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Can Reddit Survive Its Own IPO? (Wired)One Big Reason Gen Z Is Still on Facebook: To Save Money (NYTimes)How Nvidia beat everyone else in the AI race (Vox)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If this TikTok bill is actually going to become law, who would actually be in the running to take it over? A bunch of announcements from Microsoft. Hard data on how we listen to music these days. And estimates for how much AI could cut into the traditional web search business.Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeLinks:House passes TikTok bill that could ban app in the U.S., spawning Senate support (The Washington Post)Microsoft has added the GPT-4 Turbo LLM to the free version of Copilot (Neowin)Microsoft says new AI security chatbot pricing model lets customers ‘buy what they need’ (CNBC)Microsoft Teams is finally moving to a single app for personal and work (The Verge)Anthropic releases Claude 3 Haiku, an AI model built for speed and affordability (VentureBeat)MusicWatch Reports Results of 2023 Annual Music Study: Record Numbers of Music Streamers and Paid Subscribers (Music Watch)Google's Gen AI Search Threatens Publishers With $2B Annual Ad Revenue Loss (AdWeek)YouTube Video Of The Perplexity CEO InterviewSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The TikTok legislation has passed the House, but it’s path through the Senate is uncertain to say the least. The first real AI regulation has passed, in Europe, of course. Arm’s new chips for self-driving cars. Did Cerebras just break Moore’s Law with its new AI chips? Spotify has music videos. And Perplexity continues to try to become Google Search faster than Google search can become them.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideNutrafol.com/men code: RIDEHOMELinks:TikTok bill, racing toward House passage, faces a minefield in the Senate (Washington Post)How TikTok Was Blindsided by U.S. Bill That Could Ban It (WSJ)World’s first major act to regulate AI passed by European lawmakers (CNBC)Stripe in ‘no rush’ to go public as cash flow turns positive (FT)Arm unveils first chip design to power self-driving cars (FT)AI startup Cerebras unveils the WSE-3, the largest chip yet for generative AI (ZDNet)Spotify adds music videos in some countries (TechCrunch)Perplexity brings Yelp data to its chatbot (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More App Store changes from Apple will allow developers to offer apps via their website. In Europe only, of course. Some of you can file your taxes online, for free, starting today. Why bitcoin has been breaking records. An interesting AI raise. Is TikTok about to launch an Instagram competitor? Though maybe the reason they need to is their user numbers are flatlining.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideLinks:Apple will allow users to download apps directly from a developer’s website, in latest EU App Store rule change (9to5Mac)The IRS launches Direct File, a pilot program for free online tax filing available in 12 states (AP)Crypto Product Inflows Soar to Record High, CoinShares Says (Bloomberg)Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras (The Verge)Gold-Medalist Coders Build an AI That Can Do Their Job for Them (Bloomberg)Exclusive: Tiktok is working on a new Photo Sharing platform to compete with Instagram (The SpAndroid)TikTok's growth rate has collapsed. 'Life' may be getting in the way for its younger users. (Business Insider)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Epic got Apple to blink! Sam Altman got back on OpenAI’s board of directors. Reddit finally gets to IPO. Elon Musk says X.ai is going open source. And once again, you won’t believe the degree to which your car and your driving is the new data treasure trove for companies to monetize.Sponsors:1password.com/rideArcticWolf.com/techmemeLinks:Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account, clearing path for Epic Games Store on iPhone (9to5Mac)Sam Altman returns to OpenAI's board (Axios)Sam Altman rejoins OpenAI’s board after investigation into sudden firing (The Verge)OpenAI’s Sam Altman Returns to Board After Probe Clears Him (Bloomberg)Elon Musk says xAI will open-source Grok this week (TechCrunch)Reddit to raise nearly $750 million in upcoming IPO (CNBC)Telegram hits 900mn users and nears profitability as founder considers IPO (Financial Times)Automakers Are Sharing Consumers’ Driving Behavior With Insurance Companies (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guy Kawasaki shares key insights on how to have a successful career, found in his new book: Think Remarkable. Also, some fun Apple and Steve Jobs story, such as: what kind of a***ole boss WAS Steve Jobs, exactly. The kind you want, Guy says.Buy the book: Think RemarkableSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did TikTok overplay its hand yesterday? The potential legislation against them is suddenly moving quickly. How Temu might be single handedly responsible for the tech advertising turnaround. More drama behind the whole Sam Altman ouster business. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Links:Furious Congress plows forward with TikTok bill after user revolt (Axios)China Readies $27 Billion Chip Fund to Counter Growing US Curbs (Bloomberg)Temu’s Push Into America Pays Off Big Time for Meta and Google (WSJ)Key OpenAI Executive Played a Pivotal Role in Sam Altman’s Ouster (NYTimes)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Nvidia Chips Inside Powerful AI Supercomputers (WSJ)Amid explosive demand, America is running out of power (Washington Post)How Netflix’s Massive Paydays, COVID and TikTok Caused ‘Explosion of Comedians’ (Variety)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the first day of the DMA regime, the whole battle between Apple and Epic Games has gotten hella weird. Rumors of the US government going after TikTok again are swirling, again. What if we see a foldable Macbook before a foldable iPhone? And why the job of AI Prompt Engineer might be made redundant by… AI.Sponsors:Kolide.com/rideLinks:Apple kills Epic’s iOS game store plans over App Store criticism (The Verge)Apple Set to Be Quizzed by EU Over ‘Fortnite’ Maker Shutout (Bloomberg)Big Tech howled over E.U. antitrust law. The White House declined a rescue. (The Washington Post)W.H. works with Hill to ban TikTok (Punchbowl News)Kuo: Apple actively working on 20.3-inch foldable MacBook (9to5Mac)AI Prompt Engineering Is Dead Long live AI prompt engineering (IEEE Spectrum)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple shows how it is complying with the DMA. We’ve got a Microsoft hardware event coming up. I wonder if they’ll mention AI? Has BlackCat been defeated, or is this a clever ruse to rebrand? And OpenAI has clapped back at Elon’s lawsuit.Links:Apple Releases iOS and iPadOS 17.4 with Major Safari and App Store Changes in the EU, Transcripts for Podcasts, New Emoji, and More (MacStories)EXCLUSIVE: Microsoft will unveil OLED Surface Pro 10 and Arm Surface Laptop 6 this spring ahead of major Windows 11 AI update (Windows Central)'Exit scam' - hackers that hit UnitedHealth pull disappearing act (Reuters)OpenAI Fires Back at Musk Allegations With Trove of Emails (Bloomberg)Sam Altman tells staff OpenAI investigation will 'soon' close, as employees brace for more surprises (Business Insider)YouTube Video Of The Guy Kawasaki InterviewSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The big DMA deadline is mere hours away. A big Twitter related lawsuit has arrived that I kind of can’t believe took this long. Nothing releases a pretty compelling cheap phone. Waymo is bringing its driverless taxi service to Los Angeles. And is Linux quietly having a moment?Links:Google rolls out changes for users, apps developers as EU tech rules loom (Reuters)Instagram now lets you edit DMs up to 15 mins after sending them (TechCrunch)M3 MacBook Pro will gain multi-display support in software update (9to5Mac)Former Twitter Executives Sue Musk Over Unpaid Severance (WSJ)The Nothing Phone 2A proves thoughtful design can come at a budget price (The Verge)Waymo can now charge for robotaxi rides in LA and on San Francisco freeways (TechCrunch)Linux Crosses 4% Market Share Worldwide (Linuxiac)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The EU Commission has fined Apple for stifling music streaming competition. New Macbook Airs with the M3 chip. Why the Apple Car was doomed from day one. Anthropic releases Claude 3 in three different flavors. And if 5G isn’t floating your boat, can I interest you in 5G Advanced?Links:Apple hit with €1.8bn fine for breaking EU law over music streaming (Financial Times)Apple launches new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 chip, support for two external displays, faster Wi-Fi (9to5Mac)Apple’s Car Was Doomed by Its Lofty Ambitions to Outdo Tesla (Bloomberg)Anthropic unveils Claude 3, surpassing GPT-4 and Gemini Ultra in benchmark tests (VentureBeat)Google-backed Anthropic debuts its most powerful chatbot yet, as generative AI battle heats up (CNBC)Telcos are barely done rolling out 5G networks — and they’re already talking about ‘5.5G’ (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon is suing Sam Altman and OpenAI. Meta continues to get out of the news business, especially when it’s being pushed. A new AI deepfake supertool. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Elon Musk sues OpenAI over AI threat (Courthouse News Service)Meta to Wind Down Its News Feature in the US and Australia (Bloomberg)Microsoft introduces Copilot AI chatbot for finance workers in Excel and Outlook (CNBC)Alibaba’s new AI system ‘EMO’ creates realistic talking and singing videos from photos (VentureBeat)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Wait. Why is Reddit losing so much money? (Business Insider)The 9-Month-Old AI Startup Challenging Silicon Valley’s Giants (WSJ)What a Major Solar Storm Could Do to Our Planet (The New Yorker)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The SEC has subpoenaed OpenAI. What if the Vision Pro is selling better than even Apple thought? Beware of the repo attack affecting GitHub. Beware of the video doorbells that are ridiculously easy to take over. And is robotics the next big tech industry we need to be paying attention to?Links:SEC Investigating Whether OpenAI Investors Were Misled (WSJ)EA to lay off 5% of workforce, or about 670 employees (CNBC)Vision Pro demand higher than expected; returns down to 1% – Kuo (9to5Mac)Kuo: Apple Vision Pro on Track to Launch in More Countries Before WWDC in June (MacRumors)Apple Vision Pro return rate is about the same as the iPhone 15 Pro (Apple Insider)StarCoder 2 is a code-generating AI that runs on most GPUs (TechCrunch)GitHub besieged by millions of malicious repositories in ongoing attack (ArsTechnica)These Video Doorbells Have Terrible Security. Amazon Sells Them Anyway. (Consumer Reports)Humanoid robot startup Figure AI valued at $2.6 billion as Bezos, OpenAI, Nvidia join funding (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Apple car project is dead. Really, this time. We think. Google is working to fix Gemini. If you’re using Tumblr, your posts might soon be training OpenAI’s models. Klarna’s AI is doing the work of hundreds of humans. And another fever dream of the most recent boom years might be over.Links:Apple to Wind Down Electric Car Effort After Decadelong Odyssey (Bloomberg)Apple's Scrapped Car Project Means AI and Headset Bets Are More Urgent (Bloomberg)Google CEO calls AI tool’s controversial responses ‘completely unacceptable’ (Semafor)Tumblr and WordPress to Sell Users’ Data to Train AI Tools (404 Media)Klarna says its AI assistant does the work of 700 people after it laid off 700 people (FastCompany)Thrasio, once king of e-commerce aggregation, files for Ch.11 (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you can believe it, MOAR layoffs in gaming. Big layoffs at Sony. We might see Meta’s first AR glasses later this year. The big hack affecting US pharmacies. Hopin enters the Deadpool. And yet another startup takes at swing at the delayed gratification gimmick for social media.Sponsors:Hims.com/rideLinks:Sony is laying off 900 PlayStation employees (The Verge)Microsoft’s Mistral AI Investment to Be Examined by EU Watchdog (Bloomberg)Meta aims to reveal and demo Orion, its first true AR glasses, during its fall developer conference (Business Insider)US pharmacy outage triggered by 'Blackcat' ransomware at UnitedHealth unit, sources say (Reuters)Netflix confirms it’s cutting off Apple billing for legacy subscribers (The Verge)Hopin's UK business enters liquidation as it transfers HQ to the US (Sifted)The Supreme Court is about to decide the future of online speech (The Verge)Supreme Court Fears ‘Land Mines’ in Social Media Debate Over Free Speech (Bloomberg)Lapse, the app turning your phone into an old-school camera, snaps up $30M (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mobile World Congress kicks off this week, and I bet you can guess what the big theme this year is. All the hardware that is being announced to allow you to do AI on your existing devices. Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Ring, but Apple wants you to know it could do a ring too if it wanted to. And Lenovo’s see-through laptop is cool looking, but also, looking for a use case.Links:Samsung unveils the Galaxy Ring as a way to 'simplify everyday wellness' (Engadget)Apple Ponders Whether to Develop Smart Glasses, Fitness Ring (Bloomberg)Here’s why the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro headset is so expensive (CNBC)Au Large (Mistral.ai)Nvidia launches RTX 500 and 1000 Ada Generation laptop GPUs for AI on the go (VentureBeat)Lenovo’s laptop concept is fully transparent, but the point isn’t entirely clear (TechCrunch)Peering through Lenovo’s transparent laptop into a sci-fi future (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Catching you up on the great Substack controversy and who is winning the race to be the new Twitter?Ed's new podcast is called Better Offline, which you can find wherever fine podcasts are found. And his newsletter is called: Where's Your Ed At?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We have all the details of the Reddit IPO. And Sam Altman of all people makes an appearance in the S1! What that big cell phone outage yesterday was all about. Can Mark Zuckerberg be held personally liable in some of these Meta lawsuits? And given this weeks’ news, in the longreads, a long interview with Nvidia’s CEO predicting the future of computing.Sponsors:Robinhood.com/boostLinks:Reddit files to list IPO on NYSE under the ticker RDDT (CNBC)Reddit is going public and inviting power users to invest (The Verge)AT&T outage caused by software update, company says (ABCNews)Meta’s Zuckerberg Seeks Out of Lawsuits Blaming Him for Instagram Addiction (Bloomberg)Bluesky opens up federation, letting anyone run their own server (TechCrunch)OnlyFans is the most lucrative side hustle, tax service shows (Mashable)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Tech Job Interviews Are Out of Control (Wired)Nvidia Hardware Is Eating the World (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The most important tech company in the world right now reported earnings yesterday, and they were historic. Stability AI is previewing Stable Diffusion 3.0. Google has to fix some if its AI image generation details. Amazon is getting aggressive about bringing sports to streaming. And has a startup we’ve never mentioned made a big AI breakthrough?Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men and promocode RIDEHOMELinks:Nvidia posts revenue up 265% on booming AI business (CNBC)Stable Diffusion 3.0 debuts new diffusion transformation architecture to reinvent text-to-image gen AI (VentureBeat)Google Pauses Gemini's Image Generation of People to Fix Historical Inaccuracies (PC Mag)Google pauses Gemini’s ability to generate AI images of people after diversity errors (The Verge)Tuned In: Amazon Said To Be Paying Record $120M To Stream NFL Playoff Game (Front Office Sports)Exclusive: Reddit in AI content licensing deal with Google (Reuters)The ‘Magic’ Breakthrough That Got Friedman and Gross to Bet $100 Million on a Coding Startup (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Signal finally rolls out usernames, but Apple goes one better security-wise, by quantum encrypting iMessage. Weirdly, Apple also launched a standalone sports scores app. Gemma is an open-source flavor of Gemini from Google. And Reddit wants to reserve some IPO shares for its users.Links:Signal Finally Rolls Out Usernames, So You Can Keep Your Phone Number Private (Wired)Apple is hardening iMessage encryption now to protect it from a threat that doesn't exist yet (Apple Insider)Apple’s iMessage Is Getting Post-Quantum Encryption (Wired)Apple Sports: New Free App Provides Real-Time Scores and Stats, Designed to Drive Apple TV Tune-In (Variety)Apple launches Apple Sports app with scores and betting odds (The Verge)Apple says iPhone 15 batteries have a longer lifespan than initially thought (9to5Mac)Apple retroactively doubles the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro’s battery lifespan (Macworld)Google Gemma: because Google doesn’t want to give away Gemini yet (The Verge)Meet 'Groq,' the AI Chip That Leaves Elon Musk’s Grok in the Dust (Gizmodo)Reddit Plans to Sell Stock to Loyal Users in Unusual IPO Wager (WSJ)Ed Zitron YouTube Bonus EpisodeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Perhaps the biggest law enforcement action against a ransomware gang ever. Once again, you could view other people’s cameras on your Wyze camera. How Anthropic is raising to do battle with OpenAI. Are the VCs flocking back to San Francisco? And comprehensive proof that defense tech is the new VC hotness.Links:FBI Seizes LockBit Hacking Websites in Ransomware Disruption (Bloomberg)Wyze outage led to the cameras of 13,000 customers being shown to other users (9to5Google)Reddit Signs AI Content Licensing Deal Ahead of IPO (Bloomberg)Inside the Funding Frenzy at Anthropic, One of A.I.’s Hottest Start-Ups (NYTimes)Tech Leaders Fled San Francisco During the Pandemic. Now, They’re Coming Back. (WSJ)UK, Allies Look to Arm Ukraine With AI-Enabled Swarm Drones (Bloomberg)How Silicon Valley learned to love America, drones and glory (Washington Post)Pursuing ‘American Dynamism,’ Andreessen Horowitz Ups Its Game in DC (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An interview with Bluesky CEO Jay Graber about the future of social media.Sponsors:FactorMeals.com/ride50 and code ride50 for 50% offSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Huge watershed reveal of OpenAI’s Sora, its first text-to-video model, which can create up to a minute of 1080p video. We used to have a Today In Elon segment. We’re close to needing a Today In Sam Altman one. Increasing signs the Crypto winter is ending. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:OpenAI introduces Sora, its text-to-video AI model (The Verge)OpenAI’s Sora Turns AI Prompts Into Photorealistic Videos (Wired)OpenAI’s newest model Sora can generate videos — and they look decent (TechCrunch)OpenAI’s Sam Altman Seeks US Blessing to Raise Billions for AI Chips (Bloomberg)Sam Altman owns OpenAI's venture capital fund (Axios)Crypto exits remain low but investors remain unfazed (TechCrunch)Crypto venture funding climbs for first time in nearly 2 years after bitcoin’s stellar run (CNBC)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The fediverse, explained (The Verge)How an African streaming service dethroned Netflix (RestOfWorld)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google’s moving fast. They’ve already launched Gemini 1.5. An EU court rules breaking encryption violates human rights. Why social media is flooded with posts of users returning their Apple Vision Pros. And more proof that the AI moment is making Nvidia one of the most powerful tech companies in the world.Links:Gemini 1.5 is Google’s next-gen AI model — and it’s already almost ready (The Verge)Google’s new Gemini model can analyze an hour-long video — but few people can use it (TechCrunch)Backdoors that let cops decrypt messages violate human rights, EU court says (Ars Technica)People are returning Vision Pro in droves … or are they? (Cult of Mac)OpenAI Develops Web Search Product in Challenge to Google (The Information)ChatGPT is getting ‘memory’ to remember who you are and what you like (The Verge)What comes after Stable Diffusion? Stable Cascade could be Stability AI’s future text-to-image generative AI model (VentureBeat)Nvidia Overtakes Alphabet, One Day After Eclipsing Amazon (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Even Mark Zuckerberg is posting about the Apple Vision Pro. In short: he’s not impressed. Walmart might buy a smart TV maker for the ads. Y Combinator has a new list of the type of startups it wants to see. Maybe don’t give all your secrets to those AI “girlfriend” bots. And why you might have a hard time getting an Uber after your Valentine’s Day dinner tonight.Links:After trying the Vision Pro, Mark Zuckerberg says Quest 3 ‘is the better product, period’ (The Verge)Walmart in Talks to Buy TV Maker Vizio (WSJ)Walmart Eyeing Deal to Buy Vizio for More Than $2 Billion: Report (Variety)Y Combinator Seeks Startups in Robotics, Space and Defense (Bloomberg)OpenAI Researcher Andrej Karpathy Departs (The Information)Apple’s Longest-Serving Designer to Depart Company, Adding to Exodus (Bloomberg)Your AI Girlfriend Is a Data-Harvesting Horror Show (Gizmodo)Uber, Lyft drivers to strike on Valentine’s Day over pay (Washington Post)YouTube Of Bluesky CEO InterviewSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Threads gets “today’s topics.” iMessage and Bing dodge EU DMA regulation. Why Temu bought a bunch of SuperBowl ads. Nvidia’s Chat with RTX lets you run your own ChatGPT right on your Windows machine. And why Microsoft’s forthcoming Xbox strategy shift is potentially such a big deal.Sponsors:ArcticWolf.com/techmemeShopify.com/rideLinks:In battle with X, Threads gets trending topics where politics will be allowed (TechCrunch)Apple iMessage, Microsoft Bing Dodge EU’s Big Tech Crackdown (Bloomberg)Temu Spent Millions on Six Super Bowl Ads as It Tries to Win Back US Shoppers (Bloomberg)The unsettling scourge of obituary spam (The Verge)Chat With RTX brings custom local chatbots to Nvidia AI PCs (VentureBeat)NVIDIA's New AI Chatbot Relies On Local Files, Not the Cloud (HowToGeek)Nvidia’s Chat with RTX is a promising AI chatbot that runs locally on your PC (The Verge)Microsoft prepares to take Xbox everywhere (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is actual neo-ludditeism going to become a thing, as some people have predicted? Google reveals the strength of its subscription businesses. A review of Google’s Gemini. Bluesky is open and doing some interesting things. And what about the strategic position Snap suddenly finds itself in?Sponsors:ArcticWolf.com/techmemeLinks:A crowd destroyed a driverless Waymo car in San Francisco (The Verge)Google One hits 100 million subscribers (The Verge)Google’s Gemini assistant is a fantastic and frustrating glimpse of the AI future (The Verge)ASML's next chip challenge: rollout of its new $350 mln 'High NA EUV' machine (Reuters)Meta turns its back on politics again, angering some news creators (Washington Post)Bluesky Opens Up (TechDirt)It’s Snap versus the world (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sam Altman wants to raise more money for his chip ambitions than the entire semiconductor industry. The Feds might put the breaks on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision… again. Is Ring raising its subscription doorbell prices too much? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Robinhood.com/boostLinks:Sam Altman Seeks Trillions of Dollars to Reshape Business of Chips and AI (WSJ)Exclusive: Nvidia chases $30 billion custom chip market with new unit -sources (Reuters)Disney’s Epic Deal Values Fortnite Maker at $22.5 Billion, a Sharp Cut (The Information)Activision Had Planned Layoffs Before Merger, Microsoft Says (Bloomberg)Ring video doorbell customers angry at 43% price hike (BBC)Ring is raising the price of its cheapest subscription plan by 25 percent (The Verge)Arm shares surge 48% after SoftBank-controlled chip designer issues strong forecast (CNBC)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Can AI Unlock the Secrets of the Ancient World? (Bloomberg Businessweek)AI Just Discovered 'Unreadable' Ancient Scrolls (National Geographic)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google has released Gemini Ultra 1.0, renamed Bard as Gemini and looks to be replacing Google Assistant with Gemini. Disney has invested in a big stake of Epic Games to get at Fortnite IP. Leaked images of the Pixel Fold 2. And what if OpenAI is facing the same strategic dilemma that Mark Zuckerberg was never able to overcome?Sponsors:Robinhood.com/boostLinks:Google’s AI now goes by a new name: Gemini (The Verge)Google Assistant Just Got Supercharged With AI. It Might Be the Biggest Update in Google's History. (Gizmodo)Google Prepares for a Future Where Search Isn’t King (Wired)Google Joins Effort to Help Spot Content Made With A.I. (NYTimes)Disney to take $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games, work with Fortnite maker on new content (CNBC)China had "persistent" access to U.S. critical infrastructure (Axios)Exclusive: This could be the Google Pixel Fold 2 (Android Authority)OpenAI Shifts AI Battleground to Software That Operates Devices, Automates Tasks (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI is adding watermarks to Dall-E 3 images. A new AI model from Apple. A new open source model that is king of the LLM hill. More rumors of a foldable iPhone. A new streaming service that will be like Hulu but for sports. And the specific words and phrases that will get your college application essay flagged as being AI-generated.Sponsors:TryFum.com/ride to save 10% off the Journey Pack today.Links:OpenAI is adding new watermarks to DALL-E 3 (The Verge)Apple Develops a Foldable Clamshell iPhone (The Information)ESPN, Fox and Warner Team Up to Create Sports Streaming Platform (WSJ)Apple releases ‘MGIE’, a revolutionary AI model for instruction-based image editing (VentureBeat)Meet ‘Smaug-72B’: The new king of open-source AI (VentureBeat)Did You Use ChatGPT On Your School Applications? These Words May Tip Off Admissions (Forbes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Don’t forget your Vision Pro password, or else you’re going to have to return it to the Apple Store to use it again. Why are the gaming platforms willing to play nice all of the sudden? The AI that can spit out fake IDs in seconds. Does Google owe you yet more money? And more signs the tech recession is over.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastHims.com/rideLinks:Forgot Your Apple Vision Pro’s Passcode? You May Have to Take It Back to Store (Bloomberg)YouTube says a Vision Pro app is ‘on the roadmap’ (The Verge)Microsoft to share details on bringing Xbox games to PlayStation next week (The Verge)Roblox rolls out real-time AI translation for all users — is this the start of true global multiplayer? (Tom's Guide)Inside the Underground Site Where ‘Neural Networks’ Churn Out Fake IDs (404Media)Google agrees to pay $350 million settlement in data privacy case (Washington Post)Digital ad market shows signs of sharp rebound as Meta, Amazon point to growth (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Let me tell you the story of the most shocking AI deepfake scam we’ve heard yet, because it’s a warning to all of us going forward. An Apple Vision Pro teardown explains why EyeSight looks so blurry. Another sign that Google is losing interest in the web. And an interesting peek behind the curtain revealing the economics and motivation of tech media.Sponsors:ShipStation.com/ride code: rideLinks:Finance worker pays out $25 million after video call with deepfake ‘chief financial officer’ (CNN)Vision Pro Teardown—Why Those Fake Eyes Look So Weird (iFixIt)Google Search’s cache links are officially being retired (The Verge)TECHCRUNCH+ TERMINATION ("Securities")YouTube Video Of Vision Pro DemosSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our friend Chris Dixon is back to talk about his new book: Read Write Own! How Web3 and the blockchain can save the web as we know it!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A run down of some interesting details from Tech’s big earnings day yesterday. Rufus is Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant. The Browser Company continues to be the catalyst for me thinking about how AI is going to change the web. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men code: RIDEHOMELinks:Amazon debuts ‘Rufus,’ an AI shopping assistant in its mobile app (TechCrunch)Cloudflare hacked using auth tokens stolen in Okta attack (BleepingComputer)The Browser Company Announces Act II for Arc: ‘The Browser That Browses For You’ (MacStories)The Arc browser is getting better bookmarks and search results, all thanks to AI (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:AI Can Speed Drug Discovery. But Is It Really Better Than a Human? (Bloomberg)The scariest sound on TikTok (The Verge)The 150 Greatest Science Fiction Movies of All Time (Rolling Stone)LATE BLOOMER (Vanity Fair)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why I think yesterday’s Congressional hearings might actually be a tipping point for tech regulation. What would a Kids Online Safety Act actually mean? More proof of YouTube’s dominance. Celsius and FTX customers are about to get some money back. And Google’s new text to image AI processor.Sponsors:Kolide.com/rideLinks:Microsoft, X throw their weight behind KOSA, the controversial kids online safety bill (TechCrunch)Americans’ Social Media Use (Pew Research Center)Celsius to Distribute $3B Crypto to Creditors as Firm Emerges From Bankruptcy (CoinDesk)Google launches an AI-powered image generator (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The tech execs have been called before Congress once again. Universal Music Group pulls its songs from TikTok. Is 23andMe in danger of going out of business? Figure is an AI robotics company that Microsoft and OpenAI might be about to invest in. And say hello to the Chief AI Officer job title.Sponsors:Kolide.com/rideLinks:Social media chiefs on defensive at US online child protection hearing (FT)TikTok CEO Pledges $2 Billion to Protect 170 Million US Users (Bloomberg)Child Safety Hearing (NYTimes)Universal Music Group Warns It Will Pull Songs From TikTok After Deal Expiration (Variety)23andMe’s Fall From $6 Billion to Nearly $0 (WSJ)Humanoid Robot Startup Figure AI in Funding Talks With Microsoft, OpenAI (Bloomberg)Figure AI in talks with Microsoft and OpenAI for funding (ReadWrite)Figure-01: AI learns how to make coffee like a human (ReadWrite)Microsoft and OpenAI are in talks to inject $500 million into humanoid robotics startup Figure AI, report says (Business Insider)Hottest Job in Corporate America? The Executive in Charge of A.I. (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon Musk says Neuralink implanted its device into a human for the first time. You can search for Taylor Swift X again, but was a Microsoft tool to blame for the deepfakes? Better AI coding from Meta. And I read all the Apple Vision Pro reviews so you don’t have to.Sponsors:Notion.com/rideLinks:Elon Musk’s Neuralink implants brain tech in human patient for the first time (CNBC)Microsoft Closes Loophole That Created AI Porn of Taylor Swift (404 Media)Meta releases ‘Code Llama 70B’, an open-source behemoth to rival private AI development (VentureBeat)Apple Vision Pro review: magic, until it’s not (The Verge)Apple Vision Pro review: A revolution in progress (Tom's Guide)Apple Vision Pro Review: The Best Headset Yet Is Just a Glimpse of the Future (WSJ)Apple’s Vision Pro is nearly here. But what can you do with it? (Washington Post)Apple Vision Pro Review: A Mind-Blowing Look at an Unfinished Future (CNET)YouTube Video Of My Interview With Chris DixonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amazon calls off its iRobot acquisition. Is Arc Search the future of search we were talking to Baratunde about this weekend? Why you can’t search for Taylor Swift on X at the moment. How many ads will be in streaming? And who is quietly killing it in subscription gaming? The answer may surprise you.Links:Amazon Drops $1.4 Billion iRobot Deal; Vacuum Maker Cuts Jobs (Bloomberg)Arc Search combines browser, search engine, and AI into something new and different (The Verge)Arc’s new iPhone browser wants to be your search companion (TechCrunch)X Halts Taylor Swift Searches After Explicit AI Images Spread (WSJ)Chinese AR Glasses Maker Raises $60 Million to Compete With Apple (Bloomberg)Amazon Is Now Charging Prime Members Extra for Ad-Free Streaming. For Some, That’s a Deal Breaker. (WSJ)Games are helping the New York Times thrive amid media chaos (Axios)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The great Baratunde Thurston join Chris and Brian to talk about his hour-long in-person demo with the Apple Vision Pro. In the second half, we discuss the idea of whether or not Google Search (and maybe the web) is doomed in the era of AI.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple has announced major changes to the App Store. In the EU, alternative app marketplaces, but does the new Core Technology Fee mean it’s still a shell game? Also in Europe, alternative default browsers. And for everyone, game streaming apps are now permissible. Also, cheaper GPT from OpenAI. And is Cruise in trouble with the Feds?Links:iOS 17.4 Introduces Alternative App Marketplaces With No Commission in EU (MacRumors)Apple will prompt users to set default browsers and allow third-party web engines on iPhone in the EU (9to5Mac)Apple opens App Store to game streaming services (The Verge)Apple's EU Core Technology Fee Could Bankrupt Freemium App Developers (MacRumors)OpenAI drops prices and fixes ‘lazy’ GPT-4 that refused to work (TechCrunch)DOJ and SEC investigate GM-owned self-driving car company Cruise (WashingtonPost)Baratrunde Thurston Bonus Episode Video On YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As Palworld surpasses 8 million in sales, The Pokemon Company says it will “investigate and take appropriate measures” with regards to those IP infringement allegations. Layoffs at Activision Blizzard and Xbox. Google’s Lumiere is a text to video AI generator. And how the rising prices of streaming services are fueling a resurgence in piracy.Links:Inquiries Regarding Other Companies’ Games (The Pokemon Company)Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees (The Verge)Google’s latest AI video generator can render cute animals in implausible situations (ArsTechnica)Pixel facing new storage issue, likely tied to January Google Play system update (9to5Google)Microsoft Teams now supports 3D and VR meetings (The Verge)Microsoft Closes at Record, Ends Just Shy of $3 Trillion Value (Bloomberg)Streaming Pirates Are Hollywood’s New Villains (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Netflix kicks off Tech Earnings Season, and suggests it’s taking it’s cheapest ad-free plan away. The one chart that shows why Netflix is winning the streaming wars. Spotify demos how it plans to break out of Apple’s App Store. Renders of the Pixel 9 have already leaked. Apple scales back its EV car plans. And an interesting raise to help you pay your rent.Sponsors:Notion.com/rideLinks:Netflix is going to take away its cheapest ad-free plan (The Verge)The secret to Netflix's total dominance (Business Insider)Spotify plans to launch in-app purchases, if Apple gets out of the way (The Verge)[Exclusive] Pixel 9 Pro 5K Renders and 360 Degree Video Provide First Look At Google’s Flagship Ahead of Launch (MySmartPrice)EBay to eliminate about 1,000 jobs, or 9% of full-time workforce (CNBC)Apple Dials Back Car’s Self-Driving Features and Delays Launch to 2028 (Bloomberg)Apple boosts plans to bring generative AI to iPhones (FT)Bilt Nabs $3.1 Billion Valuation, Ken Chenault Joins as Chairman (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Netflix is getting into the live event business in a big way by buying the rights to WWE wrestling. We have the first political ad incident of the AI era. Who’s really doing all the buying on apps like Shein and Temu? OpenAI struggles to fend of an army of girlfriend bots. And let me introduce you to Palworld.Sponsors:Notion.com/rideTryFum.com/ride and code rideLinks:Netflix Pays $5 Billion for ‘Raw’ in Bet on Live Events (Bloomberg)Fake Joe Biden robocall tells New Hampshire Democrats not to vote Tuesday (NBCNews)iOS 17.3 is out, adding Stolen Device Protection for your iPhone (The Verge)Temu’s Most Loyal Shoppers Are Actually Boomers and Gen Xers (Bloomberg)OPENAI STRUGGLING TO DESTROY ONSLAUGHT OF AI GIRLFRIENDS (The Byte)AI girlfriend bots are already flooding OpenAI’s GPT store (QZ)The Rise of Palworld: How ‘Pokémon With Guns’ Became an Overnight Hit (Wired)Palworld is a hit, and it’s easy to see why (The Verge)Video of me flirting with an AI "girlfriend" botYouTube of Saturday's Bonus Episode with Baratunde ThurstonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just what the title says. How many Vision Pros do we think Apple sold this weekend? And Mark Gurman has some ideas for why developers are so lukewarm on the product. Eleven Labs is an interesting raise. Sam Altman seems serious about making his own AI chips. And the breakthrough in VR from Disney Imagineers that would allow you to literally walk through the Metaverse.Sponsors:FactorMeals.com/ride50 and code ride50 for 50% offMindBloom.com/techmeme and code techmeme for $100 offLinks:Vision Pro sales estimated at 160k to 180k over first three days (9to5Mac)Apple’s Testy Developer Relationships Threaten to Hamper Vision Pro (Bloomberg)Meta will let EU users unlink their Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger info ahead of DMA (The Verge)Voice cloning startup ElevenLabs lands $80M, achieves unicorn status (TechCrunch)Altman Seeks to Raise Billions for Network of AI Chip Factories (Bloomberg)Nightshade, the free tool that ‘poisons’ AI models, is now available for artists to use (VentureBeat)YouTube Video Of The Holotiles From Disney ImagineeringSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Preorders for the Vision Pro begin, but huge new questions about partner support have arisen. Zuckerberg says he wants to open source AGI. You’re going to have to pay for those Galaxy AI features. Perplexity will power the rabbit r1. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men and promocode RidehomeLinks:YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix (Bloomberg)A Survey of Popular Apps Currently Compatible With Apple Vision Pro (MacStories)Mark Zuckerberg’s new goal is creating artificial general intelligence (The Verge)EU Commission Intends to Block Amazon’s iRobot Acquisition (WSJ)Samsung says Galaxy AI features will only be free ‘until the end of 2025’ (9to5Google)The rabbit r1 will use Perplexity AI’s tech to answer your queries (TechCrunch)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How Twitch lost its way (Fast Company)Astronomers spotted something perplexing near the beginning of time (Vox)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google signals more layoffs are in the mail, but what’s interesting is what that says about Google specifically. Reddit is probably going to IPO in a few months. How did tying itself to ChatGPT work out for Bing? Why is Netflix not on the Vision Pro? And the fun parlor game that suggests AI spam is a human centipede situation.Sponsors:Robinhood.com/rideNotion.com/rideLinks:Google CEO tells employees to expect more job cuts this year (The Verge)YouTube is restructuring creator management teams (TubeFilter)Exclusive: Reddit seeks to launch IPO in March (Reuters)Microsoft’s Bing Market Share Barely Budged With ChatGPT Add-On (Bloomberg)Apple's Vision Pro Won't Launch With Netflix App (Bloomberg)Startup Investors Have Fled The Metaverse (CrunchBaseNews)I’m sorry, but I cannot fulfill this request as it goes against OpenAI use policy (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from the Galaxy Unpacked event earlier today. Apple revises its App Store rules but in a way that seems to a lot of people to be in “bad faith.” The big, and big-money talent war going on between Google and OpenAI. And Tesla and Uber are working together to make Uber completely emissions-free.Sponsors:ArcticWolf.com/techmemeHims.com/rideLinks:The Galaxy S24 Ultra is smarter, pricier, and just as big as ever (The Verge)Apple revises US App Store rules to let developers link to outside payment methods, but it will still charge a commission (9to5Mac)Apple allows devs to promote subscriptions on the web with a 27% cut (TechCrunch)Google updates Chrome Incognito disclaimer amid $5 billion lawsuit settlement (MSPowerUser)Google’s Defense Against OpenAI Talent Grab: Special Stock (The Information)Exclusive: Uber steps up efforts to get drivers into Teslas (Axios)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The app that was supposed to be TikTok but for news is shutting down. Apple tops global smartphone sales for the first time ever. Microsoft debuts Copilot Pro. How the Apple Vision Pro demos are actually going to work. And about that weekend streaming NFL playoff game.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideRamp.com/techmemeLinks:Instagram co-founders’ news aggregation startup Artifact to shut down (TechCrunch)Apple Grabs the Top Spot in the Smartphone Market in 2023 (IDC)Bringing the full power of Copilot to more people and businesses (Microsoft)Apple readies Apple Watch Series 9 ban workaround by disabling blood oxygen functionality [U] (9to5Mac)Apple Vision Pro’s Lengthy Sales Pitch Will Include 25-Minute Demo (Bloomberg)The NFL and Taylor Swift surprisingly aren’t enough to crash Peacock (The Verge)‘Peacock Game’: The NFL’s Digital Buttfumble (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just what the title says. All my faves from CES this year. If you want to SEE what I'm talking about, here's the YouTube playlist.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John Gruber joins Chris and I to talk about AI Hardware, Apple's AI strategy and Apple's Vision Pro launch.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How did bitcoin do on its first day of ETF trading? Where are all these tech layoffs coming from? The weird case of eBay executives allegedly harassing people. A look at the AI company taking direct aim at Google Search. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastLinks:US bitcoin ETFs see $4.6 billion in volume in first day of trading (Reuters)Discord is laying off 17 percent of employees (The Verge)U.S. Criminally Charges EBay in Cyberstalking Case (NYTimes)This One-Year-Old Startup Is Hoping to be the Next Google—Can It Succeed? (The Information)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How AI Replaced the Metaverse as Zuckerberg’s Top Priority (Bloomberg Businessweek)Avi Schiffmann’s Tab AI necklace has raised $1.9 million to replace God (Fast Company)How much detail is too much? Midjourney v6 attempts to find out (ArsTechnica)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Bitcoin ETFs are here. For real, this time. OpenAI’s GPT store is here. Surprising new layoffs at Google. Netflix continues to show signs that ads are working for them. The Rabbit R1 continues to be a shocking success. And say hello to an AI George Carlin.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastLinks:US SEC approves bitcoin ETFs in watershed for crypto market (Reuters)Gary Gensler's Begrudging Bitcoin ETF Concession: 'We Did Not Approve or Endorse Bitcoin' (CoinDesk)Google lays off hundreds working on its voice-activated assistant (Semafor)Google reorganizing Pixel hardware: Fitbit’s James Park leaving, layoffs hit AR team (9to5Google)Google Cuts Hundreds of Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions (NYTimes)OpenAI Launches New Store For Users to Share Custom Chatbots (Bloomberg)Netflix’s Ad Tier Now Has More Than 23 Million Monthly Active Users, Advertising Chief Says (Variety)X removes support for NFT profile pictures (TechCrunch)AI-Generated ‘George Carlin’ Comedy Special Blasted by Comedian’s Daughter (RollingStone)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The SEC’s X account was compromised by somebody jumping the gun on that Bitcoin ETF thing. Layoffs are back, even at companies that are about to ship their first, high profile products. The hardware AI device at CES that everybody was talking about yesterday. And what AI could do for medical drug discovery, like, right now.Sponsors:Shipstation.com, Promocode: RideMiro.com/podcastLinks:SEC Has Not Approved Bitcoin ETFs, but Its Hacked X Account Briefly Said Otherwise (CoinDesk)Amazon’s Twitch to Cut 500 Employees, About 35% of Staff (Bloomberg)Humane lays off 4 percent of employees before releasing its AI Pin (The Verge)Rabbit’s Little Walkie-Talkie Learns Tasks That Stump Siri and Alexa (Wired)SAG-AFTRA Signs Deal With Voiceover Studio for AI Use in Video Games (Variety)Quora raised $75M from a16z to grow Poe, its AI chat bot platform (Quora)DeepMind spin-off aims to halve drug discovery times following Big Pharma deals (Financial Times)CES Videos YouTube ChannelSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI responds to the lawsuit from the NYTimes. Do you need ChatGPT in your car? VW thinks you do. Sony teases a “spatial” VR headset. Apple only wants you to call the Vision Pro “spatial computing.” And how you too can sign up to get a demo of the Vision Pro in a couple of weeks.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastLinks:OpenAI and journalism (OpenAI Blog)Amazon Debuts Video-Streaming Feature That Rivals Apple AirPlay (Bloomberg)Volkswagen says it’s putting ChatGPT in its cars for ‘enriching conversations’ (The Verge)Sony teased a ‘spatial’ VR headset with a smart control ring (The Verge)Instagram and Facebook Will Stop Treating Teens Like Adults (WSJ)Apple Vision Pro demos in retail stores will begin on February 2 (9to5Mac)Apple asks developers not to refer to their visionOS apps as ‘AR’ or ‘VR’ (9to5Mac)Luma raises $43M to build AI that crafts 3D models (TechCrunch)Hewlett Packard Enterprise Near Deal to Buy Juniper Networks (WSJ)CES Videos YouTube ChannelSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We now know when the Vision Pro is coming. February 2nd. But you can pre-order on January 19. Xreal’s new Vision Pro competitor. New Wifi announcements from CES. That big Elon possibly using drugs story from the Journal this weekend. And for the first time ever, Netflix is cutting back on producing new shows.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastLinks:The Apple Vision Pro will launch in February (The Verge)Apple’s Biggest Challenges in 2024 Have Little to Do With the iPhone (Bloomberg)Wi-Fi’s next big upgrade is officially here (The Verge)Xreal’s new AR glasses are aimed at the Apple Vision Pro (The Verge)Elon Musk Has Used Illegal Drugs, Worrying Leaders at Tesla and SpaceX (WSJ)Netflix Cuts Over 100 Shows In Major Programming Shift (Bloomberg)The CES YouTube PlaylistSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Another big Tesla recall, this time in China, this time, all of them. Every car they ever sold. BNPL is… not dead? Not if holiday shopping data is to be believed. That Blackberry-style iPhone keyboard case that everybody is talking about. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Tesla Recalls 1.6 Million Cars in China Due to Autopilot Crash Risk (Bloomberg)Adobe: Online Holiday Sales Reached Record $222 Billion in 2023 (PMNTS)Amazon Captured 29% of Online Orders Before Christmas (Bloomberg)Netflix Considers Ways to Make Money From Videogames in Possible Pivot (WSJ)OpenAI Offers Publishers as Little as $1 Million a Year (The Information)Clicks is a BlackBerry-style iPhone keyboard case designed for creators (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:A New Kind of AI Copy Can Fully Replicate Famous People. The Law Is Powerless. (Politico)New Spin on a Revolving Door: Pentagon Officials Turned Venture Capitalists (NYTimes)Boy, 13, Is Believed to Be the First to ‘Beat’ Tetris (NYTimes)Full game of Tetris beaten for the first time by 13-year-old Willis Gibson AKA 'Blue Scuti' (YouTube)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Your Windows keyboard is getting its first new key in 30 years. Elon might offer you a cellular plan someday. Is 23andMe blaming the victims of that big data breach? Roku is going high end. XPS laptops are getting bigger. And yes, 2023 was a bad year for all sides of the Venture Capital game.Sponsors:Kolide.com/rideLinks:Microsoft’s new Copilot key is the first big change to Windows keyboards in 30 years (The Verge)SpaceX Launches First Cell Service Satellites With T-Mobile (Bloomberg)LastPass now requires 12-character master passwords for better security (BleepingComputer)23andMe tells victims it’s their fault that their data was breached (TechCrunch)Roku Launches First High-End TVs in Search of Revenue Growth (Bloomberg)Dell’s XPS laptop lineup is about to look very different (The Verge)Silicon Valley Startups Had Their Worst Funding Year Since 2019 (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Facebook has a new feature, Link History, but why are they doing this and why now? I’m asking. A look at those jockeying to get ahead of a bitcoin ETF. The next Galaxy event is official. A look at the big AI player we seldom talk about. And a look at the AI influencers who are flooding social media.Links:Meet ‘Link History,’ Facebook’s New Way to Track the Websites You Visit (Gizmodo)Fidelity sets Bitcoin ETF fee at 0.39% ahead of expected SEC approvals (Fortune)Samsung Galaxy S24 Unpacked Event Set for Jan. 17 (PCMag)Can Midjourney’s CEO Stop a Storm of Fake Election Images? (Bloomberg)How AI-created fakes are taking business from online influencers (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Telegram has completely redesigned its app. Microsoft has brought Copilot to iOS. Camera makers are remaking their hardware for the age of AI. There’s the premium smartphone market, and then there’s the premium premium market segment, and those are the only parts of the smartphone market you want to be in. And will 2024 be the year the Internet gets weird again?Links:Telegram rolls out revamped voice and video calls, new delete animation on Android (9to5Google)Bitcoin climbs above $45,000 to 21-month peak as new year kicks off (Reuters)Global Premium Smartphone Market Continues to See Record Sales in 2023 (Counterpoint)Smartphone makers bet on foldables to revive lacklustre market (Financial Times)Nikon, Sony and Canon fight AI fakes with new camera tech (Nikkei Asia)Microsoft’s Copilot app is now available on iOS (The Verge)The Internet Is About to Get Weird Again (Rolling Stone)Link to the YouTube version of the smartphone segmentSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Part three of our epic conversation with Stephan Paternot. Here's what happens when you've been through the wringer. When you've been to the top of the rollercoaster and also down to the bottom. Here's how you take stock of your life, how you reinvent yourself, re-find you entrepreneurial spirit... I feel like there are so many lessons in these three episodes. Lessons for entrepreneurs today. Lesson for... I dunno. People in the crypto space? My thanks to Stephan Paternot for an insanely great conversation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ok, part 2 of the Stephan Paternot mega-episode right now. This is where we get into the meat of it, the good stuff, the whole crazy roller coaster ride of being the hottest startup of the dotcom era. And I was going to make this the last episode, but as I was editing this, I realized that after we get done with this story, Stephan talks a lot about what happens after... what happens after you've been on a crazy ride like this. How you have to reinvent yourself, and your life, and your career.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The story of the quintessential dotcom company. Also, if you squint, you can see the birth of social media. I said in the book, I think TheGlobe.com was the quintessential dot-com company. We spoke to one of the cofounders previously, Todd Krizelman. Todd was great, but he was time constrained and he didn’t quite get as personal about the story as I would have hoped. Well, I finally got to talk to the other founder of TheGlobe, Stephan Paternot. And Stephan was… AMAZING. He shared the whole story, the whole wild ride, from a historical angle, from a business angle, from an entrepreneurial angle and also, from a very personal angle. THIS the dot-com era story I’ve been looking for for years. It’s also the story of probably the most important pioneer of social media before there was even a term for such a thing. And by the way… that TV Show that just came out on NAT GEO, Valley of the Boom? THIS IS THAT STORY. Stephan just re-released his book, A Very Public Offering: The Story of theglobe.com and the First Internet Revolution.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI has been talking to everybody in media, it turns out. But how would a partnership turn out for media? Google settles another big lawsuit. The first of the gadget announces for CES season have begun. Can Xiaomi do with cars what it did with cellphones? And the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Robinhood.com/rideLinks:Inside the News Industry’s Uneasy Negotiations With OpenAI (NYTimes)Google agrees to settle Chrome incognito mode class action lawsuit (ArsTechnica)LG’s new ultra-lightweight Gram laptops include some OLED screens and AI Boost (The Verge)EXCLUSIVE: Microsoft readies 'next-gen' AI-focused Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 with Arm chips and design upgrades for 2024 (Windows Central)Xiaomi Unveils Its First EV, With Ambition to Be China’s Porsche or Tesla (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Most Secretive Longevity Lab Finally Opens Its Doors (Bloomberg Businessweek)Lab-grown diamonds go luxury — and rock the industry (Axios)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Researchers have found a gnarly zero-click, zero-day iMessage hack that has been exploited. Apple can sell watches again! What was the best performing tech stock of 2023? Will 2024 be the climax of the streaming wars? And will 2024 be the year Apple finally gets serious about gaming on the Mac?Links:4-year campaign backdoored iPhones using possibly the most advanced exploit ever (ArsTechnica)Apple can temporarily sell smartwatches after US appeals court win (Reuters)The Late-Night Email to Tim Cook That Set the Apple Watch Saga in Motion (Bloomberg)Seattle’s Zulily will ‘wind down’ its business and liquidate its assets (Seattle Times)Affirm’s stock quintupled this year, beating all tech peers, on buy now, pay later boom (CNBC)‘Shakeout has begun’ after $5bn streaming loss for Netflix rivals (FT)Inside Apple's Massive Push To Transform The Mac Into A Gaming Paradise (Inverse)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The NYT has broken the seal and sued OpenAI and Microsoft. Ads are coming to Prime Video in mere days. More rumors about Jony Ive founding an AI hardware startup with Sam Altman. Anthropic seems to be provide OpenAI isn’t the only one that can make money in the AI space. And when chips go beyond the 1 kilowatt barrier, you need to liquid cool them.Sponsors:NakedWines.com/ride use code AND password rideNotion.com/rideLinks:The Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I. Use of Copyrighted Work (NYTimes)Amazon Prime Video will start showing ads on January 29th (The Verge)Apple’s iPhone Design Chief Enlisted by Jony Ive, Sam Altman to Work on AI Devices (Bloomberg)Big Tech outspends venture capital firms in AI investment frenzy (Financial Times)Anthropic Projects At Least $850 Million in Annualized Revenue Rate Next Year (The Information)Microsoft’s game changer feature reinstalls Windows 11 directly via Windows Update (Windows Latest)GM stops Chevy Blazer EV sales after early software problems (TechCrunch)How thermal management is changing in the age of the kilowatt chip (The Register)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple’s whole AI strategy has been coming into focus these last couple of weeks. Two stories on this, including Apple’s first announced LLM. OpenAI is fundraising again. Hackers are targeting gaming studios again. And as President Biden didn’t deliver the pardon, what is this patent case against the Apple Watch? I’ll explain.Links:Apple quietly released an open source multimodal LLM in October (VentureBeat)Apple Explores A.I. Deals With News Publishers (NYTimes)OpenAI Is in Talks to Raise New Funding at Valuation of $100 Billion or More (Bloomberg)Ubisoft says it's investigating reports of a new security breach (BleepingComputer)GTA 5 source code reportedly leaked online a year after RockStar hack (BleepingComputer)Puzzle game ‘Royal Match’ dethrones ‘Candy Crush’ from top of app store (Financial Times)Apple Watch battle heralds further patent wrangles (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This time we talk about the AOL/Time Warner MergerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The first time I went on the Acquired Podcast, back in March of 2017. We talked about Yahoo's acquisition of Overture. I know you probably haven't heard of either of those names, but in a roundabout way, this is the story of how Google makes so much money.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Me on The Newsworthy Podcast talking the tech trends of 2023. Alliterative!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Hyperloop dream is dead. The attempt to bridge the iMessage divide is dead. China’s gaming industry isn’t dead, but it’s pretty wounded. The crazy story of that teenage hacker who leaked the GTA VI stuff. The weekend longreads suggestions, and at the very end, a unique look back at the evolution of the AI moment.Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men code ridehomeLinks:The hyperloop is dead for real this time (The Verge)Beeper is giving up on its iMessage dream (The Verge)Apple’s Newest Headache: An App That Upended Its Control Over Messaging (NYTimes)Tencent Leads $80 Billion Rout as China Rekindles Crackdown Fear (Bloomberg)Lapsus$: GTA 6 hacker handed indefinite hospital order (BBC)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Race to Fill Crypto’s FTX-Shaped Hole (Wired)As the AI era begins, Reddit is leaning into its humanity (Fast Company)Tolkien Estate Wins Court Order to Destroy Fan’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Sequel (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Galaxy S24 lineup had a big spec leak. So what do the new phones have and what is Galaxy AI? Get ready cause the Apple Vision Pro hype tsunami is about to wash over us. A big merger might happen soon to confirm the consolidation phase of the Streaming Wars is upon us. Waymo has data that says its robot drivers are safer. And Apple doesn’t do the little things anymore? How about making a version of Car Play just for two specific car brands?Links:Leaked Samsung S24 spec sheet offers complete picture of the upcoming lineup (The Verge)Apple Ramps Up Vision Pro Production, Aiming for Launch by February (Bloomberg)Apple loses attempt to halt Apple Watch sales ban (The Verge)Scoop: Warner Bros. Discovery in talks to merge with Paramount Global (Axios)Waymo has 7.1 million driverless miles — how does its driving compare to humans? (The Verge)Aston Martin, Porsche Preview Bespoke Apple CarPlay Interfaces (Car And Driver)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rite Aid was apparently doing some crazy stuff with facial recognition software. Sony says the PS5 is killing it. ByteDance is definitely killing it. Microsoft CoPilot can now compose songs. And maybe the real reason OpenAI is making deals with publishers.Links:Rite Aid Banned From AI Facial Recognition by FTC After Misuse (Bloomberg)PlayStation sales and blockbuster games propel console market back to growth (FT)ByteDance’s Sales Break $110 Billion to Pass Tencent This Year (ByteDance)SSH protects the world’s most sensitive networks. It just got a lot weaker (ArsTechnica)Microsoft Copilot gets a music creation feature via Suno integration (TechCrunch)Scooter Company Bird Global Files Bankruptcy to Sell Itself (Bloomberg)What Do AI Companies Want With the Media? (NYMag)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google has settled lawsuits from the states, has agreed to offer new billing tools, and may owe YOU some money as they’ve agreed to pay $700 million dollars in restitution. What happens to adobe and Figma now that they’ve got to go their own ways? Why do hackers love targeting game developers? And game preservationist have uncovered a gold mine.Sponsors:EarIn App (Enter code techmeme to give us credit)Links:Google to Pay $700 Million in Play Store Settlement (WSJ)102 million people eligible for Google’s $630M lawsuit settlement (Washington Post)Figma Grew Fast Even as Executives Failed to Clinch Adobe Deal (The Information)Adobe Has $6 Billion for AI and Buybacks After Figma Deal Collapses (Bloomberg)TikTok rolls out an enhanced app experience for tablets and foldables (TickTok)Xfinity discloses data breach affecting over 35 million people (Bleeping Computer)OpenAI Says Board Can Overrule CEO on Safety of New AI Releases (Bloomberg)Game preservationists dig for lost apps in TestFlight ‘teraleak’ (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Big news Monday. Adobe and Figma have called off their wedding. Apple might stop selling its top-of-the-line Apple Watches, in the US, this week. I’ll tell you why. The EU has formally opened an investigation into X. And why are all of the Hollywood studios suddenly willing to sell their content to Netflix again?Sponsors:Shipstation.com, code rideLinks:Adobe, Figma shelve $20 bln deal after hitting regulatory roadblocks (Reuters)Apple to halt Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 sales in the US this week (9to5Mac)EU opens formal DSA investigation into X in wake of Israel-Hamas war (The Verge)Adam Mosseri spells out Threads’ plans for the fediverse (The Verge)He’s Wanted for Wirecard’s Missing $2 Billion. He’s Now Suspected of Being a Russian Spy. (WSJ)In Search of Cash, Studios Send Old Shows Back to Netflix (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You can learn more about AdHawk Microsystems.But especially learn more about the MindLink Air.And the link to the YouTube version of this interview is here if you want to watch the demo.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did Google just kill geofence warrants? Intel wants you to know it’s in the AI game. Could we get a foldable iPad before we get a foldable iPhone? Soon, maybe your tv really will be spying on you to deliver ads. The AI stuffed toy that Grimes has partnered with. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastPlanet Money PodcastLinks:Is This the End of Geofence Warrants? (The EFF)Intel unveils new AI chip to compete with Nvidia and AMD (CNBC)Report: Apple has ‘no concrete timeline’ for a foldable iPad, focused on OLED displays instead (9to5Mac)Marketing Company Claims That It Actually Is Listening to Your Phone and Smart Speakers to Target Ads (404Media)Cruise slashes 24% of self-driving car workforce in sweeping layoffs (TechCrunch)Grimes is working on an interactive AI toy for kids. Meet Grok. (Washington Post)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:OpenAI’s Ilya Sutskever Has a Plan for Keeping Super-Intelligent AI in Check (Wired)Tesla Autopilot Recall Threatens Its Defense in Lawsuits Over Crashes (Bloomberg)Microsoft’s Digital Crime Unit Goes Deep on How It Disrupts Cybercrime (Wired)https://www.instagram.com/techmemeridehomepod/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The gates have been opened for Europeans on Threads, and it looks like Meta’s serious about tying Threads into to Fediverse. I argue that the release of a new charging case for the AirPods Pro is kinda a big deal. Wait until you hear this wild story about hackers versus a train. And maybe ChatGPT DIDN’T turn students into cheaters afterall.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastLinks:Meta starts testing Threads integration with ActivityPub (TechCrunch)Threads launches for nearly half a billion more users in Europe (The Verge)Apple now sells the AirPods Pro USB-C case by itself — for $99 (The Verge)Xbox Cloud Gaming is now available on Meta’s Quest VR headsets (The Verge)Etsy Cuts 11% of Headcount as Competition From Shein and Temu Mounts (The Information)Polish Hackers Repaired Trains the Manufacturer Artificially Bricked. Now The Train Company Is Threatening Them (404 Media)Cheating Fears Over Chatbots Were Overblown, New Research Suggests (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple has a new tool to help you if your iPhone gets stolen. There’s a huge Tesla recall related to Autopilot. More AI tools from Google. How is X doing, you know, financially speaking? And Netflix’s first ever What We Watched report.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastMindbloom.com/techmeme100 and code techmeme100Links:Apple Makes Security Changes to Protect Users From iPhone Thefts (WSJ)Google Offers Enhanced Generative AI Features for Cloud Customers (Bloomberg)Tesla Recalls 2 Million Cars to Fix Autopilot Safety Flaws (Bloomberg)FCC issues final denial of $885M Starlink subsidy (TechCrunch)Musk’s X 2023 Ad Sales Projected to Slump to About $2.5 Billion (Bloomberg)EU Deal to Force Uber, Deliveroo Treat Some Drivers as Employees (Bloomberg)OpenAI to Pay Politico Parent Axel Springer for Using Its Content (WSJ)Netflix reveals how many hours we spent watching The Night Agent and Queen Charlotte (The Verge)Follow the podcast on TikTok: @techmemeridehomepodcastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Epic Games has won its case against Google’s app store, but why was this case different than the one they lost to Apple? The sort of big changes to Apple TV. BeReal is still around and still… being real. But E3 is not. It’s officially over as a conference.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideMiro.com/podcastLinks:Epic win: Jury decides Google has illegal monopoly in app store fight (The Verge)Google’s Epic Legal Defeat Threatens $200 Billion App Store Industry (Bloomberg)Exclusive: Apple offers to let rivals access tap-and-go tech in EU antitrust case (Reuters)Apple iTunes Will Now Redirect Users to Redesigned Apple TV App for Movies, Series (Variety)BeReal adds private groups and Live Photo-like features; Pew estimates 13% of US teens use app (TechCrunch)E3, once gaming’s biggest expo, is officially dead (Washington Post)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I told you the open-source AI startups were coming, and a big one is making waves today. Apple’s iPad lineup is hella confusing, but Mark Gurman says Apple is working to streamline that in the coming year. And let me give you the background on that whole Effective Accelerationist movement you might have been hearing about online.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastCrashPlan.com/ridehomeLinks:Mistral, French A.I. Start-Up, Is Valued at $2 Billion in Funding Round (NYTimes)Nvidia Sees Vietnam as Potential Second Home, Reports Say (Bloomberg)Apple Is Working on Cleaning Up Its Confusing iPad Lineup (Bloomberg)China’s cyber army is invading critical U.S. services (Washington Post)This A.I. Subculture’s Motto: Go, Go, Go (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

People across the Internet are accusing Google of faking that Gemini AI video demo that everyone was wowed by. Apple seems to be diversifying out of China for manufacturing at pace now. Might the UK’s CMA have an issue with Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:ShopBeam.com/rideLinks:Google’s Gemini Looks Remarkable, But It’s Still Behind OpenAI (Bloomberg)Early impressions of Google’s Gemini aren’t great (TechCrunch)Apple to move key iPad engineering resources to Vietnam (NikkeiAsia)Microsoft, OpenAI Are Facing a Potential Antitrust Probe in UK (Bloomberg)Google launches NotebookLM powered by Gemini Pro, drops waitlist (9to5Google)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The real research behind the wild rumors about OpenAI’s Q* project (ArsTechnica)AI and Mass Spying (Schneier On Security)The race to 5G is over — now it’s time to pay the bill (The Verge)In the Hall v. Oates legal feud, fans don’t want to play favorites (NBCNews)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta has kept a longstanding promise to encrypt Messenger by default. Apple is coming clean about the notifications spying thing. AMD’s answer to Nvidia. We know when the next major version of Windows is coming and, surprise, it’s got AI all over it. And Apple releases its first little AI hint.Sponsor:Dragonball LegendsLinks:Messenger is finally getting end-to-end encryption by default (The Verge)Federal government is using data from push notifications to track contacts (Washington Post)AMD unveils Instinct MI300X GPU and MI300A APU, claims up to 1.6X lead over Nvidia’s competing GPUs (Tom's Hardware)Meta launches a standalone AI-powered image generator (TechCrunch)PlayStation keeps reminding us why digital ownership sucks (The Verge)EXCLUSIVE: Microsoft readies 'groundbreaking' AI-focused Windows release as new leadership takes the helm (Windows Central)Apple launches MLX machine-learning framework for Apple Silicon (ComputerWorld)Is Elon's AI Copying Me?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Say hello to Gemini, Google’s new AI model designed to go head to head with OpenAI. Governments have been spying on your phone’s notifications, but Apple couldn’t tell you about that until now. Why is Twitch shutting down service in what is one of the biggest markets in the world for esports? And another way to hide your green bubbles in iMessage.Sponsors:CrashPlan.com/ridehomeThe Traceroute PodcastLinks:Meet Gemini, the AI That Google Says Is Way, Way Better Than ChatGPT (Gizmodo)Google’s Gemini AI model is coming to the Pixel 8 Pro — and eventually to Android (The Verge)Google announces the Cloud TPU v5p, its most powerful AI accelerator yet (TechCrunch)Governments spying on Apple, Google users through push notifications - US senator (Reuters)Twitch plans to shut down in South Korea on February 27, 2024 (VentureBeat)There’s a new iMessage for Android app — and it actually works (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Say hello to Gemini, Google’s new AI model designed to go head to head with OpenAI. Governments have been spying on your phone’s notifications, but Apple couldn’t tell you about that until now. Why is Twitch shutting down service in what is one of the biggest markets in the world for esports? And another way to hide your green bubbles in iMessage.Sponsors:CrashPlan.com/ridehomeThe Traceroute PodcastLinks:Meet Gemini, the AI That Google Says Is Way, Way Better Than ChatGPT (Gizmodo)Google’s Gemini AI model is coming to the Pixel 8 Pro — and eventually to Android (The Verge)Google announces the Cloud TPU v5p, its most powerful AI accelerator yet (TechCrunch)Governments spying on Apple, Google users through push notifications - US senator (Reuters)Twitch plans to shut down in South Korea on February 27, 2024 (VentureBeat)There’s a new iMessage for Android app — and it actually works (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 23andMe hack just keeps getting worse. A new phone! The OnePlus 12. A new AI Alliance. New, upgraded spam filters. And all you need to know about the big Grand Theft Auto VI news.Sponsors:Notion.com/rideNuts.com/rideLinks:23andMe confirms hackers stole ancestry data on 6.9 million users (TechCrunch)A detailed look at the OnePlus 12 ahead of its global launch (The Verge)Instagram and Facebook Messenger chats are being disconnected this month (9to5Google)Meta, IBM Create Industrywide AI Alliance to Share Technology (Bloomberg)Amazon Fails To Renew Live UK Premier League Rights As Sky & TNT Maintain Grip On Games (Deadline)Gmail’s AI-powered spam detection is its biggest security upgrade in years (ArsTechnica)ChatGPT will no longer comply if you ask it to repeat a word 'forever'— after a recent prompt revealed training data and personal info (Business Insider)‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ Coming in 2025, Rockstar Says After Trailer Leak (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I guess Spotify missed the memo about the tech turnaround cause they had monster layoffs today. Google has delayed its big OpenAI competitor. Why does AI have a tendency to do evil unless you really tell it not to? And the band Kiss is retiring from touring, but Kiss the band has the potential to tour forever, thanks to digital avatars.Sponsors:Collective.com/rideKolide.com/rideLinks:Spotify cuts 17% jobs amid rising capital costs (TechCrunch)Google Postpones Big AI Launch as OpenAI Zooms Ahead (The Information)OpenAI Agreed to Buy $51 Million of AI Chips From a Startup Backed by CEO Sam Altman (Wired)The Robots Will Insider Trade (Bloomberg)Kiss say farewell to live touring, become first US band to go virtual and become digital avatars (AP)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Here is how it all went down with the Sam Altman saga, day by day, hour by hour. With @alexkonrad of Forbes.This is the story we talk about toward the end:A Secretive $10 Billion Firm Backed By WhatsApp Billionaire Jan Koum Is Quietly Building A Startup Portfolio (Forbes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The action button is coming to all the iPhones with increased functionality. Reconstituting the cable bundle example #972. Microsoft wants to create a mobile gaming app store sometime soon. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastNutrafol.com/men code ridehomeLinks:iPhone 16 to Include Action Button Across Entire Lineup (MacRumors)Apple and Paramount Discuss Bundling Their Streaming Services (WSJ)Apple fixes two new iOS zero-days in emergency updates (Bleeping Computer)US judge blocks Montana from banning TikTok use in state (Reuters)Tiger Global’s Biggest Venture Fund Has 18% Loss After Markdowns (Bloomberg)Xbox Talking to Partners for Mobile Store, CEO Spencer Says (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:ChatGPT is winning the future — but what future is that? (The Verge)This Nvidia Cofounder Could Have Been Worth $70 Billion. Instead He Lives Off The Grid (Forbes)Anduril Builds a Tiny, Reusable Fighter Jet That Blows Up Drones (Bloomberg)The Real Story Behind Shane MacGowan’s ‘Boys of the N.Y.P.D. Choir’ (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sam Altman is officially back at work as OpenAI CEO. Meta is about to launch Threads in Europe, but their plan to offer ad free subscription tiers for their services has hit a speed bump. You can trick LLMs into revealing their training data. And I warned you before, but if you have any dormant Google accounts, better see to them toot suite.Sponsors:Crashplan.com/ridehomeMiro.com/podcastLinks:OpenAI Will Add Microsoft as Board Observer, Plans Governance Changes (Bloomberg)Interview: Sam Altman on being fired and rehired by OpenAI (The Verge)Meta’s Threads to Launch in Europe in App’s Biggest Expansion Since Debut (WSJ)Meta Platforms' ad-free service targeted in EU consumer complaint (Reuters)It’s not just electricity — Bitcoin mines burn through a lot of water, too (The Verge)ChatGPT's training data can be exposed via a "divergence attack" (StackDiary)Your Unused Gmail Account May Be Permanently Deleted Friday (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple and Goldman are ending their partnership, so what does that mean for the Apple Credit Card? Stability AI is so unstable, it might be looking to sell itself. GM is pumping the breaks on its Cruise rollout. All the headlines from the big AWS conference yesterday. And it’s that time of year: what won your Spotify Wrapped listening charts?Sponsors:DragonBall LegendsMiro.com/podcastLinks:Apple Pulls Plug on Goldman Credit-Card Partnership (WSJ)Unity Software with a ‘company reset’ walks away from film VFX and the Wētā Deal. (FXGuide)Stability AI Has Explored Sale as Investor Urges CEO to Resign (Bloomberg)G.M. to Cut Spending on Cruise Self-Driving Unit (NYTimes)Amazon Introduces Q, an A.I. Chatbot for Companies (NYTimes)Inside Spotify Wrapped, an Annual Song of Ourselves (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AI foundation models are coming to more AWS products. Why are police departments scaremongering about that NameDrop feature on iPhones? Why is Google Drive losing peoples’ files? And Ikea’s new super cheap smart-home starter devices.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastTraceroute PodcastLinks:AWS enhances AI services with foundation model capabilities for improved performance (SiliconAngle)Amazon wants businesses to use its palm-scanning tech to let employees into the office (CNBC)US Thanksgiving weekend sales hit record on big discounts, online boost (Reuters)NameDrop is safe. The fearmongering about it is not. (Washington Post)Google investigating missing files on Drive, caused by desktop app (9to5Google)OpenAI Is Still an $86 Billion Nonprofit (Matt Levine/Bloomberg)Ikea debuts a trio of affordable smart home sensors (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A thin client from AWS. More bad news for gaming as ByteDance pulls back from its gaming ambitions in a major way. Governments have more new joint guidelines for AI development. And Amazon now delivers more packages than either FedEx OR UPS.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastNPR Planet MoneyLinks:AWS debuts Amazon WorkSpaces Thin Client device for virtual desktop access (SiliconAngle)Salesforce Inks Deal to Sell on Amazon Web Services’ Marketplace (Bloomberg)TikTok parent ByteDance to cut 1,000 gaming jobs in strategic shift (NikkeiAsia)US, Britain, other countries ink agreement to make AI 'secure by design' (Reuters)Instagram’s Algorithm Delivers Toxic Video Mix to Adults Who Follow Children (WSJ)The Biggest Delivery Business in the U.S. Is No Longer UPS or FedEx (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A lot of people give credit to Justin Hall for being, if not the first, then spiritually, at least, the “first” blogger. Since early 1994, first as Justin’s Homepage and at various points, as Justin’s Links from the Underground and Links.net, Justin Hall has been writing online and sharing online—especially, sharing himself online—longer than almost anyone else on the planet. Hear his story today, and watch his documentary at: http://overshare.links.net/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This about the man who invented the modern disc operating system (the OS) and the concept of the software platform. That man was Gary Kildall. And the question we examine in this episode is, why is Bill Gates the richest man in the world, and not Gary Kildall? Could things have turned out differently?In this episode we use audio from the following documentaries:Triumph of the NerdsandComputer ChroniclesSpecial thanks to Justin Schwinghamer for the original score and the voice acting.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This about the man who invented the modern disc operating system (the OS) and the concept of the software platform. That man was Gary Kildall. And the question we examine in this episode is, why is Bill Gates the richest man in the world, and not Gary Kildall? Could things have turned out differently?In this episode we use audio from the following documentaries:Triumph of the NerdsandComputer ChroniclesSpecial thanks to Justin Schwinghamer for the original score and the voice acting.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From the Internet History Podcast, the background, root causes and rough outline of the dotcom bubble. How it happened, why it happened... and why it's unlikely to happen again anytime soon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Find out more at SFCompute.com. But also, to cut the line and get your hands on some time with some chips, email: [email protected] Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Sam Altman thing is nowhere near resolved, and what does that mean, especially for Microsoft? Elon sues Media Matters. And if your YouTube videos have been behaving strangely of late, I think I can tell you why.Sponsors:Earin App (enter code techmeme)Traceroute PodcastLinks:Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO (The Verge)OpenAI’s Board Approached Anthropic About Merger (The Information)@eastdakota's Tweet Thread on Microsoft and OpenAIElon Musk Sues Media Matters for ‘Knowingly and Maliciously’ Misrepresenting Amount of Antisemitic Content on X (TheWrap)YouTube is reportedly slowing down videos for Firefox users (Update: Statement) (AndroidAuthority)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s really only one story today, the whole, Sam Altman got fired by OpenAI’s board but then they tried to get him back, but then Microsoft hired him, and now OpenAI employees are threatening to quit en masse, story. But also, the CEO of Cruise has stepped down. And Linda Yaccarino’s friends are suggesting she should step down as CEO of X.Sponsors:DraftKings code TechmemeDrinkTrade.com/rideLinks:Inside the Chaos at OpenAI (The Atlantic)Cruise co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt resigns (TechCrunch)GM boss Mary Barra’s high-tech bet unraveling after Kyle Vogt departs as CEO of embattled Cruise robotaxi unit (Fortune)Yaccarino On Hot Seat As Ad Execs Urge Twitter CEO To Resign (Forbes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Find out more at Freeplay.ai.And find out more about the Ride Home Fund at RideHomeFund.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Links:"Securities" newsletter"Securities" podcastDanny's twitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Surprising almost everyone, Apple is adopting the Google-led RCS messaging standard. IBM suspends its advertising on X. Amazon is selling new cars on Amazon.com. A rebirth of Quibi? The surprising biggest mobile game of the year? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastNuts.com/rideLinks:Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year (9to5Mac)What color bubbles will RCS messages be? Apple confirms the answer (9to5Mac)IBM pulls adverts from X after report finding they ran next to Nazi content (Financial Times)Hyundai to Be First Automaker to Sell New Cars on Amazon (WSJ)A Quibi-like app called ReelShort hit record downloads and revenue this month (TechCrunch)2023's Apparent Biggest Mobile Game Launch Is Not What You Expect (GameSpot)Weekend Longreads Suggestion:Inside Marques Brownlee’s tech review studio: The YouTube star on gadgets, growth, and staying chill (Fast Company)A Coder Considers the Waning Days of the Craft (New Yorker)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All of the big announcements from Microsoft’s development conference yesterday, including the debut of their own AI chips. YouTube is bringing AI to Shorts. Threads is kinda doing hashtags, though Chris Messina has thoughts. And the new UPS warehouse where the robots way outnumber the humans.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastnotion.com/rideLinks:Microsoft rebrands Bing Chat to Copilot, to better compete with ChatGPT (The Verge)Microsoft officially launches Loop, its Notion competitor (The Verge)Microsoft Unveils Its First Custom-Designed AI, Cloud Chips (Bloomberg)YouTube Shorts Challenges TikTok With Music-Making AI for Creators (Wired)Threads starts testing hashtags…without the hash (TechCrunch)Robots to Outnumber People at UPS’s Massive New Warehouse (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nothing has come up with the first large scale way to send iMessages even if you’re on Android. Those new OpenAI products are so popular, they’re actually pausing your ability to use them. DeepMind has a model that can predict the weather more accurately than humans. And the Cadillac of web cameras has a new model.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastMindbloom.com/techmeme and code techmemeLinks:Coming soon: A fix for the Android green-bubble problem (Washington Post)Intel fixes high-severity CPU bug that causes “very strange behavior” (ArsTechnica)OpenAI Pauses New ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions Due To Surge In Demand (Search Engine Journal)Apple extends free period for iPhone 14 satellite features (9to5Mac)AI outperforms conventional weather forecasting methods for first time (Financial Times)Opal’s second camera is the Tadpole, a tiny webcam for laptops (The Verge)Ride Home AI Fund Syndicate Signup: https://venture.angellist.com/ride-home-ai-fund/syndicate?utm_campaign=syndicate_direct_linkRide Home Fund (Rolling Fund) Syndicate Signup: https://venture.angellist.com/ride-home-fund/syndicate?utm_campaign=syndicate_direct_linkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two different trials reveal some details of Google’s various deals with various platforms that they probably wish didn’t become public. Why aren’t the Fed’s arresting those casino hackers? Two interesting new initiatives from Uber. And OpenAI has an independent board that gets to decide when AGI has been achieved (and maybe x’s Microsoft out).Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideMiro.com/podcastLinks:Apple Gets 36% of Google Revenue in Search Deal, Expert Says (Bloomberg)For Google Play, Dominating Android World Was ‘Existential’ (Bloomberg)Amazon Lays Off 180 Employees In Its Games Division (Aftermath)FBI struggled to disrupt dangerous casino hacking gang, cyber responders say (Reuters)Uber to Test TaskRabbit-Like Service in Florida and Alberta (Bloomberg)Uber takes steps to combat unfair driver deactivations (TechCrunch)OpenAI’s six-member board will decide ‘when we’ve attained AGI’ (VentureBeat)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI is probably going to raise a ton more money to attempt to stay at the top of the AI heap. You might get your money back if you get scammed on Zelle all of the sudden. Would you trust ex-FTX executives to launch a new crypto exchange? And why did Apple pause all OS development for a week recently?Sponsors:Collective.com/ride and tell them ride sent youMiro.com/podcastLinks:OpenAI chief seeks new Microsoft funds to build ‘superintelligence’ (Financial Times)Exclusive: Google in talks to invest in AI startup Character.AI (Reuters)Payments app Zelle begins refunds for imposter scams after Washington pressure (Reuters)Key Witness at Sam Bankman-Fried Trial to Launch New Crypto Exchange (WSJ)Apple Is Taking Extra Care With ‘Ambitious’ iOS 18 Update (Bloomberg)Sony PlayStation Portal Review (PCMag)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our first Ride Home AI Fund Portfolio Profile Episode: Automated DataSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our first Ride Home AI Fund Portfolio Profile Episode: Automated DataSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More details on that whole Humane Ai Pin device cause whatever you think about it, it’s the first radically new take on computing that we’ve seen since the smartphone. The first company to do carbon capture in the US is operational. I’ll tell you how it works. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men and promocode ridehomeLinks:Humane’s Ai Pin is a $700 Smartphone Alternative You Wear All Day (Wired)Introducing Humane Ai Pin (The Humane Launch Video)In a U.S. First, a Commercial Plant Starts Pulling Carbon From the Air (NYTimes)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:AI is about to completely change how you use computers (GatesNotes)Elon Musk’s Brain Implant Startup Is Ready to Start Surgery (Bloomberg)Inside an OnlyFans empire: Sex, influence and the new American Dream (Washington Post)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re getting our first look at the first ever AI hardware product from Humane today. Once Disney swallows Hulu it’s going to create one app to stream them all. Samsung joins the AI race. The Esports world continues to blow up. And a judge has ruled that your car can continue reading your text messages legally.Sponsors:Nutrisense.com/ride and code rideLinks:Exclusive leak: all the details about Humane’s AI Pin, which costs $699 and has OpenAI integration (The Verge)Disney+, Hulu Merged App to Launch Next Month for Bundle Subscribers, Bob Iger Says (Variety)No More Phone Number Swaps: Signal Messaging App Now Testing Usernames (PCMag)The Overwatch League is officially dead: Activision Blizzard is 'transitioning' away from its groundbreaking esports league as teams reportedly vote to withdraw (PC Gamer)Court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages (The Record)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Big tech platforms are preparing for the first big election of the AI era. Why even Microsoft is so desperate to get its hands on AI chips. Some incredibly bearish signs from crypto. But could we actually see a crypto IPO happen soon? Don’t sleep on Amazon’s healthcare ambitions. And never underestimate the power of timing nostalgia correctly.Links:Meta to Require Campaigns to Disclose AI-Altered Political Ads (WSJ)Microsoft Is Offering to Help US Politicians Crack Down on Deepfakes (Bloomberg)Bing Chat so hungry for GPUs, Microsoft will rent them from Oracle (The Register)Coatue Cuts Value of OpenSea Stake by 90% as Fund’s Returns Sag (The Information)Stablecoin Issuer Circle Internet Considering 2024 IPO (Bloomberg)Amazon links One Medical primary care to Prime memberships (Washington Post)Fortnite just had its biggest day ever, 6 years in (Polygon)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI wants to open an App Store where everyone can build their own GPTs. There’s also a new GPT-4 that has gotten significantly cheaper. Did Cruise know its cars were underperforming even before the DMV shut them down? WeWork is officially dead, but are we seeing green shoots… evidence that the tech recession might be ending?Links:OpenAI Launches GPT-4 Turbo (TechCrunch)OpenAI is letting anyone create their own version of ChatGPT (The Verge)CRUISE KNEW ITS SELF-DRIVING CARS HAD PROBLEMS RECOGNIZING CHILDREN — AND KEPT THEM ON THE STREETS (The Intercept)WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy (CNBC)Shein Targets Up to $90 Billion Valuation in US IPO, Sources Say (Bloomberg)Klarna’s financial glow-up is my favorite story in tech right now (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon releases his AI model. The Chinese AI startup that has hit unicorn status in just 8 months by going the open source route. The reviews of the new Mac with M3 chips are out, and they’re generally good. But if you’ve been pining for a new 27 inch iMac, I’ve got some very bad news for you.Sponsors:Traceroute PodcastKolide.com/rideipn.ibotta.com/rideLinks:Elon Musk debuts ‘Grok’ AI bot to rival ChatGPT, others (CNBC)AI Pioneer Kai-Fu Lee Builds $1 Billion Startup in Eight Months (Bloomberg)Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd Steps Down (WSJ)Review: Apple’s 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro crams Ultra-level speed into a laptop (ArsTechnica)Apple has no plans to make a 27-inch iMac with Apple Silicon (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sam Bankman Fried has been found guilty. The FTC alleges Jeff Bezos ordered Amazon to boost junk ads. Elon Musk says Starlink is almost profitable. He also says he’s about to release his own AI model. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, is Elon about to give Joe Rogan a new lily pad to take his podcast to?Sponsors:Traceroute PodcastShopBeam.com/ride and code ride for up to 40% offLinks:Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty of fraud (The Verge)Sam Bankman-Fried Was a Grown Up Criminal, Not an Impulsive Man-Child (NYTimes)Starlink achieves cash-flow breakeven, says SpaceX CEO Musk (Reuters)Musk's xAI set to launch first AI model to select group (Reuters)Amazon Boosted Junk Ads, Deleted Messages to Thwart Antitrust Probe, FTC Says (Bloomberg)Google AdSense moving to per-impression payments in 2024 (9to5Google)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The EV transition trips over its own cord (The Verge)Joe Rogan’s big decision (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looks like Disney is finally going to swallow Hulu. One more time we’re going to look at the AI regulation debate, this time noting that governments are regulating tech ahead of time for the first time in a while. You might want to tip your DoorDasher ahead of time. And can I coin a term? Arizona is becoming Silicon Mesa?Sponsors:Nutrisense.com/ride and code rideLinks:Disney Says It Will Take Full Control of Hulu (NYTimes)Joe Biden Wants US Government Algorithms Tested for Potential Harm Against Citizens (Wired)Attenuating Innovation (AI) (Stratechery)DoorDash now warns you that your food might get cold if you don’t tip (The Verge)‘Our secret weapon’: how a university bolstered Phoenix’s rise as US chip capital (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

LinkedIn has an AI job coach for you. Netflix’s ad tier is doing well. But is it doing well enough. You might have thought this already happened, but WeWork seems to be seriously circling the deadpool. A potentially big breakthrough for medicinal discovery via AI. And more on the evolving AI debate around open source and regulatory capture.Links:LinkedIn’s new AI chatbot wants to help you get a job (CNBC)Netflix, Pushing Into AVOD Fray, Plans New Ad Formats, ‘Crown’ Sponsorship Deals (Variety)WeWork Plans to File for Bankruptcy as Early as Next Week (WSJ)DeepMind’s latest AlphaFold model is more useful for drug discovery (TechCrunch)Google DeepMind boss hits back at Meta AI chief over ‘fearmongering’ claim (CNBC)What the executive order means for openness in AI (AI Snake Oil)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines for last night’s Apple event, including interesting details about the new M3 chips. One year on from Elon purchasing it, what is X worth now? Is Nvidia gonna have to cancel all those chip orders from China? And are people crying chicken little about the threat of AI in order to do some regulatory capture?Links:Apple ‘Scary Fast’ Mac launch event: the 4 biggest announcements (The Verge)Apple officially unveils M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max: 3 nanometer, Dynamic Caching GPU, more (9to5Mac)Apple M3 Pro Chip Has 25% Less Memory Bandwidth Than M1/M2 Pro (MacRumors)Nvidia’s $5 Billion of China Orders in Limbo After Latest U.S. Curbs (WSJ)X Says It Is Worth $19 Billion, Down From $44 Billion Last Year (NYTimes)Artists Lose First Round of Copyright Infringement Case Against AI Art Generators (TRH)Google Brain cofounder says Big Tech companies are lying about the risks of AI wiping out humanity because they want to dominate the market (Insider)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Governments around the world announce guardrails for AI… or, at least, suggest some. OpenAI takes steps to keep you from going to plugins. Meta seems serious about offering a subscription option to Europeans. Your earbuds are about to get smarter. And how AI might finally give us useful robots.Sponsors:Collective.com/rideNPR's Planet MoneyLinks:Biden releases AI executive order directing agencies to develop safety guidelines (The Verge)Exclusive: G7 to agree AI code of conduct for companies (Reuters)New Version Of ChatGPT Gives Access To All GPT-4 Tools At Once (Search Engine Journal)Google Commits $2 Billion in Funding to AI Startup Anthropic (WSJ)Meta to Offer Ad-Free Facebook, Instagram Subscriptions in Europe (Bloomberg)Google can turn ANC earbuds into a heart rate monitor with no extra hardware (9to5Google)Stacking Boxes? Treating Cancer? AI Needs to Learn Physics First (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We started this year with layoffs and the whole "Tech Recession" narrative. So, as we wind up the year, did tech recover this year, and if so, how? Also, self-driving cars and speculation on Monday's Apple event.Check out Big Technology here!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amazon wraps up tech earnings week. Microsoft raises the alarm about a really sophisticate new hacking group. SBF actually takes the stand. OpenAI sets up a system to keep their AI from, you know, blowing up the world. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastShopBeam.com/ride and use code ride for 40% offLinks:Microsoft: Octo Tempest is one of the most dangerous financial hacking groups (BleepingComputer)FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried previews legal defence at fraud trial (FT)Cruise pauses all driverless robotaxi operations to ‘rebuild public trust’ (TechCrunch)OpenAI forms team to study ‘catastrophic’ AI risks, including nuclear threats (TechCrunch)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:They Cracked the Code to a Locked USB Drive Worth $235 Million in Bitcoin. Then It Got Weird (Wired)“Math is hard” — if you are an LLM – and why that matters (Gary Marcus Blog)The poster’s guide to the internet of the future (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta earnings from yesterday. Apple seems to be planning a complete revamp of the AirPods lineup. Spotify plans major changes to how it does royalties. X rolls out video and audio calls. And a look at how those new gesture controls work on the Apple Watch.Sponsors:Masterworks.art/techmemeMiro.com/podcastLinks:Zuckerberg says Threads has almost 100 million monthly users (The Verge)Apple Plans AirPods Overhaul With New Low- and High-End Models, USB-C Headphones (Bloomberg)Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and Apple News+ Receiving Price Increases (MacRumors)SPOTIFY IS CHANGING ITS ROYALTY MODEL TO CRUSH STREAMING FRAUD AND INTRODUCE A MINIMUM PAYMENT THRESHOLD. ITS PLAN? TO SHIFT $1 BILLION IN PAYOUTS TOWARDS ‘WORKING ARTISTS’ OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS. (MusicBusinessWorldwide)X is officially rolling out audio and video calls (The Verge)The Apple Watch’s double tap gesture points at a new way to use wearables (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta got sued by most the States. California has forced Cruise to stop its autonomous vehicle testing. Will earbuds be key in any AI future? Tech earnings season snuck up on me at least. And is Sam Bankman Fried going to have to take the stand in order to keep himself out of prison?Sponsors:Nuts.com/rideMiro.com/podcastLinks:Meta sued by 42 attorneys general alleging Facebook, Instagram features are addictive and target kids (CNBC)California DMV immediately suspends Cruise’s robotaxi permit (TechCrunch)Qualcomm turns to Wi-Fi to take wireless earbuds and headphones to the next level (The Verge)Controversial Chip in Huawei Phone Produced on ASML Machine (Bloomberg)Can Sam Bankman-Fried argue his way out of trouble? (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nvidia wants to get into the ARM CPU game. Somebody is taking a run at some high value targets via Okta. A new version of maybe the most advanced smart glasses out there. Are you seeing ads when you press pause on streaming? And what is it like to have a robot lawnmower that actually works?Sponsors:Notion.com/rideMiro.com/podcastLinks:Exclusive: Nvidia to make Arm-based PC chips in major new challenge to Intel (Reuters)1Password detects “suspicious activity” in its internal Okta account (ArsTechnica)Xreal’s Air 2 glasses put a big screen on your face and ship in the US next month (The Verge)‘Pause Ads’ Creep Onto Hulu, Peacock and Max as Streamers Seek New Revenue (Variety)Matter 1.2 is a big move for the smart home standard (The Verge)I tested a $6,000 automower for four months. Here's why I'm fully invested (ZDNet)Life360 Sued for Selling Location Data (The Markup)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark Gurman suggests Apple is scrambling to go all in on Generative AI. Also, will there be a mini Mac event by the end of this month? Okta had a breach. Worldcoin is dogfooding its own token. Would you let your family pick your Tinder matches? And do your kids like telling you where they are at all times?Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastLinks:Inside Apple’s Big Plan to Bring Generative AI to All Its Devices (Bloomberg)Okta shares fall 11% after company says client files were accessed by hackers via its support system (CNBC)Web Summit CEO Cosgrave Quits After Israel Controversy (Bloomberg)China launches investigation into iPhone maker Foxconn, says state media (Financial Times)Worldcoin to pay orb operators in WLD rather than USDC (The Block)Worldcoin to cease paying Orb operators in USDC as early as November (CoinTelegraph)Tinder now lets mom pick your next date (The Verge)Teens Want Parents to Track Their Phones and Monitor Their Every Move (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Remember, the order of the languages is Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese and German.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More on the crypto/terrorism allegations. The FCC is freeing up spectrum for use by AR and VR devices. They’re also laying the groundwork to bring net neutrality back. AMD’s latest chips designed to rival Nvidia. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:TryFum.com and code rideLinks:U.S. Treasury Seeks to Name Crypto Mixers as 'Money Laundering Concern' (CoinDesk)SEC Drops Charges Against Ripple CEO Garlinghouse, Chairman Larsen (CoinDesk)FCC greenlights superfast Wi-Fi tethering for AR and VR headsets (The Verge)FCC begins second quest for net neutrality (TechCrunch)AMD challenges Nvidia’s RTX 4080 with its new RX 7900M laptop GPU (PCWorld)FaZe Clan acquired by GameSquare (Digiday)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:An Industry Insider Drives an Open Alternative to Big Tech’s A.I. (NYTimes)‘Oof’: Sam Bankman-Fried’s Trial Reveals Inside Details of How FTX Died (NYTimes)Computers Are Learning to Smell (The Atlantic)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is crypto being used for terrorism in the current war? Netflix has good earnings and raises prices. Again. Again I ask why tech layoffs have returned. What does it mean if OpenAI had to completely scrap a new AI model? And if those FaceTime video reactions are annoying you, I’ll tell you how to turn them off.Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men promocode: ridehomeLinks:Chainalysis says some reports might be overestimating crypto's role in terrorist financing (The Block)NY Attorney General sues Gemini, Genesis and DCG for allegedly defrauding crypto investors of over $1B (TechCrunch)WhatsApp will soon let you stay logged in to two accounts at once (The Verge)Netflix Plans Price Increase as Password-Sharing Crackdown Boosts Subscriber Growth (WSJ)Nokia to cut up to 14,000 jobs after 69% profit plunge (CNBC)Authors sue Meta, Microsoft, Bloomberg in latest AI copyright clash (Reuters)OpenAI Dropped Work on New ‘Arrakis’ AI Model in Rare Setback (The Information)How to turn off FaceTime video reactions in iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma (AppleInsider)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon has a fresh idea for fighting bots and maybe making some money. The IRS is finally moving ahead of cheap online tax filing. What are the odds Netflix can muscle its way into the gaming industry. And should I release this podcast in different languages?Sponsors:Earnin AppLinks:X will start charging new users in two countries $1 per year (The Verge)Xbox chief says Activision Blizzard games aren’t coming to Xbox Game Pass until 2024 (The Verge)IRS Will Offer Free (But Limited) Direct E-Filing Next Year (PCMag)Microsoft is preparing to bring on Amazon as a customer of its 365 cloud tools in a $1 billion megadeal, according to an internal document (Insider)Amazon says it has 10,000 Rivian electric vans in its delivery fleet (Reuters)‘Wait, Netflix Has Games?’ Streaming Giant Plans New Videogames Based on Its Hit Shows (WSJ)Tongue Twisted: Adams Taps AI to Make City Robocalls in Languages He Doesn’t Speak (The City)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new “affordable” Apple Pencil. Several “fog of war” stories surrounding major tech players. Why are tech layoffs suddenly back? Are Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses good? And is LinkedIn actually the social network you should be investing more energy in?Sponsors:Hatch.co/rideMindbloom.com/techmeme, promocode TechmemeLinks:Apple unveils brand new 'affordable' Apple Pencil that costs $79 and has a USB-C port (iMore)Actively exploited Cisco 0-day with maximum 10 severity gives full network control (ArsTechnica)Social Media Users Accuse Facebook and Instagram of Suppressing Pro-Palestinian Posts (NyTimes)Israel orders freeze on crypto accounts in bid to block funding for Hamas (FinancialTimes)Web Summit derailed by founder’s public fight with those supporting Israel in Hamas war (TechCrunch)Microsoft-owned LinkedIn lays off nearly 700 employees — read the memo here (CNBC)Twitch launches stories for streamers (TechCrunch)Influencers and CEOs take their brands to LinkedIn (FT)Meta's $299 Ray-Ban smart glasses may be the most useful gadget I've tested all year (ZDNet)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark Gurman already has details on a cheaper Vision Pro. Minecraft passes 300 million units sold. Why prompt injection is THE security issue of the AI era. And what if Nikola Tesla’s dream of sending electrical energy over distance without any wires is slowly becoming a thing?Sponsors:Collective.com/rideCrucibleMoments.comLinks:Apple Renews Top Ranks With Wave of Executive Promotions (Bloomberg)A New Protocol Vulnerability Will Haunt the Web for Years (Wired)Goldman Sachs Wants Out of Consumer Lending. Employees Say It Can’t Happen Fast Enough. (WSJ)Multi-modal prompt injection image attacks against GPT-4V (Simon Willison's Blog)Minecraft has sold over 300 million copies (The Verge)Microsoft’s Activision Buy Extends Nadella’s Decade of Deals (WSJ)I’m Charging My Toothbrush With Wireless Power Over Distance—and It’s a Trip (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If my reviews don't float your boat, here are some more detailed ones:Pixel 8 and 8 Pro review: in Google we trust? (The Verge)Google Pixel Watch 2 review: better battery, better watch (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft wins its big prize. The EU officially opens and X investigation. VC investment activity has reached its lowest level in years. Netflix dips its toe into the IRL experience business. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Links:Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard for Xbox has been fully APPROVED by the UK regulator (Windows Central)EU opens probe into Elon Musk’s X over Israel-Hamas war misinformation (Financial Times)U.S. VC funding hit lowest level in 6 years in Q3 | A story told in charts (VentureBeat)Netflix to Open Stores Where Fans Can Play, Shop and Eat in 2025 (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Adobe Is Focused on AI Rather Than Figma With Acquisition in Limbo (Bloomberg)Can EA’s FIFA-Free Soccer Game Win Fans? (Bloomberg)Has Bob Iger Lost the Magic? (Bloomberg)Why Dizziness Is Still a Mystery (The New Yorker)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

That thing where the IRS says you’ve underpaid your taxes to the tune of almost $30 billion dollars. Adam Mosseri says Threads is NOT coming for the breaking news crown. Those kids today, they love YouTube and they REALLY love iPhones. And forget social chat with your friends. How about social chat with your friends, and your AI bot, and their AI bots?Sponsors:DrinkTrade.com/rideLinks:IRS says Microsoft owes an additional $29 billion in back taxes (CNBC)Linda Yaccarino responds to EU: 700 Community Notes, 5K+ images shared on Israel-Hamas war, ‘thousands’ of pieces of content removed (TechCrunch)Instagram head says Threads is ‘not going to amplify news on the platform’ (TechCrunch)Google pays Apple $18B to $20B a year to keep its search in iPhone (The Register)PlayStation 5 cloud streaming launches this month (VGC)YouTube passes Netflix as top video source for teens (CNBC)iPhone Continues to Be Most Popular Smartphone Among Teens, Apple Watch Ownership Growing (MacRumors)Character.AI introduces group chats where people and multiple AIs can talk to each other (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The EU is warning Elon Musk over X content related to the Israel-Hamas war. The biggest DDoS attack of all time, by, like, 8x. New image models from Adobe. New PS5s from Sony. New rules from the FTC to help you avoid hidden fees. And checking in with the Sam Bankman Fried trial.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideLinks:EU warns Elon Musk of ‘penalties’ for disinformation circulating on X amid Israel-Hamas war (CNN)New technique leads to largest DDoS attacks ever, Google and Amazon say (The Record)Adobe Firefly can now generate more realistic images (TechCrunch)Sony’s new PS5 with a removable disc drive launches in November (The Verge)The End of Junk Fees? FTC Proposes New Rule (The Hollywood Reporter)Caroline Ellison, Adviser to Sam Bankman-Fried, Says He ‘Directed’ Her to Commit Crimes (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

That whole bungled pricing thing has cost the Unity CEO his job. The big 23andMe breach is a different kind of hack. And it turns out if you fall victim to a scam, it’s probably because you were online. Can you charge enough to cover the costs of AI products? And is the Pixel brand finally having a moment.Sponsors:ipn.ibotta.com/rideTryFum.com code rideLinks:John Riccitiello steps down as CEO of Unity after pricing battle (GamesBeat)23andMe says private user data is up for sale after being scraped (ArsTechnica)Social media scams are costing Americans more than ever (TechRadar)Big Tech Struggles to Turn AI Hype Into Profits (WSJ)Google has shipped almost 40 million Pixel phones since 2016, 10 million last year (9to5Google)Elon Musk’s X Cut Disinformation-Fighting Tool Ahead of Israel-Hamas Conflict (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Holy crap! Anyone coming to the listener meetup tonight, I hope you see this! Turns out Johnny Foley's is closed on Mondays! We will instead try to meet at the Kan Pai lounge in the Hotel Nikko! It's on the 2nd floor. Go up the escalators! Sorry for my error and this late notice! 222 Mason St. Right across the st!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Looks like Microsoft is inches away from getting the Activision acquisition over the line. Hardware ambitions are one thing, but OpenAI might also design its own silicon. Microsoft’s new version of Teams is finally not the most resource hungry piece of software on your computer. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Microsoft eyes closing its giant Activision Blizzard deal next week (The Verge)Exclusive: ChatGPT-owner OpenAI is exploring making its own AI chips (Reuters)Microsoft’s faster and redesigned Teams app now available for Windows and Mac (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How Will A.I. Learn Next? (The New Yorker)How Bandcamp makes more money than Spotify (Fast Company)Long gone, DEC is still powering the world of computing (ArsTechnica)The Genius Behind Hollywood’s Most Indelible Sets (NYTimes Magazine)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new front in the regulation battle is opening up for major cloud platforms. What is the point of removing article headlines in X posts? Amazon’s Project Kuiper is launching… literally. And is the new camera on the iPhone 15 Max the biggest smartphone camera upgrade ever?Sponsors:Netsuite.com/rideLinks:Microsoft and Amazon face UK regulator investigation over cloud services (The Verge)Elon Musk Starts Stripping Headlines From Links Shared to X (The Wrap)Galaxy SmartTag 2 launches next week for $30, still only works with Samsung devices (9to5Google)Android 14 is now available for Pixel phones (The Verge)Amazon Prepares to Challenge SpaceX’s Starlink With Maiden Satellite Launch (Gizmodo)Apple Considered, Rejected Switch to DuckDuckGo From Google (Bloomberg)iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Review: Depth and Reach (Lux)Vera wants to use AI to cull generative models’ worst behaviors (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from the Made By Google event this morning. Samsung also announced their low end lineup of phones. Gmail is taking some big new steps to combat spam. And what if I told you Netflix is about to raise prices. Again.Sponsors:DomainMoney.comLinks:Google’s Pixel Watch 2 brings new sensors for improved health tracking (TechCrunch)Google’s Pixel 8 brings new camera tricks, better display and a thermometer (TechCrunch)The Pixel 8 Pro has better cameras, a brighter screen, and a lot of new AI tricks (The Verge)Google announces AI-powered photo-editing features for new Pixel phones (TechCrunch)The Galaxy S23 FE, Tab S9 FE, and Buds FE get you flagship specs at way lower prices (XDADevelopers)Google is making big changes to prevent Gmail spam (CNBC)Anthropic in Talks to Raise $2 Billion From Google and Others Just Days After Amazon Investment (The Information)Netflix Plans to Raise Prices After Actors Strike Ends (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Snapchat has led the way, but are we going to see everybody in social media offering subscription plans? An interesting raise for AI investing. Satya Nadella was on the stand yesterday at the Google trial. And what’s up with Threads? Has it missed its moment?Sponsors:Nutrisense.com/ride code rideLinks:Meta Plans to Charge $14 a Month for Ad-Free Instagram or Facebook (WSJ)TikTok Confirms It Is Testing an Ad-Free Subscription Tier (Variety)Frec steps out of stealth with $26M in funding, aiming to democratize sophisticated investing with AI (VentureBeat)Microsoft CEO Says Google’s Agreements With Apple Unfairly Harmed Bing (WSJ)US issues first ever fine for space junk to Dish Network (BBCNews)Instagram Looks for Ways to Revive Interest in Threads (The Information)The official podcast development partner! Uptech.team!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple says your iPhone might be heating up because of… Instagram? Rumors suggest Apple has a search engine in its back pocket if it ever wants one. Chromebook Plus is the moniker for high end Chromebooks. And we have our first glimpse of that Humane wearable AI device.Sponsors:Collective.com/rideKolide.com/rideLinks:Apple Says iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Due to iOS 17 Bug, Not Hardware Design (CNET)Apple Has What It Needs to Launch Its Own Google Replacement (Bloomberg)Chromebook Plus is Google’s new certification for premium Chromebooks (The Verge)The synthetic social network is coming (Platformer)Humane shows off its wearable AI pin at Paris Fashion Week (Apple Insider)The official podcast development partner! Uptech.team!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Check out what we came up with at ResumeWriting.com.And check out Uptech.team. They can help you with any project!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if Apple had bought Bing and turned it into its own search engine? Why did France’s competition authority raid, we believe, Nvidia’s offices? Big layoffs and peel offs from Epic shows that the gaming industry is still hurting. And of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:EarnIn App, enter Techmeme under podcastNutrafol.com/men enter code ridehomeLinks:Microsoft Discussed Selling Bing to Apple as Google Replacement (Bloomberg)Google adds a switch for publishers to opt out of becoming AI training data (The Verge)Nvidia’s French Offices Raided in Cloud-Computing Antitrust Inquiry (WSJ)Epic Games cuts around 830 jobs (The Verge)Weekend Longreads SuggestionsThe new phone call etiquette: Text first and never leave a voice mail (Washington Post)Can FTX Be Revived—Without Sam Bankman-Fried? (Wired)Could ‘The Terminator’ really happen? Experts assess Hollywood’s visions of AI. (Washington Post)‘Nerfball’ introduces Nerf’s smartest foam yet — it detects dart impacts (The Verge)Netflix Prepares to Send Its Final Red Envelope (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Meta Connect keynote was yesterday and they announced a bunch of stuff including AI chatbots, a new Quest 3, and the continuation of those Ray-Ban smart glasses that are actually getting kind of interesting. Looks like OpenAI is serious about working with Jony Ive. A big new open-source LLM available to download now. And the new Raspberry Pi 5.Sponsors:ShopBeam.com/ride and code RIDE for up to 40% offTryFum.com and use code ride for 10% offLinks:Facebook and Instagram will soon get a slew of AI-powered creator tools (The Verge)Meta is putting AI chatbots everywhere (The Verge)Meta Rolls Out Higher-Priced Quest 3 Headset, Just Ahead of Apple’s Vision Pro (Bloomberg)Meta’s smart glasses can take calls, play music, and livestream from your face (The Verge)OpenAI and Jony Ive in talks to raise $1bn from SoftBank for AI device venture (FT)Mistral AI makes its first large language model free for everyone (TechCrunch)Elon Musk Wins US Space Force Contract for Starshield (Bloomberg)The Raspberry Pi 5 is finally here (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The big FTC-led lawsuit against Amazon is live. Is Jony Ive working with OpenAI to create an AI hardware product? OpenAI might soon be 3x-ing its private valuation. What the writers won from Hollywood. And what it’s actually like to ride in the only street-legal Level 3 autonomous car.Sponsors:Mindbloom.com/techmeme and promocode techmemeCrucibleMoments.comLinks:FTC and 17 states sue Amazon on antitrust charges (CNBC)Designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman Discuss AI Hardware Project (The Information)OpenAI Seeks New Valuation of Up to $90 Billion in Sale of Existing Shares (WSJ)The iPhone 15 Pro series overheating issues are unrelated to TSMC’s advanced 3nm node / iPhone 15 Pro (Ming-Chi Kuo)The new WGA contract will change how Hollywood works (The Verge)Hollywood Studios Can Train AI Models on Writers’ Work Under Tentative Deal (WSJ)We put our blind faith in Mercedes-Benz’s first-of-its-kind autonomous Drive Pilot feature (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Spotify’s new Jam product is kind of the coolest new feature I’ve heard in a while. Looks like the FCC is bringing net neutrality back. Google discontinues some products. New drone reviews and a new drone that either will eliminate police chases… or bring on the panopticon.Sponsors:Skip the waitlist and invest in blue-chip art for the very first time by signing up for Masterworks: https://www.masterworks.art/techmeme .Purchase shares in great masterpieces from artists like Pablo Picasso, Banksy, Andy Warhol, and more. See important Masterworks disclosures: https://www.masterworks.com/cdHatch.co/rideLinks:Spotify launches Jam, a real-time collaborative playlist controlled by up to 32 people (TechCrunch)Coinbase Role in Crypto Firm Celsius’s Bankruptcy Plan Questioned by SEC (Bloomberg)FCC Aims to Reinstate Net Neutrality Rules After US Democrats Gain Control of Panel (Bloomberg)Google killing Basic HTML version of Gmail In January 2024 (The Register)Not just a Pixel thing: iPhone 15 series users are also reporting heating issues (Android Authority)DJI Mini 4 Pro review: The best lightweight drone gains more power and smarts (Engadget)This New Autonomous Drone for Cops Can Track You in the Dark (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amazon makes a big bet on Anthropic. A big DeFi hack. The US government is weighing a sort of “know your customer” rule for big cloud providers. OpenAI has rolled out some cool new ways to interact with their AI. And why the number of smartphone brands around the world has basically collapsed.Sponsored:NPR Planet MoneyZbiotics.com/ride and code: rideLinks:Amazon to invest up to $4bn in AI start-up Anthropic (Financial Times)Defi Project Mixin Network Suspends Services After $200 Million Crypto Hack (Bloomberg)Booking to appeal after EU vetoes $1.7 bln ETraveli deal (Reuters)White House could force cloud companies to disclose AI customers (Semafor)You can now prompt ChatGPT with pictures and voice commands (The Verge)WGA and the studios reach tentative deal to end writers’ strike (Los Angeles Times)Nearly 500 Brands Exited Smartphone Market During 2017-2023 (Counterpoint)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Find out more about Play at CreateWithPlay.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The UK CMA looks like it’s folding, so the Microsoft/Activision acquisition can go through now? YouTube unveils some cool AI tools. Amazon is adding ads to Prime Video and raising the price. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastNutrisense.com/ride and code rideLinks:Microsoft’s Activision Deal Set to Clear Final UK Hurdle (Bloomberg)Apple emergency updates fix 3 new zero-days exploited in attacks (BleepingComputer)YouTube to add AI creator tools to find music for videos, add dubs (TechCrunch)YouTube Shorts to gain a generative AI feature called Dream Screen (TechCrunch)Amazon to Run Ads on Prime Video in Key Markets Starting in 2024 (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Amazon’s rumored home projector can turn anything into a screen (The Verge)The Physical Process That Powers a New Type of Generative AI (Quanta)Unraveling The AI-Generated Spiral Art Phenomenon (NFTNow)The Early Days of American English (Lapham's Quarterly)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from the Microsoft Fall event. The Amazon Fall event. OpenAI teasing DALL-E 3. And one more review of a recent Apple product, and for the first time in a long time, the consensus seems to be it’s hot garbage.Sponsors:Rocketcard.com/rideMiro.com/podcastLinks:Microsoft unveils unified Copilot that extends across Bing, Edge, and Windows (Windows Central)The Surface Laptop Go 3 starts at $799 and arrives on October 3 (Engadget)Microsoft announces the Surface Laptop Studio 2 with upgraded chips and ports (The Verge)The Surface Go 4 comes with a much-needed performance boost (The Verge)All the biggest announcements from Amazon’s September 2023 product launch event (The Verge)Amazon brings generative AI to Alexa (TechCrunch)OpenAI releases third version of DALL-E (The Verge)The new FineWoven iPhone cases are very bad (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The UK looks like it’s going to make that Online Safety Bill into law. Instacart closed up, but Arm has been trending down on the markets. Could Apple really have considered getting into the stock trading game? Is the iPad finally getting a WhatsApp app? And what if you could get AI to perform better simply by giving it gentle words of encouragement.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastLinks:UK opens new chapter in digital regulation as parliament passes Online Safety Bill (TechCrunch)Instacart closes up 12% in Nasdaq debut, after first-day rally sputters (CNBC)Apple and Goldman were planning stock-trading feature for iPhones until markets turned last year (CNBC)WhatsApp appears to be about to launch its long-overdue iPad app (The Verge)Musk's Neuralink to start human trial of brain implant for paralysis patients (Reuters)Telling AI model to “take a deep breath” causes math scores to soar in study (ArsTechnica)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bunch of internal Microsoft documents have leaked, so now we know the new Xbox that is coming next year, and their full gaming roadmap which includes “convergence” by 2028. Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer looks like he might take over Alexa. Google sets Bard loose on your Gmail. And what’s new in those new OS releases from Apple.Sponsors:IPN.Ibotta.com/rideMiro.com/podcastLinks:Microsoft's Xbox plans revealed in emails tied to FTC case (NBCNews)Microsoft’s next Xbox, coming 2028, envisions hybrid computing (The Verge)Amazon Is Poised to Hire Departing Microsoft Product Chief (Bloomberg)Google’s Bard chatbot can now find answers in your Gmail, Docs, Drive (The Verge)iOS 17 is a lot of little updates that make a big impact (The Verge)watchOS 10 preview: widgets all the way down (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google won’t support screen repairs on your watch but will extend support of Chromebooks. How Spotify and other streamers have changed the way music sounds. And the software update coming to AirPods that might change the way you listen.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastCollective.com/rideLinks:Google won’t repair cracked Pixel Watch screens (The Verge)Google Extends Lifespan of Chromebooks With 10-Year Update Policy (WSJ)How the Lazarus Group is stepping up crypto hacks and changing its tactics (Elliptic)AI Startup Writer Raises $100 Million to Pen Corporate Content (Bloomberg)Streaming Is Changing the Sound of Music (WSJ)Apple’s AirPods Pro just got much better — no matter what port is on the case (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Big fine in Europe of TikTok. Apple thinks it can fix that iPhone radiation issue with a software update. The whole Unity controversy has gotten crazy. Maybe it’s a bad idea to have AI write obituaries. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:TikTok fined $379M in EU for failing to keep kids’ data safe (TechCrunch)Apple moves to defuse French iPhone 12 dispute as EU scrutiny steps up (Reuters)MGM hack followed failed bid to rig slot machines, ‘Scattered Spider’ group claims (Financial Times)Video-Game Company Unity Closes Offices Following Death Threat (Bloomberg)Microsoft Publishes Garbled AI Article Calling Tragically Deceased NBA Player "Useless" (Futurism)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Startup That Lets You Instantly Talk in Foreign Language Targets a Nasdaq IPO at $1 Billion Value (Bloomberg)From $1 Billion to Almost Worthless: FaZe Clan Runs Out of Hype (Bloomberg)The Pumpkin Spice Latte just turned 20. This is how we got here. (Washington Post)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Arm’s IPO is happening as I record these words. Vegas and the casino industry in general seem to be the target of some widescale cyberattacks. Unity acknowledges people’s ire about their proposed pricing change. And the wildest new laptop design you can buy, but you’re gonna need a bigger wallet.Links:Chip giant Arm raises nearly $5 billion in year's largest IPO (Axios)Inside The Ransomware Attack That Shut Down MGM Resorts (Forbes)Caesars Entertainment Paid Millions to Hackers in Attack (Bloomberg)Judge Allows Bankrupt FTX to Sell Its Crypto Holdings, Including BTC and SOL (CoinDesk)Unity Acknowledges 'Confusion and Frustration' Among Developers But Won't Walk Back Install Fee Plan (IGN)The HP Spectre Fold is the world’s thinnest 17-inch foldable PC (The Verge)HP's $5,000 Spectre Fold might be the best flexible-screen laptop yet (Engadget)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Unity has upset game developers across the world with new pricing changes. France has ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 12 over radiation concerns. Lots of extra drips and drabs from yesterday’s iPhone event. And Stability AI gets into the generative music generation game.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideLinks:Unity has introduced new fees that could have dire effects on the entire game industry, from indies to Xbox Game Pass (UPDATE) (Windows Central)Sony has launched a major PlayStation 5 system update (VGC)Apple disputes French findings, says iPhone 12 meets radiation rules (Reuters)Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max Pushes Up the Price (WSJ)iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max hands-on (The Verge)Adobe’s Firefly generative AI models are now generally available, get pricing plans (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from the iPhone event today at Apple HQ. Why is Meta blocking some basic terms on their new Threads search feature? TikTok Shop is rolling out broadly. And the US Copyright Office keeps knocking down copyright claims for AI generated Art.Sponsors:TryNom.com/rideLinks:Apple Watch Series 9 Unveiled With S9 Chip, 'Double Tap' Gesture, and More (MacRumors)Apple announces new Apple Watch Ultra 2 (9to5Mac)Apple announces iPhone 15 with USB-C, a camera upgrade, and the Dynamic Island (The Verge)Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max announced with titanium bodies and an Action Button (The Verge)Thunderbolt 5 offers up to 3x the speed over Thunderbolt 4 (VideoCardz)Threads blocks searches related to covid and vaccines as cases rise (Washington Post)TikTok Popularizes Products. Can It Sell Them, Too? (NYTimes)US Copyright Office denies protection for another AI-created image (Reuters)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Instacart IPO is coming with a helluva haircut. Meta is planning a big new LLM trained on its own stuff. Some eye-watering details on how much water ChatGPT uses. If you don’t do that AI tech, that doesn’t mean someone else won’t. And what tomorrow’s iPhone event says as about Apple’s high-end strategy.Sponsors:Collective.com/rideDraftKings Sportsbook with code TECHMEME for $200 in bonus betsLinks:Instacart targets up to $9.3 bln valuation for much-awaited US IPO (Reuters)Meta Is Developing a New, More Powerful AI System as Technology Race Escalates (WSJ)Roblox’s new AI chatbot will help you build virtual worlds (The Verge)Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa — with a lot of water (AP)The Technology Facebook and Google Didn’t Dare Release (NYTimes)Apple Renews Qualcomm Deal in Sign Its Own Modem Chip Isn’t Ready (Bloomberg)Apple Bets on Titanium and Cameras to Nudge Buyers Toward Pricier iPhones (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You really need to update your Apple devices. Today. Here come the AI generated misinformation campaigns. Microsoft will defend you from lawsuits if you use their AI. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, might AI finally give us a real life Doctor Dolittle?Sponsors:CrucibleMoments.comNutrafol.com/men promocode: ridehomeLinks:Apple discloses zero-days linked to NSO Group spyware (The Record)Ex-FTX Executive Ryan Salame Could Forfeit $1.5B as Part of Guilty Plea (CoinDesk)China turns to AI in hopes of creating viral online propaganda, Microsoft researchers say (Cyberscoop)Microsoft Says It Will Protect Customers from AI Copyright Lawsuits (Bloomberg)Exclusive: ChatGPT traffic slips again for third month in a row (Reuters)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Decomposition of Rotten Tomatoes (Vulture)What OpenAI Really Wants (Wired)How artificial intelligence could help us talk to animals (ScienceNewsExplores)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chrome is getting a new coat of paint. China is increasingly banning iPhones. Are drones about to have a breakthrough moment just like self-driving cars? Apple is increasingly serious about AI. And in a way, are we seeing the first major musical artist of the AI era emerging?Sponsors:Netsuite.com/rideLinks:Chrome is about to look a bit different (The Verge)China Seeks to Broaden iPhone Ban to State Firms, Agencies (Bloomberg)FAA Clears Drones for Longer Flights, Opening Door to Deliveries (Bloomberg)Apple Boosts Spending to Develop Conversational AI (The Information)Vitalik Buterin co-authors paper on regulation-friendly Tornado Cash alternative (The Block)OpenAI to Host First Developer Conference in San Francisco (Bloomberg)Ghostwriter Returns With an A.I. Travis Scott Song, and Industry Allies (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The EU has listed 22 services falling under its Digital Markets Act. Britain pulls back from an encryption law. And if that’s not enough, the Google antitrust trial begins next week so the modern antitrust era is officially here. Which cars are spying on us? Maybe all of them. Who has all the money in crypto? And the new law here in NYC that could change Airbnb forever.Sponsors:Hatch.co/rideLinks:EU Challenges Apple, Microsoft in New Push to Rein in Big Tech Dominance (Bloomberg)UK pulls back from clash with Big Tech over private messaging (Financial Times)In Its First Monopoly Trial of Modern Internet Era, U.S. Sets Sights on Google (NYTimes)There are just six bitcoin billionaires in the world, new crypto super-rich report says (CNBC)If You’ve Got a New Car, It’s a Data Privacy Nightmare (Gizmodo)The End of Airbnb in New York (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some more controversies surrounding Elon Musk and X. China looks like it is managing its chip situation better than the US might have hoped. Is Spotify’s podcasting bet officially a failure? Is Apple’s Lionel Messi bet already a winner? And will getting rid of Books 3 only help the AI incumbents?Sponsors:DraftKings.com code techmemeKolide.com/rideLinks:Elon Musk to sue ADL for accusing him, X of antisemitism (TechCrunch)Huawei Teardown Shows Chip Breakthrough in Blow to US Sanctions (Bloomberg)Meta Reportedly Partnering With LG For 2025 Quest Pro Successor (UploadVR)Exclusive: Arm signs up big tech firms for IPO at $50 billion-$55 billion valuation (Reuters)Spotify’s $1 Billion Podcast Bet Turns Into a Serial Drama (WSJ)Messi Drives Jump in Apple TV+ and MLS Subscriptions (WSJ)The Battle Over Books3 Could Change AI Forever (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft unbundles Teams to stay ahead of EU antitrust action. But is that actually good for European consumers? Elon wants to collect your biometric data. Can AI police online smack talking in games? Lessons from the grocery delivery bubble. And, surprise, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Microsoft Fends Off EU Antitrust Probe With Teams Deal (Bloomberg)Microsoft is unbundling Teams from Office in Europe to address regulator concerns (The Verge)X Plans to Collect Biometric Data, Job and School History (Bloomberg)Call of Duty enlists AI to eavesdrop on voice chat and help ban toxic players starting today (PCGamer)Bonfire of the groceries (FT)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Despite Cheating Fears, Schools Repeal ChatGPT Bans (NYTimes)A Startup in the New Jersey Suburbs Is Battling the Giants of Silicon Valley (WSJ)Where do fonts come from? This one business, mostly (The Hustle)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The FBI took down a huge botnet. OpenAI is apparently ahead of schedule in terms of making a ton of revenue. Why Samsung wants to apply AI to your refrigerator. Why OnStar is doubling down on AI. And we officially have the deets on the iPhone event scheduled for next month.Links:Qakbot botnet dismantled after infecting over 700,000 computers (BleepingComputer)UAE launches Arabic large language model in Gulf push into generative AI (FT)OpenAI Passes $1 Billion Revenue Pace as Big Companies Boost AI Spending (The Information)Samsung debuts its own 'AI-powered' smart recipe app (Engadget)GM is using Google’s AI chatbot to handle simple OnStar calls (The Verge)Apple Announces 'Wonderlust' Event Expected to Feature iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 9 and More (MacRumors)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google’s Cloud Next conference drops a ton of AI announces. OpenAI releases a business-oriented version of ChatGPT. The regulators have come for NFTs and now the question is, are all NFTs securities, or just the ones they just fined? And let me introduce you to Twitch’s big new competitor. But are they really eating their lunch or just a front for gambling related streaming?Sponsors:Notion.com/rideLinks:Google to Add AI Models from Meta, Anthropic to Its Cloud Platform (Bloomberg)The new Google Chat borrows from Slack, Teams, Discord, and even ChatGPT (The Verge)Google Meet’s new AI will be able to go to meetings for you (The Verge)OpenAI launches a ChatGPT plan for enterprise customers (TechCrunch)Musk, tech CEOs to attend Schumer’s AI Senate forum (The Hill)SEC takes first action against an NFT project as an unregistered security (The Verge)Twitch competitor Kick is dividing the internet's top streamers (NBCNews)Robotaxis hit the accelerator in growing list of cities nationwide (Axios)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple looks to refresh the iPad to reinvigorate sales. Huge network crash is grounding planes in the UK. Some tentative sign that the Tech IPO window might be creaking open. Do you need a 100 year domain renewal? And the Silicon Valley bigwigs who are investing big money to build a new Bay Area city from scratch.Links:Apple Bets on Revamped iPad Pro to Reignite Sluggish Tablet Sales (Bloomberg)China’s BYD to Pay $2.2B to Expand Business With Apple (The Information)UK air traffic control hit by network-wide failure (The Guardian)Klaviyo files to go public in latest sign of life for IPO market (CNBC)WordPress Announces 100-Year Domain Name Registrations (Search Engine Journal)The Silicon Valley Elite Who Want to Build a City From Scratch (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amazon has apparently held talks with Disney about maybe teaming up for a streaming ESPN partnership. Dropbox ends its unlimited storage option. Shein takes over Forever21. A product release so star-crossed, it’s being recalled after just 3 months. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Amazon in Talks With Disney About ESPN Streaming Partnership (The Information)Dropbox Ends Unlimited Cloud Storage Following Google Change (Bloomberg)Shein Strikes Deal With Forever 21 (WSJ)Citizen Is Suspending Sales of Its New Wear OS Smartwatch (Wired)Threads on the web widely rolling out (9to5Google)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:What Happened to Wirecutter? (The Atlantic)Michael Mann Fulfills a 30-Year Journey Directing the Operatic, Thrilling ‘Ferrari’ — And Teases ‘Heat 2’: ‘I Don’t Think About Mortality. I’m Busy’ (Variety)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nvidia gives new meaning to the words “earnings beat.” Meta announces Code Llama. TikTok might start banning links to Amazon. SpaceX wants Starlink to be viable in cities too. And turning thoughts into speech via an AI interface becomes real.Links:Nvidia tops estimates and says sales will jump 170% this quarter, driven by demand for AI chips (CNBC)Meta launches own AI code-writing tool: Code Llama (The Verge)TikTok Shop on Track to Lose More Than $500 Million in U.S. This Year (The Information)Epic offers devs 100 percent of net revenue for six months of EGS exclusivity (Engadget)SpaceX Working with Cloudflare to Speed Up Starlink Service (The Information)Brain implants give a voice to people who cannot speak (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sony announces the PlayStation Portal handheld device. IBM announces an AI model to translate code from one type to another. OpenAI lets anyone fine tune. Is LinkedIn the big winner in social media right now? And what happens when you 3d printer comes alive like a zombie in the middle of the night.Sponsors:Skip the waitlist and invest in blue-chip art for the very first time by signing up for Masterworks: https://www.masterworks.art/techmeme Purchase shares in great masterpieces from artists like Pablo Picasso, Banksy, Andy Warhol, and more. See important Masterworks disclosures: https://www.masterworks.com/cdLinks:Sony’s portable PlayStation Portal launches later this year for $199.99 (The Verge)PlayStation Portal: Hands On With Sony's New Remote Play Handheld (IGN)IBM taps AI to translate COBOL code to Java (TechCrunch)OpenAI brings fine-tuning to GPT-3.5 Turbo (TechCrunch)Sorry, But LinkedIn Is Cool Now (Bloomberg)Salesforce Leads Financing of AI Startup at More Than $4 Billion Valuation (The Information)Tiger Global Nears Deal to Sell Slice of Cohere Stake at $3 Billion Valuation (The Information)3D printers printing without consent is a cautionary tale on cloud reliance (ArsTechnica)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft tries to appease His Majesty’s Regulators. The Arm IPO is a go. Why Nvidia continues to be huge even in China. A new AI translation model from Meta. I continue to wonder if Elon is tanking things on purpose. And a new social media platform built on top of X?Links:Microsoft to sell off Activision cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft in bid for UK approval (The Verge)Arm files for Nasdaq listing, as SoftBank aims to sell shares in chip designer it bought for $32 billion (CNBC)Why China remains hungry for AI chips despite US restrictions (FT)Meta releases an AI model that can transcribe and translate close to 100 languages (TechCrunch)X is planning to hide headlines from news links for ‘improved aesthetics’ (TechCrunch)Social Platform Friend.tech Gains 100K Users in Days Even in Depths of a Bear Market (CoinDesk)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More X shenanigans over the weekend. Some solid evidence that some major LLMs have in fact been trained on copyrighted material. A ton of it, in fact. As Arm prepares to IPO, who might join them, depending on how things go? Bad news for Adyen is probably bad news for Stripe. And the rise of high tech sailing ships.Sponsors:Collective.com/rideTryNom.com/rideLinks:Twitter Deletes All User Photos And Links From 2011-2014 (Forbes)REVEALED: THE AUTHORS WHOSE PIRATED BOOKS ARE POWERING GENERATIVE AI (The Atlantic)Silicon Valley start-ups revive listing plans as Arm reignites IPO market (Financial Times)Europe’s Stripe rival Adyen saw $20 billion wiped off its value in a single day. Here’s what’s going on (CNBC)UK to spend £100m in global race to produce AI chips (The Guardian)A cargo ship that harnesses wind power has set sail on its maiden journey (Quartz)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More drips and drabs Threads feature releases. Meta is readying a “Code Llama.” Throwback Friday with Uber and Lyft threatening to leave a major municipality. Our first fall hardware event is on the calendar. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men code ridehomeLinks:Threads gets retweets — sorry, reposts — in the reverse-chronological feed (The Verge)Meta’s Next AI Attack on OpenAI: Free Code-Generating Software (The Information)Lyft and Uber say they will leave Minneapolis if the mayor signs a minimum wage bill for drivers (CNN)Microsoft to hold ‘special event’ in New York City on September 21st (The Verge)Spotify Looked to Ban White Noise Podcasts to Become More Profitable (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:A Rare Look Into the Finances of Elon Musk’s Secretive SpaceX (WSJ)How the iMac saved Apple (The Verge)A Living History of The Humble Paper Airplane (Popular Mechanics)A New Role for Werner Herzog: The Voice of A.I. Poetry (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI makes its first acquisition. Has AI really done anything for Bing marketshare? A really cool looking new gaming handheld. The most recent tally of tech industry layoff numbers. And Eric Schmidt says he wants to pull a Sam Altman.Sponsors:Zbiotics.com/ride code rideLinks:OpenAI acquires AI design studio Global Illumination (TechCrunch)Microsoft Struggles to Gain on Google Despite Its Head Start in AI Search (WSJ)Exclusive Images: This is the Lenovo Legion Go Gaming Handheld (WindowsReport)Cyber security researchers become target of criminal hackers (FT)Tech Firms Are Slowing Layoffs But Still Not Yet Resuming Hiring (Bloomberg)Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt to launch AI-science moonshot (Semafor)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

By the time you hear these words, I guess I’ll be a blue subscriber cause I’m locked out of Tweetdeck otherwise. Coinbase gets regulatory approval from one agency, while another is suing them. Generative AI in Google search, while Google DeepMind is contemplating doing it for everything. And I guess we’ve entered the true first self-driving car test phase. Hold on to your hats.Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideMindbloom.com/techmeme code techmemeLinks:TweetDeck is officially becoming a paid service (The Verge)Elon Musk’s X is throttling traffic to websites he dislikes (The Washington Post)Coinbase obtains regulatory approval to offer crypto futures trading to eligible clients (The Block)Google’s AI search experience adds AI-powered summaries, definitions and coding improvements (TechCrunch)Google Tests an A.I. Assistant That Offers Life Advice (NYTimes)Robotaxis are driving on thin ice (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Very interesting executive departure at Amazon. A popular Mac service is gonna launch an alternative iOS app store. Now nation states are trying to stockpile Nvidia chips, not just tech companies. And what is the maximum capacity of your iPhone’s battery, and should you check on it?Links:Amazon’s Leader on Alexa, Echo and Other Devices Plans to Leave (WSJ)Scoop: X shuts down $100M promoted accounts ad business (Axios)Setapp plans to launch EU-only alternative iOS App Store (Apple Insider)Saudi Arabia and UAE race to buy Nvidia chips to power AI ambitions (FT)Linear TV Falls Below 50 Percent of Viewing for First Time (The Hollywood Reporter)iPhone 14 Pro users complain of major drops in battery health and capacity after less than a year (9to5Mac)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple is planning a huge revamp for the Apple Watch in honor of it’s 10th birthday. Amazon is using generative AI to summarize product reviews. It’s finally official. Paying for all the big streaming services is now more expensive than just paying for cable. And if that self driving car is rocking, maybe don’t go a-knocking.Sponsors:Hillsdale.edu/rideLinks:Apple Plans Major ‘Watch X’ Overhaul for Device’s 10-Year Anniversary (Bloomberg)Amazon taps generative AI to enhance product reviews (TechCrunch)Google-backed Anthropic raises $100 mln from South Korea's SK Telecom (Reuters)Hollywood calls time on golden era of cheap streaming (FT)Could a True Streaming Bundle Be Upon Us? (Vulture)San Franciscans Are Having Sex in Robotaxis, and Nobody Is Talking About It (The San Francisco Standard)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A major regulatory breakthrough is going to open the floodgates for self-driving taxis in California. Two different stories about dealing with the China restrictions, including one US company that is directly benefiting, and Meta’s AR ambitions, which are not. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Robotaxis score a huge victory in California with approval to operate 24/7 (The Verge)Skydio closing consumer drone business (TechCrunch)Behind Meta’s ‘Made in USA’ AR Glasses: a Military-Grade Material (The Information)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Where have all the fitness bands gone? (The Verge)4 Actual Use Cases for Blockchain and AI That Are More Than Just Hype (CoinDesk)The Looming Catalog Crisis (Vulture)Paul F. Tompkins Is Getting Back Into It (Vulture)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oh why not? Disney+ is raising prices too. A new executive order targeting Chinese tech. New features in Threads, but not the ones they need. Are the robot card shufflers in Vegas easily hackable? And we did the Flip. Now the Galaxy Z Fold 5 review.Links:Prices of Disney+, Hulu Premium Plans to Get Jacked Up but New Duo Bundle Will Offer Deep Discount (Variety)Biden Restricts U.S. Investment in China (WSJ)You can now verify your Threads profile on Mastodon (The Verge)Apple Can Keep App Store Rules for Now as Top Court Spurns Epic (Bloomberg)Hackers Rig Casino Card-Shuffling Machines for ‘Full Control’ Cheating (Wired)Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review: a little better is just good enough (The Verge)Messina joins Ride Home Fund’s new $15M AI vehicle, backed by Andreessen, Dixon, Crowley (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Slack announces its biggest ever redesign. Sony signals that the smartphone recession is real and is not getting better anytime soon. Is WeWork circling the drain? Why a Gizmodo editor is suing Apple over Tetris. And guess what? The bots are better at solving CAPTCHAs than you are. Something something, Turing Test.Sponsors:Zbiotics.com/ride and code ride for 15% offLinks:Slack’s biggest redesign ever tries to tame the chaos of your workday (The Verge)Netflix launches a game controller app for playing games on your TV (TechCrunch)Sony Expects Smartphone Rebound Only in 2024 After China Fizzles (Bloomberg)WeWork Tumbles After Raising ‘Substantial Doubt’ About Future (Bloomberg)Apple's 'Tetris' movie ripped off tech writer's book, lawsuit says (Reuters)New ‘Downfall’ Flaw Exposes Valuable Data in Generations of Intel Chips (Wired)Bots are better than humans at cracking ‘Are you a robot?’ Captcha tests, study finds (The Independent)Podcast fantasy league: https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/9jpcofSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hackers accessed the UK Electoral Commission, so how worried should we be? Apple, Samsung and others can’t wait to buy Arm stock. OpenAI explains how its bot is crawling the web. More details on the new M3 chips Apple is testing. And Apple Music finally edges closer to the one thing Spotify still does so much better.Sponsors:Notion.com/rideLinks:Millions of UK voters’ data accessible in cyber-attack, says Electoral Commission (The Guardian)Apple, Samsung to invest in Arm as it eyes September IPO (NikkeiAsia)OpenAI Launches GPTBot With Details On How To Restrict Access (SearchEngineJournal)Zoom can now train its A.I. using some customer data, according to updated terms (CNBC)Even Zoom Is Making People Return to the Office (NYTimes)Apple Tests M3 Max Chip, Setting Stage for Most Powerful MacBook Pro Yet (Bloomberg)Apple Music debuts new algorithmic Discovery Station radio (AppleInsider)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In earnings last week, Apple was forced to admit softness in iPhone sales. But the big question is, will the iPhone 15 be enough to turn things around? A stablecoin from PayPal. What the world being flooded with cheap AI-produced content already means in the real world. And a review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.Sponsors:Kolide.com/rideCollective.com/rideLinks:Apple Admits There Is a Smartphone Slowdown Ahead of iPhone 15 Debut (Bloomberg)PayPal Launches a Stablecoin in Latest Crypto Payments Push (Bloomberg)New acoustic attack steals data from keystrokes with 95% accuracy (BleepingComputer)A New Frontier for Travel Scammers: A.I.-Generated Guidebooks (NyTimes)Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review: the flip phone we’ve been waiting for (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Check out more about the Ride Home AI Fund at RideHomeFund.com.And subscribe to the Big Technology Podcast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple and Amazon earnings make me wonder if the law of large numbers is dead. Coinbase is willing to argue over what the definition of is is. Threads continues its precipitous decline. The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. And be sure to listen to the end of the show for some big, big show news. Biggest news in a while. Among other things, why haven’t there been bonus episodes for a while? Where has Chris been? Listen to the end! All will be revealed.Links:Apple reports third quarter results (BusinessWire)Amazon.com Announces Second Quarter Results (BusinessWire)Coinbase argues it doesn’t trade securities, so the SEC’s lawsuit should be dismissed (The Verge)Bitcoin launderer pleads guilty, admits to massive Bitfinex hack (CNBC)Threads user count falls to new lows, highlighting retention challenges (CNN)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Chip Titan Whose Life’s Work Is at the Center of a Tech Cold War (NYTimes)When AI Is Trained on AI-Generated Data, Strange Things Start to Happen (Futurism)How “windfall profits” from AI companies could fund a universal basic income (Vox)How Modelo became America’s new favorite beer (Vox)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two stories today of startups who flew high during the pandemic, but have crashed down to earth in meaningful ways. NFT trading volumes might be sinking, but developers continue to flood into the space. And does Goldman Sachs want out of the whole Apple Card partnership?Links:Johnny Boufarhat steps down as CEO of Hopin (Sifted)‘A Nice Bike, When It Works’: Riders Fret After E-Bike Maker Goes Bust (NYTimes)IRS expects faster refunds in 2024 for people who stop using paper (Washington Post)NFT Trading Volume Is Sinking, But It’s Not Stopping Developers From Entering Web3 (Coindesk)Kenya suspends Worldcoin's crypto project over safety concerns (Reuters)Why are people lining up for Worldcoin eyeball scans? “Easy $50” (Rest of World)How the Partnership Between Apple and Goldman Sachs Soured (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Seems like I’ll have to be paying up for an X Blue subscription any day now. Meta releases a new AI music generator. We might actually be getting a big tech IPO in a matter of weeks. Amazon is readying an aggressive new push into groceries. And what happens when an online creator replaces themselves with an AI bot?Links:X, formerly Twitter, now lets paid users hide their checkmarks (TechCrunch)TweetDeck is now called ‘XPro’ (9to5Google)Meta’s AI music generator could be the new synthesizer — or just muzak (The Verge)SoftBank’s Arm Targets $60 Billion Value in September IPO (Bloomberg)Microsoft Teams adds spatial audio for more immersive conference calls (The Verge)Amazon Unveils Biggest Grocery Overhaul Since Buying Whole Foods (Bloomberg)One of Gaming’s Biggest YouTubers Wants to Replace Himself With AI (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Uber reports meaningful, not gimmicky profitability for the first time ever. Meta’s gonna give you AI chatbots with personality. Google is overhauling Assistant with AI stuff. Even Pierson is getting ahead of the whole, let AI tutor you on stuff, stuff. Nintendo is probably giving us a new console next year. And the prisoner’s dilemma that is fueling quantum computing development, but heck, let’s be honest, fueling AI development as well.Links:Uber Delivers First-Ever Operating Profit in Drive to Curb Losses (WSJ)Meta prepares chatbots with personas to try to retain users (FT)Scoop: Google Assistant to get an AI makeover (Axios)Amazon wants Alexa to bring AI into the home (Axios)Pearson Offers New AI Study Tools in Time for Back-to-School (Bloomberg)Sources: Nintendo targets 2024 with next-gen console (VCG)Quantum Tech Will Transform National Security. It’s Testing U.S. Alliances Now. (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brian Armstrong strongly hints that US regulators believe only Bitcoin is legal. A deep dive into what we can expect from this year’s iPhones. Is the US crackdown on tech to China having a real impact? And the artist that tried to take his art out of Stable Diffusion, only to have the community pull him back in.Sponsors:TryNom.com/rideCalderaLab.com code ride for 20% offLinks:SEC asked Coinbase to halt trading in everything except bitcoin, CEO says (FT)The iPhone 15 Pro Will Have Thinner Bezels in Step Toward Apple’s Dream (Bloomberg)U.S. Hunts Chinese Malware That Could Disrupt American Military Operations (NYTimes)China’s Tech Distress Grows as U.S. Chip Sanctions Bite (WSJ)An Internet Veteran’s Guide to Not Being Scared of Technology (NYTimes)Greg Rutkowski Was Removed From Stable Diffusion, But AI Artists Brought Him Back (Decrypt)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The whole Threads saga has been a whirlwind. At the beginning of the month I asked if Threads had already won. At the end of the month, I’m wondering if the clock is ticking in terms of their chances of survival. Generative AI but for robots. Again. Real robots. Are VCs pulling back from the crypto space? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men code ridehomeCrashplan.com code techmemeLinks:Meta plans retention 'hooks' for Threads as more than half of users leave app (Reuters)Aided by A.I. Language Models, Google’s Robots Are Getting Smart (NYTimes)App Store to require developers to describe why their apps use certain APIs (9to5Mac)Sequoia Capital Slashes Crypto Fund as It Downsizes Amid Startup Crunch (WSJ)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Large language models, explained with a minimum of math and jargon (UnderstandingAI.org)The making of ‘Acquired,’ the No. 1 tech podcast sensation (Fast Company)Internet cafes introduced Uganda to the internet (Rest of World)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta’s earnings say, hey, let’s just forget the last two years even happened. Is the next iPhone about to get an “action” button? What does it mean if Waymo is basically hitting pause on self driving trucks? Checking in on SBF. And a super fast new version of 5G.Sponsors:Crashplan.com code techmemeLinks:Meta’s Improved Ad Sales Buy Time for Zuckerberg’s Metaverse (Bloomberg)Microsoft Faces European Antitrust Investigation Over Bundling of Teams Software (WSJ)iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Options Potentially Revealed in iOS 17 Code: Flashlight, Shortcuts, Voice Memos, and More (MacRumors)Alphabet’s Waymo Self-Driving Unit Slows Autonomous Trucking (Bloomberg)Sony has sold 40 million PS5s (The Verge)Prosecutors want Sam Bankman-Fried sent to jail after witness-tampering allegations. Judge issues gag order (CNN)T-Mobile says its ultrafast 5G capable of up to 3.3Gbps is rolling out now (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from the big Galaxy Unpacked event today. This was the foldable event, but there were interesting watch announces too. Quick earnings roundup. Threads gets a follower tab. And the group that wants to battle Apple and Google in maps dominance has released their first product.Sponsors:Crashplan.com code techmemeMindbloom.com/techmeme and promocode techmemeLinks:The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 gets a big little screen upgrade (The Verge)Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 hands-on: Is Samsung squandering its head start? (Engadget)The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series is all about the bezels (The Verge)Meta’s Threads app is rolling out a Following feed (TechCrunch)OpenAI Quietly Shuts Down Its AI Detection Tool (Decrypt)Meta, Microsoft and Amazon team up on maps project to crack Apple-Google duopoly (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Big potential vulnerability in AMD chips. Fallout from the whole X re-branding continues. Now TikTok is cloning Twitter. The Arc Browser is now available for anyone to try out. And if you think Elon likes to have his hand in a lot of pies, a look at the increasing, and increasingly ambitious portfolio of Sam Altman-related companies.Links:AMD 'Zenbleed' Bug Leaks Data From Ryzen, EPYC CPUs: Most Patches Coming Q4 (Updated) (TomsHardware)Musk Explains Why He’s Axing Twitter Name, Iconic Bird Logo (Bloomberg)TikTok is adding support for text posts (TechCrunch)The excellent Arc browser is now available for anyone to download (The Verge)Spotify now has 220 million paying subscribers (The Verge)Sam Altman’s vision for AI puts him on collision course with regulators (Financial Times)Sam Altman explains why he’s helping to take nuclear microreactor company Oklo public via SPAC (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon makes good on his promise to rebrand Twitter as… X. Moar price hikes in streaming! Worldcoin has officially rolled out its token, so long as you’ve scanned your eyeball. Let me introduce you to the Flipper Zero. And should it be titled: Hollywood Strike: Rise Of The TikTok Stars?Sponsors:Collective.com/ridestartups.tech/techmemeLinks:Twitter is being rebranded as X (The Verge)Twitter has officially changed its logo to ‘X’ (TechCrunch)It’s Spotify’s turn to increase prices (The Verge)Peer-to-Peer Crypto Exchanges Lose Ground in Shrunken Market (Bloomberg)Sam Altman’s Worldcoin crypto project begins international rollout (FT)The Flipper Zero is a Swiss Army knife of antennas (The Verge)The Flipper Zero has an app store now (The Verge)The creator economy was already exploding. Then Hollywood went on strike. (Washington Post)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Reddit is choosing violence with their biggest holdouts. More data on the ebbing of Threads usage. AI seems to be bringing Sergey Brin back into the office. Why you should be getting your paycheck quicker. And an Oppenheimer-themed Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:ZBiotics.com/ride and code ride for 15% offLinks:Reddit takes over one of the biggest protesting subreddits (The Verge)Threads Is Already Losing Its Allure for Users, Adding Urgency for New Features (WSJ)Meta, Google, and OpenAI promise the White House they’ll develop AI responsibly (The Verge)The Federal Reserve’s 24/7 payment system could deposit your paycheck instantly (The Verge)Sergey Brin Is Back in the Trenches at Google (WSJ)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:A $25,000 Prize Still Sits in the Maine Woods. Meteorite Hunters Aren’t Giving Up. (WSJ)Fable unveils Showrunner AI to create South Park-like TV shows with you as the star (VentureBeat)The Airstocracy: Six things to know about flying with the superrich. (NYMag)THE REAL LESSON FROM THE MAKING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB (The Atlantic)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rumors that Apple already has an LLM framework and their own generative chatbot. Google is shopping an AI bot that can write news stories to various journalism outlets. Has GPT-4 actually gotten dumber of late? More streaming price raises. And it’s the last chance saloon for Microsoft’s AR headset for the US Military.Sponsors:BirdDogs.com/ridenotion.com/rideLinks:Apple Tests ‘Apple GPT,’ Develops Generative AI Tools to Catch OpenAI (Bloomberg)Google Tests A.I. Tool That Is Able to Write News Articles (NYTimes)Study claims ChatGPT is losing capability, but some experts aren’t convinced (ArsTechnica)Meta open-sources Llama 2, but with strings attached (MoneyControl)Apple slams UK surveillance-bill proposals (BBC News)Google raising price of YouTube Premium to $13.99 per month (9to5Google)Microsoft Poised to Deliver Improved Combat Goggles, US Army Says (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft announced aggressive pricing for their AI products and got rewarded with an all-time high stock market valuation. More price aggression in the streaming wars. Meta released Llama 2. Google is asking for employees to voluntarily work on air gapped machines. And let me introduce you to the concept of “synthetic data” for LLMs.Links:Microsoft and Activision Blizzard extend merger agreement to October (The Verge)Microsoft will charge businesses $30 per user for its 365 AI Copilot (Engadget)Microsoft closes at record after revealing pricing for new A.I. subscription (CNBC)Netflix Shakes Up Pricing: ‘Basic’ Tier Axed in UK, US (Cord Busters)Meta launches Llama 2, an open source AI model that allows commercial applications (Ars Technica)Google restricting internet access to some employees to reduce cyberattack risk (CNBC)Why computer-made data is being used to train AI models (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s been… two weeks. Let’s check in on how Threads is doing. Streaming players continue to raise prices. Microsoft still plans on fighting for its prize. Are the incumbents winning the AI race? And the interesting startup that wants to use light instead of electricity in computer chips.Sponsors:Notion.com/rideLinks:The spam bots have now found Threads, as company announces its own ‘rate limits’ (TechCrunch)Five reasons Threads could still go the distance (Platformer)Peacock to raise its subscription prices on August 17 (TechCrunch)Microsoft-Activision Deal Poised to Close Later Than Planned (Bloomberg)Wix’s new tool can create entire websites from prompts (TechCrunch)UK chip designer raises millions from Agnelli fund (FT)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sony and Microsoft have made nice. Bitcoin ETFs continue to look like a possibility. How the Vision Pro is shaking up Apple’s org structure in a meaningful way for the first time since the Steve Jobs Era. And why Netflix’s recent turnaround have rekindled those perpetual rumors that Apple is gonna end up buying Disney some day.Sponsors:CalderaLab.com code RIDE for 20% offHillsdale.edu/rideLinks:Sony agrees to 10-year Call of Duty deal with Microsoft (The Verge)SEC accepts BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF application, signaling regulatory review (CoinTelegraph)The shady world of Brave selling copyrighted data for AI training (StackDiary)Hacker News Thread On The Brave ThingTypo leaks millions of US military emails to Mali web operator (Financial Times)Apple’s New Vision Group Reflects Shift Away From Steve Jobs Approach (Bloomberg)Bob Iger Shifts From Building an Empire to a Disney Yard Sale (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon has made good on his promise to share ad revenue with some big Tweeters. The fact that you can’t use Threads in Europe continues to be weird. Meta unveils a new AI image generator that they say is significantly smaller and better. Why AI is at the center of the Hollywood strike part eleven. And one choice Weekend Longreads Suggestion.Links:Twitter starts sharing ad revenue with verified creators (TechCrunch)Musk's Twitter sues four Texas entities for data scraping, seeks damages (Reuters)Meta confirms it is blocking EU-based users from accessing Threads via VPN (TechCrunch)Meta claims its new art-generating model is best-in-class (TechCrunch)Exclusive: AP strikes news-sharing and tech deal with OpenAI (Axios)Actors say Hollywood studios want their AI replicas — for free, forever (The Verge)Here’s the new default font for Microsoft Outlook and Word: Aptos (CNBC)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Apple, Lionel Messi and the $2.5bn question: What’s next? (The Athletic)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon has launched his own AI company with some pretty big names involved. The FTC will appeal! Roblox is coming to Zuckerberg’s metaverse. Meta does plan to commercialize LLaMA. And a cool new “do a napkin sketch and have AI turn it into an actual work of art” tool.Links:Musk Unveils xAI in New Bid to Rival Startup OpenAI (Bloomberg)FTC appeals its loss to Microsoft in Activision Blizzard case (The Verge)Ex-Celsius CEO Mashinsky Charged in Latest DOJ Crypto Case (Bloomberg)Roblox is coming to Meta’s Quest VR headsets (The Verge)macOS Sonoma Brings Apple Password Manager to Third-Party Browsers (MacRumors)Meta to release commercial AI model in effort to catch rivals (FT)Stability AI releases Stable Doodle, a sketch-to-image tool (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A big win for Microsoft leads critics of FTC chair Lina Khan to come out of the woodwork. Anthropic has released its Claude 2 chatbot. Say hello to the Nothing Phone (2). And while the market caps of the big players might have been boosted by AI, might the need for on premises AI lead to a unique opening for the likes of Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise?Links:Microsoft-Activision deal moves closer as judge denies FTC injunction request (CNBC)Microsoft and UK regulators agree to pause their Activision battle to negotiate (The Verge)FTC would face tough appeal of Microsoft-Activision order, experts say (Reuters)F.T.C.’s Court Loss Raises Fresh Questions About Its Chair’s Strategy (NYTimes)AI Startup Anthropic Releases a New Version of Its ChatGPT Rival, Claude (Bloomberg)Why SUSE is forking Red Hat Enterprise Linux (TechCrunch)Bigger, Brighter, More Expensive: Nothing Reveals the Phone (2) (Gizmodo)The AI Boom Is Here. The Cloud May Not Be Ready. (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Could Massachusetts pass the first meaningful anti-tracking law in the country? With social media in transition, what’s the lane for someone like Tumblr? Instagram is going after Twitter, but is someone coming for Instagram at the exact same time? And the sad state of affairs for video game history.Sponsors:https://www.birddogs.com/RIDESwissAmerica.com/rideLinks:Selling Your Cellphone Location Data Might Soon Be Banned in U.S. for First Time (WSJ)Tumblr says it’s going to ‘fix’ its ‘core experience’ to appeal to new users (The Verge)HCA Healthcare patient data stolen and for sale by hackers (CNBC)A New VC-Beloved Startup Rips a Page From Meta’s Playbook (The Information)THE GAME AVAILABILITY STUDY, EXPLAINED (Video Game History Foundation)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Time to get worried about your Evernote files. Looks like Meta won’t have to leave the EU. OpenAI has a new product that people are raving about. More analysis of if AI can be useful to doctors. And I’ll tell you the one simple reason Threads has hit 100 million users so fast. The answer is right in front of us.Sponsors:startups.tech/techmemeZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:Bay Area tech company Evernote lays off most staff, relocating to Europe (SFGate)EU Seals New Transatlantic Data-Transfer Pact With US in Third Attempt (Bloomberg)Code Interpreter comes to all ChatGPT Plus users — ‘anyone can be a data analyst now’ (VentureBeat)Sarah Silverman is suing OpenAI and Meta for copyright infringement (The Verge)In Battle With Microsoft, Google Bets on Medical AI Program to Crack Healthcare Industry (WSJ)Snap’s Push to Tempt Creators Seems to Be Working (WSJ)Instagram’s Threads app reaches 100 million users within just five days (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s been my job for over a decade now to analyze the competitive landscape of the tech industry, and I’ve simply never seen anything like what Threads has achieved in less than 48 hours. Though, Elon is threatening to sue. Uber, DoorDash and GrubHub are suing NYC. Volkswagen is rolling out its self-driving cars. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Earnin App (type in Techmeme under PODCAST when you sign up)Links:Threads Becomes Most Rapidly Downloaded App, Raising Twitter’s Ire (NYTimes)Zuck's Threads halo (Axios)Twitter is threatening to sue Meta over Threads (Semafor)OpenAI makes GPT-4 generally available (TechCrunch)Food-Delivery Companies Sue New York City Over Minimum Pay Law (NYTimes)Volkswagen's Self-Driving Cars Begin Testing In Texas (Jalopnik)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:What Did People Do Before Smartphones? (The Atlantic)The Man Who Broke Bowling (GQ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s only one story today. Threads. Threads. Threads. Has Threads already won?Links:Meta launches Instagram Threads in a direct challenge to Twitter (CNBC)Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting Instagram account, Meta says (TechCrunch)Instagram Threads works, but it’s sterile, dull and worst of all – it’s still run by Mark Zuckerberg (iNews)Meta unspools Threads (Platformer)So where are we all supposed to go now? (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chaos at Twitter emphatically did NOT take the 4th of July weekend off. Instagram’s Twitter clone looks like it’s going to take advantage of this chaos to launch now. The Reddit app apocalypse has happened. Oh, and the mods for Reddit AMA’s have downed tools. And how drone technology is disrupting the traditional Fireworks industry.Sponsors:Kolide.com/rideNotion.com/rideLinks:Instagram’s Twitter competitor, Threads, briefly went live on the web (The Verge)The Reddit app-pocalyse is here: Apollo, Sync, and BaconReader go dark (The Verge)The Reddit moderators who coordinate many celebrity AMAs will no longer do so (The Verge)Fireworks Have a New Competitor: Drones (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Originally published April 2015It’s part two of our Amazon founding story. How did Amazon come to completely dominate e-commerce? How did Jeff Bezos’ “Get Big Fast” strategy evolve? How and why did Amazon become the quintessential “dot com” and dot-com-era stock? The answers are within. Bibliography: The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon The Playboy Interview: Moguls Amazon.com: Get Big Fast One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com http://jimromenesko.com/2013/08/11/i-interviewed-jeff-bezos-when-amazon-was-an-insignificant-speck-in-the-book-selling-universe/#more-49306 http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/7.03/bezos_pr.html http://www.fastcompany.com/50541/inside-mind-jeff-bezos http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB832204437381952500 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303339904576405922077032468 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-corporateTimeline_pf&c=176060 http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,992927-2,00.html http://www.vox.com/2015/1/4/7490013/ecommerce-shopping-mall http://mashable.com/2014/05/08/amazon-sales-chart/ http://www.statista.com/statistics/185283/total-and-e-commerce-us-retail-trade-sales-since-2000/ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-01-07/amazon-surges-to-record-high-on-global-e-commerce-growth http://www.thewire.com/business/2014/05/amazon-has-basically-no-competition-among-online-booksellers/371917/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Originally published February 2015.Finally, the long-promised foray into e-commerce, starting with… not the first… but practically the first… player in the space… and ironically enough, the 800 pound gorilla in the space to this day. Amazon. Dot com. We examine Jeff Bezos, the man. We consider Amazon, the idea. We look at e-commerce, the concept. It’s interesting. It’s groundbreaking. It’s available with free 2-day shipping for Prime members. Just kidding.Bibliography: The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon The Playboy Interview: Moguls Amazon.com: Get Big Fast One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/7.03/bezos_pr.html http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/01/11/253770/index.htm http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/biztech/articles/14amazon.html http://www.retireat21.com/blog/10-companies-started-garages http://davidsheff.com/article/jeff-bezos/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Second time the charm for Apple to close above $3 trillion? Google says it will remove news links in Canada. Meta will allow you to download apps directly from Ads. Self driving cars are giving cops more surveillance tape. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Apple’s market cap tops $3 trillion (CNBC)Canada’s ‘link tax’ law could break how the web works, says Google (Android Police)Meta is planning to let people in the EU download apps through Facebook (The Verge)Fidelity Joins Spot-Bitcoin ETF Race With Fresh SEC Filing (Bloomberg)Police Are Requesting Self-Driving Car Footage For Video Evidence (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:When Will AI Generate a Hollywood Blockbuster? “Give It About Three Years.” (Inverse)These Tech Companies Think They Can ‘Solve’ the Wildfire Crisis (Motherboard)Who killed Google Reader? (The Verge)Mixtape Sites Like DatPiff Propelled Rap. Can They Be Preserved? (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Satya Nadella had his day in court. Looks like the FTC is finalizing its big case against Amazon. YouTube has advertisers asking for refunds. Big new interesting raises in the AI space. And ahead of the Fourth of July travel weekend, we may not have the autonomous driving we want, but maybe we can get the autonomous rental car delivery we deserve.Links:Microsoft and Activision Chiefs Testify Merger Will Benefit Consumers (NYTimes)Lina Khan Is Coming for Amazon, Armed With an FTC Antitrust Suit (Bloomberg)Advertising industry seeks refunds over YouTube skippable ads (FT)ChatGPT maker OpenAI faces a lawsuit over how it used people’s data (Washington Post)Inflection AI Raises $1 Billion (Forbes)Halo Car launches remotely piloted rental car deliveries in Las Vegas (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Even in bankruptcy, even FTX is like, maybe we’ll hold on to these AI investments. Could Windows itself become a fully cloud product? Has Google canceled its AR project? How AI is making even Billy Bean look like old school baseball. And who needs a Mac Pro when you’ve got a perfectly good Mac Studio or even Mac Book?Links:FTX Halts Sale of Its $500 Million Stake in AI Startup Anthropic (Bloomberg)AI Frenzy Draws Hordes to Private Markets in Industry Gold Rush (Bloomberg)Microsoft wants to move Windows fully to the cloud (The Verge)Google killed its Iris augmented-reality smart glasses as it shifts attention to building AR software (Insider)DoorDash launches hourly rates and location sharing for couriers (The Verge)Baseball Scouts Call In Artificial Intelligence Help From the Bullpen (WSJ)The Mac Pro’s biggest problem is the MacBook (The Verge)Eat Your Heart Out, Tesla. Mercedes-Benz May Have the Fastest EV Yet. (Barron's)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Checking in with the FTC vs. Microsoft case. Checking in with the effort to recover funds from FTX. What if OpenAI did its own Copilot? Would Microsoft be pissed? And reviews of the Pixel Fold include one reviewer’s unit dying after a mere few days.Sponsors:stpp.co/techmemeZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:Microsoft exec was ready to ‘go spend Sony out of business’ to strengthen Xbox (The Verge)FTX Bankruptcy Team Says the Exchange Owed Customers $8.7B (CoinDesk)Thomson Reuters buys Casetext, an AI legal tech startup, for $650M in cash (TechCrunch)OpenAI Plans ChatGPT ‘Personal Assistant for Work,’ Setting Up Microsoft Rivalry (The Information)RIP to my Pixel Fold: Dead after four days (ArsTechnica)Google Pixel Fold review: closing the gap (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well, this AI moment is only about 6 months old, but it looks like the mergers and acquisitions are beginning in earnest. Wait, we’re still worried about 5G interfering with airplanes? Amazon wants your local florist to deliver your packages. An Amazon/FTC kerfuffle we missed. And what are the OTHER Apple products we can expect in the next year or so?Sponsors:JoinDeleteMe.com/techmemeThe Traceroute PodcastLinks:Databricks Strikes $1.3 Billion Deal for Generative AI Startup MosaicML (WSJ)Pete Buttigieg Warns of Flight Delays as 5G Deadline Looms (WSJ)Exclusive: Amazon launches local business delivery network (Axios)FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process (CNBC)Amazon, Friction, and the FTC (Stratechery)Apple Has Finally Unveiled the Vision Pro. Here’s What It’s Launching Next (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Find out more at ThePlayerslounge.ioSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are Canadians about to lose their access to news on Instagram and maybe Google too? More details about what that Apple headset will actually be like to use. The newest claimant to the supercomputer crown is about to come online. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Grammarly.com/goCollective.comLinks:Meta says it's blocking news on Facebook, Instagram after government passes online news bill (National Post)Apple Vision Pro has a speed limit, Travel Mode required for use on flights (9to5Mac)The Aurora Supercomputer Is Installed (AnandTech)Randomly received a smartwatch? Don’t turn it on, investigators warn. (ArmyTimes)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Dolby Atmos Wants You to Listen Up. (And Down. And Sideways.) (NYTimes)The hottest new perk in tech is freedom (Vox)This Bay Area woman is on a crusade to prove Yelp reviews can’t be trusted (SFGate)Meet the Vocal Coach Who’s Helping Timothée Chalamet Sound Like Bob Dylan (GQ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well, I guess Elon and Zuck are gonna fight? Literally? New Stability AI. Xbox prices are going up. The visionOS SDK is out. A Motorola Razr Plus review. And why celebrities are racing to duplicate themselves using AI.Sponsors:JoinDeleteMe.com/techmemeGrammarly.com/goLinks:Mark Zuckerberg is ready to fight Elon Musk in a cage match (The Verge)Startup Stability Debuts a New AI Model For Stable Diffusion (Bloomberg)Microsoft is hiking the price of Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass (The Verge)Apple releases visionOS SDK for creating Vision Pro apps, dev kit applications opening soon (9to5Mac)Motorola Razr Plus review: the right moves (The Verge)Celebrities Use AI to Take Control of Their Own Images (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dropbox joins the AI bandwagon. Lots of news from Twitch. Netflix changes how it calculates its top 10. Mark your calendars for Prime Day. And what all the things Apple DIDN’T demo for their new headset might reveal about the directions in which the product could evolve.Sponsors:Grammarly.com/goNewtonX.com/techmemeLinks:Dropbox’s AI tools can help you find your stuff — from everywhere on the internet (The Verge)Twitch will require new labels for streams with sexual themes, gambling and M-rated games (TechCrunch)Netflix Tweaks Its Top 10 Rankings, Adds View Count (THR)Amazon will hold Prime Day 2023 on July 11-12, adding invite-only deals and ‘Buy with Prime’ sites (GeekWire)What Apple Didn’t Reveal About the Vision Pro (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Spotify is thinking of bucking the “max” and “ultra” naming convention and might introduce “supremium.” What if FTX, the exchange, makes a comeback? One of the hottest sectors in VC right now is defense. And the story of how Meta is playing catchup when it comes to AI.Sponsors:Grammarly.com/gogo.tech/tmLinks:Spotify Plans New Premium Tier, Expected to Include HiFi Audio (Bloomberg)FTX paid over $120 million in advisor fees between February 1 and April 30 (The Block)Masayoshi Son Ends Seven-Month Silence to Make Case for SoftBank’s Future (Bloomberg)Silicon Valley VCs rush into defence technology start-ups (FT)Mark Zuckerberg Was Early in AI. Now Meta Is Trying to Catch Up. (WSJ)When AI Overrules the Nurses Caring for You (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

No joke, this is one of my favorite episodes we've ever done. Eugene Wei was an early employee at Hulu, so we get some details on that company for the first time, and he also worked at Flipboard and Oculus, so we get some important context especially on the future of VR and the like. But the most fascinating stories you'll hear will be about Amazon, where Eugene was the first analyst in the strategic planning department. As you'll hear, Eugene had a unique perspective on Amazon's early strategy and business structure, almost a historically unique perspective... he could see month to month, how Amazon was built, what Amazon was trying to do, and why. This is such an amazing perspective on such an important company.Sponsors:Grammarly.com/goHillsdale.edu/rideSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google does it again. For like the 10th time just since I’ve been doing this podcast. What is “it?” You’ll hear in a second. The whole Reddit thing is simultaneously seeming to calm down, AND heat up, largely thanks to Reddit’s CEO. Will we finally get a bitcoin ETF this time? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:TryNom.com/rideCrashPlan.comLinks:Alphabet Selling Google Domains Assets to Squarespace (Bloomberg)Reddit says it won’t force subreddits back open (but will it?) (The Verge)Reddit CEO slams protest leaders, saying he'll change rules that favor ‘landed gentry’ (NCBNews)AI and media companies negotiate landmark deals over news content (Financial Times)BlackRock files for bitcoin ETF in push into crypto (Reuters)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Microsoft’s Sudden AI Dominance Is Scrambling Silicon Valley’s Power Structure (Bloomberg Businessweek)How Nvidia Became ChatGPT’s Brain and Joined the $1 Trillion Club (Bloomberg Businessweek)How MrBeast Became the Willy Wonka of YouTube (NYTimes Magazine)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The every platform can be an ad platform too march continues. This time, it’s Uber. Intel drops the “I.” Google lens can check your skin condition. Another breakthrough in quantum computing. And why Apple bringing back the answering machine is a feature lots of folks, including me, are actually happy about.Sponsors:CrashPlan.comLinks:Video Ads Are Coming to All Your Uber Apps (The Wall Street Journal)Intel To Launch New Core Processor Branding: Drop the i, Add Ultra Tier (AnandTech)Google Lens can now identify rashes and other skin conditions (9to5Google)Mechanical Turk workers are using AI to automate being human (TechCrunch)Fake zero-day PoC exploits on GitHub push Windows, Linux malware (BleepingComputer)Quantum Computing Advance Begins New Era, IBM Says (NYTimes)iOS 17 Live Voicemail will return the glory of the answering machine to your iPhone (TechRadar)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The European Commission might have just taken the first steps toward separating Google from its cash cow. Reddit’s CEO keeps saying not so soothing things. New Open AI and Meta releases for… AI stuff. Cybersecurity premiums are skyrocketing. Spotify has fully shifted its podcast strategy. And a look at the tech job market as AI takes over.Sponsors:NewtonX.com/techmemeCrashPlan.comLinks:EU suggests breaking up Google’s ad business in preliminary antitrust ruling (The Verge)Reddit CEO tells employees that subreddit blackout ‘will pass' (The Verge)Google is getting a lot worse because of the Reddit blackouts (The Verge)OpenAI intros new generative text features while reducing pricing (TechCrunch)Cyber Insurance Premiums Surge by 50% as Ransomware Attacks Increase (Bloomberg)Spotify Takes a Sharp Turn With Its $1 Billion Podcast Division (Bloomberg)Meta AI researchers unveil I-JEPA, a computer vision model that learns more like humans do (SiliconAngle)Layoffs and AI Are Changing Tech’s Once-Invincible Job Market (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The FTC has filed an injunction to block the Microsoft/Activision tie-up. Netflix is dipping its toe into live sports. Why Larry Ellison is thankful AI showed up on the scene. The whole Reddit situation came to a head partially cause of AI. And one guess why we’re about to get a new Beatles song.Sponsors:CrashPlan.comnotion.com/rideLinks:FTC files to block Microsoft-Activision as deadline approaches (CNBC)Netflix to Enter Live-Streamed Sports With Celebrity Golf Event (WSJ)Reddit goes dark (Platformer)Larry Ellison Rides AI Boom to Highest Wealth Ranking Ever (Bloomberg)\Sir Paul McCartney says artificial intelligence has enabled a 'final' Beatles song (BBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why your favorite subreddit might be going dark. Why a16z opened an office in the UK. Why AI seems to be recycling the same few dozen jokes when you ask it to be funny. A new AI music generation tool. And the first reviews of the 15-inch Macbook Air.Sponsors:CrashPlan.comgo.tech/tmLinks:Thousands of subreddits pledge to go dark after the Reddit CEO’s recent remarks (The Verge)Andreessen Horowitz believes that crypto's future may be in the U.K. (Axios)Meta's open source AI MusicGen turns text and melody into new songs (The Decoder)Researchers discover that ChatGPT prefers repeating 25 jokes over and over (ArsTechnica)How AI art killed an indie book cover contest (The Verge)Apple MacBook Air 15-inch review: exactly what was asked for (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kevin Scott is the current Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft. We talk about his entire career, how being an academic seemed to be his path before he transformed the ads system at Google. Then he revolutionized the entire advertising industry at AdMob; is credited by some people by saving LinkedIn from technical rot; and now, today, oversees Microsoft's efforts in AI, VR/AR all the future things. Fantastic conversation.Kevin's podcast is: Behind the TechOriginally Aired: May 2019See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lots of juicy nuggets from a recent all hands over at Meta. Binance.US looks like it’s on the road to shutting down. The first trials of AI tutors for kids are happening. The self-driving revolution I’ve been waiting for seems to be happening. And the Weekend Longreads are happening. As always.Links:Here’s what Mark Zuckerberg thinks about Apple’s Vision Pro (The Verge)This is what Instagram’s upcoming Twitter competitor looks like (The Verge)Meta plans to put AI everywhere on its platforms (Axios)Binance.US Set to Be Cut Off From Banking System After SEC Lawsuit (Bloomberg)Spotify says it’s testing an ‘offline mix’ for when your connection’s patchy (The Verge)New A.I. Chatbot Tutors Could Upend Student Learning (NYTimes)Netflix Subscriptions Jump as U.S. Password-Sharing Crackdown Begins (WSJ)Mercedes first to sell vehicles in California with hands-free, eyes-off automated driving (TechCrunch)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Binge Purge TV’s streaming model is broken. It’s also not going away. For Hollywood, figuring that out will be a horror show. (Vulture)The Simpsons Is Good Again After 34 seasons, 750 episodes, and a decades-long funk, the show innovated its way back to popularity and relevance. (Vulture)First Impressions of Vision Pro and VisionOS (Daring Fireball)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So, the Binance case is already getting testy with some wild accusations flying in both directions. Twitch walks back some ad guidelines after only two days. WhatsApp is adding channels. Prime Video is probably about to add ads. Adobe will protect you from lawsuits if you use their AI tools. And how AI might have just extended Moore’s Law a bit.Sponsors:EarnIn App (type in techmeme under PODCAST when you sign up)Links:Binance lawyers allege SEC Chair Gensler offered to serve as advisor to crypto company in 2019 (CNBC)SEC says Binance and US affiliate redirected billions in customer assets to Zhao's funds (The Block)Twitch walks back controversial ad rules policy (The Verge)WhatsApp’s new Channels feature brings social media to your messaging app (The Verge)Amazon Plans Ad Tier for Prime Video Streaming Service (WSJ)Adobe is so confident its Firefly generative AI won’t breach copyright that it’ll cover your legal bills (Fast Company)Google claims that Bard is improving at math and programming (TechCrunch)Google DeepMind’s game-playing AI just found another way to make code faster (MIT Technology Review)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Apple does want to get serious about gaming on the Mac after all. Maybe I was right. Sequoia splitting in three IS about China after all. Samsung is holding an event at home for the first time in forever. And Matt Levine answers my questions about what now for Coinbase? Back to just trading bitcoin and ether?Sponsors:NewtonX.com/techmemeLinks:macOS Sonoma lets developers port Windows games to the Mac; here’s how it works (9to5Mac)Apple makes iOS 17 developer beta free for registered developers (9to5Mac)Sequoia’s Split Sends Warning to US Companies Doing Business in China (Bloomberg)Samsung officially confirms first Unpacked event in Korea for new foldables (9to5Google)The SEC Comes for Crypto (Matt Levine/Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The SEC has officially sued Coinbase. Sequoia plans to split into 3 separate VC firms. Why did Apple announce a bunch of AI features yesterday but shy away from name dropping AI? And all anyone really cares about right now: two different hands on experiences with the Apple Vision Pro. What is this thing like to actually use?Sponsors:Collective.comLinks:US Crypto Crackdown Reaches Fever Pitch as SEC Sues Coinbase (Bloomberg)Sequoia Is Splitting Into Three VC Firms (Forbes)Apple avoids “AI” hype at WWDC keynote by baking ML into products (ArsTechnica)First impressions: Yes, Apple Vision Pro works and yes, it’s good (TechCrunch)I wore the Apple Vision Pro. It’s the best headset demo ever. (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Apple headset is called the Apple Vision Pro. It’s more expensive than people thought, but it was maybe more impressive than I expected. Oh, also, a new 15-inch MacBook Air. New OS versions and features. And the SEC is officially suing CZ and Binance.Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeLinks:Apple Vision Pro is Apple’s new $3,499 AR headset (The Verge)The Apple Vision Pro features an M2 chip, a ton of sensors and a new R1 chip (TechCrunch)Apple announces visionOS, the operating system for its Vision Pro headset (The Verge)Apple announces iOS 17 with Journal, Standby, FaceTime voicemail, more (9to5Mac)Apple Announces iOS 17 With 'Standby' View, Journal App, Siri Changes, and More (MacRumors)Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro (Apple Newsroom)Apple’s new 15-inch MacBook Air is the ‘world’s thinnest’ (The Verge)Mac Studio gets its first hardware update with M2 Max and the new M2 Ultra chip (9to5Mac)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Originally published August 2014Jan Brandt is a legend in the world of marketing. She singlehandedly led the famous AOL "carpet-bombing" campaign that put millions of AOL trial discs and CDs in everything from magazines to popcorn boxes to banks. AOL was able to leap to the front of the online pack, over competitors like CompuServe and Prodigy largely on the success of this campaign. Jan tells us how this strategy developed, the thinking that went into it and goes into great detail about what worked and what didn't. But she was also a very early AOL executive, so she is able to give us some fantastic background about AOL the company: its culture, its people and its visionaries–people like Steve Case. She takes us from AOL's beginnings, through its considerable growing pains (remember "America On Hold?") its rise to dominance in the dot-com era, and even gives us her perspective on the legacy of the AOL/Time Warner merger.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A check-in with Elon and Twitter sees things pretty much as they’ve been for about a year now. Is Amazon about to release a low-cost cell phone plan for Prime members? Airbnb is suing New York City over a new law it sees as an existential threat. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:The Traceroute PodcastLinks:Twitter's head of trust and safety says she has resigned (Reuters)Elon 'The Dogefather' Musk Accused of Insider Trading (Gizmodo)Russia accuses US of hacking thousands of Apple devices to spy on diplomats (The Record)Amazon Is in Talks to Offer Free Mobile Service to US Prime Members (Bloomberg)Airbnb sues NYC over new rules requiring hosts to register their homes as short-term rentals (Gothamist)Planned Layoffs Have Quadrupled So Far This Year in the US (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How a $13 Billion Fintech That Angered Jamie Dimon Won Over Banks (Bloomberg)A Week With the Wild Children of the A.I. Boom (NYTimes Magazine)China Is Drilling a 10,000-Meter-Deep Hole Into the Earth (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Zuck tried to front-run the Apple headset announcement this morning. Amazon pays some fines. Apple is testing two new high-end Macs. Microsoft actually seems to be struggling when it comes to game development. And what happens to your crypto project, if you can’t get in touch with the one person in the project who has control of the keys?Sponsors:SwissAmerica.com/rideLinks:Zuck's Meta Quest 3 AnnounceAmazon to Pay $25 Million to Settle Children’s Privacy Charges (NYTimes)Amazon to Pay $30.8 Million to Settle FTC Privacy Claims (Bloomberg)Apple Tests New High-End Macs With M2 Max and M2 Ultra Chips Ahead of WWDC (Bloomberg)Instagram tests new user control for recommended posts, transparency tool for creators (TechCrunch)Inside the Making of Redfall, Xbox’s Latest Misfire (Bloomberg)Multichain team says it can't contact CEO amid protocol problems (The Block)Wall Street Banks Are Using AI to Rewire the World of Finance (Bloomberg)Apple touts $1.1 trillion in App Store commerce in 2022, with $104B in digital sales (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Big names in the AI industry are basically begging governments to regulate AI. But some people are wondering about their motives. The considerations the Biden administration is taking into account vis-à-vis AI regulation. New Garmin smartwatches. And why the Lovecraftian Shoggoth is the meme of the AI moment.Sponsors:NewtonX.com/techmemeLinks:A.I. Poses ‘Risk of Extinction,’ Industry Leaders Warn (NYTimes)ChatGPT Risks Divide Biden Administration Over EU’s AI Rules (Bloomberg)Garmin’s Epix 2 and Fenix 7 lineups go ‘Pro’ (The Verge)The Race to Make A.I. Smaller (and Smarter) (NYTimes)Why an Octopus-like Creature Has Come to Symbolize the State of A.I. (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As Nvidia joins the rarified trillion dollar market cap club, their recent announcements highlight why they’re truly the center of the current AI moment. ARM transitions to a comprehensive 64-bit platform. Hands-on with Meta's Quest 3 prototype. And those weird new CAPTCHA’s you’ve been seeing? Yes, AI is responsible.Sponsors:SwissAmerica.com/rideBloomberg.com/careersLinks:How Nvidia created the chip powering the generative AI boom (Financial Times)World’s Most Valuable Chipmaker Nvidia Unveils More AI Products After $184 Billion Rally (Bloomberg)Video of the NPC character demoArm Unveils 2023 Mobile CPU Core Designs (AnandTech)A First Look at the Headset That Could Be Apple’s Biggest Competition (Bloomberg)Captcha Is Asking Users to Identify Objects That Don't Exist (Motherboard)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

(Originally aired February 2017)Gary Flake has been involved with search technology ever since he got turned on to this particular field in college. In this wide-ranging discussion, Gary lays out for us, basically, the history of search technology before Google, the impact of Google, and then, since he lived it, the notion of competing with Google. The reason why Gary can talk so in depth about all of this is that he was Yahoo’s Chief Science Officer in the early 2000s, when Yahoo, via the infamous project Panama, and other initiatives, attempted to keep Google from taking over the entire search market. And because, prior to that, Gary was at Goto/Overture, he gives us basically the entire story of the birth of paid search as an industry. The story of Google is about two miracles. The first miracle is the Google algorithm that essentially solved search. And the second miracle is paid search… AdWords, AdSense, all of that… which is essentially the greatest advertising machine ever invented. But, not a lot of people remember: paid search was actually invented, not by Google, but by Goto/Overture.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Larry and Sergey first met, they didn’t like each other much...(Originally aired April 2017 in two parts)BIBLIOGRAPHY:In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives The Google Story How Google Works The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture Googled: The End of the World As We Know It The Google Guys: Inside the Brilliant Minds of Google Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin I’m Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/05/29/search-and-deploy http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/11/08/268521/index.htmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

(Originally published 01/04/2015)So, I ran across this quote from Star Trek television producer Rick Berman. He said, “Without porn and Star Trek, there would be no Internet.” That’s a notion that I have to say really kind of rang true to me, in a tonge and cheek sort of way. I mean, it’s something you hear all the time. The idea that pornography leads the way with any new technological innovation. That Porn is some x-large percentage of the overall internet Do you ever wonder how much of the internet is actually porn? If it’s such a large amount then wouldn’t it be worth investigating how porn has shaped the web and the internet generally? That’s sort of the thinking that led me to begin thinking about this episode.Bibliography: The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of Pornography in the Cyber Age EroticaBiz: How Sex Shaped the Internet The Unsexpected Story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat https://tidbits.com/article/5833 http://internetlaw.uslegal.com/pornography/ http://www.internetworldstats.com/emarketing.htm http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm http://www.itworld.com/article/2729780/enterprise-software/10-fascinating-facts-about-internet-porn.html http://blog.cytalk.com/2010/01/web-porn-revenue/ http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/21/david-cameron-online-porn-will-be-blocked-by-default-3891620/ http://nymag.com/news/features/70985/ http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/10471/siri-piracy-pay-for-your-porn/ http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/internet-piracy-killing-porns-profits-1394/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We get our first look at how Google is integrating AI into search. You heard me warn you, but the most concrete example yet that Crypto VCs might be turning their attention to AI. WhatsApp is probably moving to usernames. The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. And, for this long weekend, Brian’s Book Recommendations.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastBloomberg.com/careersLinks:Google starts rolling out Search Generative Experience (SGE) in preview (9to5Google)Paradigm broadening crypto-only focus to areas including AI (The Block)WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.11.15: what’s new? (WABetaInfo)The FDA will apparently let Elon Musk put a computer in a human’s brain (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Meta's ‘Efficiency’ Layoffs Take a Toll on Employee Productivity (Bloomberg)Sergey Brin Has a Secret Plan to Put Airships Back in the Skies (BusinessWeek)Some Neural Networks Learn Language Like Humans (QuantaMagazine)A husband hid $500,000 in bitcoin during a divorce — and got busted by a crypto hunter (CNBC)Going for a walk with Shift’s Moonwalker electric shoe-skates (TechCrunch)Brian's Summer Book Recommendations:The Making of the Atomic Bomb: 25th Anniversary EditionPostwar: A History of Europe Since 1945Americana: A 400-Year History of American CapitalismSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The whole Twitter Space presidential announce did not go well. Microsoft says Chinese hackers have burrowed into critical US infrastructure. Sony has a handheld gaming device, but a true descendent of the PlayStation Vita it is not. Quite. Has AI allowed a paralyzed man to walk again? And the world’s newest unicorn is maybe the most delightful interesting raise of the year.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastLinks:Twitter glitches plague Ron DeSantis’ much-hyped presidential announcement with Elon Musk (CNBC)Microsoft warns that China hackers attacked U.S. infrastructure (CNBC)Chinese Malware Hits Systems on Guam. Is Taiwan the Real Target? (NYTimes)OpenAI warns over split with Europe as regulation advances (Financial Times)Sony’s new Q handheld is official: 8-inch screen, streams PS5 games (The Verge)Apple Plans to Turn Locked iPhones Into Smart Displays With iOS 17 (Bloomberg)A Paralyzed Man Can Walk Naturally Again With Brain and Spine Implants (NYTimes)Indonesian agritech firm eFishery hits unicorn status with $108m series D (TechInAsia)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from yesterday’s Build conference. The big Netflix password crackdown has begun. Did Elon buy Twitter to dethrone Fox News? Is an Uber/Waymo partnership the start of a beautiful relationship? And is Final Cut Pro on the iPad actually what everyone wanted?Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastOregonState.eduLinks:Microsoft’s Azure AI Studio lets developers build their own AI ‘copilots’ (TechCrunch)Microsoft’s Copilot and Bing AI plug-ins will be interoperable with ChatGPT (The Verge)Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown is here — and it costs $7.99 per month (The Verge)Elon Musk’s right-wing media venture scores another big win (WashingtonPost)Uber teams up with Waymo to add robotaxis to its app (The Verge)PSVR2’s early sales beat the original, Sony claims (VideoGamesChronicle)That podcast ad you're listening to may soon be AI. Spotify is reportedly developing bots to mimic your favorite hosts. (Insider)Final Cut Pro for the iPad is slick but limited (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple continues to play nice with Broadcom despite hoping to drop them someday. The thing people warned about with these bluechecks happened yesterday. HBOMax isn’t cool. You know what is cool, according to David Zaslov? Max. And how Shareit became the world’s favorite file sharing app.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:Apple expands US investment with new multibillion-dollar Broadcom deal for 5G tech (9to5Mac)Verified Twitter Accounts Spread AI-Generated Hoax of Pentagon Explosion (Motherboard)Following UK antitrust order, Meta sells Giphy to Shutterstock for $53M after buying it for $400M (TechCrunch)Max will stream over 1,000 movies and TV episodes in 4K at launch (The Verge)Meta’s new AI models can recognize and produce speech for more than 1,000 languages (MIT Technology Review)Adobe is adding AI image generator Firefly to Photoshop (The Verge)Anthropic raises $450M to build next-gen AI assistants (TechCrunch)How China’s ShareIt became the world’s go-to file-transfer app (Rest of World)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta got hit by the biggest ever GDPR fine in Europe. A crypto project got taken over by hackers who voted themselves into power. The startup that wanted to dethrone Google is shutting down. The E-sports bubble seems to be popping. And what is it actually like to try to use Google’s new AI tools?Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men promocode rideMiro.com/podcastLinks:Meta Fined $1.3 Billion Over Data Transfers to U.S. (WSJ)Sanctioned Crypto Mixer Tornado Cash Hijacked by Hackers (Bloomberg)Neeva, the would-be Google competitor, is shutting down its search engine (The Verge)The E-Sports World Is Starting to Teeter (NYTimes)Facebook parent in talks with Magic Leap over augmented reality deal (Financial Times)We Put Google’s New AI Writing Assistant to the Test (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Re-releasing this one, hopefully with improved sound quality!The earliest days of Amazon with its earliest hire: Shel Kaphan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The earliest days of Amazon with its earliest hire: Shel Kaphan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I didn't know the whole story of Sam Bankman-Fried. This book will do that for you. From our very good friend of the show Brady Dale: SBF: How the FTX Bankruptcy Unwound Crypto's Very Bad Good Guy See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI has launched an official ChatGPT app for iPhones and iPads. Android coming soon. The Supreme Court actually propped up Section 230, allowing it to live another day. Apple as an example of why companies are looking to keep the AI in house. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Mimecast.comTryNom.com/rideLinks:AI in your pocket: ChatGPT officially comes to iPhone with new app (ArsTechnica)Link to the official ChatGPT App in the App StoreSupreme Court shields Twitter from liability for terror-related content and leaves Section 230 untouched (CNN)Supreme Court Leaves 230 Alone For Now, But Justice Thomas Gives A Pretty Good Explanation For Why It Exists In The First Place (TechDirt)Apple Restricts Employee Use of ChatGPT, Joining Other Companies Wary of Leaks (WSJ)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:In Battle Over A.I., Meta Decides to Give Away Its Crown Jewels (NYTimes)This Is Catfishing on an Industrial Scale (Wired)Cheesier, Saucier, and Drowning in Caviar; How TikTok took over the menu. (GrubStreet)Japan’s sleepy tech scene is ready for a comeback (Rest of World)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The first official ban of TikTok by a US state is here. Unskippable tv-like ads are coming to YouTube when you’re watching on your TV. How much can be recovered when a crypto project blows up? Why is Amazon so far behind in drone delivery? And how Apple’s forthcoming headset got developed.Sponsors:Traceroute PodcastBloomberg.com/careersLinks:TikTok Ban Signed in Montana, Paving Way for First Amendment Legal Battle (WSJ)YouTube 2023 Upfront: Platform to Launch Unskippable 30-Second Ads on TVs, Roger Goodell on Hand to Tout NFL Sunday Ticket Pact (Variety)Netflix Advertising Tier Now Has “Nearly Five Million” Monthly Active Users (The Hollywood Reporter)Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital predicts 35% customer payout (Reuters)Amazon’s 100 drone deliveries puts Prime Air far behind Alphabet’s Wing and Walmart partner Zipline (CNBC)Apple’s New Headset Meets Reality (Bloomberg Businessweek)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you’ve been letting some of your Google accounts sit fallow, you better look into that cause Google is gonna start deleting things. Why some new top level domains have people concerned. Why tech companies are racing to put generative AI on your phone. And part two of the open source vs. centralized AI debate.Sponsors:OregonState.eduLinks:Google will delete accounts, including Gmail & Photos, that haven’t logged on in 2 years (9to5Google)New ZIP domains spark debate among cybersecurity experts (BleepingComputer)StableStudio is Stability AI’s latest commitment to open-source AI (The Verge)The race to bring generative AI to mobile devices (Financial Times)Google I/O and the Coming AI Battles (Stratechery)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The EU actually approved the Microsoft Activision acquisition so… what now? The IRS might finally allow us to file our taxes online for free. The EU passes the first crypto regulatory regime, but questions are being asked of their forthcoming digital Euro experiment. And an interesting raise allows us to take our first look at the Open Source vs. Centralized debate when it comes to AI.Sponsors:Collective.comLinks:E.U. Approves Microsoft’s $69 Billion Deal for Activision (NYTimes)IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax-prep giants (Washington Post)Windows 11 users can now link their iPhones and use iMessage from a PC (The Verge)Ransomware gang steals data of 5.8 million PharMerica patients (BleepingComputer)Twitter makes its first acquisition with a recruiting startup (Axios)EU’s Crypto Legal Framework Inches Towards Law With Finance Ministers’ Sign-Off (CoinDesk)The digital euro: a solution seeking a problem? (Financial Times)AI startup Together raises funding for open-source AI and cloud platform (VentureBeat)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After some news about Apple testing M3 chips, it’s media day on the podcast. Wither Motherboard, as Vice declares bankruptcy. Netflix is cutting spending on its originals. Is the pivot to ads going to define the next stage of the streaming wars. And ad supported television is one thing, but what if we took that literally? Would you want a tv that has a second screen to show you ads all the time?Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemego.tech/tmLinks:Apple Begins Testing Speedy M3 Chips as It Pursues Mac Comeback (Bloomberg)Vice Media files for bankruptcy as ad business suffers (Reuters)Netflix Plans to Cut Spending by $300 Million in 2023 (WSJ)A Growing Number of Streaming Video Customers Watch Ads (Bloomberg)Telly’s wild idea: Free TVs with inescapable ads (Fast Company)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marc Tarpenning, along with Martin Eberhard, was the cofounder of Tesla Motors back in 2003. But before that, Tarpenning and Eberhard were also the cofounders of NuvoMedia, which produced one of the world's first ebook devices, the rocket eBook. So, for the first part of the episode, Mark recounts the story of NuvoMedia and then about 25 minutes in we begin the founding of Tesla, in my opinion, perhaps the most amazing startup story of the last 20 years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yes, the Apple II is maybe more historically important than the Macintosh, at least for Apple as a company. I agree with the argument my friend Laine Nooney makes in their book: The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal. Enjoy this deep dive into early Apple and PC history and then, BUY THE BOOK!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon says he’s hired a new CEO for Twitter, and folks think they know who this person will be. The Claude chatbot has expanded so much you can now write entire novels with it. Seeing what Meta is doing with AI in ads makes me wonder about the future of all media. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Grammarly.com/goGetSunday.com/rideLinks:Elon Musk says he has found a new CEO for Twitter (TechCrunch)Linda Yaccarino Leaves NBCUniversal Amid Talks to Become Twitter CEO (WSJ)Anthropic’s latest model can take ‘The Great Gatsby’ as input (TechCrunch)Meta announces generative AI features for advertisers (TechCrunch)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:End of the Billable Hour? Law Firms Get On Board With Artificial Intelligence (WSJ)“We Were Always Playing An Entirely Different Game”: The Ultimate Oral History Of BuzzFeed News (BuzzFeed News)Taiwan Is Running Low on a Strategic Asset: Engineers (NYTimes)The Plot to Steal the Other Secret Inside a Can of Coca-Cola (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Twitter finally rolled out encrypted DMs… or did they? More drips and drabs from yesterday’s Google event including an AI music generating tool that sounds pretty wild. Even the crypto miners are pivoting to AI. And why tech has warmed up to the concept of nearshoring.Sponsors:Grammarly.com/goBloomberg.com/careersLinks:Twitter's encrypted DMs are here — but only for verified users (Engadget)Join the waitlist for Google's generative AI tools, including search, Project Tailwind, & MusicLM (XDA Developers)Google makes its text-to-music AI public (TechCrunch)Google Cloud announces new A3 supercomputer VMs built to power LLMs (TechCrunch)AI Needs Specialized Processors. Crypto Miners Say They Have Them (Bloomberg)‘Nearshoring’ Push Is Fueling Tech Job Demand in Latin America (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I’m writing this this morning before Google’s I/O, so I’m assuming that’s going to be the entirety of this episode. But who knows. Maybe I’ll be able to squeeze something non-Google stuff at the end. Join me in the time machine, won’t you, and find out. In the meantime, here’s what Sundar had to share with us today.Sponsors:Leadership.OregonState.edu/cicGrammarly.com/goLinks:Google Photos to gain a new ‘Magic Editor’ feature powered by generative AI (TechCrunch)Google launches PaLM 2, its next-gen large language model (TechCrunch)Google rebrands AI tools for Docs and Gmail as Duet AI — its answer to Microsoft’s Copilot (The Verge)The AI takeover of Google Search starts now (The Verge)Review: Pixel 7a affordably delivers on every promise of the Pixel series (9to5Google)Pixel Tablet Hands-On: Google's Return of the Tablet and More (CNET)Google Pixel Fold hands-on: Finally, a real rival for Samsung’s foldables (Engadget)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More roiling questions about crypto and regulator enforcement. Nintendo’s Switch is getting long in the tooth. AI’s are coming to the Wendy’s drive through lane. An AI startup to protect against AI. And more of what we can expect from Google’s big day tomorrow.Sponsors:Grammarly.com/goNotion.com/rideLinks:Coinbase CEO says SEC is on ‘lone crusade,’ dials back on suggestion exchange may relocate (CNBC)Ripple will have spent $200 million fighting SEC lawsuit, CEO says (CNBC)U.S. Crypto Exchange Bittrex Files for Bankruptcy in Delaware (CoinDesk)Nintendo Warns of Big Slowdown in Switch Console Sales (Bloomberg)Apple announces Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro coming to iPad (9to5Mac)Wendy’s, Google Train Next-Generation Order Taker: an AI Chatbot (WSJ)GPTZero App Seeks to Thwart AI Plagiarism in Schools, Online Media (Bloomberg)Alphabet to unveil A.I. updates at Google I/O, showing off creative writing and coding capabilities (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What to expect from Google IO. The big discord username switch. Sam Altman’s side hustle is launching a thing. But also a look at the regulatory issues his OpenAI is facing in Europe. And what if I told you an Ikea chair can short out your monitor. It’s weird, but it can.Sponsors:ZocDoc.com/techmemeGrammarly.com/goLinks:Google Plans to Make Search More ‘Personal’ with AI Chat and Video Clips (WSJ)Discord’s username change is causing discord (The Verge)Sam Altman’s Worldcoin rolls out app as token launch looms (The Block)OpenAI’s regulatory troubles are only just beginning (The Verge)Popular IKEA Chair Turns Computer Monitor Off, Baffling Everyone (Motherboard)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is the crossover episode of when I went on the Big Technology podcast on Friday. We ask where the moat is in AI? And we celebrate Ed Sheeran if you can believe it.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is the book I've been dying for someone to write! This is how digital media happened for 20 years! Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral. Yay to finally having Ben Smith on the pod!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple earnings recap. A new, free code generating AI tool. Which, actually, lots of people are starting to ask the question: will open source AI actually come out on top in the AI revolution? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Mindbloom.com/techmeme and promocode techmemeOregonState.edu/believe-itLinks:Apple CEO Tim Cook says AI is "huge," but care is needed (Axios)Hugging Face and ServiceNow release a free code-generating model (TechCrunch)Google Is Falling Behind in AI Arms Race, Senior Engineer Warns (Bloomberg)OpenAI’s Losses Doubled to $540 Million as It Developed ChatGPT (The Information)Weekend Longreads SuggestionsAI Singers Are Unnervingly Good and Already Ubiquitous (Vulture)Is the Federal Government Trying to Kill Off Crypto? (Intelligencer/NYMag)Why Chatbots Are Not the Future (Amelia Wattenberger)ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro Will Decide the Fate of Cable Television (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The regulators have not been sleeping on the AI revolution. Everybody wants to get in on the blue checkmark game. But this time, with actual utility. Airbnb now offers to rent out single rooms. Can ChatGPT out invest professional money managers? And the return of the flip phone. No, not a foldable phone. The flip phone from your youth.Sponsors:Bloomberg.com/careersThe Traceroute PodcastLinks:“We must regulate AI,” FTC Chair Khan says (ArsTechnica)UK competition watchdog launches review of AI market (Financial Times)Microsoft’s Bing chatbot gets smarter with restaurant bookings, image results, and more (The Verge)Gmail is adding a blue checkmark to better verify senders (9to5Google)Airbnb Revamps Site to Ease Tensions Between Guests, Hosts (Bloomberg)ChatGPT ‘portfolio’ outperforms leading UK funds (Financial Times)Gen Zers Are Snapping Up Flip Phones. They Might Be Onto Something. (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google releases a new feature to put another nail in the password coffin. Malware merchants are using generative AI. A deep dive into what Bluesky is like right now. The best explainer of quantum computing I’ve ever seen. And how a Pixies song is breaking Google assistant and making people miss their wakeup alarms in the morning.Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men promocode rideOregonState.eduLinks:You no longer need a password to sign in to your Google account (The Verge)Twitter restores free API access for emergency, weather and transportation alerts (Engadget)TSMC Plans for First German Chip Fab With Cost Up to €10 Billion (Bloomberg)Meta Is Trying to Push Attackers to the Brink (Wired)Bluesky showed everyone’s ass (The Verge)Quantum computing could break the internet. This is how (Financial Times)You can blame this Pixies song for Assistant canceling your alarm (AndroidPolice)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looks like that Hollywood strike inspired by AI fears is a go. Apple and Google want to set a new standard to prevent modern digital stalking. Pornhub is boycotting Utah. Mastodon is trying to make it less confusing to give them a try. And what is one of the biggest reasons companies are wary of giving generative AI a try?Sponsors:Mimecast.comBloomberg.com/careersLinks:Hollywood Writers Strike Over Pay Disputes with Streaming Giants and AI Concerns (Gizmodo)Apple and Google team up to stop unwanted AirTag tracking (CNBC)Apple uses iOS and macOS Rapid Security Response feature for the first time (ArsTechnica)Pornhub Blocks All of Utah From Its Site (Motherboard)It’s getting easier to make an account on Mastodon (The Verge)WordPress drops Twitter social sharing due to API price hike (Mashable)BeReal's latest feature is a curated timeline of high-profile users (Engadget)Scared of Leaking Data to ChatGPT? Microsoft Tests a Private Alternative (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gurman says the big Apple Watch OS overhaul is nigh. I can already tell you what the biggest tech IPO of 2023 is going to be. Are there signs tech earnings have turned or a corner, or, at least, have bottomed out? And why the AI revolution is behind the potential of a major labor strike in Hollywood.Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/techmeme and get on your way to being your best self.Links:Apple to Upgrade Its Watch Operating System With New Focus on Widgets (Bloomberg)SoftBank's Arm registers for blockbuster U.S. IPO (Reuters)Microsoft makes its AI-powered Designer tool available in preview (TechCrunch)Big Tech Earnings Spark Hope That Worst Is Over (WSJ)ChatGPT Will See You Now: Doctors Using AI to Answer Patient Questions (WSJ)Will a Chatbot Write the Next ‘Succession’? (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Another bonus episode from the Internet History Podcast. As promised, Mike Slade is back to tell stories from the period 1998 through 2004, when he was Special Assistant to Steve Jobs. Background details on the iMac, the iPod and the iPhone and more!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Another bonus episode from the Internet History Podcast. I originally wanted to talk to Mike Slade about Starwave, the innovative company that launched some major names onto the web, including ESPN.com, ABCNews.com, MrShowbiz.com, and after an eventual sale to Disney, put together the pieces that eventually became the Go.com portal play. But Mike is one of those guys who has had such a varied and interesting career, I couldn't help but go into other eras of his career. The dude worked at Microsoft in the early 1980s. He worked at NeXT in the early 90s. And from 1998 through 2004 he was Special Assistant to Steve Jobs as he saved Apple as a company, launched the iPod and kicked into motion the modern gadget era.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More signs that vital communications infrastructure is abandoning Twitter. Reddit is testing Discord-like chat channels. Big layoffs at Clubhouse. Microsoft exits the peripherals business after 40 years. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Bloomberg.com/careersMiro.com/podcastLinks:New York City Subway Ends Twitter Service Alerts After Musk Raises Price (Bloomberg)Reddit is testing Discord-like channels for community chat (TechCrunch)Once-Hot Chat Startup Clubhouse Is Cutting Half of Staff (Bloomberg)Pinterest announces multiyear ads partnership with Amazon alongside earnings beat (TechCrunch)Microsoft’s mice, keyboards, and webcams are being discontinued in favor of Surface accessories (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Apple’s Siri Chief Struggles With Turf Wars as New AI Era Begins (The Information)ASML, Europe’s Most Valuable Tech Firm, Is at the Heart of the US-China Chip War (Bloomberg)The Unexpected Reason Apple Is Dominating the U.S. Smartphone Market (WSJ)35 Ways Real People Are Using A.I. Right Now (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta reported earnings that surprised investors in the good way. But that doesn’t mean they’re backing off the Metaverse. Global smartphone shipments continue to plummet. Might congress ban children from social media? Amazon gets out of the health tracker business. And the interesting way that rejection of the Microsoft Activision deal is using a somewhat novel argument.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastShopify.com/rideLinks:Facebook Parent Meta Platforms Sees First Sales Increase in Nearly a Year (WSJ)Meta beats revenue expectations, remains committed to metaverse (TechCrunch)Smartphone Market woes continue with 14.6% Drop in first quarter this year, According to IDC Tracker (IDC)Senators unveil bipartisan legislation to ban kids under 13 from joining social media platforms (CNN Business)Amazon shuts down Halo division and discontinues all devices (The Verge)Google on why Authenticator sync isn’t E2E encrypted, but option coming later (9to5Google)Microsoft’s $69 Billion Deal Tripped Up by Niche Gaming Market (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The UK is blocking Microsoft’s Activision Acquisition. A quick rundown of Microsoft and Alphabet earnings. The new Mavic drone is a beast. Cruise has actually expanded its self-driving taxi service. And a look at the mounting pressure on Binance and CZ.Sponsors:Mindbloom.com/techmeme and promocode: techmemeMiro.com/podcastLinks:UK Blocks Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Deal (Bloomberg)Microsoft Q3 2023: Windows, devices, and Xbox down again (The Verge)Google’s cloud business turns profitable for the first time on record (CNBC)Apple Plans AI-Powered Health Coaching Service, Mood Tracker and iPad Health App (Bloomberg)DJI’s latest Mavic drone is a beast (TechCrunch)Cruise continues to burn GM’s cash as robotaxis expand to daylight hours (The Verge)OpenAI Offers New Privacy Options for ChatGPT (Bloomberg)Binance Faces Mounting Pressure as U.S. Crypto Crackdown Intensifies (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Methinks Coinbase is orchestrating laying the groundwork for a showdown with US regulators. Slack rolls out Canvas, which seems pretty cool. AI Guardrails from Nvidia. A browser built for AI tools from Opera. And I delve into the whole story about that AI generated Drake song that has gone viral.OregonState.edu/believe-itMiro.com/podcastLinks:Coinbase Asks Court to Force SEC to Clarify Crypto Regulations (Decrypt)Slack launches Canvas, a docs app that lives inside your chat app (The Verge)Google Authenticator now syncs 2FA with your Google Account, gets new icon (9to5Google)Nvidia releases a toolkit to make text-generating AI ‘safer’ (TechCrunch)Opera One is a browser designed for generative AI features (Engadget)An A.I. Hit of Fake ‘Drake’ and ‘The Weeknd’ Rattles the Music World (NYTimes)Grimes Tells Fans To Deepfake Her Music, Will Split 50% Royalties With AI (Forbes)Sol Reader E Ink headset for hands-free e-reading makes CES debut (GoodEReader)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Would you believe me if I told you there was more Twitter chaos over the weekend. More details on the Apple headset. Is ARM about to abandon its Switzerland strategy? Interesting data about how Netflix dominates TV watching. And sad data about the down rounds we can expect for the foreseeable future.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastLinks:Elon Caves, Gives Blue Checks Back to Twitter’s Biggest Celebs (Daily Beast)Apple Will Take Scattershot Approach to Pitching AR/VR Headset (Bloomberg)Chip designer Arm makes its own advanced prototype semiconductor (Financial Times)These Are The Most Popular TV Shows on the Internet (Bloomberg)Silicon Valley Startups Brace for a Summer of Pain (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Again, my Internet History Podcast interview with Chamath Palihapitiya of the All In podcast from 2016.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Again, this is a republishing of my Jason Calacanis interview from the Internet History Podcast.Sponsors:Bloomberg.com/careersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More… I dunno… Twitter things are happening. Google is consolidating its AI efforts. We now have a hint about what that startup Humane might be creating. The US wants to get a jump start on 6G technology. And pour one out for BuzzFeed News.Sponsors:Grammarly.com/techmemeHeadspace.com/ride30dayLinks:Twitter seemingly now requires all advertisers to have a verified checkmark (TechCrunch)Google Looks to Turbocharge AI Efforts With Combined Brain, DeepMind Unit (WSJ)Google gives Bard the ability to generate and debug code (Engadget)Watch the first demo of buzzy startup Humane’s wearable AI assistant in leaked clips (The Verge)U.S. Begins Planning for 6G Wireless Communications (WSJ)The Internet of the 2010s Ended Today (The Atlantic)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are Elon and Microsoft fully at war at this point? Does Coinbase already have one foot out the country at this point? Is OpenAI careening toward a run-in with GDPR? And, Stability AI’s big play to compete with Chat GPT.Sponsors:Leadership.OregonState.edu/cicGrammarly.com/techmemeLinks:Microsoft drops Twitter from its advertising platform (Mashable)Elon Musk Threatens to Sue Microsoft After it Drops Twitter From Ad Platform (PCMag)Coinbase gets Bermuda license, plans to launch offshore exchange in coming weeks (FortuneCrypto)First EU-Wide Crypto Regulations Clear Final Parliament Vote (Bloomberg)OpenAI’s hunger for data is coming back to bite it (MIT Technology Review)Google to deploy generative AI to create sophisticated ad campaigns (Financial Times)Stability AI releases ChatGPT-like language models (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

That Netflix ad tier seems to be paying off. But it’s also the end of the road for those famous red envelopes. We’re about to see a foldable Pixel phone. More layoffs from Meta. More links in bio for Instagram. And forget data being the new oil. What if data was the new fertile farmland to be rented out to LLMs for harvesting?Sponsors:Grammarly.com/techmemeleadership.oregonstate.edu/cicLinks:Netflix Adds 1.75 Million Customers in Q1 2023; Grows to 232.5M Globally (The Streamable)Netflix Gains 1.75 Million Subscribers, Axes DVD-Rental Business (WSJ)Google to launch its first foldable phone, the ‘Pixel Fold,’ in June (CNBC)Meta has started its latest round of layoffs, focusing on technical employees (CNBC)Instagram takes on Linktree and others with support for up to 5 ‘links in bio’ (TechCrunch)Reddit Wants to Get Paid for Helping to Teach Big A.I. Systems (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is the AI revolution going to kick of a silicon revolution with a whole new generation of chips? Coinbase would consider leaving the US if it can’t get clarity from regulators. Is the Apple savings account the savings account for you? A look at Twitter competitor Bluesky. And what happens if you take GPT-4 and feed it back on itself?Sponsors:Notion.com/rideGrammarly.com/techmemeLinks:Microsoft Readies AI Chip as Machine Learning Costs Surge (The Information)Coinbase Could Move Away From U.S. if No Regulatory Clarity: CEO Brian Armstrong (CoinDesk)Major Photography Prize Winner Reveals Image Is AI-Generated, Rejects Award (Motherboard)Apple finally launches high-yield Apple Savings account (Apple Insider)Bluesky’s CEO wants to build a Musk-proof, decentralized version of Twitter (The Verge)Hype grows over “autonomous” AI agents that loop GPT-4 outputs (ArsTechnica)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey everybody, back from Ireland, and man, the universe dumped all the news on me this morning. Google is rushing to add AI to search because they’re afraid Samsung is about to jump ship to Bing. More chaos at Twitter. Meta has to make nice with advertisers. Spotify seems to be abandoning it’s paywall podcast strategy. And is Apple’s Watch OS about to get its biggest overhaul ever?Sponsors:Grammarly.com/techmemeGetSunday.com/rideLinks:Google Devising Radical Search Changes to Beat Back A.I. Rivals (NYTimes)Sega to acquire Angry Birds maker Rovio for $776 million (CNBC)U.S. House Committee Publishes Draft Stablecoin Bill (CoinDesk)Elon Musk just shut down automation for important public safety accounts (Mashable)Is Twitter finally dying? (Vox)Meta Tries to Lure Advertisers With Reels Discounts, AI Tools (The Information)Spotify will drop paywall for Gimlet podcasts (Semafor)Apple Plans to Launch More Than Just Its New Headset at WWDC (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AWS has begun offering customers access to LLMs made by Anthropic, Stability AI, and AI21 Labs, as they look to be a neutral platform for generative AI features. WhatsApp is rolling out new verification and protection features, including defenses against SIM jacking and social engineering attacks. Twitter has just increased the character limit to 10,000 for Blue subscribers. And your weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeBloomberg.com/careersLinks:Amazon Joins Microsoft, Google in AI Race Spurred by ChatGPT (Wall Street Journal)Amazon Is Joining the Generative AI Race (WIRED)WhatsApp makes it harder for scammers to steal your account (Engadget)Key transparency explainer (Matthew Green, Twitter)Twitter Blue’s new 10,000 character limit turns tweets into essays (The Verge)Dril Is Everyone. More Specifically, He’s a Guy Named Paul. (The Ringer)With a wave of new LLMs, open-source AI is having a moment — and a red-hot debate (VentureBeat)Is ‘The Economist’ Making the Best News Podcasts Right Now? (Vulture)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The stocks of Apple suppliers Cirrus Logic and AAC are down after reporting that iPhone 15 Pro models won’t have solid-state buttons after all. IBM is reportedly looking into selling The Weather Company, for quite a bit less than they paid for it in 2015. LinkedIn has new identity verification via the airport and stadium security service CLEAR. Ethereum has successfully completed its Shanghai, or Shapella, upgrade, letting users withdraw staked ether. And Warner Bros. Discovery has officially renamed HBO Max to just… Max.Sponsors:Nutrafol.com/men, promo code RIDE Links:Apple reportedly nixes iPhone 15 button upgrade, sending supplier stock down 12% (CNBC)iPhone 15 Pro may not have new solid-state volume buttons after all (9to5 Mac)IBM Explores Sale of Weather Business (Wall Street Journal)IBM Mulling Sale of Weather Technology Assets (The Information)LinkedIn rolls out ways to verify your identity and employment, without a price tag (TechCrunch)LinkedIn Verification Now Lets You Verify Your Job and Account (WIRED)Ethereum’s (ETH) Shanghai, Shapella Upgrade Looks ‘Stable,’ Developer Beiko Says (Bloomberg)Ethereum Unstaking Requests Pile Up After Shanghai Upgrade, Now at 2-Week Wait (CoinDesk)'The Penguin' Trailer: Colin Farrell Returns to Gotham as 'The Batman' Spinoff Series Confirms 2024 Release (Variety)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon Musk did a big spontaneous interview with the BBC last night on Twitter Spaces, but here’s two things that didn’t make the interview: Twitter appears to be working on generative AI for reasons yet unknown and Twitter Inc. doesn’t exist as a company anymore. Global VC funding for crypto startups fell to $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023, down 80% from an all-time high in 2022. Video game illustrators in China say AI image generators are causing them to lose their jobs. And Reddit moderators saying AI-generated spam is rapidly mounting as they brace themselves for a spam apocalypse.Links:Elon Musk is moving forward with a new generative-AI project at Twitter after purchasing thousands of GPUs (Insider)Twitter Inc. has been merged with X Corp. and “no longer exists,” Elon Musk’s company says in a court filing. (Slate)Six things we learned from Elon Musk interview (BBC)Crypto VC Funding Plunges by 80% in Dire Quarter for Startups (Bloomberg)AI is already taking video game illustrators' jobs in China (Rest of World)Reddit Moderators Brace for a ChatGPT Spam Apocalypse (VICE)NPR to Suspend Twitter Use After ‘Government-Funded’ Label (NY Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alibaba revealed its ChatGPT-style bot, and mere hours later the Cyberspace Administration of China announced plans to require security reviews of generative AI tools before they’re released. The Winklevoss twins made a $100 million loan to their crypto exchange, Gemini Trust, after it failed to raise enough from outside investors. The FBI has warned against using any public USB charging ports. And YouTube has announced new Premium features and also announced the pricing for their NFL Sunday Ticket packagers and they’re not cheap.Sponsors:Bloomberg.com/careersgo.tech/tmLinks:China slaps security reviews on AI products as Alibaba unveils ChatGPT challenger (Ars Technica)China proposes measures to manage generative AI services (Reuters)Winklevoss Twins Lend $100 Million to Their Gemini Crypto Platform (Bloomberg)Juice jacking rising, FBI says don't use airport USB outlets (Android Authority)YouTube Premium adds more perks with SharePlay support, higher quality video and more (TechCrunch) NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube starts at $249 for the 2023 season (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Twitter has stopped throttling tweets with Substack links in them, but only after Elon Musk denied they were ever blocked. About 270 US Apple Stores have held staff meetings about unionization risks in the past two weeks. A New York Times article about the environmental and economic impact of bitcoin mines has some crypto proponents up in arms. And the 2023 Dell XPS 13 is… fine. Just fine.Sponsors:OregonState.eduLinks:Twitter stops throttling tweets with Substack links (Engadget)Elon Musk Denies Substack Links Are Blocked On Twitter, A Claim That’s Very Misleading (Forbes)Apple (AAPL) Continues Efforts to Keep Retail Stores From Unionizing (Bloomberg)The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin (NY Times) Crypto enthusiasts go after New York Times for its BTC mining report (Cryptopolitan)Rebuttal to the NYT article (Daniel Batten, Twitter)Dell XPS 13 review: Dell is coasting (and that’s fine) (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Check out David Auerbach's books:Meganets: How Digital Forces Beyond Our Control Commandeer Our Daily Lives and Inner RealitiesBitwise: A Life in CodeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shenanigans from some Elon companies. Twitter looks like it’s blocking Substack. Not just links to Substack but even mentioning the name, the word Substack, in some cases. Oh, and Tesla employees apparently liked to view videos from your car and share them with each other internally. Last quarter was epically bad when it came to venture investing. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Twitter now disables likes, replies, and retweets if a tweet has Substack links (The Verge)Special Report: Tesla workers shared sensitive images recorded by customer cars (Reuters)A third of organizations admit to covering up data breaches (VentureBeat)Global VC Funding Falls Dramatically Across All Stages In Rocky Q1, Despite Massive OpenAI And Stripe Deals (CrunchBase News)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Behind the curtain: what it feels like to work in AI right now (Democratizing Automation)Think of language models like ChatGPT as a “calculator for words” (Simon Willison's Blog)Anthropic’s $5B, 4-year plan to take on OpenAI (TechCrunch)Blockbuster pushed HBO to start investing in original content, cable giant’s ex-chief says (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More examples of chatbots hallucinating might lead to the first lawsuits. Did you know that you have a copy of the bitcoin white paper on your Mac right now? You don’t know it, but you do. I’ll tell you why. Substack is the latest to launch a Twitter clone. And why E3 had to die. It’s called direct to consumer, or, I guess, gamer.Sponsors:Mimecast.comOregonState.eduLinks:ChatGPT invented a sexual harassment scandal and named a real law prof as the accused (Washington Post)The Bitcoin Whitepaper Is Hidden in Every Modern Copy of macOS (Waxy.org)Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says Search to Include Chat AI (WSJ)Google to prohibit personal loan apps from accessing user photos, contacts (TechCrunch)Substack’s new short-form ‘Notes’ feed looks a lot like Twitter (TechCrunch)Streaming Killed E3 (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sony might be developing a sort of PS Vita mark 2. Sad news of the death of a well-known silicon valley luminary. Meta says its not going to be left behind in the AI race. What happens if the kids aren’t keen on the Metaverse. And I sketch out an example of our grand theory of AI varietals.Sponsors:Bloomberg.com/careersLinks:EXCLUSIVE – SONY’S NEXT PLAYSTATION HANDHELD (Insider Gaming)Bob Lee, creator of Cash App and former CTO of Square, stabbed to death (TechCrunch)Google says its AI supercomputer is faster, greener than Nvidia A100 chip (Reuters)Meta to debut ad-creating generative AI this year, CTO says (NikkeiAsia)American teens aren’t excited about virtual reality, with only 4% using it daily (CNBC)What if ChatGPT was trained on decades of financial news and data? BloombergGPT aims to be a domain-specific AI for business news (NeimanLab)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’ve said before that Elon owns Twitter, so if he decides to change the logo to a Shiba Inu, you know, why not? Apple kinda sorta bites the bullet on layoffs. What’s going on with the Apple Weather app? Do we want universities to call the use of ChatGPT plagiarism? And data on the corporate takeover of AI development.Sponsors:OregonState.eduZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:Twitter’s new dog icon is sending dogecoin — sigh — to the moon (TechCrunch)Spotify shuts down its Clubhouse-style audio app Spotify Live (Musically)Google to cut down on employee laptops, services and staplers for ‘multi-year’ savings (CNBC)Apple to Cut Jobs in Some Corporate Retail Teams in First Known Layoffs (Bloomberg)Apple Weather forecasts suffer rare outage (AppleInsider)Universities express doubt over tool to detect AI-powered plagiarism (Financial Times)AI is entering an era of corporate control (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The blue checks went away on Twitter over the weekend. Or did they? More interesting details on those Pinduoduo app allegations. In a headline from 2019, Paris says no to e-scooters. And what does the recent move by GM say about the relationship between the car companies and the tech platforms?Sponsors:Ramp.com/techmemeThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/techmeme and get on your way to being your best self.”Links:Twitter had a very messy weekend (The Verge)Twitter’s blue check mark was loved and loathed. Now it’s pay for play. (Washington Post)‘I’ve never seen anything like this:’ One of China’s most popular apps has the ability to spy on its users, say experts (CNN Business)Paris votes overwhelmingly to ban shared e-scooters (TechCrunch)GM is cutting off access to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for its future EVs (The Verge)The rest of the auto industry still loves CarPlay and Android Auto (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I can tell you E3 is officially cancelled this year, but I’m kinda thinking it might be dead for good. Bunch of stuff about Twitter and checkmarks. Italy has temporarily banned ChatGPT. Some of the signatories of that AI letter are having second thoughts. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastLInks:E3 Has Been Canceled (IGN)Elon Musk Tried to Meet With F.T.C. Chair About Twitter but Was Rebuffed (NYTimes)Japan restricts chipmaking equipment exports as it aligns with US China curbs (Reuters)Italian privacy regulator bans ChatGPT (Politico)The Open Letter to Stop 'Dangerous' AI Race Is a Huge Mess (Motherboard)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Fitbit’s attempt to disappear the button proved why they matter (The Verge)The influencers getting rich by teaching you how to get rich (Vox)“I’LL WALK AWAY FROM ANYTHING”: KARA SWISHER CALLS THE SHOTS (Vanity Fair)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wait, are we NOT going to see the new Apple headset at WWDC? Twitter’s new API tiers? Ads are coming to Bing Chat. Is Elon Musk guilty of laundering his grudge against OpenAI through AI concern trolling? And is TikTok creating more one hit wonders?Sponsors:Shopify.com/rideMiro.com/podcastLinks:Kuo: Apple Mixed-Reality Headset May Not Appear at WWDC as Mass Production Pushed Back Yet Again (MacRumors)Twitter announces new API pricing, including a limited free tier for bots (Engadget)Microsoft’s Bing chatbot is getting more ads (The Verge)Alphabet’s Google and DeepMind Pause Grudges, Join Forces to Chase OpenAI (The Information)Elon Musk's AI History May Be Behind His Call To Pause Development (Forbes)Is TikTok Actually Creating More One-Hit Wonders? (Billboard)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Over 1,000 big names sign a petition urging a pause on AI development. What analysts think AI could to for or to the economy. North Korean hackers allegedly have a new trick. And did you know ByteDance has an Instagram rival? Well, it looks like they’re putting the pedal to the metal on that.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastgo.tech/tmLinks:Elon Musk and top AI researchers call for pause on ‘giant AI experiments’ (The Verge)Generative AI set to affect 300mn jobs across major economies (Financial Times)North Korea Is Now Mining Crypto to Launder Its Stolen Loot (Wired)Google Search is adding new ‘Perspectives’ and ‘About this author’ features to help users verify info (TechCrunch)TikTok ban backup plan? ByteDance-owned Instagram rival Lemon8 hits the US App Store’s Top 10 (TechCrunch)Cerebras releases seven large language models for generative AI, trained on its specialized hardware (SiliconAngle)Google Partners with AI Startup Replit to Take on Microsoft’s GitHub (Bloomberg)Microsoft Security Copilot is a new GPT-4 AI assistant for cybersecurity (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I titled an episode last week “Twilight Of The Blue Checks.” Well, today is the sequel, “Rise Of The Blue Checks” cause starting April 15, you’ll have to be a blue check to appear on Twitter’s For You tab. Also: the feds go after Binance. Disney cuts its entire metaverse unit. And the UK cancels its NFT.Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastNotion.com/rideLinks:Elon Musk says Twitter’s For You page will only recommend verified accounts (The Verge)The secret list of Twitter VIPs getting boosted over everyone else (Platformer)Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao violated compliance rules to attract U.S. users, CFTC alleges (CNBC)Disney Eliminates Its Metaverse Division as Part of Company’s Layoffs Plan (WSJ)NFT: Plans for Royal Mint produced token dropped (BBC News)Lyft CEO and president to step down, former Amazon exec David Risher named as replacement (CNBC)Amazon just opened up its Sidewalk network for anyone to build connected gadgets on (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looks like the short, sharp, SVB saga has reached the beginning of a conclusion. Twitter source code has been leaked. The doubts inside Apple about the upcoming mixed reality headset. Why has no one presented any evidence for why TikTok might need to be banned? And, again, will generative AI lead to a physical robot revolution?Sponsors:Miro.com/podcastGetSunday.com/ride for 20% offLinks:First Citizens to Buy SVB After Biggest Failure Since 2008 (Bloomberg)Twitter Says Parts of Its Source Code Were Leaked Online (NYTimes)Apple’s Best Hope for New Headset: a Smartwatch-Like Trajectory (Bloomberg)France bans all recreational apps – including TikTok – from government devices (The Register)Pinduoduo App Malware Detailed by Cybersecurity Researchers (Bloomberg)Tech’s AI Armies Are Huge, Yet Struggling to Innovate (Bloomberg)For Smarter Robots, Just Add Humans (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Robert from Rownd shares his most recent investor update live and in real time, so you can hear how these things go.Also, want to learn more about Rownd? From Robert:Demo site: https://demo.rownd.com. Try out Rownd! We put Rownd into a webflow site to show how easy it works! Sign in with google or email, add biometrics (if you choose), create a wallet, and get an NFT!  Do you have a mobile app or eCommerce company? Reach out at [email protected] or sign up at https://app.rownd.io. We offer all podcast listeners 2 months free + 50% off for a year! Just email me!Have some feedback? Grab some time with Rob:  https://calendly.com/rob-rownd/mutant-podcast-army.Try a few Rownd customer sites to see the experience! https://stardust.app (mobile experience)https://masrefund.com (web + mobile)https://nextbigideaclub.com (e-commerce + web + mobile)https://spouse-ly.com (e-commerce)SMS Fraud link: https://interactive.twilio.com/sms-traffic-pumping-calculatorSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Twitter is finally sunsetting its legacy verified program. OpenAI rolls out ChatGPT plugins. Do Kwan has been detained and is facing formal charges here in the US. The FTC’s “click to cancel” proposal. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Headspace.com/RIDE30DAYLinks:Twitter to Revoke ‘Legacy’ Verified Badges in April, Leaving Only Paying Subscribers With Blue Check-Marks (Variety)OpenAI is massively expanding ChatGPT’s capabilities to let it browse the web and more (The Verge)Do Kwon Charged With Fraud by US Prosecutors in New York (Bloomberg)The FTC wants to ban those tough-to-cancel gym and cable subscriptions (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Cheating is All You Need (Sourcegraph Blog)The Age of AI has begun (GatesNotes/Bill Gates)The secret history of Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and OpenAI (Semafor)The case for slowing down AI (Vox)Epic’s new motion-capture animation tech has to be seen to be believed (ArsTechnica)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coinbase got a Wells Notice, which is not good. Hindenburg research has a new note out and is making short run on Block, which is not good. Apple might expand its sports streaming and release more things in actual theaters. And the space startup that 3d prints its own rockets.Sponsors:Thuma.co/techmeme for a $25 creditLinks:Coinbase warned by SEC of potential securities charges (CNBC)SEC charges Tron founder Justin Sun, celebrities Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul with crypto violations (CNBC)Jack Dorsey’s Block Falls After Hindenburg Says It’s Short the Stock (Bloomberg)Hindenburg takes aim at Dorsey's payments firm Block; shares plunge (Reuters)Apple Considers Bidding for English Football Streaming Rights (Bloomberg)Apple to Spend $1 Billion a Year on Films to Break Into Cinemas (Bloomberg)Canva Launches ‘Magic’ AI Tools For Its Design Software’s 125 Million Users (Forbes)Chatbot Start-Up Character.AI Valued at $1 Billion in New Funding Round (NYTimes)Relativity Space’s first launch fails to reach orbit, but proves its 3D-printing rocket tech works (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well, we’ve got Google Bard. We’ve got a new Copilot from GitHub. Bing Image Creator is rolling out. Mozilla AI launches. The low hanging fruit that is plugging AI into NPCs to make games more realistic. And at the very end, some actual non AI news!Links:Google opens early access to its ChatGPT rival Bard — here are our first impressions (The Verge)Microsoft’s GitHub to Add OpenAI Chat Functions to Coding Tool (Bloomberg)Microsoft brings OpenAI’s DALL-E image creator to the new Bing (TechCrunch)Mozilla launches a new startup focused on ‘trustworthy’ AI (TechCrunch)Ubisoft’s new AI tool automatically generates dialogue for non-playable game characters (TechCrunch)GPT-4 and professional benchmarks: the wrong answer to the wrong question (AI Snake Oil)Amazon is flooding the zone with new TVs as it crosses 200 million Fire TV devices sold (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ahead of a major showdown in Congress this week, TikTok wants the US to know exactly how popular it is. Why ChatGPT was shut down for a while yesterday. Why Google is suspending PinDuoDuo from the play store. The AI powered doctor’s office of the future. And is Andy Jassy the David Moyes of Amazon? If you get that reference, congratulations.Down Round Podcast (Listener Ad!)Links:TikTok says it now has 150m monthly active users in the US (MusicAlly)TikTok bans deepfakes of nonpublic figures and fake endorsements in rule refresh (The Verge)Google flags apps made by popular Chinese e-commerce giant as malware (TechCrunch)OpenAI Shut Down ChatGPT to Fix Bug Exposing User Chat Titles (Bloomberg)Amazon’s post-Bezos experiment hasn’t gone exactly as planned (CNBC)OpenAI-powered app from Microsoft will instantly transcribe patient notes during doctor visits (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New bots to make video from text prompts. Fending off the bots from biting your style. Falling in love with the bots. In the streaming wars, the ad supported experiments are working, and pricing power is a thing. And the startup that says it’s about to introduce humanoid bots. Real, definitional robots.Sponsors:Dot Tech Domains: Go.tech/tmLinks:Generative AI’s Next Frontier Is Video (Bloomberg)Glaze protects art from prying AIs (TechCrunch)AI love: What happens when your chatbot stops loving you back (Reuters)Netflix’s Ad Tier Hits 1 Million Users. Is That Good or Bad? (Bloomberg)Disney+ Users Paid Up When the Price Rose (WSJ)Humanoid robots are coming (Axios)Figure Promises First General-Purpose Humanoid Robot (IEEE Spectrum)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amazon Kindle gets out of the magazine business. An ironically named PE firm is buying Porn Hub. Midjourney v5 is really mind blowing. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:RelationshipHero.com/techmemeLinks:Amazon will discontinue newspaper and magazine subscriptions in September (GoodEReader)SVB Financial files for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection, says it has $2.2B in liquidity (TechCrunch)Pornhub owner sold to Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital (Financial Times)AI-imager Midjourney v5 stuns with photorealistic images—and 5-fingered hands (ArsTechnica)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Guardians (Meteor)The Future Smartphone: More Folds, Less Phone, a Whole Lot of AI (Wired)LinkedIn turns 20: An oral history of an unlikely champion (Fast Company)‘It changed the world’: 50 years on, the story of Pong's Bay Area origins (SFGate)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For the first time ever, I had to delay producing this show so I could watch and cover and AI product announcement. Let me tell you about how Microsoft is bringing GPT-4, to basically all their most famous apps with Copilot. Looks like the potential for a TikTok ban is getting really real. And why folks are suddenly turning on OpenAI.Sponsors:Overtired PodcastLinks:Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot — your copilot for work (Microsoft)Microsoft 365 gets a host of new AI-powered features (TechCrunch)U.S. Threatens Ban if TikTok’s Chinese Owners Don’t Sell Stakes (WSJ)OpenAI co-founder on company’s past approach to openly sharing research: ‘We were wrong’ (TheVerge)Payments giant Stripe raises $6.5 billion at a $50 billion valuation (Axios)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

GPT-4 is unveiled and it’s multimodal, and man, is everybody rushing to make use of this stuff. Alleged renders of Google's Pixel 8 Pro appear to show a mysterious new sensor. The state of the music industry in the streaming era. And Deadpool sells his phone company to another phone company.Links:OpenAI unveils GPT-4 with multimodal input and more creative and complex capabilities (Windows Central)10 Ways GPT-4 Is Impressive but Still Flawed (NYTimes)With Evals, OpenAI hopes to crowdsource AI model testing (TechCrunch)Duolingo launches new subscription tier with access to AI tutor powered by GPT-4 (TechCrunch)GPT-4’s new capabilities power a ‘virtual volunteer’ for the visually impaired (TechCrunch)TikTok Considers Splitting From ByteDance If Deal With US Fails (Bloomberg)Google Pixel 8 Pro adds a mysterious new sensor, flat display in first leaked renders (9to5Google)Apple Music boosts streaming music revenue to record $13.3 billion in 2022; vinyl outpaces CDs for first since 1987 (9to5Mac)Ryan Reynolds-Backed Mint Is Bought by T-Mobile for $1.35 Billion (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Those expected layoffs have come to Meta. AI tools come to Google Workspace and an API for Google’s PaLM language model. Seems like things have generally worked out with this Silicon Valley Bank aftermath. Microsoft laid off its AI risk team. Layoffs at Y Combinator. And a look at the standard that’s trying to keep over the air broadcast television relevant.Sponsors:Notion.com/rideLinks:Meta to cut another 10,000 jobs and cancel ‘low priority projects’ (TechCrunch)Google announces AI features in Gmail, Docs, and more to rival Microsoft (The Verge)Google opens up its AI language model PaLM to challenge OpenAI and GPT-3 (The Verge)FDIC Planning Another Silicon Valley Bank Auction (WSJ)Venture capitalists weigh Silicon Valley Bank salvage operation (FT)Microsoft just laid off one of its responsible AI teams (Platformer)Y Combinator to End Late-Stage Startup Fund, Lays Off Staff (The Information)The future of TV is up in the air (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Unless it affected you, you might have missed a huge tech story this weekend. But now that depositors to Silicon Valley Bank are being made whole, is the whole crisis averted? Tim Cook is pressing ahead with the Apple headset over the objections of Apple’s design team. And the varied and complex dilemmas of this new AI reality in two, somewhat oppositional segments.Sponsors:RelationshipHero.com/techmemeZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:SVB’s tech failings were a problem long before the bank run that led to its demise, critics say (CNBC)SVB provided for tech when everyone else ignored us (FT)Regulators close crypto-focused Signature Bank, citing systemic risk (CNBC)Tim Cook bets on Apple’s mixed-reality headset to secure his legacy (FT)Microsoft Strung Together Tens of Thousands of Chips in a Pricey Supercomputer for OpenAI (Bloomberg)Large language models are having their Stable Diffusion moment (Simon Willison's Blog)Self Radicalization with open sourced AI-Systems (Good Internet)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cadre.com is revolutionizing commercial real estate investing.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s really only one story right now. The troubles at Silicon Valley Bank and how it has literally everyone in the startup ecosystem worried right now. It’s a classic bank run, people. Plus, Meta is developing a Twitter clone. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Links:This just broke, FYI: Silicon Valley Bank is shut down by regulators, FDIC to protect insured deposits (CNBC)Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network (Platformer)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:In AI, is bigger always better? (Nature)Can Xerox reinvent itself for another 100 years? (The Verge)Why Are So Many Guys Obsessed With Master and Commander? (GQ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Silvergate Capital is shutting down, so the crypto winter just got colder. Microsoft says the new Bing has crossed 100 million daily active users. Why TikTok is responsible for the new Spotify redesign. Can police grab your Ring camera footage without your permission, even if you’re not the target of an investigation? And looks like Stripe won’t be going public this year after all.Sponsors:Thuma.co/techmemeLinks:Silvergate will liquidate bank, wind down operations (The Block)Microsoft details how it could get Call of Duty: Warzone running on Switch (The Verge)Microsoft’s AI-Powered Bing Search Engine Surpasses 100 Million Daily Active Users (Gizmodo)Spotify’s new design is part TikTok, part Instagram, and part YouTube (The Verge)The privacy loophole in your doorbell (Politico)SCOOP: Stripe Is Raising $6 Billion to Resolve Taxes & Expiring Employee Shares, Delaying Public Listing (Newcomer)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, you might have heard about the latest Elon controversy where he criticized an employee, and then walked it all back. We’ll get into that. DuckDuckGo melds two AI tools together. A Large Visual Language Model that will help robots move around in the real world. I explain why I’m telling you about every new Generative AI advance seemingly every single day. And with Google officially announcing the date for I/O, is their headlong rush to release AI products the waking of a sleeping giant, or the second coming of Google+?Sponsors:RelationshipHero.com/techmemeLinks:FTC Twitter Investigation Sought Elon Musk’s Internal Communications, Journalist Names (WSJ)Twitter just let its privacy- and security-protecting Tor service expire (The Verge)Elon Musk apologizes after mocking disabled Twitter employee (AP)DuckDuckGo Releases Its Own ChatGPT-Powered Search Engine, DuckAssist (Gizmodo)Google’s PaLM-E is a generalist robot brain that takes commands (ArsTechnica)Google’s Plan to Catch ChatGPT Is to Stuff AI Into Everything (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TikTok launches a paywall, but it’s all about the creators. Salesforce has its own generative AI product. More layoffs coming for Meta. Another autonomous driving startup bites the dust. Why Twitter broke yesterday, and new speakers from Sonos.Sponsors:This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/techmeme and get on your way to being your best self.Links:TikTok Launches ‘Series’ Feature, Which Lets Creators Sell Premium Episodes Up to 20 Minutes Each (Variety)Apple reveals a yellow iPhone 14 and 14 Plus (The Verge)Salesforce follows Microsoft in launching A.I. tools for salespeople with help from OpenAI (CNBC)Meta Plans Thousands More Layoffs as Soon as This Week (Bloomberg)Embark Trucks lays off workers, explores liquidation of self-driving truck assets (TechCrunch)How a single engineer brought down Twitter on Monday (Platformer)Apple First to Capture 8 Spots in List for Global Top 10 Smartphones (Counterpoint)Sonos Era 300 and Era 100 first look: you’re gonna want to hear these speakers (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As Microsoft begins to integrate AI into its core enterprise and productivity products, are we ready for the scamming that AI is going to be able to produce? Details on forthcoming new iMacs. A checkin on Twitter. And why does Meta seem hellbent on ignoring what most people use VR for in the first place?Sponsors:ZocDoc.com/techmemeRelationshipHero.com/techmemeLinks:Microsoft’s Latest AI Assistant Is Meant for Marketers, Customer Reps and Work Apps (Bloomberg)They thought loved ones were calling for help. It was an AI scam. (WashingtonPost)OpenAI Rival Stable Diffusion Maker Seeks to Raise Funds at $4 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg)Multicoin Capital’s Hedge Fund Lost 91.4% Last Year, Investor Letter Reveals (CoinDesk)Apple Readies Its Next Range of Macs, Including — Finally — a New iMac (Bloomberg)Musk Delayed Paying Twitter’s Amazon Cloud Bill, Sparking Ad Threat (The Information)Twitter’s Revenue, Adjusted Earnings Fell About 40% in Month of December (WSJ)I don’t think Meta knows it’s a game company (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Checking in on the state of the tech job market with Grupa.io.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Everyone in crypto stops doing business with Silvergate. Brave search launches an AI summarizer. A look at TikTok's AI Bold Glamour filter. Maybe the Activision acquisition is going to skate through the regulators. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:RelationshipHero.com/TechmemeLinks:Silvergate Stock Drops Over 50% as Crypto Clients Flee Beleaguered Bank (CoinDesk)Brave Search launches an AI-powered summarization feature (TechCrunch)Why won’t TikTok confirm the Bold Glamour filter is AI? (The Verge)Microsoft’s Activision deal likely to be approved by EU regulators, says Reuters (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Alexa, what happened? (Margins)The Satellite Hack Everyone Is Finally Talking About (Bloomberg)The next big threat to AI might already be lurking on the web (ZDNet)50 YEARS LATER, WE’RE STILL LIVING IN THE XEROX ALTO’S WORLD (IEEE Spectrum)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A ChatGPT API for business is here. Microsoft gives Bing those nobs and dials that I’ve been talking about. What are multimodal LLMs? New turmoil in crypto, this time around one of the big crypto friendly banks. How is it going in terms of social platforms diversifying into subscription revenue? And why the FDA has rejected Neuralink’s applications to begin human testing of brain implants.Links:OpenAI launches an API for ChatGPT, plus dedicated capacity for enterprise customers (TechCrunch)Microsoft now lets you change Bing’s chatbot personality to be more entertaining (The Verge)Microsoft unveils AI model that understands image content, solves visual puzzles (ArsTechnica)Apple Blocks Update of ChatGPT-Powered App, as Concerns Grow Over AI’s Potential Harm (WSJ)Coinbase is no longer accepting, initiating payments with Silvergate (The Block)Snapchat will now let you pause your Snap Streaks (TechCrunch)TikTok Earned $205 Million More Than Facebook, Twitter, Snap And Instagram Combined On In-App Purchases In 2023 (Forbes)U.S. regulators rejected Elon Musk’s bid to test brain chips in humans, citing safety risks (Reuters)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Decentralized social network Bluesky launches in the iOS App Store. TikTok adds wellbeing feature for families and kids. You know about eSIMs but say hello to iSIMs. Meta's entire four-year AR/VR roadmap. And I’m still banging the drum on laptops and smartphones where you can unroll the screen for more real estate.Sponsors:RelationshipHero.com/techmemeLinks:Jack Dorsey-backed Twitter alternative Bluesky hits the App Store as an invite-only app (TechCrunch)Republican Bill That Gives Biden Power to Completely Ban TikTok Passes House Committee Super Fast (Gizmodo)TikTok rolls out new screen time controls, adds new default settings for teens and expands Family Pairing (TechCrunch)Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones are the first to support built-in 'iSIMs' (Engadget)This is Meta’s AR/VR hardware roadmap for the next four years (The Verge)Lenovo’s rollable laptop and smartphone are a compelling, unfinished pitch for the future (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AI-powered Bing is now integrated into Windows. Elon wants to compete with OpenAI, a company he co-founded. Major financial institutions continue to back away from crypto while NFTs on the bitcoin blockchain are on the rise. The iPhone SE might not be dead. And how the LastPass debacle happened.Links:Microsoft brings its new AI-powered Bing to the Windows 11 taskbar (The Verge)Fighting ‘Woke AI,’ Musk Recruits Team to Develop OpenAI Rival (The Information)Meta revamps AI unit to get generative tech into products (Axios)Visa, Mastercard pause crypto push in wake of industry meltdown - sources (Reuters)Kuo: New iPhone SE With 6.1-Inch OLED Display and Apple's 5G Chip Planned (MacRumors)Bored Ape Yacht Club Creator Yuga Labs Reveals First Bitcoin NFT Project (Decrypt)LastPass: DevOps engineer hacked to steal password vault data in 2022 breach (BleepingComputer)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Snap wants to go the route of the movie Her, with a personified chatbot inside of Snapchat. Interesting layoffs at Twitter. Yes. More. Inside Apple's Exploratory Design Group. The best AR glasses we’ve seen yet. And, right on schedule, here come the prompt engineers.Sponsors:This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/techmeme and get on your way to being your best self.Links:Snapchat is releasing its own AI chatbot powered by ChatGPT (The Verge)Twitter Blue head Esther Crawford is out at Twitter (The Verge)Google announces new features for Android and Wear OS (TechCrunch)Apple’s Secret ‘XDG’ Team Is Working on More Than Just a Glucose Monitor (Bloomberg)Exclusive: These are Xiaomi's new Wireless AR Smart Glasses, and they look like they're from the future (XDA Developers)Tech’s hottest new job: AI whisperer. No coding required. (Washington Post)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Find out more and see demos at Nanome.aiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is the DOJ about to sue to stop of Adobe’s acquisition of Figma? Confirmation of the lower end mixed reality headset from Apple due next year. A reporter used an AI-generated replica of a voice to bypass the voice verification system of a major bank. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:HelloFresh.com/techmeme65 and code techmeme65 for 65% offLinks:DOJ Preps Antitrust Suit to Block Adobe’s $20 Billion Figma Deal (Bloomberg)Kuo: Apple to Launch High-End and Low-End Versions of Second-Generation Headset in 2025 (MacRumors)How I Broke Into a Bank Account With an AI-Generated Voice (Motherboard)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:What Is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does It Work? (Stephen Wolfram)Getting My ChatGPT Plus Subscription Is an Inflection Point (HackerNoon)Why China Didn’t Invent ChatGPT (NYTimes)Meet the $10,000 Nvidia chip powering the race for A.I. (CNBC)Inside Meta’s Push to Solve the Noisy Office (WSJ)Are bioinspired drones the next big thing in unmanned flight? (TNW)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coinbase wants to let a thousand Web3 flowers bloom by launching its own Layer 2 network. The new iPhone specs have leaked. Apple might have made a breakthrough in blood glucose monitoring. Satellite telephony continues to be a busy space, weirdly enough. And reviews of the Galaxy S23 lineup.Links:Coinbase Launches Layer 2 Blockchain Base to Provide On-Ramp for Ethereum, Solana and Others (CoinDesk)Exclusive: iPhone 15 CADs reveal larger 6.2-inch display, Dynamic Island, and more (9to5Mac)Apple Makes Major Progress on No-Prick Blood Glucose Tracking for Its Watch (Bloomberg)AI-created images lose U.S. copyrights in test for new technology (Reuters)Spotify Is Testing Token-Enabled Music Playlists (CoinDesk)Samsung is readying its own smartphone-to-satellite communication platform (Engadget)Samsung S23 and S23 Plus review: say ‘yes’ to the S (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This chatbot AI revolution has hit a major roadblock in China. What does it mean if science fiction publications are up in arms about AI generated content? Spotify has a new AI powered DJ. Uber has a redesigned version of its App. And why is Microsoft showing you ads for its products on other people’s websites?Links:China tells big tech companies not to offer ChatGPT services (NikkeiAsia)ChatGPT launches boom in AI-written e-books on Amazon (Reuters)Sci-Fi Mag Pauses Submissions Amid Flood of AI-Generated Short Stories (PCMag)Spotify launches ‘DJ,’ a new feature offering personalized music with AI-powered commentary (TechCrunch)Uber redesigns app for simpler, more personalized experience (TechCrunch)Microsoft aggressively trying to keep Chrome downloaders using Edge (9to5Google)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft tries again to convince people it won’t hoard Call of Duty as an Xbox exclusive. Linux now plays nice with Apple Silicon. Chrome swears it will play nicer with your battery life. Verified everything is officially now a trend. And does Apple have a strangle hold on Gen Z?Links:Microsoft inks binding contract with Nintendo for ‘Call of Duty’ as it defends Activision deal (GeekWire)Linux 6.2: The first mainstream Linux kernel for Apple M1 chips arrives (ZDNet)Google Chrome rolls out long awaited battery saving features (AndroidPolice)Facebook and Instagram are testing selling you blue checks for $12 a month (The Verge)Official: Twitter will now charge for SMS two-factor authentication (The Verge)Almost-unbeatable AI comes to Gran Turismo 7 (ArsTechnica)How Apple captured Gen Z in the US — and changed their social circles (Financial Times)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The US is suing Terraform Labs and Do Kwon. The UK is investigating rumors that Google paid Apple NOT to spin up its own search engine. Susan Wojcicki stepping down as YouTube CEO is a major end of an era. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Links:SEC Sues Over TerraUSD Stablecoin That Rocked Crypto (Bloomberg)What Brit watchdog redacted: Google gives Apple cut of Chrome iOS search revenue (The Register)TikTok is launching a $500,000 live trivia contest (The Verge)YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down (Vox)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:It’s Always Sunny Inside a Generative AI Conference (Wired)Billionaire Kuok Family-Backed Music App BandLab Taps Into AI For TikTok’s Breakout Stars (Forbes)PlayStation VR2 is exciting, exhausting and a new standard for VR (Launcher)How Rust went from a side project to the world’s most-loved programming language (MIT Technology Review)I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (Wikipedia)Roko's basilisk (Wikipedia)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft is revealing what it’s learned from us poking around on the new Bing. It seems that once developers begin using generative AI to code, they DO keep using it. Apple has postponed its headset announce to WWDC. Banks are shying away from crypto exposure. And after 16 years, border control is finally making use of NFC technology in passports.Sponsors:ZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:Microsoft explains Bing's bizarre AI chat behavior (Engadget)GitHub Copilot update stops AI model from revealing secrets (BleepingComputer)SEC Proposal Could Bar Investment Advisers From Keeping Assets at Crypto Firms (CoinDesk)Banks Are Breaking Up With Crypto During Regulatory Crackdown (WSJ)Apple Pushes Back Mixed-Reality Headset Debut Two Months to June (Bloomberg)Whatever happened to the metaverse? (FT)US Border Patrol Is Finally Able to Check E-Passport Data (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More signs the chat bots are maybe a little undercooked, and whooo doggy. Wait until you hear what I mean. Some datapoints suggesting the faddish nature of these new tools. And wait until you hear the possible reason you’re seeing Elon’s tweets all of the sudden. This is maybe the pinnacle story of the whole Elon/Twitter saga.Sponsors:Podcast Guru App (Listener Ad!)Links:Microsoft’s new ChatGPT AI starts sending ‘unhinged’ messages to people (The Independent)The AI photo app trend has already fizzled, new data shows (TechCrunch)GitHub’s Copilot for Business is now generally available (TechCrunch)Adobe’s $20 Billion Figma Deal Faces EU Antitrust Probe (Bloomberg)Yes, Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first (Platformer)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

People are saying Elon is showing you his tweets whether you asked to see them or not. More fodder for the charge that these chat bots are being rolled out quick and dirty. More fodder for the charge that US regulators are fencing in crypto. TikTok is trying to court the olds. And Amazon’s autonomous shuttle service his hit real world roads.Sponsors:RelationshipHero.com/techmemeLinks:Twitter is just showing everyone all of Elon Musk’s tweets now (The Verge)Twitter delays new paid API launch by 'a few more days' (AppleInsider)Microsoft’s Bing AI, like Google’s, also made dumb mistakes during first demo (The Verge)US Crackdown Seeks to Push Crypto Back to the Fringes of Finance (Bloomberg)TikTok Turns to New Tactics to Spur Growth as Boom Times End (The Information)Amazon chief vows to ‘go big’ on physical stores (FT)TikTok’s Parent Takes On Meta in Battle for Virtual-Reality Market (WSJ)Amazon’s Self-Driving Car Shuttles People on Public Roads for the First Time (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Binance’s stablecoin seems to be dead, but with regulatory questions swirling around Paxos, I’m wondering if all stablecoins might about to see a rug pull. Tons of uncertainty swirling around the metaverse all the sudden. Can the metaverse still happen if all of its funding get pulled? And are all of these AI tools being rushed to market in embarrassing ways?Sponsors:MeetFabric.com/rideRelationshipHero.com/techmemeLinks:Regulator Orders Crypto Firm Paxos to Stop Issuing Binance Stablecoin (WSJ)PayPal Pauses Stablecoin Work Amid Regulatory Scrutiny of Crypto (Bloomberg)Meta delays setting team budgets as it plans fresh round of job cuts (FT)Microsoft Kills Its Industrial Metaverse Team After 4 Months (The Information)AI-powered Bing Chat spills its secrets via prompt injection attack (ArsTechnica)Apple Reportedly Planning to Limit iPhone 15's USB-C Port in the Same Way as Lightning (MacRumors)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More job cuts at Microsoft make me wonder if the HoloLens is still a thing. But also, we have data to explain why Apple hasn’t done layoffs yet. More AI chatbot announces coming fast and furious. But the other kind of bots, actual mechanical robots had their biggest year ever last year. And of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:RelationshipHero.com/techmemeLinks:Apple Avoids Job Cuts Because It Didn’t Overhire Like Google and Amazon (Bloomberg)Microsoft to demo its new ChatGPT-like AI in Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook soon (The Verge)Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com to launch ChatGPT-style product (CNBC)North American companies notch another record year for robot orders (Reuters)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:‘Disrespectful to the Craft:’ Actors Say They’re Being Asked to Sign Away Their Voice to AI (Motherboard)ChatGPT Can Be Broken by Entering These Strange Words, And Nobody Is Sure Why (Motherboard)ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web (The New Yorker)The Inference Cost Of Search Disruption – Large Language Model Cost Analysis (SemiAnalysis)Stripe Can’t Lose (Every)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Feel free to tweet your manifestos now as Twitter Blue subscribers can tweet up to 4,000 characters. Is the Fediverse failing or doing just fine, thank you very much? Is the SEC about to put the kibosh on crypto staking? Forget eggs, the real inflation is in triple A video game titles. And if the whole web becomes bot content, what do we train the bots on?Sponsors:Podcast Guru App (Listener Ad!)Links:Now Twitter Blue subscribers can write 4,000-character tweets (The Verge)Watch out, TweetDeck users—Elon Musk is about to ruin your Twitter experience (TechRadar)Lazy Reporters Claiming Fediverse Is ‘Slumping,’ Despite Massive Increase In Usage (TechDirt)Coinbase CEO Armstrong Decries Rumors of Possible US SEC Ban on Crypto Staking (Bloomberg)Meta Completes Acquisition of VR Fitness Company Within (CNET)Nintendo’s Zelda Price Hike Opens Door for More Expensive Games (Bloomberg)Google Stadia had less than 10% market share among cloud gaming services (9to5Google)Google confirms AI-generated content isn’t against Search guidelines (9to5Google)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft unveils a new Bing search that basically moves the yardsticks down the field in terms of what chat can do. But Google continues to drip-feed new tools as well. Also, some more traditional but useful additions to Google Maps. The UK might force the divestiture of Call of Duty to allow Microsoft to buy Activision. And if the Bank of England does a digital pound, it signals it might not do it on the blockchain.Sponsors:The Business of Tech (Listener ad!)Links:Microsoft announces new Bing and Edge browser powered by upgraded ChatGPT AI (The Verge)I Tried Microsoft’s New AI-Powered Bing. Search Will Never Be the Same. (WSJ)Google is still drip-feeding AI into search, Maps, and Translate (The Verge)Google Maps launches Immersive View in five cities, will roll out ‘glanceable directions’ soon (TechCrunch)Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Deal Could Harm UK Gamers, Watchdog Finds (Bloomberg)Digital Pound Holdings Could Be Limited to 10K, Central Bank Says (CoinDesk)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bored of phone and gadget launches, well prepare yourself for AI product launches, cause we’re getting a bunch of them starting now, this week. Meta is trying to revamp Horizon Worlds. Twitter is struggling to get people to pay up. But that doesn’t mean Mastadon is continuing to grow. And can you trick ChatGPT to do things it doesn’t want to do by threatening to kill it? Say hello to AI “jailbreaking.”Sponsors:RefundsPro.comLinks:Google announces ChatGPT rival Bard, with wider availability in ‘coming weeks’ (The Verge)Baidu Surges as Hope Mounts over Chinese Answer to ChatGPT (Bloomberg)Getty Images sues AI art generator Stable Diffusion in the US for copyright infringement (The Verge)Meta Targets Teen Users in Broader Horizon Metaverse App Revamp (WSJ)Musk’s Twitter Has Just 180,000 U.S. Subscribers, Two Months After Launch (The Information)The Mastodon Bump Is Now a Slump (Wired)ChatGPT’s ‘jailbreak’ tries to make the A.I. break its own rules, or die (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is Apple considering launching an “Ultra” version of the iPhone as soon as this year? Have the good Twitter bots gotten a reprieve from Elon Musk? Is the Microsoft/Activision merger toast because global regulators are coordinating? And might regulators look askance at all these generative AI investments from the big cloud computing platforms?Sponsors:ZocDoc.com/techmemeBombas.com/techmemeLinks:Apple Talks Up High-End iPhones in Sign Ultra Model May Be Coming (Bloomberg)Elon Musk says Twitter will provide a free write-only API to bots providing ‘good’ content (TechCrunch)Microsoft’s Activision Deal Tests a New Global Alignment on Antitrust (NYTimes)Big Tech companies use cloud computing arms to pursue alliances with AI groups (FT)A16z votes against proposal to deploy latest Uniswap iteration on BNB Chain (The Block)Pre-order Brady Dale's SBF Book!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Earnings wrapups from Alphabet: investors just want to know when the AI is coming. From Apple: they’re still not planning any layoffs. From Amazon: Look, AWS is still a beast. And in the Weekend Longreads suggestions: the startup that wants to bring back the Dodo, Jurassic Park style.Links:AI will help Google parent Alphabet navigate a challenging macro environment, say analysts (MarketWatch)Google Shares Slip after Sales Miss as Advertising Demand Slows (Bloomberg)Apple Sales Shrink as Pandemic Rally Ends for iPhone Maker, Other Tech Giants (WSJ)Amazon stock falls as least profitable holiday quarter since 2014 leads to its worst annual loss on record (MarketWatch)Google invests $300mn in artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic (Financial Times)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The generative AI revolution has begun—how did we get here? (ArsTechnica)Who will compete with ChatGPT? Meet the contenders | The AI Beat (VentureBeat)The Difference Between Speaking and Thinking (The Atlantic)A de-extinction company is trying to resurrect the dodo (MIT Technology Review)A Calculated Move: Calculators Now Emulated at Internet Archive (Internet Archive Blogs)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta singlehandedly bucks the narrative that it’s the sick man of Silicon Valley. Twitter is cutting off free access to its API. ChatGPT launches a product, and is Bing search getting GPT4 in like, a matter of weeks? Discord is coming to Playstation and the wrapup of yesterday’s Samsung event.Sponsors:Upside App promocode ridehomeLinks:Meta stock perks up as the company promises a ‘year of efficiency’ (TechCrunch)2 reasons Meta stock is exploding 20% after a whopper earnings miss (Yahoo Finance)Twitter to end free access to its API in Elon Musk’s latest monetization push (TechCrunch)OpenAI launches ChatGPT Plus, starting at $20 per month (TechCrunch)ChatGPT is about to get even better and Microsoft's Bing could win big (Semafor)Discord arrives on PS5 for beta testers today (The Verge)Netflix hasn’t confirmed its plans to stop password sharing just yet (The Verge)Amazon’s No-Fly Zone: Drone Delivery Largely Grounded Despite Splashy Launch (The Information)The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a minor update to a spec monster (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You think things are bad in your corner of the tech sector? Wait until I tell you about the memory chip industry. OpenAI releases a tool to let you check if something was created by OpenAI. Netflix might be going a tad overboard on this password sharing crackdown. Meta wins round one against the FTC. And the interesting new app from the founders of Instagram.Sponsors:Portant.co code techmeme (Listener!)Podcast Guru App (Listener!)Links:Hynix Posts Record Loss on Slump in Memory-Chip Prices (Bloomberg)Historic Crash for Memory Chips Threatens to Wipe Out Earnings (Bloomberg)OpenAI releases tool to detect machine-written text (Axios)Google is asking employees to test potential ChatGPT competitors, including a chatbot called ‘Apprentice Bard’ (CNBC)Confirmed: Netflix Unveils First Details of New Anti-Password Sharing Measures (The Streamable)Meta Wins Court Nod to Buy Virtual Reality Startup in Loss for Khan’s FTC (Bloomberg)Meta Plans to Shut Down One of Its Most Popular and Long-standing Multiplayer VR Games (Road To VR)Instagram's co-founders are mounting a comeback (Platformer)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, some weird headlines from the world of gaming. Is VR gaming a big nothingburger for gamers themselves? Is E3 dead as a gaming industry event? Stripe is apparently raising a pretty significant down round. And the first Level 3 autonomous driving platform to receive regulatory approval belongs to Mercedes-Benz.Sponsors:Radial.llc/ride (Listener Ad!)Links:Sony Slashes PlayStation VR2 Headset Output After Pre-Orders Disappoint (Bloomberg)Exclusive: Xbox, Nintendo, and Sony Won't Be Part of E3 2023 (IGN)Showtime to Be Rebranded ‘Paramount+ with Showtime,’ Added to Paramount+ Premium Tier (The Streamable)Thrive Capital Said to Lead Potential Investment in Stripe (NYTimes)Twitter Makes First Interest Payment on Musk Buyout Debt (Bloomberg)Mercedes-Benz is the first to bring Level 3 automated driving to the US (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Après ChatGPT, prepare yourself for the generative AI deluge. Amazon says the free lunch for grocery delivery is over. More speculation about foldable iPads. San Francisco wants Waymo and Cruise to pump the breaks on their self-driving car experiments because the actual cars have been literally pumping the breaks too much. And my wager on whether or not 2023 will actually go down as the year that AI breaks through.Sponsors:The Business of Tech (Listener ad!)RelationshipHero.com/techmeme (Listener ad!)Links:Chinese Search Giant Baidu to Launch ChatGPT-Style Bot (Bloomberg)Amazon adding new fees for grocery delivery (GeekWire)Apple Supplier in India Begins Making Components for AirPods (Bloomberg)Foldable iPad could arrive as early as next year, claims noted Apple analyst (The Verge)Two companies race to deploy robotaxis in San Francisco. The city wants them to hit the brakes. (NBCNews)Scientists at Salesforce develop proteins with AI that can eat trash (NeoWin)AI has designed bacteria-killing proteins from scratch – and they work (New Scientist)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What can make Buzzfeed hit our headlines two days in a row? How about jumping on the ChatGPT bandwagon? Amazon is apparently launching a major NFT project, like it’s 2021 or something. Is Stripe going to be our big tech IPO savior? And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:NFTTallinn.com and code RIDE for 10% of all tickets (Listener ad!)Radial.llc/ride (Listener ad!)Links:BuzzFeed to Use ChatGPT Creator OpenAI to Help Create Quizzes and Other Content (WSJ)Amazon NFT Initiative Coming Soon: Exclusive (Blockworks)Stripe Sets One-Year Timetable to Decide on Going Public (WSJ)LongreadsThe ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok (Wired)The Chess World’s New Villain: A Cat Named Mittens (WSJ)Welcome to the Shoppy Shop (Grub Street)The Disappearance of the Ashtray (Clive Thompson)Why Not Mars (Idle Words)RSVP For The Listener MeetupTickets For The Comedy ShowSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I get all metaphysical about where the tech industry is going right now with a record slowdown in smartphone shipments, Masa Son seemingly misplacing his investing shoes, Meta and Buzzfeed joining forces to stave off irrelevancy, and universities offering degrees in AI for the first time. Oh, and are you SURE you want to spin up that Mastadon server?Sponsors:Instafloss.com (Listener!)RocketMoney.com/rideLinks:Smartphone Shipments Suffer the Largest-Ever Decline with 18.3% Drop in the Holiday Quarter and a 11.3% Decline in 2022, According to IDC Tracker (IDC)SoftBank Deals Hit Record Low, Sapping Funding for Startups (Bloomberg)Meta Pays BuzzFeed Millions to Generate Creator Content for Facebook and Instagram (WSJ)University of Texas Will Offer Large-Scale Online Master’s Degree in A.I. (NYTimes)We tried to run a social media site and it was awful (Financial Times)RSVP For The Listener Meetup!Buy Tickets for the Comedy Show!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I’m gonna tell you why I think the latest antitrust suit against Google might be the most important one in terms of the overall tech ecosystem. And maybe the biggest threat Google is facing. Twitter reverses another thing they shouldn’t have broken in the first place. Why aren’t folks paying ransomware ransom as much anymore? And why are consumers not keeping their smart clothes dryers connected?Sponsors:Upside App and use promocode ridehomeHow To Fix The Internet podcast eff.org/podcastLinks:US Sues Google to Break Up Ad Unit in Heated Antitrust Fight (Bloomberg)DOJ's new suit puts Google's ad business at risk (Axios)Google's most serious antitrust challenge to date (Platformer)Microsoft Cloud Strength Drives Second Quarter Results (Microsoft Investor Relations)Twitter for web will now stay on your preferred timeline (The Verge)Riot Games receives ‘ransom email’ for stolen source code following social engineering attack (The Record)Ransomware Revenue Down As More Victims Refuse to Pay (Chainalysis)LG, Whirlpool Target Customers Disconnected From ‘Smart’ Appliances (WSJ)After inking its OpenAI deal, Shutterstock rolls out a generative AI toolkit to create images based on text prompts (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alright. It’s on. Mark Gurman has literally all the details on Apple’s forthcoming mixed reality headset. The DOJ might already have sued Google by the time you hear this. Amazon adds subscription prescriptions as a service. And it turns out that AI CNET used was good at… plagiarizing.Sponsors:HopelessMope.com code: ridehome (Listener ad!)The Business Of Tech (Listener ad!)Links:How Apple’s Upcoming Mixed-Reality Headset Will Work (Bloomberg)DOJ Poised to Sue Google Over Digital Ad Market Dominance (Bloomberg)Amazon launches RxPass, a $5/month Prime add-on for all-you-need generic drugs covering 80 conditions (TechCrunch)CNET's AI Journalist Appears to Have Committed Extensive Plagiarism (Futurism.com)RSVP For The Listener Meetup This Saturday: https://lu.ma/tx4vez9xSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More tech layoffs, and why I’m suggesting we might only be in the early innings of this tech retrenchment. Big Wall Street banks are coming for PayPal and Apple Pay. TikTok might be putting it’s thumb on the scales to favor certain content. Would you pay $42 a month for a ChatGPT Pro plan? And how far has Apple Silicon come, exactly.Sponsors:Radial.llc/ride (Listener!)MeetFabric.com/rideLinks:Spotify to trim 6% of workforce in latest tech layoffs (Reuters)Elliott Management Takes Big Stake in Salesforce (WSJ)Banks Plan Payment Wallet to Compete With PayPal, Apple Pay (WSJ)TikTok’s Secret ‘Heating’ Button Can Make Anyone Go Viral (Forbes)ChatGPT users report $42 a month pricing for ‘pro’ access but no official announcement yet (The Verge)Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) review: the core count grows (The Verge)Buy tickets for the comedy show!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Now Alphabet has monster layoffs to announce. How much of it is about getting Google ready to battle OpenAI? More Twitter bans, but this time, the bans are for all 3rd party clients. The big executive shakeup at Netflix. Genesis officially files for bankruptcy, and in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, the reasons why the humble pizza box is one of the worst designed products in existence.Sponsors:The Pegasus Investment Round! Email [email protected] (Listener ad!)NFTTallinn.com and code RIDE for 10% of all tickets! (Listener ad!)Links:Google to Cut 12,000 Jobs in 6% Reduction of Global Workforce (Bloomberg)Twitter’s new developer terms ban third-party clients (Engadget)Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings to step down as chief executive (FT)Crypto Lender Genesis Files for Bankruptcy as Crisis Spreads (Bloomberg)Google Calls In Help From Larry Page and Sergey Brin for A.I. Fight (NYTimes)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How Amazon Became Ordinary (Ritholtz.com)Who Owns the Generative AI Platform? (a16z)The Steam Deck wasn’t born ready, but it’s ready now (The Verge)A WIRED compendium (The Future, Now and Then)You Don’t Know How Bad the Pizza Box Is (The Atlantic)Brian's Episode on the Metacast podcast!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is Genesis finally on the verge of bankruptcy? Instagram wants you to take a break… from Instagram… and they’re even giving you tools to do so. Frowny-face for Amazon for shutting down the AmazonSmile program. Wikipedia gets a big redesign. Some numbers on where the investor dollars are going right now, and is San Francisco back, baby? Maybe cause I’m coming to visit.Sponsors:LayerDesks.com/ride, code ride for 10% off (listener sponsor!)Links:Genesis creditors negotiating prepackaged bankruptcy: Sources (The Block)Crypto Media Outlet CoinDesk Taps Bankers for Potential Sale (WSJ)Instagram’s new ‘Quiet Mode’ helps you take a break from the app (TechCrunch)Amazon to close charitable program AmazonSmile (The Hill)Wikipedia gets its first makeover in over a decade… and it’s fairly subtle (TechCrunch)Apple to Expand Smart-Home Lineup, Taking On Amazon and Google (Bloomberg)Web 3 Startup Funding Q4 Drop (Crunchbase)New AngelList Data Shows Startup Fundraising Pain in Second Half of 2022 (Newcomer)It looks like people are actually moving back to San Francisco (really) (Vox)Tweet on LA startup investment numbers (@emollick)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The original HomePod is basically back, even though it’s not the original cause it’s been updated. Apple’s AR/VR plans continue to be maddeningly confusing, at least to me. Microsoft has announced huge layoffs. Does even the AI revolution require human moderators working in boiler-room like conditions? And I guess we have all the specs for those new Galaxy phones about to be announced.Links:Apple announces revamped full-size HomePod two years after discontinuing original (The Verge)Apple Delays AR Glasses, Plans Cheaper Mixed-Reality Headset (Bloomberg)Full memo: Microsoft to cut 10k jobs, about 5% of workforce, and take $1.2B restructuring charge (GeekWire)Exclusive: OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers on Less Than $2 Per Hour to Make ChatGPT Less Toxic (Time)Galaxy S23 spec leak leaves few surprises ahead of February launch (The Verge)Twitter Manager: Daily Revenue Has Dropped 40%, 500 Top Advertisers Have Left (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New Macs and New M2 chips from Santa Tim this morning. Microsoft has made its Azure OpenAI Service generally available. But will lawsuits slow down the AI revolution? Is Google about to reveal its own AirTag-like product? And the law of if it’s too good to be true, it probably is, continues to hold, at least when it comes to hard drives for sale on Amazon.Sponsors:ZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:Apple Announces New MacBook Pros With M2 Pro and M2 Max Chips, Up to 96GB RAM, 8K HDMI, Wi-Fi 6E, and More (MacRumors)Apple Unveils M2 Pro and M2 Max Chips With 20% Faster CPU and More (MacRumors)Microsoft to Add ChatGPT to Azure Cloud Services ‘Soon’ (Bloomberg)Microsoft Plans to Build OpenAI Capabilities Into All Products (WSJ)Getty Images is suing the creators of AI art tool Stable Diffusion for scraping its content (The Verge)AI art tools Stable Diffusion and Midjourney targeted with copyright lawsuit (The Verge)Google reportedly working on AirTag-like location trackers (The Verge)Why the Heck Is Amazon Selling These Fake 16 Terabyte Portable SSD Drives? (ReviewGeek)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our big AI discussion with @ReamBraden and @swyx.Shawn just posted this new essay drawing on what we discussed here:Every Google vs OpenAI Argument, DissectedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The SEC just officially labeled two crypto lending programs as unregistered securities? Is the regulatory tsunami beginning? Did Tim Cook actually ask Apple to cut his pay? Did the nascent industry of carbon capture just take its first steps? And in the longreads, I go in depth to explain that weird OpenAI/Microsoft deal. It’s complicated.Links:SEC charges Gemini and Genesis with unregistered securities offering (The Block)Apple’s Tim Cook Takes Rare CEO Pay Cut After Pushback (Bloomberg)Climate Startup Removes Carbon From Open Air in Industry First (WSJ)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Microsoft + OpenAI: Inside Tech’s Hottest Romance (The Information)Is Microsoft about to get the deal of the century? Or is Sam Altman unloading OpenAI at just the right time? (Gary Marcus)Robert Tinney’s Visions Of The Future (DocPop)Dungeons & Dragons content creators are fighting to protect their livelihoods (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is Apple finally ready to bring touchscreens to Macs? Sam Bankman Fried has a Substack. Apple Maps courts businesses. Is Twitter going to auction off user handles? And what tech publication that I quote from all the time has been using AI to write entire articles for months now?Links:Apple Is Working on Adding Touch Screens to Macs in Major Turnabout (Bloomberg)Sam Bankman-Fried sticks to his script (Axios)Apple Maps’ business listings are about to get more detailed with launch of ‘Apple Business Connect’ (TechCrunch)Twitter Said to Consider Selling User Names to Boost Revenue (NYTimes)Carta lays off 10% as CTO lawsuit looms (TechCrunch)CNET IS QUIETLY PUBLISHING ENTIRE ARTICLES GENERATED BY AI (The Byte/Futurism)OpenAI begins piloting ChatGPT Professional, a premium version of its viral chatbot (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yet another software snafu with the airlines this morning. Apple’s about to do its own screens, its own modems, what is left? Twitter makes a change that they’ve tried to make several times before. Why all the interesting raises are in AI right now. And what to expect from the Surface Duo 3.Sponsors:Zocdoc.com/techmemeLinks:U.S. air travel rumbles back to life after FAA computer outage (Reuters)Apple to Begin Making In-House Screens in 2024 in Shift Away From Samsung (Bloomberg)Twitter defaults to a For You page now, just like TikTok (The Verge)DeepL, the AI-based language translator, raises over $100M at a $1B+ valuation (TechCrunch)Microsoft scraps plans for dual-screen Surface Duo 3, pivots to new foldable screen design (Windows Central)Samsung confirms February 1st Unpacked, its first in-person event in three years (The Verge)Tickets to the comedy show at SF SketchfestSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well, now there’s VALL-E, a text to speech technology that could fully replace me as this podcast narrator. It looks like Microsoft wants to do everything just short of buying OpenAI entirely. More layoffs at Coinbase. Why the whole 5G interfering with airplanes thing still isn’t resolved. And not everything that says it’s ChatGPT, is really ChatGPT.Sponsors:RefundsPro.comLinks:Microsoft’s new AI can simulate anyone’s voice with 3 seconds of audio (ArsTechnica)Microsoft eyes $10 billion bet on ChatGPT (Semafor)Buy with Prime, which brings Prime to third-party sites, officially launches in U.S. on Jan. 31 (TechCrunch)Coinbase to slash 20% of workforce in second major round of job cuts (CNBC)FAA giving airlines another year to fix altimeters that can’t handle 5G signals (Ars Technica)Sketchy ChatGPT App Soars Up App Store Charts, Charges $7.99 Weekly Subscription (MacRumors)YouTube Experiment 1YouTube Experiment 2See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark Gurman tells us when Apple’s “Reality Pro” headset will be announced, made available to developers, and made available to consumers. Valve’s Steam gaming platform is breaking records. John Deere will let you repair your hundred-thousand-dollar smart tractor. A literal ThinkPad for smartphones. And why one big buzzword was largely missing from CES this year.Sponsors:Bombas.com/techmeme, code techmeme at checkoutZocdoc.com/techmemeLinks:Apple Will Talk Up Its Mixed-Reality Headset in 2023 But Not Much Else (Bloomberg)Steam hits 10 million concurrent in-game players in record-breaking weekend (The Verge)Deere & Co. will allow farmers to repair their own equipment (Reuters)Insurer Beazley launches first catastrophe bond for cyber threats (FT)The Lenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola is a ThinkPad owner’s dream (The Verge)Where was 5G at CES? (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI is raising more money. Apple’s headset launch might be delayed to the summer. But no worries, cause HTC unveiled their 099 Vive XR Elite headset to beat them to the punch. And that leads us into the CES wrapup for day two, including, the most interesting two laptops I’ve seen in a very long time. A true smarthome solution if you care about power. And the new electric trucks that have turned my head.Sponsors:RefundsPro.comLinks:ChatGPT Creator in Investor Talks at $29 Billion Valuation (WSJ)Kuo: Apple's Mixed-Reality Headset Likely to Debut at Spring Media Event or WWDC (MacRumors)HTC Vive XR Elite: Another Mixed-Reality Headset Arriving Ahead of Apple (CNET)Lenovo’s new Yoga Book 9i laptop has a second screen above its screen (The Verge)OLED plus E Ink: Lenovo’s ThinkBook Twist is halfway to my dream laptop (The Verge)Coming soon: smart homes where the electricity isn’t so dumb (The Verge)Ram 1500 Revolution brings muscle car energy — and tons of gimmicks — to EV truck race (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amazon’s layoffs are bigger than we thought. Meta’s new fines in Europe could be a way, way bigger deal than you might think. Apple is brining AI narrators to audiobooks. And a roundup of cool CES stuff. Sony and Honda have a new electric car brand. The first truly wireless TV. And a solar powered watch band means you might never need to charge it.Links:Amazon Layoffs to Hit Over 18,000 Workers, the Most in Recent Tech Wave (WSJ)€390M fine strikes blow to Meta’s ad-fueled business model (Politico)Death of the narrator? Apple unveils suite of AI-voiced audiobooks (The Guardian)Bankruptcy judge rules that Earn account assets belong to Celsius (Axios)CES Roundup:Sony and Honda just announced their new electric car brand, Afeela (The Verge)iOttie Velox Elite is an actively cooled MagSafe car charger to prevent overheating (Apple Insider)LG’s latest Signature OLED TV receives all of its audio and video wirelessly (The Verge)I'm thinking of ditching my Apple Watch for this solar and body heat-powered band (TechRadar)Shower pods are here to turn your bathroom into a spa (The Verge)Samsung Display’s latest foldable concept can both slide and fold (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is Microsoft gonna steal one on Google by bring ChatGPT to Bing search? What is Bonk, the new crypto coin posting monster gains this week? Is Apple bringing MagSafe charging to everyone, even Android users? Roku is launching its own TV sets. And how you could get a check in the mail from Tim Apple for those wonky keyboards.Sponsors:Upside App and promocode RIDEHOMELinks:Microsoft and OpenAI Working on ChatGPT-Powered Bing in Challenge to Google (The Information)Salesforce to cut 10% of workforce in latest tech layoffs (Reuters)Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads ‘Not Guilty’ to Fraud, Conspiracy Charges (CoinDesk)Shiba Inu-Themed BONK Tokens Are Yielding Nearly 1,000% for Solana Liquidity Providers (CoinDesk)Nvidia upgrades GeForce Now with RTX 4080 performance for premium users (TechCrunch)Wireless Power Consortium works with Apple on next generation ‘Qi2’ standard based on MagSafe (9to5Mac)Qi2: How Apple might finally harness MagSafe by giving it away (The Verge)Roku does the obvious thing and announces its own TV line (The Verge)MacBook owners have two months to claim up to $395 over butterfly keyboard woes (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

CES kicks off with Intel detailing it’s new 13th gen chips for laptops. A big PyTorch warning. Why that whole Southwest Airlines mess happened. Layoffs are a problem for tech startups, but the number of tech workers is still growing in a healthy way. And pour one out for 3G technology.Sponsors:MeetFabric.com/rideRocketMoney.com/rideLinks:Intel’s 13th Gen mobile processors include the first 24-core laptop CPU (The Verge)PyTorch discloses malicious dependency chain compromise over holidays (BleepingComputer)Southwest Meltdown Shows Airlines Need Tighter Software Integration (WSJ)Gemini’s Cameron Winklevoss Slams Crypto Exec Barry Silbert Over Frozen Funds (Bloomberg)Tech Layoffs Are Happening Faster Than at Any Time During the Pandemic (WSJ)As Silicon Valley Retrenches, a Tech Talent Shift Accelerates (NYTimes)Startups End a Bruising 2022, Stare Down Another Challenging Year (WSJ)Farewell to 3G (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wait, why are Alameda-linked wallets coming back to life all of the sudden? If you do things with a DAO that are technically allowed by the DAO, can that still be market manipulation? What if Amazon or somebody else created an ESPN for the streaming era? The most successful publicly traded tech stock of this miserable year. And somebody tell Mark Zuckerberg about what you can really do with modern avatar technology.Links:Alameda Research wallets swap several crypto tokens for bitcoin (The Block)U.S. charges fraud in Mango crypto manipulation case (Reuters)Crypto Trader’s Fraud Charges Show DeFi Isn’t Outside the Law (Bloomberg)Amazon Has Discussed a Stand-Alone Sports App as Andy Jassy Doubles Down on Prime Video (The Information)Tech stocks got whacked in 2022 — but one server maker soared almost 90%, beating all its peers (CNBC)ABBA’s successful avatar show in London offers a glimpse at a daring new direction for live music (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Not an exchange blowing up, but is one of the biggest crypto projects in recent years losing developers and maybe entering a death spiral? More supply chain worries for Apple in China. More concerns about the accuracy and efficacy of our new AI bot overlords. And heads up about the new tech hotness from China. Say hello to Temu. It might be responsible for some of the presents you unwrapped recently.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Solana’s Top NFT Projects DeGods and Y00ts to Migrate Chains (CoinDesk)Apple’s business under growing threat from China’s Covid wave (Financial Times)Study finds AI assistants help developers produce code that's more likely to be buggy (The Register)IRS Delays $600 Tax Reporting Rule for Venmo, Etsy Sellers (Bloomberg)American Bargain Hunters Flock to a New Online Platform Forged in China (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SBF is in the US just in time to see two of his lieutenants have flipped on him to the Feds. Twitter rolls out Cashtags that are actually useful. ChatGPT lead to a “code red” at Google. Justice is coming for those expiring car warranty robo callers. And, surprise, the weekend longreads suggestions.Links:Two Bankman-Fried colleagues plead guilty to fraud (Washington Post)Twitter adds BTC and ETH price indexes to search function (CoinTelegraph)A New Chat Bot Is a ‘Code Red’ for Google’s Search Business (NYTimes)YouTube Paying Roughly $2 Billion a Year for NFL Sunday Ticket (WSJ)FCC proposes record $300 million fine against auto warranty robocall campaign (CyberScoop)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How TikTok Became a Diplomatic Crisis (NYTimes)How the algorithm tipped the balance in Ukraine (Washington Post)Bob Gottlieb Is the Last of the Publishing Giants The 91-year-old editor waits for his 87-year-old star writer, Robert Caro, to turn in his book. (Vulture)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new prediction for 2023, the sports streaming wars. What’s with all the weirdness going on with Anker’s security cameras? Is Apple going to cancel the iPhone SE? Is the Google/Facebook ad duopoly over? And an interesting raise for a deepfake startup.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeInternetSociety.org/techmemeLinks:Google’s YouTube in Talks for Rights to NFL Sunday Ticket (WSJ)Anker’s Eufy breaks its silence on security cam security (The Verge)Kuo: Apple to Cancel or Postpone 2024 iPhone SE 4 (MacRumors)Slow fade for Google and Meta's ad dominance (Axios)OpenAI releases Point-E, an AI that generates 3D models (TechCrunch)‘South Park’ Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone Land $20 Million in Funding for Their Deepfake VFX Studio (Variety)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amazon settles two EU antitrust cases. An old crypto mystery resurfaces and dormant wallets spring back to life. TikTok will tell you why they recommended that video. Is growth at Mastadon a flood or a trickle? And Coinbase is now worth less than Doge.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeMicrosoft's Worklab PodcastLinks:Amazon Agrees to Settle EU Antitrust Cases, Avoiding Fines (WSJ)Bitcoin Addresses Tied to Defunct Canadian Crypto Exchange QuadrigaCX Wake Up (CoinDesk)TikTok’s new feature will tell you why a particular video appeared in your For You feed (TechCrunch)Apple to start making MacBooks in Vietnam by mid-2023 (NikkeiAsia)Netflix’s Ad-Supported Tier Was Its Least Popular Plan, Analytics Firm Estimates (WSJ)More than two million users have flocked to Mastodon since Elon Musk took over Twitter (The Verge)Magna to Buy Veoneer Vehicle Safety Unit for $1.5 Billion (Bloomberg)Silicon Valley start-ups race for debt deals in funding crunch (FT)Coinbase’s Value Is $1 Billion Below ‘Joke’ Token Dogecoin’s (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I dunno. Is Elon not the head of Twitter anymore? He posted a poll, people voted for him to step down. Who knows? I’ll give you the tick tock of what went down this weekend. ? Apple has canceled work on an M2 “extreme” chip. Google goes all in on encrypting Gmail. Why is everyone all in on encryption all of the sudden? And don’t worry, Meta is still all in on the metaverse.Sponsors:Masterclass.com/rideZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:Twitter abruptly bans all links to Instagram, Mastodon, and other competitors (The Verge)Google is letting businesses try out client-side encryption for Gmail (The Verge)Binance.US to Buy Voyager Assets in $1.022 Billion Deal (Bloomberg)Bankman-Fried is ready to ‘face the music,’ prison official says (Washington Post)Apple Scales Back High-End Mac Pro Plans, Weighs Production Move to Asia (Bloomberg)Facebook’s Meta Will Devote 20% of Costs to Metaverse Next Year (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emergency bonus episode! Is this the moment for Twitter alternatives? T2.social is one of them and the founder of that project, @gabor, joins us to kick it all around. So does our friend Alex Kantrowitz from @BigTechnology.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon Musk has once again proven that the flesh is weak because there’s a new Twitter controversy and I can’t help but tell you about it. Is it a good look when the accounting firm writing reports to prove crypto companies are solvent says it will no longer work with crypto companies? Is Netflix’s ad-supported tier not signing up as many eyeballs as advertisers hoped? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:InternetSociety.org/techmemeStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Twitter suspends Mastodon’s account and bans links to Mastodon servers (TechCrunch)Twitter suspends journalists who have been covering Elon Musk and the company (NBCNews)Accountant That Vetted Binance Reserves Halts Crypto Work (Bloomberg)Netflix lets advertisers take their money back after missing viewership targets (Digiday)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Spotify’s grand plan to monetize developers via its open source Backstage project (TechCrunch)YouTube Stars Cash In Video Rights for Millions of Dollars (WSJ)ChatGPT and the Imagenet moment (Ben Evans)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I’ll get into the whole Twitter banning private jet tracking accounts thing, but use that to explain how and even if we’re going to cover this whole Elon/Twitter story going forward. Is mobile gaming the latest domino to fall in this year of “line also goes down?” A new consortium hopes to make mapping data better. And let me introduce you to the Battery Belt, every bit as important as the whole onshoring the chip industry trend.Links:Twitter Suspends the Accounts Tracking Musk’s Jet and The Man Behind It (Bloomberg)Twitter Suspends Over 25 Accounts That Track Billionaires’ Private Planes (NYTimes)Elon Musk offloads another $3.6bn of Tesla stock (FT)FTX Investor Impact: Timeline of Realized Cryptocurrency Gains and Losses Shows FTX Hit Investor Wallets Less Than Previous Crises (Chainalysis)2022 will go down as the worst year for U.S. IPOs since 1990. (Axios Pro Rata)Mobile games market to decline for first time in over a decade (FT)Creating the ultimate smart map with new map data initiative launched by Linux Foundation (VentureBeat)1 big thing: The "battery belt" widens (Axios)The electric car Battery Belt is reshaping America’s heartland (Axios)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple is going to allow third-party app stores, but only in Europe for now. Your Tesla is now a full-fledged gaming rig. Instagram is testing a full-fledged BeReal clone. Has Twitter stopped paying its bills? And there is now actual US legislation to ban TikTok.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Apple to Allow Outside App Stores in Overhaul Spurred by EU Laws (Bloomberg)Tesla’s latest update adds Steam games and Apple Music (The Verge)Musk Shakes Up Twitter’s Legal Team as He Looks to Cut More Costs (NYTimes)Twitter is considering forcing users to let the company sell their data and phone numbers to advertisers, in potential breach of Apple rules (Insider)Binance CEO Zhao Warns Bumpy Road Ahead in Message to His Staff (Bloomberg)Instagram Challenges BeReal and Adds Notes Short-Message Feature (WSJ)Lawmakers unveil bipartisan bill that aims to ban TikTok in the U.S. (CNBC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SBF is under arrest. The Feds have charged him. The SEC has charged him. The CFTC has charged him. CZ continues to try to reassure Binance users over withdrawals. I think it’s time I update you on the health I’m seeing of the Twitter platform. And what is “open source” intelligence and why is the US behind in this modern type of spycraft?Sponsors:InternetSociety.org/techmemeStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Federal prosecutors, SEC unveil charges against Sam Bankman-Fried (Washington Post)FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in the Bahamas after U.S. files criminal charges (CNBC)Jim Edwards thread summarizing the SEC complaintBinance CEO addresses USDC outflows: 'feel free to withdraw any other stablecoin' (The Block)AI art apps are cluttering the App Store’s Top Charts following Lensa AI’s success (TechCrunch)Elon says Twitter will remove all legacy verifications ‘in a few months’ (TechCrunch)Radeon 7900 XTX and XT review: Faster, hotter, and cheaper than the RTX 4080 (ArsTechnica)Rise of Open-Source Intelligence Tests U.S. Spies (WSJ)Tickets to my comedy show at the end of January in San FranciscoSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Xiaomi has released its newest flagship smartphones. A bunch of worrying headlines surrounding Binance. Twitter Blue is back. Have scientists finally made a major breakthrough in fusion energy tech? And why Google is hesitant to release its answer to ChatGPT.Masterclass.com/rideLinks:The Xiaomi 13 series launches as true Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 darling (Android Police)Binance Is Trying to Calm Investors, but Its Finances Remain a Mystery (WSJ)'Abnormal' Altcoin Trading on Binance 'Just Market Behavior,' Says CEO (Decrypt)US Prosecutors Look to Charge Binance, Executives on Possible Money Laundering Violations: Reuters (Coindesk)Twitter Blue to Relaunch Monday, With Blue Check Mark, Higher iOS Price, Company Says (CNET)US Says Scientists Make Breakthrough in Nuclear Fusion Energy (Bloomberg)The New Chatbots Could Change the World. Can You Trust Them? (NYTimes)Why Google Missed ChatGPT (Big Technology)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What were the biggest stories of 2022? What will be the biggest tech stories of 2023?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is going to make the situation in the gaming industry downright chaotic. The FTC has sued to block Microsoft's $69B Activision Blizzard acquisition. Sam Bankman Fried says he’s going to testify, under oath, before Congress. Why the salute emoji is hands down the symbol of the year 2022. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:InternetSociety.org/techmemeLinks:Twin complaints signal new FTC strategy to rein in tech industry (Washington Post)FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried agrees to testify at U.S. House hearing on Tuesday (CNBC)We Couldn’t Have Made It Through This Year Without the Saluting Emoji (Rolling Stone)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How AI That Powers Chatbots and Search Queries Could Discover New Drugs (WSJ)The Hype Around Esports Is Fading as Investors and Sponsors Dry Up (Bloomberg)Programmable Ink (InkAndSwitch)How CoinDesk’s FTX scoop left a hole in its corporate overlord (The Verge)Enter the wind tunnel (Driving Conformity)36 Hours - Wellington, New Zealand (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple is going back all in on privacy in a big way with Advanced Data Protection. I’ll explain. Did Sam Bankman-Fried also kill Terra and Luna? A look at those magic avatars from Lensa that everyone is using for their profile picture all of the sudden. And the winner for the most post-pandemic product goes to Dyson.Sponsors:Cyborg.co/rideGet 90% off RexMD with our exclusive link -> RexMD.com/rideLinks:Apple Plans New Encryption System to Ward Off Hackers and Protect iCloud Data (WSJ)@matthew_d_green's twitter thread on Apple's new encryption pushFTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Is Said to Face Market Manipulation Inquiry (NYTimes)Coinbase CEO Sees Revenue Falling 50% or More on Crypto Rout (Bloomberg)AI selfies — and their critics — are taking the internet by storm (Washington Post)Ask these questions before you make your Lensa Magic Avatars (TechRadar)Dyson's Air Purifying Headphones Will Cost $949 (Gizmodo)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In an attempt to keep their acquisition of Activision… active, Microsoft wants to bring Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch. That time SBF tried to give Taylor Swift $100M. She said no, apparently. You don’t have to give Telegram your phone number anymore. Mark Gurman rumor dump about the scaled back ambitions of the Apple Car. And yes. ChatGPT probably has Google over the classic innovator’s dilemma barrel.Sponsors:InternetSociety.org/techmemeStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Microsoft says it will bring Call of Duty to Nintendo (Washington Post)FTX held talks with Taylor Swift over $100mn sponsorship deal (FT)Tim Cook says Apple will use chips built in the U.S. at Arizona factory (CNBC)Telegram drops SIM requirement for sign-ups, adds Global Auto-Delete timers (9to5Google)SpaceX unveils ‘Starshield,’ a military variation of Starlink satellites (CNBC)Twitter’s Rivals Try to Capitalize on Musk-Induced Chaos (NYTimes)Apple Scales Back Self-Driving Car and Delays Debut Until 2026 (Bloomberg)Google Faces a Serious Threat From ChatGPT (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is the government investigating Neuralink for animal cruelty? Why is Microsoft increasing prices for Xbox games? How much does it cost every time you ask ChatGPT a question? Is Meta really going to stop allowing you to post news links, or is this a bluff? And is that Arizona chip plant becoming a bigger deal every day?Sponsors:Masterworks.com/ride*Storyblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Elon Musk’s Neuralink is reportedly facing a federal probe on animal welfare grounds (The Verge)Exclusive: Musk’s Neuralink faces federal probe, employee backlash over animal tests (Reuters)Google Pixel 7 just got a bunch of exciting features — here’s what’s new (Tom's Guide)Microsoft Raising Prices on New, First-Party Games Built for Xbox Series X|S to $70 in 2023 (IGN)@sama's Tweets about ChatGPTGoogle Search brings continuous scrolling to desktop (The Verge)Facebook threatens to ban news from platform if U.S. bill passes (MarketWatch)TSMC triples Arizona chip investment to $40bn (FT)Our podcast TikTok account: techmeme_ride_home* “net returns” refers to the annualized internal rate of return net of all fees and costs, calculated from the offering closing date to the sale date. IRR may not be indicative of Masterworks paintings not yet sold and past performance is not indicative of future results. See important Reg A disclosures: Masterworks.com/cd Masterworks’ offerings are filed with the SEC, view all past and current offerings here: https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=masterworks&match=&filenum=&State=&Country=&SIC=&myowner=exclude&action=getcompanySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Maybe put the breaks on an early release of that Apple AR/VR headset. And maybe pump the breaks on the AI excitement as Stack Overflow temporarily bans users from sharing responses generated by ChatGPT. A security issue at Rackspace. Are the Winkivii in trouble? And why has Sam Bankman Fried not been arrested yet?Sponsors:LetsTalkInTouch.comHover.com/ride for 10% offLinks:Kuo: Apple Headset Shipments Potentially Delayed Until Second Half of 2023 (MacRumors)Foxconn sees COVID-hit China plant back at full output in late Dec-early Jan -source (Reuters)Rackspace rocked by ‘security incident’ that has taken out hosted Exchange services (The Register)AI-generated answers temporarily banned on coding Q&A site Stack Overflow (The Verge)Crypto broker Genesis owes Winklevoss exchange’s customers $900mn (Financial Times)Why Hasn’t Sam Bankman-Fried Been Arrested Yet? (Intelligencer)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark Gurman has details on Apple ramping up development of its mixed-reality headset, targeting a launch next year. Elon has had to block his friend Ye from Twitter. Future is shutting down. Airplane mode might be a thing of the past soon. Is Nikola Tesla’s dream of wireless electrical transmission about to be a reality? And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:InternetSociety.org/techmemeStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Apple Renames Mixed-Reality Software ‘xrOS’ in Sign Headset Is Approaching (Bloomberg)Kanye West isn’t buying Parler after all (TechCrunch)Andreessen Horowitz's buzzy tech publication Future is shutting down (Insider)Payments giant Stripe jumps into Web3 with tool that helps companies turn cash to crypto (Fortune Crypto)AWS launches Application Composer, a low-code tool for building serverless apps (TechCrunch)No more airplane mode? EU to allow calls on flights (BBC News)Silicon Valley startup beaming electricity wirelessly raises $30 million (Reuters)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Generative AI: autocomplete for everything (Noahpinion)Your Creativity Won’t Save Your Job From AI (The Atlantic)The Grown-Up Art of Andor (The New Republic)A French Village’s Radical Vision of a Good Life with Alzheimer’s (New Yorker)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A summary of last night’s Sam Bankman Fried show. Elon visits Tim Cook and maybe they buried the hatchet? Now OpenAI has released a chat bot. Neuralink says it’s going to start implanting into humans very soon. And Arizona is gonna get the good stuff when it comes to chips.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeLinks:FTX Missing Billions Remain Mystery After Bankman-Fried Grilling (Bloomberg)Elon Musk Meets With Apple CEO Tim Cook Amid Claims of Twitter App Store Dispute [Updated] (MacRumors)Musk at Twitter has 'huge work' ahead to comply with EU rules, warns bloc (TechCrunch)While everyone waits for GPT-4, OpenAI is still fixing its predecessor (MIT Technology Review)Musk’s Neuralink Hopes to Implant Computer in Human Brain in Six Months (Bloomberg)Disney Made a Movie Quality AI Tool That Automatically Makes Actors Look Younger (or Older) (Gizmodo)TSMC Plans to Make More Advanced Chips in US at Urging of Apple (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Covid lockdown at that Foxconn factory has lifted. The surprising strength of the smartwatch sector. The surprising failure of the Kindle Scribe. Gorilla Glass Victus 2. And Sony has an actual new idea for the Metaverse.Sponsors:InternetSociety.org/techmemeLinks:China’s Zhengzhou, home to world’s largest iPhone factory, ends Covid lockdown. Other cities do the same (CNN Business)India Becomes Biggest Smartwatch Market in Q3 2022 (Counterpoint)Amazon Security Lake is a standards-based data lake for security data (TechCrunch)Amazon Kindle Scribe review: absolutely adequate (The Verge)Apple Music reveals top music in 2022 and listener charts (AP News)Gorilla Glass Victus 2 could save your big phone from disastrous falls on concrete (TechRadar)Sony is getting into the metaverse with a new motion-tracking system (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon says he’s willing to go to war with Apple. Why now? Is Apple really threatening Twitter’s status in the App Store, as he claims? Where, exactly, is the money for Binance’s crypto recovery fund coming from? Amazon wants kids to get in on the generative AI game. And with all the explosion of AI tools, why aren’t we seeing more adoption of AI for the very tangible and very important use case of medical imaging?Sponsors:ZenGo.com/ride and code: rideLinks:Elon Musk Claims Apple Has 'Mostly Stopped' Offering Ads on Twitter and Is Making Moderation Demands (MacRumors)Why some tech CEOs are rooting for Musk (Platformer)Twitter’s $5bn-a-year business hit as Elon Musk clashes with advertisers (Financial Times)Binance clarifies initial $1 billion recovery fund deposit came from own assets (The Block)Amazon’s Create With Alexa generates unique animated children’s stories on Echo Show (Engadget)Google partners with med tech company to develop AI breast cancer screening tools (The Verge)Special Series Part 3: AI Could Transform Medical Imaging — So Why Don’t We See It More? (Crunchbase News)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All of the protests erupting in China have, not only a definite tech angle, but might have been triggered by those lockdowns at that Foxconn factory. BlockFi officially files for bankruptcy. Binance attempts to prove its reserves. How to message yourself on WhatsApp. And how Minecraft might have led to a major new breakthrough in AI.Sponsors:LetsTalkInTouch.comStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Twitter grapples with Chinese spam obscuring news of protests (Washington Post)US Bans Huawei, ZTE Telecom Equipment on Data-Security Risk (Bloomberg)Crypto Lender BlockFi Filing for Bankruptcy and Conducting Major Layoffs as FTX Contagion Claims Another: Source (Decrypt)Binance releases proof-of-reserves system, starting with bitcoin (The Block)WhatsApp rolls out a feature that makes it easier to message yourself (WhatsApp)A bot that watched 70,000 hours of Minecraft could unlock AI’s next big thing (MIT Technology Review)Special Series Launch: The Promises And Perils Of A Decade Of AI Funding (Crunchbase News)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Check out the extensive paper on LEO satellites and Internet from space at InternetSociety.org/techmemeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Actual rioting happening at the major Foxconn factory that produces iPhones. Microsoft fully embraces Linux. Advertisers continue to flee from Twitter. What if your wifi router and mesh network was actually a fashionable home décor choice? And surprise! The weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:InternetSociety.org/techmemeStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Violent Protests Erupt at Apple’s Main iPhone Plant in China (Bloomberg)Windows Subsystem for Linux generally available via Microsoft Store (BleepingComputer)Advertisers are dropping Twitter. Musk can’t afford to lose any more. (Washington Post)Nest Wifi Pro review: better, faster, shinier (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Tiny and Nightmarishly Efficient Future of Drone Warfare (The Atlantic)Robert Iger Returns to Disney Facing Radically Different Streaming Landscape (WSJ)America has an earthquake early-warning system now — on your phone (Washington Post)The Weird-Looking, Fuel-Efficient Planes You Could Be Flying in One Day (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The contagion in crypto continues to teeter on a knife’s edge. Why were Sam Bankman Fried’s parents allegedly buying property in the Bahamas? Elon says Twitter is hiring again. Turns out the Alexa deathwatch is very real. And is Apple really the privacy company, or just like everybody else when it comes to ads?Sponsors:InternetSociety.org/techmemeRocketMoney.com/rideLinks:Crypto Brokerage Genesis Is Said to Warn of Bankruptcy Without Funding (Bloomberg)Hedge funds left with billions stranded on FTX (FT)Exclusive: Bankman-Fried's FTX, parents bought Bahamas property worth $121 million (Reuters)Elon Musk says Twitter is done with layoffs and ready to hire again (The Verge)Amazon is gutting its voice assistant, Alexa. Employees describe a division in crisis and huge losses on 'a wasted opportunity.' (Insider)Apple Says Your iPhone's Usage Data is Anonymous, but New Tests Say That's Not True (Gizmodo)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ruh roh. Storm clouds gathering in crypto land again. This time it’s DCG and Genesis. The shocking CEO revolving door over at Disney. The surprising return of SwiftKey. What you missed this weekend in Twitter. And you’ve heard of Stable Diffusion; let me introduce you to Unstable Diffusion. Stable Diffusion but for porn.Sponsors:LetsTalkInTouch.comMasterclass.com/rideZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:Grayscale won’t share proof of reserves, citing ‘security concerns’ (The Block)Grayscale refuses to share proof of reserves due to ‘security concerns’ as shares trade at a 45% discount to bitcoin (CNBC)Disney Shocker: Bob Iger Returning as CEO, Bob Chapek Exits (The Hollywood Reporter)SwiftKey is unexpectedly back on iOS (The Verge)Twitter’s Broken Its Copyright Strike System, Users Are Uploading Full Movies (Forbes)Kite is saying farewell (Kite.com)Meet Unstable Diffusion, the group trying to monetize AI porn generators (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The great Anil Dash joined us to talk about... well, what do you think we talked about? But also, a broader discussion about the crazy year that the tech industry has had.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I’m here with you all as we wait for the end of Twitter together. Unless it doesn’t die. In which case, I dunno. Masa Son is actually personally in hock to the Vision Fund now that all its investments have gone pear shaped. A weird end of an era for Facebook. It’s not about status updates anymore. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Hundreds of employees say no to being part of Elon Musk’s ‘extremely hardcore’ Twitter (The Verge)Tweet thread on why @peterclowes left TwitterMasayoshi Son owes $4.7bn to SoftBank following tech rout (FT)End of an Era: Facebook Takes Sexuality, Religion, Address, and Politics Off of Your Profile (Gizmodo)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Tweet thread from @MosquitoCapital on the many ways Twitter could breakNvidia RTX 4080 review: performance, for a price (The Verge)1Password wants to ditch passwords without locking you in to one platform (Fast Company)Why Big Tech Is Throwing $1 Billion at Sucking CO2 From the Air (CNET)My Mastodon handle: @[email protected] up for Post: https://post.news/?r=zXrzhSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The guy who handled the Enron bankruptcy says FTX is the worst he’s ever seen. Xbox gets full Discord integration. Apple’s plans for Major League Soccer are revealed. Evernote finds a forever home. A new Deepfake detector from Intel and supercomputing in the cloud from Microsoft and Nvidia.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeMedcline.com/techmemeLinks:New FTX Boss Condemns Management of the Crypto Exchange During Sam Bankman-Fried's Tenure (CoinDesk)Built-in Discord voice chat is now rolling out to all Xbox users (Engadget)Apple Kicks Off Major League Soccer Plans With Pricing & Launch Details (Deadline)Bending Spoons acquires Evernote, marking the end of an era (TechCrunch)Google rolls out new features across Maps, Search and Shopping (TechCrunch)Intel unveils real-time deepfake detector, claims 96% accuracy rate (VentureBeat)Cloud computing: Microsoft and Nvidia are building a 'massive' AI supercomputer. Here's why (ZDNet)Microsoft and Nvidia team up to build massive cloud AI supercomputer (SiliconRepublic)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon chip. DuckDuckGo’s App Tracking blocker but for Android, the latest headlines from the two stories you know we have to hit, and what if I told you there’s a new startup that wants to do for home appliances, what Tesla did for automobiles?Sponsors:Akamai.com/techmemeKinsta.comLinks:Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 gives us a glimpse of 2023’s Android flagships (The Verge)DuckDuckGo’s App Tracking Protection beta is now available to all Android users (The Verge)Netflix's new feature lets subscribers kick devices off their accounts (TechCrunch)Musk issues ultimatum to staff: Commit to ‘hardcore’ Twitter or take severance (Washington Post)Induction cooking heats up with a $20M cash injection for Impulse (TechCrunch)Protocol, the tech-news focused website, will shutter and lay off its entire staff (CNN Business)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you tell Elon he doesn’t know what he’s doing, you could get fired. Matt Levine looks into the abyss of the FTX balance sheet and finds the abyss staring back at him. Is the Alexa platform in danger? Nike still believes in NFTs. And what it’s actually like to use Apple’s Emergency SOS feature.Sponsors:Hover.com/ride for 10% offSplit.io/techmemeLinks:Musk Publicly Punishes Twitter Engineers Who Call Him Out Online (Bloomberg)Is Elon Musk’s Twitter about to fall out of the GDPR’s one-stop shop? (TechCrunch)FTX’s Balance Sheet Was Bad (Bloomberg)Amazon Is Said to Plan to Lay Off Thousands of Employees (NYTimes)Nike to Open Its Own Virtual Sneaker Store and Trading Platform (Bloomberg)Nike Launches Web3 Platform Offering Virtual Apparel and Other NFT-Based Products (CryptoNews)Here’s what it’s like to use Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Twitter still lives, at least at the time of this writing. But thousands more contractors have been laid off. CZ wants to start a fund to save crypto projects. Paging Jonah Hill to play SBF in the movie that Michael Lewis is shopping around Hollywood. Meta is exiting the Portal business. And a big review of the Meta Quest Pro is just downright befuddling.Sponsors:LadderLife.com/rideStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Twitter reportedly cut thousands of contractors without warning (The Verge)SpaceX just bought a big ad campaign on Twitter for Starlink (CNBC)Binance Starts Recovery Fund for Crypto Projects Facing Liquidity Crisis (CoinDesk)Exclusive: Jeff Bezos says he will give most of his money to charity (CNN Business)Nearly half of Meta job cuts were in tech, reorg underway - execs say (Reuters)Meta Quest Pro review: get me out of here (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just two big stories, as it’s been all week, but instead of ONLY giving you the latest, I want to try to sum up where I think we’re at as this week ends. What, I think, in the end, actually happened with FTX. And are we SURE Elon isn’t trying to tank Twitter on purpose? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Sam Bankman-Fried steps down as FTX CEO as his crypto exchange files for bankruptcy (CNBC)FTX US Warns of Trading Halt Hours After Bankman-Fried Says It's '100% Liquid' (CoinDesk)Crypto Lender BlockFi Pauses Withdrawals in Wake of FTX Collapse (CoinDesk)Does Twitter Have Any Employees Left Who Remember That The Company Is Under A Strict Consent Decree With The FTC? (TechDirt)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Basically everything on Amazon has become an ad (Vox)Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold? (Bloomberg)Matter is here, but it’s still a long road to the simple smart home (The Verge)Twitter alternative: how Mastodon is designed to be “antiviral” (UXCollective)Unfollow? Block? And who gets custody of the WhatsApp groups? How to break up in the digital age (The Guardian)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More twists and turns in the FTX, SBF, CZ saga as the entire crypto sector continues to get rocked. I’d love to tell you what is going on with Twitter’s whole checkmark saga, but I don’t know, Elon doesn’t know, and frankly, by the time you hear this, it’s likely to have changed anyway. GitHub is getting into the voice assistant game. And Amazon becomes the first company to LOSE a Trillion dollars in valuation.Sponsors:Akamai.com/techmemeStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Binance Walks Away From Deal to Rescue FTX (WSJ)SBF Tweet Storm This MorningFTX’s Collapse Spurs $10 Billion Drop in Decentralized Finance (Bloomberg)Twitter begins to roll out, then kills, grey checkmarks for high-profile accounts (TechCrunch)Apple will spend $450 million with Globalstar and others to enable emergency satellite texting (CNBC)‘Hey, GitHub!’ will let programmers code with just their voice (The Verge)Amazon Becomes World’s First Public Company to Lose $1 Trillion in Market Value (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Meta layoffs are here and they’re brutal. But rumors are, TikTok is cutting back also. What even is the new Twitter subscription product at this point? Does anybody know? And if you look at today’s show title, and it’s just a bunch of gibberish, hopefully I can explain the big crypto blowup from yesterday.Sources:Kinsta.comStoryblok.comLinks:Meta confirms 11,000 layoffs, amounting to 13% of its workforce (TechCrunch)TikTok slashes global revenue targets by at least $2bn (Financial Times)Twitter’s solution for ruining verification is another check mark (The Verge)Disney+ reaches 164.2M subscribers as it prepares for ad-supported tier launch (TechCrunch)The Story of Sam Bankman-Fried’s Backroom Deal With Binance’s CZ (CoinDesk)Lucas Nuzzi (Twitter Thread)FTX Venture Investors Fear Total Wipeout in Binance Rescue Deal (The Information)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why has FTX appeared to have halted withdrawals? Innocent explanation, or could we have another big crypto blowup brewing? What if Elon just says, screw it, and puts all of Twitter behind a paywall? What happens if NFT marketplaces stop honoring royalties? And why is Apple having a hard time with its design team?Sponsors:Masterworks.com/rideLinks:Binance to Sell Rest of FTX Token Holdings as Alameda CEO Defends Firm's Financial Condition (CoinDesk)Musk discusses putting all of Twitter behind a paywall (Platformer)Mysterious company with government ties plays key internet role (Washington Post)OpenSea Breaks Silence on NFT Royalties, But Creators Don't Like What They Hear (Decrypt)Apple’s Brain Drain Hinders Efforts to Pick Its Next Jony Ive (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looks like those rumors of massive Meta layoffs might be coming true this week. Covid has led to brand new iPhone shortage worries. Is Apple about to make it easier to invoke Siri? Airbnb has made it easier to understand the true cost of a rental. And this weekend in the Twitter Clown Car.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Facebook Parent Meta Is Preparing to Notify Employees of Large-Scale Layoffs This Week (WSJ)Apple Issues iPhone 14 Pro Shipment Warning Ahead of Holiday Shopping Season (MacRumors)Apple’s Next Change for Siri: Dropping ‘Hey’ From ‘Hey Siri’ Trigger (Bloomberg)Airbnb to Make Cleaning Fees Clearer on Searches After Customer Complaints (WSJ)Elon Musk Appears To Threaten Advertisers Wary Of His Twitter Takeover (HuffingtonPost)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The layoffs have begun at Twitter. And while Twitter might shutter its Substack competitor, Substack has moved into Twitter’s turf by launching a sort of discussion platform. DALL-E API’s are now available for you to use. What it’s like to use Netflix’s new ad-supported tier. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:hiddenheroes.netguru.comLinks:Elon Musk’s Twitter layoffs are starting (The Verge)Substack targets Twitter with launch of discussions feature, Substack Chat (TechCrunch)Amazon pauses hiring for corporate workforce (CNBC)DALL-E API released by OpenAI in public beta, potential boon for app builders (VentureBeat)With Netflix’s ads tier, you never know what you’re going to get (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Bored Ape Yacht Club tell all: The untold story of the $4 billion crypto startup (FastCompany)The ‘Viral’ Secure Programming Language That’s Taking Over Tech (Wired)The Race to Be Figma for Devs: CodeSandbox vs. StackBlitz (TheNewStack)The Most Vulnerable Place on the Internet (Wired)Inside the weirdly competitive industry of robots writing letters in human handwriting (FastCompany)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is TikTok still in danger of running afoul of government bans? WhatsApp gets Groups. Gmail gets package tracking. Instagram gets NFT minting. Patreon gets video hosting. Layoffs come for Stripe. Yes, there was some Twitter news too. And is the Adobe/Figma deal in trouble?Sponsors:hiddenheroes.netguru.comSplit.io/techmemeLinks:TikTok tells European users its staff in China get access to their data (The Guardian)WhatsApp officially launches its new discussion group feature, Communities (TechCrunch)Gmail to add a new package tracking feature ahead of holiday shopping season (TechCrunch)Meta’s Instagram Plans NFT Minting, Trading Tools (Decrypt)Patreon’s long-awaited video hosting feature is finally rolling out to creators (The Verge)Elon Musk Aims to Start Charging for Twitter Verification Next Week (Bloomberg)Stripe Cuts Headcount by 14%, Prepares for ‘Leaner Times’ (Bloomberg)DOJ takes aim at Adobe's $20 billion deal (Politico)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We know when the PlayStation VR2 is coming, when you can pre-order it, and how much it’s gonna cost. What do you know? A bunch of news in the whole Twitter saga. The reality of the ransomware industrial complex. And an interesting new Mac app to help you remember everything you’ve ever done on your computer.Sponsors:Akamai.com/techmemeLinks:PlayStation VR2 launches on February 22nd for $549.99 (The Verge)Elon Musk to charge verified Twitter users to give ‘power to the people’ (SiliconRepublic)Elon Musk’s Twitter is working on paid-video feature with ‘high’ risk (Washington Post)Tumblr will now allow nudity but not explicit sex (The Verge)Twitch opens Guest Star up so anyone can run their own talk show not (TechCrunch)U.S. banks processed roughly $1.2 billion in ransomware payments in 2021, according to federal report (CNBC)Rewind wants to revamp how you remember, with millions from a16z (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Will charging for blue checks actually help Twitter monetarily or… frankly, any way, at all? Amazon has expanded ad-free Music. YouTube is bundling streaming services. Why Uber Eats is interesting inside of Uber earnings. And is it time to start worrying about Sony’s strategy with the Playstation?Sponsors:Medcline.com/techmemeLinks:Scoop: Musk team working to reboot Vine this year (Axios)Jack Dorsey just saved Elon Musk about $1 billion by rolling over his shares of Twitter into a stake in the new private company (Insider)YouTube’s Primetime Channels bring streaming movies and TV into the YouTube app (The Verge)Amazon Prime now comes with a full music catalog of 100 million songs and ad-free podcasts (TechCrunch)Uber Shares Jump as Strong Ridership Eases Inflation Worries (Bloomberg)PlayStation Plus has lost nearly 2 million subscribers since its revamp (VGC)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just, massive wholesale changes at Twitter, including possibly making folks pay up for features. Pitty the poor tech billionaires who have collectively lost half a trillion in wealth this year. When the M2 MacBook Pros should be showing up. And what colors might you be blocked from using on Adobe products?Sponsors:RocketMoney.com/rideLinks:Elon Musk wastes no time changing Twitter (The Verge)Twitter is planning to start charging $20 per month for verification (The Verge)The 20 Richest Tech Billionaires Have Lost Nearly Half a Trillion Dollars This Year (WSJ)Apple Gears Up to Launch Its Next Crop of Macs Early Next Year (Bloomberg)India's Central Bank to Start Wholesale CBDC Pilot Nov. 1 (CoinDesk)You’re Going To Have To Pay To Use Some Fancy Colors In Photoshop Now (Kotaku)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Readocracy is restoring sanity to the world by making how you inform yourself count for something. Troll-free, bot-free, ad-free.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Area man completes acquisition of social media platform. And now the fun begins? Amazon had bad earnings, but Apple mostly didn’t. YouTube is trying to be like TikTok too, but they’re giving their users options. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Wealthfront.com/techmemeLinks:How Twitter Will Change as a Private Company (NYTimes)Amazon stock sinks 13% on weak fourth-quarter guidance (CNBC)Apple reports strong quarter but expects sales slump (Silicon Republic)YouTube redesign gives long-form videos, Shorts and Live videos their own tabs on channel pages (TechCrunch)Weekend Longreads SuggestionsSmartphone Storage Space Is the New Turf War for Game Makers (Bloomberg)The First Minute of Every Phone Call Is Torture Now (The Atlantic)The Try Guys and the Prison of Online Fame (NYTimes Magazine)The Crypto Story (Matt Levine/Bloomberg Businessweek)Which AI Creates the Best (and Most Terrifying) Art? (PC Mag)The Fantasy of Instant Delivery Is Imploding (Bloomberg)The beginning of the monster Game of Thrones Twitter Thread (Ben Schwartz)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

(BOMB SOUND). That’s the sound of Meta’s disastrous earnings announcement yesterday. That’s the sort of insightful analysis you come to this podcast for. But also, Argo AI is shutting down. Google Cloud has a new blockchain tool for developers. And the Elon Twitter thing is happening. It’s really happening, people. Behave accordingly.Sponsors:ZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:Meta Tumbles as Sales Forecast Shows Depth of Ad-Market Weakness (Bloomberg)Meta Plummets 25% as Zuckerberg’s Plea for ‘Patience’ Falls Flat (Bloomberg)It’s Official: Meta Is a Disaster (Intelligencer)Mark Zuckerberg Is Going To Kill His Company (Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At)Ford, VW-backed Argo AI is shutting down (TechCrunch)Samsung's Third-Quarter Profit Plunges Amid Chip Market Woes (CNET)Google's new service helps Web3 developers build for blockchain-based platforms (ZDNet)Elon Musk Is In Twitter’s Office and Will Address Staff Friday (Bloomberg)Elon Musk, on Eve of Twitter Deal Close, Promises Advertisers It Won’t Become a ‘Free-for-All Hellscape’ (Variety)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta and Spotify both call Apple out on their recent App Store aggressiveness. Soft earnings from Microsoft and worrying earnings from Alphabet. Twitter seems to already be hemorrhaging its power users. LinkedIn fights its own bot war. And are unicorns back to becoming a rare thing?Sponsors:Akamai.comLinks:Apple’s new App Store tax on ads is a direct shot at Meta (The Verge)Spotify says Apple is ‘choking competition’ and ruining its audiobook store (The Verge)Spotify Boosts Subscribers and Revenue, Says 2023 Price Increases Likely (WSJ)Microsoft Plunges on Forecast for Lackluster Azure Growth (Bloomberg)Twitter Asks: Where Have All the Tweeters Gone? (Gizmodo)Alphabet misses on earnings as YouTube shrinks; company will cut headcount growth by half in Q4 (CNBC)Intel unit Mobileye prices IPO above range to raise $861 mln (Reuters)Developers Complain About Gambling Ads Appearing in Their App Store Listings (MacRumors)First on CNN: LinkedIn knows there are fake accounts on its site. Now it wants to help users spot them (CNN Business)The billion-dollar tech unicorn is becoming rare again (The Washington Post)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple tries to wedge the App Store vig into another market. Prices are going up for your favorite Apple services. Shutterstock is partnering with OpenAI cause if you can’t something them, join them! And what is the deal with Stage Manager on the iPad?Sponsors:Hover.com/ride for 10% offLinks:App Store guidelines updated with new rules for apps with NFT and ad managers (9to5Mac)Apple is raising the price of Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple One from today (9to5Mac)Project Volterra launches today as the 'Windows Dev Kit 2023' with 32GB RAM and costs less than a Mac mini (Windows Central)Meta shareholder writes critical open letter saying company needs to slash headcount and stop spending so much money on ‘metaverse’ (CNBC)Shutterstock will start selling AI-generated stock imagery with help from OpenAI (The Verge)Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5-inch) review: a few steps forward and one big step back (The Verge)Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (SQ3) review: Windows on Arm is not ready (The Verge)iPadOS 16’s Stage Manager is not the future of multitasking you were hoping for (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did investing in Chinese tech become a fool’s errand over the weekend? A deep dive on how TSMC is caught in the middle of all the things. Is Elon’s Twitter deal presenting systemic risk to corporate finance? Are M2 Mac Pro and Macbook Pro’s still coming soon? And Bono tries to justify putting that U2 album on your iphone.Sponsors:Masterclass.com/ride for 15% offLinks:China Stocks Crater in US as Alibaba Leads $130 Billion Wipeout (Bloomberg)TSMC: the Taiwanese chipmaker caught up in the tech cold war (Financial Times)Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Debt to Be Held by Banks Amid Turbulent Markets (WSJ)These artists found out their work was used to train AI. Now they’re furious (CNN Business)The iPad Lineup Is Perplexing — Here’s How Apple Could Fix It (Bloomberg)Bono on the birth of U2, that iTunes album and Live Aid: ‘There’s only one thing I can see when I watch it: the mullet’ (The Guardian)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Talking this week's big week for AI, with Parker Thompson (@pt) plus@miguelisolano&@mignanoSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I said Elon’s name five times in front of a mirror and the whole Elon/Twitter headlines came flooding back into our lives. Forbes alleges that they’ve caught TikTok doing the thing that everybody fears. What if I told you there was a third huge AI raise story to round out this week? And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Links:Documents detail plans to gut Twitter’s workforce (Washington Post)Twitter Tumbles as US Weighs Security Reviews for Musk Deals (Bloomberg)TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens (Forbes)OpenAI, Valued at Nearly $20 Billion, in Advanced Talks with Microsoft For More Funding (The Information)Snap plunges more than 25% on third-quarter revenue miss (CNBC)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Technology that lets us “speak” to our dead relatives has arrived. Are we ready? (MIT Technology Review)How Gamers Beat NFTs (Bloomberg)The Hottest App Right Now? One Where Teens Have to Say Nice Things About Each Other (WSJ)I Turned My Home Into a Fortress of Surveillance (The Atlantic)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The big Solana challenger had a terrible first day of trading. Previews of the new Thunderbolt standard. Reviews of the new Raptor Lake chips. Uber takes a page out of the New York City taxi playbook. And the first hands-on, quasi-review of Meta’s high end VR headset.Sponsors:Zengo.com/ride and code rideSplit.io/techmemeLinks:Aptos Token Plummets 40% After APT Airdrop for 'Early Network Participants' (Decrypt)Android 13 (Go edition) announced with Material You, Google Play System Updates, and more (9to5Google)The next generation of Thunderbolt seems nice but less necessary than ever (The Verge)Intel Core i9-13900K review: an AMD Zen 4 beater (The Verge)Uber rolls out ad business to reach more riders (FT)I Tried the $1,500 Quest Pro and Saw the Best of the Metaverse (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Netflix actually beat on earnings and customer additions. Why their pivot to ads might actually be in line with their long-term strategy. Yesterday’s iPad releases were even more complicated, and stranger, frankly, than I told you. Bluesky is still plugging away on decentralized social media. And another monster interesting raise in the AI space.Links:Netflix adds more than 2.4 million subscribers, reveals details about password-sharing crackdown (CNBC)The New Netflix Age Has Arrived (Puck/Julia Alexander)The iPad’s erratic odyssey continues (Jason Snell/Six Colors)Jack Dorsey-Founded Bluesky Unveils Roadmap for Decentralized Social Networks (Decrypt)AI content platform Jasper raises $125M at a $1.5B valuation (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New iPad Pros and new Apple TV 4ks. Meta walks away from the Giphy acquisition. Layoffs at Microsoft. High attrition at Amazon. Mobileye is probably going to IPO at a significant discount than people hoped? And why I’ve been telling you that the energy in Silicon Valley is switching to AI startups.Sponsors:Merge Conflict PodcastLinks:Apple introduces next-generation iPad Pro, supercharged by the M2 chip (Apple Newsroom)Apple announces new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro with M2 chip, Apple Pencil hover feature (9to5Mac)Apple Announces 10th-Generation iPad With Complete Redesign, 10.9-Inch Display, USB-C, and More (MacRumors)Meta gets final order to sell Giphy from UK antitrust watchdog (TechCrunch)Microsoft becomes latest tech firm to cut staff (Axios)Exclusive: Amazon’s attrition costs $8 billion annually according to leaked documents. And it gets worse. (Engadget)Intel Eyes Significantly Lower Valuation in IPO of Mobileye Unit (WSJ)Stability AI Raises Seed Round at $1 Billion Value (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looks like Ye, née Kanye West, is going to try to buy the social network Parler. A look at the Chinese export controls that could potentially force American executives to choose between their jobs and their American citizenship. Wait until you hear about the Mango Markets exploit. And what do you think is the global population of robots, right now? Today?Sponsors:RocketMoney.com/rideLinks:Kanye West is buying ‘free speech platform’ Parler (The Verge)Kanye West to buy social media app Parler (The Verge)Decentralized Solana-based trading platform Mango reportedly hit by $100 million exploit (Fortune)Biden declares economic war on the Chinese semiconductor industry (Noahpinion)With New Crackdown, Biden Wages Global Campaign on Chinese Technology (NYTimes)American Executives in Limbo at Chinese Chip Companies After U.S. Ban (WSJ)Meet the Army of Robots Coming to Fill In for Scarce Workers (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We now know how much Netflix with Ads will cost; we think we know how many ads they have to show us to make up for the lost revenue. What is unclear is if people will watch that many ads. It looks like Zuck lied to us about having legs in the Metaverse. Something something, eventually every company becomes a bank. I’m talking about the Apple savings account. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:See NordPass Business in action now with a 3-month free trial here nordpass.com/techmeme with code TECHMEMELinks:Netflix’s ad tier will cost $6.99 a month and launch in November (The Verge)Meta Avatar Legs Demo ‘Created By Motion Capture’, Not Live VR (UploadVR)Facebook's Legs Video Was A Lie (Kotaku)Apple Card to Offer Savings Account for Daily Cash (MacRumors)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:WhatsApp is now a spammers’ paradise in India (Rest of World)The GIF Is on Its Deathbed (The Atlantic)Can Kickstarter’s new CEO help the company get its mojo back? (Fast Company)The computer errors from outer space (BBC Future)How the Glengarry Glen Ross “Coffee Is for Closers” Scene Got Made (Vanity Fair)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Signal is phasing out SMS and MMS. Microsoft is sunsetting Microsoft Office branding. The SEC is poised to officially ban some Chinese hardware. Is AR not living up to its promise as a tool for soldiers on the battlefield? And would you ghostwrite tweets for prominent venture capitalists? There’s good money in it.Sponsors:Merge Conflict PodcastLinks:Signal will remove support for SMS text messages on Android (BleepingComputer)Microsoft Office will become Microsoft 365 in major brand overhaul (The Verge)FCC poised to ban all U.S. sales of new Huawei and ZTE equipment (Axios)Microsoft’s Army Goggles Left US Soldiers With Nausea, Headaches in Test (Bloomberg)TikTok Parent ByteDance Sets Sights on Spotify With Music-Streaming Expansion (WSJ)I made $200,000 last year ghostwriting tweets for superstar VCs. It takes me 5 hours a week. Here's how I found my clients and built a booming side hustle from scratch. (Insider)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Only two big stories really. We break down yesterday’s Meta VR event, including the new high end Quest Pro. But did Zuck show us anything that will get anyone excited about the Metaverse yet? And Microsoft’s Surface event had a lot of Surface refreshes, but was the big news actually their integration of DALL-E 2 with a new Designer app? The productivity space is hot…Sponsors:TED Tech PodcastLinks:The Meta Quest Pro costs $1,499 and ships October 25th (The Verge)What happened to the virtual reality gaming revolution? (Ars Technica)It’s painful how hellbent Mark Zuckerberg is on convincing us that VR is a thing (TechCrunch)Zuckerberg’s $1,499 Headsets Won’t Help Meta (Bloomberg)Surface Pro 9 lets you pick between Intel or Arm 5G and new color options (The Verge)Microsoft's (barely) refreshed Surface Laptop 5 starts at $1,000 (Engadget)Microsoft’s Surface Studio 2 Plus ships with an RTX 3060 for $4,299 (The Verge)Microsoft brings DALL-E 2 to the masses with Designer and Image Creator (TechCrunch)Microsoft’s Adaptive Accessories finally have a release date (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A whole bunch of things, including a major US bank getting into crypto custody, paying for Google cloud with crypto, Chromebooks made for gaming, the lack of anyone in the current slate of virtual worlds, the return of the cable bundle example 100, and did you know your Apple AirTags only last a year?Sponsors:Masterworks.com/rideMedcline.com/techmemeLinks:America’s Oldest Bank, BNY Mellon, Will Hold That Crypto Now (WSJ)Google selects Coinbase to take cloud payments with cryptocurrencies and will use its custody tool (CNBC)Chips, canvases, and chats: Google Workspace’s plan to crush Office (The Verge)Google is trying to make Chromebooks built for cloud gaming (Engadget)It's Lonely in the Metaverse: DappRadar Data Suggests Decentraland Has 38 ‘Daily Active’ Users in $1.3B Ecosystem (CoinDesk)You Hated Your Cable Package. Your Streaming Services Are Bringing It Back. (WSJ)‘The Owner of This iPhone Was in a Severe Car Crash’—or Just on a Roller Coaster (WSJ)How to change the AirTags battery (AppleInsider)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s another huge crypto hack and I’ll give you two guesses as to what folks think the culprit is. The Twitter/Elon trial is officially paused. Meta can’t get its own developers to use their metaverse products. Maybe my dream of Death Star style anklebots is over. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Wealthfront.com/techmemeLinks:Binance-linked blockchain hit by $570 million crypto hack (Reuters)The Elon Musk vs. Twitter trial is on hold until October 28th (The Verge)Meta’s flagship metaverse app is too buggy and employees are barely using it, says exec in charge (The Verge)Amazon Abandons Home Delivery Robot Tests in Latest Cost Cuts (Bloomberg)Samsung Details GDDR7 and 1,000-Layer V-NAND Plans (Tom's Hardware)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Even After $100 Billion, Self-Driving Cars Are Going Nowhere (Bloomberg)The Illustrated Stable Diffusion (Jay Alammar)Swiss Dropout Worth $14 Billion Moves Startup Away From Porn (Bloomberg)The Next Big Battle Between Google and Apple Is for the Soul of Your Car (WSJ)How To Download All of Wikipedia onto a USB Flash Drive in 2022 (Planet of the Paul)A Canticle for Leibowitz (Wikipedia)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from the Made By Google event. Elon sure wants to avoid being deposed. Why a guilty verdict for Uber’s former Chief Security Officer could have broader ramifications in the tech world. And the new text to video AI systems, this time, from Google.Sponsors:Titan.com/rideTed Tech PodcastLinks:Google unveils Pixel 7 Pro with Tensor G2 processor, 5x telephoto, starts at $899 (9to5Google)Google gets serious about wearables with the Pixel Watch (TechCrunch)Elon Musk’s deposition delayed as he wrangles with Twitter over deal (Financial Times)Former Uber Security Chief Found Guilty of Hiding Hack From Authorities (NYTimes)Former Uber security chief convicted of covering up 2016 data breach (Washington Post)Google answers Meta’s video-generating AI with its own, dubbed Imagen Video (TechCrunch)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yes, we’ll get into the whole Twitter/Elon thing. Seems he wants the original deal again… or does he? Tesla is removing more sensors from their cars. The hugely problematic launch of Overwatch 2. And the tech angle to that whole Chess cheating scandal.Links:Musk Revives $44 Billion Twitter Bid, Aiming to Avoid Trial (Bloomberg)Elon Musk says Twitter will eventually be part of ‘X, the everything app’ (MarketWatch)Musk offers to proceed with Twitter deal (Axios)Lawyers Lose Out on Millions in Twitter-Musk Legal Fees (Bloomberg)Tesla is now building Model 3 and Model Y vehicles without ultrasonic sensors (TechCrunch)DDoS attack on 'Overwatch 2' servers prevents fans from playing the game on launch day (Engadget)Chess Investigation Finds That U.S. Grandmaster ‘Likely Cheated’ More Than 100 Times (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The EU has made USB-C the charging port law of the land. Xiaomi’s new flagship smartphone with a 200MP camera. New Google Nest things. Is YouTube trying new ways to get you to pay up for Premium. And the big new robotics push in the world of… checks notes… retail pharmacy.Links:EU Passes Law to Switch iPhone to USB-C by End of 2024 (MacRumors)Xiaomi’s 12T Pro launches with high-resolution 200-megapixel camera (The Verge)Google debuts new Nest Doorbell Wired, Nest Wifi Pro and launches fully new Google Home app preview (ZDNet)YouTube is asking some users to purchase a Premium subscription to watch in 4K (TechCrunch)Meta launches AI software tools to ease switching between Nvidia, AMD chips (Reuters)Walgreens Turns to Prescription-Filling Robots to Free Up Pharmacists (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kim Kardashian has settled with the SEC over crypto promotion on social media. I continue to Wonder if, aside from TikTok, the biggest threat to Zuckerberg’s metaverse plans is actually Sony. The Supreme Court is gonna hear cases that could pierce the veil of Section 230. And the other social media law from Texas that Silicon Valley is fighting tooth and nail.Links:Kim Kardashian pays over $1 million to settle SEC charges linked to a crypto promo on her Instagram (CNBC)Celsius Network founder withdrew $10mn ahead of bankruptcy (FT)Sony Betting Big on Next VR Headset With Increased Production Plan (Bloomberg)Social Media Company Liability Draws Supreme Court Scrutiny (Bloomberg)Texas Social-Media Law on Web Censorship Upheld by Federal Appeals Court (Bloomberg)Tech companies are gaming out responses to the Texas social media law (Washington Post)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

NFT Struggles, Google Stadia And New Kindles with @aidanfitzryan and @ArtSabintsevSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Google is abandoning a major project, maybe it’s biggest cancellation ever. More cutbacks at Meta. Though one tech company is gonna test the IPO waters soon. Be a fly on the wall as Elon talks to everyone in Silicon Valley about maybe buying Twitter. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Google is shutting down Stadia (The Verge)Meta to Cut Headcount for First Time, Slash Budgets Across Teams (Bloomberg)TripActions reportedly files to go public at $12 billion valuation (TechCrunch)Jack Dorsey tried to get Elon Musk on Twitter’s board but directors were too ‘risk averse,’ texts reveal (CNBC)Elon Musk’s Text Exchanges Show Twitter Deal Going Off The Rails (Big Technology)How Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and Parag Agrawal cratered the Twitter deal, in texts (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Google is trying to reinvent search — by being more than a search engine (The Verge)Twitter Is in This Mess Because Jack Dorsey Was Too Busy Being a Bitcoin Influencer (Bloomberg)Here's Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult To Understand (And Three Ways To Fix It) (SlashFilm)Someone is pretending to be me. (Connor Tumbleson)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meta takes down an app that tried to strip out the cruft from Instagram (but also the ads). Bunch of new Maps features from Google. All the headlines from yesterday’s Amazon event, including a Kindle you can write on. And text to image generators are cool. But you know what’s really cool, text to video generators.Sponsors:Titan.com/rideLinks:The OG App promised an ad-free Instagram feed then got pulled from App Store (TechCrunch)The 11 biggest announcements at Amazon’s hardware launch event (The Verge)Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing (The Verge)Here are all of the new features and updates coming to Google Maps (TechCrunch)SWIFT Partners With Crypto Data Provider Chainlink on Cross-Chain Protocol in TradFi Play (CoinDesk)Meta’s new text-to-video AI generator is like DALL-E for video (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On second thought, Apple is pulling back on iPhone production which suggests demand is not what they anticipated. Intel’s new 13th-Gen chips and new low-end GPU. Checking on the Elon/Twitter trial and the NFT market. And what to expect from this week’s Tesla AI event.Links:Apple Ditches iPhone Production Increase After Demand Falters (Bloomberg)The latest iPadOS 16 beta brings Stage Manager to older iPad Pro models (Engadget)Intel’s 13th Gen processors arrive October 20th with $589 flagship Core i9-13900K (The Verge)Intel Arc A770 graphics card to launch October 12 for $329 (PCGamer)NFT Trading Volumes Collapse 97% From January Peak (Bloomberg)Twitter says Elon Musk’s own data scientists did not back up bots claims (Financial Times)Turnstile is Cloudflare’s latest attempt to rid the web of CAPTCHAs (The Verge)How To Watch Tesla’s AI Day (Forbes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sam Bankman-Fried finally scoops up Voyager’s assets. Meta says Russia has launched the biggest disinformation campaign of the war. Nreal has finally brough the first real contender for the AR wars to American shores for the first time. And would you consider a Metaverse white paper from the sci-fi writer than inspired the very notion of a Metaverse?Sponsors:Online.UC.eduMasterworks.com/ride **Links:Crypto Exchange FTX Wins Bankrupt Firm Voyager’s Assets (Bloomberg)‘Smash and grab’: Meta uncovers Russia's ‘largest and most complex’ info op since the war began (Protocol)Meta makes it easier to switch between Facebook and Instagram accounts (CNBC)Nreal’s $379 AR glasses launch in the US today (The Verge)If you still miss Google Reader, Substack has a new web-based RSS client (The Verge)Walmart enters the metaverse with Roblox experiences aimed at younger shoppers (CNBC)Neal Stephenson’s Lamina1 drops white paper on building the open metaverse (GamesBeat)**Net est. returns for all realized and unrealized offerings is 15.3%, from inception through 6/30/22. See important Reg A and performance disclosures at masterworks.io/cdSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

UK police make an arrest many believe is related to those recent Uber and Rockstar hacks. Will the iPhone get a design overhaul next year? Cloudflare’s interesting new Zero Trust SIM. Maybe the first copyright for that new AI Art stuff? And why AI is allowing Darth Vader’s voice to live on forever.Sponsors:Medcline.com/techmemeZocDoc.com/techmemeLinks:UK Police arrests teen believed to be behind Uber, Rockstar hacks (BleepingComputer)One Week with the iPhone 14 Pro Max: Apple’s Not-So-Dynamic Island (Bloomberg)Cloudflare launches an eSIM to secure mobile devices (TechCrunch)TikTok Seen Moving Toward U.S. Security Deal, but Hurdles Remain (NYTimes)Artist receives first known US copyright registration for latent diffusion AI art (ArsTechnica)James Earl Jones Steps Back From Voicing Darth Vader, Signs Off on Using Archived Recordings to Recreate Voice With A.I. (Variety)Darth Vader’s Voice Emanated From War-Torn Ukraine (Variety)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Argyle is a BIM to Augmented Reality app for Heavy Construction. More at Argyle.BuildSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If DAO’s are a modern, blockchain take on the corporation, I’ve got a big, worrying thing to tell you about them. Apple looks to cozy up to the NFL as Amazon seems to have found immediate success with Thursday Night Football. Fitbit takes a page out of the Oculus playbook, post-acquisition. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Links:CFTC Penalizes Blockchain Protocol $250K, Files Action Against Successor DAO (CoinDesk)Apple to Sponsor the Super Bowl Halftime Show (NYTimes)Amazon Scores Big With First ‘Thursday Night Football’ Game (The Hollywood Reporter)Fitbit will require a Google Account to use new devices and features from 2023 onward (9to5Google)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Sneaky Genius of Apple’s AirPods Empire (Bloomberg)How a Quebec Lithium Mine May Help Make Electric Cars Affordable (NYTimes)Unauthorized Shein boutiques are popping up across Mexico (Rest of World)College Dropout Turns Thiel Fellowship Into a $2 Billion Figma Fortune (Bloomberg)Why Do All These 20-Somethings Have Closed Captions Turned On? (WSJ)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More gaming hacks. Instagram wants to stop unsolicited sending of nudes. Layoffs come for Meta in all but name. The end-run Google wants to do around Dolby. Getty Images bans AI art. Larry Page’s flying car startup is shutting down. And a review of the new Apple Watch Ultra.Links:2K Games says hacked help desk targeted players with malware (BleepingComputer)Instagram’s finally working on protecting users from unsolicited nude photos (The Verge)Meta Quietly Reduces Staff in Cost-Cutting Push (WSJ)Google wants to take on Dolby with new open media formats (Protocol)Getty Images bans AI-generated content over fears of legal challenges (The Verge)TikTok’s BeReal clone app is gaining traction outside the US (The Verge)Google co-founder’s flying car startup is winding down (CNBC)Apple Watch Ultra review: an aspirational debut (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Twitch is the main character of the show today, for good and bad reasons. YouTube takes a serious swing at TikTok. Microsoft releases Windows 11's first major update. Nividia outlines its next gen GPUs. Can Helium make it as an MVNO? And Google does Google things!Sponsors:Split.io/techmemeLinks:Twitch to ban Stake.com streams and other unlicensed gambling content (The Verge)Child Predators Use Twitch to Systematically Track Kids Livestreaming (Bloomberg)YouTube will share ad revenue with Shorts creators (Engadget)Windows 11’s 2022 Update has something new for everyone (The Verge)Nvidia announces next-gen RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 GPUs (The Verge)Helium Founders, T-Mobile Launch Crypto-Powered 5G Mobile Service (Decrypt)Google is finally making its to-do list and reminder tools work together (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Now the hackers have come for the crypto market makers. Spotify gets into the Audiobooks game. Slack gets in on the whole productivity apps renaissance. Actual inflation is coming to the app store and 1 Euro apps will soon be no more. And the chat room that only opens its doors when your phone’s battery is about to die.Sponsors:Online.UC.eduLinks:Crypto market maker Wintermute hacked for $160 million (The Block)Uber links breach to Lapsus$ group, blames contractor for hack (BleepingComputer)Rockstar comments on GTA 6 leak and claims project won’t be delayed (VideoGameChronicle)Nasdaq is preparing to launch an institutional crypto custody service (The Block)Spotify Launches Audiobooks Business With A La Carte Pricing, No Discounts for Subscribers (The Hollywood Reporter)Slack’s new Canvas feature puts a document editor in your chat window (The Verge)Apple to raise App Store prices in multiple countries next month (9to5Mac)Apple says software update coming next week to fix iPhone 14 Pro camera shake issue (9to5Mac)This Chatroom Only Opens When Your Phone’s About to Die (Motherboard)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did the same kid who allegedly hacked Uber allegedly leak GTA VI gameplay over the weekend? Interpol drops a red ball on Do Kwan. iPhone 14 Pro users report their cameras literally shake when they try to take pictures. Instacart wants to break the tech IPO hex. And the bull and bear case for the Figma acquisition.Links:GTA 6 gameplay leaks online in 90 videos (The Verge)South Korean prosecutors ask Interpol to issue red notice for Do Kwon (Financial Times)iPhone 14 Pro camera shaking and rattling in TikTok, Snapchat, and other apps (9to5Mac)'No One Is Profitable': GPU Mining Faces Dark Days After Ethereum Merge (PCMag)Instacart Plans to Focus IPO on Selling Employee Shares (WSJ)The Adobe-Figma deal is historic for tech startups — if it goes through (Protocol)Why Figma is Worth $20B And Other Observations From The Adobe Acquisition (Hunter Walk)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Building the fundamental assets for the metaverse, with Treasury. If you want to learn more, contact me, or check out Treasury.space.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Uber is investigating a breach of its systems that has caused it to take some of its most important systems offline. The White House has finally delivered that big “comprehensive framework” for crypto regulation. How did Amazon do with its NFL broadcast last night? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Uber Investigating Breach of Its Computer Systems (NYTimes)Uber suffers computer system breach, alerts authorities (Washington Post)White House Releases ‘Comprehensive Framework’ for Crypto Regulation and Development (Decrypt)The Amazon Experience Comes to the NFL (The Ringer)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The AI Unbundling (Stratechery)Deere Invests Billions in Self-Driving Tractors, Smart Crop Sprayers (WSJ)The Collectors Who Save Video-Game History from Oblivion (The New Yorker)The Enduring Allure of Choose Your Own Adventure Books (The New Yorker)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Adobe plans to acquire Figma for the biggest ever private software company acquisition. Is this a sign of things to come in the productivity space? Happy The Merge Day for Ethereum. TikTok just copies and pastes a BeReal clone. And California launches the first lawsuit against Amazon that might have real consequences.Links:Adobe Tumbles After Agreeing to Buy Figma for About $20 Billion (Bloomberg)Canva moves beyond graphic design to launch a visual worksuite (TechCrunch)Zoom Readies Email and Calendar Products to Defend Itself Against Microsoft, Google (The Information)Ethereum activates The Merge as it shifts to proof of stake (The Block)TikTok just launched a BeReal clone called TikTok Now (TechCrunch)California Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Arrest warrants for those behind LUNA and UST. Anti-cheating technology comes to video games. Apple is going all in on 3nm chips and soon. Mudge’s testimony before Congress yesterday. A first hands-on with the new Playstation VR thingy. And the reviews for the iPhone 14 are out.Sponsors:LadderLife.com/rideLinks:Terra Co-Founder Do Kwon Faces Arrest Warrant in South Korea (Bloomberg)U.S. Treasury Department releases Tornado Cash guidance (Axios)Google Suffers Setback in Court Fight to Topple Record EU Fine (Bloomberg)EA will debut new anti-cheat tech with 'FIFA 23' on PC (Engadget)Apple to use TSMC's next 3-nm chip tech in iPhones, Macs next year (NikkeiAsia)We finally got our hands and eyes on the PlayStation VR2 (The Verge)What we learned when Twitter whistleblower Mudge testified to Congress (TechCrunch)Apple iPhone 14 review: meet the iPhone 13S (The Verge)Apple iPhone 14 Pro review: early adopter island (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google does what it does best. Kills a product line. As the Twitter whistleblower testifies before congress, did extreme heat in California almost bring Twitter down recently? Amazon has updated the entry-level Kindle. And a review of the recently released iOS 16.Sponsors:Masterworks.com/rideOnline.UC.eduLinks:Google canceled its next Pixelbook and shut down the team building it (The Verge)Twitter starts rolling out podcasts to Blue subscribers (Engadget)Extreme California heat knocks key Twitter data center offline (CNN)Splatoon 3 has smashed Switch launch records in Japan (VideoGamesChronicle)The Cheapest Kindle Is Now Less Cheap, but It’s Got a Better Screen (Gizmodo)Intel just leaked its 13th Gen processor specs (The Verge)iOS 16 review: unlocking the lock screen (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One of those new Meta Quest headsets just happens to have been found in the wild. New Roku gear. Starbucks announces an NFT project. A spinoff Google Moonshot that might be the next generation networking gear. And is TikTok in the crosshairs again, and this time, not just for the US government?Sponsors:Zengo.com/ride code: rideMedcline.com/techmemeLinks:‘Quest Pro’ video shows Meta’s next VR headset a month before its launch event (The Verge)New Linux malware combines unusual stealth with a full suite of capabilities (ArsTechnica)Starbucks details its blockchain-based loyalty platform and NFT community, Starbucks Odyssey (TechCrunch)Roku to Launch ‘The Buzz’ Short-Form Content Hub on Home Screen, Refreshes $30 Streaming Device (Variety)Google’s Loon Project Gets Resurrected. Without Google. Or Balloons (Bloomberg)TikTok’s Secret To Explosive Growth? ‘Billions And Billions Of Dollars’ Says Snap CEO Evan Spiegel (Forbes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is the US government about to legally curtail proof of work crypto projects? Intel’s big new GPU specs. Uber Eats signs a deal to get into the ankle bots business. What I believe is the oldest startup ever to be acquired by a tech giant. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:DataTribe.com, enter by Sept. 23Ramp.com/techmemeLinks:White House report proposes possible restrictions on proof-of-work crypto mining (The Block)Intel Reveals Specifications For Arc Alchemist Desktop GPUs (Tom's Hardware)Uber Eats and Nuro sign a 10-year deal to do robot food delivery in California and Texas (The Verge)Amazon is buying Cloostermans, a mechatronics specialist in Belgium, to ramp up its robotics operations (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:With Stable Diffusion, you may never believe what you see online again (ArsTechnica)They built a Minecraft crypto empire. Then it all came crashing down (Rest of World)Inside the World's First No-Coiner Conference (Decrypt)Just a Few People Crowned Some of YouTube’s Earliest Hits (The Atlantic)The super-rich ‘preppers’ planning to save themselves from the apocalypse (The Guardian)Apple's features graveyard: Once heavily marketed, now gone (Apple Insider)The ‘deaditors’ of Wikipedia (HayKranen.nl)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Disney’s former CEO throws another lifeline to Elon Musk in his Twitter suit. Crypto folks are suing the US Treasury over an important crypto precedent. Why the current YC batch is still crypto heavy. A very interesting crypto raise. And a deeper look at the iPhone 14 Pro's Dynamic Island.Sponsors:Split.io/techmemeLinks:Why Disney didn’t buy Twitter (Vox)Coinbase employees and Ethereum backers sue U.S. Treasury over Tornado Cash sanctions (Fortune)Legendary China Bets Unwind as Buffett, SoftBank Sell (Bloomberg)Y Combinator is doubling down on crypto founders despite market volatility (TechCrunch)Mysten Labs, creator of the Sui blockchain, closes $300 million raise led by FTX Ventures (The Block)How the iPhone 14 Pro Transforms Blank Screen Space Into Something Actually Useful (CNET)Apple might have fixed the notch by putting it on an island (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the headlines from Apple’s Far Out iPhone event. Not to be outdone, details on the next Google Pixel event and Meta Quest Pro events. Ring brings end to end encryption to all its hardware. And for the first time in history, an alleged cyberattack has led to a severing of diplomatic ties.Sponsors:Go.Factor75.com/techmeme130 and code techmeme130 for $130 offCyberSecurityInside.com/rideLinks:The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are official with satellite-based Emergency SOS (The Verge)iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max announced with animated notches and always-on displays (The Verge)The Apple Watch Ultra is finally here (The Verge)Apple’s new AirPods Pro can cancel twice as much noise (The Verge)Google confirms Pixel 7 series will run on new ‘Tensor G2’ chip (9to5Google)Meta Connect Is A One-Day Virtual Event On October 11th (UploadVR)Ring finally brings end-to-end encryption to its flagship video doorbells (The Verge)Albania cuts diplomatic ties with Iran over July cyberattack (APNews)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pretty high priority zero-day to tell you about. Is Binance about to upend the stablecoin market with its muscle? When your electrical utility takes over your smart thermostat. And how that rumored always on iPhone display might work in practice.Sponsors:Online.UC.eduBabbel.com/rideLinks:Google Chrome emergency update fixes new zero-day used in attacks (BleepingComputer)Binance, Issuer of Third-Biggest Stablecoin, to Stop Supporting Larger Rival USDC (CoinDesk)CVS Makes $8 Billion Bet on the Return of the House Call (NYTimes)Thousands of Xcel customers locked out of thermostats during 'energy emergency' (Denver7)Ahead of iPhone 14 event, Brazil suspends iPhone sales without power brick and fines Apple (9to5Mac)iPhone 14 Pro's Always-On Display Behavior in iOS 16 Allegedly Revealed Days Ahead of Unveiling (MacRumors)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Talking the state of Snap, Substack, and the creator economy generally, with @kyurieff, @simonowens, @MattNavarra, @corinne_podger & @BullishStudio!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The iPhone install base has surpassed the Android install base in the US for the first time basically since Android began. Apple settled with a developer for the first time any of us can remember. Meta signs a VR chip deal with Qualcomm. The really good and really annoying bits of the new USB standard. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Apple overtakes Android to pass 50% share of smartphones used in US (Financial Times)Apple settles lawsuit with developer over App Store rejections and scams (TechCrunch)Meta, Qualcomm sign pact on custom virtual reality chips (Reuters)Next-gen USB promises to be twice as fast, using cables you may already own (The Verge)More USB-C speed won't fix users' problems with cables (Apple Insider)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:An Apple Watch for Your 5-Year-Old? More Parents Say Yes. (NYTimes)Interview: Vitalik Buterin, creator of Ethereum (Noahpinion)Exploring 12 Million of the 2.3 Billion Images Used to Train Stable Diffusion’s Image Generator (Waxy.org)The Rise of Tech Blogs in the Mid-2000s (Nirit Weiss-Blatt)Kids Yell “Poop” At Alexa, And These Musicians Profit (BuzzFeed)AMAZON’S THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER IS SMALL-SCREEN HIGH FANTASY DONE RIGHT (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At long last, an edit button has come to Twitter. Nvidia and AMD say the US has imposed restrictions on exporting chips for AI-related applications to Russia and China. How Apple is gonna handle its new holepunch configuration. Disney wants its own Prime. And an AI art-creation bot you can try, right now, for free.Links:Twitter starts testing an edit button, but you have to pay for it (The Verge)Nvidia, AMD warned of new US export restrictions on AI chips (Protocol)Source: iPhone 14 Pro display cutout to show camera plus microphone privacy indicators; redesigned Camera app also coming (9to5Mac)Disney Explores Membership Program Like Amazon Prime to Offer Discounts and Perks (WSJ)Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Fold Gen 2 is bigger, better, and way more powerful (XDA Developers)An AI-Generated Artwork Won First Place at a State Fair Fine Arts Competition, and Artists Are Pissed (Motherboard)Stable Diffusion is a really big deal (Simon Willison's Weblog)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Huge, huge layoffs at Snap. Say hello to Apple Xcode Cloud Subscriptions. Say hello to “can’t be evil” NFT licenses. Forget foldable phones, I have a very interesting foldable laptop to tell you about. And if your crypto exchange fat fingered you $10 million dollars as a mistake, what would you buy?Sponsors:Split.io/techmemeStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Snap plans to lay off 20 percent of employees (The Verge)Xcode Cloud Subscriptions Now Available for Developers (MacRumors)A16z Wants to Standardize NFTs by Giving You a License for Your Token (CoinDesk)Ticketmaster taps the Flow blockchain to let event organizers issue NFTs tied to tickets (TechCrunch)Comcast and Charter face a grim new reality: actual competition (Fast Company)ASUS ZENBOOK 17 FOLD OLED REVIEW: THE BEST FOLDABLE YET (The Verge)Crypto.com Sues Woman After Sending Her $10 Million by Mistake: Report (Decrypt)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elon looks like he’s grabbing onto the Twitter whistleblower as a new argumentative lifeline. The big new CPU lineup from AMD. Gopuff is borrowing money to buy some time. Why did Twitter shelve plans for an OnlyFans clone? And is AI about to unlock our ability to understand what animals are saying?Sponsors:TrueClassic.com code Ride for 25% offStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Elon Musk Attacks Twitter Deal Over Whistle-Blower as Feud Escalates (Bloomberg)Musk Tries a New Way Out of Twitter (Matt Levine/Bloomberg)Twitter is launching its ‘Close Friends’ feature Circle globally (TechCrunch)HOW TWITTER’S CHILD PORN PROBLEM RUINED ITS PLANS FOR AN ONLYFANS COMPETITOR (The Verge)AMD Details Ryzen 7000 Launch (AnandTech)Gopuff Tries to Raise Money Again (WSJ)The Animal Translators (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Really, Apple? THAT is what you’re going to call your AR/VR glasses? I tell you what “that” is. A look at the passkeys Apple is bringing us soon. More deets on the Netflix ad-supported tier. WhatsApp’s super-app ambitions seem to be bearing fruit in India. And is it too late for Eminem and Snoop Dogg to save the NFT market?Sponsors:Kolide.com/rideLinks:Trademark Filings Suggest Apple May Be Securing ‘Reality’ Names for AR/VR Headset (Bloomberg)Apple says 95% of iCloud users already have 2FA enabled ahead of Passkeys launch (9to5Mac)Snapchat brings 'Dual Camera' recording to in-app camera (Engadget)Netflix Eyes $7-to-$9 Price for Its New Ad-Supported Plan (Bloomberg)Meta and Jio launch grocery shopping on WhatsApp in India (TechCrunch)WhatsApp’s super app ambitions are starting to come true in India (The Verge)MTV VMAs: Eminem and Snoop Dogg Perform as Bored Apes in the Metaverse (CNET)Looks bare: OpenSea turns into NFT ghost-town after volume plunges 99% in 90 days (CoinTelegraph)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

First up, we have @KevinTDugan to give us deeper insight into the whole Twitter whistleblower situation. And then, @KylanGibbs of @inworld_ai convinces me we are maybe closer to the Metaverse than I ever thought possible. TLDR: AI might really be at a tipping point.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Forget 5G, T-Mobile and SpaceX are teaming up to offer Zero-G Services. LastPass has gotten hacked, but we think your passwords are safe. When we can expect the new VR headset from Meta to be revealed. Twitter puts podcasts in your feed. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeLinks:T-Mobile and SpaceX Starlink say your 5G phone will connect to satellites next year (The Verge)LastPass developer systems hacked to steal source code (BleepingComputer)Twilio hackers breached over 130 organizations during months-long hacking spree (TechCrunch)Meta to debut new VR headset in October, Mark Zuckerberg tells Joe Rogan (CNBC)Twitter is becoming a podcast app (The Verge)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:The Crypto World Can’t Wait for ‘the Merge’ (NYTimes)Ethereum Overhaul Risks Creating a New Class of Kingpins (Bloomberg)TikTok, Hospitals And Tutoring Apps: The Many Tentacles Of Chinese Tech Giant ByteDance (Forbes)After the Zodiac Killer's '340' Cipher Stumped the FBI, Three Amateurs Made a Breakthrough (Popular Mechanics)‘BlackBerry’: Story of Doomed Smartphone Company Casts Jay Baruchel & Glenn Howerton, XYZ Films Boards Sales for TIFF (EXCLUSIVE) (Variety)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Twitter Whistleblower is a big concern for Twitter, no matter what happens with the Elon stuff. Amazon zags slightly in its healthcare march. iPhone even official announcement. Ethereum merge dates officially solidified. Some new PCs from HP and what to expect from Nvidia’s next generation GPUs.Sponsors:Storyblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Twitter whistleblower to testify in Congress about security failures (Washington Post)Twitter executives face questions from employees after whistleblower claims (CNN Business)Internal memo: Amazon Care to shut down, ‘not a complete enough offering’ for corporate customers (GeekWire)What Apple's September Event Invite May Tell Us About the iPhone 14 (CNET)Ethereum Foundation confirms September dates for the Merge (The Block)Crypto’s massive marketing efforts have drawn few new investors (Washington Post)HP's new PCs include its first Dragonfly Folio and a 34-inch all-in-one (Engadget)Nvidia to announce next-gen GPU architecture in September amid RTX 4090 rumors (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A deep dive into that Twitter whistleblower, because the allegations are getting pretty interesting, and it turns out he’s a bigger deal than I knew. Apple is breaking it’s iPadOS release cadence. Fitbit has unveiled three new wearables. And why just deciding to bring the silicon industry back onshore is not as easy as just passing billions in subsidies.Sponsors:Split.io/techmemeLinks:India forced Twitter to put agent on payroll, whistleblower says (Reuters)Former security chief claims Twitter buried ‘egregious deficiencies’ (Washington Post)Twitter whistleblower won hacker acclaim for exposing software flaws (Washington Post)Apple delivers iPadOS 16.1 beta ahead of iOS 16 fall release (TechCrunch)Plex tells users to reset their passwords after potential data breach (Engadget)Fitbit Drops 3 New Fitness Trackers—and None Have Wear OS 3 (Wired)Wanted: 7,000 construction workers for Intel chip plants (AP)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The former head of security at Twitter has blown the whistle on the company saying it was… crap at security. Instagram wants to clone Be Real. More details on the new Sony VR headset. Some eth here, some eth there, eventually brands are making real money on NFTs. And get ready for the biggest leap in smartphone camera tech we’ve seen in a while.Sponsors:CyberSecurityInside.com/rideLinks:Former security chief claims Twitter buried ‘egregious deficiencies’ (Washington Post)Instagram's next feature might be a copy of BeReal (Engadget)Apple’s New iPhone 14 to Show India Closing Tech Gap With China (Bloomberg)Sony says the PlayStation VR2 is coming in early 2023 (The Verge)Microsoft is putting more ads in Outlook on iOS and Android (The Verge)NFTs Turn Out to Be a Great Channel of Revenue for Businesses, Ask Nike (NFT Gators)The high-resolution smartphone sensors are coming (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amazon continues to be serious about becoming your healthcare provider. Elon Musk is raising prices, I guess cause he can. Confirmation that Sam Bankman-Fried does indeed have a mountain of money. I continue to worry about stablecoins and contagion. And the kids are using FindMy as a new sort of social network.Sponsors:DraftKings Daily Fantasy App Promocode- TechmemeLinks:Amazon Among Bidders for Signify Health (WSJ)Elon Musk says Tesla will hike the price of FSD driver assistance software by 25% in September (CNBC)FTX grew revenue 1,000% during the crypto craze, leaked financials show (CNBC)Stablecoin issuers hold $80bn of short-dated US government debt (Financial Times)How the Find My App Became an Accidental Friendship Fixture (NYTimes)A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal. (NYTimes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looks like Evan Spiegel is retrenching in his dreams of making Snap primarily a camera company. Are we about to see the biggest Google Search algorithm change in years? Does TikTok effectively have a keystroke logger, and will this lead to more calls to crack down on them? And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Links:Snap Scraps Development on Flying Selfie Pixy Drone (WSJ)Google search updates will prioritize real reviews over clickbait (The Verge)New Google Helpful Content Update To Change SEO Much Like Panda Did (Search Engine Roundtable)TikTok’s in-app browser could be keylogging, privacy analysis warns (TechCrunch)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Browser Startups Take Aim at Google Chrome, Apple Safari (WSJ)The Crypto Geniuses Who Vaporized a Trillion Dollars (Intelligencer)Streaming Is Starting to Look A Lot Like Cable TV (Lucas Shaw/Bloomberg)Woman Pictured In The Viral 'Girl Explaining' Meme Explains The Origins And Her Reaction To Sudden Internet Fame (Know Your Meme News)How Nokia Ringtones Became The First Viral Earworms (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why the date of Apple’s iPhone event is interesting. Why Netflix will take away downloads for its ad-tier. Is the VPN built into iOS a lie? Streaming has finally slain linear television. Cameo will let you actually call celebrities. And does Mark Zuckerberg have no aesthetic taste?Sponsors:Zengo.com/ride code: rideSponsors:Apple Targets Sept. 7 for iPhone 14 Launch in Flurry of New Devices (Bloomberg)Netflix’s Ad-Supported Plan Will Block Downloads of Shows, Films (Bloomberg)VPNs on iOS are a scam (Michael Horowitz)U.S. Streaming Tops Cable TV Viewing for First Time, Nielsen Says (Variety)Windows 11’s widgets can now trigger notifications on your taskbar (The Verge)Cameo Now Lets You Have 10-Minute Calls With Celebs (Gizmodo)Does Mark Zuckerberg Not Understand How Bad His Metaverse Looks? (Forbes)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cracking down on house parties as a service. Apple makes moves to diversify the supply chain. Another worrying datapoint from the semiconductor industry. Have the banks been using WhatsApp to avoid scrutiny from regulators? And can large language models make our dreams of robot butlers a reality?Sponsors:KeeperSecurity.com/techmemeManscaped.com code RIDE for 20% offLinks:Exclusive: Airbnb rolls out new anti-party tech to prevent unapproved gatherings (Fast Company)MacBook design changes enable Vietnamese production for the first time; Apple Watch too (9to5Mac)Chipmakers Are Flashing More Warnings on the Global Economy (Bloomberg)Wall Street's Record Fines Over WhatsApp Use Were Years in the Making (Bloomberg)Amazon is raising seller fees for the holidays to manage through surging inflation (CNBC)Mid-year Crypto Crime Update: Illicit Activity Falls With Rest of Market, With Some Notable Exceptions (Chainalysis)Google invested a whopping $1.5B into blockchain companies since September (CoinTelegraph)Google’s New Robot Learned to Take Orders by Scraping the Web (Wired)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Was the Twilio breach really about hacking into Signal users? Apple’s serious about returning to the office. Tired: a global chip shortage. Wired: a global chip glut? Amazon says the FTC is harassing its executives. And how far can Uber go to raise prices?Sponsors:DraftKings Daily Fantasy App; Promocode: TechmemeStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Signal says 1,900 users’ phone numbers exposed by Twilio breach (TechCrunch)Apple Sets Return-to-Office Deadline of Sept. 5 After Covid Delays (Bloomberg)Chipmakers’ Pandemic Boom Turns to Bust as Recession Looms (Bloomberg)Twitter Has to Give Musk Only One Bot Checker's Data: Its Ex-Product Head (Bloomberg)Amazon accuses FTC of harassing executives including Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy (FT)Walmart+ members will soon get Paramount+ streaming as part of their subscription (Engadget)Uber Raises Prices by About 5% in London to Attract More Drivers (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Galaxy Digital shows Elon Musk real reasons to terminate an acquisition deal. a16z is making its biggest ever single investment. You’ll never guess with whom. Snap has more than a million paying subscribers. Cable Internet is losing subscribers for the first time ever. And that time Apple tried to talk Facebook into creating a subscription version of its services.Sponsors:Kolide.com/rideStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Galaxy Digital terminates its acquisition of BitGo (The Block)Unity rejects AppLovin's takeover bid, to go ahead with ironSource buyout (Reuters)Adam Neumann Gets a New Backer (NYTimes/DealBook)Court Documents Confirm Xbox One Sold Less Than Half PS4 Numbers (GameLuster)Snapchat+ Tops 1 Million Paying Customers, Adds Four New Features (Variety)Cable Finally Loses Broadband Market Share in Q2 with First Negative Growth Quarter Ever (NextTV)The Secret Talks That Could Have Prevented the Apple vs. Facebook War (WSJ)The job openings at Sensel: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Sensel/jobsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Smart money management for web3 organizations.Find out more at Mesha.club.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We speak today with Bloomberg Economics columnist Noah Smith. Are we in a recession? Are we in store for an actual shooting war with China? Is bitcoin due for one more big pump? Come for all of that, and stick around for Chris and I to hit some stories that fell through the cracks this week, like Google’s ad campaign against iMessage.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dutch authorities have arrested a developer related to Tornado Cash. But is there a grey area here that is a bit messy? LinkedIn seems ready to go all in on the creator and influencer economy. Apple seems to have confidence that there’s not going to be a slowdown in iPhone sales. And of course, the weekend Longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Masterworks.com/rideLinks:Suspected Tornado Cash developer arrested in Amsterdam (The Block)LinkedIn rolls out new tools to give creators more ways to share visual content (TechCrunch)Apple Expects to Sustain iPhone Sales in 2022 as Market Slows (Bloomberg)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:How Did Two Unknown Latin Music Operators Make $23 Million From YouTube? The IRS Says They Stole It (Billboard)Tornado Cash Crackdown Shows Limits of Regulating Cryptocurrency Services (WSJ)Man who built ISP instead of paying Comcast $50K expands to hundreds of homes (ArsTechnica)New – AWS Private 5G – Build Your Own Private Mobile Network (AWS Blog)The High-Stakes Race to Engineer New Psychedelic Drugs (Wired)The End of Manual Transmission (The Atlantic)The job openings at Sensel: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Sensel/jobsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Disney embraces inflation because it kind of has to. How Facebook and Instagram are sneakily still tracking you, even after Apple’s ATT changes. The FCC has rejected SpaceX for a big rural broadband deal. And where the teens are hanging out online, these days. You kind of know the answer, but the data is still interesting.Sponsors:MacGeekGab.comStoryblok.com/ridehomeLinks:Disney+ Ad Plan Price and Launch Date Set — Along With Fee Hikes for Disney+ Premium, Hulu (Variety)Cisco hacked by Yanluowang ransomware gang, 2.8GB allegedly stolen (BleepingComputer)CISA warns of Windows and UnRAR flaws exploited in the wild (BleepingComputer)iOS Privacy: Instagram and Facebook can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser (Felix Krause)FCC denies Starlink’s application for $885M subsidy (TechCrunch)Ethereum's final proof-of-stake 'test merge' is live on Goerli (The Block)Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022 (PEW Research Center)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.