A hearth chat between Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg at SIGGRAPH 2024 took some sudden turns. What began as a dialog concerning the capabilities of Nvidia GPUs and Zuckerberg’s imaginative and prescient of an AI chatbot future rapidly turned a extra informal affair — together with a swap of custom-made jackets, a uncommon F-bomb from the Meta CEO, and a barely unsettling anecdote about slicing tomatoes.
Bumble, Hinge and different apps had been open to stalkers, with vulnerabilities that allowed customers to be tracked inside 2 meters of their bodily location. It took researchers a bit of labor to determine the difficulty, which has since been resolved, however it’s one other reminder of how privateness is at all times one vulnerability away from being violated.
Intel introduced sweeping layoffs, affecting 15,000 staff, as the corporate continues to face declining income, a scarcity of success in its AI initiatives, and a prediction that the remainder of the yr will probably be “harder than beforehand anticipated,” within the phrases of its CEO Pat Gelsinger.
The SEC charged BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji with fraud and unregistered providing of securities, claiming he used a pseudonymous id to keep away from regulatory scrutiny whereas he raised over $257 million in cryptocurrency. BitClout, a decentralized social media platform, raised from a who’s who of companies, like a16z, Sequoia, Social Capital, Coinbase Ventures and Winklevoss Capital.
Meta reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas lawyer basic Ken Paxton this week. The settlement stems from a two-year-old lawsuit alleging that Meta’s previous use of facial-recognition know-how violated the state’s privateness protections and that Fb didn’t disclose this follow to customers and procure their consent. The primary cost of $500 million is due within the subsequent month, in response to courtroom filings.
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Information
Now you can check out Apple Intelligence: Apple is lastly releasing a few of its extremely anticipated Apple Intelligence options as a part of a developer beta model of iOS 18.1. Right here’s how one can allow it in your iPhone. Learn extra
OpenAI begins rolling out Voice Mode: Following controversies and delays, OpenAI is giving a small group of ChatGPT Plus customers entry to GPT-4o’s superior Voice Mode. The corporate says the function will roll out to all Plus customers in fall 2024. Learn extra
This necklace needs to be your pal: Pal is a wearable AI gadget designed to fight loneliness. Reasonably than specializing in productiveness, the AI necklace acts like an always-listening walkie-talkie which you could chat with. Learn extra
Meta launches AI Studio: Creators within the U.S. will now have the ability to construct AI bots throughout all Meta platforms. The bots can be utilized to create captions, format posts, generate memes, and even make a private chatbot to work together with their followers. Learn extra
Right here’s how you can decide out of facial recognition at airports: U.S. airports are rolling out facial-recognition know-how to scan the faces of vacationers earlier than they board their flight. However Individuals can decide out of it altogether. Learn extra
Seems, doomscrolling in all probability isn’t good for you: A current examine revealed in Computer systems in Human Habits Reviews hyperlinks the method of doomscrolling to existential nervousness, despair, mistrust and suspicion of others. Learn extra
Canva acquires Leonardo.ai: In an effort to broaden the scope of its AI tech stack, Canva has acquired generative AI content material and analysis startup Leonardo.ai. Because of this, all 120 of the startup’s staff will be a part of Canva. Learn extra
Flo Well being turns into a unicorn: The fertility-focused period-tracking app raised a $200 million Collection C, valuing the startup at greater than $1 billion post-money. The funding will probably be used to draw extra customers and add options for menopause and perimenopause. Learn extra
OpenAI and Microsoft’s frenemy period begins? Microsoft has invested considerably in OpenAI and makes use of its fashions throughout many merchandise. And whereas OpenAI being listed as a “competitor” in an SEC submitting might elevate eyebrows, there’s some nuance concerned. Learn extra
Welcome again, Motorola Razr flip telephones: Samsung continues to be the king of foldable smartphones, however there’s extra competitors within the class. We examine the brand new Galaxy Fold 6 to the Motorola Razr+ (which, sure, is available in that iconic pink shade). Learn extra
Evaluation
Why did Wiz stroll away from $23 billion? Google was reportedly providing $23 billion to accumulate Wiz. Then Wiz walked away. Why? Ron Miller argues that by saying no to what might have been essentially the most profitable deal ever proposed for a startup, Wiz confirmed it has quite a lot of nerve — and that it’s prepared to position a giant wager on itself. Learn extra
Are you able to really make an AI companion for youngsters? The bold startup Heeyo needs to construct an AI that’s each a pal and tutor for youths. However with a audience like that, privateness and security are of utmost concern, and Rebecca Bellan put each to the check in her unique exploration of their chatbot. Learn extra
