Techmeme
August 13, 2019, 4:55 PM

Top News

Sarah Frier / Bloomberg:
Sources: Facebook paid hundreds of contractors to transcribe user audio; FB says it's stopped the work, which affected users who wanted voice chats transcribed  —  - Social network says it paused human review of conversations  — Apple, Amazon, Google have been scrutinized for similar work
Nitasha Tiku / Wired:
Interviews with 47 former and current employees about the past three years at Google reveal fear of the far right, activist awakening, weaponized leaks, more  —  ON A BRIGHT Monday in January 2017, at 2:30 in the afternoon, about a thousand Google employees—horrified, alarmed, and a little giddy …
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Snap announces Spectacles 3 with an updated design and a second HD camera to create depth perception, going on sale in November for $380  —  They're $380 and go on sale in November  —  Snap today announced Spectacles 3, a redesigned version of its augmented reality sunglasses with a sleek …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Spotify for Podcasters comes out of beta, giving podcasters valuable listener data like age, gender, location, music taste, and episode listening duration  —  Spotify for Podcasters comes out of beta today  —  Spotify is going to give podcasters listener data they can't get anywhere else.
The Information:
Sources: Spotify is discussing a plan with Apple to let iPhone users tell Siri to play songs, playlists, albums with voice commands, as anti-trust battle looms  —  An issue that has long vexed many iPhone users—the inability to play music from Spotify using Siri, Apple's voice assistant—may soon be a thing of the past.
Andrew Liptak / The Verge:
Researchers remotely install malware on a DSLR camera from Canon using the unauthenticated Picture Transfer Protocol, common in the industry; Canon issues patch  —  Canon has issued a security advisory and firmware patch for the vulnerability  —  Ransomware has become a major threat …
Emily Birnbaum / The Hill:
Pentagon's internal watchdog says it is investigating misconduct allegations during the $10B JEDI cloud services contract acquisition process  —  The Pentagon's internal watchdog on Tuesday said that it is investigating potential ethics concerns around the $10 billion “war cloud” …
Kaya Yurieff / CNN:
A look at Snapchat's community of about 100 official lens creators, who make custom AR lenses for people and brands, with Snap helping connect them to buyers  —  New York (CNN Business)Eighteen-year-old Ana Casciello couldn't find a filter she wanted for her Snapchat photo that matched her personal style.
Angelica Krystle Donati / Forbes:
OpenSpace, which uses AI to create navigable, 360-degree images of building sites using photos from cameras attached to builders' hats, raises $14M Series A  —  I write about proptech and innovation in real estate and construction.  —  “> As a testament to the increasing significance of the subsector …
More: VentureBeatThanks:@alexanderhunter
Mike Wheatley / SiliconANGLE:
Pavilion Data Systems, a data center storage company, raises $25M Series C led by Taiwania Capital and RPS Ventures  —  Data center hardware maker Pavilion Data Systems Inc. is gearing up for expansion after closing on a $25 million round of funding that brings its total amount raised to $58 million.
Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
Uniphore Software Systems, which aims to use AI in call centers for faster and more personalized customer support, raises $51M  —  An Indian startup that aims to use artificial intelligence to deliver faster and more personalized customer support for corporate clients is raising $51 million …

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New York Times:
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