Techmeme
March 8, 2023, 2:50 PM

Top News

Barbara Ortutay / Associated Press:
Elon Musk apologizes after mocking laid-off, disabled Twitter employee Haraldur Thorleifsson, who joined in January 2021 after Twitter acquired his startup Ueno  —  If you're not told you are fired, are you really fired?  At Twitter, probably.  And then, sometimes, you get your job back — if you want it.
More: BBC, BBC, Ethan Zuckerman, Ars Technica, TechCrunch, Washington Post, San Francisco Business Journal, New York Times, New York Post, Forbes, Axios, Insider, Mashable, CNBC, RTÉ, Newser, Gizmodo, TweakTown, and Bloomberg
Politico:
TikTok announces Project Clover, its plan to charm European regulators, including keeping more users' data on servers in Europe and allowing a security audit  —  BRUSSELS — TikTok has launched its European counteroffensive to assuage politicians' fears over Chinese surveillance.
Bloomberg:
A look at Google scrambling to add generative AI to its products, reminding some alumni of the mandate to infuse Google+ into every key service starting in 2011  —  Artificial intelligence was supposed to be Google's thing.  The company has cultivated a reputation for making long-term bets …
Wall Street Journal:
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google adds its VPN service to all Google One plans in 22 countries, starting at $1.99 per month, and dark web monitoring for stolen personal info to Google One  —  After adding Magic Eraser last month, Google One is significantly expanding the availability of its VPN and introducing dark web monitoring for stolen information.
Thomas Germain / Gizmodo:
DuckDuckGo launches DuckAssist in beta, an OpenAI- and Anthropic-powered tool that generates answers using Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, and other sources  —  The new DuckAssist tool will source answers from Wikipedia for quick, conversational responses to some questions.
David Pierce / The Verge:
Spotify redesigns the core homescreen of its app with a TikTok-like vertical scroll of albums, video podcasts, and more  —  Spotify is redesigning the core homescreen of its app, trying to make it easier for users to find new stuff to listen to — and watch.
James Hunt / The Block:
Coinbase unveils a “Wallet-as-a-Service” product, offering APIs to help companies create customizable onchain wallets with simple user onboarding in their apps  —  - Coinbase has announced a product called Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS), designed to let companies build web3 experiences that have simple wallet onboarding.
Ian Allison / CoinDesk:
Source: JPMorgan, which took on Gemini and Coinbase as customers in May 2020, is ending its relationship with Gemini; Coinbase says its relationship is intact  —  Coinbase said its banking relationship with JPMorgan remains intact.  —  Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin, Texas, April 26-28.
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Twitter lets the certificate for its Tor onion site expire, effectively killing off the privacy-preserving and speech-protecting service launched in March 2022  —  Twitter has allowed the certificate for its Tor onion site to expire, effectively killing off a privacy- and speech-protecting service that it introduced last year.
Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
YouTube plans to ease its restrictions on swearing in videos after finding that its November 2022 rules “resulted in a stricter approach than we intended”  —  YouTube will ease its restrictions on swearing in videos after an update it rolled out in November sparked backlash from several creators …
Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
An oral history of LinkedIn, which turns 20 in May, told by co-founders including Reid Hoffman, current executives, Satya Nadella, Richard Branson, and others  —  Social media, for work?  The world was skeptical.  But 20 years and a few white-knuckle moments later, LinkedIn has become synonymous …
Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
Google and the Technical University of Berlin unveil PaLM-E, a visual language model with 562B parameters that integrates vision and language for robot controls  —  ChatGPT-style AI model adds vision to guide a robot without special training.  —  On Monday, a group of AI researchers …
More: PaLM-ETweets: @dannydriess, @dergnz, @_akhaliq, and @suhail
Tom McKay / Rolling Stone:
At CPAC 2023, which had a repeal Section 230 panel, Google, Meta, Twitter, and other tech giants remained central villains; Truth Social and Gettr were absent  —  CPAC showed how the MAGA movement still can't decide whether its problem is too much Silicon Valley or not enough faves
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google schedules I/O 2023 with a “limited live audience” for May 10, when Android 14 details, Pixel 7a's debut, and a Pixel Tablet launch date are expected  —  Following the literal input/output puzzle this morning, Google has announced that I/O 2023 is taking place Wednesday, May 10.
Ryan Tracy / Wall Street Journal:
Documents: the FTC demanded Twitter turn over internal messages on Elon Musk, details about layoffs, and the names of journalists with access to company records  —  Documents obtained by a House panel shed light on the probe into Twitter's compliance with settlement
Anjli Raval / Financial Times:
A profile of former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, criticized for the company's slow move into AI, the cloud, and data analytics, as she publishes a book on her legacy  —  The former IBM chief executive's new book sheds light on her background, her working life — and her call for a rethink on skills

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