Techmeme
March 8, 2023, 2:45 PM

Top News

Barbara Ortutay / Associated Press:
Elon Musk apologizes after mocking laid-off disabled Twitter employee Haraldur Thorleifsson, who joined in 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, Associated Press, Washington Post, San Francisco Business Journal, Daring Fireball, 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.
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.
Bloomberg:
A look at Google's scramble to add generative AI to its products, reminding some employees of the rush 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:
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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