|
February 8, 2024, 12:30 PM
|
Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| David Pierce / The Verge: |
Google releases Gemini Ultra 1.0, its largest and most capable LLM, and renames Bard to Gemini, which now has a dedicated Android app and, soon, an iOS app — Google is famous for having a million similar products with confusingly different names and seemingly nothing in common.
More: The Keyword, The Keyword, Google on YouTube, PCMag, CNET, Reuters, 9to5Google, CRN, Tom's Hardware, Engadget, XDA Developers, Android Police, The Information, Metaverse Post, PCWorld, Android Authority, Business Standard, NBC News, Financial Times, TechRadar, The Hindu, Gizmodo, TalkAndroid.com, SiliconANGLE, Droid Life, Digital Trends, Android Headlines, How-To Geek, France 24, SlashGear, GSMArena.com, TechSpot, Benzinga, PhoneArena, BGR, TechCircle, Neowin, Wired, Search Engine Journal, Google DeepMind, Analytics India Magazine, Wccftech, and NewsBytes
Threads: @fredericl and @daveleebbg
X: @aravsrinivas, @stevesi, @artemr, @carnage4life, @jackk, @jeffdean, @googledeepmind, @graadient, @marie_haynes, @marie_haynes, @jackk, @marie_haynes, @google, @haydenfield, @jackk, @jackk, @marie_haynes, @google, @marie_haynes, @google, and @googledeepmind
LinkedIn: Christophe Dubos, Greta Krupetsky, Aaron Lax, and Vikas Kansal
| Abner Li / 9to5Google: |
Google adds a $20 per month AI Premium plan to Google One, offering Gemini Advanced with the Ultra 1.0 model, and rebrands Duet AI as Gemini for Workspace — Sundar Pichai announced last week that Google One is about to cross 100 million subscribers. Google One is now getting a new AI Premium plan that costs $19.99.| Ethan Mollick / One Useful Thing: |
Google Gemini Advanced hands-on: clearly a GPT-4 class model, but doesn't obviously blow away GPT-4 in benchmarks; Gemini is better than GPT-4 at explanations — And then there were two. — Right around the time you are getting this email, Google finally released their long-awaited powerful AI …
More: Tech Monitor, VentureBeat, BetaKit, ZDNet, Android Authority, Fast Company, and MSPoweruser
X: @carnage4life, @paulroetzer, @andrewcurran_, and @emollick
| Lauren Goode / Wired: |
More: Hindustan Times, Business Insider, CryptoGlobe, TechStartups, and Mashable
| Diane Brady / Fortune: |
Mozilla CEO Mitchell Baker steps down to focus on AI and internet safety as chair of the nonprofit; Mozilla board member Laura Chambers will be interim CEO — Mozilla has named a new CEO effective immediately. — Mozilla Corp., which manages the open-source Firefox browser …
More: The Mozilla Blog, The Verge, Phoronix, and LWN.net
Forums: Hacker News, r/privacy, and Slashdot
| Molly White / Citation Needed: |
In his new book, a16z GP Chris Dixon fails to identify a single blockchain project that has successfully provided a non-speculative service at any kind of scale — Prominent crypto venture capitalist Chris Dixon provides an unconvincing bible for blockchain solutionists. — 1×
More: The Verge. Mastodon: @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io, @carnage4life@mas.to, @slightlyoff@toot.cafe, @johnallsopp@indieweb.social, @williampietri@sfba.social, @jimray@mastodon.social, @KevinMarks@xoxo.zone, @ben@werd.social, @timbray@cosocial.ca, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, and @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io
X: @gergelyorosz, @danielgkuhn, @quinnypig, @mattschaar, @molly0xfff, @billywhizz1970, @quinnypig, @jackivaughan, and @tomphilpott. Forums: r/Buttcoin
| David Shepardson / Reuters: |
The US says OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Meta, Google, Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, Palantir, and over 200 others are joining the new AI Safety Institute Consortium — The Biden administration on Thursday said leading artificial intelligence companies are among more than 200 entities joining …
More: AppleInsider, The Hill, Engadget, Neowin, Business Post, PhoneArena, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Cointelegraph, LFAI & Data, About Amazon, Cleveland Clinic Newsroom, eeNews Europe, Patently Apple, and NIST
X: @secraimondo, @sharongoldman, @jenniferjjacobs, @karahinesley, and @commercegov. Forums: Slashdot
| Josh Boak / Associated Press: |
More: Voicebot.ai, Benzinga, Cybernews.com, TIME, FedScoop, VentureBeat, and The Hill
| Clothilde Goujard / Politico: |
TikTok joins Meta in challenging the EU's DSA in the General Court, arguing the levy is unfair as some firms pay nothing; Meta must pay €11M of the €45M total — Social media giants Meta and TikTok are suing the European Union over a levy that bankrolls the enforcement …
More: The Verge, Reuters, Tech Policy Press, PCMag, European Commission, Engadget, Bloomberg, Nairametrics, Tech Xplore, and Gizmochina
| Foo Yun Chee / Reuters: |
More: Benzinga, Euractiv, TechCrunch, Politico Pro, and Agence France-Presse
X: @ugambini, @gateklons, and @schaldemosemep
| Jessica Conditt / Engadget: |
Filing: the FTC seeks a pause in Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition, arguing layoffs in Microsoft's gaming division contradict Microsoft's prior claims — The FTC isn't done questioning gaming's biggest acquisition. — One week after Microsoft laid off nearly 2,000 employees …
More: Thurrott, The Verge, The Verge, HotHardware, Polygon, Bloomberg, GameSpot, Pocket Gamer.biz, Game Rant, PC Gamer, IGN, Pure Xbox, MSPoweruser, TechRadar, Stevivor, Neowin, PC Games Insider, and SlashGear
Forums: r/technology and r/kindafunny
| Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer: |
The Danish data protection authority orders schools to stop sending student data to Google via Chromebooks and Workspace, after an over four year investigation — The Danish data protection authority (Datatilsynet) has issued an injunction regarding student data being funneled to Google through …
More: The Verge, The Privacy Dad's Blog, Cybernews.com, Benzinga, and NewsBytes
Mastodon: @reay@mastodon.social, @jdelacueva@mastodon.social, and @lightweight@mastodon.nzoss.nz. Forums: Hacker News
| Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority: |
A leaked image allegedly shows the Google Pixel Fold 2, including a narrower cover screen, a squarer inner screen aspect ratio, and redesigned camera bump — Here's a very early look at what could be Google's second-generation foldable phone. — • — TL;DR| Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer: |
LastPass warns users about a fake copy of its app on Apple's App Store, with a similar name and logo, likely used as a phishing app to steal users' credentials — LastPass is warning that a fake copy of its app is being distributed on the Apple App Store, likely used as a phishing app to steal users' credentials.
More: The LastPass Blog, PCMag, App Store, RestorePrivacy, and Malwarebytes
| Martin Young / Cointelegraph: |
SEC filing: NYSE-listed Bakkt, a crypto trading platform backed by the Intercontinental Exchange, warns that it might not be able to stay in business in a year — The institutional digital asset trading platform unveiled in 2018 amid huge fanfare has just disclosed it “might not be able to continue as a going concern.”
More: Bakkt Holdings, Inc., crypto.news, CoinDesk, Decrypt, Crypto Briefing, CCN.com, CryptoPotato, Bitcoin Insider, Inside Bitcoins, Coinspeaker, Milk Road, Cryptonews, Watcher Guru, Bakkt Holdings, Inc., Coinpedia Fintech News, CoinGape, and Microsoft
X: @juthica, @poordart, @ldrogen, @iamnomad, @adamscochran, and @wublockchain
| Aisha S Gani / Bloomberg: |
Plaid names Jen Taylor as its first president as it readies itself for an IPO; Taylor was most recently chief product officer at Cloudflare — - Firm names Cloudflare's product head Jen Taylor as president — Her hiring comes months after fintech announced its first CFO| Brian Fung / CNN: |
The FCC outlaws scam robocalls featuring fake, AI-created voices, giving state AGs more legal tools to pursue illegal robocallers that use such voices — The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it is immediately outlawing scam robocalls featuring fake, artificial intelligence-created voices …
More: Associated Press, Federal Communications …, Wired, Engadget, Axios, and Nextgov/FCW
| Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg: |
Battle for the Bird book excerpt: how Jack Dorsey's plan to get Elon Musk to save Twitter failed, as Musk dismantled the company after taking over, and more — An excerpt from Battle for the Bird shows how Twitter's two most prominent leaders contributed to its current dilemma.| Drew Harwell / Washington Post: |
TikTok quietly removed view counts for hashtags in January, after researchers used them to show the disparity in views of pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian videos — The change came after researchers cited TikTok's video-view counts to discuss the relative prominence of pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian videos on the app.| Sarah Whitten / CNBC: |
Disney plans to invest $1.5B for a stake in Epic Games and collaborate on a new “universe” connected to Fortnite with content from Disney, Pixar, and more — - Disney is investing $1.5 billion for an equity stake in Epic Games in its biggest jump yet into the gaming world.
More: Fortnite on YouTube, The Verge, VentureBeat, Lowpass, Finbold, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Metro.co.uk, Axios, TechStartups, IGN, Dataconomy, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, KNSD-TV, Video Games Chronicle, UPROXX, Wccftech, TweakTown, Silicon Republic, BeInCrypto, Advanced Television, TechSpot, Telegraph, Associated Press, TechRadar, GamingBolt, Push Square, iClarified, USA Today, Neowin, Fast Company, Tom's Guide, Appuals, and Press Start
X: @genepark, @parkerortolani, @trungtphan, @fortnitegame, @ballmatthew, @edzitron, @deantak, @mgsiegler, @sherman4949, and @brianstelter
LinkedIn: Emil Protalinski, Simon Heinzle, Yonatan Raz-Fridman, Stephen Saiz, Neil Duffy, David Zuo, Ben Board, and Jason Recher
Forums: Hacker News, r/PS5, r/TwoBestFriendsPlay, r/Games, r/triangle, r/unrealengine, r/fuckepic, r/Games, r/kindafunny, r/entertainment, and r/news
| Sam Sabin / Axios: |
US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand advisory: China-backed hacking group Volt Typhoon has had access to some major US infrastructure for over five years — China-backed hackers have had access to some major U.S. critical infrastructure for “at least five years,” according to an intelligence advisory released Wednesday.
More: Cybersecurity …, CNN, Bloomberg, Voice of America, PCMag, TechRadar, CSO, iTnews, Cyber Daily, CyberScoop, NBC News, BleepingComputer, CRN, and Engadget
X: @cisagov, @ncsc, @dhsgov, @johnhultquist, @nsacyber, @cisacyber, @jseldin, @cisajen, @cybergovau, @ausambcybertech, and @cisacyber. LinkedIn: Sam Sabin. Forums: r/cybersecurity
| Adnan Aamir / Nikkei Asia: |
Pakistan suspended mobile services across the country as voters went to the polls on February 8; the Interior Ministry cited a deteriorating security situation — Outages in name of security fuel suspicion over polls' legitimacy — Poll workers walk past police officers outside a voting station in Peshawar on Feb. 8.| Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: |
Google debuts a pilot program in Singapore to prevent users from sideloading certain apps that abuse Android app permissions to read one-time passwords — To reduce financial scams, Google has started a new program to prevent users from sideloading certain apps in Singapore.
More: Google Online Security Blog, HotHardware, BleepingComputer, Dexerto, The Hacker News, The Straits Times, Channel NewsAsia, Infosecurity, SamMobile, Android Central, SecurityWeek, PhoneArena, Cyber Kendra, WinBuzzer, Wccftech, Android Headlines, 9to5Google, Android Authority, ZDNet, Security Boulevard, Neowin, and MySmartPrice. LinkedIn: Gianluca Varisco
| The Information: |
Sources: Flexport lost at least $2M/month in 2023 on its air freight deal with Apple, started in late 2022 to ship products from some Asian factories to the US — For Flexport, a logistics company billing itself as the future of trade, it's hard to think of a more impressive client than Apple, the poster child of globalization.
X: @ilirsela, @theo_wayt, and @anngehan
| The Information: |
Sources: OpenAI is developing two types of agent software: one to automate tasks by effectively taking over a user's device, and the other for web-based tasks — OpenAI's first major product, ChatGPT, proved so popular that it sparked a generation of wannabes.
More: Android Authority, The Decoder, BGR, Ben's Bites, Cryptopolitan, and CoinGape
Sponsor Posts
Tribe AI:
Build AI products that matter — Tribe AI helps organizations rapidly deploy AI solutions that have real business impact. We bring together world class AI talent and tooling to drive differentiated results.
Build AI products that matter — Tribe AI helps organizations rapidly deploy AI solutions that have real business impact. We bring together world class AI talent and tooling to drive differentiated results.
Zoho:
How you can grow your business with Zoho One — Zoho One is a comprehensive business suite, giving businesses the scalability, stability, security, and features they need for smooth operations.
How you can grow your business with Zoho One — Zoho One is a comprehensive business suite, giving businesses the scalability, stability, security, and features they need for smooth operations.
Hamming:
Make AI Voice Agents trustworthy — Hamming AI automatically tests AI voice agents and continuously monitors them in production.
Make AI Voice Agents trustworthy — Hamming AI automatically tests AI voice agents and continuously monitors them in production.
Techmeme Leaderboards:
Discover the top reporters on AI, VR, policy, and much more — We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 48 news topics. Download reports immediately for just $100.
Discover the top reporters on AI, VR, policy, and much more — We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 48 news topics. Download reports immediately for just $100.Who's Hiring In Tech?
Techmeme Ride Home:
Thu. 11/14 - The FBI (!) Investigating Polymarket
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via
Apple Podcasts,
Spotify, or
RSS.
About This Page
This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 12:30 PM ET, February 8, 2024.
The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.
From Mediagazer
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:The Hollywood Reporter:
Robbie Whelan / Wall Street Journal:
Upcoming Tech Events
More News
| Reed Albergotti / Semafor: |
Mastodon: @nicol@social.coop. X: @nbj914, @emilybell, @bigmeaninternet, @seamushughes, @te_rowley, and @semaforben
| Kara Swisher / New York Magazine: |
More: The Overspill. Threads: @laurengoode and @crumbler
X: @anammostarac, @corbinbolies, @katzish, @robleathern, @dwhate, @nymag, @benmullin, @karaswisher, and @olifranklin. Forums: Beehaw
Earlier Picks
| Romain Dillet / TechCrunch: |
More: FinTech Global, Finextra, Tech.eu, Silicon Canals, Sifted, Silicon Republic, TNW, Tech Funding News, and Business Insider