Techmeme
February 22, 2024, 11:40 AM

Top News

Reuters:
Downdetector: users of AT&T, Verizon, and other networks report ongoing cellular outages across the US, starting at around 4:30AM ET; T-Mobile denies any issues  —  A cellular outage on Thursday hit thousands of AT&T (T.N) users in the United States, disrupting calls and text messages …
Jake Rudnitsky / Bloomberg:
Google plans to “pause the image generation of people” via Gemini and “re-release an improved version soon” while working to fix its race inaccuracy “issues”  —  - Critics on X say model is unable to accurately depict races  — Google said it will re-release an improved version soon
Kate Irwin / PCMag:
Google says the company is working to immediately fix Gemini's “inaccuracies in some historical image generation depictions”, after some users complained  —  Controversy is swirling around Google's generative AI tool Gemini as some users complain that its historical depictions are not accurate.
Washington Post:
Leaked files detail Chinese state-linked hacking groups carrying out large-scale, systematic cyber intrusions against governments, companies, and infrastructure  —  A trove of leaked documents from a Chinese state-linked hacking group shows that Beijing's intelligence and military groups …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Sony is testing PC support for its PlayStation VR2 headset, which currently works exclusively with the PS5, and hopes “to make this support available in 2024”  —  Sony's PlayStation VR2 headset is designed to work exclusively with a PS5, but the company is now testing out support for PC.
Reuters:
Sources: Reddit signed a deal with Google to make its content available for training the search giant's AI models; source: the contract is worth ~$60M per year  —  Social media platform Reddit has struck a deal with Google (GOOGL.O) to make its content available for training …
Sean Michael Kerner / VentureBeat:
Stability AI debuts a preview of Stable Diffusion 3.0, its next-gen flagship text-to-image model, aiming to offer improved image quality and better performance  —  Stability AI is out today with an early preview of its Stable Diffusion 3.0 next-generation flagship text-to-image generative AI model.
Carly Page / TechCrunch:
Researchers warn that hackers are exploiting ConnectWise's remote access tool via a flaw “embarrassingly easy” to exploit; ConnectWise has confirmed the attacks  —  “I can't sugarcoat it — this shit is bad," said Huntress' CEO  —  Security experts are warning that a high-risk vulnerability …
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
Samsung plans to roll out One UI 6.1 in “late March” for the Galaxy S23 series, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, and Tab 9 series, adding the full Galaxy AI suite and more  —  Samsung's next big Android update, One UI 6.1, debuted on the Galaxy S24 series last month, but is getting ready to make its way to more Galaxy devices.
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Nvidia reports Q4 revenue up 265% YoY to $22.1B, vs. $20.62B est., Data Center revenue up 409% to $18.4B, Q1 revenue forecast above estimates; NVDA jumps 15%+  —  - Nvidia reported earnings after the bell that beat Wall Street expectations for earnings and sales, and said revenue during …
Financial Times:
Sources: Nigeria ordered telecoms to restrict access to the websites of some of the world's largest crypto exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken  —  Local consumers given only restricted access to markets like Binance and Coinbase  —  Authorities in Nigeria have blocked access …
Lauly Li / Nikkei Asia:
Sources: Google plans to start assembling the Pixel 8 Pro in southern India in Q2 2024, followed by production of the Pixel 8 in northern India around mid-2024  —  Search engine giant joins Apple, Samsung in tapping big South Asian market  —  Google will prepare a production line …
Shivam Patel / Reuters:
X reports taking down accounts and posts following an order by the Indian government, which local media tied to farmers' protests, but disagrees with the action  —  Social media platform X said on Thursday it took down certain accounts and posts following an order by the Indian government …
Bloomberg:
EigenLayer, which facilitates crypto “restaking” to build Ethereum projects via a points system, raised $100M from a16z, after raising $50M in March 2023  —  - VC firm was the sole investor in EigenLayer's funding round  — Crypto venture investments declined sharply in the past year
Dr Richard Fletcher / Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism:
Analysis: at 2023's end, 48% of the top news websites in the US, the UK, and eight others had blocked OpenAI's crawler and 24% had blocked Google's AI crawler  —  In this factsheet we describe the proportion of top news websites in ten countries that block AI (artificial intelligence) crawlers.
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge:
Amazon's $180 Echo Hub review: fast and interactive widgets, supports Zigbee, Thread, and Matter, but laggy touchscreen and some features need a subscription  —  Amazon's new control panel makes using an Alexa-powered smart home as easy as flipping a light switch (only better, trust me).

Sponsor Posts

Meta:
Open Source AI: Available to all, not just the few  —  Meta's open source AI enables small businesses, start-ups, students, researchers and more to download and build with our models at no cost.
Zoho:
How remote support can make your Christmas stress-free  —  As Christmas approaches, the air fills with the anticipation of joy, family gatherings, and gift-giving.  While the season brings immense happiness …
Genesys:
Executive Insights: The Era of Contact Center AI Copilots  —  How AI copilots are transforming customer experience and agent performance.
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.
Techmeme Ride Home:
(BNS) Calvin And Hobbes - With Daniel Kibblesmith
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.

More News

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Earlier Picks

Anna Tong / Reuters:
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Information: