Techmeme
May 22, 2024, 1:35 PM

Top News

Imran Rahman-Jones / BBC:
The UK ICO is “making enquiries with Microsoft” over the company's Recall feature, which some privacy campaigners have called a potential “privacy nightmare”  —  The UK data watchdog says it is “making enquiries with Microsoft” over a new feature that can take screenshots of your laptop every few seconds.
Kate Rooney / CNBC:
Sources: Amazon plans to launch a more conversational Alexa with generative AI features later in 2024, and charge a monthly subscription to offset the cost  —  WATCH NOW  —  Amazon is upgrading its decade-old Alexa voice assistant with generative artificial intelligence and plans to charge …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Humane is seeking a buyer for its business, after the rocky launch of its Ai Pin; a source says the startup, founded in 2018, is seeking $750M to $1B  —  - Humane's AI pin was billed as an alternative to smartphones  — AI hardware product received poor reviews after its launch
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google starts rolling out its Magic Editor and other AI tools to all Android and iOS users for free via Photos, offering 10 Magic Editor library saves per month  —  Last month, Google Photos announced that it would be making Magic Editor and other AI-powered tools free for all Android and iOS users.
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Link-in-bio startup Linktree passes 50M users, up from 41M in December 2023 and 47M+ in March 2024, and launches a beta of its social commerce product  —  Link-in-bio startup Linktree said on Wednesday that it has surpassed 50 million users.  —  The figure represents a significant uptick …
Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:
OpenAI's Scarlett Johansson debacle is merely a reminder of AI's manifest-destiny philosophy: “This is happening, whether you like it or not”, consent be damned  —  If you're looking to understand the philosophy that underpins Silicon Valley's latest gold rush, look no further than OpenAI's Scarlett Johansson debacle.
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Spotify begins rolling out Spotify Mix, a new bespoke font, replacing the Circular typeface variant used in everything from playlists to marketing campaigns  —  Spotify's latest update is visibly changing the audio streaming service to improve the experience for your eyeballs, rather than your ears.
More: Spotify and TechCrunch
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft will soon let businesses build custom Copilot AI agents for automating tasks, and unveils Team Copilot to help with tasks in Teams, Loop, and Planner  —  Microsoft will soon allow businesses and developers to build AI-powered Copilots that can work like virtual employees and perform tasks automatically.
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Scott Gilbertson / Wired:
A review of privacy-focused /e/OS, a fully “deGoogled” OS based on the Android Open Source Project, that combines Micro G, to handle Google APIs, and LineageOS  —  Even if you aren't technically inclined, this privacy-first mobile operating system helps you escape surveillance capitalism.
Mastodon: @serpicojam@mas.to
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok launches its Symphony AI suite for brands, using generative AI to let marketers write scripts, produce videos, and enhance current assets  —  TikTok is the latest tech company to incorporate generative AI into its ads business, as the company announced on Tuesday that it's launching a new “TikTok Symphony” AI suite for brands.
Louise Matsakis / Wired:
Glenn Rifkin / New York Times:
Gordon Bell, who helped design several influential minicomputers at Digital Equipment Corporation, including the 12-bit PDP-8, died on May 17 at age 89  —  It cost $18,000 when it was introduced in 1965, but it bridged the world between room-size mainframes and the modern desktop.
Wired:
An investigation into ticketing service Eventbrite found 7,400+ illicit listings, such as for escort services and drugs, some of which its algorithm recommended  —  A WIRED investigation found thousands of Eventbrite posts selling escort services and drugs like Xanax and oxycodone …
Isabelle Bousquette / Wall Street Journal:
Cologne-based AI translation startup DeepL, which develops its own models, raised $300M led by Index Ventures at a $2B valuation and reports 100K+ customers  —  The round, led by Index Ventures, reflects businesses' increasing interest in function-specific AI models

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The Logan Bartlett Show:
EP 109: Sebastian Siemiatkowski (CEO, Klarna) on the Future of Klarna, Valuation Changes and AI in Finance
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
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Earlier Picks

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Jess Weatherbed / The Verge: