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February 12, 2025, 8:00 AM
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Top News

Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Thomson Reuters wins the first major US AI copyright ruling against fair use, in a case filed in May 2020 against legal research AI startup Ross Intelligence  —  The Thomson Reuters decision has big implications for the battle between generative AI companies and rights holders.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple now lets users migrate apps, music, books, shows, and movies between Apple accounts, but the feature isn't available to users in the EU, the UK, or India  —  If you have two Apple Accounts with multiple digital purchases between them, Apple now has a way for you to consolidate the accounts …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google schedules I/O 2025 for May 20 to 21 in Mountain View, with the main keynote on May 20 at 10am PT; Gemini, Android 16, and more announcements are expected  —  Following the “Prism Shift” puzzle this morning, Google has announced that I/O 2025 is taking place Tuesday, May 20
Zoë Schiffer / Wired:
Sources: Sam Altman told staff that OpenAI's board has not received an offer from Elon Musk and other investors, but if it happens the board plans to reject it  —  OpenAI's CEO claims the company has yet to receive an official offer from Elon Musk's team, sources say.
The Hill:
In response to Elon Musk's $97.4B OpenAI bid, Sam Altman says on X “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want”; Musk replies “swindler”
The Logic:
Internal message: Shopify's general council said the company closed Ye's store since the swastika shirt listed for sale “brought with it the real risk of fraud”  —  TORONTO — Shopify's general counsel said the company took down musician Kanye West's online store because of the potential …
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researcher Johann Rehberger shows a hack to override Gemini's prompt injection defenses, letting long-term memories be permanently planted for future sessions  —  In the nascent field of AI hacking, indirect prompt injection has become a basic building block for inducing chatbots …
Katarina Hoije / Bloomberg:
Central African Republic, the first in Africa to adopt bitcoin as tender, launches CAR MEME on Solana, trading at $0.03 on February 11, down ~90% since launch  —  - CAR Meme is second cryptocurrency launched by the country  — Nation first in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as tender in 2022
The Information:
Source: Apple and Alibaba submitted their co-developed AI features for approval by China's cyberspace regulator; Apple considered but rejected DeepSeek's models  —  Apple has recently started working with Chinese internet and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to roll out artificial intelligence features …
Bloomberg:
A White House document sent to Capitol Hill shows President Trump plans to nominate Brian Quintenz, a16z Crypto's head of policy, to lead the CFTC  —  - Trump to tap Jonathan Gould as Comptroller of the Currency  — Trump also set to nominate Jonathan McKernan as CFPB director
Emma Goldberg / New York Times:
A look at ACTS 17, a nonprofit devoted to introducing Christianity to technologists by inviting Peter Thiel and other tech executives to talk about their faith  —  Everything clicked when Peter Thiel gave the speech about God.  —  The occasion was a 40th birthday party for Trae Stephens …
Jeran Wittenstein / Bloomberg:
In Q4, Meta tweaked its depreciation accounting for AI infrastructure, extending it from 4-5 to 5.5 years, cutting expenses by $2.9B in 2025 and boosting profit  —  - Facebook owner recently extended useful life on computing gear  — Change will significantly reduce depreciation expense in 2025
Brent Crane / Bloomberg:
A profile of Oura CEO Tom Hale, who joined the Finnish smart ring maker in 2022, as it broadens its appeal and reaches $500M in 2024 revenue and profitability  —  Under CEO Tom Hale, Oura broadened its appeal beyond the biohacker fringe.  —  Tom Hale, who runs Finnish smart-ring maker Oura Health Ltd …
More: ZDNET
Dylan Butts / CNBC:
SoftBank posts a surprise Q3 net loss of ~$2.4B on ~$12.04B revenue, vs. $12.1B est., as the Vision Fund, after two profitable quarters, reports a ~$2.04B loss  —  SoftBank Group posted a surprise quarterly loss Wednesday as investments under its Vision Funds fell into red.
Stephen Nellis / Reuters:
US chip startup Groq says it has secured a $1.5B commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand the delivery of its AI chips to the country over the course of this year  —  U.S. semiconductor startup Groq said on Monday it has secured a $1.5 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand the delivery of its advanced AI chips to the country.
New York Times:
How Elon Musk's six companies, facing 32+ ongoing probes, pending complaints, or enforcement actions from 11+ US agencies, score benefits from Trump shake-ups  —  Elon Musk controls six companies, including Tesla.  Mr. Musk's companies secured $13 billion in federal contracts …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Google rolls out AI image remixing tool Whisk to 100+ countries, letting users upload three images for subject, scene, and style to remix, powered by Imagen 3  —  Google keeps releasing experimental products built with its AI models to give users a taste of its capabilities.
Joel Khalili / Wired:
Q&A with Binance CEO Richard Teng on Changpeng Zhao remaining the exchange's biggest shareholder, evolving Binance, external oversight, finding an HQ, and more  —  After former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao went to prison, Richard Teng set out to show that the crypto exchange is now on its best behavior.

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From Mediagazer

Tyler Pager / New York Times:
Trump signs an EO seeking to dismantle seven federal agencies, including VOA parent USAGM, which is congressionally chartered as an independent agency

The Times:
An investigation into the unsolved 1977 murder of The Sunday Times foreign correspondent David Holden in Egypt suggests he doubled as a KGB spy and had CIA ties

Kayla Gogarty / Media Matters for America:
An analysis of popular podcasts, streams, and other long-form audio and video content with political leanings indicates that right-leaning outlets dominate

More News

Earlier Picks

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple is renaming the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America in Apple Maps, following Google, first for users in the US and soon for all users globally
John Kang / Forbes:
Sources: Meta is in talks to acquire South Korean AI chip startup FuriosaAI, which has raised ~$115M since its 2017 founding; the deal could close this month
Anthony Capaccio / Bloomberg:
Anduril plans to assume the management and eventual manufacturing of the US Army's infantry goggles from Microsoft, in a $20B+ deal that the Army must approve
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Annual letter: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan says the TV has overtaken mobile as the “primary device for YouTube viewing in the US”, indicating YouTube is “the new TV”
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