Techmeme
June 21, 2023, 11:05 AM

Top News

Josh Dzieza / The Verge:
A look at the vast and mostly hidden “tasker” underclass, including subject-matter experts, hired by companies like Scale AI to annotate data for AI training  —  As the technology becomes ubiquitous, a vast tasker underclass is emerging — and not going anywhere.
Will Douglas Heaven / MIT Technology Review:
A look at the recent debates in the AI industry over existential risks, as what were once considered extreme views have now become mainstream talking points  —  “Ghost stories are contagious.”  —  Who's afraid of the big bad bots?  A lot of people, it seems.
Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
A look at the White House's urgent push for AI regulation, as Biden meets with a group of AI experts for a non-industry perspective on risks and opportunities  —  President Joe Biden huddled in the Oval Office with several of his top advisers in early April as an aide typed prompts into ChatGPT …
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
The US FTC files a lawsuit against Amazon over allegedly using “dark patterns” to enroll customers in Prime without consent and “sabotaged” attempts to cancel  —  - The FTC on Wednesday sued Amazon, alleging it tricked customers into signing up for its Prime subscription program …
Kana Inagaki / Financial Times:
Masayoshi Son says SoftBank plans to go on the “counteroffensive” soon by resuming AI investments; the group has $35B+ after halting investments in recent years  —  Billionaire chief talks up AI and reveals he had breakdown in October where he questioned his achievements as an entrepreneur
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Amazon plans to hold Prime Day on July 11 and July 12 and introduce an invite-only Prime Days deals program; an Indian version will be held “later this summer”  —  Amazon will hold its 2023 Prime Day sales event on Tuesday, July 11, and Wednesday, July 12, the Seattle-based e-commerce giant announced tonight.
Sawdah Bhaimiya / Insider:
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Reddit suspended some moderators after they changed their subreddits to NSFW; Reddit says the mods violated its policy by incorrectly marking subreddits as NSFW  —  Reddit has started removing moderator teams managing subreddits that switched the labeling on their communities to Not Safe For Work …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Instagram now lets US users download Reels posted by public accounts for sharing outside the app, a feature TikTok has had for years  —  Instagram is finally letting users download Reels posted by others so they can share them outside the app.  Rival short video app TikTok has had this feature …
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:
Twitch plans to require streamers to add new content labels for streams with sexual themes, graphic violence, drug use, gambling, or “significant” vulgarity  —  Twitch is rethinking the way it flags mature content, swapping its existing toggle for a more granular set of topic-specific labels.
Xinghui Kok / Reuters:
Memo: Grab CEO Anthony Tan tells staff the company plans to cut 1,000 jobs, or 11% of its workforce, citing costs and a need to ensure more affordable services  —  Singapore-based Grab Holdings (GRAB.O), Southeast Asia's leading ride-hailing and food delivery app, is cutting 1,000 jobs or 11% …
Kat Bailey / IGN:
In a reorganization, EA splits EA Games and EA Sports, renaming the former as EA Entertainment, hinting at the company's possible expansion beyond games  —  EA is undergoing a major internal reorganization, with EA Games being renamed “EA Entertainment.”  —  Electronic Arts is undergoing …
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix tweaks its weekly top 10 rankings to include “views”, calculated by dividing the total time spent watching a film or a show in a week by running time  —  The streamer's weekly rankings will now show the most popular titles by number of accounts watching as well as total time.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Activision's Bobby Kotick, and Sony's Jim Ryan plan to testify in court over the FTC's bid to block the Microsoft-Activision deal  —  Microsoft is sending CEO Satya Nadella, Xbox chief Phil Spencer, and many other Xbox executives to defend against its Federal Trade Commission …
Associated Press:
Bernie Sanders opens a Senate investigation into Amazon's warehouse safety practices and writes to Andy Jassy over “egregious health and safety violations”  —  Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has opened a Senate investigation into Amazon's warehouse safety practices …
Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:
Q&A with Jason Del Rey, author of Winner Sells All, on how Walmart plays catch up to Amazon, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon's tenure, Amazon's missteps, and more  —  Jason Del Rey has spent the last 15 years reporting on e-commerce businesses, including Walmart and Amazon.

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Jesse Levine / Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Kevin Purdy / Ars Technica:
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Martin Matishak / The Record: