Techmeme
December 20, 2023, 2:00 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Stanford researchers: LAION-5B, a dataset of 5B+ images used by Stability AI and others, contains 1,008+ instances of CSAM, possibly helping AI to generate CSAM  —  The dataset has been used to build popular AI image generators, including Stable Diffusion.  —  A massive public dataset used …
The Verge:
Memo: Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is leaving Microsoft on December 29; Activision's leadership remains and is being integrated into Microsoft Gaming  —  Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is stepping down officially December 29th.  Microsoft has not appointed a direct replacement …
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:
Sony has sold 50M PS5 consoles in the three years since its November 2020 launch, almost as fast as the PS4 reached 50M, and outsold Xbox by almost 3:1 in 2023  —  Sony outsells Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's Switch as sector recovers from post-pandemic slump
Leah Nylen / Bloomberg:
Pharmacy chain Rite Aid must stop using facial recognition for five years as part of a settlement with the US FTC, which says the tech falsely flagged customers  —  - FTC says chain's surveillance system falsely flagged customers  — Bankrupt pharmacy chain will stop using system, delete images
Greg S. Fink / Car and Driver:
Aston Martin and Porsche preview bespoke interfaces for the next generation of Apple CarPlay, which integrates into all of the displays of the vehicle  —  Apple is working with automakers to make a brand-distinct CarPlay experience.  — Apple's next-generation CarPlay environment arrives in 2024.
Sam Tobin / Reuters:
The UK Supreme Court rules that AI can't be a patent “inventor”, denying a US computer scientist's bid for two patents for an AI's creations, in a landmark case  —  A U.S. computer scientist on Wednesday lost his bid to register patents over inventions created …
Jon Porter / The Verge:
The EU designates Pornhub, XVideos, and Stripchat as Very Large Online Platforms under the DSA, facing stricter rules to verify ages and stop illegal content  —  Porn sites Pornhub, XVideos, and Stripchat face stricter requirements to verify the ages of their users after being officially designated as …
Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
Researchers say AI robot CyberRunner outmaneuvers humans in the game Labyrinth, one of the first instances of AI beating humans at direct physical applications  —  - Robot learned in record time to guide a ball through a maze  — The AI robot used two knobs to manipulate playing surface
Bloomberg:
Miami-based Bird files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing $100M to $500M in liabilities; the NYSE began delisting the e-scooter rental company in September 2023  —  The Miami, Florida based company listed assets and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million in a court filing.
Jon Victor / The Information:
Source: Google plans to reorganize a big part of its 30K-person ad sales unit, as the company relies more on ML techniques to help customers buy even more ads  —  Google plans to reorganize a big part of its 30,000-person ad sales unit, an executive told some staff last week, prompting anxiety that some departments will face job cuts.
Ellen Huet / Bloomberg:
A look at the tech sector's obsession with longevity; Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, Larry Page, and others have pledged millions to startups pursuing longer life  —  Tech titans, venture capitalists, crypto enthusiasts and AI researchers have turned longevity research into something between the hottest science and a tragic comedy.
John Herrman / New York Magazine:
OpenAI's deals with publishers are a hedge against a scenario in which scraping becomes harder, training material more expensive, and real-time data more scarce  —  This past week, Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate that owns Politico and Business Insider, signed a “multiyear licensing deal” …
David Shepardson / Reuters:
The US NIST seeks public input by February 2, 2024, for setting guidelines to ensure the safety of generative AI systems, as directed by President Biden's AI EO  —  The Biden administration said on Tuesday it was taking the first step toward writing key standards and guidance for the safe deployment …
Sopan Deb / New York Times:
NASA engineers streamed an HD cat video across 18.6M miles, the farthest ever, using laser communications instead of radio frequencies for a 267 Mbps data rate  —  Using laser communication, NASA streamed a cat video from almost 20 million miles away, or 40 round trip flights to the moon.
Bloomberg:
Sources: ByteDance's 2023 sales surged to $110B+, broadly matching 2022's 30% growth rate, despite economic turbulence in China and scrutiny in the US and India  —  - TikTok's Chinese owner expects revenue growth of about 30% … The world's most valuable startup's growth broadly matched …
More: Tech in Asia
Nickolas Diaz / Android Central:
Samsung adds the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 to its Self-Repair program, the first foldable devices, and expands the program to 30 more countries in Europe  —  Its latest smartphone series and laptop join in, too.  —  What you need to know  — Samsung has expanded coverage of its Self-Repair program …

Sponsor Posts

Termina:
AI Powered Diligence at Scale  —  VCs and founders deploy Termina AI Scans on >12% of all known series A+ deals to uncover hidden risks and opportunities.  Explore how you too can invest and build better companies with AI.
Intel:
Intel Delivers powerful CPUs for AI and Networking  —  With the onset of AI, businesses demand powerful and efficient CPUs.  Explore new Intel Xeon 6 processors, for the broadest set of workloads with leadership performance and lower TCO.
Zoho:
The future of remote AR support: Why Zoho Lens is the ideal choice  —  Imagine this: Your field technician is on site assessing malfunctioning heavy machinery.  Instead of waiting for an expert to travel to the location …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Techmeme Ride Home:
Roomba Might Not Be Able To Clean Up This Mess
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy wants to hang on to the live-streaming crown
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Invest Like the Best:
Kelly Granat - Investing At Lone Pine
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Diggnation:
Diggnation Live in Austin Texas: Old Rivals, New Vision
Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht give you their unique, sometimes awkward, and always hilarious take on the edges of the internet.
Subscribe to Diggnation.
Grit:
Boom's Blake Scholl on Supersonic Flight & Risking It All
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:00 PM ET, December 20, 2023.

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.

More News

Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Sarah Zheng / Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Anissa Gardizy / The Information:
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
Ben Glickman / Wall Street Journal: