Techmeme
June 13, 2024, 5:05 PM

Top News

ProPublica:
Ex-employee Andrew Harris says Microsoft for years dismissed his warnings of an Active Directory flaw that led to the 2021 SolarWinds hack; Harris left in 2020  —  Microsoft hired Andrew Harris for his extraordinary skill in keeping hackers out of the nation's most sensitive computer networks.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple isn't paying OpenAI to add ChatGPT into its OSes and aims to eventually make money from AI by striking revenue-sharing deals with chatbot makers  —  - The iPhone maker isn't paying OpenAI to use the chatbot  — Apple announced OpenAI agreement as part of AI push this week
Sharon Goldman / Fortune:
Sources detail Amazon's struggles to build a new generative AI-powered Alexa, including privacy concerns keeping Alexa's teams from using Anthropic's Claude  —  “Alexa, let's chat.”  —  With that phrase, David Limp, at the time Amazon's head of devices and services, showed off …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Long-time Android Engineering VP Dave Burke steps down to explore “AI/bio” projects at Alphabet; sources say the Platforms & Devices team is undergoing a reorg  —  Back in April, Google announced a merger of the Platforms & Ecosystems and Devices & Services divisions.
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
WhatsApp increases the limit for video call participants to 32 people, enhances screen sharing by adding audio support, and introduces a speaker spotlight tool  —  WhatsApp updated the video calling experience across devices on Thursday by introducing screen sharing with audio support, and a new speaker spotlight feature.
Aernout van de Velde / Wccftech:
After a major leak of unannounced games, Epic releases an update “so third-party tools can't surface any new unpublished product titles” from its Games Store  —  “We released an update tonight so third-party tools can't surface any new unpublished product titles from the Epic Games Store catalog.”
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Samsung unveils the $199+ Galaxy Watch FE in a single 40mm size with a 1.2" OLED display, Exynos W920 chip, NFC, GPS, and 16GB of storage, on sale from June 24  —  Samsung just announced it's launching a third smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch FE.  It's meant to be the company's new entry-level smartwatch …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Sony rolls out an update to Discord on the PS5 that integrates the app into the console's dashboard and lets users join voice calls directly, starting in Asia  —  Sony is improving its Discord integration on the PS5 so that you can join voice calls directly from the console.
Reuters:
Samsung cuts AI chip production time by ~20% after integrating memory chip, foundry, and chip packaging, and expects chip industry revenue to hit $778B by 2028  —  Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) said its contract manufacturing business plans to offer a one-stop shop for clients to get their AI chips …
Boone Ashworth / Wired:
Yahoo debuts a revamped version of its free Yahoo News app, powered by Artifact's AI tech, after acquiring the Instagram co-founders' news app in April 2024  —  Artifact, the news app startup from Instagram's cofounders, was purchased by Yahoo earlier this year.
Will Knight / Wired:
Apple's WWDC demos, with the integration of generative AI across its products, show the value of seeing AI as a feature rather than a standalone app or device  —  Other tech companies want to sell you chatbots.  Apple's demos show the value of seeing the AI as an integrated, holistic experience rather than a stand-alone app or device.
Keith Bradsher / New York Times:
How China is testing more driverless cars than any other country, with 16+ cities letting 19+ companies test vehicles on public roads, aided by government help  —  Assisted driving systems and robot taxis are becoming more popular with government help, as cities designate large areas for testing on public roads.
Kylie Robison / The Verge:
Sources: at an all-hands, X CEO Linda Yaccarino urged staff to discuss xAI's Grok with advertisers and said little about the recently delayed promotions process  —  During an internal all-hands meeting led by X CEO Linda Yaccarino on Wednesday, concerned employees tuned in to hear …
Financial Times:
OpenAI has expanded its global affairs team from three at the start of 2023 to 35 now, stationed strategically in locations where AI legislation is advanced  —  ChatGPT maker beefs up global affairs unit as politicians push for new laws that could constrain powerful AI models
Anthony Capaccio / Bloomberg:
The Pentagon renews a contract with SpaceX to provide Starlink internet services in Ukraine until November 30 at a cost of $14.1M  —  - Contract with Musk firm tops $40 million, runs through Nov. 30  — Relations with Pentagon have improved since 2022 Ukraine spat
MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC:
Donald Trump met ~12 bitcoin mining executives, and posted that he wants “all the remaining Bitcoin to be made in the USA” to help the US be “energy dominant”  —  This past Tuesday night in Palm Beach, Florida, about a dozen bitcoin mining executives and experts sat …

Sponsor Posts

TELUS Digital:
Are you ready for the era of agentic AI?  —  Tech leaders are always talking about what's next, and right now, agentic AI is dominating the discourse.  Equip yourself with the info you need in this recorded webinar.
Tribe AI:
State of AI: Adoption, Challenges and Recommendations  —  Examining the current state of AI, the key challenges organizations face, and practical recommendations for utilizing AI integration alongside other best practices.
Zoho:
5 reasons why digital signatures are a must-have for small and medium enterprises  —  Every morning, Hazel stops by her favorite corner cafe, where the barista already knows her order—a double espresso, no sugar.
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

Hard Fork:
Meta on Trial + Is A.I. a 'Normal' Technology? + HatGPT
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Mooooaaar Models!
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
How Trump's tariffs actually work on the ground
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Great Chat:
Imposter syndrome is due for a rebrand
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Spotlight On:
*RSA Preview* 1Password's Jeff Shiner on balancing B2B and B2C customers in a rapidly evolving tech landscape
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
Invest Like the Best:
Neil Mehta - Finding Future S&P 500 Companies
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:05 PM ET, June 13, 2024.

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

David Pierce / The Verge:
Threads: @imdavidpierce and @reckless1280Mastodon: @kottke@mastodon.social
X: @stephenlrose, @verge, and @ambermacLinkedIn: Chris Weaver

Earlier Picks

Samuel K. Moore / IEEE Spectrum:
Kyodo News:
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
Mariella Moon / Engadget: