Fri. 04/21 – Twitter Stuff
More… I dunno… Twitter things are happening. Google is consolidating its AI efforts. We now have a hint about what that startup Humane might be creating. The US wants to get a jump start on 6G technology. And pour one out for BuzzFeed News. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/techmeme Headspace.com/ride30day Links: Twitter seemingly now requires all advertisers to have a verified checkmark (TechCrunch) Google Looks to Turbocharge AI Efforts With Combined Brain, DeepMind Unit (WSJ) Google gives Bard the ability to generate and debug code (Engadget) Watch the first demo of buzzy startup Humane’s wearable AI assistant in leaked clips (The Verge) U.S. Begins Planning for 6G Wireless Communications (WSJ) The Internet of the 2010s Ended Today (The Atlantic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
21 Apr 202318min
Thu. 04/20 – Elon’s Having A Heck Of A 4/20
Are Elon and Microsoft fully at war at this point? Does Coinbase already have one foot out the country at this point? Is OpenAI careening toward a run-in with GDPR? And, Stability AI’s big play to compete with Chat GPT. Sponsors: Leadership.OregonState.edu/cic Grammarly.com/techmeme Links: Microsoft drops Twitter from its advertising platform (Mashable) Elon Musk Threatens to Sue Microsoft After it Drops Twitter From Ad Platform (PCMag) Coinbase gets Bermuda license, plans to launch offshore exchange in coming weeks (FortuneCrypto) First EU-Wide Crypto Regulations Clear Final Parliament Vote (Bloomberg) OpenAI’s hunger for data is coming back to bite it (MIT Technology Review) Google to deploy generative AI to create sophisticated ad campaigns (Financial Times) Stability AI releases ChatGPT-like language models (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
20 Apr 202315min
Wed. 04/19 – The End Of Netflix’s Red Envelopes
That Netflix ad tier seems to be paying off. But it’s also the end of the road for those famous red envelopes. We’re about to see a foldable Pixel phone. More layoffs from Meta. More links in bio for Instagram. And forget data being the new oil. What if data was the new fertile farmland to be rented out to LLMs for harvesting? Sponsors: Grammarly.com/techmeme leadership.oregonstate.edu/cic Links: Netflix Adds 1.75 Million Customers in Q1 2023; Grows to 232.5M Globally (The Streamable) Netflix Gains 1.75 Million Subscribers, Axes DVD-Rental Business (WSJ) Google to launch its first foldable phone, the ‘Pixel Fold,’ in June (CNBC) Meta has started its latest round of layoffs, focusing on technical employees (CNBC) Instagram takes on Linktree and others with support for up to 5 ‘links in bio’ (TechCrunch) Reddit Wants to Get Paid for Helping to Teach Big A.I. Systems (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
19 Apr 202315min
Tue. 04/18 – Is The AI Era Kicking Off A New Generation Of Silicon?
Is the AI revolution going to kick of a silicon revolution with a whole new generation of chips? Coinbase would consider leaving the US if it can’t get clarity from regulators. Is the Apple savings account the savings account for you? A look at Twitter competitor Bluesky. And what happens if you take GPT-4 and feed it back on itself? Sponsors: Notion.com/ride Grammarly.com/techmeme Links: Microsoft Readies AI Chip as Machine Learning Costs Surge (The Information) Coinbase Could Move Away From U.S. if No Regulatory Clarity: CEO Brian Armstrong (CoinDesk) Major Photography Prize Winner Reveals Image Is AI-Generated, Rejects Award (Motherboard) Apple finally launches high-yield Apple Savings account (Apple Insider) Bluesky’s CEO wants to build a Musk-proof, decentralized version of Twitter (The Verge) Hype grows over “autonomous” AI agents that loop GPT-4 outputs (ArsTechnica) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 Apr 202318min
Mon. 04/17 – Is Google About To Lose Samsung?
Hey everybody, back from Ireland, and man, the universe dumped all the news on me this morning. Google is rushing to add AI to search because they’re afraid Samsung is about to jump ship to Bing. More chaos at Twitter. Meta has to make nice with advertisers. Spotify seems to be abandoning it’s paywall podcast strategy. And is Apple’s Watch OS about to get its biggest overhaul ever? Sponsors: Grammarly.com/techmeme GetSunday.com/ride Links: Google Devising Radical Search Changes to Beat Back A.I. Rivals (NYTimes) Sega to acquire Angry Birds maker Rovio for $776 million (CNBC) U.S. House Committee Publishes Draft Stablecoin Bill (CoinDesk) Elon Musk just shut down automation for important public safety accounts (Mashable) Is Twitter finally dying? (Vox) Meta Tries to Lure Advertisers With Reels Discounts, AI Tools (The Information) Spotify will drop paywall for Gimlet podcasts (Semafor) Apple Plans to Launch More Than Just Its New Headset at WWDC (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
17 Apr 202319min
Fri. 04/14 - AWS Enters the Gen AI Race
AWS has begun offering customers access to LLMs made by Anthropic, Stability AI, and AI21 Labs, as they look to be a neutral platform for generative AI features. WhatsApp is rolling out new verification and protection features, including defenses against SIM jacking and social engineering attacks. Twitter has just increased the character limit to 10,000 for Blue subscribers. And your weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Ramp.com/techmeme Bloomberg.com/careers Links: Amazon Joins Microsoft, Google in AI Race Spurred by ChatGPT (Wall Street Journal) Amazon Is Joining the Generative AI Race (WIRED) WhatsApp makes it harder for scammers to steal your account (Engadget) Key transparency explainer (Matthew Green, Twitter) Twitter Blue’s new 10,000 character limit turns tweets into essays (The Verge) Dril Is Everyone. More Specifically, He’s a Guy Named Paul. (The Ringer) With a wave of new LLMs, open-source AI is having a moment — and a red-hot debate (VentureBeat) Is ‘The Economist’ Making the Best News Podcasts Right Now? (Vulture) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
14 Apr 202321min
Thu. 04/13 - They're Trying Their Damnedest To Ruin The HBO Brand
The stocks of Apple suppliers Cirrus Logic and AAC are down after reporting that iPhone 15 Pro models won’t have solid-state buttons after all. IBM is reportedly looking into selling The Weather Company, for quite a bit less than they paid for it in 2015. LinkedIn has new identity verification via the airport and stadium security service CLEAR. Ethereum has successfully completed its Shanghai, or Shapella, upgrade, letting users withdraw staked ether. And Warner Bros. Discovery has officially renamed HBO Max to just… Max. Sponsors: Nutrafol.com/men, promo code RIDE Links: Apple reportedly nixes iPhone 15 button upgrade, sending supplier stock down 12% (CNBC) iPhone 15 Pro may not have new solid-state volume buttons after all (9to5 Mac) IBM Explores Sale of Weather Business (Wall Street Journal) IBM Mulling Sale of Weather Technology Assets (The Information) LinkedIn rolls out ways to verify your identity and employment, without a price tag (TechCrunch) LinkedIn Verification Now Lets You Verify Your Job and Account (WIRED) Ethereum’s (ETH) Shanghai, Shapella Upgrade Looks ‘Stable,’ Developer Beiko Says (Bloomberg) Ethereum Unstaking Requests Pile Up After Shanghai Upgrade, Now at 2-Week Wait (CoinDesk) 'The Penguin' Trailer: Colin Farrell Returns to Gotham as 'The Batman' Spinoff Series Confirms 2024 Release (Variety) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
13 Apr 202316min
Wed. 04/12 - Twitter Inc. No Longer Exists?
Elon Musk did a big spontaneous interview with the BBC last night on Twitter Spaces, but here’s two things that didn’t make the interview: Twitter appears to be working on generative AI for reasons yet unknown and Twitter Inc. doesn’t exist as a company anymore. Global VC funding for crypto startups fell to $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023, down 80% from an all-time high in 2022. Video game illustrators in China say AI image generators are causing them to lose their jobs. And Reddit moderators saying AI-generated spam is rapidly mounting as they brace themselves for a spam apocalypse. Links: Elon Musk is moving forward with a new generative-AI project at Twitter after purchasing thousands of GPUs (Insider) Twitter Inc. has been merged with X Corp. and “no longer exists,” Elon Musk’s company says in a court filing. (Slate) Six things we learned from Elon Musk interview (BBC) Crypto VC Funding Plunges by 80% in Dire Quarter for Startups (Bloomberg) AI is already taking video game illustrators' jobs in China (Rest of World) Reddit Moderators Brace for a ChatGPT Spam Apocalypse (VICE) NPR to Suspend Twitter Use After ‘Government-Funded’ Label (NY Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 Apr 202318min
