Thu. 09/26 – The Orion Smartglasses

The US is suing Terraform Labs and Do Kwon. The UK is investigating rumors that Google paid Apple NOT to spin up its own search engine. Susan Wojcicki stepping down as YouTube CEO is a major end of an era. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Links: SEC Sues Over TerraUSD Stablecoin That Rocked Crypto (Bloomberg) What Brit watchdog redacted: Google gives Apple cut of Chrome iOS search revenue (The Register) TikTok is launching a $500,000 live trivia contest (The Verge) YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down (Vox) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: It’s Always Sunny Inside a Generative AI Conference (Wired) Billionaire Kuok Family-Backed Music App BandLab Taps Into AI For TikTok’s Breakout Stars (Forbes) PlayStation VR2 is exciting, exhausting and a new standard for VR (Launcher) How Rust went from a side project to the world’s most-loved programming language (MIT Technology Review) I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (Wikipedia) Roko's basilisk (Wikipedia) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Feb 202317min

Microsoft is revealing what it’s learned from us poking around on the new Bing. It seems that once developers begin using generative AI to code, they DO keep using it. Apple has postponed its headset announce to WWDC. Banks are shying away from crypto exposure. And after 16 years, border control is finally making use of NFC technology in passports. Sponsors: ZocDoc.com/techmeme Links: Microsoft explains Bing's bizarre AI chat behavior (Engadget) GitHub Copilot update stops AI model from revealing secrets (BleepingComputer) SEC Proposal Could Bar Investment Advisers From Keeping Assets at Crypto Firms (CoinDesk) Banks Are Breaking Up With Crypto During Regulatory Crackdown (WSJ) Apple Pushes Back Mixed-Reality Headset Debut Two Months to June (Bloomberg) Whatever happened to the metaverse? (FT) US Border Patrol Is Finally Able to Check E-Passport Data (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Feb 202317min

More signs the chat bots are maybe a little undercooked, and whooo doggy. Wait until you hear what I mean. Some datapoints suggesting the faddish nature of these new tools. And wait until you hear the possible reason you’re seeing Elon’s tweets all of the sudden. This is maybe the pinnacle story of the whole Elon/Twitter saga. Sponsors: Podcast Guru App (Listener Ad!) Links: Microsoft’s new ChatGPT AI starts sending ‘unhinged’ messages to people (The Independent) The AI photo app trend has already fizzled, new data shows (TechCrunch) GitHub’s Copilot for Business is now generally available (TechCrunch) Adobe’s $20 Billion Figma Deal Faces EU Antitrust Probe (Bloomberg) Yes, Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first (Platformer) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Feb 202317min

People are saying Elon is showing you his tweets whether you asked to see them or not. More fodder for the charge that these chat bots are being rolled out quick and dirty. More fodder for the charge that US regulators are fencing in crypto. TikTok is trying to court the olds. And Amazon’s autonomous shuttle service his hit real world roads. Sponsors: RelationshipHero.com/techmeme Links: Twitter is just showing everyone all of Elon Musk’s tweets now (The Verge) Twitter delays new paid API launch by 'a few more days' (AppleInsider) Microsoft’s Bing AI, like Google’s, also made dumb mistakes during first demo (The Verge) US Crackdown Seeks to Push Crypto Back to the Fringes of Finance (Bloomberg) TikTok Turns to New Tactics to Spur Growth as Boom Times End (The Information) Amazon chief vows to ‘go big’ on physical stores (FT) TikTok’s Parent Takes On Meta in Battle for Virtual-Reality Market (WSJ) Amazon’s Self-Driving Car Shuttles People on Public Roads for the First Time (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Feb 202315min

Binance’s stablecoin seems to be dead, but with regulatory questions swirling around Paxos, I’m wondering if all stablecoins might about to see a rug pull. Tons of uncertainty swirling around the metaverse all the sudden. Can the metaverse still happen if all of its funding get pulled? And are all of these AI tools being rushed to market in embarrassing ways? Sponsors: MeetFabric.com/ride RelationshipHero.com/techmeme Links: Regulator Orders Crypto Firm Paxos to Stop Issuing Binance Stablecoin (WSJ) PayPal Pauses Stablecoin Work Amid Regulatory Scrutiny of Crypto (Bloomberg) Meta delays setting team budgets as it plans fresh round of job cuts (FT) Microsoft Kills Its Industrial Metaverse Team After 4 Months (The Information) AI-powered Bing Chat spills its secrets via prompt injection attack (ArsTechnica) Apple Reportedly Planning to Limit iPhone 15's USB-C Port in the Same Way as Lightning (MacRumors) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Feb 202315min

More job cuts at Microsoft make me wonder if the HoloLens is still a thing. But also, we have data to explain why Apple hasn’t done layoffs yet. More AI chatbot announces coming fast and furious. But the other kind of bots, actual mechanical robots had their biggest year ever last year. And of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: RelationshipHero.com/techmeme Links: Apple Avoids Job Cuts Because It Didn’t Overhire Like Google and Amazon (Bloomberg) Microsoft to demo its new ChatGPT-like AI in Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook soon (The Verge) Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com to launch ChatGPT-style product (CNBC) North American companies notch another record year for robot orders (Reuters) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: ‘Disrespectful to the Craft:’ Actors Say They’re Being Asked to Sign Away Their Voice to AI (Motherboard) ChatGPT Can Be Broken by Entering These Strange Words, And Nobody Is Sure Why (Motherboard) ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web (The New Yorker) The Inference Cost Of Search Disruption – Large Language Model Cost Analysis (SemiAnalysis) Stripe Can’t Lose (Every) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10 Feb 202319min

Feel free to tweet your manifestos now as Twitter Blue subscribers can tweet up to 4,000 characters. Is the Fediverse failing or doing just fine, thank you very much? Is the SEC about to put the kibosh on crypto staking? Forget eggs, the real inflation is in triple A video game titles. And if the whole web becomes bot content, what do we train the bots on? Sponsors: Podcast Guru App (Listener Ad!) Links: Now Twitter Blue subscribers can write 4,000-character tweets (The Verge) Watch out, TweetDeck users—Elon Musk is about to ruin your Twitter experience (TechRadar) Lazy Reporters Claiming Fediverse Is ‘Slumping,’ Despite Massive Increase In Usage (TechDirt) Coinbase CEO Armstrong Decries Rumors of Possible US SEC Ban on Crypto Staking (Bloomberg) Meta Completes Acquisition of VR Fitness Company Within (CNET) Nintendo’s Zelda Price Hike Opens Door for More Expensive Games (Bloomberg) Google Stadia had less than 10% market share among cloud gaming services (9to5Google) Google confirms AI-generated content isn’t against Search guidelines (9to5Google) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Feb 202318min

Microsoft unveils a new Bing search that basically moves the yardsticks down the field in terms of what chat can do. But Google continues to drip-feed new tools as well. Also, some more traditional but useful additions to Google Maps. The UK might force the divestiture of Call of Duty to allow Microsoft to buy Activision. And if the Bank of England does a digital pound, it signals it might not do it on the blockchain. Sponsors: The Business of Tech (Listener ad!) Links: Microsoft announces new Bing and Edge browser powered by upgraded ChatGPT AI (The Verge) I Tried Microsoft’s New AI-Powered Bing. Search Will Never Be the Same. (WSJ) Google is still drip-feeding AI into search, Maps, and Translate (The Verge) Google Maps launches Immersive View in five cities, will roll out ‘glanceable directions’ soon (TechCrunch) Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Deal Could Harm UK Gamers, Watchdog Finds (Bloomberg) Digital Pound Holdings Could Be Limited to 10K, Central Bank Says (CoinDesk) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Feb 202317min