Apple, Anthropic, Others Trained AI on YouTube Videos; Pixel 9 Leak; Rite Aid Breach Exposes Details on 2.2 Million Customers; Musk Plans to Move X and SpaceX HQ’s to Texas

Besides vacuuming up all sorts of text from around the web, plus pictures, insatiable large language models, or AI, have apparently been scouring YouTube videos as they are trained. Theverge.com reports that Apple, Anthropic, Nvidia, and Salesforce have used ‘YouTube Subtitles’ data that was grabbed from the platform without permission. The training data was collected from videos belonging to over 48,000 channels…no imagery from videos was included. The data doesn’t just come from individual creators, but also the likes of news outlets including ABC News, BBC and a major New York paper. 

A new leak with clear photos has given up a lot of information about the upcoming Google Pixel 9 phones. According to androidpolice.com, the leak came out of an NCC regulatory filing. First off, there’s a less apparent crease in the Pixel 9 Pro Fold…and a completely redesigned hinge. Views of Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and Pixel Pro XL in live videos show the redesigned camera bar. Also in the filing is a new 45 watt Google branded charging brick…suggesting that at least one Pixel 9 model will hit 45 watt charging speeds. Battery sizes are listed, and are all up to over 4542 mAh. There are still a few reveals left for the Made by Google event coming up in under a month…we don’t know for sure about the chipset and pricing. 

And the hacks just keep on coming! Rite Aid says a data breach has exposed the sensitive details of 2.2 million customers. Arstechnica.com notes that the personal information includes drivers’ license numbers, addresses, and dates of birth. The stolen date is apparently associated with purchases or attempted purchases made between June 6, 2017 and July 30th, 2018. At least no social security numbers, financial information, or patient information was grabbed in the breach. Someone impersonated an employee and was able “to compromise their business credentials and gain access to certain business systems,” Rite Aid reported in a filing to several states attorneys general.  “We detected the incident within 12 hours and immediately launched an internal investigation to terminate the unauthorized access, remediate affected systems and ascertain if any customer data was impacted.”

Angry about a law signed in California this week preventing schools from outing trans kids to parents, Elon Musk is saying he will move the headquarters of X, formerly Twitter, and SpaceX to Texas. Techcrunch.com reports that Musk plans to relocate X to Austin, and SpaceX to Starbase, where the company has their Starship manufacturing and test site. X has been in San Francisco since its founding as Twitter in 2006. SpaceX has a large production facility in Hawthorne for its Falcon and Dragon Spacecraft, in addition to Mission Control, which likely won’t be moving. The same has been true with Tesla…although Musk moved its headquarters to Austin in 2021, the main car plant remains in Fremont. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ’Technified’ for now.


Google In Talks to Acquire Cloud Security Firm Wiz; AT&T Paid Hackers $370,000; OpenAI Whistleblowers-NDA Blocked Security Complaints; Meta Lifts Restrictions on Trump Facebook & Instagram Accounts

Google, through parent Alphabet, may be about to make its largest acquisition ever. According to techcrunch.com, Alphabet is quite a ways along into talks to acquire cloud security company Wiz for $23 billion. Wiz offers an all-in-one approach to cloud security, ingesting data from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and other cloud platforms, then scanning it all for security risk factors. Wiz was founded just 4 years ago by 4 former Microsoft employees. No comment on the possible acquisition by either Alphabet or Wiz at the moment. 

It has been widely reported since Friday that a hacker stole call records for tens of millions of AT&T customers. Now, according to wired.com, the telco has paid the hackers some $370,000 to delete the data and provide video demonstrating proof of deletion. The hacker, who is part of the notorious ShinyHunters hacking group that has stolen data from a number of victims through unsecured Snowflake cloud storage accounts, tells WIRED that AT&T paid the ransom in May. He provided the address for the cryptocurrency wallet that sent the currency to him, as well as the address that received it. AT&T has not commented so far. 

Whistleblowers at OpenAI have fired off a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, calling for the Commission to take ‘swift and aggressive steps’ to enforce the rules they say OpenAI has violated. Engadget.com says the employees allege that they were made to sign ‘illegally restrictive’ agreements preventing them from speaking out on the potential harms of the company’s technology. They claim the employee agreements “failed to exempt disclosures of securities violations to the SEC.” The SEC has apparently responded, but no details have been released yet. 

Meta has taken restrictions off former President Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. Engadget.com reports that the former president was banned for a time from Meta platforms after January 6, 2021 and the attack on the Capitol. That suspension was lifted in January 2023, but restrictions remained. Now, those final guardrails are gone, with Trump just subject to the same standard as every other user. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.


Google Branded AI Coming to Pixels; Netflix Sunsetting Cheapest Ad-Free Tier; Mastodon Adds Appeal for Journalists; Diabetes Drug Also Helps Sleep Apnea

Google is getting ready to ad some new AI features to the Pixel line, with the branding ‘Google AI.’ It will encompass both existing and new features, including Google Gemini, Circle to search, and more. Androidauthority.com reports that new features include Add Me, which is supposed to ensure that everyone is in a group photo. Studio is another new…or actually improved feature. It looks like it is the Creative Assistant made better. Also included is Pixel screenshots…which looks a lot like Microsoft’s Recall feature…you know the one…that creepy background record that captures everything you are doing on-device and then their AI can go find information you are looking for. Google is including more privacy….it will only work on screenshots you actually take yourself. Apparently Motorola is also working on such a feature…and like Google, it will only attach metadata for the AI if you manually take the screenshot yourself. 

As they have raised prices for monthly subscriptions and added ad-subsidized plans, it should probably be no surprise that now Netflix is phasing out its cheapest ad-free tier for present subscribers. According to theverge.com, some users have gotten a notification on the Netflix app saying  “Your last day to watch Netflix is July 13th. Choose a new plan to keep watching.” Subscribers paying $9.99 / month for the basic plan will have to choose either the $6.99 ad-supported tier, the $15.49 ad-free tier, or the $22.99 ad-free 4K premium plan. Right now, the sunsetting of the plan is hitting Canadian and UK users. Netflix hasn’t said when it will start phasing it out for US subscribers. 

Mastodon has rolled out a new feature aimed at making the app more appealing to those that use it to keep up on news and information from writers and journalists. Mastodon is the open source, decentralized answer to X…one of a number of platforms working to syphon away the former Twitter users who are fed up with Elon Musk’s X. Techcrunch.com says that now the platform is adding clickable author bylines on link posts that can send Mastodon users to the authors account on the fediverse…giving journalists more exposure and potentially increasing their following. The new bylines go beyond the typical @username references that often accompany link posts from news publications and those pointing to other written content, like a WordPress blog or Substack. Instead, the change will feature the news publication’s headline and image followed by another reference underneath that includes the author’s profile photo and name.

A drug that has been used successfully for type 2 diabetes, weight loss, and heart health is doing so well at helping folks with sleep apnea in trials, some have even been able to abandon their CPAP machines. Bgr.com reports that the medication, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro, has had really good results in its first trial for sleep apnea. Participants saw disturbance events per hour of sleep drop from 51.5 per hour to 25.3. In a second trial, they went from 49.5 events per hour down to 29.3 or less. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The best results came with consistent use, not surprisingly. Now, researchers are studying long term efficacy in treating sleep apnea. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 


Meta Spars With EU over Pay or OK Model; Google-August 13th Pixel Event; YouTube Lets You Remove AI Generated Simulation of Your Face or Voice; Apple May Announce Google Gemini Deal This Fall.

Last fall, Meta launched a model to try to get around the Digital Markets Act…called ‘pay or consent,’ users have a choice to either pay to access Facebook and Instagram, or agree to let them collect data to send you targeted ads. Now, arstechnica.com reports that the EU doesn’t find the Meta model to comply with the DMA. If that ends up as the final finding, and Meta doesn’t change, it means the EU could fine Meta up to 10% of their worldwide turnover…PLUS up to 20% for continued infringement if Meta continues to violate the DMA.

Google will hold their Pixel event on August 13th. According to 9to5google.com, we’ll get the see the Pixel 9 and Pixel Watch 3. The event will be in Mountain View this time, instead of New York City. It will start at 10 AM Pacific time. Besides the Pixel 9, there should be a couple sizes of Pixel 9 Pro phones, and also a Pixel fold. 

YouTube has rolled out a policy quietly that will allow people to request takedown of AI generated or other synthetic content that simulates their face or voice. Techcrunch.com reports that instead of requesting the content be taken down for being misleading, like a deepfake, YouTube wants the affected parties to request the content’s removal directly as a privacy violation. According to YouTube’s recently updated Help documentation on the topic, it requires first-party claims outside a handful of exceptions, like when the affected individual is a minor, doesn’t have access to a computer, is deceased, or other such exceptions. Be aware that even if you make a request, YouTube will make their own judgment…so the takedown isn’t guaranteed. 

If you aren’t a fan of ChatGPT, but you’re an Apple user who wants to try AI, you may be in luck. Theverge.com says that Apple will announce ‘at least’ one other AI deal this fall, and it looks like the one most likely to be added is Google Gemini. Anthropic is also possible, but it looks like Apple won’t be doing a deal with Meta for a while…Cupertino has decided Meta’s Llama just isn’t good enough. Of course this will all be in addition to Apple’s own Apple Intelligence..which we should at least see in beta this fall. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 


Better Texting between Android & iOS Coming; New Tech May Bring Holograms to Glasses-Size Wearable; ISPs Ask FCC for Tax on Big Tech; GM Pours $850 Million into Cruise Division

Better texting is coming between Android and iOS this fall, with the announcement at WWDC yesterday that iOS is getting RCS support. This comes on the heels of years of campaigning by Google and others to make Apple ‘play nice’ with Android messaging. Androidpolice.com reports that having RCS will bring “richer media and deliver and read receipts for those who don’t use iMessage.” Unfortunately, Apple didn’t elaborate much, so we don’t know if iOS will play completely nice with the Google standard, but it is at the very least a good move to have Apple Messages and Google Messages working better…now, you will have tapback support and scheduled messaging working cross platform. Bet that this DOESN’T mean Apple will stop putting non-iOS replies in the green bubbles…I bet they will never give up the exclusive blue bubbles for iPhone users!

In a study published in Nature Communications, some scientists have claimed that the wave developed a new device small enough to fit in a regular pair of glasses that can display realistic holograms. According to bgr.com, the new tech wouldn’t have to have such a narrow viewing angle as current tech with so-called ‘spatial light modulators.’ The new tech allows the field of light to be directly in front of the viewer, no matter  where they look. No bulky headsets and just glasses-sized ones would be quite a breakthrough for VR and AR displays! Think of an Apple Vision Pro that you could put in your pocket, like a pair of glasses! There still remains the need right now for external power and probably external processing…so some sort of connection to a phone and or battery pack..but still, this is a big step forward.

Some ISPs, via a lobbying group, are asking the Federal Communications Commission to start levying new fees on Big Tech firms, with the money to go to subsidies for broadband network deployment and affordability programs. Arstechnica.com says approval of the request would make Big Tech drop money into the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, which distributes it to broadband providers. By the way, the ISPs are not exactly small players scrounging for crumbs in the business. They include AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink/Lumen and some smaller ISPs. USTelcom had already made similar arguments to the FCC. The USF doles out about $8 billion a year. Phone companies have to pay a percentage of their revenue into the fund, to cover folks who need a subsidy. Naturally, they hit us all with a fee for ‘Universal Service’ to recoup the tax by passing it directly on to us! We’ll keep an eye out to see if the Friendly Candy Company…the FCC…moves on this request. Expect Big Tech companies to fight it if they do. 

General Motors has poured another $850 million into its Cruise division, helping to cover costs since the shutdown of the robotaxi service after hitting a pedestrian in San Francisco. Theverge.com notes that so far, Cruise has been a money pit for the General…the automaker has lost $8.2 billion on it since 2017. Now, Cruise is slowly deploying more cars back onto the road…albeit with human drivers behind the wheel for safety. Houston is the latest city to get Cruise vehicles…which are being driven by humans right now, but will switch to autonomous driving with human safety drivers in the next few weeks. They are also back on the road in Phoenix and Dallas…but not yet in San Francisco.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 


Google May Partner with TSMC on Pixel 10 Chips; Musks Raises $6 Billion for his xAI; All AI is Beta-Apple May Admit It; Bioprocessor from Human Brain Tissue-Uses Million Times Less Power

Some sleuthing has uncovered evidence that Google may be planning to use Tensor chips made for them by Taiwan Semiconductor, the same firm that furnishes chips to Apple for their mobile devices and M series computers. Androidpolice.com reports that the TSMC chips will be showing up in the Pixel 10 phones next year. The Pixel 9 phones will be out this fall, still powered by Tensor G4 chips from Samsung. Expect the Pixel 9 phones to emphasize more AI features.

Over the weekend, it was announced that Elon Musk has raised an additional $6 billion for his xAI startup…and its Grok chatbot, that Musk says is an edgier version of ChatGPT. According to theverge.com, the big cash came from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and a Saudi prince. Musk has said he would “prefer to build products outside of Tesla” when it comes to AI and robotics unless he gets more control. Tesla shareholders will start voting this week on whether to restore Musk’s $56 billion pay package ahead of its annual meeting on June 13th. A substantial surge from the shareholders, led in some cases by some major holders that together have more stock than Elon, is opposing giving him $56 billion after big losses from a sales decrease first quarter. 

In his PowerOn Newsletter, Mark German says that Apple may choose to label its upcoming AI features iOS 18 as beta or preview. They also did this when they launched Siri years ago. Some might argue Siri is still beta…I certainly would! 9to5mac.com goes on to comment that truthfully, ALL AI should be categorized as beta. There are still numerous instances of what the industry euphemistically calls ‘hallucinatons’ by AI systems. In starker terms, it lies and makes stuff up. One outrageous example from earlier is the lawyer that wrote a brief with ChatGPT, and it included citations from cases it had made up…which the court and opposing counsel quickly pointed out. Another that was just taken down by Google was an AI overview of presidents. the AI said the US has had 42 presidents, and 17 of them have been white. It may be a while yet before AI takes over the world. 

FinalSpark, a Swiss startup, says it has made the world’s first bioprocessor. Bgr.com reports that the device incorporates what they call 16 human brain ‘organoids.’  The claim it uses a million times less power than traditional processors. FinalSpark also says the bioprocessor is capable of learning and processing information. Anyone else getting the vibe of the humans used for batteries in the Matrix movies? They have dubbed the system ‘wetware,’ as it is a mix of biology, software, and hardware. The trick now will be seeing if they can scale it up to a large enough system to actually be marketable. AI and human tissue…yeah, I am definitely getting a Matrix vibe…hope Neo is out there somewhere to get us out of this jam.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 


Microsoft Outage Took Down Copilot, ChatGPT, DuckDuckGo-Now Over; Spyware Found on US Hotel Check-in Computers; AI Disclosure Required in Campaign Ads-FCC; Leaked Samsung Repair Contract-Privacy Concerns

An outage linked to Bing’s API took down search for ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, DuckDuckGo, and other platforms starting at about 3AM Eastern was finally resolved by 11 this morning East Coast time. Theverge.com reports that Bing’s own search engine was also affected. The outage primarily affected users in Asia or Europe, but also hit the US to a lesser degree. If you were caught in a maddening loading loop and were unable to load search results earlier today, now you know why. As of this webcast, Microsoft was still trying to isolate the root cause…but at least service is restored. 

It’s always a bit rattling to come across something like this: a consumer grade spyware app has been found running on the check-in systems of at least three Wyndham hotels across the United States. According to techcrunch.com, the app is called pcTattletale, and it covertly captured screen shots of the hotel booking systems…including details about guests. It gets worse…due to a security flaw in the spyware, the screenshots are available to anyone on the internet! A security researcher has alerted pcTattletale of the bug, but they apparently haven’t responded. The manager of one of the hotels didn’t know the spyware was on their system…others have not responded. Wyndham Hotels are a franchise, so hotels are independently owned and operated. Just one more way for people’s data to get grabbed and misused. 

The FCC Chairwoman is proposing a rule requiring disclosure of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in political ads on radio and TV. Reuters says that the Commission is to vote on the proposed rule….which it should be pointed out just requires disclosure in candidate or issue ads…it does not ban AI content. Also worth noting—the rule would require on-air and written disclosures and cover cable operators, satellite TV and radio providers, but the FCC does not have authority to regulate internet or social media ads or streaming services. The Commission has already acted to battle misuse of AI in political robocalls.

Samsung has been selling self-repair kits for its latest handsets like the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5. That’s cool, but apparently Samsung is demanding customer info from repair shops before they can get the genuine parts. Androidpolice.com notes that lots of people like to use third party repair shops. The info Samsung is allegedly requiring under a contract with shops includes the customer’s name, contact information, phone identifiers like an IMEI number, alongside details of the customer’s complaint. Channeling Ron Popiel, ‘but wait…there’s more!’ Samsung requires shops to “immediately disassemble” devices brought to them that have been repaired using aftermarket parts in the past, and “immediately notify” Samsung about it. If a third-party repair shop doesn’t do its part, it gives Samsung grounds to terminate their agreement, essentially leaving the shop without easy access to the tech giant’s repair parts. So far, Samsung hasn’t clarified this situation…does the customer get a partially disassembled phone back…or get it back at all? This is not cool. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 


Apple-Accessibility Eye Tracking for Recent iPhones & iPads; Google Opens Smart Home to Everyone; OpenA Chief Scientist Leaves; FTC Warns Car Makers About Selling User Data

Apple has announced new accessibility features. The biggie is built in eye tracking for iPhones and iPads. Engadget.com reports that devices with the A12 chip or later will gain the ability to use the front facing camera to navigate software without additional hardware or accessories. When enabled, people can look at their screen to move through elements like apps and menus…then linger on an item to select it. Another thing they are adding is vocal shortcuts. AI on the device creates personalized voice commands. You could maybe use Yo, and Siri will…or may…understand and then perform the shortcut or task you associated with the shortcut word.  Voice control and color filters are coming to the interface for vehicles, making it easier to control apps by talking and for those with visual impairments to see menus or alerts. To that end, CarPlay is also getting bold and large text support, as well as sound recognition for noises like sirens or honks. 

Google has announced it is opening API access to its Google Home Smart home platform. Now, according to theverge.com, any app maker, whether smart home related or not, can access the more than 600 million devices connected to Google Home and tap into the Google Home automation engine to make what they are calling smart solutions for users. Any device that uses the Matter protocol or which says Works with Google Home will be accessible. 

Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI co-founder and long time chief scientist has left the building…and company. Techcrunch.com says that CEO Sam Altman posted on X about the departure last night. Altman called it a very sad day, and praised Ilya as having easily one of the greatest minds of our generation, a guiding light of our field,” and he also called him “a dear friend.” The big brained chief scientist is reportedly planning on working on something he called ‘personally meaningful.’ Ilya did say in a statement that he is leaving OpenAI with the “belief the company will build artificial general intelligence — AI capable of accomplishing any task a human can — that’s “both safe and beneficial.”

A warning has come out for automakers that sell connected cars…that’s virtually all of them these days. It’s from the Office of Technology of the FTC, and they said in a statement that Companies that offer such products “do not have the free license to monetize people’s information beyond purposes needed to provide their requested product or service.” Arstechnica.com notes that the FTC went on to say Just because executives and investors want recurring revenue streams, that does not “outweigh the need for meaningful privacy safeguards.” This sounds like a shot over the bow to car makers that the feds will be coming after them if they don’t stop peddling car owners’ data to all sorts of data brokers and other third parties.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.


Google I/O Recap; Open AI’s New GPT-4o; Feds Investigate Waymo Driverless Cars; Apple & Google Bow Cross-Platform Anti-Tracking

Google made a flood of announcements today during the 2 hour I/O Keynote. Of course, it was all heavy on AI. 9to5google.com reports that Google Lens will now get the ability to search with a video. You can shoot a video, ask a question about something in it, and the AI will try to find appropriate answers on the web and serve them. The new Google AI model is Gemini 1.5 Flash. That’s supposed to be a reference to its quickness, not to the old Adobe Flash Player, or the comic book character, or someone running naked across a stage…although that might have gotten some shock value into the presentation today! Anyway, Flash is multimodal, and just as powerful as Gemini 1.5 Pro according to Google. They have also doubled 1.5 Pro’s context window to 2 million tokens. Gemini is being rolled out to the sidebar in Docs, Sheets, slides, Drive, and Gmail when it gets to paid subscribers next month. They claim it will be a general purpose assistant in Workspace that will fetch info from your drive, help you wrote, or give you reminders.

Google also touted Project Astra is a multimodal AI assistant that the company hopes will become a do-everything virtual assistant that can watch and understand what it sees through your device’s camera, remember where your things are, and do things for you. The Google answer to OpenAI’s Sora is a new generative AI model that can output 1080p video based on text, image, and video based prompts. Google is also bowing a custom chatbot creator called Gems that you can customize. Circle to search now can help solve math problems…it won’t do it for you, (so school kids can’t use it to cheat) but will break down problems into easier steps. Something that will affect everyone is AI Overviews…formerly the ‘Search Generative Experience.’ Yep, Google is dropping more AI into their bread and butter search engine. 

Yesterday, getting the drop on Google somewhat, OpenAI released GPT-4o, a new flagship AI model. According to techcrunch.com, it is a rolling release and will hit developer and consumer facing products over the next few weeks. What is it? Well, according to OpenAI, it provides GPT-4 level intelligence but improves on GPT-4’s capabilities across text and vision as well as audio. OpenAI stressed the importance of voice and vision as the large language model interacts more with people…so be sure to say and think nice things about our coming AI and robot overlords. One interesting wrinkle…you can interrupt it as it is giving you an answer, and ask more or clarify, and the chatbot will theoretically be able to handle that. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been hot on the case of GM’s Cruise vehicles, which had to stop operation in San Francisco after a series of accidents. Now, the feds are looking into ‘unexpected behavior’ by Waymo self-driving cars. Arstechnica.com says that some of the incidents were reported to the government by Waymo, and others came from the public. The feds are looking into what they call  single-party crashes into “stationary and semi-stationary objects such as gates and chains” as well as instances in which Waymo cars “appeared to disobey traffic safety control devices.” This initial probe is the first step before the NHTSA can issue a potential recall. Earlier this year Waymo voluntarily recalled some 400 self drivers after back to back crashes in Arizona. 

As has been promised since last year, Apple and Google are finally rolling out cross-platform anti-tracking ability. Apple has had this feature for a couple years…it aims to prevent someone using one of their Air Tags to track or stalk someone else. Engadget.com notes that Apple and Google have been collaborating to make it possible to spot and end this kind of behavior across Apple and Android devices, to protect users from unwanted Bluetooth trackers snooping around on them. When an unknown Bluetooth device is seen moving with someone over a period of time, they’ll get an alert that reads “[Item] Found Moving With You,” no matter which platform the tracker is paired with. Apple and Google are rolling out the capability in iOS 17.5 and across Android 6.0 and later devices starting today.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.


Google Prohibiting Sites & Apps that Generate Deepfake Porn; ChatGPT Search Engine Rumored Imminent; Threads Now Lets You Control Who Can Quote Your Post; Jack Dorsey No Longer on Bluesky Board

Google is going to prohibit ads promoting websites and apps that generate deepfake porn…starting May 30th. Engadget.com reports that Google has already had strong restrictions in place for ads that feature certain types of sexual content, this update leaves no doubt that promoting “synthetic content that has been altered or generated to be sexually explicit or contain nudity” is in violation of its rules. Advertisers who violate the rules will be suspended without warning. Such deepfake ads are already prohibited in Shopping ads. Hopefully, Google will really police this, and in a manner where it doesn’t end up like whack a mole. 

When it comes to the internet and tech companies, people are always scouring every single word and character to try to determine what’s coming…whether a feature or ‘the next big thing.’ Now, according to mashable.com, a post in Y Combinator’s Hacker News community noted a domain name and security certificate for ‘search.chatgpt.com’ has been created. This could mean we are going to see a ChatGPT search engine sooner not later. Google, the 800 pound gorilla of search already is powered by an AI algorithm…but a ChatGPT one from OpenAI could really juice up the competition. It’s conceivable that before long, one could do a Google search, a ChatGPT search, and one with Microsoft Copilot…and I wouldn’t put it past some brilliant hackers out there to come up with a way to synthesize then streamline the results from all three…for a supercharged search like we’ve never experienced!

Threads is giving more control over who can quote their posts. Engadget.com says if you want to limit quoting your posts, you can limit it to only people you follow…or you can set it so no one can quote your posts at all. The update was announced over the weekend, and Threads is doing it to ‘help keep Threads a more positive place.’ Threads has now climbed past 150 million monthly users. Another recent feature lets users archive posts…either manually or automatically after a selected expiration date.

Jack Dorsey Tweeted over the weekend (not saying post on X, since it was Twitter when Jack ran it) that he is no longer on Bluesky’s board. TechCrunch.com notes that in fact, Jack was the platform’s most prominent backer…he first announced it back in 2019 when he was still CEO at Twitter. Dorsey didn’t elaborate, just replying to a question about him being on the board with a curt “No.” 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.