US Offers TSMC over $6 Billion for Arizona Chip Plant; Google Launches Find My Device Network; Apple Officially Allows Retro Game Emulators on App Store; OpenAI Transcribed Over a Million Hours of YouTube Videos

Posted: April 8, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The Biden Administration has offered TSMC up to $6 billion in government funding under a preliminary agreement announced by the government today. Cnbc.com reports that The funding, under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, will support Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s more than $65 billion investment in three cutting-edge fabrication plants in Phoenix, according to the nonbinding agreement. The Taiwanese multinational semiconductor company is also eligible for around $5 billion in proposed loans under the CHIPS Act. TSMC Arizona has already created more than 25,000 jobs and attracted 14 semiconductor suppliers to the state. Intel got $8.5 billion in indirect funding and up to $11 billion in loans last month under the CHIPS Act.

At long last, Google has launched its Find My Device network. According to engadget.com, the tech leverages a crowdsourced network of over a billion Android devices to help folks find their lost gadgets. It essentially has the same functionality as Apple’s Find My network and that of the Tile system. The Google one rolls out to US and Canadian users today…and Google says the worldwide release will be coming soon. As with the others, you can use the app to locate your device with a map. The map data will work even if the device is off line. 

Apple has finally officially started allowing retro game emulators on the App Store. Engadget.com says updated Apple guidelines now say that retro gaming console emulator apps are welcome and can even offer downloadable games. Apple also reportedly confirmed to developers in an email that they can create and offer emulators on its marketplace. Apple warns developers, however, that they “are responsible for all such software offered in [their] app, including ensuring that such software complies with these Guidelines and all applicable laws.” Clearly, allowing emulators on the App Store doesn’t mean that it’s allowing pirated games, as well.

In the ongoing effort to train its Chat GPT4, OpenAI transcribed over a million hours of YouTube videos! Theverge.com reports that the company knew this was really questionable, but believed it to be fair use. OpenAI president Greg Brockman was personally involved in collecting the videos that were used. Google spokesperson Matt Bryant told The Verge in an email the company has “seen unconfirmed reports” of OpenAI’s activity, adding that “both our robots.txt files and Terms of Service prohibit unauthorized scraping or downloading of YouTube content.” Google has said it also trained its models on ‘some YouTube content,’ but did it into accordance with its agreements with YouTube creators. Apparently, all the Large Language Models are running out of content to scrape. Some data scientists think they may run out by 2028, and will need to train on ‘synthetic’ data…that seems scary.

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

Gemini in Google Messages Rolling Out; Facebook Snooped on Snapchat Traffic; Apple Announces WWDC; Leak-3rd, SmallerPixel 9 model

Posted: March 27, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Google has started rolling out Gemini for some Google Messages beta testers. 9to5google.com reports that in addition to being a beta tester, you have to have RCS enabled, a Google Account, have English set, and have a Pixel 6 or later, Pixel Fold, Samsung Galaxy S22 or newer, or a Galaxy Z Flip or Z Fold. If all those criteria are met, you should see a Gemini AI option. Right now, voice messages aren’t supported, but you can upload images. Also..the conversations are not end-to-end encrypted. All that said, you can use Messages to query the AI about things, or have it draft a message or brainstorm ideas. Google does say that messages could go through human review, so keep that in mind if you are going to try it. 

Thanks to a lawsuit against Meta, we now know that in 2016, Facebook ran a secret project designed to intercept and decrypt the network traffic between people using Snapchat’s app and its servers. The goal was to understand users’ behavior and help Facebook compete with Snapchat, according to newly unsealed court documents. TechCrunch.com notes that it was called ‘Project Ghostbusters,’ which is a little freaky since the latest Ghostbusters movie just hit theaters last week. According to documents released from the suit, Meta also tried to gain a competitive advantage over Amazon and YouTube by analyzing network traffic. The suit is a class action filed in 2020 against Facebook, claiming that they lied about data collection activities. 

Apple has announced this year’s WWDC. It’s the 35 annual developers conference from the Cupertino company. WWDC will begin on Monday, June 10th and run to Friday, June 14th. Macrumors.com says it will be an online event as it has been since 2020. WWDC is open to all developers at no cost. Expect the keynote to hi light features from iOS 18, iPadOS 18, tvOS 18, MacOS 15, and WatchOS 11. 

A leak has a new addition to the Pixel lineup. 9to5google.com reports that images from @OnLeaks show a third handset in the 2024 flagship lineup. The additional Pixel 9 only has two cameras, while the previously leaked images for the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 have 3. The new third model has a slightly smaller display than the Pixel 9 Pro. The Pro is 6.2 inches, the smaller phone is 6.03 inches. The body of the phones is the same, but the smaller screen unit has bigger bezels. One other difference…the newly leaked model loses a speaker cutout at the bottom…it has a SIM tray there instead. 

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

YouTube-AI Labels for Some, but Not All Videos; Intel Scores $8.5 Billion in CHIPS Act Grants; Google Socked With $270 Million Fine by France; Feds Can Film Your Front Porch for Over 68 Warrantless Days

Posted: March 20, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

YouTube now requires labels for some AI generated videos…but not all of them. Mashable.com reports that YouTube put out a statement saying “We’re introducing a new tool in Creator Studio requiring creators to disclose to viewers when realistic content – content a viewer could easily mistake for a real person, place, or event – is made with altered or synthetic media, including generative AI.” Not all AI made videos will be labeled. According to YouTube, this policy only covers AI digital alterations or renderings of a realistic person, footage of real events or places, or complete generation of a realistic looking scene. For some videos, this is not a big deal. Exceptions are made for videos that use beauty filters, special effects like blur or a vintage overlay, or color correction. YouTube notes that all of these alterations were already available long before generative AI was a thing. One glaring exception though…Animated AI content. It seems this should be covered, since a lot of kids videos are animation or include animation. 

Intel has been awarded $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act grants, and will have access to billions more in loans. According to CNBC, this is part of the Biden administration’s effort to ramp up bridging semiconductor manufacturing back to the US. the additional loan funds could total another $11 billion. Intel has long been a stalwart of the U.S. semiconductor industry, developing chips that power many of the world’s PCs and data center servers. However, the company has been eclipsed in revenue by Nvidia, which leads in artificial intelligence chips, and has been surpassed in market cap by rival AMD and mobile phone chipmaker Qualcomm. Intel makes its own chips. AMD and Nvidia design chips, then send the files and staff to Taiwan’s TSMC for the actual manufacture of the chips. Intel is building fabrication and research centers in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon. 

The French have socked Google with a $270 million fine over copyright protections for news snippets. Techcrunch.com says France’s competition authority found that Google disregarded its previous commitments to news publishers. They also took into consideration the fact that Google had used the news content to train its Generative AI model…Bard at the time, now Gemini. The French authority asserted that Google had not notified the publishers of that fact and hadn’t gotten their permission. Google had previously been fined by the authority to the tune of $592 million for using publishers’ material. 

A federal court has ruled that law enforcement recording of the front of a person’s home for 68 days…15 hours a day…was ok without a warrant. Gizmodo.com reports that the officers had no warrant, and had put a camera on a pole across the street to record the man’s home. The Kansas man, Bruce Hay, was an army vet who was found guilty of lying about his disability status to get benefits from the VA. The federal court noted that video cameras in public spaces are a common thing now, and so there is a diminished expectation of privacy when you are out in the world. If you ever thought your front porch was private…well, now you know it isn’t.

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

Apple Negotiating With Google To Get Gemini AI on iPhone; LInkedIn Wants To Add Gaming; Tesla Settles Discrimination Suit; Tick-Killing Pill for Humans

Posted: March 18, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple has been working more quietly than others on AI…which it calls machine learning. Apparently things aren’t moving quickly enough for Cupertino. Now comes word that they are in ‘active negotiations’ with Google to bring the latter’s Gemini generative AI to the iPhone. Theverge.com reports that Apple has also considered ChatGPT from Open AI. Earlier this year, Samsung added a number of Galaxy AI branded features to its Galaxy S24 smartphones. The tech is also of course a banner feature of Google’s own Pixel 8 smartphones. It would be a good deal for Apple, even if they have to drop a ton of money, since their own AI is behind Google’s Gemini and ChatGPT…but it would also be a good deal for Google, as they would get their AI tools on some 2 billion iPhones. If a deal is made, is is likely to stay under wraps until Apple’s WWDC in June. 

In an effort to get more engagement and longer periods of it, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is looking at adding gaming to the platform. According to TechCrunch.com, the platform now has a billion users. Most are on it for professional purposes or recruitment, but with Microsoft’s huge footprint in gaming, dropping some into LinkedIn really might do the trick as far as increasing peoples’ time on the platform. 

A long court battle between a former elevator operator and Tesla has settled. Owen Diaz had originally been awarded $137 million in damages in 2021 for racial discrimination, but that was cut to $3.2 million. Engadget.com says no settlement amount has been disclosed, which is normal for this type of situation. Diaz had accused the car maker of enabling a racist workplace, ‘straight from the Jim Crow era.’ Co-workers had left swastikas and racist graffiti on his work space and around the Tesla Fremont plant. There is still another lawsuit against the electric car maker for racial discrimination, and that one is in process of getting certified as a class action…which could add 240 black employees or former employees to Marcus Vaughn’s suit. 

We have them for dogs and cats…pills for tick prevention. Now, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is working on a pill for humans. Wired.com notes that it could protect people from tick borne Lyme Disease for several weeks at a time. An early trial has found that after 24 hours of taking the pill, it works to kill ticks on people for up to 30 days. Whether you are a hiker, or walk your dog, or just are outdoors a lot, this will be a big deal if it makes it all the way through testing and approval by the FDA.

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

Google Will Restrict Gemini Elect Questions; Airbnb Bans Indoor Cams; Chem Injection Can Renew Batteries; Apple Tests AI Targeted App Store Ads

Posted: March 12, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Google is restricting queries to its chatbot Gemini about elections. The restrictions will be global…the only exceptions are queries from countries where there are no elections taking place this year. Techcrunch.com reports that the update is already live in the US, and is rolling out to India. Google notes that it is concerned about the AI service being weaponized, or induced to produce inaccurate or misleading responses. Google has not said if it will unblock answering election related questions after the elections later this year. 

Airbnb will no longer allow hosts to record guests while they are inside the property. This has already been the case with Vrbo, and also at hotels. According to arstechnica.com, Airbnb has been allowing hosts to have disclosed cams outside the property and inside ‘common areas’ inside, but they are now completely banning them. Airbnb’s updated policy defines cameras and recording devices as “any device that records or transmits video, images, or audio, such as a baby monitor, doorbell camera, or other camera.” An exception is in place for monitoring a public space like your front porch or driveway with a doorbell cam. 

We have all experienced it with phones or other small devices, and it will happen to electric vehicles eventually. After a number of charge cycles, the batteries start to drop in the charge they can hold, and they will eventually fail. As a lithium-ion battery pack is a pretty large chunk of an EV cost, here’s some potential good news. Bgr.com says that researchers have come up with a new battery revival injection that can restore an aged or degraded battery to near full capacity. The research comes from Toyota’s Central R&D Labs, and was just published in the journal Joule. the injection is lithium naphthalene. It brings the batteries up to 80% of original capacity, and that lasts at least 100 charge cycles so far. Note that if the battery has structural damage, the injection doesn’t work. This is potentially a huge breakthrough.

Just because Apple hasn’t been calling AI AI…they have used machine learning…doesn’t mean they aren’t all over it….and maybe not always in ways we will be thrilled about. Appleinsider.com notes that apple is experimenting with using AI to buy and place ads in its App Store, much like Google does with their Performance Max and Meta does with its Advantage Plus. Apple has told advertisers it is conducting the tests, and advertisers believe the company will introduce the product in the coming months. With the AI boost, Apple may see its ad business grow to $6 billion by 2025, with $4.1 billion coming from search ads. 

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

20 Inch Folding MacBook in Works; Pixel Sales Up 527%-In Japan; Simple Way to Remove Microplastics from Water; New Material May Bring Smart Contact Lenses

Posted: March 7, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

A folding Apple phone may or may not happen anytime soon if at all, but apparently Cupertino is seriously working on a 20 inch screen MacBook…with a folding screen! Macrumors.com reports that noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is saying “Apple’s only foldable product with a clear development schedule is the 20.3-inch MacBook, expected to enter mass production in 2027.” Right now, the largest screen MacBook is the 16 inch MacBook Pro. Apple had a 17 inch screen laptop for a while, but dropped that model way back in 2012. Kuo said the 20-inch MacBook is Apple’s only foldable product with a clear development schedule, suggesting that a foldable iPhone or iPad are not coming any time soon.

Google’s Pixel phones have been making inroads in penetration of the smartphone market, and no place more so than Japan. The phones, with their amazing software assisted cameras are really seeing a huge sales growth. According to 9to5google.com, an IDC report shows Pixel sales up 527% year over year from 2022 to 2023. That gives Google 10.7% of the market share there. Apple’s phones continue to hold a huge share of the market there, as do…somewhat surprisingly…Sharp’s phones.  Sharp retains a large share of the market due to the demand for phones designed for the elderly, not necessarily cutting-edge devices. Meanwhile, Samsungs Galaxy shipments to Japan have dropped by 39%…showing where a lot of Google’s sales increase came from. 

Scientists have discovered a surprisingly simple way to remove microplastics from drinking water. This sounds almost like magic, but bgr.com says researchers at a couple universities in China ran tests on both soft and hard tap waters, and by boiling the water, then running it through a filter, they were able to remove up to 90% of the microplastics. The results were published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The boiling left the microplastics trapped in the crusty, chalky stuff that forms when you boil water in a kettle or pot. The scientists said a filter as simple as a stainless steel mesh like used to strain tea is enough to filter out most of the lime-encrusted plastic pieces that are left behind after boiling the drinking water. Hopefully, bottled water makers will be adapting this cheap, simple process too. Kids…DO try this at home if you want to. 

One cool thing about science…often new breakthroughs are made while looking for something else. Now, the co-creator of graphene, along with a group of scientists have another breakthrough material. Konstantin Novoselov and the team say the new material lets them create a novel form of light manipulation. Thenextweb.com reports that they had been working on smart contact lenses. They discovered that the materials…dubbed  ReS2 and ReSe2, not only could help with that, but were more powerful than expected. They can adjust the wavelength of light, and change its direction…up to 90 degrees! The scientists see potential in applications for medicine, AI, and AR. For contact lenses, the startup Xpanceo thinks the use of the new material could provide faster and cheaper blood testing using Raman Spectroscopy at a much lower cost and with better performance. They also see earlier detection of things like COVID and even cancer! It will be a while before we see all these benefits, but it is a pretty amazing discovery.

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

Google Hits Brakes on AI Images of People; AT&T, Others Cell Outage This Morning; ARM Claims ‘Software is Driver in Deal With Nuro; Samsung Will Bring Galaxy AI Features to More Devices

Posted: February 22, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Google has pumped the brakes, disabling Gemini’s ability to generate images of people. PCMag.com reports that this came after users found that Gemini was producing historically inaccurate images in some situations. Like some extreme examples? It showed what it claimed was a Native American man and woman as an 1820s German couple…and one of the Founding Fathers as African American. It also came up with Asian members in the 1929 German military. Google put out a message saying “We are aware that Gemini is offering inaccuracies in some historical image generation depictions, and we are working to fix this immediately.” 

There were widespread cellular outages this morning starting at about 3:30 am Eastern that affected calls and even 911 service. The problems were all on  AT&T’s network. According to NPR, AT&T now says it has restored around three quarters of its cellular network. Some 73,000 customers were affected. Verizon and T-Mobile reported that their networks were ‘operating normally.’ This is more concerning than in the past, since these days, nearly 71% of adults and 82% of kids live in wireless-only households. AT&T hasn’t said what caused the outages at this point. 

Chipmaker ARM supplies most of the systems on a chip that run the world’s smartphones, and now they are diving into the world of driverless cars. Thenextweb.com says the chip maker has cut a deal with Nuro, a startup in the autonomous vehicle realm. The partnership aims to accelerate the commercialization of self-driving cars. Arm will bring its famed semiconductor IP to Nuro’s vehicles, starting with the startup’s delivery robots. In an only slightly hyped statement, ARM says ‘software is becoming the driver’ for cars! Arm is finding a nice place in the automotive segment…since 2020, they have nearly doubled their revenue in the sector. As for startup Nuro, they are shooting for level 4 autonomy, which doesn’t need a human driver under certain road conditions. They haven’t given any roadmap for how soon they think that will become a reality.

The AI push marches relentlessly on…Samsung is now going to bring its Galaxy AI features to more devices with a software update in March. The handsets affected are the Galaxy S23 series, S23 FE, Z Fold5, and Z Flip. The tablets that will get the AI include the Tab S9 Ultra, Tab S9+, and Tab 59. With this upcoming update, users will get access to Google’s “Circle to Search” feature, which lets users search from anywhere on their phone using gestures like circling, highlighting, scribbling or tapping. Another feature called Live Translate will provide voice and text translations for phone calls. Plus, users will get access to an “Interpreter” feature that generates text translations for live conversations.

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

GM Hires Ex-Tesla Battery Guru; Official-Google Bard AI is now Gemini; Deepfake ‘Face Swaps’ Surged 704% Last Year; FTC Accuses Microsoft of Misrepresenting Activision Blizzard Plans Post Layoffs

Posted: February 8, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

General Motors has picked up ex-Tesla executive and battery wiz Kurt Kelty to be the General’s new vice president of batteries…a brand new role at GM. Kelty’s role will likely affect the Ultium program, although his job is designed to be far broader. GM has had teams dedicated to different pieces of the battery process. However, there has never been one role that strings together every step, including sourcing raw materials and identifying and testing out new technologies. Kelty spent more than a decade as the head of Tesla’s battery team. He was there through the launch of Tesla’s first four cars: The Roadster, Model S, Model X and Model 3. He also used to work at Panasonic, Tesla’s partner in cell development at the Gigafactory in Nevada. Since leaving Tesla, Kelty was VP of commercialization at Silk Nanotechnologies, a firm that was working on a silicon based anode that can dramatically increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries. 

Google announced officially today that it is renaming its Bard chatbot to Gemini, releasing a dedicated Gemini app for Android, and even folding all its Duet AI features in Google Workspace into the Gemini brand. It also announced that Gemini Ultra 1.0 — the largest and most capable version of Google’s large language model — is being released to the public. If you download the new app on Android, it can set Gemini as your default assistant…replacing Google Assistant when you say “Hey, Google.” So far, there isn’t dedicated Gemini app for iOS, and at any rate, you couldn’t replace Siri with it on Apple devices. Most people will use the standard version which is now called Gemini Pro. For Gemini Ultra, the more powerful version, you have to drop $20 a month for the Gemini Advanced subscription…which is part of the Google One AI Premium plan. Since that plan also includes 2TB of Google Drive Storage and other features, Google says the Gemini Advanced subscription is only really $10…except you have to pay the $20 to get it!

New research from iProov, a biometric firm from the UK finds that Deepfake “face swap” attacks skyrocketed by 704% from the first to the second half of 2023. With their ability to manipulate key traits of an image or video, face swaps made with GenAI are difficult to detect. They’re also user-friendly and affordable. To create convincing face swaps, all you need is off-the-shelf software. The manipulated or synthetic output is then fed to a virtual camera. SwapFace and DeepFaceLive are the most popular tools for bad actors, according to iProov.  By using these tools, crooks can hide the evidence of virtual cameras, which makes the face swaps harder to detect. Four years after researchers highlighted deepfakes the most worrying AI crime, their anxieties are becoming reality.

A week after Microsoft laid off nearly 2,000 employees in its gaming division, the Federal Trade Commission is accusing Microsoft of contradicting its pledge to allow Activision Blizzard to operate independently post-acquisition. Engadget.com reports that the FTC has filed a complaint in federal appeals court as of yesterday, saying that last week’s downsizing, which affected employees of Activision Blizzard, “contradicts Microsoft’s representations in this proceeding.” The FTC is asking for a temporary pause of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard as it further investigates potential antitrust issues. In Wednesday’s complaint, the FTC argued that the recent layoffs also undermine its own ability to order relief for employees who were negatively affected in the acquisition.

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

Rivian Smaller, Cheaper SUV Coming soon; More Efficient Solar Cell from Oxford Wizards; Google Rebranding Bard to Gemini; Underground Site Uses Neural Networks to Make Really Good Fake IDs

Posted: February 5, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Rivian is getting set to unveil its smaller, cheaper SUV dubbed the R2. The drop date is March 7th. TechCrunch.com reports that it should retail for between $40-60,000, a much lower price than the R1S SUV and the R1T pickup. The reveal will happen in Laguna Beach, CA. Rivian has been operating at a loss, despite decent sales of the present SUV and pickup, as well as the vans it makes for Amazon. They believe at this lower price point, they will be able to scale up production enough to get into the black. Rivian built some 57,000 vehicles in 2023. 

A spinoff from Oxford University called Oxford PV has now made the most efficient solar panel ever built. According to thenextweb.com, compared to the average panels out there…which can convert about 15-20% of solar energy to electricity, this new one can convert 25% of the sun’s energy it receives. It uses a material that is better at absorbing light than previous cells. The spinoff claims that the panels have a theoretical efficiency of 43%…but this has yet to be shown in a real world setting. If they can show that, it would be a gigantic leap forward for solar power.

Google is getting ready to rebrand its Bard generative AI as ‘Gemini,’ likely as early as this week. 9to5google.com reports that Google has upgraded Bard with new features and capabilities. They are also powering the AI with what they call ‘Gemini Pro.’ A Gemini Advanced tier will be available on February 7th. It is a paid product, and includes  “expanded multi-modal capabilities,” better coding support, and “the ability to upload and more deeply analyze files, documents, data, and more.” After the rebranding, Google will be putting out an Android App. The app has a distinct similarity to the current Google Assistant app available in the Play Store, and they note will only run on ‘select devices.’ Most likely that means phones like Tensor-powered Pixels and the Galaxy S24 handsets.

In a flashback to my college days, when one guy I knew made fake out-of-state IDs so his pals could buy booze, a website called OnlyFake is claiming to use “neural networks” to generate realistic looking photos of fake IDs for just $15, radically disrupting the marketplace for fake identities and cybersecurity more generally. This technology, which 404 Media has verified produces fake IDs nearly instantly, could streamline everything from bank fraud to laundering stolen funds. These guys are pikers…the guy I knew charged $25 back decades ago. Ok, inappropriate, I know. At any rate, 404Media says OnlyFake created a highly convincing California driver’s license, complete with whatever arbitrary name, biographical information, address, expiration date, and signature. 404 Media used another fake ID generated by this site to successfully step through the identity verification process on OKX. OKX is a cryptocurrency exchange that has recently appeared in multiple court records because of its use by criminals. BTW, the alleged owner of OnlyFakes goes by John Wick. 

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

Threads Downloads Triple in December; Galaxy S24 Getting Crash Detection; Microsoft Closed Loophole in AI Image Generator That Allowed Swift Deepfakes; Proposed California Bill Would Allow Parents to Block Algorithmic Feeds for Kids

Posted: January 30, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Threads, the Instagram answer to the old Twitter had huge growth when it dropped last summer, then stalled out. Now, it looks like it is taking off again. The app tripled its downloads in December, placing it in the top 10 most downloaded apps for the month on both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store. According to techcrunch.com, intelligence firm Appfigures reported 12 million new Threads downloads in December, grabbing the #4 spot on Apple’s App store and #8 on the Google Play Store. Meanwhile, X…formerly Twitter, fell to #29 on Apple’s App Store and #46 on the Google Play Store. 

Being in a car crash is a harrowing experience…particularly when it is enough to set off the airbags. Some cars have emergency calling built in, but now Samsung’s S24 phones will join Apple’s iPhones and Google’s Pixel 4 phones in alerting your loved ones if you are involved in a crash. Androidpolice.com notes that all Android devices are equipped with accelerometers and gyroscopes which the OS can read, and the phone can infer when there’s a car crash by analyzing sensor data. Google has been pushing Android phone makers to use the crash detection, so this may open the floodgates for others to follow along. 

Microsoft closed the loophole in its AI image generator that could create explicit images of celebrities like Taylor Swift. After the widespread outrage from Swift’s fans last week after explicit deepfakes of her showed up on X, Redmond took the action. Theverge.com says that Microsoft’s Designer AI image generator could be hacked by altering prompts that got around simple name blocks. Microsoft put out a statement claiming they are committed to a safe and respectful experience for everyone. Time will tell if the hackers are able to get around the updated software. Just before the Swift explicit deepfakes appeared, recall that someone was making political robocalls in New Hampshire with a cloned voice of President Biden. The battle will continue. 

California is considering a couple of bills that would protect kids from social media addiction and preserve their private data. Engadget.com reports that SB976 would give parents the power to remove addictive algorithmic feeds from their children’s social channels. If passed, it would allow parents of children under 18 to choose between the default algorithmic feed — typically designed to create profitable addictions — and a less habit-forming chronological one. It would also let parents block all social media notifications and prevent their kids from accessing social platforms during nighttime and school hours. AB 1949 would attempt to strengthen data privacy for CA children under 18. The bill’s language gives the state’s consumers the right to know what personal information social companies collect and sell and allows them to prevent the sale of their children’s data to third parties. Any exceptions would require “informed consent,” which must be from a parent for children under 13.

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

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →