Filing: the FTC seeks a pause in Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition, arguing layoffs in Microsoft's gaming division contradict Microsoft's prior claims (Jessica Conditt/Engadget)
Engadget
FTC accuses Microsoft of misrepresenting its Activision Blizzard plans after layoffs
The FTC is accusing Microsoft of contradicting its pledge to allow Activision Blizzard to operate independently post-acquisition.
Techmeme
Filing: the FTC seeks a pause in Microsoft
By Jessica Conditt / Engadget. View the full context on Techmeme.
Google releases Gemini Ultra 1.0, the largest and most capable version of its LLMs, and renames Bard to Gemini, which now has a dedicated Android app (David Pierce/The Verge)
The Verge
Google’s AI now goes by a new name: Gemini
Gemini is coming to your phone, your email, your everything.
Techmeme
Google debuts Gemini Ultra 1.0, its largest and most capable LLM, renames Bard as Gemini, debuts a dedicated Android app, and plans to add Gemini to its iOS app
By David Pierce / The Verge. View the full context on Techmeme.
Q&A with Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine on Medium expecting to turn a profit in 2024, distribution, training LLMs, AI-generated content, media layoffs, and more (Reed Albergotti/Semafor)
What Medium’s CEO has learned about technology and journalism
The online publisher is on track to become profitable this year. But challenges remain for Tony Stubblebine, including AI-generated content.
Techmeme
Q&A with Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine on Medium expecting to turn a profit in 2024, distribution, training LLMs, AI-generated content, media layoffs, and more
By Reed Albergotti / Semafor. View the full context on Techmeme.
Sources: Elon Musk's xAI has secured $500M in commitments from investors toward a $1B goal and is aiming for a valuation of $15B to $20B (Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-20/musk-s-xai-secures-500-million-toward-1-billion-funding-goal
Techmeme
Sources: Elon Musk
From Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Canada partners with SecurityScorecard to assess the cyber resilience of companies critical to the country's infrastructure and assign them letter grades (Andrew Martin/Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-11/canada-will-use-letter-grades-to-limit-danger-from-hackers
Techmeme
Canada partners with SecurityScorecard to assess the cyber resilience of companies critical to the country
By Andrew Martin / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Netflix removes an Indian film depicting a Hindu character eating meat after backlash from Hindu groups; producer Zee apologizes and plans to edit the film (Naman Ramachandran/Variety)
Nayanthara Film 'Annapoorani' Pulled From Netflix Over Hindu Portrayal
'Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food,' headlined by Nayanthara, has been pulled from Netflix after multiple complaints from Hindu groups.
Techmeme
Netflix removes an Indian film depicting a Hindu character eating meat after backlash from Hindu groups; producer Zee apologizes and plans to edit the film
By Naman Ramachandran / Variety. View the full context on Techmeme.
Wearables with powerful AI models would be a much more profound invasion of personal privacy than what we have today with digital assistants like Alexa and Siri (Parmy Olson/Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-12-21/do-you-want-mark-zuckerberg-snooping-in-your-closet-parmy-olson
Techmeme
Wearables with powerful AI models would be a much more profound invasion of personal privacy than what we have today with digital assistants like Alexa and Siri
By Parmy Olson / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Andreessen Horowitz says "we will, for the first time, get involved with politics by supporting candidates who align with our vision and values" for technology (Ben Horowitz/Andreessen Horowitz)
Andreessen Horowitz
Politics and the Future
Technology startups need a voice. We are non-partisan, one issue voters: If a candidate supports an optimistic technology-enabled future, we are fo...
Techmeme
Andreessen Horowitz says “we will, for the first time, get involved with politics by supporting candidates who align with our vision and values” for technology
By Ben Horowitz / Andreessen Horowitz. View the full context on Techmeme.
Reuters temporarily removes its article titled "How an Indian startup hacked the world" to comply with an Indian court order, and plans to appeal the decision (Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-hackers-appin/
Techmeme
Reuters temporarily removes its article titled “How an Indian startup hacked the world” to comply with an Indian court order, and plans to appeal the decision
From Reuters. View the full context on Techmeme.
Q&A with Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami on Wix's embrace of AI, how the business models of the web can survive AI, Israel-Hamas war content moderation, and more (Nilay Patel/The Verge)
The Verge
Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami isn’t worried AI will kill the web
Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami is embracing generative AI and thinks the business models of the web can survive it.
Techmeme
Q&A with Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami on Wix embracing generative AI, how the web
By Nilay Patel / The Verge. View the full context on Techmeme.