Google says it is dissolving its week-old AI ethics board, following controversy over several of the board members
The controversial panel lasted just a little over a week. — This week, Vox and other outlets reported that Google's newly created AI ethics board was falling apart amid controversy …
Sources: Amazon is readying AirPods-like wireless earbuds with built-in Alexa for as early as the second half of this year
- Company plans wireless earbuds for second half of this year — Move is attempt to take Alexa mobile after flopped Fire phone
Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos, announce a divorce settlement that will leave him with 75% of their Amazon stock and all voting power
In a tweet Thursday, MacKenzie Bezos said that her divorce from Jeff Bezos was finalized and that she would give her ex-husband voting control of her Amazon shares.
Ian Goodfellow, known as the father of an AI approach known as generative adversarial networks, has joined Apple in a director role, coming from Google
- Ian Goodfellow joined Apple's Special Projects Group as a director of machine learning last month. — Prior to Google …
Samsung says it expects Q1 operating income of $5.5B, down 60% YoY, its worst drop in more than four years, as chip prices fall and smartphone sales slow
- Chip buyers working through inventories, pushing prices down — Sluggish smartphone demand also hurts bottom line at Samsung
Sources: Apple Music has been growing at a monthly rate of 2.6% to 3%, had 28M users in US in February, compared to Spotify's 26M users and growth of 1.5% to 2%
Apple's music-streaming service has surpassed Spotify's in paid U.S. subscriptions yet lags its Swedish competitor globally.
Google pilots a row of ads on the Android TV home screen of Sony smart TVs, NVIDIA Shield TV, others; users say they cannot disable the ads
Users are reportedly not enjoying Google's “pilot program.” — Google is trying out a new “Pilot Program” that puts a row of advertisements on the Android TV home screen.
EU charges Valve and five game publishers with geo-blocking games, says they prevented cross-border sales in violation of EU antitrust rules
The European Commission has informed Valve, owner of the “Steam” video game distribution platform, and five videogame publishers …
Cisco's Talos unit finds 74 groups on Facebook, with around 385,000 members in total, whose members buy and sell hacking tools, stolen card info, more
This blog was written by Jon Munshaw and Jaeson Schultz. — Cisco Talos is continually working to ensure that our threat intelligence …
Snapchat debuts Snap Games platform that lets users play real-time multiplayer games with six-second unskippable ads and rewards
but, apart from Line (in gaming-mad Japan) the strategy hasn't really been a hit for anyone... yet https://techcrunch.com/... Josh Constine / @joshconstine : Snapchat's overarching strategy: Keep you ...
Testing Verizon's 5G network in Chicago with the Moto Z3 shows download speeds between 400-600 Mbps, ~10X faster than iPhone XS Max, but with limited coverage
Finding 5G coverage in Chicago, one of two launch cities, is extremely difficult — I've spent the past 18 hours in Chicago …
Snap launches an AR utility platform for developers called Scan, with initial partnerships with Photomath and Giphy
Josh Constine / TechCrunch :
Snap announces App Stories, letting developers insert Stories into their own apps, and Snap Audience Network, which will extend its ad platform to other apps
Snap wants more users and more ad revenue — In a bid to attract more users and advertisers, Snap today said that its pioneering Stories product …
Starting with the May 2019 Update, Windows 10 will no longer auto install feature updates and will let users pause updates for up to 35 days
Mike Fortin / Windows Experience Blog :
Netflix's DVD service still has 2.7M US subscribers, many of them in urban areas with good broadband, using it for the rich catalog not available via streaming
(CNN)Remember when Netflix used to be a DVD-by-mail company? Well, for 2.7 million subscribers in the US, it still is.
How Eva Galperin, who leads EFF's Threat Lab, is advocating for people affected by stalkerware, which gives a bad actor full access to another's device
OVER THE LAST year, Eva Galperin says she's learned the signs: the survivors of domestic abuse who come to her describing how their tormentors seem … Tweets: @evacide , @eff , @leakissner , and @a_gre...
Microsoft is investigating sexual harassment and discrimination claims that some workers say HR overlooked after women shared stories in a long email chain
Quartz http://qz.com/... Stacy-Marie Ishmael / @s_m_i : “More common complaints in the online discussion centered on feeling stymied in promotion, trying to balance assertiveness with pressure to appe...
Microsoft announces it will integrate its WhatsApp-like Kaizala group messaging service into Teams over the next 12 to 18 months
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet :
Kurly, the South Korean company behind the premium grocery service Market Kurly, raises $88M Series D
Quynh Nguyen / DealStreetAsia :
O(1) Labs, the startup behind the Coda protocol, which reduces the size of the blockchain from gigabytes down to kilobytes, raises $15M Series A
Brady Dale / CoinDesk :
SEC: Amazon has to let shareholders vote on proposals to curb sales of its controversial facial recognition product Rekognition to government agencies
SEC Alex Pasternack / Fast Company : Amazon says face recognition fears are “insignificant.” The SEC disagrees
MIT suspends ties with Huawei and ZTE over US investigations and says any projects working with China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia will merit additional review
Michelle Toh / CNN :
Leaked UK government plans propose that social media companies be policed by an independent regulator, with annual “transparency reports” on harmful content
The Guardian :
Amazon launches six HIPAA-compliant Alexa skills from health care companies like Cigna and Boston Children's Hospital for uses like scheduling appointments
Khari Johnson / VentureBeat :
The US has recently started working with OECD to create guidelines for AI and discussed a new law that would protect digital privacy and mesh with the EU's GDPR
Steve Lohr / New York Times :
Following criticism, Twitter has stopped blocking French government ads urging people to vote; Twitter banned French political ads after new law on ad funding
Associated Press :
Researchers find that Facebook appears to deliver certain ads, despite neutral targeting parameters, in a way that aligns with race and gender stereotypes
eg biased data caused bias; and systems creating bias towards categories they don't explicitly measure http://twitter.com/... Christian Sandvig / @niftyc : Another implication: “Big data” used in this...
ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok and newsfeed app Toutiao, has doubled its headcount to ~40,000 in one year and now operates more than 20 apps
isn't this Internet cultural phenomenon cute? Andrew Batson / @andrewbatson : According to this piece, fully 1/4 of ByteDance's headcount (10,000 of 40,000 employees) is occupied in “monitoring” (aka ...
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