Techmeme Ride Home

More signs that vital communications infrastructure is abandoning Twitter. Reddit is testing Discord-like chat channels. Big layoffs at Clubhouse. Microsoft exits the peripherals business after 40 years. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Bloomberg.com/careers Miro.com/podcast Links: New York City Subway Ends Twitter Service Alerts After Musk Raises Price (Bloomberg) Reddit is testing Discord-like channels for community chat (TechCrunch) Once-Hot Chat Startup Clubhouse Is Cutting Half of Staff (Bloomberg) Pinterest announces multiyear ads partnership with Amazon alongside earnings beat (TechCrunch) Microsoft’s mice, keyboards, and webcams are being discontinued in favor of Surface accessories (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Apple’s Siri Chief Struggles With Turf Wars as New AI Era Begins (The Information) ASML, Europe’s Most Valuable Tech Firm, Is at the Heart of the US-China Chip War (Bloomberg) The Unexpected Reason Apple Is Dominating the U.S. Smar

Meta reported earnings that surprised investors in the good way. But that doesn’t mean they’re backing off the Metaverse. Global smartphone shipments continue to plummet. Might congress ban children from social media? Amazon gets out of the health tracker business. And the interesting way that rejection of the Microsoft Activision deal is using a somewhat novel argument. Sponsors: Miro.com/podcast Shopify.com/ride Links: Facebook Parent Meta Platforms Sees First Sales Increase in Nearly a Year (WSJ) Meta beats revenue expectations, remains committed to metaverse (TechCrunch) Smartphone Market woes continue with 14.6% Drop in first quarter this year, According to IDC Tracker (IDC) Senators unveil bipartisan legislation to ban kids under 13 from joining social media platforms (CNN Business) Amazon shuts down Halo division and discontinues all devices (The Verge) Google on why Authenticator sync isn’t E2E encrypted, but option coming later (9to5Google) Microsoft’s $69 Billion Deal Tripped Up by

The UK is blocking Microsoft’s Activision Acquisition. A quick rundown of Microsoft and Alphabet earnings. The new Mavic drone is a beast. Cruise has actually expanded its self-driving taxi service. And a look at the mounting pressure on Binance and CZ. Sponsors: Mindbloom.com/techmeme and promocode: techmeme Miro.com/podcast Links: UK Blocks Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Deal (Bloomberg) Microsoft Q3 2023: Windows, devices, and Xbox down again (The Verge) Google’s cloud business turns profitable for the first time on record (CNBC) Apple Plans AI-Powered Health Coaching Service, Mood Tracker and iPad Health App (Bloomberg) DJI’s latest Mavic drone is a beast (TechCrunch) Cruise continues to burn GM’s cash as robotaxis expand to daylight hours (The Verge) OpenAI Offers New Privacy Options for ChatGPT (Bloomberg) Binance Faces Mounting Pressure as U.S. Crypto Crackdown Intensifies (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Methinks Coinbase is orchestrating laying the groundwork for a showdown with US regulators. Slack rolls out Canvas, which seems pretty cool. AI Guardrails from Nvidia. A browser built for AI tools from Opera. And I delve into the whole story about that AI generated Drake song that has gone viral. OregonState.edu/believe-it Miro.com/podcast Links: Coinbase Asks Court to Force SEC to Clarify Crypto Regulations (Decrypt) Slack launches Canvas, a docs app that lives inside your chat app (The Verge) Google Authenticator now syncs 2FA with your Google Account, gets new icon (9to5Google) Nvidia releases a toolkit to make text-generating AI ‘safer’ (TechCrunch) Opera One is a browser designed for generative AI features (Engadget) An A.I. Hit of Fake ‘Drake’ and ‘The Weeknd’ Rattles the Music World (NYTimes) Grimes Tells Fans To Deepfake Her Music, Will Split 50% Royalties With AI (Forbes) Sol Reader E Ink headset for hands-free e-reading makes CES debut (GoodEReader) Learn more about your

Would you believe me if I told you there was more Twitter chaos over the weekend. More details on the Apple headset. Is ARM about to abandon its Switzerland strategy? Interesting data about how Netflix dominates TV watching. And sad data about the down rounds we can expect for the foreseeable future. Sponsors: Miro.com/podcast Links: Elon Caves, Gives Blue Checks Back to Twitter’s Biggest Celebs (Daily Beast) Apple Will Take Scattershot Approach to Pitching AR/VR Headset (Bloomberg) Chip designer Arm makes its own advanced prototype semiconductor (Financial Times) These Are The Most Popular TV Shows on the Internet (Bloomberg) Silicon Valley Startups Brace for a Summer of Pain (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Again, my Internet History Podcast interview with Chamath Palihapitiya of the All In podcast from 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Again, this is a republishing of my Jason Calacanis interview from the Internet History Podcast. Sponsors: Bloomberg.com/careers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More… I dunno… Twitter things are happening. Google is consolidating its AI efforts. We now have a hint about what that startup Humane might be creating. The US wants to get a jump start on 6G technology. And pour one out for BuzzFeed News. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/techmeme Headspace.com/ride30day Links: Twitter seemingly now requires all advertisers to have a verified checkmark (TechCrunch) Google Looks to Turbocharge AI Efforts With Combined Brain, DeepMind Unit (WSJ) Google gives Bard the ability to generate and debug code (Engadget) Watch the first demo of buzzy startup Humane’s wearable AI assistant in leaked clips (The Verge) U.S. Begins Planning for 6G Wireless Communications (WSJ) The Internet of the 2010s Ended Today (The Atlantic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are Elon and Microsoft fully at war at this point? Does Coinbase already have one foot out the country at this point? Is OpenAI careening toward a run-in with GDPR? And, Stability AI’s big play to compete with Chat GPT. Sponsors: Leadership.OregonState.edu/cic Grammarly.com/techmeme Links: Microsoft drops Twitter from its advertising platform (Mashable) Elon Musk Threatens to Sue Microsoft After it Drops Twitter From Ad Platform (PCMag) Coinbase gets Bermuda license, plans to launch offshore exchange in coming weeks (FortuneCrypto) First EU-Wide Crypto Regulations Clear Final Parliament Vote (Bloomberg) OpenAI’s hunger for data is coming back to bite it (MIT Technology Review) Google to deploy generative AI to create sophisticated ad campaigns (Financial Times) Stability AI releases ChatGPT-like language models (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That Netflix ad tier seems to be paying off. But it’s also the end of the road for those famous red envelopes. We’re about to see a foldable Pixel phone. More layoffs from Meta. More links in bio for Instagram. And forget data being the new oil. What if data was the new fertile farmland to be rented out to LLMs for harvesting? Sponsors: Grammarly.com/techmeme leadership.oregonstate.edu/cic Links: Netflix Adds 1.75 Million Customers in Q1 2023; Grows to 232.5M Globally (The Streamable) Netflix Gains 1.75 Million Subscribers, Axes DVD-Rental Business (WSJ) Google to launch its first foldable phone, the ‘Pixel Fold,’ in June (CNBC) Meta has started its latest round of layoffs, focusing on technical employees (CNBC) Instagram takes on Linktree and others with support for up to 5 ‘links in bio’ (TechCrunch) Reddit Wants to Get Paid for Helping to Teach Big A.I. Systems (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the AI revolution going to kick of a silicon revolution with a whole new generation of chips? Coinbase would consider leaving the US if it can’t get clarity from regulators. Is the Apple savings account the savings account for you? A look at Twitter competitor Bluesky. And what happens if you take GPT-4 and feed it back on itself? Sponsors: Notion.com/ride Grammarly.com/techmeme Links: Microsoft Readies AI Chip as Machine Learning Costs Surge (The Information) Coinbase Could Move Away From U.S. if No Regulatory Clarity: CEO Brian Armstrong (CoinDesk) Major Photography Prize Winner Reveals Image Is AI-Generated, Rejects Award (Motherboard) Apple finally launches high-yield Apple Savings account (Apple Insider) Bluesky’s CEO wants to build a Musk-proof, decentralized version of Twitter (The Verge) Hype grows over “autonomous” AI agents that loop GPT-4 outputs (ArsTechnica) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey everybody, back from Ireland, and man, the universe dumped all the news on me this morning. Google is rushing to add AI to search because they’re afraid Samsung is about to jump ship to Bing. More chaos at Twitter. Meta has to make nice with advertisers. Spotify seems to be abandoning it’s paywall podcast strategy. And is Apple’s Watch OS about to get its biggest overhaul ever? Sponsors: Grammarly.com/techmeme GetSunday.com/ride Links: Google Devising Radical Search Changes to Beat Back A.I. Rivals (NYTimes) Sega to acquire Angry Birds maker Rovio for $776 million (CNBC) U.S. House Committee Publishes Draft Stablecoin Bill (CoinDesk) Elon Musk just shut down automation for important public safety accounts (Mashable) Is Twitter finally dying? (Vox) Meta Tries to Lure Advertisers With Reels Discounts, AI Tools (The Information) Spotify will drop paywall for Gimlet podcasts (Semafor) Apple Plans to Launch More Than Just Its New Headset at WWDC (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad

AWS has begun offering customers access to LLMs made by Anthropic, Stability AI, and AI21 Labs, as they look to be a neutral platform for generative AI features. WhatsApp is rolling out new verification and protection features, including defenses against SIM jacking and social engineering attacks. Twitter has just increased the character limit to 10,000 for Blue subscribers. And your weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Ramp.com/techmeme Bloomberg.com/careers Links: Amazon Joins Microsoft, Google in AI Race Spurred by ChatGPT (Wall Street Journal) Amazon Is Joining the Generative AI Race (WIRED) WhatsApp makes it harder for scammers to steal your account (Engadget) Key transparency explainer (Matthew Green, Twitter) Twitter Blue’s new 10,000 character limit turns tweets into essays (The Verge) Dril Is Everyone. More Specifically, He’s a Guy Named Paul. (The Ringer) With a wave of new LLMs, open-source AI is having a moment — and a red-hot debate (VentureBeat) Is ‘The Economist’ Making

The stocks of Apple suppliers Cirrus Logic and AAC are down after reporting that iPhone 15 Pro models won’t have solid-state buttons after all. IBM is reportedly looking into selling The Weather Company, for quite a bit less than they paid for it in 2015. LinkedIn has new identity verification via the airport and stadium security service CLEAR. Ethereum has successfully completed its Shanghai, or Shapella, upgrade, letting users withdraw staked ether. And Warner Bros. Discovery has officially renamed HBO Max to just… Max. Sponsors: Nutrafol.com/men, promo code RIDE  Links: Apple reportedly nixes iPhone 15 button upgrade, sending supplier stock down 12% (CNBC) iPhone 15 Pro may not have new solid-state volume buttons after all (9to5 Mac) IBM Explores Sale of Weather Business (Wall Street Journal) IBM Mulling Sale of Weather Technology Assets (The Information) LinkedIn rolls out ways to verify your identity and employment, without a price tag (TechCrunch) LinkedIn Verification Now Lets You Verify

Elon Musk did a big spontaneous interview with the BBC last night on Twitter Spaces, but here’s two things that didn’t make the interview: Twitter appears to be working on generative AI for reasons yet unknown and Twitter Inc. doesn’t exist as a company anymore. Global VC funding for crypto startups fell to $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023, down 80% from an all-time high in 2022. Video game illustrators in China say AI image generators are causing them to lose their jobs. And Reddit moderators saying AI-generated spam is rapidly mounting as they brace themselves for a spam apocalypse. Links: Elon Musk is moving forward with a new generative-AI project at Twitter after purchasing thousands of GPUs (Insider) Twitter Inc. has been merged with X Corp. and “no longer exists,” Elon Musk’s company says in a court filing. (Slate) Six things we learned from Elon Musk interview (BBC) Crypto VC Funding Plunges by 80% in Dire Quarter for Startups (Bloomberg) AI is already taking video game illustrators

Alibaba revealed its ChatGPT-style bot, and mere hours later the Cyberspace Administration of China announced plans to require security reviews of generative AI tools before they’re released. The Winklevoss twins made a $100 million loan to their crypto exchange, Gemini Trust, after it failed to raise enough from outside investors. The FBI has warned against using any public USB charging ports. And YouTube has announced new Premium features and also announced the pricing for their NFL Sunday Ticket packagers and they’re not cheap. Sponsors: Bloomberg.com/careers go.tech/tm Links: China slaps security reviews on AI products as Alibaba unveils ChatGPT challenger (Ars Technica) China proposes measures to manage generative AI services (Reuters) Winklevoss Twins Lend $100 Million to Their Gemini Crypto Platform (Bloomberg) Juice jacking rising, FBI says don't use airport USB outlets (Android Authority) YouTube Premium adds more perks with SharePlay support, higher quality video and more (TechCrunch) 

Twitter has stopped throttling tweets with Substack links in them, but only after Elon Musk denied they were ever blocked. About 270 US Apple Stores have held staff meetings about unionization risks in the past two weeks. A New York Times article about the environmental and economic impact of bitcoin mines has some crypto proponents up in arms. And the 2023 Dell XPS 13 is… fine. Just fine. Sponsors: OregonState.edu Links: Twitter stops throttling tweets with Substack links (Engadget) Elon Musk Denies Substack Links Are Blocked On Twitter, A Claim That’s Very Misleading (Forbes) Apple (AAPL) Continues Efforts to Keep Retail Stores From Unionizing (Bloomberg) The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin (NY Times)  Crypto enthusiasts go after New York Times for its BTC mining report (Cryptopolitan) Rebuttal to the NYT article (Daniel Batten, Twitter) Dell XPS 13 review: Dell is coasting (and that’s fine) (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out David Auerbach's books: Meganets: How Digital Forces Beyond Our Control Commandeer Our Daily Lives and Inner Realities Bitwise: A Life in Code Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shenanigans from some Elon companies. Twitter looks like it’s blocking Substack. Not just links to Substack but even mentioning the name, the word Substack, in some cases. Oh, and Tesla employees apparently liked to view videos from your car and share them with each other internally. Last quarter was epically bad when it came to venture investing. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Twitter now disables likes, replies, and retweets if a tweet has Substack links (The Verge) Special Report: Tesla workers shared sensitive images recorded by customer cars (Reuters) A third of organizations admit to covering up data breaches (VentureBeat) Global VC Funding Falls Dramatically Across All Stages In Rocky Q1, Despite Massive OpenAI And Stripe Deals (CrunchBase News) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Behind the curtain: what it feels like to work in AI right now (Democratizing Automation) Think of language models like ChatGPT as a “calculator for words” (Simon Willison's Blog) Anthrop

More examples of chatbots hallucinating might lead to the first lawsuits. Did you know that you have a copy of the bitcoin white paper on your Mac right now? You don’t know it, but you do. I’ll tell you why. Substack is the latest to launch a Twitter clone. And why E3 had to die. It’s called direct to consumer, or, I guess, gamer. Sponsors: Mimecast.com OregonState.edu Links: ChatGPT invented a sexual harassment scandal and named a real law prof as the accused (Washington Post) The Bitcoin Whitepaper Is Hidden in Every Modern Copy of macOS (Waxy.org) Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says Search to Include Chat AI (WSJ) Google to prohibit personal loan apps from accessing user photos, contacts (TechCrunch) Substack’s new short-form ‘Notes’ feed looks a lot like Twitter (TechCrunch) Streaming Killed E3 (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices