Techmeme: The Cyberspace Administration of China will start regulating “deep synthesis” tech like AI-powered image, audio, and text-generation software on January 10 (Karen Hao/Wall Street Journal)

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January 9, 2023, 6:25 AM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple plans to unveil its “Reality Pro” headset this spring, before WWDC; the new Mac Pro will look like the 2019 model but lose user-upgradeable RAM — 2023 is set to be the year of Apple's mixed-reality headset and not much else. Also: The company hikes battery-replacement costs …

Elizabeth Dwoskin / Washington Post:

How Telegram, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter were used to boost election fraud claims in Brazil before riots hit congress and supreme court buildings — Researchers detected a surge in agressive rhetoric from election denialists in far-right channels online ahead of Sunday's rioting

Alex Kantrowitz / Big Technology:

The economic downturn is hurting the creator economy, one of the most-hyped sectors of the past decade, in particular since its middle class hasn't yet emerged — We're seeing the truth about one of the most-hyped sectors of the past decade. — After years of hype, the Creator Economy is slamming into reality.

More: AdExchanger and The Rationalist

Tweets: @carnage4life, @digitalshields, @rafat, @mattrogerson, @rowlsmanthorpe, @kantrowitz, and @counternotions

Todd Bishop / GeekWire:

Seattle Public Schools sue TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Snap, Instagram, and their parent companies for allegedly exploiting “the vulnerable brains of youth” — A new lawsuit filed by Seattle Public Schools against TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Snap, Instagram, and their parent companies alleges …

Karen Hao / Wall Street Journal:

The Cyberspace Administration of China will start regulating “deep synthesis” tech like AI-powered image, audio, and text-generation software on January 10 — Beijing is among the first governments to regulate hyper-realistic, AI-generated media

More: Philip Elmer‑DeWitt. Tweets: @jchengwsj, @_karenhao, @pstasiatech, @_karenhao, @joshchin, and @_karenhao

See also Mediagazer

Naomi Nix / Washington Post:

In the coming weeks, Meta plans to announce its decision on reinstating Donald Trump, who was harassing 2020 election workers by name as recently as last week — The platform cut Trump's indefinite suspension to two years at the urging of its Oversight Board. But that doesn't mean he's coming back.

Tweets: @melissabaker712, @nataliemj10, @digiphile, @washingtonpost, and @accountabletech

Washington Post:

Sources: in recent months, the US attorney's office for the Western District of Washington subpoenaed US hedge funds for records on communications with Binance — The federal probe into Binance is unfolding at a time of deep uncertainty in the crypto industry

Aggi Cantrill / Bloomberg:

Russia's invasion of Ukraine boosted European investments in dual-use tech like autonomous drones, rockets for satellites, and more — European tech companies that work with the defense industry, long an investment taboo for many venture capital firms, are drawing record amounts of funding in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

More: Washington Post. Tweets: @oliviasolon, @technology, and @aggichristiane

Oliver Whang / New York Times:

A look at Columbia University's Creative Machines Lab, which is exploring questions around artificial consciousness and the possibility of self-aware robots — The pursuit of artificial awareness may be humankind's next moonshot. But it comes with a slurry of difficult questions.

Debby Wu / Bloomberg:

Taiwanese lawmakers pass rules letting domestic chip companies convert 25% of their annual R&D expenses into tax credits; TSMC's stock rises 4%+ — Taiwanese lawmakers have passed new rules that let local chip firms turn 25% of their annual research and development expenses into tax credits …

Tweets: @sehof, @damienics, and @derzuschauer7

Chip Cutter / Wall Street Journal:

An interview with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, in the role since 2007, on acquiring Figma for $20B, the state of the industry, hybrid work, longevity, and more — Shantanu Narayen talks about volatility in the industry, Adobe's $20 billion Figma deal and setting priorities for the year

More: Livemint. Tweets: @jrichlive

Ian Smith / Financial Times:

UK-based insurer Beazley launches the first cyber catastrophe bond, typically used for hurricanes and extreme weather, as the industry combats ransomware claim — Template eyed as source of capital for area of insurance in high demand — Lloyd's of London insurer Beazley has launched …

More: Security Boulevard. Tweets: @iankmsmith

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 6:25 AM ET, January 9, 2023.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

Arkansas PBS severs ties with the PBS network, the first state public TV system to do so since Congress cut CPB funds, citing the annual $2M+ membership cost

Sam Roberts / New York Times:

Arthur L. Carter, who started a Connecticut newspaper in 1981, bought and sold The Nation, and founded the New York Observer in 1987, has died at 93

Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:

Disney's Zootopia 2 surpasses $1B at the global box office, the fastest PG-rated film to do so after just 17 days in release

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More News

Patricia Allen / EU-Startups:

UK-based Oxford Ionics, which is using trapped ions to scale quantum computing, raised a £30M Series A led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Braavos

More: Tech.eu, Sifted, Oxford Ionics, SiliconANGLE, and Silicon Canals

Nikkei Asia:

People's Bank of China official Guo Shuqing says the government's two-year clampdown on financial units at Alibaba, Tencent, Didi, and others is winding down

More: Wall Street Journal, CoinGape, and DealStreetAsia

Allison Johnson / The Verge:

After years of hype, 5G took a back seat at CES 2023, as the industry focuses on laying the groundwork for self-driving cars, AR, and IoT in smart cities

Bloomberg:

Sources: Twitter cuts staff in its already diminished trust and safety team handling global content moderation and in a unit for hate speech and harassment

More: Agence France-Presse, Coinspeaker, Engadget, NDTV, Mashable, The Guardian, BGR India, New York Post, and Appuals.com

Mastodon: @daveyalba@mastodon.social, @daveyalba@mastodon.social, and @daveyalba@mastodon.social

Tweets: @alanajoy, @kurtwagner8, @grogsgamut, @jamesrbuk, and @alexeheath

Earlier Picks

Callum Cyrus / Tech.eu:

Marseille-based Volta Medical, whose AI assistant helps surgeons in cardiac ablation procedures, raised a €36M Series B, bringing its total funding to over €70M

More: Volta Medical

Bloomberg:

Some companies are taking a liberal interpretation of California's pay transparency law with wide pay ranges; one Netflix job posting has a $90K-$900K pay range

More: Gizmodo and Washington Post

Tweets: @epro, @nativeindiandog, @jeffagreen, and @bizboyle

Kylie Robison / Fortune:

Sources: some former US Twitter employees finally received their severance agreements, offering only one month of base pay as severance and no prorated bonuses

More: The Information and Insider

Mastodon: @cfarivar@journa.host. Tweets: @helensagelee, @moved2italy2, @kyliebytes, @gergelyorosz, @javavvitch, @kyliebytes, @kyliebytes, @alistairmbarr, @lexnfx, @bismahmalik, @gergelyorosz, @telliotter, @brokep, @laurengoode, and @kate__duffy

New York Times:

PitchBook: investors pumped $1.37B+ into generative AI companies across 78 deals in 2022, almost as much as was invested in the previous five years combined

Ina Fried / Axios:

Mojo Vision, which demonstrated a working AR contact lens prototype in March 2022, pivots to focus on its micro-LED display tech and lays off 75% of its staff

More: The Verge and TechCrunch. Tweets: @anshelsag. Thanks:@inafried

Aaron Holmes / The Information:

Sources: Microsoft is working on incorporating existing and future versions of OpenAI's GPT into Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and its other productivity apps

More: ThoughtfulBits, The Gregor Letter, Livemint, BetaKit, AppleInsider, and Thurrott

Mastodon: @teledyn@mstdn.ca. Tweets: @amir, @sarthakgh, @searchbrat, @itsurboyevan, @steven_strauss, @akinunver, @danielpriestley, @emollick, @jowyang, @pyjama_ceo, @caro_milanesi, @pmddomingos, @sxicex, @notaboutthecell, @gregegansf, @carnage4life, @marxmatt, @annbordetsky, @amir, @ldrogen, @ejwalters, @aerocles, @adrianweckler, @warmoth, @amir, @pjbrown_iii, @martinsfp, @pitdesi, and @alex