Techmeme
January 20, 2023, 6:50 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Memo: Alphabet plans to cut ~12,000 jobs, 6%+ of its global workforce; CEO Sundar Pichai says he takes “full responsibility for the decisions that led us here”  —  Google parent Alphabet Inc. said it will cut about 12,000 jobs, more than 6% of its global workforce …
More: Reuters, The Keyword, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Associated Press, Insider, BBC, Moneycontrol, NPR, New York Times, NBC News, The Irish Times, Observer, Washington Post, Mercury News, Tubefilter, TheStreet, CNN, USA Today, Seattle Business Journal, HotHardware, Bloomberg, SiliconANGLE, CrackBerry, GamesIndustry.biz, PhoneArena, CIO Dive, Fortune, Ars Technica, TIME, Thurrott, Gizchina, DCD, PCWorld, MobileSyrup, Patently Apple, Appuals.com, WinBuzzer, TheGamer, gHacks Technology News, Newser, ZDNet, Coinspeaker, Tech in Asia, GeekWire, RCR Wireless News, NBC Bay Area, Wccftech, Game Rant, Fast Company, CNET, OnMSFT.com, PYMNTS.com, Tech Xplore, Tech Monitor, SlashGear, iPhone in Canada Blog, Tom's Hardware, Tech.co, TechSpot, Android Central, BGR India, TechCircle, Deadline, City A.M., Computerworld, Search Engine Land, Neowin, The Register, Variety, Metaverse Post, PC Gamer, and Livemint
Nico Grant / New York Times:
Sources: Google executives met with Larry Page and Sergey Brin in December to discuss AI products; Google plans to demo web search with chatbot features in 2023  —  A rival chatbot has shaken Google out of its routine, with the founders who left three years ago re-engaging and more than 20 A.I. projects in the works.
Kevin Simauchi / Bloomberg:
Crypto lender Genesis Global files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York, listing the estimated range for both assets and liabilities as between $1B and $10B  —  Cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Capital filed for bankruptcy, the latest firm to collapse in the aftermath of FTX's swift downfall.
Ryan Weeks / The Block:
Bankruptcy filing: Genesis Global owes more than $3.6B to its top 50 creditors, including $766M to the Winklevoss' Gemini Trust Company and $151M to Mirana  —  - Genesis Global filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Emily Baker-White / Forbes:
According to six employees and an internal doc, TikTok and ByteDance staff engage in “heating”, or inflating video view counts, to court influencers and brands  —  TikTok and ByteDance employees regularly engage in “heating,” a manual push that ensures specific videos …
The Verge:
Source: CNET owner Red Ventures has used AI tools like Wordsmith to write stories for at least a year and a half, causing unease amid layoffs and restructuring  —  Fake bylines.  Content farming.  Affiliate fees.  What happens when private equity takes over a storied news site and milks it for clicks?
Bloomberg:
Sources: Nintendo plans to increase production of its six-year-old Switch console in the coming fiscal year, starting in April 2023, as demand remains strong  —  Nintendo Co. plans to increase production of its six-year-old Switch console in the coming fiscal year after shipping roughly 21 …
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
Experts argue that 24+ US states banning TikTok is a reflection of government groupthink and an overreaction to an app that officials don't entirely understand  —  Some states' have copied others' wording, including mistakes, as some professors complain the bans rob them of a teaching tool
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:

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