Techmeme
February 8, 2023, 5:45 AM

Top News

James Vincent / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils an updated Bing search engine and Edge browser powered by a next-gen custom OpenAI LLM, calling the duo an “AI-powered co-pilot for the web”  —  Microsoft has announced a new version of its search engine Bing, powered by an upgraded version of the same AI technology that underpins chatbot ChatGPT.
More: The Official Microsoft Blog, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, Digital Trends, Engadget, Reuters, Observer, Pocket-lint, MediaNama, NextBigWhat, Platformer, Windows Central, CNET, Rick's Newsletter, iThinkDifferent, Voicebot.ai, TechEBlog, Associated Press, Wired, Insider, Android Authority, iTnews, MobileSyrup, PCMag, OnMSFT.com, iClarified, SlashGear, Tom's Hardware, 9to5Google, WinBuzzer, TechCrunch, Neowin, Appuals.com, AppleInsider, Microsoft Advertising, Dexerto, TechCrunch, and Slashdot
Tom Warren / The Verge:
A recap of Microsoft's event, where the company detailed the new Bing and Edge powered by OpenAI's next-gen model, AI progress, OpenAI partnership, and more  —  Microsoft is holding a surprise event at its Redmond headquarters today, where it's expected to focus on its OpenAI partnership and introduce a version of Bing with ChatGPT.
Joanna Stern / Wall Street Journal:
Hands-on with the new AI-powered Bing, which, when asked for the 2023 Grammys winners, made a list with citations in a minute; search will never be the same  —  Our columnist got an early look at the software's new ChatGPT-like powers  —  Bing with AI: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Why Search Is Changed Forever
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Microsoft rolls out the “new Bing”, which uses a next-gen OpenAI large language model and Microsoft's new Prometheus Model, in “limited preview” at bing.com/new  —  REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft unveiled new versions of its Bing search engine and Edge web browser …
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Source: Microsoft plans to release a service that helps large companies create chatbots or refine their existing ones using OpenAI's ChatGPT tech later in 2023  —  - Microsoft plans to release technology to help big companies launch their own chatbots using the OpenAI ChatGPT technology, a person familiar with the plans told CNBC.
More: Neowin and MSPoweruserThanks:@mattrosoff
Thomas Claburn / The Register:
Mozilla says the company is doing “exploratory work” for a Gecko-based browser on iOS in case Apple drops its WebKit requirement, after a similar move by Google  —  Work on a Gecko-based version of Firefox for iOS is underway, again  —  UPDATED Mozilla is planning for the day when Apple …
Ashley Capoot / CNBC:
Zoom plans to cut ~1,300 staff, or ~15% of its workforce, offering US employees up to 16 weeks severance, including salary, health care, and bonus; ZM jumps 5%+  —  - Zoom on Tuesday announced plans to cut about 1,300 workers, or 15% of its workforce, according to a blog post shared to the company's website.
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
At the State of the Union, Biden called for Congress to strengthen data privacy protections and antitrust enforcement to stop Big Tech from self-preferencing  —  President Joe Biden threw his support behind tougher rules regulating Silicon Valley during his Second State of the Union speech Tuesday night.
Jack Schickler / CoinDesk:
The Bank of England publishes two papers on a new digital pound, seeming to favor centralized databases over a blockchain and imposing a £10K limit per person  —  The Bank of England has set out technical features of its central bank digital currency, which officials have said is likely to be needed.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta asks many of its managers and directors to transition to individual contributor jobs or leave the company, “flattening” the organization  —  Meta Platforms Inc. is asking many of its managers and directors to transition to individual contributor jobs or leave …
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Voice actors are increasingly being asked to sign away rights to their voices so clients can make synthetic AI versions that may eventually replace them  —  Motherboard spoke to multiple voice actors and advocacy organizations, some of which said contracts including language around synthetic voices are now very prevalent.
New York Times:
Long an AI leader, Meta has been cautious with chatbots, closing Galactica in November over toxic content and misinformation, letting OpenAI take center stage  —  It has long had technology to rival chatbots like ChatGPT, but can't afford to back artificial intelligence that can spread misinformation and toxic content.
Nature:
Science researchers are excited about AI chatbots like ChatGPT but apprehensive about their propensity to produce errors and misleading info on technical topics  —  Chris Stokel-Walker is a freelance journalist in Newcastle, UK.  —  You can also search for this author in  —  PubMed Google Scholar
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Magic, a code-generating tool similar to GitHub's Copilot, raised a $23M Series A led by Alphabet's CapitalG; Elad Gil, Nat Friedman, and Amplify also invested  —  Magic, a startup developing a code-generating platform similar to GitHub's Copilot, today announced that it raised $23 million …
More: Magic and CapitalG

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Reuters:
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Amanda Hoover / Wired: