Techmeme
February 20, 2023, 12:40 AM

Top News

Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook:
Meta debuts Meta Verified, a subscription service with a blue badge, impersonation protection, and customer support for $12/month on the web or $15/month on iOS  —  Good morning and new product announcement: this week we're starting to roll out Meta Verified — a subscription service that lets …
More: Meta, The Verge, Financial Times, BBC, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Reuters, The Guardian, International Business Times, AppleInsider, Insider, 9to5Mac, PYMNTS.com, Instagram Help Centre, Axios, CNN, MSPoweruser, Fortune, gHacks Technology News, Slashdot, Social Media Today, USA Today, Engadget, The Apple Post, SiliconANGLE, The Information, Forbes, Mashable, SlashGear, PetaPixel, Moneycontrol, Neowin, PCMag, The Hollywood Reporter, iPhone in Canada Blog, CNBC, The Indian Express, MakeUseOf, Variety, New York Times, CNET, Deadline, Livemint, Pixel Envy, and Dexerto
James West / Mother Jones:
New Bing offers marvelous responses, dangerously convincing falsehoods, direct quotes that appear to be made up, and shocking claims about its own capabilities  —  Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.  —  “You're in!” the email said.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Gerrit De Vynck / Washington Post:
A preview of the Gonzalez v. Google case and a look at the Israeli nonprofit law center Shurat HaDin arguing against YouTube at the February 21 SCOTUS hearing  —  Are tech companies liable when their algorithms recommend terrorist content?  The Court's answer could upend the way the internet works.
NBC News:
Biden and some GOP senators have formed a loose alliance in asking SCOTUS to change Section 230 protections when hearing Gonzalez v. Google on February 21  —  WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and some of his most prominent Republican adversaries in Congress have become allies, of sorts …
Richard Waters / Financial Times:
A human player beat a top-ranked AI system in 14 out 15 games of Go, using tactics suggested by a computer program that had probed the AI system for weaknesses  —  Amateur Kellin Pelrine exploited weakness in systems that have otherwise dominated board game's grandmasters
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Twitter says only Blue subscribers will be able to use SMS-based 2FA after March 20, 2023; all users can use an authenticator app or a physical security key  —  In fact, if you don't start paying for Twitter Blue ($8 a month on Android; $11 a month on iOS) or switch your account to use a far …
More: Six Colors, Ricky Mondello, Wired, Mobile Dev Memo, BleepingComputer, Twitter, Security Affairs, TechCrunch, WRAL TechWire, iThinkDifferent, Slate, TechSpot, AppleInsider News, Neowin, Phandroid, gHacks Technology News, Android Central, CoinGape, International Business Times, Toronto Star, SlashGear, Thurrott, NPR, TechRadar, CNET, AppleInsider, HackRead, iPhone in Canada Blog, Reclaim The Net, MobileSyrup, Mashable, The i Paper, BGR, IGN, Reuters, Variety, Appuals.com, The Apple Post, Insider, and BetaNews
Lisa Bannon / Wall Street Journal:
A look at the use of conversational AI in US call centers, which some agents find helpful and others say leaves the humans with more complex, intense workloads  —  Call centers are at the forefront of deploying artificial intelligence, with bots that automate basic tasks and instruct humans how to do their jobs
More: Livemint
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
Dow Jones' general counsel says OpenAI lacks a deal to use WSJ reporters' work to train its AI; source: CNN plans to ask OpenAI to pay to license its content  —  Major news outlets have begun criticizing OpenAI and its ChatGPT software, saying the lab is using their articles to train …
Bloomberg:
Sources: KKR-owned BMC Software confidentially filed for a US IPO, seeking a valuation of up to $15B; KKR acquired Houston-based BMC in 2018 for $8.3B  —  BMC Software, a technology company owned by KKR & Co., has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Will Douglas Heaven / MIT Technology Review:
A look at You.com, Andi, and Perplexity, three startups that started offering chatbot-enhanced search tools before the new Bing and Google's Bard came along  —  A frenzy of activity from tech giants and startups alike is reshaping what people want from search—for better or worse.
Li Yuan / New York Times:
Experts say China is behind the US in AI tools like ChatGPT due to censorship, geopolitical tensions, and the government's growing control of the private sector  —  The state's hardening censorship and heavier hand have held back its tech industry; so has entrepreneurs' reluctance to invest for the long term.

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Featured Podcasts

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Hard truths about building in the AI era | Keith Rabois (Khosla Ventures)
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Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
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More News

Bloomberg:
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Earlier Picks

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