Techmeme
February 20, 2023, 8:05 AM

Top News

Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook:
Meta announces Meta Verified, offering a blue badge, impersonation protection, and customer support for $12 per month on the web or $15 per 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, Bloomberg, BBC, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, Engadget, Reuters, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, BetaNews, New York Times, The Economic Times, Insider, TechRadar, Bloomberg, Axios, CNN, iThinkDifferent, Instagram Help Centre, GSMArena.com, Digital Trends, Fortune, Android Police, Phandroid, Coinspeaker, OnMSFT.com, Quartz, CNBC, TechCircle, Android Central, Softpedia News, gHacks Technology News, SiliconANGLE, PCMag, The Hollywood Reporter, Slashdot, Social Media Today, PYMNTS.com, The Information, MSPoweruser, PetaPixel, Neowin, Pocket-lint, Techlusive, Variety, iPhone in Canada Blog, CNET, Mashable, The Apple Post, MakeUseOf, Moneycontrol, Engadget, Deadline, The Indian Express, CoinGape, 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  —  “You're in!” the email said.  “Welcome to the new Bing!”  Last Sunday, I joined a small wave of users granted early access …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Gerrit De Vynck / Washington Post:
A preview of the Gonzalez v. Google case at the SCOTUS and a look at the Israeli nonprofit law center Shurat HaDin opposing YouTube at a hearing on February 21  —  Are tech companies liable when their algorithms recommend terrorist content?  The Court's answer could upend the way the internet works.
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:
Shaurya Malwa / CoinDesk:
Decentralized wireless communication network Helium plans to move to Solana on March 27 after 81% of its community voted in favor of migration in September 2022  —  Decentralized wireless communication network Helium will entirely shift to the Solana blockchain by March 27 …
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
Dow Jones' general counsel says OpenAI lacks a deal to use WSJ reporting to train its AI; a source says 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 …
Laurence Fletcher / Financial Times:
Hedge fund Galois Capital, which managed ~$200M in 2022, shutters, returns investor money, and sells claims for $0.16 after half its assets were trapped on FTX  —  Co-founder apologises in letter to investors and says fund is no longer viable  —  A hedge fund that was one of the highest-profile victims …
Richard Waters / Financial Times:
An amateur Go player beat a top-ranked AI system in 14 of 15 games, using tactics suggested by a computer program that had analyzed the AI system for weaknesses  —  Amateur Kellin Pelrine exploited weakness in systems that have otherwise dominated board game's grandmasters
Wall Street Journal:
A look at Meta's “The Cube”, a cubicle made of felt-like recycled PET plastic that absorbs sound and blocks distractions, rolling out to Meta's offices globally  —  The Facebook and Instagram parent needed a new setup for the loud hybrid workplace.  Here's a first look at the quieter cubicle.

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Bloomberg:
Paul Kiernan / Wall Street Journal: