Techmeme
November 5, 2023, 10:25 PM

Top News

xAI:
Elon Musk's xAI releases Grok, an AI model that the startup says surpasses rivals in its compute class, including ChatGPT-3.5, to a “limited number” of US users  —  Grok is an AI modeled after the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so intended to answer almost anything and, far harder, even suggest what questions to ask!
Wes Davis / The Verge:
A look at companies' responses, including from Meta, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, and Apple, to potential US Copyright Office rules for AI and copyrighted content  —  The biggest companies in AI aren't interested in paying to use copyrighted material as training data, and here are their reasons why.
TechCrunch:
Hands-on with Google Play Protect's real-time scanning for sideloaded Android apps, which didn't stop five predatory loan apps and two fake apps from installing  —  Here's our hands-on review of the new Android security feature  —  Android's in-built security engine Google Play Protect …
Mike Young / AIModels.fyi:
Researchers say AI models like GPT-4 respond with improved performance when prompted with emotional context because of how these models handle nuanced prompts  —  Researchers show LLMs respond with improved performance when prompted with emotional context  —  In the grand narrative …
New York Times:
Sources: GM spent an average of $588M per quarter on Cruise over the past year, up 42% YoY, and staff intervened to assist its vehicles every 2.5 to 5 miles  —  Cruise has hired a law firm to investigate how it responded to regulators, as its cars sit idle and questions grow about its C.E.O.'s expansion plans.
David Gilbert / Wired:
A look at CulturePulse, which is building an AI model to create a virtual version of Israel and Palestinian territories and has signed a nine-month UN contract  —  CulturePulse's AI model promises to create a realistic virtual simulation of Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Okta's autopsy report on its support system breach understated the role of a badly configured service account, the biggest contributing factor to the breach  —  If a transgression by a single employee breaches your network, you're doing it wrong.  —  Identity and authentication management provider Okta …
David Streitfeld / New York Times:
A look at the gap between Amazon's dazzling drone delivery claims and the mundane reality, as only some small objects can be delivered when the weather allows  —  Amazon's much-hyped drone project is dropping small objects on driveways.  Some customers are not sure what it delivers beyond minestrone.
Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
How chip companies are experimenting with obscure materials, like synthetic diamonds and ultrapure glass, to improve performance and combat heat in microchips  —  To beat the heat that our devices throw off, engineers are experimenting with synthetic diamonds, ultrapure glass and other obscure materials
Wall Street Journal:
Q&A with Adobe General Counsel and Chief Trust Officer Dana Rao on the Content Authenticity Initiative, content credentials, deepfake detection issues, and more  —  Instead of detecting fakes, this effort aims to authenticate and track online images from the start; Adobe's chief trust officer on the strategy
Alex Konrad / Forbes:
Emails: X began work on a marketplace for purchasing account handles that have been left unused, asking for a $50K flat fee from potential buyers in some cases  —  Rumored to be in the works for the past year, the initiative appears to have begun rolling out recently, with email solicitations being sent to potential buyers.

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Cloudflare:
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IDrive:
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Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
Cloudflare CEO: We're Ready To Block Millions of Websites From AI — With Matthew Prince
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
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Channels with Peter Kafka:
Data Centers, Elon Musk, and the New Politics of Tech, with David Weigel
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
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Access:
Sam Altman on OpenAI's next model and the AI backlash
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
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Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Brian Singerman from GPx
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
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Training Data:
Making Cities Awesome: Peregrine's Nick Noone & Ben Rudolph
Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.
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Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Connecting the Unconnected: Doreen Bogdan-Martin
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.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

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More News

Bloomberg:
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Alex Cranz / The Verge:
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Earlier Picks

Andrew Hayward / Decrypt:
Gabor Cselle / Gabor Cselle on Medium:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Andrew Hayward / Decrypt: