Techmeme
December 8, 2023, 10:40 PM

Top News

Adam Satariano / New York Times:
The EU reaches a deal on the AI Act, a comprehensive attempt to limit the use of the technology; the law still needs to go through a few steps for approval  —  The agreement over the A.I. Act solidifies one of the world's first comprehensive attempts to limit the use of artificial intelligence.
Leah Nylen / Bloomberg:
Source: the US FTC is examining the nature of Microsoft's investment in OpenAI and potentially antitrust law violations but hasn't opened a formal investigation  —  - The agency hasn't opened a formal probe into Microsoft-OpenAI  — Microsoft didn't report deal to FTC due to non-profit status
Bloomberg:
The UK CMA is considering an antitrust investigation into Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership, and is taking comments until January 3 before making a decision  —  - CMA seeking views on whether the relationship should be probed  — Move is less than two months since watchdog cleared Activision
Nitasha Tiku / Washington Post:
Sources: complaints from some senior OpenAI leaders that Sam Altman had been psychologically abusive were a major factor in the board's decision to fire Altman  —  The senior employees described Altman as psychologically abusive, creating chaos at the artificial-intelligence start-up …
Steven Levy / Wired:
How author Steven Johnson, now a Google employee for over a year, helped create NotebookLM, which lets writers extract key themes from their research material  —  Author Steven Johnson helped Google create an app that can analyze a writer's research material and help them extract and explore the key themes.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
As Beeper Mini experiences an outage, Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky says that “all data indicates” Apple found a way to cut off the app's ability to function  —  Was it too good to be true?  Beeper, the startup that reverse-engineered iMessage to bring blue bubble texts to Android users …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is reorganizing its hardware engineering group as Tang Tan, its VP in charge of iPhone and Watch product design, plans to leave in February 2024  —  - Tang Tan is set to leave the tech company in February  — Departure will spur changes at hardware engineering group
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
An untitled countdown timer viewable only on the Threads.net homepage in EU countries suggests that the service will be expanded to EU users on December 14  —  Following its rollout in countries like the US and UK this past July, Threads will finally be expanded to users in the European Union on December 14th.
Jacob Knutson / Axios:
23andMe changed its TOS to prevent lawsuits days after its October data breach; to opt out, customers must email the company that they disagree within 30 days  —  Days after a data breach allowed hackers to steal 6.9 million 23andMe users' personal details, the genetic testing company changed …
Zheping Huang / Bloomberg:
Tencent's Lightspeed LA studio reveals Last Sentinel, an ambitious console game by GTA veteran Steve Martin and part of Tencent's push to create IP from scratch  —  - Lightspeed LA reveals ‘Last Sentinel’ at The Game Awards  — AAA game sets the stage in a futuristic, cyberpunk Tokyo
Reuters:
Malaysia's YTL Power partners with Nvidia in a $4.3B investment deal to create AI infrastructure in the country, including building a supercomputer in Malaysia  —  Malaysian conglomerate YTL's utilities unit (YTLP.KL) will partner with U.S technology giant Nvidia (NVDA.O) …
Elizabeth Lopatto / The Verge:
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Microsoft agrees to convert 77 TCWGlobal contract staff at ZeniMax into unionized employees, as part of negotiations with CWA-affiliated ZeniMax Workers United  —  - Move expands organized labor's foothold at software giant  — As direct employees, staffers will also receive raises, perks
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Apple and its suppliers aim to make 50M+ iPhones annually in India in two to three years, which would account for a quarter of global iPhone production  —  Supplier Foxconn plans to build more factories and give India a production role once limited mostly to China
Nikkei Asia:

Sponsor Posts

ElevenLabs:
ElevenAgents by ElevenLabs  —  You know us for voice.  Now meet ElevenAgents — featuring Expressive Mode, our most human-sounding AI voice technology in 70+ languages with ultra-low latency.  Hear it for yourself.
Intel:
5G's most deployed platform  —  Powering live networks with built-in Inference across Core and RAN.  That's the power of Intel Inside®
Zoho:
Build vs Buy Embedded Analytics: The Decision That Defines Your Product Roadmap  —  Every SaaS product team eventually hits the analytics wall.  Your customers want insights inside your app.  Your roadmap has no room to spare.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'Apple at 50', With John Siracusa
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI President Greg Brockman: AI Self-Improvement, The Superapp Bet, Path To AGI, Scaling Compute
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Brad Lightcap from OpenAI
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Why We Need to Pay Attention to Elon Musk Again
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.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Cheeky Pint:
Compliance at scale and why TAM is a distraction with Christina Cacioppo of Vanta
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:40 PM ET, December 8, 2023.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Allison Johnson / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Jessica Lyons Hardcastle / The Register:
Parmy Olson / Bloomberg:
More: Ars Technica, BBC, Engadget, TechCrunch, The Verge, Hindustan Times, Ars Technica, Bloomberg, CNBC, TechRadar, The Verge, Tom's Hardware, Livemint, VentureBeat, iPhone in Canada Blog, SiliconANGLE, Tech.co, The Algorithmic Bridge, HotHardware, CoinGape, Fosstodon, Deseret News, ExtremeTech, Cryptopolitan, The Week, Baseline, Gizmodo, 9to5Google, Windows Central, Big Technology, Pixel Envy, Beyond Search, Futurism, Benzinga, MobileSyrup, MSPoweruser, Android Headlines, Laptop Mag, Business Insider, Tom's Guide, The Decoder, Wired, Google for Developers Blog, TechCrunch, and Windows Report
Wall Street Journal:
Todd Spangler / Variety: