Techmeme
December 20, 2023, 6:35 PM

Top News

The Verge:
Memo: Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is leaving Microsoft on December 29; Activision's leadership remains and is being integrated into Microsoft Gaming  —  Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is stepping down officially December 29th.  Microsoft has not appointed a direct replacement …
Bloomberg:
Stanford researchers: LAION-5B, a dataset of 5B+ images used by Stability AI and others, contains 1,008+ instances of CSAM, possibly helping AI to generate CSAM  —  The dataset has been used to build popular AI image generators, including Stable Diffusion.  —  A massive public dataset used …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is ramping up Vision Pro production, aiming for customer-bound units to be ready by the end of January and a retail debut planned for February  —  - Overseas manufacturing of the headset is running at full speed  — Vision Pro debut will vault Apple into new product category
Greg S. Fink / Car and Driver:
Aston Martin and Porsche preview bespoke interfaces for the next generation of Apple CarPlay, which integrates into all the displays of upcoming vehicle models  —  Apple is working with automakers to make a brand-distinct CarPlay experience.  — Apple's next-generation CarPlay environment arrives in 2024.
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Filing: the US ITC denies Apple's motion to stay the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 import and sales ban while awaiting an appeal; Biden can veto the ban  —  Apple has lost its bid to delay an import and sales ban on the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2.  In a filing on Wednesday …
Sam Tobin / Reuters:
The UK Supreme Court rules that AI can't be a patent “inventor”, denying a US computer scientist's bid for two patents for an AI's creations, in a landmark case  —  A U.S. computer scientist on Wednesday lost his bid to register patents over inventions created …
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:
Sony has sold 50M PS5 consoles in the three years since its November 2020 launch, almost as fast as the PS4 reached 50M, and outsold Xbox by almost 3:1 in 2023  —  Sony outsells Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's Switch as sector recovers from post-pandemic slump
Cristiano Lima / Washington Post:
Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
Researchers say AI robot CyberRunner outmaneuvers humans in the game Labyrinth, one of the first instances of AI beating humans at direct physical applications  —  - Robot learned in record time to guide a ball through a maze  — The AI robot used two knobs to manipulate playing surface
Jon Porter / The Verge:
The EU designates Pornhub, XVideos, and Stripchat as Very Large Online Platforms under the DSA, facing stricter rules to verify ages and stop illegal content  —  Porn sites Pornhub, XVideos, and Stripchat face stricter requirements to verify the ages of their users after being officially designated as …
Bloomberg:
Miami-based Bird files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing $100M to $500M in liabilities; the NYSE began delisting the e-scooter rental company in September 2023  —  The Miami, Florida based company listed assets and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million in a court filing.
Reed Albergotti / Semafor:
Q&A with Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth on generative AI reshaping Meta, facial recognition, regulations, open source, Llama, AGI, recruiting, Mistral AI, and more  —  Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, better known in the tech industry as “Boz,” was teaching a class …
Ellen Huet / Bloomberg:
A look at the tech sector's obsession with longevity; Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, Larry Page, and others have pledged millions to startups pursuing longer life  —  Tech titans, venture capitalists, crypto enthusiasts and AI researchers have turned longevity research into something between the hottest science and a tragic comedy.
David Shepardson / Reuters:
The US NIST seeks public input by February 2, 2024, for setting guidelines to ensure the safety of generative AI systems, as directed by President Biden's AI EO  —  The Biden administration said on Tuesday it was taking the first step toward writing key standards and guidance for the safe deployment …

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More News

Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:
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Earlier Picks

Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Leah Nylen / Bloomberg:
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer: