Techmeme
January 2, 2024, 6:10 AM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Sources: ASML canceled shipments of some of its machines to China at the US' request, weeks before export bans on the high-end chipmaking equipment took effect  —  - ASML canceled shipments of a liminted number of devices  — Biden is cracking down on Beijing's semiconductor industry
John Kruzel / Reuters:
In his year-end report, SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts says AI is a mixed blessing for the legal field, urging “caution and humility” when adopting the tech  —  Artificial intelligence represents a mixed blessing for the legal field, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts …
Dan Primack / Axios:
Filing: Fidelity marks down the value of its X stake, estimating the company is worth ~28% of the $44B that Elon Musk paid, down from 33% in May 2023  —  Fidelity has again marked down the value of its shares in X Holdings, which the mutual fund giant helped Elon Musk buy for $44 billion when the company was known as Twitter.
Mohar Chatterjee / Politico:
A look at AI chatbots modeled on real experts, like US psychologist Martin Seligman, that are often created without permission, highlighting a policy gray area  —  New AI-generated digital replicas of real experts expose an unnerving policy gray zone.  Washington wants to fix it, but it's not clear how.
Keza MacDonald / The Guardian:
A profile of Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who joined Nintendo in 1977 and says he has no plans to retire as representative director at the company  —  Few people have influenced global pop culture as much as the creator of Mario and Zelda, widely considered the father of modern gaming.
J. Edward Moreno / New York Times:
The lawsuits against tech companies could shape what copyright means for AI, or simply serve as leverage for plaintiffs to secure more favorable licensing deals  —  The use of content from news and information providers to train artificial intelligence systems may force a reassessment of where to draw legal lines.
Michael Acton / Financial Times:
A look at the future of Apple's $85B/year services business, as the company faces key US court cases in 2024 and prepares to allow iOS app sideloading in the EU  —  Landmark EU regulation and crucial US court cases due in 2024 will test the tech company  —  Apple faces a legal reckoning in 2024 …
Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Retiring generals and departing top Pentagon officials are increasingly flocking to VC firms that have pumped billions into defense tech startups like Anduril  —  Retired officers and departing defense officials are flocking to investment firms that are pushing the government to provide more money to defense-technology startups.
Financial Times:
Sources: Merck's bid for Japanese chip materials maker JSR, not disclosed to JSR shareholders, triggered a $6.4B offer by a state-backed fund in June 2023  —  Japan Investment Corporation's $6.4bn offer for JSR comes as governments seek to protect semiconductor technology
Ash Parrish / The Verge:
The scope and scale of layoffs in the video game industry in 2023 was far beyond a typical year, with an estimated 10,466 workers losing their jobs globally  —  Layoffs are an unfortunate reality of any industry, but the scope and scale of video game layoffs in 2023 are far beyond a typical year.
Bloomberg:
Filing: Baidu terminates its $3.6B acquisition of Joyy's Chinese livestreaming business YY Live, as some conditions haven't been met; Joyy seeks legal advice  —  - Tech industry's focus has turned to generative AI now … The Beijing-based company said its $3.6 billion deal for Joyy's YY Live …

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More News

Joan Westenberg:
Michael Koziol / IEEE Spectrum:
Justin Garrison / Justin Garrison:
Nikkei Asia:
More: PCMag and TechLifeWeb
Mastodon: @carnage4life@mas.to.  X: @stevesi, @anastasiabekt, and @mikecane.  LinkedIn: Tariq Krim

Earlier Picks

Brendan Bordelon / Politico:
Anil Dash / Rolling Stone:
Cristina Criddle / Financial Times:
Rita Liao / TechCrunch:
Aaron Tilley / Wall Street Journal: