Techmeme
July 11, 2019, 6:20 PM

Top News

The Keyword:
Google admits one of its language reviewers leaked confidential Dutch audio data and says it is investigating the issue  —  We're focused on building products that work for everyone, and as part of this, we invest significant resources to ensure that our speech technology works for a wide variety of languages, accents and dialects.
Tom Simonite / Wired:
Belgian broadcaster obtains 1,000+ Google Assistant audio clips from a Google contractor, some of which seem to be recorded inadvertently and may violate GDPR  —  GOOGLE, AMAZON, AND Apple say their AI-powered virtual assistants make it easier to get things done on smartphones or at home.
Reuters:
Trump says he plans to call execs from social media platforms to a meeting later this month; sources say they haven't received invites from the White House  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he plans to call a meeting of executives from major social media platforms later this month.
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Twitter was down globally for just over an hour today as the White House “social media summit” kicked off  —  When in doubt, ban yourself  —  Twitter appeared to be down for a large number of users across the United States on Thursday.  The company confirmed the issue to The Verge …
The Daily Beast:
The Information:
Sources: Bird lost about $100M in the first quarter, with revenue shrinking to about $15M, and the company told people that it has about $100M in cash left  —  The wintertime was bleak for Bird.  In this year's first quarter, the electric scooter operator lost nearly $100 million …
Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:
Apple says it has temporarily disabled the Apple Watch Walkie Talkie app, due to a vulnerability that could allow iPhone eavesdropping, while it works on a fix  —  Apple has disabled the Apple Watch Walkie Talkie app due to an unspecified vulnerability that could allow a person to listen …
Tom Simonite / Wired:
Facebook says its AI bot Pluribus, developed in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon, is the first such bot to beat top pros at six-player No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em  —  The 32-year-old is the only person to have won four World Poker Tour titles and has earned more than $7 million at tournaments.
Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed News:
Facebook is starting to show users which marketing and data companies have your data, how an ad was targeted, and how to opt-out  —  The new tool tells you how an ad was targeted and which third-party agency or data broker was used.  It also links to pages to opt out.
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Amazon says it will spend $700M to retrain 100K, or about a third, of its US employees by 2025, acknowledging the impact of technology and automation on jobs  —  Amazon is embarking on a $700 million effort to retrain its U.S. workforce, in a high-profile acknowledgment of the impact …
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Sources: Amazon Music Unlimited's subscribers grew ~70% in the past year, compared to ~25% for Spotify; in April Amazon had 32M+ music subscribers in total  —  Amazon is adding subscribers to its music-streaming service at a faster rate than rivals such as Spotify, Apple and Google …
Sam Rutherford / Gizmodo:
Google is testing Shoelace, a hyper-local social networking iOS and Android app, based on shared interests around events and activities, starting in NYC  —  Google has never made a successful social network, but you have to give the company some credit for never giving up.
Ryan Gallagher / The Intercept:
A US nonprofit org founded by Google and IBM is working with a company helping China's government secretly monitor phone and internet activity of 200M people  —  An American organization founded by tech giants Google and IBM is working with a company that is helping China's authoritarian …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Nielsen says it will start surveying podcast listeners about their consumption habits, including genre preferences and how long they listen to shows  —  More data on listeners  —  Nielsen, a company best known for tracking TV shows' popularity, is getting into the podcast data collection business.

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit  —  Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23.  Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Simplifying MTD for accountants with Zoho Practice  —  Making Tax Digital (MTD) is redefining how accountants and bookkeepers manage their work.  With the new Income Tax mandate, the surge of sole traders …
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 Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
All about Interest Rates
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Training Data:
Google DeepMind's Logan Kilpatrick: Why the Model Eats the Harness
Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.
Subscribe to Training Data.
Big Technology Podcast:
What Should An AI Device Look Like? — With Alex Himel
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.
Great Chat:
Founders dish on VC bad behavior (and bring receipts)
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Mike Volpi from Hanabi Capital
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
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 6:20 PM ET, July 11, 2019.

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

E. Tammy Kim / New Yorker:

Earlier Picks

Frank Chaparro / The Block:
Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider: