Techmeme
August 15, 2024, 10:15 AM

Top News

Joseph De Avila / Wall Street Journal:
Eric Schmidt says he “misspoke” when he said Google was losing the AI race because it decided that “working from home was more important than winning”  —  Ex-Google CEO had said the tech company's work-life balance was ‘more important than winning’
Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Google says Iran-backed hacking group APT42 has targeted the Trump and Biden campaigns, as well as Israeli military, government, and diplomatic organizations  —  APT42, which is believed to work for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, targeted about a dozen people associated with both Trump …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is prioritizing developing a tabletop home device with an iPad-like display and a robotic limb, aiming for a release in 2026 or 2027 for ~$1,000  —  - Executive who oversaw car project is leading the effort  — Device would offer twist on home products from Amazon and Meta
Danny Gallagher / Engadget:
The US FTC announces a final rule banning the sale of fake reviews and testimonials, including AI-generated ones, with fines as high as $50K per violation  —  The new rules prohibit the selling of fake and AI-generated reviews and testimonials in several forms.
Ari Levy / CNBC:
Cisco reports Q4 revenue down 10% YoY to $13.64B, vs. $13.54B est., and says it is cutting 7% of its global workforce, or 4,000 jobs; CSCO jumps 5%+  —  Cisco shares popped in extended trading on Wednesday after the networking company said it's cutting 7% of its global workforce …
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Images generated by Grok, like Barack Obama doing cocaine and Donald Trump and Kamala Harris with guns, go viral on X, raising questions about Grok's guardrails  —  xAI's Grok chatbot now lets you create images from text prompts and publish them to X — and so far, the rollout seems as chaotic …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Sources: Sonos is considering relaunching its old mobile app as it works to improve the redesigned version, which launched in May 2024 to widespread criticism  —  Sonos has explored the possibility of rereleasing its previous mobile app for Android and iOS — a clear sign of what an ordeal the company's hurried redesign has become.
Financial Times:
Sources: SoftBank held talks with Intel about making an AI chip to compete with Nvidia, but Intel couldn't meet the demands; SoftBank is now talking to TSMC  —  Son hopes to put Japanese group at centre of artificial intelligence boom but talks with US chipmaker failed to progress
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple says developers can offer NFC transactions using the iPhone's Secure Element, separate from Apple Pay, starting in iOS 18.1, with “associated fees”  —  Apple has announced that it is opening up the iPhone's NFC chip using the Secure Element to allow for third-party contactless payments …
Emilia David / VentureBeat:
Anthropic releases prompt caching, which lets developers cache frequently used context between API calls, in public beta on its API  —  Anthropic introduced prompt caching on its API, which remembers the context between API calls and allows developers to avoid repeating prompts.
Aisha Counts / Bloomberg:
A survey of 430 first-time Gen Z voters: 60%+ oppose requiring kids under 16 to get parental consent to use social media and 85% oppose notification time limits  —  - Survey polled 430 first-time voters from across the US  — Lawmakers have criticized Instagram, TikTok over child safety
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Reuters:
CFIUS fines T-Mobile a record $60M for allegedly failing to prevent and report unauthorized access to sensitive data after its Sprint merger in 2020  —  A powerful U.S. committee that scrutinizes foreign investment for national security risks fined T-Mobile (TMUS.O) $60 million …
Zheping Huang / Bloomberg:
Alibaba reports Q1 revenue up 4% YoY to ~$34B, below ~$34.9B est., and net income down 27% YoY to ~$3.4B, after aggressive promotions failed to drive spending  —  - Net income dived 27% as spending on promotions ballooned  — Commerce shrank in a worrying sign for Chinese consumption

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CNN:
Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Stuart A. Thompson / New York Times:
Joseph Menn / Washington Post: