Techmeme
August 26, 2024, 9:20 PM

Top News

New York Times:
French prosecutors: Pavel Durov's arrest is part of a probe “against person unnamed” into CSAM, drug sales, and more on the app and not working with authorities  —  A case was opened last month to investigate child pornography, drug sales, fraud and other criminal activities on the platform.
Victor Goury-Laffont / Politico:
French President Emmanuel Macron says the government was not involved in the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and “this is in no way a political decision”  —  French president condemns “false information” as Pavel Durov's detention in Paris triggers global outcry.
Bloomberg:
Elon Musk / @elonmusk:
Elon Musk says that “all things considered”, California “should probably” pass the AI safety bill  —  This is a tough call and will make some people upset, but, all things considered, I think California should probably pass the SB 1047 AI safety bill. For over 20 years, I have been an advocate for AI regulation, just as we regulate any product/technology that is a potential risk
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple announces a September 9 event at Apple Park with the iPhone 16 lineup, new Apple Watch models, and AirPods 4 expected; the invitation says “It's Glowtime”  —  Apple today announced plans to hold its annual iPhone-centric event on Monday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California.
Apple:
Apple announces CFO Luca Maestri will transition from his role on January 1, 2025; Kevan Parekh, Apple's VP of Financial Planning and Analysis, will become CFO  —  CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced that Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri will transition from his role on January 1, 2025.
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Anthropic publishes a changelog for the system prompts of its Sonnet, Opus, and Haiku models, the first major AI vendor to do so  —  Generative AI models aren't actually human-like.  They have no intelligence or personality — they're simply statistical systems predicting the likeliest next words in a sentence.
Siobhan Hughes / Wall Street Journal:
In a letter to US Rep. Jim Jordan, Mark Zuckerberg says he regrets Meta wasn't more outspoken about the Biden admin's pressure to restrict some COVID-19 content  —  Meta CEO also says he won't repeat 2020 efforts to fund local elections, which Republicans criticized as ‘Zuckerbucks’
Sarah Jacob / Bloomberg:
The Dutch Data Protection Authority fines Uber a record €290M for failing to abide by European protection standards when sending sensitive driver data to the US  —  - Uber was fined for not sufficiently protecting driver data  — The fine is the highest penalty ever issued by Dutch regulator
Anna Tong / Reuters:
OpenAI supports CA bill AB 3211 to require companies generating AI content to add watermarks; the bill passed in the state Assembly 62-0 and heads to Senate  —  ChatGPT developer OpenAI is supporting a California bill that would require tech companies to label AI-generated content …
Jesse Hamilton / CoinDesk:
Crypto platform Abra agrees to settle with the SEC over claims of unregistered securities; the SEC said the Abra Earn product had almost $500M from US investors  —  The securities regulator says Abra sold half a billion dollars in unregistered Abra Earn while also operating without registration as an investment company.

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Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
Anthropic's Mythos Dilemma, Violence Against AI, Tokenmaxxing at Meta
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.
Hard Fork:
Anthropic's Cybersecurity Shock Wave + Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz on Their Sam Altman Investigation + One Good Thing
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Decagon's Jesse Zhang: Closing Customer Service Doom Loops With AI Concierges
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Access:
OpenClaw for normies is here
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
When AI Kills
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.
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.
 

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More News

Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Raffaele Huang / Wall Street Journal:
Joe Supan / CNET: