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The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 The metaverse’s future looks murkier than ever
OG believer Mark Zuckerberg is planning deep cuts to the division’s budget. (Bloomberg $)
+ However some of that money will be diverted toward smart glasses and wearables. (NYT $)
+ Meta just managed to poach one of Apple’s top design chiefs. (Bloomberg $)
2 Kids are effectively AI’s guinea pigs
And regulators are slowly starting to take note of the risks. (The Economist $)
+ You need to talk to your kid about AI. Here are 6 things you should say. (MIT Technology Review)
3 How a group of women changed UK law on non-consensual deepfakes
It’s a big victory, and they managed to secure it with stunning speed. (The Guardian)
+ But bans on deepfakes take us only so far—here’s what else we need. (MIT Technology Review)
+ An AI image generator startup just leaked a huge trove of nude images. (Wired $)
4 OpenAI is acquiring an AI model training startup
Its researchers have been impressed by the monitoring and de-bugging tools built by Neptune. (NBC)
+ It’s not just you: the speed of AI deal-making really is accelerating. (NYT $)
5 Russia has blocked Apple’s FaceTime video calling feature
It seems the Kremlin views any platform it doesn’t control as dangerous. (Reuters $)
+ How Russia killed its tech industry. (MIT Technology Review)
6 The trouble with AI browsers
This reviewer tested five of them and found them to be far more effort than they’re worth. (The Verge $)
+ AI means the end of internet search as we’ve known it. (MIT Technology Review)
7 An anti-AI activist has disappeared
Sam Kirchner went AWOL after failing to show up at a scheduled court hearing, and friends are worried. (The Atlantic$)
8 Taiwanese chip workers are creating a community in the Arizona desert
A TSMC project to build chip factories is rapidly transforming this corner of the US. (NYT $)
9 This hearing aid has become a status symbol
Rich people with hearing issues swear by a product made by startup Fortell. (Wired $)
+ Apple AirPods can be a gateway hearing aid. (MIT Technology Review)
10 A plane crashed after one of its 3D-printed parts melted 🛩️🫠
Just because you can do something, that doesn’t mean you should. (BBC)
