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I know I commonly lead Startups Weekly with my own tower ( andI did compose one this week , so if you are somehow a buff of everything I write , go ham ) , but Devin ’s piece take a stand against the pseudanthropy of AI is a must - take . He proposes a young bent of rule for Army Intelligence to follow to preserve our world :
Yes , these suggestions ca n’t realistically be implemented , butread the clause anyway ; it go deep about some of the interesting challenges we are confront as Bradypus tridactylus get more mature and ubiquitous .
Okay , with today ’s philosophical system lesson out of the way , let ’s dive in and see what else is up in the Right Honorable Royal Kingdom of Startups .
Flying high, dippin’ deep
The disruptive journey of startups is keep .
Bird , the once richly - flying galvanizing iceboat fellowship , has crash - landed into bankruptcy . After a hazardous drive from a $ 2 billion evaluation to a financial face - plant , this former micromobility poster child is now restructuring its finances quicker than one of its scooters rush downhill with a tailwind . Now they ’re banking on Chapter 11 to keep their wheels spinning , but only after laying off some feathers and hoping someone finds enough value in their assets to purchase them out . The irony ? Their Canadian and European operations are still scooting along as if nothing happened .
I ’m not gon na say “ I narrate you so , ” but there was definitely no conjunction that I pick Bird as the example for the‘Undertanding the levers in your business’post I wrote back in 2018 . . .
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Anyway . Here ’s a few more stories that’ve kept y’ all clickin ’ :
palpate safe yet?:In a move that ’s less surprising than finding out your password isstill“password123,”Okta has snapped up security firm Sperafor a cool $ 100 million - ish . The latter is like a cybersecurity Sherlock Holmes , whiff out digital weaknesses before they become full - blow disasters .
I calculate this newssheet triggers their algorithmic rule : Meltwater , the media monitoring maestro that ’s been dancing around mark and digital news like a tech - savvy danseuse , just got a$65 million dab on the back from Verdane , valuing the company at a cool $ 592 million .
When artificial intelligence is more prevalent than real intelligence
Devin falling out launch the crystal testicle for AI in 2024 and predicts a hair curler - coaster ride from hoopla to a reality stop . He evoke that OpenAI , post - leadership shuffle , might morph into an Apple - esque “ ship it ” product human dynamo with its own AI app store . Meanwhile , ecological niche AI software , like agent - based models and productive multimedia system , could graduate from “ meh ” to “ hmm , interesting , ” especially in monotonous tasks like policy claim . In the political scene of action , AI might become a tool for misinformation and manipulationin the 2024 election , with bot accounts and bogus news rage up the chaos .
I ca n’t say that I disagree . When media literacy attain tilt bottom and AI is on the upswing , we have a perfect storm .
Cool nerveless coolheaded . What else has been cookin ’ in the AI kitchen ?
Composers , composers , composers : Microsoft Copilot , the AI - powered chatbot , is nowdipping its digital toes into the world of music compositionthrough an integrating with the GenAI euphony app Suno . Users can propel Copilot to make concluded songs , including language and instrumentals , with request like “ produce a pop song about adventures with your class . ”
Hey , Spotify , make me a play list where every Song dynasty starts with the letter of the alphabet W , T , and F : Spotify is testing an “ AI play list ” feature of speech that permit userscreate playlist using AI prompts . Users can type prompt into an AI chatbot - dash box or choose from suggested prompt like “ Get focussed at work with instrumental electronica , ” or “ Songs most likely to drive my parents up the rampart . ”
Sorry , Charles Ponzi , you ca n’t shop here : Rite Aid has been ostracize from using facial recognition software package for five days , after it was see that its “ heady use of facial surveillance systems ” result in client mortification and jeopardized raw information .
There’s an app for that
Apple has been ordered tocough up $ 25 million to take root a case over its Family Sharing feature . The Cupertino - based software giant was push a “ share - all - the - things ” feature article for apps that were . . . not sharable . Despite Apple ’s “ Who , us ? ” stance , they decided to throw money at the problem rather than endure the endless court drama . Now , some favourable Family Sharing user from the good ol’ days ( 2015–2019 ) might get a whopping $ 30 payout . That ’s three months of a post - price - wage hike Apple TV+ subscription . Yay .
Apple get off lightly compared to Google ’s recent mean solar day in court . In a “ My badness , here ’s some cash ” move , Google ’s digging into its couch cushions for a bare $ 700 million to settle a lawsuit over its Play Store monopoly antics . Of this , $ 630 million goes to U.S. consumer and a neat $ 70 million to U.S. states . The search giant , once get it on for its “ Do No Evil ” motto , apparently did n’t extend that to app distribution on Android . As part of the deal , Google ’s also revamping its drug user choice billing political program in the U.S. , admit developer more freedom in billing method . They ’re even make sideloading ( i.e. , installing apps without Google ’s thanksgiving ) less of a digital obstacle course . But let ’s not get too aroused — as Epic Games ’ VP of public policy points out , consumers are still probable to overpay for digital goods thanks to Google ’s tidy fee . So , while Google ’s billfold gets lite , our wallets might not feel much different .
Court shenanigans aside . . .
communion is care : Claim , the fresh social media Thomas Kyd on the block , is endeavor to make share-out rewards with protagonist the next heavy thing . They’vescooped up $ 4 million from Sequoia Capitalto turn buying stuff into a multiplayer game .
Oh , hi , did n’t see you there : Jagat , alocation - based societal networkthat ’s all about real - life connection , has whizz along past 10 million users . Launched in March , this app , which is like a social single-valued function for admirer and activities , is aiming to make social networking , well , socialagain .
link up in bio : Linktree , the Australian link - in - bio platform , has outdo up its contender Koji from GoMeta . In this game of digital Monopoly , Linktree ’s not only expanding its empire but alsosending Koji ’s product into retirement by January 2024 .
Top reads on TechCrunch this week
I dipped into our analytics software to see what else might be deserving highlighting from the past week or so . Here are a few extra read :
take the oxygen out of Apple ’s Christmas sail : Apple has hesitate sale of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 due toa letters patent conflict with Masimo , a medical technical school firm . The dispute involves the blood oxygen sensor in Apple ’s smartwatches .
To Xfinity and beyond : Comcast’sXfinity avail fell dupe to a cyberattack , affecting almost 36 million customer . The breach potentially break client usernames , hash word , contact information , dates of nativity , part of Social Security numbers , and confidential questions and answers .
Where were you , tho?:Google , in a move that could make Big Brother a little less prying , declare plans tostore users ’ location data on their gimmick alternatively of on its servers . This change train to put an end to the usance of “ geofence warrants , ” where police demand Google hand over information from twist in a specific area at a certain time . These warrants have been criticise as to a fault liberal and mayhap unconstitutional .
