About: blatcho

A Chinese balloon that was travelling over the US, including over military sites, was shot down by a fighter jet on 4 February

Artificial intelligence models trained on millions of images can occasionally reproduce near-perfect copies, researchers have found, which could be significant for ongoing copyright infringement lawsuits

One reason deep learning exploded over the last decade was the availability of programming languages that could automate the math — college-level calculus — that is needed to train each new model. Neural networks are trained by tuning their parameters to try to maximize a score that can be rapidly calculated for training data. The […]

They can be a useful tool in the short term, but there’s no evidence they increase long-term loyalty.

Sponsor content from EY-Parthenon.

Six steps to creating a culture that embraces change.

Then he read the script and was blown away.

Despite an economic crisis, political chaos, and the regime’s ban, TikTok influencers are still thriving in Afghanistan.

A search bot you converse with could make finding answers easier—if it doesn’t tell fibs. Microsoft, Google, Baidu, and others are working on it.

Wall Street Journal: A profile of Sam Bankman-Fried’s psychiatrist Dr. George Lerner, hired as a coach at FTX in early 2022, as prosecutors seek his communications with executives  —  Hired as a coach at the Bahamas-based company, George Lerner was there for its dramatic downfall

Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times: Google, Microsoft, and Amazon pursuing investments and deals with generative AI startups, incentivizing use of their cloud services, raises regulatory concerns  —  Deals between Google, Microsoft and Amazon and ‘generative AI’ start-ups raise competition concerns

Bloomberg: JD.com, China Mobile, and other Chinese retailers are discounting iPhone 14 models by over $100, an unusually steep price cut that suggests dwindling demand  —  Apple Inc.’s latest iPhones are selling at discounts of more than $100 in China, an unusually steep price cut just months after launch …

A drone that can fly like a standard quadcopter but also operate underwater could be developed as a tool for engineers and search and rescue teams

Certain electronics that integrate with the human body — a smartwatch that samples your sweat, for instance — work by converting the ion-based signals of biological tissue into the electron-based signals used in transistors. But the materials in these devices are often designed to maximize ion uptake while sacrificing electronic performance. To remedy this, MIT […]

Underwater structures that can change their shapes dynamically, the way fish do, push through water much more efficiently than conventional rigid hulls. But constructing deformable devices that can change the curve of their body shapes while maintaining a smooth profile is a long and difficult process. MIT’s RoboTuna, for example, was composed of about 3,000 […]

Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T could be overkill for your needs. Save money with a plan from one of these smaller providers.

This tiny, free app opens programs quickly, searches files fast, and lets you make keyboard shortcuts for anything.

The latest versions for iPhones and iPads are now available, complete with a revamped lock screen, Freeform, and Safety Check.

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: Elon Musk says Twitter “will enable a light, write-only API for bots providing good content that is free”, days after Twitter said free API access would end  —  Last week, Twitter said it is shutting down free access to its APIs starting February 9.

Benoit Berthelot / Bloomberg: A look at the Guillemot family’s attempts to retain control of Ubisoft, which has hit setbacks that led to a stock plunge and made the company a takeover target  —  Every second Monday of the month for over three decades, the five Guillemot brothers — whose company gave the world …

New York Times: Microsoft’s Activision deal is the biggest test yet of the new alignment on antitrust enforcement between the US FTC, the European Commission, and the UK’s CMA  —  Until recently, antitrust regulators in Europe and the United States took different approaches.

Stay charged from point A to point B.

A Kenyan moderator sued the company for work-related PTSD. Next week, a new ruling on his case could signal a global reckoning for Big Tech outsourcing.

Sanket Jain / MIT Technology Review: How 1M female health care workers in India are using WhatsApp to fight dangerous medical misinformation and combat the country’s high maternal mortality rates  —  Female volunteers are using messages, statuses, and hyperlocal groups to fight dangerous medical misinformation and combat the country’s high maternal mortality rate.

Greg Ritchie / Bloomberg: JPMorgan: 53% of institutional traders predict AI will be the most influential technology for trading in the next three years; 72% have no plans to trade crypto  —  Traders are betting artificial intelligence and machine learning will have the biggest impact on financial markets in the coming years.

Wall Street Journal: A look at “de-influencers”, a rising cohort of TikTok users criticizing viral products and promoting thoughtful shopping; #deinfluencing videos passed 68M views  —  TikTok users are speaking critically about viral products and advocating for thoughtful shopping habits.

As plastic pollution continues to mount, with growing risks to ecosystems and wildlife, manufacturers are beginning to make ambitious commitments to keep new plastics out of the environment. A growing number have signed onto the U.S. Plastics Pact, which pledges to make 100 percent of plastic packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and to see 50 […]

Plus: The FTC cracks down on GoodRx, Microsoft boots “verified” phishing scammers, researchers disclose EV charger vulnerabilities, and more.

It’s a good value with a premium feel and lots of space. But can XPeng challenge more established automakers in the West?

Embrace the delightful qualities of this fabric. We also explain the different blends, what GSM means, and how to care for your clothes.

Paul Sawers / TechCrunch: GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke says open-source developers should be exempt from the EU’s AI Act; the EU parliament is set to vote on a draft in the coming months  —  GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke says that open source developers should be made exempt from the European Union’s (EU) …

James Vincent / The Verge: Financial influencers are pumping out videos promoting dubious ChatGPT get-rich-quick schemes, such as selling chatbot-generated tutorials on sites like Udemy  —  The world of financial influencers promise viewers they can use ChatGPT to make big bucks with no effort.

Donal Griffin / Bloomberg: A look at little-known UK-based fintech Transactive, which processes €1B+ monthly and has UK and Lithuania licenses, and questions about staff ties to scammers  —  In the space of just five years, a little-known company on the outskirts of London has grown into a payments-industry powerhouse …

With great titles like God of War, Maneater, and The Last of Us Remastered, Sony’s subscription service is the perfect jump start for new PS5 owners.

From smartwatches to sex toys, we’ve got gift ideas to spread the love.

Social media has conditioned people to watch, react, and move on. But what is inherent in the Nichols video cannot be swept away with ease.

Kelsey Weekman / BuzzFeed News: After YouTuber MrBeast made a video about paying for 1,000 blind people’s eye surgery, critics raise questions about “stunt philanthropy” and “charity porn”  —  Is it stunt philanthropy or self-funded charity in the YouTube age?  —  A YouTuber just helped treat 1,000 people with blindness and low vision.

Nilesh Christopher / Rest of World: Flipkart-owned Indian fashion retailer Myntra is penalizing users who return items too often; studies: 25% to 40% of clothes sold online in India are returned  —  Across India, e-commerce giants like Myntra and Flipkart are canceling free returns to boost profits.  —  • BENGALURU, INDIA

New York Times: Alphabet, Amazon, and other tech firms begin 2023 by championing austerity after facing the worst year on Wall Street in 2022 since the 2008 financial crisis  —  After years of expansion and billions in profits, Big Tech is pulling back from its famously lavish spending as a long boom finally ends.

Many are celebrating Australia’s decision to pave the way for these psychedelic therapies, but questions around accessibility remain.

These are our favorite classic flicks, Marvel movies, and Star Wars sagas on the streaming platform.

From Magnifier to Lookout, you can benefit from features on Android and Apple devices.

Aisha Majid / Press Gazette: An analysis of 68 news domains: 45 ranked worse in UK Google search results in January 2023 vs. January 2022; those with non-news content saw the biggest gains  —  Data from SEO experts Sistrix reveals big losses for news domains in organic search in 2022.  —  News websites saw a […]

Erin Woo / The Information: Internal messages: Twitter wants to charge brands $1,000 per month to keep their gold verification badges, plus $50 per month for each affiliated account  —  Twitter is likely to charge brands $1000 a month to keep their gold verification badge, plus $50 a month for each affiliated account …

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch: Italy’s privacy watchdog orders San Francisco-based AI chatbot maker Replika to stop processing local users’ data over concerns its tech poses risks to minors  —  San Francisco-based AI chatbot maker, Replika — which operates a freemium ‘virtual friendship’ service based …

Although her research focuses on daunting issues such as global poverty, MIT Professor Esther Duflo never neglects to dedicate time to something else she finds just as important: mentoring her graduate students. To mark her unwavering support, Duflo was recently honored as “Committed to Caring” for consistently propping up graduate students, and for helping them […]

Genetic engineering and personalized cell therapies could transform health care. In recent years, stem cells and gene-editing tools like CRISPR have been making headlines for the possibilities they offer to treat diseases, including cancer. But engineering cells is a slow, labor-intensive process, making it difficult to produce personalized therapies at scale. The startup Kytopen, co-founded […]

What do the Apple watch and the Raptor engine of the SpaceX Starship have in common? Answer: Both are made, in part, from advanced materials developed over only a few years — as opposed to the usual decades — with the help of computers in a field pioneered at MIT. Now eight MIT professors — […]

Gender norms make unemployment an unequal burden among heterosexual couples in the U.S.

If your workplace has changed, your evaluation process should, too.