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Meta’s Gruesome Content Broke Him. Now He Wants It to Pay
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.
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 (Sanket Jain/MIT Technology Review)
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.
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 (Greg Ritchie/Bloomberg)
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.
A look at “de-influencers”, a rising cohort of TikTok users criticizing viral products and promoting thoughtful shopping; #deinfluencing videos passed 68M views (Wall Street Journal)
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.
Rescuing small plastics from the waste stream
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 […]
Googling for Software Downloads Is Extra Risky Right Now
Plus: The FTC cracks down on GoodRx, Microsoft boots “verified” phishing scammers, researchers disclose EV charger vulnerabilities, and more.
China’s XPeng G9 Could Be the Best Electric SUV Around
It’s a good value with a premium feel and lots of space. But can XPeng challenge more established automakers in the West?
10 Best Merino Wool Apparel (2023): Hoodies, Shirts, Pants, and Socks
Embrace the delightful qualities of this fabric. We also explain the different blends, what GSM means, and how to care for your clothes.
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 (Paul Sawers/TechCrunch)
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) …
Financial influencers are pumping out videos promoting dubious ChatGPT get-rich-quick schemes, such as selling chatbot-generated tutorials on sites like Udemy (James Vincent/The Verge)
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.
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 (Donal Griffin/Bloomberg)
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 …
The 10 Best Games on PlayStation Plus
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.
37 Great Valentine’s Day Deals: Instant Cameras, Weighted Blankets, and More
From smartwatches to sex toys, we’ve got gift ideas to spread the love.
The Paradox of the Tyre Nichols Video
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.
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” (Kelsey Weekman/BuzzFeed News)
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.
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 (Nilesh Christopher/Rest of World)
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
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 (New York Times)
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.
MDMA and Psilocybin Are Approved as Medicines for the First Time
Many are celebrating Australia’s decision to pave the way for these psychedelic therapies, but questions around accessibility remain.
44 of the Best Movies on Disney+ Right Now
These are our favorite classic flicks, Marvel movies, and Star Wars sagas on the streaming platform.
How to Use Your Smartphone to Counteract Vision Loss (2023): iPhone, Android, Apps
From Magnifier to Lookout, you can benefit from features on Android and Apple devices.
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 (Aisha Majid/Press Gazette)
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 […]
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 (Erin Woo/The Information)
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 …
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 (Natasha Lomas/TechCrunch)
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 …
“Every time I meet with her, I feel like I have wings.”
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 […]
3 Questions: Cullen Buie on a new era for cell therapies
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 […]
Toward new, computationally designed cybersteels
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 — […]
Research: How Losing a High-Paying Job Affects Family Relationships
Gender norms make unemployment an unequal burden among heterosexual couples in the U.S.
Making Performance Reviews Fairer in a Hybrid Workplace
If your workplace has changed, your evaluation process should, too.
How Managers Can Address Their Own Biases Around Mental Health
Four strategies to ensure you’re treating employees who disclose mental health challenges fairly.
Twitter expands Blue to Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and plans to launch a new Spaces tab with curated spaces and podcasts (Ivan Mehta/TechCrunch)
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: Twitter expands Blue to Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and plans to launch a new Spaces tab with curated spaces and podcasts — Twitter is in a hurry to make money, and in another step that might lead to some revenue it has expanded the Twitter Blue subscription […]
Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital sold 1,500 BTC in January, amid a rallying crypto market, to cover some of its expenses; Marathon still holds 11,418 BTC (Aoyon Ashraf/CoinDesk)
Aoyon Ashraf / CoinDesk: Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital sold 1,500 BTC in January, amid a rallying crypto market, to cover some of its expenses; Marathon still holds 11,418 BTC — The bitcoin miner sold 1,500 bitcoins in January. — Feb 3, 2023 — Crypto Software Firm President: We’re Trying to Make California’s DMV More Efficient […]
Apple removes decentralized social networking app Damus from China App Store, two days after debut, per CAC’s demand as it includes content “illegal in China” (Rita Liao/TechCrunch)
Rita Liao / TechCrunch: Apple removes decentralized social networking app Damus from China App Store, two days after debut, per CAC’s demand as it includes content “illegal in China” — Damus, one of the fastest-growing Twitter alternatives, has been pulled from China’s App Store just two days after the app was approved by Apple.
Netflix’s US Password-Sharing Crackdown Isn’t Happening—Yet
Accidental revisions to a US Help Center page sparked confusion about the streamer’s next moves. But restrictions on account sharing are still coming soon.
What Is Blockchain? The Complete WIRED Guide
The idea of creating tamper-proof databases has captured the attention of everyone from anarchist techies to staid bankers.
Apple reports Q1 revenue in Greater China fell 7.3% YoY to $23.9B, revenue in Japan fell 5% to $6.8B, and revenue in the rest of Asia-Pacific fell 2.8% to $9.5B (Yifan Yu/Nikkei Asia)
Yifan Yu / Nikkei Asia: Apple reports Q1 revenue in Greater China fell 7.3% YoY to $23.9B, revenue in Japan fell 5% to $6.8B, and revenue in the rest of Asia-Pacific fell 2.8% to $9.5B — Greater China took biggest hit with a 7.3% revenue drop — PALO ALTO, U.S. — Apple on Thursday reported […]
Sources: US prosecutors in the DOJ’s fraud unit are investigating California-based bank Silvergate over hosting accounts tied to FTX and Alameda Research (Tom Schoenberg/Bloomberg)
Tom Schoenberg / Bloomberg: Sources: US prosecutors in the DOJ’s fraud unit are investigating California-based bank Silvergate over hosting accounts tied to FTX and Alameda Research — US prosecutors in the Justice Department’s fraud unit are looking into Silvergate Capital Corp.’s dealings with fallen crypto giants FTX …
Apple reports Q1 Services revenue up 6% YoY to $20.8B and says its install base crossed 2B active devices, up from 1.8B devices the company reported in Q1 2022 (Michael Potuck/9to5Mac)
Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac: Apple reports Q1 Services revenue up 6% YoY to $20.8B and says its install base crossed 2B active devices, up from 1.8B devices the company reported in Q1 2022 — Along with reporting its quarterly performance, Apple shared the latest details on how many of its devices are currently active.
Google AI generates musical backing tracks to accompany singers
An artificial intelligence called SingSong can take a recording of a person singing and create a backing track for it with the appropriate rhythm, key and harmonies
US military plan to create huge autonomous drone swarms sparks concern
The AMASS project would involve thousands of drones, on the ground, in the air and in the water, working together in a “swarm of swarms” to overwhelm enemy defences
Flying robot echolocates like a bat to avoid banging into walls
A simple buzzer and some microphones help a drone to navigate and map out its surroundings, much like how a bat uses sound to see in the dark
Researchers map brain cell changes in Alzheimer’s disease
The following press release was issued today by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. A common sign of Alzheimer’s disease is the excessive buildup of two types of protein in the brain: tangles of tau proteins that accumulate inside cells, and amyloid-β proteins that form plaques outside the cells. Researchers don’t know how these […]
Sparse, small, but diverse neural connections help make perception reliable, efficient
The brain’s cerebral cortex produces perception based on the sensory information it’s fed through a region called the thalamus. “How the thalamus communicates with the cortex is a fundamental feature of how the brain interprets the world,” says Elly Nedivi, the William R. and Linda R. Young Professor in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory […]
Why lung cancer doesn’t respond well to immunotherapy
Immunotherapy — drug treatment that stimulates the immune system to attack tumors — works well against some types of cancer, but it has shown mixed success against lung cancer. A new study from MIT helps to shed light on why the immune system mounts such a lackluster response to lung cancer, even after treatment with […]
ActOne Group Founder Janice Bryant Howroyd: Never Compromise Your Values in a Quest to Succeed
“Never compromise who you are personally to become who you wish to be professionally.”
7 Small Ways to Be a More Inclusive Colleague
Practice them until they become habits.
When You’re Doubting Your Leadership — and Others Are, Too
Seven steps to take when you’re in need of a comeback.
How the US Could Ban TikTok in 7 Not-So-Easy Steps
Former president Trump tried and failed to ban the app. Now US lawmakers from both parties are preparing legislation they say can finish the job.
10 Best Deals: Winter Outdoor Gear
Whether you spend it in nature’s backyard or yours, we’ve found discounts on Patagonia clothing, camping gear, and tents.
The Kremlin Has Entered the Chat
Russian antiwar activists placed their faith in Telegram, a supposedly secure messaging app. How does Putin’s regime seem to know their every move?