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Tech

AI Summary

  • AI integration is rapidly expanding across major tech platforms and new startups, driving significant investment but also raising regulatory and ethical questions.
  • Tesla is undergoing a major strategic shift, discontinuing its older car models to focus on energy storage, AI, and robotics, amidst recent profit declines.
  • Apple is tightening control over its app ecosystem by enforcing subscription billing for creators like Patreon, while also enhancing user privacy features on its devices.
  • Autonomous vehicles continue to expand, but a recent Waymo robotaxi incident involving a child highlights ongoing safety concerns and regulatory scrutiny in the sector.
  • Meta's VR division experienced substantial losses last year, prompting a strategic pivot towards AI-powered smart glasses with the expectation of gradually reducing financial outlays in the coming years.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • Honda vehicles used to proactively report road safety issues in nation-first pilot 15 minutes ago by Matt Tate
    Transportation, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Matt Tate

    Honda and DriveOhio have teamed up on a new road safety initiative in which Honda vehicles are being used to collect real-time data that can advise about potential issues and road deficiencies before they become a problem. Honda’s Proactive Roadway Maintenance System, which has been in prototyping since 2021, uses "advanced vision and LiDAR sensors" to identify issues such as worn or obstructed road signs, damaged guardrails, rough roads and emerging potholes. During the pilot, members of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s smart mobility hub drove the test vehicles on around 3,000 miles of road in central and southeastern Ohio. They

  • Apple's AirPods 4 with ANC are on sale for $119 an hour ago by Sarah Fielding
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Sarah Fielding

    Apple's AirPods 4 have a ton of improvements over the previous generation, but the version with active noise cancellation takes things up a notch. With them, you can get noise-cancelling power without the in-ear design of the AirPods Pro 3 that may bother some folks. They're even more enticing when they're on sale, like right now. The AirPods 4 with ANC are down to $119 at the moment, or $60 less than their usual price. While we've seen the ANC model as low as $99, the $119 price tag is the best deal we've seen so far this year. Apple released its

  • The 512GB Samsung P9 microSD Express card is $40 off right now 2 hours ago by Andre Revilla
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Andre Revilla

    MicroSD Express cards are still a little hard to find, considering they're pretty new and only really started becoming popular last year once the Switch 2 came out. These upgraded versions of microSD cards are the only ones compatible with the Switch 2 for expanding its storage, os if you're already starting to feel the crunch on your console, it's worth picking one up. Samsung's P9 microSD Express card is on sale right now — you can grab the 512GB version of $80, which is 33 percent off and one of the best prices we've seen. The P9 boasts transfer speeds

  • Google will pay $135 million to settle illegal data collection lawsuit 2 hours ago by Matt Tate
    Business, Company Legal & Law Matters, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Matt Tate

    Google has agreed to a preliminary $135 million settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by Android users who accused it of harvesting their data without consent. The suit alleged that since November 12, 2017, Google has been illegally collecting cellular data from phones purchased through carriers, even when apps were closed or location features were disabled. As reported by Reuters, the affected users believed Google using their data for marketing and product development meant it was guilty of "conversion." In US law, conversion occurs when one party takes the property of another with "the intent to deprive them of it"

  • The Nex Playground is everything Xbox Kinect wanted to be 2 hours ago by Devindra Hardawar
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Devindra Hardawar

    It's the year 2026 and the hottest game in my living room is Fruit Ninja. No, I'm not in the midst of an ill-advised retro mobile gaming kick. Instead, my family and I have been jumping around and slicing flying fruit in our living room using the Nex Playground. It's a tiny gaming system built entirely around Kinect-like games. With its camera and onboard computer vision processing, the $249 Nex Playground can track up to four players as effectively as Microsoft's clunky old Xbox motion tracker. Simply put, the dream of the Kinect, as well as Nintendo's Wii, lives on


The Verge

  • Arco is a brilliant and beautiful sci-fi film inspired by animation legends 17 minutes ago by Andrew Webster
    Entertainment, Film, Movie Review

    Classic 2D animation may not be as prevalent as it once was, but some of the stuff we're getting over the last few years has been incredible. That includes future classics like Mars Express and Scavengers Reign, and now you can add the Moebius-inspired Arco to the list. After making a splash on the festival circuit last year, the film is finally hitting theaters more widely on January 30th, so you can see it for yourself. Arco's story is split across two time periods. In the distant future, humanity lives in cities elevated above the surface due to rising sea levels,

  • Netflix is eating Hollywood — because it has to 32 minutes ago by Nilay Patel
    Business, Decoder, Entertainment, Netflix, Podcasts, Streaming

    On today’s episode of Decoder, I’m talking about the bidding war over Warner Bros. Discovery, which is the biggest story in the entertainment industry right now, and for good reason. It has pretty much everything you could want in a buzzy Hollywood saga — big names, big money, and big drama. Right now, the winning bidder is Netflix. The streaming juggernaut won the bid for Warner Bros., offering $83 billion dollars for the movie studios, but not the cable channels, to keep its content machine humming for more than 325 million subscribers.  But Paramount Skydance simply won’t go away, even though the

  • Sen. Warren pushes Altman for guarantee OpenAI isn’t seeking government bailout 32 minutes ago by Robert Hart
    AI, News, OpenAI, Policy

    Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is pushing OpenAI for assurances it won't seek a government bailout if it doesn't turn a profit. In a letter to CEO Sam Altman, Warren says she is concerned that the company is preparing to fall back "on the classic strategy of privatizing profits and socializing losses" amid soaring spending and growing fears of an AI bubble popping. Warren writes that she is worried OpenAI "has committed to more than a trillion dollars in spending despite not yet turning a profit" and "appears to be seeking government assistance should it prove unable to pay its bills." The

  • This ring watch squeezes in heart rate, sleep, and fitness tracking 44 minutes ago by Andrew Liszewski
    Gadgets, News, Tech, Wearable

    At $50, the Rogbid Fusion is cheaper than other less functional ring watches. | Image: Rogbig It's not a household name, but Rogbid has been churning out budget-friendly smart wearables for around a decade. Its latest creation capitalizes on the recent trend of functional ring watches, but unlike Timex and Casio's wearables that don't do much more than tell time, the Rogbid Fusion includes smart functionality like fitness tracking, heart rate and blood oxygen measurements, and sleep monitoring. It's available today through the company's online store for $49.99 in gold, silver, and black, which is significantly cheaper than Casio's and Timex's ring

  • Fidelity is launching its own stablecoin an hour ago by Emma Roth
    Crypto, News, Tech

    Fidelity is launching a stablecoin that investors will be able to buy and sell for $1 when it arrives in the "coming weeks." The stablecoin, called Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), will live on the Ethereum network and is backed by cash reserves, cash equivalents, and short-term US Treasuries, according to CoinDesk. A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that's typically pegged to an asset, like the US dollar. More companies and financial institutions have started launching stablecoins of their own after President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act last July, which lays out a framework for the digital currency. In addition


Wired


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