Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Sources and messages: Binance compliance officer Tigran Gambaryan told executives and Nigerian contacts of a $150M crypto bribe request, prior to his arrest (New York Times)

New York Times:
Sources and messages: Binance compliance officer Tigran Gambaryan told executives and Nigerian contacts of a $150M crypto bribe request, prior to his arrest  —  A compliance officer for the cryptocurrency exchange told senior executives and Nigerian contacts that the company had been asked to pay $150 million in crypto.



US and Chinese diplomats plan to meet later in May to find common ground on AI usage and situations where AI should be banned, like controlling nuclear arsenals (David E. Sanger/New York Times)

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
US and Chinese diplomats plan to meet later in May to find common ground on AI usage and situations where AI should be banned, like controlling nuclear arsenals  —  The new U.S. approach to cyberthreats comes as early optimism about a “global internet” connecting the world has been shattered.



OpenSecrets: crypto sector-backed super PACs have raised $102M+ so far, the third-most of 2024 election PACs, including $54M from companies like Coinbase (Rick Claypool/Public Citizen)

Rick Claypool / Public Citizen:
OpenSecrets: crypto sector-backed super PACs have raised $102M+ so far, the third-most of 2024 election PACs, including $54M from companies like Coinbase  —  Key Findings  — Super PACs backed by the cryptocurrency sector have raised more than $102 million, the third-most of all super PACs engaged …



Monday, May 6, 2024

YouTube rolls out Jump Ahead, which uses AI to let users jump to parts of a video where most viewers skip ahead, to all US Premium members using its Android app (Adamya Sharma/Android Authority)

Adamya Sharma / Android Authority:
YouTube rolls out Jump Ahead, which uses AI to let users jump to parts of a video where most viewers skip ahead, to all US Premium members using its Android app  —  It's currently available in the US on the YouTube Android app.  —  •  —  TL;DR  — YouTube Premium members in the US …



iPhone 15 Pro Max was Q1's best-selling smartphone; Pro phones were 50% of Apple's sales, up from 24% in 2020; Apple and Samsung each had five phones in top 10 (Counterpoint Research)

Counterpoint Research:
iPhone 15 Pro Max was Q1's best-selling smartphone; Pro phones were 50% of Apple's sales, up from 24% in 2020; Apple and Samsung each had five phones in top 10  —  - Apple and Samsung dominated the list of top 10 best-selling smartphones in Q1 2024.  — This was the first quarter in which the top 10 smartphones were all 5G capable.



Biden administration announces plans to invest $285M, from the CHIPS Act fund, in efforts to improve semiconductor manufacturing by using digital twins (Anthony Ha/TechCrunch)

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Biden administration announces plans to invest $285M, from the CHIPS Act fund, in efforts to improve semiconductor manufacturing by using digital twins  —  President Joe Biden's administration is looking to fund efforts that improve semiconductor manufacturing by using digital twins.



Sunday, May 5, 2024

Over 40K Audible books are marked as having been made with an AI "virtual voice", saving authors hundreds or thousands of dollars per title on narration costs (Ashley Carman/Bloomberg)

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Over 40K Audible books are marked as having been made with an AI “virtual voice”, saving authors hundreds or thousands of dollars per title on narration costs  —  While authors appreciate the new revenue stream, audiobook listeners are complaining about the influx of new material



Jack Dorsey replies "no" to an X user who asked if he was still on the Bluesky board; it's not clear when he left, as Bluesky's FAQ still lists him as a member (Anthony Ha/TechCrunch)

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Jack Dorsey replies “no” to an X user who asked if he was still on the Bluesky board; it's not clear when he left, as Bluesky's FAQ still lists him as a member  —  It sounds like Bluesky's most prominent backer is no longer on its board.  —  On Saturday, Jack Dorsey posted on X …



A look at the US and EU's dueling approaches to rein in Big Tech, splitting tech companies' attention by miring them in separate legal and enforcement battles (Politico)

Politico:
A look at the US and EU's dueling approaches to rein in Big Tech, splitting tech companies' attention by miring them in separate legal and enforcement battles  —  The West's key regulators are now fully on the offensive against Apple, Google and other giants they see as monopolies.



How role-playing with an AI chatbot can help prepare for difficult conversations with family, friends, and colleagues, such as for terminating an employee (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal:
How role-playing with an AI chatbot can help prepare for difficult conversations with family, friends, and colleagues, such as for terminating an employee  —  Role-playing with an AI conversationalist can prepare you to handle difficult subjects with family, friends and colleagues



Sources: the US State Department ordered embassies to push back against foreign influence campaigns, as officials worry anti-US views are taking root worldwide (New York Times)

New York Times : Sources: the US State Department ordered embassies to push back against foreign influence campaigns, as officials worry ...