In Brief

Marc Andreessen says AI model makers are in ‘race to the bottom’ and it’s not good for business

Marc Andreessen, general partner at VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, was on stage at the Ray Summit conference earlier this month, talking about AI. CFO.com has pulled out the best quotes so you don’t have to watch the full interview. “Maybe all of these companies are in a race to the bottom,” Andreessen said when talking […]

Marc Andreessen says AI model makers are in ‘race to the bottom’ and it’s not good for business Read More »

After learning that you can name group chats, Tim Cook chose the safest name possible

This week’s cover of WSJ Magazine is extremely minimalistic. That’s not surprising given that the main story is an in-depth interview with Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple and the king of minimalistic design. In Cook’s interview with the WSJ’s Ben Cohen, we learn he still believes the Vision Pro is going to be a

After learning that you can name group chats, Tim Cook chose the safest name possible Read More »

Meta suspends accounts tracking private jets of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and other celebrities

Instagram and Threads accounts that track the private jets of celebrities – including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Kylie Jenner – were suspended on Monday, according to the owner of many such accounts, Florida college student, Jack Sweeney. Links to Instagram/Threads accounts tracking the flights of former President Donald

Meta suspends accounts tracking private jets of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and other celebrities Read More »

Meta’s smart glasses outsell traditional Ray-Bans in some stores, even before AI features roll out

The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are the top selling product in 60% of all Ray-Ban stores throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, according to Upload VR. The detail came from EssilorLuxottica CFO Stefano Grassi, who revealed during the eyewear giant’s earnings call last week that Ray-Ban Meta proved to be a significant driver for

Meta’s smart glasses outsell traditional Ray-Bans in some stores, even before AI features roll out Read More »

Penguin Random House is adding an AI warning to its books’ copyright pages

Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade publisher, will be adding language to the copyright pages of its books to prohibit the use of those books to train AI. The Bookseller reports that new books and reprints of older titles from the publisher will now include the statement, “No part of this book may be

Penguin Random House is adding an AI warning to its books’ copyright pages Read More »

Microsoft could end up with substantial equity in the restructured, for-profit OpenAI

How much equity in OpenAI will Microsoft get once the former becomes a for-profit company? That’s the multi-billion-dollar question — one the two parties are racing to answer ahead of a two-year deadline. The Wall Street Journal reports that both Microsoft and OpenAI have hired investment banks to negotiate Microsoft’s equity — which could be

Microsoft could end up with substantial equity in the restructured, for-profit OpenAI Read More »

Amazon indicates employees can quit if they don’t like its return-to-office mandate

AWS CEO Matt Garman has harsh words for remote workers: return to the office or quit. The Amazon executive recently told employees who don’t like the new five-day in-person work policy that, “there are other companies around,” presumably companies they can work for remotely, Reuters reported on Thursday. Amazon’s top boss, Andy Jassy, told employees

Amazon indicates employees can quit if they don’t like its return-to-office mandate Read More »

French court blocks porn sites over age verification for child protection

The Paris Court of Appeal ordered some pornography websites to be blocked on Thursday over failure to implement robust age verification systems that are capable of preventing minors from accessing the adult content, Politico reports. Porn sites Tukif and Xhamster were among several adult websites subject to the order. The sites have been given 15

French court blocks porn sites over age verification for child protection Read More »

India’s central bank orders Sachin Bansal’s Navi to halt loans

India’s central bank ordered four non-bank lenders, including Navi Finserv and DMI Finance, to halt loans from October 21, citing excessive interest rates and regulatory breaches. The Reserve Bank of India said (PDF) the firms violated rules on pricing, income assessment, and asset classification. This action follows months of warnings about responsible lending practices, it

India’s central bank orders Sachin Bansal’s Navi to halt loans Read More »

Apple reportedly worked with a Chinese automaker to develop a battery for its now-canceled car

Apple worked with a Chinese automaker for years to design a battery system for its now-canceled car project. That’s according to Bloomberg, which reports that Apple was collaborating with BYD Co., a Shenzhen-based car company, to develop batteries using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells. Apple contributed engineering expertise, specifically in areas like heat management and

Apple reportedly worked with a Chinese automaker to develop a battery for its now-canceled car Read More »