Sunday, January 28, 2024

https://ift.tt/TiWV3pf 25,000 tech workers were laid in the first weeks of 2024. What's going on?

People walk past a Microsoft office in New York in 2016. Big Tech companies, like Google and Microsoft, and dozens of smaller startups have collectively shed more than 20,000 workers so far this year.

Silicon Valley executives have said the cuts are a result of pandemic overhiring and still-historically-high inflation. But others say something else may be behind the mass layoffs.

(Image credit: Swayne B. Hall/AP)

Nearly 25,000 tech workers were laid in the first weeks of 2024. What's going on? People walk past a Microsoft office in New York in 2016. Big Tech companies, like Google and Microsoft, and dozens of smaller startups have collectively shed more than 20,000 workers so far this year.

Silicon Valley executives have said the cuts are a result of pandemic overhiring and still-historically-high inflation. But others say something else may be behind the mass layoffs.

(Image credit: Swayne B. Hall/AP)



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Friday, January 26, 2024

https://ift.tt/CDqnmtO exploiting Taylor Swift images exemplify a scourge with little oversight

A photo illustration created last July shows an advertisement to create AI girls reflected in a public service announcement issued by the FBI regarding malicious actors manipulating photos and videos to create explicit content and sextortion schemes. A boom in deepfake porn is outpacing U.S. and European efforts to regulate the technology.

Bogus pornographic images purporting to show pop superstar Taylor Swift have emerged on social media, highlighting a growing challenge to privacy rights.

(Image credit: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Deepfakes exploiting Taylor Swift images exemplify a scourge with little oversightA photo illustration created last July shows an advertisement to create AI girls reflected in a public service announcement issued by the FBI regarding malicious actors manipulating photos and videos to create explicit content and sextortion schemes. A boom in deepfake porn is outpacing U.S. and European efforts to regulate the technology.

Bogus pornographic images purporting to show pop superstar Taylor Swift have emerged on social media, highlighting a growing challenge to privacy rights.

(Image credit: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)



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https://ift.tt/hg7z3mD driverless car company Cruise is under investigation by several agencies

Cruise autonomous vehicles sit parked in a lot in June 2023 in San Francisco, Calif. The company

Cruise hired a law firm to investigate the startup's interactions with regulators after a Cruise vehicle dragged a pedestrian on Oct. 2. Multiple government agencies are now examining the crash.

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

GM's driverless car company Cruise is under investigation by several agenciesCruise autonomous vehicles sit parked in a lot in June 2023 in San Francisco, Calif. The company

Cruise hired a law firm to investigate the startup's interactions with regulators after a Cruise vehicle dragged a pedestrian on Oct. 2. Multiple government agencies are now examining the crash.

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)



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Thursday, January 25, 2024

https://ift.tt/qICK6b4 joins other tech companies slashing jobs, laying off 1,900 employees

Dozens of tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, TikTok and Meta, are slashing jobs. It's the latest sign that Silicon Valley is still trying to adjust from the boom times of the pandemic.

Microsoft joins other tech companies slashing jobs, laying off 1,900 employees

Dozens of tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, TikTok and Meta, are slashing jobs. It's the latest sign that Silicon Valley is still trying to adjust from the boom times of the pandemic.



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https://ift.tt/KuJF1bN will no longer allow police to request users' doorbell camera footage

A Ring doorbell camera is seen outside a home in Wolcott, Conn., on July 16, 2019. Amazon-owned Ring said it will stop allowing police departments to request doorbell camera footage from users, marking an end to a feature that has drawn criticism from privacy advocates.

The update is the latest restriction Ring has made to police activity on its Neighbors app following concerns raised by privacy watchdogs about the company's relationship with police departments.

(Image credit: Jessica Hill/AP)

Ring will no longer allow police to request users' doorbell camera footageA Ring doorbell camera is seen outside a home in Wolcott, Conn., on July 16, 2019. Amazon-owned Ring said it will stop allowing police departments to request doorbell camera footage from users, marking an end to a feature that has drawn criticism from privacy advocates.

The update is the latest restriction Ring has made to police activity on its Neighbors app following concerns raised by privacy watchdogs about the company's relationship with police departments.

(Image credit: Jessica Hill/AP)



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Wednesday, January 24, 2024

https://ift.tt/yPMB9np best spin-off games, books and more to experience before Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

If you, like me, wake up in the middle of the night covered in sweat wondering how to best prepare yourself for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (pictured), read on!

Final Fantasy 7 is more than an iconic PlayStation game. It's a multimedia empire embracing novels, short stories, spin-off games — even a movie. We round up the best of it ahead of Rebirth.

(Image credit: Square Enix)

The best spin-off games, books and more to experience before Final Fantasy 7 RebirthIf you, like me, wake up in the middle of the night covered in sweat wondering how to best prepare yourself for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (pictured), read on!

Final Fantasy 7 is more than an iconic PlayStation game. It's a multimedia empire embracing novels, short stories, spin-off games — even a movie. We round up the best of it ahead of Rebirth.

(Image credit: Square Enix)



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Tuesday, January 23, 2024

https://ift.tt/zxwB7TI Clock' signals existential threats of nuclear war, climate disasters and AI

Science educator Bill Nye looks at the "Doomsday Clock," shortly before the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announces the latest decision on the "Doomsday Clock" minute hand, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, at the National Press Club Broadcast Center, in Washington.

Earth, for the second year running, is nearing apocalypse, a science-oriented advocacy group said, pointing to its famous "Doomsday Clock" that shows 90 seconds till midnight.

(Image credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

'Doomsday Clock' signals existential threats of nuclear war, climate disasters and AIScience educator Bill Nye looks at the "Doomsday Clock," shortly before the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announces the latest decision on the "Doomsday Clock" minute hand, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, at the National Press Club Broadcast Center, in Washington.

Earth, for the second year running, is nearing apocalypse, a science-oriented advocacy group said, pointing to its famous "Doomsday Clock" that shows 90 seconds till midnight.

(Image credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP)



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