November 21, 2024

The Download: AI replicas, and China’s climate role

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. AI can now create a replica of your personality Imagine sitting down with an AI model for a spoken two-hour interview. A friendly voice guides you through a conversation that ranges from your…

November 2022

Bitcoin ‘rarely’ used for legal transactions, on ‘road to irrelevance’, say European Central Bank officials

November 30, 2022

European Central Bank officials alleged on Wednesday that bitcoin is “rarely used for legal transactions,” is fuelled by speculation and the recent erosion in its value indicates that it is on the “road to irrelevance,” in a series of stringent criticism (bereft of strong data points) of the cryptocurrency industry as they urged regulators to […]

Bitcoin ‘rarely’ used for legal transactions, on ‘road to irrelevance’, say European Central Bank officials by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

How chemists are tackling the plastics problem

November 30, 2022
We tend to lump all plastics into one category, but water bottles, milk jugs, egg cartons, and credit cards are actually made from different materials, as you’ve probably noticed while trying to figure out what can go in your recycling bin. Once they’ve reached a recycling facility, the plastic must be separated, a process that…

How to turn off World Cup notifications from Twitter

November 30, 2022

The football World Cup — yes, the “soccer” one — is one of the biggest sporting events on the globe. And it’s really fun to follow it on Twitter with all the memes, commentary, and live tweets. But under Elon Musk-led Twitter it’s something different. After the World Cup started, the social network started sending […]

How to turn off World Cup notifications from Twitter by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

What Shanghai protesters want and fear

November 30, 2022
China Report is MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology developments in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. The past week has meant many sleepless nights for people in China, and for people like me who are intently watching from afar.  You may have seen that nearly three years after the pandemic started,…

South Korean prosecutors seek arrest warrants for Terraform Labs co-founder, investors and engineers

November 30, 2022

South Korean prosecutors said Wednesday they have requested arrest warrants for eight people related to Terraform Labs for the alleged fraud as the local authorities widen their investigation into the collapse of the TerraUSD and Luna tokens that wiped tens of billions of dollars from the crypto market earlier this year. The Seoul Southern District […]

South Korean prosecutors seek arrest warrants for Terraform Labs co-founder, investors and engineers by Kate Park originally published on TechCrunch

Elon Musk has created a toxic mess for the LGBTQ+ community. I would know.

November 30, 2022
A mere day after Elon Musk reactivated Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Twitter account, she tweeted that I’m a “communist groomer,” presumably because I’m a gay Jewish Democratic elected official from San Francisco.  Greene’s tweet also promoted her proposed federal law to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth and to make it effectively impossible for adult…

Pinterest shuts down its ‘Creator Rewards’ program

November 30, 2022

Pinterest has shut down its Creator Rewards program that allowed creators to earn money by creating content around monthly prompts and achieving certain engagement goals. “The Creator Rewards program will end on November 30, 2022. To all the creators who participated, thank you for your partnership. We’re committed to exploring more ways to help you […]

Pinterest shuts down its ‘Creator Rewards’ program by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

India pips North America to become the biggest smartwatch market

November 30, 2022

India surpassed North America to take the top global spot in the smartwatch market in the quarter that ended in September, according to a report from market research player Counterpoint. The festival sales and proliferation of affordable smartwatches helped grew the local market by 171% year-on-year. The affordable smartwatch models getting bigger displays and adding […]

India pips North America to become the biggest smartwatch market by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

Disney coughs up $900M to acquire MLB’s remaining stake in BAMTech streaming company

November 30, 2022

Disney paid $900 million to Major League Baseball (MLB) earlier this month to buy out the league’s remaining 15% stake in the streaming firm BAMTech, according to an SEC filing made public Tuesday. The transaction makes Disney a 100% owner of the streaming company that powers Disney+ and the firm’s other consumer services. The SEC […]

Disney coughs up $900M to acquire MLB’s remaining stake in BAMTech streaming company by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch