Spotify will reserve tickets for top fans of an artists in a bid to drum up engagement
Spotify said that it will monitor activity like streams and shares to determine who is a top fan
The Download: failed social media bans, and extending pets’ lives
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. Kids are outsmarting social media bans. That’s not a problem we need to solve. —Michal Luria, Aliya Bhatia, and Danah Boyd Social media bans are stacking up. In July, France joined…
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Anthropic’s Code with Claude showed off coding’s future—whether you like it or not
The vibes were strong at Code with Claude, Anthropic’s two-day event for software developers in London that kicked off on May 19, the same day as Google’s I/O in Palo Alto. (A coincidence, not a flex, Anthropic staffers assured me.) “Who here has shipped a pull request in the last week that was completely written…
NYCMayor Zohran Mamdani takes to Twitch to chat with New Yorkers
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is launching a Twitch series today at 4 p.m. ET.
This CEO Fired His Entire HR Department to Rescue His Failing Fintech Company: ‘Problems Disappeared When I Let Them Go’
After his company Bolt lost 97% of its value, Ryan Breslow gutted it, saying HR was “creating problems that didn’t exist.”
Google Is Changing Its Search Bar for the First Time in 25 Years — Here’s What to Expect
The tech giant is making its iconic search bar bigger and more interactive so people can ask longer and more complex questions.
Waymo pauses Atlanta service as its robotaxis keep driving into floods
Waymo’s robotaxi service is now suspended in both Atlanta and San Antonio, as the company works to stop its vehicles from driving into flooded roads.
The Path, founded by Tony Robbins and Calm alums, hopes to offer safer AI therapy
The Path says its AI model has scored 95 on the mental health safety AI benchmark, Vera-MH. This compares to a top score of 65 for the consumer bots.
Hark raises $700M Series A for its secretive “universal” AI interface
Brett Adcock’s new AI startup is now valued at $6 billion by its investors.
Maka Kids is redefining kids’ screen time with a streaming app optimized for well-being, not engagement
Maka Kids is building a streaming app for children ages zero to six featuring content designed for healthy development. The startup has now raised $3 million in seed funding to scale its platform.
Google is pitching an AI agent ecosystem to consumers who may not buy it
The AI agents are coming. A lot of them.