Technology

Worldcoin’s official launch triggers swift privacy scrutiny in Europe

July 28, 2023
Worldcoin, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s bid to sew up the market for verifying humanness by convincing enough mobile meatsacks to have their eyeballs scanned in exchanged for crypto tokens (yes, really), only started its official global rollout this week but it’s already landed on the radar of European data protection authorities. Why should anyone feel […]

Apple’s App Store tightens up on user privacy with new rules for app developers

July 28, 2023
Apple for years has made user privacy a focus for its App Store with rules around data collection, plus requirements around app labeling, anti-tracking measures, and the more private “Sign in with Apple” option. Now, Apple will begin to require that developers explain why they need access to select data, under some circumstances, with a […]

Cryptography may offer a solution to the massive AI-labeling problem 

July 28, 2023
The White House wants big AI companies to disclose when content has been created using artificial intelligence, and very soon the EU will require some tech platforms to label their AI-generated images, audio, and video with “prominent markings” disclosing their synthetic origins.  There’s a big problem, though: identifying material that was created by artificial intelligence…

Announcing the AI Stage agenda at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023

July 28, 2023
After a few years of being background noise, AI has suddenly become ubiquitous. From consumer apps to enterprise tools to medical devices, nearly everything claims to be “powered by AI” these days. But the technology’s unprecedented (and unregulated) rise prompts as many questions as it provides answers. Fortunately, you’re coming to Disrupt, where we have […]

gravityLab wants to tackle the artificial gravity problem

July 28, 2023
Living without gravity spells disaster for the human body. Even a few weeks in microgravity can lead to issues with circulation and vision; over the longer term, the complications compound even further. The heart begins to degenerate and atrophy. Bones turn thin and brittle. But what about Martian gravity, which is around 0.38 that of […]

The Download: how AI could change politics, and lifting the lid on Facebook

July 28, 2023
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. Six ways that AI could change politics —Bruce Schneier & Nathan E. Sanders When it comes to how AI may threaten our democracy, much of the public conversation lacks imagination. People talk about…

Pollen is a professional development platform for tech workers, by tech workers

July 28, 2023
Meet Pollen, a new French startup that wants to provide a better way to learn new skills. Instead of working with full-time teachers, Pollen invites business executives and top performers in the tech industry so that they can host a class with a small group of people. Behind the scenes, Pollen was co-founded by Julie […]