Here’s an EthCC recap for those who couldn’t make it to Paris this year
Welcome back to Chain Reaction. The Paris-based Ethereum Community Conference, EthCC, happened this week and brought in more than 350 speakers and 5,000 attendees.
The Download: AI companion dangers, and supersonic planes
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. An AI chatbot told a user how to kill himself—but the company doesn’t want to “censor” it For the past five months, Al Nowatzki has been talking to an AI girlfriend, “Erin,” on…
Technology
Remini tops the App Store for its viral ‘AI headshots’ but its body edits go too far, some say
Instagram’s Threads’ time at the top of the App Store has come to an end, thanks to an AI photo editing app called Remini that’s going viral on TikTok. First launched in 2019, the app added a generative AI feature last year which TikTok users have recently discovered allows them to create professional headshots for […]
Apple warning it could shut FaceTime, iMessage in UK over gov’t surveillance policy adds to growing tech industry discontent
The list of mainstream Internet services that could shut down in the UK over security risks attached to government policymaking just got longer: The BBC is reporting Apple has threatened to shutter local access to its end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) comms services, FaceTime and iMessage, if minsters don’t rethink a plan to further beef up existing […]
Introducing MIT Technology Review Roundtables, real-time conversations about what’s next in tech
On August 10, MIT Technology Review is launching Roundtables, a participatory subscriber-only online event series, to keep you informed about emerging tech. Subscribers will get exclusive access to 30-minute monthly conversations with our writers and editors about topics they’re thinking deeply about—including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, climate change, tech policy, and more. (If you’re not yet…
Tech-ish companies’ killer IPOs are making startups look silly as hell
There’s a discussion in tech that the idea that software companies will grow and become increasingly profitable over time is at least partially incorrect.
Fake passports, real bank accounts: How TheTruthSpy stalkerware made its millions
A network of fake sellers, created with forged documents, allowed a global phone surveillance ring to operate under the radar for years.
Google is reportedly testing an AI tool that can write news articles
Google is testing a tool that uses AI to write news stories and has started pitching it to publications, according to a new report from The New York Times. The tech giant has pitched the AI tool to The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal’s owner, News Corp. The tool, […]
North Korea-backed hackers breached JumpCloud to target cryptocurrency clients
North Korean state-backed hackers breached U.S. enterprise software company JumpCloud to target its cryptocurrency clients, security researchers said on Thursday. JumpCloud, a directory platform that allows enterprises to authenticate, authorize and manage users and devices, said this week that a nation-state actor was behind a June breach of its systems that forced the company to […]
Amazon’s palm-scanning payment technology is coming to all 500+ Whole Foods
Amazon’s palm-scanning payment technology known as Amazon One is prepared to make a significant expansion across the U.S. The retailer announced this morning the payment tech will come to all 500+ Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market stores nationwide by year-end. The biometric payment system works by having the customer hover their palm above a reader device. […]
Collectly wants to make paying healthcare bills easier so medical providers don’t lose $200B
Collectly customers have, on average, been able to increase patient collections for medical group partners by 75% and reduce the “days sales outstanding” to 12 days from between 60 and 90 days.