June 19, 2025

It’s pretty easy to get DeepSeek to talk dirty

AI companions like Replika are designed to engage in intimate exchanges, but people use general-purpose chatbots for sex talk too, despite their stricter content moderation policies. Now new research shows that not all chatbots are equally willing to talk dirty: DeepSeek is the easiest to convince. But other AI chatbots can be enticed too, if…

Serena-backed health tech lands first FDA approval for home cervical cancer test

May 9, 2025
For the first time, the FDA has just approved a device that lets people screen for cervical cancer from home. Known as the Teal Wand, from the company Teal Health, the prescription device lets patients self-collect samples and mail them to a lab to receive the same testing as would be done at a doctor’s […]

SoundCloud changes policies to allow AI training on user content

May 9, 2025
SoundCloud appears to have quietly changed its terms of use to allow the company to train AI on audio that users upload to its platform. As spotted by tech ethicist Ed-Newton Rex, the latest version of SoundCloud’s terms include a provision giving the platform permission to use uploaded content to “inform, train, [or] develop” AI. […]

Rippling raises $450M at a $16.8B valuation, reveals YC is a customer

May 9, 2025
HR tech startup Rippling has raised a $450 million Series G round at a $16.8 billion valuation, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. It is also conducting a $200 million tender offer to give current and former employees some liquidity. The equity raise marks a big jump in valuation from a year ago. In April 2024, […]

Microsoft Build 2025: How to watch this year’s conference

May 9, 2025
Microsoft Build, Microsoft’s biggest event of the year, is on the horizon. It’s scheduled to start May 19 at the Seattle Convention Center, and it’ll run through May 22. The keynote address featuring Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CTO Kevin Scott will take place May 19 at 9:05 a.m. PT. That’ll be followed by a […]

How cloud and AI transform and improve customer experiences

May 9, 2025
As AI technologies become increasingly mainstream, there’s mounting competitive pressure to transform traditional infrastructures and technology stacks. Traditional brick-and-mortar companies are finding cloud and data to be the foundational keys to unlocking their paths to digital transformation, and to competing in modern, AI-forward industry landscapes.  In this exclusive webcast, experts discuss the building blocks for…