From Boardrooms to Virtual Calls: Your AI Meeting Coach Is Here
Hedy ensures you never miss a beat, whether in-person or online.
US AI Safety Institute could face big cuts
The National Institute of Standards and Technology could fire as many as 500 staffers, according to multiple reports — cuts that further threaten a fledgling AI safety organization. Axios reported this week that the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) and Chips for America, both part of NIST, would be “gutted” by layoffs targeting probationary employees […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
The Download: China’s EV to humanoid robot pivot, and voice clone censorship
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. China’s electric vehicle giants are betting big on humanoid robots As the electric-vehicle war in China calms down, leaving a few established players to dominate the field, Chinese EV giants are expanding into…
4 Tips for Selecting the Right Location for Your Franchise
Stay true to your model and understand your guests so your new location will create the same experience they’ve come to expect everywhere you operate.
Europe denies dropping AI liability rules under pressure from Trump
The European Union has denied that recent moves to row back on some planned tech regulation — principally by ditching the AI Liability Directive, a 2022 draft law which had been aimed at making it easier for consumers to sue over harms caused by AI-enabled products and services — were made in response to pressure […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
My sex doll is mad at me: A short story
The near future. It’s not a kiss, but it’s not not a kiss. Her lips—full, soft, pliable—yield under mine, warm from the electric heating rod embedded in her throat. They taste of a faint chemical, like aspartame in Diet Pepsi. Her thermoplastic elastomer skin is sensitive to fabric dyes, so she wears white Agent Provocateur…
A woman made her AI voice clone say “arse.” Then she got banned.
This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been speaking to people who have lost their voices. Both Joyce Esser, who lives in the UK, and Jules Rodriguez, who…
China’s electric vehicle giants are betting big on humanoid robots
At the 2025 CCTV New Year Gala last month, a televised spectacle watched by over a billion viewers in China, 16 humanoid robots took the stage. Clad in vibrant floral print jackets, they took part in a signature element of northeastern China’s Yangko dance, twirling red handkerchiefs in unison with human dancers. But the robots…
Plain pulls in $15M to agregate B2B customer services chats into one platform
Internal customer support platforms are moving from platforms like email ticketing systems and chat to channels like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and even Discord. But with Slack, for instance, able to host hundreds of channels, the whole thing can become quite unwieldy. Plain, out of the UK, thinks it has the answer. Its API-first platform consolidates […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
TikTok is back on the App Store and the Play Store in the U.S.
After more than 25 days, Apple and Google restored TikTok in the U.S Thrusday evening. Both companies removed the app from the App Store and the Play Store on January 18 in response to a national security law. Other ByteDance apps such as video editor CapCut and social app Lemon8 were also restored on these […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Hotstar and JioCinema merge into JioHotstar as Reliance tightens grip on streaming in India
Hotstar and JioCinema, two widely used video streaming apps in India, have merged into JioHotstar. JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance-owned Viacom18 and Star India, said Friday it had integrated JioCinema’s vast library of content into a revamped version of Disney’s Hotstar platform. The merged app will feature movies and TV shows from Disney, Warner […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.