‘Bottomless Pit of Plagiarism’: Disney, Universal File the First Major Hollywood Lawsuit Against an AI Startup
The complaint alleges that Midjourney copied characters from the movie studios, including Darth Vader and Homer Simpson.
The Download: talking dirty with DeepSeek, and the risks and rewards of calorie restriction
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. 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…
Apple is salvaging Image Playground with a boost from ChatGPT
With the new ChatGPT integration, users will be able to access more styles that move beyond the emoji-like creations that Image Playground has become known for.
Europe, we’re not leaving. Period.
There are some headlines making the rounds claiming that TechCrunch is “pulling out of Europe” and shuttering its coverage of European startups. This is flat-out wrong. It misrepresents who we are, what we do, and — most of all — what we believe. The recent changes at TechCrunch are not about retreat. They are about […]
Sam Altman-backed Coco Robotics raises $80M
Coco Robotics has made more than 500,000 deliveries with its zero-emissions robots since they hit the streets in 2020.
All of the new features coming to Apple’s iOS apps
These include significant updates like Call Screening, more travel-friendly features in Wallet, and highly-requested group chat features in Messages.
Fervo Energy lands $206M in financing to build massive geothermal power plant
Fervo is developing what promises to be the largest enhanced geothermal power plant in the world.
World Franchise Day Debuts With a Mission to Spotlight Local Businesses
Franchise leaders in more than 40 countries are marking the inaugural World Franchise Day on June 11 to celebrate the small business owners behind the world’s biggest brands.
Deloitte Is Reimbursing Employees Up to $1,000 — For Buying Lego Sets
Each Deloitte employee can spend up to $1,000 on items to improve their well-being.
Can Scale AI and Alexandr Wang reignite Meta’s AI efforts?
Meta has reportedly invested billions of dollars into AI startup Scale AI and hired its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead a new AI research lab. So what does that mean for Meta and the rest of the AI ecosystem?
US government’s vaccine website defaced with AI-generated content
The content of a vaccines information website owned U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was swapped with gay-themed spam.