July 15, 2025

Finding value with AI automation

In June 2023, technology leaders and IT services executives had a lightning bolt headed their way when McKinsey published the “The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier” report. It echoed a moment from the 2010s when Amazon Web Services launched an advertising campaign aimed at Main Street’s C-suite: Why would any fiscally…

The US government ramps up its pressure campaign against TikTok

March 16, 2023

The Biden administration is escalating its pressure campaign against TikTok, threatening a U.S. ban against the world’s most popular app if the company doesn’t split with its Chinese ownership. The current administration’s public concerns around the hit app have ratcheted up considerably in recent days. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the U.S. […]

The US government ramps up its pressure campaign against TikTok by Taylor Hatmaker originally published on TechCrunch

Citizen如何通过招募亚裔老年人来重塑自己

March 16, 2023
Editor’s note: This is a translation of a story about how the crime-tracking app Citizen has been giving away free subscriptions to elderly Asians in the Bay Area. Find the English language version here. 本文是与普利策中心的人工智能问责网络合作撰写的。 当外面天黑的时候，约瑟芬·赵（Josephine Zhao）哪怕只是走几个街区就能回到旧金山的家，有时也会多叫一双“眼睛”——字面意义的眼睛。 赵打开手机上的Citizen App，通过一个名为“实时监控”的功能，与该平台的一个客服人员建立联系。而该平台也可以通过网络追踪到赵的GPS位置，客服只要点击另一个按钮，就可以得到打开她手机摄像头的授权。这样该平台就可以“看到我所看到的东西”，赵说。通常来说，她甚至不会和客服人员进行对话，但她知道“这时有人和我一起走”，这会让赵感到安心一些。 这是赵最近采取的最新安全措施之一：她也避免乘坐公共交通工具，以及在城市里走路的时候，会在她的钥匙链上挂着一个长长的尖头装置。这个装置是一个浅粉色的塑料制品，必要的时候会变成一个武器。 但在她看来，Citizen这样一个允许用户报告和跟踪附近犯罪通知的超级本地应用程序是她最好的保护手段之一，这种数据驱动的DIY安全措施能够保护一个长期被忽视的群体。 “我们在教育、公共安全、住房、交通方面上的需求，都没有得到满足和关切。就好像我们不重要一样。”赵说，她目前也是多家教育非政府组织的代课教师和社区联络员，“我们的需求没有得到尊重，我们的需求没有得到满足，人们到处都轻视我们。” “我真的相信Citizen是一个维持社会正义和种族正义的工具。” “我们必须实施一些行动来保护我们的社群，”她补充道。“Citizen是最完美的工具。” 在当地持续发生基于种族的攻击、以及一系列针对亚裔居民的大规模枪击事件之后，许多亚裔和太平洋岛民（AAPI，Asian-American and Pacific Islander）社群的居民们都告诉《麻省理工科技评论》他们欢迎这款应用程序，认为它可以解决反亚仇恨带给他们的焦虑。 对于这些受到严重创伤的人们来说，Citizen成为了让他们获得安心的一种方式。 Citizen的转型 对于这款应用来说，这种积极的反响似乎有些奇怪。毕竟因放大了人们对犯罪的幻想，并帮助白人居民实行种族门禁，它长期以来一直都在遭受着批评的声音。Citizen最初被命名为“治安警员”，因为它有一段曲折的历史：苹果应用商店在该款应用2016年推出后的一周内就将其下架，因为它违反了苹果的《开发者审查指南》，该指南规定应用程序不得鼓励身体伤害。2021年，该公司的首席执行官要求他的员工悬赏3万美元，寻找一名他误认为在洛杉矶纵火的人，这在当时成为了头条新闻。而且该款应用的客户也经常因发表种族主义言论而受到批评。 正是在这种情况下，这款应用现在正在积极地争取像赵这样的用户。从2022年9月开始，通过社区团体如奥克兰华埠商会（Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce）或者旧金山美国华商总会（Chinese…

At Virgin Orbit, it never should’ve come to a staff furlough

March 16, 2023

Last night, CNBC broke the bombshell news that Virgin Orbit was pausing operations for at least a week while it looked for funding to support the business. As part of that pause, company executives reportedly told staff in an all-hands meeting that they were being furloughed – and that it would be unpaid. The news […]

At Virgin Orbit, it never should’ve come to a staff furlough by Aria Alamalhodaei originally published on TechCrunch

China tech giant Baidu releases its answer to ChatGPT

March 16, 2023
On Thursday, Robin Li, Baidu’s cofounder and CEO, took the stage in Beijing to showcase the company’s new large language model, Ernie Bot. Accompanied by art created by Baidu’s image-making AI, he showed examples of what the chatbot can do, including solve math questions, write marketing copy, answer questions about Chinese literature, and generate multimedia…

Pornhub owner MindGeek sold to private equity firm

March 16, 2023

MindGeek — owner of several adult entertainment sites including Pornhub, Brazzerz and Redtube — was acquired by a Canadian private equity firm, Ethical Capital Partners (ECP). ECP, which was formed last year, did not disclose the terms of the deal. “In MindGeek, we have identified a dynamic tech brand that is built upon a foundation […]

Pornhub owner MindGeek sold to private equity firm by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch