June 25, 2025

Meta is adding AI-powered summaries to WhatsApp

Meta announced on Wednesday that it’s adding an AI-powered summaries feature to WhatsApp. The optional new feature uses Meta AI to summarize unread messages in a chat. This summary would only be visible to you, not others in your chat, the company notes. The feature builds on the AI technology that Meta released in April, […]

Musk oversaw misleading 2016 video saying Tesla drove itself

January 19, 2023

Tesla CEO Elon Musk oversaw a 2016 video that overstated the capabilities of the automaker’s driver assistance system, Autopilot, according to internal emails viewed by Bloomberg. The emails show that Musk even dictated the opening tagline of the video that claimed the car drove itself. Earlier this week, a deposition from a senior engineer revealed […]

Musk oversaw misleading 2016 video saying Tesla drove itself by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch

Netflix founder Reed Hastings steps down as co-CEO

January 19, 2023

Netflix founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings announced Thursday that he would step down after more than two decades at the company. While news of his departure comes as a shock, Hastings noted that Netflix has planned its next era of leadership “for many years” in the announcement, which was shared on the company’s blog. In […]

Netflix founder Reed Hastings steps down as co-CEO by Taylor Hatmaker originally published on TechCrunch

In race to electrify, Uber wants EVs that sacrifice top speeds, wheels

January 19, 2023

The clock is ticking for Uber to electrify its fleet, and the rideshare company wants automakers to help by designing cheaper electric vehicles for its drivers. Lawmakers are setting deadlines for rideshare companies to ditch fossil fuels (California‘s Air Resources Board among them), and Uber has its own electrification deadlines, which range from 2025 to […]

In race to electrify, Uber wants EVs that sacrifice top speeds, wheels by Harri Weber originally published on TechCrunch

Building up and tearing down

January 19, 2023

I managed to squeeze the remaining vestiges out of CES 2023 in last week’s Actuator. The good news is that things are starting to pick up again like clockwork. If you’ve emailed me about work stuff in the past week, I apologize for the delay — I’ve been out of one frying pan and into […]

Building up and tearing down by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Hydrogen-powered planes take off with startup’s test flight

January 19, 2023
In a record trip for low-carbon aviation, a startup company has completed a test flight of a 19-seat aircraft powered in part by hydrogen fuel cells. It’s the largest plane that ZeroAvia, a leader in developing hydrogen-electric systems for planes, has tested in the air to date.  The flight took off from Cotswold Airport in…

Meta centralizes more user and privacy settings across its apps, announces changes to ads controls

January 19, 2023

Facebook parent Meta announced today it’s further centralizing various user settings across its suite of apps — Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. As a result, several existing settings will be relocated to Meta’s “Accounts Center” feature, first launched in 2020. Specifically, the changes will see Meta moving settings related to personal details, passwords, security options and […]

Meta centralizes more user and privacy settings across its apps, announces changes to ads controls by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

WhatsApp slapped for processing data without a lawful basis under EU’s GDPR

January 19, 2023

Another bill has come in for Meta for failing to comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — but this one’s a tiddler! Meta-owned messaging platform, WhatsApp, has been fined €5.5 million (just under $6M) by the tech giant’s lead data protection regulator in the region for failing to have a lawful […]

WhatsApp slapped for processing data without a lawful basis under EU’s GDPR by Natasha Lomas originally published on TechCrunch