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I know I usually lead Startups Weekly with my own column (and I wrote one this week, so if you like everything I write in one way or another, don’t worry), but Devin’s article taking a stand against artificial intelligence’s pseudo-humans is a must-read. He proposes a new set of rules that AI must follow to preserve our humanity:
- Artificial intelligence must rhyme.
- The AI may not provide a face or identity.
- Artificial intelligence cannot “feel” or “think.”
- AI-derived numbers, decisions and answers should be marked with a “⸫”.
- AI should not make life-or-death decisions.
- AI images must have a cropped corner.
Yes, these suggestions cannot be realistically implemented, but read the article anyway; It delves into some of the interesting challenges we face as AI becomes more mature and ubiquitous.
Well, with today’s philosophy lesson over, let’s dive in and see what’s going on in the royal kingdom of startups.
Fly high, dive deep
The turbulent journey of startups continues.
Bird, the once high-flying electric scooter company, has gone bankrupt. After a wild ride from a $2 billion valuation to a financial face factory, this former poster child for micromobility is restructuring its finances faster than one of his scooters racing down the slopes with a tailwind. They’re now relying on Chapter 11 to keep their wheels turning, but only after ruffling a few feathers and hoping someone finds enough value in their assets to buy them out. the irony? Their Canadian and European operations are still running as if nothing had happened.
I won’t say “I told you so,” but it certainly wasn’t a coincidence that I chose Bird as an example for the “Understanding Your Business Influence Tools” post I wrote in 2018. .
In any case. Here are some other stories that made you all click through:
Back to startups: Opendoor co-founder Eric Wu is giving up his CEO chair for a bean bag in the startup world once again. After a decade of playing real estate Tetris, Wu is ready to get back to building things from scratch, amid the toughest real estate market in more than 40 years.
Do you feel safe yet?: In a step less surprising than knowing your password Still “password123”, Okta has acquired security company Spera for a cool $100 million. The latter is like the Sherlock Holmes of cybersecurity, spotting digital vulnerabilities before they become complete disasters.
I bet this newsletter is running their algorithms: Meltwater, the media-watching maestro who danced around print and digital news like a tech-savvy ballerina, just took $65 million from Verdane, valuing the company at a cool $592 million.
When artificial intelligence is more widespread than real intelligence
Devin opens the crystal ball for AI in 2024 and predicts a rollercoaster ride from hype to reality check. He suggests that OpenAI, the post-leadership change, might turn into a product powerhouse that Apple “shipped” with its own AI app store. Meanwhile, specialized AI applications, such as agent-based models and generative multimedia, can range from “hmm” to “interesting,” especially in monotonous tasks like insurance claims. In the political arena, artificial intelligence may become a tool for disinformation and manipulation in the 2024 elections, as automated calculations and fake news exacerbate the chaos.
I can’t say I don’t agree with that. When media literacy hits rock bottom and artificial intelligence soars, we face a perfect storm.
Cool cool cool. What else was cooked in the AI kitchen?
Composers, composers and composers: Microsoft Copilot, the AI-powered chatbot, is inserting its digital fingers into the world of music composition by integrating with GenAI music app Suno. Users can ask Copilot to create entire songs, including lyrics and instrumentation, with requests such as “Create a pop song about adventures with your family.”
Hey Spotify, create me a playlist where every song starts with the letters W, T, and F: Spotify is testing an “AI Playlists” feature that allows users to create playlists using AI prompts. Users can type prompts into an AI chatbot-shaped box or choose from suggested prompts such as “Focus on working with electronic instruments” or “Songs that are most likely to make my parents angry.”
Sorry, Charles Ponzi, you can’t shop here: Rite Aid has been banned from using facial recognition software for five years, after it was found that its “reckless use of facial monitoring systems” led to humiliation of customers and compromised sensitive information.
There is an app for this
Apple has been ordered to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit over its Family Sharing feature. The Cupertino-based software giant has been touting its “Share All Things” feature for apps that were . . . Not shareable. Despite Apple’s question “Who are we?” They decided to spend money on the problem rather than endure endless drama in the courtroom. Now, some lucky Family Sharing users from the good ol’ days (2015-2019) might get a whopping $30 back. That means three months of Apple TV+ subscription after the price hike. Yay.
Apple has come out very light compared to Google’s last day in court. In a “hey, here’s some cash” move, Google is digging into its couch cushions for an extra $700 million to settle a lawsuit over its Play Store monopoly antics. Of this amount, $630 million goes to American consumers and $70 million goes to American states. The search giant, which was previously known for its “Do No Evil” slogan, has clearly not expanded this to include app distribution on Android. As part of the deal, Google is also revamping its user choice billing program in the US, allowing developers more freedom in billing methods. They even make sideloading (i.e. installing apps without Google’s approval) less of a digital obstacle course. But let’s not get too excited — as Epic Games’ VP of Public Policy points out, consumers are still likely to overpay for digital goods thanks to Google’s exorbitant fees. So, while Google Wallet has gotten lighter, our wallets may not look much different.
Tricks the court aside. . .
Sharing means caring: Claim, the new kid on social media, is trying to make sharing rewards with friends the next big thing. They got $4 million from Sequoia Capital to turn buying things into a multiplayer game.
Oh, hello, didn’t see you there: Jagat, a location-based social network about real-life connections, has crossed 10 million users. Launched in March, this app serves as a social map of friends and activities, and aims to create social networks that, well, social once again.
Link in bio: Linktree, the Australian bio-linking platform, has acquired rival Koji from GoMeta. In this game of digital monopoly, Linktree is not only expanding its empire, but also retiring its Koji product by January 2024.
Top reads on TechCrunch this week
I’ve delved into our analytics software to see what might be worth highlighting from the past week or so. Here are some additional reading:
Taking the oxygen out of Apple’s Christmas sails: Apple has temporarily halted sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 due to a patent dispute with Masimo, a medical technology company. The dispute concerns the blood oxygen sensor found in Apple smart watches.
To Xfinity and beyond: Comcast’s Xfinity service has fallen victim to a cyberattack, affecting nearly 36 million customers. The breach potentially exposed customers’ usernames, hashed passwords, contact information, dates of birth, parts of Social Security numbers, and confidential questions and answers.
Where have you been?: Google, in a move that may make Big Brother less curious, has announced plans to store users’ location data on their devices rather than on its servers. The change aims to put an end to the use of “geolocation warrants,” where police ask Google to hand over data from devices in a certain area at a certain time. These orders have been criticized as being overly broad and potentially unconstitutional.