technology

Salesforce looks to poach outbound OpenAI staff with “full cash” compensation offer::Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has revealed the firm will offer positions to outgoing OpenAI employees amidst a looming exodus from the beleaguered tech giant.

Microsoft hires former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman::Microsoft hires Sam Altman and Greg Brockman after OpenAI talks break down. Both former OpenAI employees will join a new Microsoft advanced AI team.

Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and ‘colleagues’ joins Microsoft to lead Advanced AI Research::Microsoft has hired OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman to head up a “new advanced AI research team,” the software conglomerate’s chief Satya Sam Altman and Greg Brockman and many of their former OpenAI colleagues will...

The deal to bring Sam Altman back to OpenAI has fallen apart::After negotiations to bring Sam Altman back as OpenAI’s CEO fell apart, Emmett Shear was named interim CEO by the nonprofit’s board.

Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year::In a surprising move, Apple has announced today that it will adopt the RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging standard. The…

Google dragged to UK watchdog over Chrome’s upcoming IP address cloaking::Marketers tell antitrust cops privacy proxy will make it harder to protect kids online, etc etc

Tokelau, a necklace of three isolated atolls strung out across the Pacific, is so remote that it was the last place on Earth to be connected to the telephone—only in 1997....

Child psychiatrist jailed after making pornographic AI deep-fakes of kids::Perp said to have secretly recorded patients – and digitally undressed them using web neural networks

Michigan’s 100% clean energy bill heads to governor’s desk::The bill that’s expected to be signed by Gov. Whitmer would raise caps on distributed energy sources and set a goal of 100% clean energy by 2040.

After decades of dreams, a commercial spaceplane is almost ready to fly::“Plunging into the ocean is awful. Landing on a runway is really nice."

We don’t have to look too deeply into history to find parallels to this kind of worldview. Simply put, it is the worldview of colonialism: it sees both nature and other people as domains to be conquered and exploited for “growth”.

HAARP experiments could cause artificial aurora over Alaska this weekend::Researchers from around the country are conducting four days of experiments at the Gakona facility that could put splotches of red and green light overhead at times.

The definitive account of how WeWork went from a $47 billion valuation to a basket case in just 6 weeks::The WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann picked the wrong time to be the visionary leader of a company with imperial ambitions and obscure finances.

Angry Birds, Stack: Israeli ads showing Hamas atrocities pop up in children’s video games::Maria Assis’ six-year-old was shocked by the ad in his puzzle. Israel has spent $2.3 million on internet ads since Hamas’ October 7 attack.

Supreme Court wades into social media wars over free speech::Three major issues on the role of social media in society are before the Supreme Court, with oral arguments in the first two cases taking place this week.

Tech layoffs are back with a vengeance | TechCrunch::For my column this week, I told the story of how an ex-colleague was impersonated by an AI-powered spambot and almost tricked me.