Good morning! This is your daily ☕️ Techpresso.
On this day, 20 years ago, Gmail was launched as an invite-only beta service on April Fool's Day, quickly overcoming skepticism with its speedy and easy-to-use platform, while its exclusivity added to its cool factor.
In today's Techpresso:
🤖 Sam Altman gives up control of OpenAI Startup Fund
💥 Google agrees to delete billions of Incognito mode data records
🙏 US and UK sign deal to partner on AI research
📰 Yahoo acquires Instagram co-founders' AI-powered news startup Artifact
🙃 Comedian Jon Stewart says Apple asked him not to interview FTC Chair
🎁 + 6 other news you might like
🔮 + 6 handpicked research papers and tools
🤖 Sam Altman gives up control of OpenAI Startup FundLINK
Sam Altman has relinquished formal control of the OpenAI Startup Fund, which he initially managed, to Ian Hathaway, marking a resolution to the fund's unique corporate structure. The fund was established in 2021 with Altman temporarily at the helm to avoid potential conflicts had he not returned as CEO after a brief departure; he did not personally invest in or financially benefit from it. Under Hathaway's management, the fund, starting with $175 million in commitments, has grown to $325 million in assets and has invested in early-stage AI companies across healthcare, law, education, and more, with at least 16 startups backed.
💥 Google agrees to delete billions of Incognito mode data recordsLINK
Google has agreed to delete web browsing data it collected from users in Chrome's private browsing modes to settle a lawsuit claiming the modes weren't truly private.
The lawsuit alleged Google's tracking tools, including Google Analytics and Ad Manager, could track users even in 'private browsing mode', contrary to Google's privacy claims.
The settlement requires Google to inform users about its data collection in private browsing and delete certain data records, and make technical changes to prevent future tracking in Incognito mode.
🙏 US and UK sign deal to partner on AI researchLINK
The US and UK have formed a partnership focused on advancing the safety testing of AI technologies, sharing information and expertise to develop tests for cutting-edge AI models. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed to enhance the regulation and testing of AI, aiming to effectively assess and mitigate the risks associated with AI technology. The partnership involves the exchange of expert personnel between the US and UK AI Safety Institutes, with plans for potential joint testing on publicly available AI models, reinforcing their commitment to addressing AI risks and promoting its safe development globally.
📰 Yahoo acquires Instagram co-founders' AI-powered news startup ArtifactLINK
Yahoo is acquiring the AI news app Artifact, built by Instagram co-founders, but not its team, aiming to enhance its own news platform with Artifact's advanced technology and recommendation systems.
Artifact's technology, which focuses on personalizing and recommending content, will be integrated into Yahoo News and potentially other Yahoo platforms, despite the discontinuation of the Artifact app itself.
The integration of Artifact's technology into Yahoo aims to create a personalized content ecosystem, leveraging Yahoo's vast user base to realize the potential of AI in news curation and recommendation.
🙃 Comedian Jon Stewart says Apple asked him not to interview FTC ChairLINK
Jon Stewart revealed that Apple prevented him from discussing artificial intelligence and featuring FTC Chair Lina Khan on his Apple TV show, citing a conversation where Apple expressed their displeasure with the idea.
Stewart criticized the overoptimistic portrayal of AI by Big Tech and drew parallels between the unfulfilled promises of job retraining in the coal industry and the current promises related to AI.
The cancellation of "The Problem with Jon Stewart" was reportedly influenced by his views on AI and China, with The New York Times suggesting that Apple wanted Stewart to align more closely with their corporate values.
Other news you might like
Apple to launch budget-friendly 'AirPods Lite' this year.LINK
OpenAI makes ChatGPT accessible without an account.LINK
Microsoft is working on an Xbox AI chatbot.LINK
When Gmail arrived 20 years ago, people thought it was an April Fools prank.LINK
Apple worker used bathroom break to delete evidence he leaked to press: lawsuit.LINK
Spatial Personas Make Apple Vision Pro a Less Isolating Experience.LINK
Latest research and tools
Low Cost Robot Arm: a project that provides files to build a robot arm costing about $250, which is capable of mimicking another arm's movements, suitable for robotics learning and tasks like folding clothes, using affordable and lightweight Dynamixel servo motors and a cheaper alternative to the U2D2 adapter for computer connectivity, all controllable via the Dynamixel SDK.LINK
Wireproxy: a WireGuard client that exposes itself as a HTTP/SOCKS5 proxy, enabling users to route traffic through a WireGuard peer without needing root permissions or modifying network interfaces.LINK
RAGFlow: an open-source engine that combines OCR and document parsing with Large Language Models to offer businesses a comprehensive tool for obtaining truthful answers with citations from complex formatted data.LINK
IRS Online Account: a digital platform that allows U.S. taxpayers to access their tax information, make payments, and manage their account online.LINK
OneUptime: an open-source alternative to Datadog, offering comprehensive online service monitoring, incident management, on-call scheduling, log analysis, and performance tracking, with multi-channel alerts and integrations with over 5000 tools.LINK
Unikraft: powers the next-generation of cloud native, containerless applications by enabling radical customization and building of custom OS/kernels for improved performance, security, and efficiency.LINK
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