Weekend Tech Innovation Roundup January 27, 2024

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Photo: Raheb Homavandi (Reuters), Gonzalo Fuentes (Reuters), Aly Song (Reuters), Mario Anzuoni (Reuters), Shannon Stapleton (Reuters), Image: Mario Tama (Getty Images), Drew Angerer (Getty Images), Loren Elliott (Reuters)

Image for article titled Weekend Tech Innovation Roundup January 27, 2024

Humans still have some intellectual advantages over robots. 

Humans still have some intellectual advantages over robots. 
Photo: Raheb Homavandi (Reuters)

Fears of robots taking over people’s jobs have been a recurring theme for centuries, and with recent advancements in AI, the anxiety has resurfaced. But fear not, humans! A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) offers a reassuring perspective: most jobs are currently too expensive to automate with AI. – Faustine Ngila Read More

The Netflix logo is displayed at its corporate offices in Los Angeles, California

The Netflix logo is displayed at its corporate offices in Los Angeles, California
Image: Mario Tama (Getty Images)

Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown—which the company more affectionately calls “paid sharing,” “the right nudge at the right time”—not only paid off immediately after the company implemented it last May, but even more so in the months that followed. – Laura Bratton Read More

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Image: Drew Angerer (Getty Images)

Tech employees have taken to TikTok to tell the world about their layoffs. Now, TikTok workers themselves are the ones with the problem.

The social media video app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is reportedly laying off 60 employees in Los Angeles, New York, and Austin, and in other countries. – Laura Bratton Read More

Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Photo: Gonzalo Fuentes (Reuters)

In a shareholder letter Wednesday (Jan. 25), Tesla said that vehicle volume growth may be “notably lower” than the rate from a year ago.

And, in the same paragraph, Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked investors to look beyond 2024 as the company sees “two major growth waves,” with the first being the expansion of the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles and the next being the “next-generation” cheaper vehicles. – Michelle Cheng Read More

The Vision Pro headset on display at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.

The Vision Pro headset on display at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Image: Loren Elliott (Reuters)

Apple sold between 160,000 and 180,000 Visio Pro headsets over the weekend during pre-orders, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities, who’s written extensively about the product on Medium. But the mixed-reality device won’t be super popular with the general public anytime soon, he indicated. – Laura Bratton Read More

A man visits a display of semiconductor devices at semiconductor technology trade fair Semicon China, in Shanghai.

Photo: Aly Song (Reuters)

In a clear sign of Beijing’s efforts to speed up the development of its homegrown semiconductor industry amid Washington’s intensifying technology restrictions, China’s imports of chipmaking machines hit a near-record last year—while its chip imports saw their steepest decline on record. – Mary Hui Read More

Striking members of the Writers Guild of America, West rally in Hollywood, California November 20, 2007.

Photo: Mario Anzuoni (Reuters)

First, it was writers and actors. Then, it was visual effects workers. Now, it’s musicians who are demanding Hollywood studios provide pay and consent for using artificial intelligence. – Michelle Cheng Read More

Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives at Manhattan federal court for a hearing on his fraud settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in New York City, U.S., April 4, 2019.

The billion entrepreneur who is in charge of several companies.
Photo: Shannon Stapleton (Reuters)

Looks like Elon Musk is trying to mount a challenge to OpenAI—with some serious funding behind it. His competitor xAI is reportedly in talks to raise up to $6 billion at a proposed valuation of $20 billion, the Financial Times reported on Friday (Jan. 26). – Michelle Cheng Read More

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