Tech is having a moment where everyone is wondering if it’s all that great. AI is the hot trend right now, but Big Tech wants you to pay for something that hasn’t really been shown to make your life easier. Don’t worry though, the Silicon Valley billionaires are planning their own utopia, but you’re not invited. Here’s a roundup of some of the big tech stories of the week. - Oscar Gonzalez
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Don’t ring the funeral bells just yet, but the self-checkout kiosk horror show could be nearing its end. So far, the grand experiment in robot cashiers is an abject failure. Stores across the country are reversing course on the machines, and consensus is growing among analysts and insiders that self-checkout has been a disaster for consumers and retailers alike, according to a new report in the BBC. The machines aren’t disappearing anytime soon, but if nothing else, you can expect fewer stores to force them on you in the near future. - Thomas Germain Read More
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More than 75 million people use Alexa, but by Amazon’s standards, the service is a total failure. The problem is Alexa doesn’t make any money, and the service is a huge drain on company resources. Apparently, Amazon has a last-ditch plan to save its digital assistant by supercharging it with AI and charging you for the privilege of using it—but things aren’t looking good. - Thomas Germain Read More
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For the past few years, a growing number of users, analysts, and experts raised alarms about a truth that feels obvious to a lot of people who surf around in web browsers: the quality of Google results is in serious decline. Google disagrees. - Thomas Germain Read More
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Elon Musk threatened to abandon some of Tesla’s most important work on Monday in an ongoing battle over how much he gets paid. The billionaire tweeted that he’s “uncomfortable” working on AI and robotics projects at the company unless he gains more control of its stock. Musk, who owns about a 13% share in the company, threatened to “build products outside of Tesla” if his ownership doesn’t grow to 25%. - Thomas Germain Read More
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Chrome’s Incognito mode is a bit of a joke that even Google employees weren’t so hyped about it. It’s now going to be less useful for “privacy” reasons, as explained in a new disclaimer change. - Oscar Gonzalez Read More
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My colleague Maxwell Zeff once described Microsoft Copilot as “if Clippy went to get his MBA.” Microsoft just announced a new premium subscription to its Copilot AI, which can be analogous to Clippy getting a PhD. - Dua Rashid Read More
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A disturbing cyberattack on Discord reportedly sent some University of California, Irvine students to the hospital on Wednesday, according to a CBS News report. Hackers infiltrated student Discord servers and bombarded them with graphic images that reportedly traumatized students, causing them to cry, vomit, and even require medical assistance. - Maxwell Zeff Read More
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California Forever, the quixotic, billionaire-backed project to build a new city in the Bay Area, is chugging along. Despite the fact that locals seem to hate it, the Silicon Valley dreamers behind the project remain undeterred. The team planning the city released more details about their proposed development this week, including a map of what the hypothetical future city might eventually look like. - Lucas Ropek Read More
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For the past 26 years, the Guthman Competition at Georgia Tech’s Department of Music has introduced the world to strange and innovative instruments. The contest welcomes inventors from all over the world to build and explore the future of music, and together, they’ve produced some truly weird and exciting sound machines. - Thomas Germain Read More
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Silicon Valley is racing to create the first generation of “humanoid” robots, with many tech companies promising consumers that they’ll soon have their very own, live-in robo-helper to do the dishes, sweep the floor, and generally take care of all the annoying housework that everybody hates. However, the unfortunate truth is that, if recent events are any indicator, none of us should expect our own robo-butler anytime soon. - Lucas Ropek Read More
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Source: Gizmodo