Good morning. It’s a new week, and it’s time to get into the tech news.
1. X to form 100 person content moderation team
Twitter, now X, is forming a new ‘Trust and Safety centre of excellence’ in Texas, to enforce content and safety rules on the platform. The news comes after it was announced that Taylor Swift would consider legal action over AI-generated abuse imagery that was spread on the platform – to the point that searches for ‘Taylor Swift’ on X were blocked. Speaking to Bloomberg, head of business operations at X Joe Benarroch said the team will focus on fighting child abuse imagery. No word has been given on when the centre will be formed.
2. iPad overhaul reportedly coming in March
Bloomberg’s Apple expert Mark Gurman has tipped that a major iPad overhaul is coming in March, noting that the iPad Pro will see its biggest revamp ever, the iPad Air will be refreshed, and a larger iPad Air option will be introduced. M3-chip MacBook Airs will also reportedly be introduced, and revamped Magic Keyboards and Apple Pencils will also make their debut.
3. George Carlin estate sues over AI comedy special
The Guardian reports the estate of late comedian George Carlin has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Federal Court against podcast organisation Dudesy, regarding an hour-long comedy special performed by an AI recreation of Carlin titled ‘I’m Glad I’m Dead’. Carlin’s daughter, Kelly Carlin, said the special is “a poorly executed facsimile cobbled together by unscrupulous individuals to capitalise on the extraordinary goodwill my father established with his adoring fanbase”.
4. Polestar joins in on the fun (layoffs)
Unfortunately, we’re well and truly in layoff season. Reuters reports that EV maker Polestar plans to layoff 450 people globally, about 15 per cent of its workforce, citing “challenging market conditions” as the reason. “As part of this business plan, we need to adjust the size of our business and operations. This involves reducing external spend and, regrettably, also our number of employees,” a Polestar spokesperson said to Reuters. Polestar hasn’t turned a profit on its EV business yet and hopes to break even in 2025.
5. Spotify blasts Apple’s proposed changes in Europe
Spotify has come out swinging against Apple’s proposed changes in Europe concerning the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple plans to open the iPhone up to alternative app stores, although the tech giant still wants to stay in charge of what apps it will allow onto its devices. Spotify claims that Apple’s new pricing on apps operating on the App Store in Europe with alternate payment systems is egregious. Although Apple is allowing alternative app stores, Spotify has also criticised this saying, “If we managed to remove our app from the App Store and only existed in the Alternative App Store, that would still not work. With our EU Apple install base in the 100 million user range, this new tax on downloads and updates could skyrocket our customer acquisition costs, potentially increasing them tenfold.”
BONUS ITEM: Doom can truly run on anything.
is there a love more devout on this earth than what the fans of doom (1993) have for making it run on everything possible? pic.twitter.com/hiykLIauJK
— \newcommand{\femb0t}{ (@__femb0t) January 28, 2024
Have a lovely week.