Good Morning, and a happy Friday to you. We’ve still got a full day ahead of us, so let’s get into the tech news.
1. Social media inquiry inbound
Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has said that the Government will set up an inquiry into social media in Australia, investigating “the negative impacts these companies can have on our society,” per the AFR. The joint Senate and House of Representatives committee will probe the decisions that happen behind the scenes at companies like Meta and X (formerly Twitter), and how their algorithms impact the lives of Australians. “These social media companies have enormous reach and control over what Australians see with little to no scrutiny,” the Minister said. Let’s hope they deal with the Facebook login issue too.
2. Dell warns of data breach
About 49 million customers may be caught up in a data breach of a Dell portal. Bleeping Computer reports that names, physical addresses, and Dell hardware information may be compromised in the breach, with the publication noting the listing of Data alleged to have been stolen from Dell on the dark web. “We are currently investigating an incident involving a Dell portal, which contains a database with limited types of customer information related to purchases from Dell,” the company said in a notification to customers. “We believe there is not a significant risk to our customers given the type of information involved.”
3. Apple apologises for crushing ad
Apple’s ‘Crush’ ad, which depicted numerous creative instruments and devices being destroyed in a gigantic hydraulic press (with the end result being the new iPad Pro), received heated criticism this week, and now the company has apologised for ever putting it together. “Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Apple’s vice president of marketing Tor Myhren said to Ad Age. “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.” The ad will not be aired on TV.
4. TikTok to flag uploaded AI content
TikTok is starting to automatically flag AI-generated content, even if the content is from a non-TikTok platform. Per The Guardian, TikTok previously had labels for content that leveraged its own AI tools, and there is a manual marker users should apply if their content is made with AI. But now TikTok will begin using watermarks developed by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity. “AI enables incredible creative opportunities but can confuse or mislead viewers if they don’t know content was AI-generated,” the head of operations and trust and safety at TikTok Adam Presser said. “Labelling helps make that context clear – which is why we label AIGC made with TikTok AI effects, and have required creators to label realistic AIGC for over a year.”
5. Oh no
OpenAI is expected to announce a Google Search competitor next week, per Reuters. The Search rival will likely leverage OpenAI’s fleshed-out AI products, with the date of the announcement expected to be early in the week – just before Google I/O, where Google is expected to show off more of its own AI products. OpenAI’s search rival is expected to be an extension of ChatGPT, that’s capable of pulling data from the web.
BONUS ITEM: I’m never going to get sick of seeing the Rabbit R1 going through it. Here it is actually running Android.
oops pic.twitter.com/cloSY35fmg
— Marcel (@MarcelD505) May 9, 2024
Have a lovely weekend.
Image: Apple