Good morning. I’m back from leave and back as your guide to 5 Things. I sure hope nothing huge happened while I was gone. Let’s jump into today’s tech news.
1. Joint international content takedowns looming
Australia is collaborating with the UK, France, Korea, South Africa, Fiji, Ireland, and Slovakia are planning to on research and enforcement on the Internet. The country’s internet safety authorities, including Australia’s own eSafety, want to crack down on where there is potential “cross-border harm”, and coordinate their powers to mitigate online dangers, such as blocking orders, to stop the spread of harmful content.
“As regulators, we face similar challenges: we’re national entities mandated to regulate a complex set of global harms involving companies principally domiciled offshore,” Australian eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
Internet safety authorities of the countries listed above will be focused on risk assessment and transparency through the use of regulatory tools, use complaints functions, information requests, and improving safety measures.
2. Google: oh no
In the U.S., Google has begun to roll out its generative AI tool for Search, and it has produced some extremely weird (and wrong!) results. Now, per The Verge, the search giant is trying to manually remove the weird results.
While Google claims that the AI-generated results are producing “high quality” answers for users, “Many of the examples we’ve seen have been uncommon queries, and we’ve also seen examples that were doctored or that we couldn’t reproduce,” Google spokesperson Meghann Farnsworth told The Verge.
The AI overview features are still planned to be available in the regions eventually, so we might not miss out on the “fun” in Australia.
3. Apple’s AI dreams
More news has come out about Apple’s approach to generative AI features, with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman tipping that the tech giant will focus on everyday features that customers will actually use. (I wish that was what every other company was doing).
Anyway, core apps like Safari and Photos are expected to get AI features in the next iOS and MacOS versions, with demanding features to be leveraged on-cloud, but less-demanding features handled on device. New capabilities this year include photo editing features, voice memo transcriptions, and a natural interactions upgrade for Siri, along with AI emojis.
4. Raptor goes up in smoke
One of SpaceX’s testing stands went up in flames after the company’s Raptor 2 engine exploded during a test. According to NASA Space Flight’s Chris Bergin, vapours from an engine anomaly caused a secondary explosion on the test stand. The company is currently preparing for a fourth test flight.
Here is the full clip of the test that ended in a RUD.
— carson_phillips (@Cphillips_03) May 23, 2024
(video and audio synced)
See what’s next steps are ahead: https://t.co/s5km3WuOOX https://t.co/lKDvoOXoz2 pic.twitter.com/rNgQUnz5LV
5. Activision and Meta face fresh lawsuits from gun violence
Families of the lives lost at the Uvalde Robb Elementary School in Texas are suing Activision, Meta, and gun manufacturer Daniel Defense for how they were alledgedly involved in the tragic event. The lawsuit alleges, per Tech Crunch, that Activision’s Call of Duty franchise offers a “cunning form of marketing” that makes gun ownership and use attractive to young people. Against Meta, focused on Instagram, the lawsuit alleges that the company “knowingly promulgates flimsy, easily circumvented rules that ostensibly prohibit firearm advertising; in fact, these rules function as a playbook for the gun industry.”
“Defendants are chewing up alienated teenage boys and spitting out mass shooters,” the lawsuit alleges.
BONUS ITEM: Rest easy, little buddy.
The Doge Meme dog, Kabosu has died.
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 24, 2024
She was 18 years old. pic.twitter.com/ScMhYn2kuF
Have a lovely day.
Image: eSafety, iStock