ghost locomotion Ghost Locomotion Secures $63.7M for Aftermarket Highway Autonomy Kit Ghost Locomotion reveals a new aftermarket kit designed to enable private passenger vehicles to drive autonomously on highways. The startup aims to deliver this technology by 2020 at a price lower than Tesla's Full Self-Driving package.
youtube YouTube Redesigns Desktop Homepage for Simplicity and Better Control YouTube rolls out a cleaner desktop and tablet homepage design that prioritizes larger thumbnails and longer titles over information density. The update also introduces an "Add to Queue" feature and better recommendation controls for web users.
twitter Two Former Twitter Employees Face Spy Charges for Leaking Data to Saudi Arabia Federal prosecutors charge two former Twitter employees with acting as Saudi agents by secretly accessing private user data of government critics. The case marks the first time U.S. authorities allege Saudi agents operated inside an American tech company.
airbnb Airbnb Mandates Verification for All 7 Million Listings Amid Safety Concerns Following a fatal Halloween shooting, Airbnb commits to verifying every listing for accuracy, safety, and cleanliness. The company also introduces a 24/7 neighbor hotline and enhanced reservation screening.
alphabet Alphabet Board Opens Investigation Into Executive Handling of Misconduct Claims Alphabet forms an independent subcommittee and hires a law firm to investigate how company executives handle sexual harassment and misconduct claims.
facebook California Sues to Force Facebook to Hand Over Cambridge Analytica Documents California's attorney general accuses Facebook of ignoring subpoenas related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal and asks a court to compel the company to produce the requested evidence.
google Google Forms App Defense Alliance to Combat Malicious Android Software Google partners with ESET, Lookout, and Zimperium to create the App Defense Alliance, an effort to better detect and block harmful apps before they reach users.
xerox Xerox Makes Surprise $27 Billion Bid to Acquire Larger Rival HP Xerox confirms it is attempting to acquire HP Inc. in a deal valued at over $27 billion, despite having a significantly smaller market cap. HP acknowledges the proposal and states it is evaluating the offer to determine the best path forward for its shareholders.
microsoft Microsoft Aims for One Billion Users with Rebuilt Edge Browser Microsoft is betting big on its new Chromium-based Edge browser, setting an ambitious goal of one billion users. The company rebuilds the browser to tackle modern problems in privacy, security, and enterprise compatibility.
twitter Saudi Government Paid Twitter Insiders to Spy on Dissidents Newly unsealed court documents reveal that Saudi officials bribed Twitter employees to access personal data of political activists and journalists.
openai OpenAI Releases Full GPT-2 Text Model After Safety Concerns Fade OpenAI makes its complete GPT-2 language model available to the public after finding no strong evidence of misuse. The AI generates convincing but flawed text, demonstrating both its capabilities and its limitations.
openai OpenAI Releases Full GPT-2 Text Generator After Misuse Fears Fail to Materialize OpenAI officially releases its complete GPT-2 language model after withholding it due to concerns over automated fake news generation. The organization states it has observed no strong evidence of misuse since the initial phased rollout.
adobe Adobe's Project Sweet Talk Uses AI to Animate Portraits Adobe unveils Project Sweet Talk, an AI tool that brings static portraits and drawings to life by seamlessly syncing mouth and head movements with audio. The technology smartly warps facial features to create highly realistic animations from simple JPG images.
at&t AT&T Agrees to $60 Million Settlement Over Deceptive Unlimited Data Claims AT&T pays $60 million to the FTC after falsely advertising unlimited data plans while secretly throttling speeds for millions of customers.
fcc FCC Approves T-Mobile and Sprint Merger Despite State Opposition The Federal Communications Commission gives the green light to a $26.5 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. The deal faces an upcoming legal challenge from a coalition of state attorneys general.