Author: TechBrunch
California Governor Gavin Newsom is currently considering 38 AI-related bills, including the highly controversial SB 1047, which the state legislature has sent to the governor for final approval. These bills seek to address some of the most pressing issues in artificial intelligence, including the existential risks posed by future AI systems, deepfake nudes created by AI image generators, and Hollywood studios creating AI clones of deceased actors. “California, home to many of the world's leading AI companies, is leveraging these transformative technologies to address pressing challenges and studying the risks they pose,” Newsom's office said in a press release. To…
California Governor Gavin Newsom is currently considering 38 AI-related bills, including the highly controversial SB 1047, which the state legislature has sent to the governor for final approval. These bills seek to address some of the most pressing issues in artificial intelligence, including the existential risks posed by future AI systems, deepfake nudes created by AI image generators, and Hollywood studios creating AI clones of deceased actors. “California, home to many of the world's leading AI companies, is leveraging these transformative technologies to address pressing challenges and studying the risks they pose,” Newsom's office said in a press release. To…
Smartphone chip maker Qualcomm said it will lay off 226 employees in San Diego later this year, according to a California WARN notice released this week. The layoffs, first reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune, will take effect the week of Nov. 12. The layoffs affect employees at 16 facilities across San Diego, including the company's headquarters, where its cybersecurity division is located. It's unclear if the cybersecurity team is affected, and a Qualcomm spokesperson declined to respond to questions from TechCrunch. Qualcomm spokeswoman Christine Stiles said in a statement: “Our leading technology and product portfolio position us to execute…
California's latest law could land social media users who post or repost AI deepfakes that mislead voters about upcoming elections in legal trouble. Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested that AB 2839, which he signed into law Tuesday and took immediate effect, could be used to curb retweets that spread false content, including from Elon Musk. “Just signed a bill making this illegal in California,” Newsom said in a tweet, a reference to an AI deepfake Musk reposted earlier this year that appeared to show Kamala Harris calling herself an incompetent candidate and diversity hire (which she's not). “You can no…
California's government announced Thursday that residents can now store their driver's licenses and state-issued IDs in the Apple Wallet app, after the state only began issuing digital IDs through Google Wallet last month. Californians who have their ID registered with the Apple Wallet or Google Wallet app can use their mobile device to present their ID in person at certain TSA security checkpoints and businesses, and can also use the app to verify their age and identity in certain apps. Other states that already support digital driver's licenses and state IDs include Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland and Ohio. How to…
I recently adopted a kitten from my local animal shelter. The modern, well-staffed, three-story facility relies largely on donations to operate. It's just one of 1.8 million nonprofits in the U.S. that require ongoing donations from donors to maintain their services. But Gabe Cooper, founder and CEO of Virtuous, says many charities don't market to donors very effectively. “If you've ever given to a nonprofit, what you've probably gotten in return was direct mail that felt like institutional nonsense that had nothing to do with the purpose you gave to in the first place,” he says. “Donors have a right…
Apple Intelligence released public betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 on Thursday, taking another big step toward mainstream adoption. Starting Thursday, people who sign up for Apple's public beta program will be able to experience the generative AI-powered platform the company has been touting since June. At the moment, Apple Intelligence is only available in US English. The feature is also unavailable indefinitely in both the EU and the People's Republic of China due to regulatory issues. In the US, you can access the feature on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the…
For those unsatisfied with the Photos app “upgrade” in iOS 18, a new app is offering an alternative. Capitalizing on consumer backlash against Apple's change to a single-page, tab-free design for the default Photos app, photo app maker LateNiteSoft is introducing a new app called Photon Library that not only complements the company's other photo apps and photo editing tools, but also offers the familiar look of the old iOS Photos app that was there before iOS 17. The company was inspired to create an alternative photo app after seeing early iOS 18 adopters unhappy with Apple's new design. iPhone…
On Monday, Apple released its latest computer operating system update, called macOS 15 (Sequoia), and for some reason, the software update broke the functionality of multiple security tools made by CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft, and others, according to social media posts and messages posted to a Mac-focused Slack channel. At this time, it's unclear what the issue exactly is, but it appears to affect multiple products made by companies that provide software for macOS users and businesses, sparking frustration among those who work on macOS-specific security tools. “As a developer of macOS security tools, it's incredibly frustrating to repeatedly have to…
Chrome users are now more familiar with Passkey, a digital credential that lets you sign in to apps and websites without typing a password. Starting today, you can store your passkeys in Google Password Manager, Google's password manager built into Chrome on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and it will automatically sync your passkeys across all your signed-in devices. The password manager client for Android now also automatically syncs your passkeys, with iOS sync support coming soon. (Passkey sync is in beta on ChromeOS.) Sync your passkey via Google Password Manager. Image credit: Google For added protection, Google is adding a…