Author: TechBrunch

Microsoft has changed its policy to prohibit U.S. law enforcement from using generated AI for facial recognition through Azure OpenAI Service, the company's fully managed enterprise OpenAI technology wrapper. Language added Wednesday to the Azure OpenAI Service terms of service allows integration with Azure OpenAI Service for facial recognition “by or on behalf of” U.S. police departments, including integration with OpenAI's text and speech analysis models. It is prohibited to use it. Another new bullet point targets “any law enforcement agency worldwide” and uses mobile cameras, such as body cameras and dash cams, to “attempt to identify individuals in uncontrolled,…

Apple on Thursday reported that second-quarter iPhone sales fell 10% year over year, from $51.3 billion to $45.9 billion. Contributing to the economic slowdown was China's 8% decline in sales. Apple's slow adoption of AI compared to competitors like Google and Microsoft likely influenced consumers' decisions to hold off on purchasing new iPhones. Apple has promised some big announcements in this regard (likely at WWDC in June), but the iPhone 16 itself likely won't arrive until the fall. But despite the dismal hardware numbers, the company managed to beat Wall Street's expectations, buoyed by both rising services revenue and a…

Hubble Networks became the first company in history to establish a direct Bluetooth connection to a satellite. This is a significant technology validation for the company, with the potential to connect millions more devices anywhere in the world. The Seattle-based startup launched its first two satellites into orbit on SpaceX's Transporter 10 rideshare mission in March. The company has since confirmed that it is receiving signals from the onboard 3.5mm Bluetooth chip from over 600 kilometers away. For space-enabled Bluetooth devices, the sky really is the limit. The company says its technology can be used in markets such as logistics,…

Alliance DAO graduates are often a useful indicator of investor appetite and user adaptation trends in the cryptocurrency space. The latest batch of stage-agnostic crypto accelerators announced today comes at a moment of great excitement for a recovering market. Just two months ago, Bitcoin hit an all-time high. Although the value of the largest cryptocurrency has fallen since then, it continues to trade at much higher levels than during the market downturn that followed the FTX blowout in late 2022. Venture investors have responded by pouring money into Web3 startups, with roughly the total amount of funding in this space…

Microsoft has changed its policy to prohibit U.S. law enforcement from using AI generated through Azure OpenAI Service, the company's fully managed enterprise OpenAI technology wrapper. Language added Wednesday to the Azure OpenAI Service terms of service allows U.S. police departments to use integrations with Azure OpenAI Service “by or for” the police department, including integrations with OpenAI's text and speech analytics models. It is prohibited to do so. Another new bullet point targets “any law enforcement agency worldwide” and uses mobile cameras, such as body cameras and dash cams, to “attempt to identify individuals in uncontrolled, indoor settings” and…

A controversial push by European Union lawmakers to legally require messaging platforms to scan citizens' private communications for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) could result in millions of emails being sent a day. could lead to false positives, hundreds of security and privacy experts warned in an open letter Thursday. Concerns about the EU's proposals have grown since the European Commission proposed its CSAM scanning plan two years ago, with independent experts, members of the European Parliament and even the European Union's data protection supervisor sounding the alarm. is ringing. The EU proposal goes beyond simply requiring messaging platforms that…

Lacey Hunter thought all was well as she put her startup through the three-month Newchip accelerator. Then the organization filed for bankruptcy in May 2023. Things went from bad to worse later that year when she discovered warrants of her company — rights to buy an ownership stake — had become part of the proceedings, which ultimately forced her to shut down her company. In 2022, Hunter started TechAid, an AI smart-matching tool for humanitarian aid, and was just beginning the accelerator’s curriculum when Newchip filed for bankruptcy. “I made a few friends, but functionally, got nothing from Newchip,” Hunter…

AI startups face a different set of challenges than typical SaaS companies. That was the message from Rudina Seseri, founder and managing partner of Glasswing Ventures, at the TechCrunch Early Stage event in Boston last week. Seseri made it clear that just because you connect to some AI API doesn't make you an AI company. “AI-native doesn't mean his AI company slaps on a glossy wrapper that calls OpenAI or Anthropic and has a human-like user interface,” Ceceli said. “What I’m saying is that algorithms and data are truly at the core and part of the value creation that we…

A four-month prison sentence and a hefty fine are the government's compensation for CZ's bad behavior at the cryptocurrency exchange. Regardless of how you view the sentence, whether it's too much, too little, or just right, his sentencing is a big problem for web3. Potentially in a positive way. Efforts are underway in some parts of the cryptocurrency industry to promote blockchain technology, which has been well-documented for creating new gambling opportunities. Chris Dixon of a16z frames this in the term “computer vs casino”, which I think is reasonable. Those who favor computers over casinos probably want the cryptocurrency market…

rear Month Of test, Google today is rolling out labels to the Play Store that indicate official state and federal apps in more than 14 countries. This new label will help users weed out apps that steal money and data by pretending to be official apps. The company says these badges currently cover more than 2,000 apps in countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, France, UK, Japan, South Korea, US, Brazil, Indonesia, India, and Mexico. The company teased this feature last November when it announced new rules for app developers. Users will be able to see a new 'Government' badge on…