Author: TechBrunch
It feels like everything in society is geared towards optimization, whether it's standardized testing or artificial intelligence algorithms: We are taught to know what outcome we want to achieve and then find a path to get there. Kenneth Stanley, a former OpenAI researcher and co-founder of the new social media platform Maven, has argued for years that this mindset is counterproductive and harmful. Instead of prioritizing goals, he says, we should prioritize serendipity. “Sometimes we have to get off the path of purpose and down an interesting path to find a stepping stone that leads to what we care about,”…
To shine a much-deserved and long-overdue spotlight on women researchers and others focused on AI, TechCrunch has been publishing a series of interviews highlighting notable women who have contributed to the AI revolution. As the AI boom continues, we'll be publishing these stories throughout the year to shine a spotlight on important research that often goes unrecognized. Find more profiles here. Miriam Vogel is CEO of EqualAI, a nonprofit founded to reduce unconscious bias in AI and promote responsible AI governance. She also chairs the recently launched National AI Advisory Council, which is mandated by Congress to advise President Joe…
Google has come under fire for some of the inaccurate, ridiculous, and just plain weird answers it serves up through its AI summary for search. AI Overview, the AI-generated search results that Google began rolling out more broadly earlier this month, has had mixed results. Apparently, one user wanting to know how to make cheese stick to pizza was told to add glue (the advice was taken from an old Reddit post), while another was told to “add glue to the pizza.”One small rock a day(From The Onion) Don't be discouraged if you can't find the answer or reproduce it…
In the world of venture-backed startups, some issues are universal, while others depend heavily on the location of the startup and its backers. That's something we discussed this week as TechCrunch hosted its StrictlyVC series, a more intimate, investor-focused event, in London. We sat down with Saul Klein, prominent founder of seed-stage company LocalGlobe, and Raluca Ragab, managing director of growth-stage company Eurazeo, and had an in-depth discussion with them about how similar and different the US venture market is compared to Europe right now. To be sure, European startups and venture capitalists have had a lot to brag about…
Accurate weather forecasts are vital to industries like agriculture, and for preventing and mitigating damage from severe weather and natural disasters. But producing accurate forecasts is incredibly difficult, which is why WeatherXM's founders have spent the last 12 years working to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts. In 2012, Manolis Nikiforakis, Stratos Theodorou and Nikos Tsiligaridis launched an app that allowed community members to provide grassroots-level weather forecasts. They then worked as consultants for corporate clients in weather-dependent industries, such as Athens Airport. Now they are building WeatherXM, a network of community-monitored weather stations that collect and share local weather…
US-made consumer spyware app pcTattletale has been hacked and its internal data published on its own website, according to the hacker who claimed responsibility for the intrusion. Hackers posted a message on pcTattletale's website late Friday, claiming to have hacked the server on which pcTattletale operates. The spyware maker's website briefly linked to files from the company's servers that appeared to contain stolen victim data. TechCrunch is not linking to the site due to the ongoing risk to victims whose personal information has already been exposed by the spyware. pcTattletale founder Brian Fleming did not respond to an email seeking…
Last year, the world of fintech startups, the main players in 2021's venture capital heyday, began to unravel as venture capital funding tightened. Now, as we move into mid-2024, much of the sector is in turmoil, especially the banking-as-a-service sector, which ironically was what experts were talking about as a bright spot last year. The collapse of banking-as-a-service (BaaS) fintech company Synapse is perhaps the most dramatic thing happening right now. It's not the only bad news of course, but it shows how dicey things can get in the often interdependent world of fintech when one of the major players…
To shine a much-deserved and long-overdue spotlight on women researchers and others focused on AI, TechCrunch has been publishing a series of interviews highlighting notable women who have contributed to the AI revolution. As the AI boom continues, we'll be publishing these stories throughout the year, shining a spotlight on important research that often goes unrecognized. Find the other profiles here. Sarah Myers West is Managing Director of the AI Now Institute, a US research institute that explores the social impacts of AI and policy research addressing the concentration of power in the tech industry. She previously served as Senior…
Keeping up with an industry that changes as quickly as AI can be a challenge. Until AI can do it for you, here's a roundup of recent buzz in the world of machine learning, along with notable research and experiments that we wouldn't have covered on our own. By the way, TechCrunch will be launching an AI newsletter soon. Stay tuned. In the meantime, we're increasing the semi-regular cadence of our AI columns from twice a month to weekly, so keep an eye out for upcoming issues. In AI news this week, OpenAI announced it had inked a deal with…
Evan, a high school sophomore in Houston, was stuck on a calculus problem. He fired up Answer AI on his iPhone, took a photo of the problem from his advanced math textbook, and ran it through the Homework app. Within seconds, Answer AI generated the answer, along with instructions on how to solve the problem. A year ago, Evan would comb through lengthy YouTube videos to work through his homework assignments, and he also had private tutors who charged $60 an hour. Now, the rise of AI bots is threatening established tutoring franchises like Kumon, a 66-year-old Japanese tutoring giant…