Technology

Reddit says it’s not like other social platforms in the case against social media bans in Australia

Reddit says it’s not like other social platforms in the case against social media bans in Australia

✨ Check out this awesome post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Government & Policy,Social,age verification,australia social media ban,Reddit βœ… Main takeaway: In a newsworthy move on the Not Like Other Girls subreddit, Reddit, one of the world's largest social platforms, says it's not like other actual social media sites, as the company seeks to overturn an Australian law banning children under 16 from using social media. In a lawsuit filed in the High Court of Australia, Reddit said the law, which came into effect on December 10, limits free political speech by preventing children from expressing their opinions online, and…
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Interest in Spur’s bird-watching AI software is growing

Interest in Spur’s bird-watching AI software is growing

✨ Read this awesome post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: AI,Climate,Startups,Computer Vision,startup fundraising,Spoor,SET Ventures πŸ’‘ Here’s what you’ll learn: Spoor launched in 2021 with the goal of using computer vision to help reduce the impact of wind turbines on local bird populations. The startup has now proven the success of its technology and is seeing demand from wind farms and beyond. Spoor, a Norway-based company, has built software that uses computer vision to track and identify bird groups and their migration patterns. The software can detect birds within a 2.5 km (about 1.5 mile) radius and can work with any…
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Eclipse Energy’s microbes can turn dormant oil wells into hydrogen factories

Eclipse Energy’s microbes can turn dormant oil wells into hydrogen factories

✨ Explore this trending post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Climate,Startups,biotech,Hydrogen,Exclusive,microbes,oil and gas,oil and gas infrastructure πŸ“Œ Key idea: There are as many as 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells scattered across the United States alone, and while many of them still contain oil or natural gas, their owners have decided that continuing to pump is not worth the hassle. β€œThey tried everything,” Eclipse Energy CEO Prabh Sekhon told TechCrunch. β€œThere's still a ton of oil left.” Eclipse has no way of recovering this oil, but it does have a way of compressing some of the energy it embodies…
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TIME magazine named β€œArtificial Intelligence Engineers” Person of the Year

TIME magazine named β€œArtificial Intelligence Engineers” Person of the Year

πŸ’₯ Check out this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: AI,dario amodei,Demis Hassabis,Elon Musk,Fei-Fei Li,In Brief,Jensen Huang,Lisa Su,Mark Zuckerberg,person of the year,sam altman,time πŸ’‘ Key idea: Every December, TIME magazine selects its Person of the Yearβ€”the person who has had the greatest impact on the news and the world, for good or ill. Last year, TIME magazine selected President Donald Trump for the second time. The year before that, it was Taylor Swift who many claimed saved the economy from recession with her Eras Tour. In 1938, the magazine chose Adolf Hitler. This year, TIME chose to give its…
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On Me raises $6 million to revolutionize the gift card industry

On Me raises $6 million to revolutionize the gift card industry

πŸš€ Check out this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Startups,Commerce,Fundraising,NFX,digital gift cards,On ME πŸ“Œ Main takeaway: On Me, a digital gift card startup founded by former Google employees, aims to redefine the gift card industry with a mobile-first gifting platform that allows users to purchase digital gift cards categorized by interests instead of being limited to specific retailers. The company said Thursday it has raised $6 million in a seed funding round, which it will use to expand gift categories to include things like horseback riding lessons, wine tastings and theme park trips. Image credits:on On Me touts…
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Runway launches its first global model, and adds original audio to its latest video model

Runway launches its first global model, and adds original audio to its latest video model

πŸ”₯ Read this must-read post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: AI,runway,video generation,world models,runway gwm-1,runway gen 4.5 πŸ“Œ Here’s what you’ll learn: The race to launch global models has begun as AI-powered image and video generation company Runway joins a growing number of startups and major technology companies by launching its first model. The model, called GWM-1, works by making frame-by-frame predictions, creating a simulation with an understanding of physics and how the world actually behaves over time, the company said. A world model is an artificial intelligence system that learns an internal simulation of how the world works so that…
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Rivian’s AI assistant will be coming to its electric vehicles in early 2026

Rivian’s AI assistant will be coming to its electric vehicles in early 2026

πŸ’₯ Explore this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: TC,Transportation,AI,AI assistant,EVs,Rivian,RJ Scaringe πŸ“Œ Main takeaway: Rivian's two-year effort to build its own AI Assistant will launch in early 2026. When it does, the AI ​​Assistant will be rolled out to every electric vehicle in its lineup, not just the next-generation versions of its R1T truck and R1S SUV. Drivers and passengers will be able to use the AI ​​assistant to operate climate controls and handle other tasks found in the car's infotainment system. It will also connect vehicle systems to third-party applications using an agent framework designed by Rivian…
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Google has debuted ‘Disco’, a Gemini-powered tool for creating web applications from browser tabs

Google has debuted ‘Disco’, a Gemini-powered tool for creating web applications from browser tabs

πŸ’₯ Explore this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: AI,Apps,ai apps,Chrome,Google,web apps πŸ’‘ Here’s what you’ll learn: Google on Thursday introduced a new AI experience for the web browser: its Gemini-powered Disco product, which helps turn open tabs into personalized apps. With Disco, you can create what Google calls β€œGenTabs,” a tool that proactively suggests interactive web apps that can help you complete tasks related to what you're browsing and allows you to build your own apps via written prompts. For example, if you are studying a particular topic, GenTabs may suggest creating an information visualization web application, which…
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The star Stanford reporter discusses Silicon Valley’s “money-soaked” startup culture

The star Stanford reporter discusses Silicon Valley’s “money-soaked” startup culture

✨ Check out this awesome post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Venture βœ… Here’s what you’ll learn: Theo Baker is truly a strange person. While journalism as a major has seen enrollment shrink for many years, even going out of business at some colleges entirely, Baker, a senior at Stanford, has doubled down on traditional investigative reporting, and it has paid off spectacularly. Baker first made headlines as an undergraduate when his reporting for the Stanford Daily led to the resignation of Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne. After allegations of research misconduct were exposed over two decades, Becker β€” just…
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The scientist has launched his own β€œsuper app”, which includes crypto payment and encrypted chat features

The scientist has launched his own β€œsuper app”, which includes crypto payment and encrypted chat features

πŸš€ Explore this trending post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Apps,artificial intelligence,cryptocurrency,sam altman,World,Worldcoin βœ… Here’s what you’ll learn: World, the biometric identity verification project co-founded by Sam Altman, released the latest version of its app today, debuting several new features, including encrypted chat integration and an expanded Venmo-like ability to send and request cryptocurrencies. β€œThe World” was created by startup Tools for Humanity in 2019, and originally launched its app in 2023. The company says it hopes to create β€œhuman proof” digital tools that can help separate humans from robots, in a world ravaged by digital fakery generated by artificial…
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