James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Spotify AB today announced it’s launching a paid podcast subscription service, something that may look more enticing to anyone thinking about using Apple Inc.’s similar product. In a blog post today, Spotify said the product will be available first to select podcasts …
Lyft is selling its self-driving car unit for $550 million to Toyota’s Woven Planet
Lyft Inc. announced today that it’s selling its self-driving car unit Level 5 for $550 million to Woven Planet, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Co. Some $200 million will be paid upfront, while the rest of the cash will be paid over …
Apple plays down AirTags stalking concerns
Apple Inc. said today that there’s no need to worry about stalking in a response to fears regarding its new AirTags. This week Apple introduced a slew of new products, including the said AirTags. At first sight, they appear to be a …
Senate antitrust hearing questions Google and Apple app store dominance
Apple Inc. and Google LLC today were grilled in front of a Senate judiciary antitrust subcommittee regarding anticompetitive behavior. The hearing, titled “Antitrust Applied: Examining Competition in App Stores,” included testimony from lawyers from Spotify Technology SA and Match Group, the parent …
Amazon experiments with its own futuristic … hair salon?
Amazon.com Inc. is boldly going where no one expected the company to go, opening its first-ever hair salon today. The home of the salon reportedly will be London, England, in the neighborhood of Spitalfields, an area renowned for fashionable restaurants, clothes stores …
Hello, Clubhouse: Facebook to release new audio products this summer
Facebook Inc. announced today a slew of audio-only products that it says will be rolled out in the coming months. First the company will release an audio app very similar to Clubhouse, joining a host of tech companies doing the same. Called …
Advocacy groups tell Mark Zuckerberg Instagram for children is a very bad idea
Advocacy groups today signed off on a letter telling Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg that he should not go ahead with plans to develop an Instagram app for children under the age of 13. Thirty-five consumer advocacy groups, as well as …
Twitter to study its algorithms for unintentional harms
Twitter Inc. announced today that it will study its machine learning algorithms in an effort to ascertain whether they cause unintentional harm. The company said that over the next few months as part of its “Responsible Machine Learning Initiative,” it will try …
Whistleblower says Facebook allows global politicians to manipulate the platform
A new investigation accuses Facebook Inc. of allowing world leaders and politicians to use the platform to manipulate the public, despite being told about it by staff. In a report by The Guardian today, the newspaper said it had seen internal documents …
Intel’s new hate speech-purging AI Bleep comes under criticism
Last month Intel Corp. announced that it was working on a solution to cut down on toxic speech that gamers hear when playing multiplayer games online, but already that solution is being called “absurd.” The technology, named “Bleep,” uses artificial intelligence to …