A California appeals court upheld most of Proposition 22, the 2020 ballot measure impacting gig workers. The decision — a victory for Uber and Lyft, among the companies spending upward of $200 million to support the measure — overturned a 2021 California Superior Court decision that found the proposition “unenforceable.” The Service Employees International Union, party to the lawsuit challenging Prop 22, is expected to appeal to the California Supreme Court, which may hear or reject the case at its discretion. Either way, that result can then be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Continue reading California Upholds Most of Prop 22 in Win for Gig Companies

Chat app Discord is expanding the use of artificial intelligence on its platform, including the addition of OpenAI technology to its chatbot and moderation features. Discord says it has 150 million users across 19 million interest groups, called “servers,” that dialogue using text, audio and video chat. Discord’s Midjourney text-to-image generation group is its largest community, with in excess of 13 million members. “Harnessed properly, AI can fundamentally enhance and empower genuine human connection,” Discord CEO Jason Citron said at a press event last week, heralding “the most exciting moments in technology emerging.” Continue reading Discord Integrates OpenAI Tech, Updates AI-Driven Features

A former TikTok employee has stepped forward to inform congressional investigators that the company’s proposal for protecting U.S. user data is “deeply flawed,” potentially leaving data for more than 100 million American citizens exposed to parsing by China-based entities, including parent company ByteDance and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rulers. The allegations come at a sensitive time in negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. over the objection of a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers, who are calling for a ban. Continue reading Former TikTok Worker Tells Congress Project Texas ‘Flawed’

Roku is upgrading to OS 12, which will offer improvements including to streaming live TV and sports, among other things. A concurrent mobile app update features a new home screen and new tools for account management and photo storage. The company also announced that new Roku-branded TVs will be sold exclusively through Best Buy and online. Unveiled at CES 2023, the Roku Select and Plus series TVs made by Roku are now shipping, with 11 models spanning two lineups that offer sizes ranging from 24- to 75-inches. Pricing starts at $150 and scales to $1,200. Continue reading Roku Updates OS, Adds News, Announces Best Buy TV Deal

A bipartisan Senate bill to mitigate risks from adversarial nations is making its way around the hill. The Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act directs the Commerce Department to implement procedures that “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit and mitigate” foreign technology threats, as well as requiring Commerce to make available to intelligence agencies declassified information on the nature of the risk. The legislation is the most recent salvo by Congress in its attempt to repel invasive technologies by countries whose values clash with ours, exemplified by TikTok and China. Continue reading Senate RESTRICT Act Cracks Down on Tik Tok, Foreign Tech

Reddit is introducing changes designed to make it easier for users to browse and navigate its communities. Currently testing is a concept that separates text and video into separate streams, dubbed “Read” and “Watch.” Users can toggle between the split-view feeds. In the current format, both “Read” and “Watch” will include recommendations as well as posts that users subscribe to. “In 2023, the product and design improvements you’ll see from us will simplify and streamline how people discover, join, and contribute (post, vote, comment) to communities and bring new ways to engage in conversations and content,” Reddit explains. Continue reading Reddit Tests Split-View Text and Video Feeds, Other Updates

OpenAI is now allowing third-party developers integrate ChatGPT into their apps, a solution the company says will be a more cost-effective alternative. The language model can be used for more than chat, says OpenAI, which also has a new speech-to-text model called Whisper. The company is also touting gpt-3.5-turbo, calling it the “best model for many non-chat use cases.” With a major investment from Microsoft, and the eyes of the industry on it, OpenAI seems to be feeling some pressure to add earnings to the success it has as a thought leader. Continue reading OpenAI Targets Affordable AI with ChatGPT and Whisper APIs

Meta Platforms announced today that it is introducing new creative tools and features for Facebook Reels, including support for videos of up to 90 seconds, extending the previous maximum of 60 seconds. The updates arrive a few months after the company unveiled support for Instagram Reels of the same duration (news that followed TikTok’s jump in video length from three to 10 minutes in an attempt to more directly take on Google’s YouTube). Among the new creative tools include the ability to create Reels with trending templates and a “Grooves” feature that automatically syncs video to the beat of a song. Continue reading Meta Adds New Creative Tools, Features for Facebook Reels

Ring founder Jamie Siminoff announced that he is stepping down as CEO of the company five years after it was picked up by Amazon. The inventor of the popular video doorbell says that invention is his true passion so he plans on creating new products for Ring as its chief inventor. Discord COO Liz Hamren has been named the new chief exec at Ring. “Liz has a long history in consumer devices and subscription services, building and launching some of the most innovative and beloved consumer products from Oculus to Xbox and more,” wrote Siminoff in a company blog post. Continue reading Ring Founder Announces His Shift from CEO to Chief Inventor

Bluesky has made it into the Apple App Store, where its reportedly generated more than 2,000 downloads in the past two weeks in an invitation-only beta mode, prompting speculation that a public launch is coming soon. Backed by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky’s focus is a transfer protocol called AT (Authenticated Transfer) designed to facilitate an open, decentralized social network, not unlike the ActivityPub protocol that underpins Mastodon. The mobile app has been developed to showcase the protocol’s features. Incubated at Twitter starting in 2019, Bluesky is now a public benefit company. Continue reading Jack Dorsey-Led Bluesky Social Platform in Beta at App Store

Despite cost-cutting, Meta Platforms is continuing to spend on R&D. Coming in 2025: smart glasses paired with a neural interface watch to control them, according to The Verge, which got to view a presentation the company delivered to thousands of its Reality Labs staffers this week. Among the disclosures: for 2027, full-fledged AR glasses, a format Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says will eventually be as ubiquitous as mobile phones. Coming later this year is a thinner, more powerful Quest 3 VR headset priced only slightly higher than the $400 Quest 2. Continue reading Meta Has a Four-Year Plan Including Full-Fledged AR Glasses

U.S. government agencies have 30 days to remove the TikTok app from federal devices and systems, the White House said Monday. A memo from Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young advised that in the interest of national security, the China-owned app must be purged from phones and Internet traffic firewalled from reaching it. The government ban was ordered by Congress in December, and follows similar moves in Canada, Taiwan, the EU, and many U.S. states. While the policy affects only a small portion of U.S. TikTok users, it fuels the controversy and emboldens those calling for an outright ban on the ByteDance-owned video app. Continue reading White House Gives Agencies 30 Days to Impose a TikTok Ban

What a difference a year makes. CES 2023 attracted more than 115,000 attendees from 140 countries to Las Vegas where 3,000 companies filled 2 million square feet of exhibit space. Among the major themes relevant to M&E this year were artificial intelligence, the multiverse, AR and immersive experiences, displays, mobility, IoT, and numerous policy and regulation topics. ETC@USC attended the convention with onsite and remote teams, once again blending its in-person tradition with a virtual presence. Our post-show report features extensive coverage and perspectives related to these key creative, business, and technology areas. Continue reading CES 2023 Report: Connection, Collaboration and Cooperation

Snapchat is launching My AI, a new chatbot running a customized version of the latest GPT technology from OpenAI. Available as an experimental feature to subscribers with a $3.99 per month Snapchat+ account, My AI rolls out starting this week, offering everything from birthday gift recommendations to weekend recreational plans, recipes and auto-generated poetry and prose. “As with all AI-powered chatbots, My AI is prone to hallucination and can be tricked into saying just about anything,” Snapchat cautions, explaining that “all conversations with My AI will be stored and may be reviewed to improve the product experience.” Continue reading Snapchat’s New AI Chatbot Is Powered by OpenAI GPT Tech

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has declared OpenAI’s ChatGPT as creating an “iPhone moment for artificial intelligence.” Speaking at the Haas School of Business at Berkeley, Huang suggested that ChatGPT is revolutionary for engaging the imagination of millions and opening their eyes to the possibilities the technology holds, much as Apple’s iPhone did for mobile computing, ushering in a new era. ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, and it is the diversity of use that Huang feels makes it special — with some putting it to work to create code, while others use it to write fiction or plan meals and much more. Continue reading Nvidia Chief Suggests ChatGPT Marks an AI Inflection Point