CATEGORIES

ELON MUSK: TWEETS ABOUT TAKING TESLA PRIVATE WEREN'T FRAUD

Elon Musk returned to federal court Monday in San Francisco, testifying that he believed he had locked up financial backing to take Tesla private during 2018 meetings with representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — although no specific funding amount or price was discussed.

MICROSOFT INVESTS BILLIONS IN CHATGPT-MAKER OPENAI

Microsoft says it is making a “multiyear, multibillion dollar investment” in the artificial intelligence startup OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT and other tools that can write readable text and generate new images.

SPOTIFY LATEST TECH NAME TO CUT JOBS.AXES 6% OF WORKFORCE

Music streaming service Spotify said it’s cutting 6% of its global workforce, or about 600 jobs, becoming yet another tech company forced to rethink its pandemic-era expansion as the economic outlook weakens.

AMAZON LAUNCHES A SUBSCRIPTION PRESCRIPTION DRUG SERVICE

Amazon is adding a prescription drug discount program to its growing healthcare business.

LEARNING TO LIE: AI TOOLS ADEPT AT CREATING DISINFORMATION

Artificial intelligence is writing fiction, making images inspired by Van Gogh and fighting wildfires. Now it’s competing in another endeavor once limited to humans — creating propaganda and disinformation.

AI TOOLS CAN CREATE NEW IMAGES, BUT WHO IS THE REAL ARTIST?

Countless artists have taken inspiration from “The Starry Night” since Vincent Van Gogh painted the swirling scene in 1889.

CRYPTO FIRMS ACTED LIKE BANKS, THEN COLLAPSED LIKE DOMINOES

Over the past few years, a number of companies have attempted to act as the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank, promising lucrative returns to customers who deposited their bitcoin or other digital assets.

JUSTICE DEPT.SUES GOOGLE OVER DIGITAL ADVERTISING DOMINANCE

The Justice Department and eight states filed an antitrust suit against Google, seeking to shatter its alleged monopoly on the entire ecosystem of online advertising as a hurtful burden to advertisers, consumers and even the U.S. government.

GOOGLE AXES 12,000 JOBS AS LAYOFFS SPREAD ACROSS TECH SECTOR

Google is laying off 12,000 workers, or about 6% of its workforce, becoming the latest tech company to trim staff as the economic boom that the industry rode during the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs.

Netflix

Digital entertainment: The ever-evolving streaming wars

SENATORS GRILL TICKETMASTER AFTER TAYLOR SWIFT FIASCO

Senators grilled Ticketmaster this week, questioning whether the company’s dominance in the ticketing industry led to its spectacular breakdown last year during a sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets.

HOW (AND WHERE) TO WATCH OSCAR-NOMINATED FILMS ONLINE

Replete with spellbinding multiverses, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” topped the 95th Academy Awards nominations with 11 nods.

AMAZONSMILE'S END IS ALARMING, SAY NONPROFITS THAT BENEFITED

Amazon’s surprise decision to shut down its AmazonSmile donation program has left thousands of its nonprofit beneficiaries disappointed and concerned about finding ways to replace the funding.

TESLA WILL INVEST S3.6B IN NEVADA TRUCK FACTORY EXPANSION

Tesla said it intends to invest $3.6 billion to expand manufacturing capabilities in Nevada and is confident growing software-related profits, reflected in record net income reported Wednesday for the fourth quarter of last year, will keep margins higher than any other automaker.

TESLA SAYS ITS 40 PROFIT ROSE 59%, EXPECTS STRONG DEMAND

Tesla on Wednesday posted record net income in the fourth quarter of last year, and the company predicted that additional software-related profits will keep its margins higher than any other automaker.

GOLDMAN SACHS SIGNALS PARTIAL RETREAT FROM CONSUMER BANKING

Goldman Sachs no longer wants to be the bank for everyone.  The storied investment bank spent eight years attempting to expand its business beyond corporations and the wealthy.

THE PROS AND CONS OF SOFTWARE RUNNING YOUR CAR

Software was a big theme for automakers attending CES 2023 in January. BMW, Stellantis, Volkswagen and a joint venture between Honda and Sony showed off upcoming or concept vehicles that are significantly reliant on computers and code.

MEMBER OF CONGRESS READS AI-GENERATED SPEECH ON HOUSE FLOOR

When U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss decided to deliver a speech on a bill that would create a U.S.Israel artificial intelligence center, he opted to let the Al do the talking.

NEW ICE CORE ANALYSIS SHOWS SHARP GREENLAND WARMING SPIKE

A sharp spike in Greenland temperatures since 1995 showed the giant northern island 2.7 degrees (1.5 degrees Celsius) hotter than its 20th-century average, the warmest in more than 1,000 years, according to new ice core data.

IRELAND FINES WHATSAPP 5.5M EUROS FOR EU PRIVACY BREACH

Ireland fined WhatsApp on Thursday for breaching strict European Union privacy rules by forcing users to consent to allow their personal data to be used to provide “service improvements and security.”

FEWER AMERICANS FILE FOR JOBLESS BENEFITS LAST WEEK

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits in the U.S. reached a four-month low last week, a sign that employers are holding on to their workers despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow the economy and tamp down inflation.

AS US NEARS DEBT LIMIT, POLITICAL FRICTIONS RAISING ALARMS

The countdown toward a possible U.S. government default is in the offing — with frictions between President Joe Biden and House Republicans raising alarms about whether the U.S. can sidestep a potential economic crisis.

RENNER SAYS HE'S HOME FROM HOSPITAL AFTER SNOW PLOW ACCIDENT

Actor Jeremy Renner says he is out of the hospital after being treated for serious injuries from a snow plow accident.

UNITED AIRLINES CEO WARNS TRAVELERS MORE DISRUPTIONS AHEAD

The CEO of United Airlines said that other airlines won’t be able to handle all the flights they plan to operate this year, leading to more disruptions for travelers.

EU OUTLINES PLAN FOR CLEAN TECH FUTURE BOOSTED BY SUBSIDIES

The European Union pushed forward with a major clean tech industrial plan which not only should keep the continent in the vanguard of plotting a greener future but also guarantee its economic survival as it faces challenges from China and the United States.

NEVADA LITHIUM MINE GETS CONDITIONAL $700M GOVERNMENT LOAN

The U.S. Department of Energy announced a conditional loan of $700 million to an Australian mining company to pursue a lithium project still facing environmental hurdles in Nevada as the U.S. seeks domestic supplies for a key component in electric vehicle batteries.

TOYOTA PUSHES ZERO-EMISSION GOALS BY CONVERTING OLD MODELS

To accelerate the global move toward sustainable vehicles, Toyota is suggesting simply replacing the inner workings of vehicles already on the roads with cleaner technology like fuel cells and electric motors.

CHINA'S NETEASE CRITICIZES BLIZZARD OFFER AS UNEQUAL, UNFAIR

China games company NetEase Inc. has rejected a proposal from World of Warcraft creator Activision Blizzard to temporarily extend its partnership while the U.S. company seeks a new partner, calling the proposed terms “unequal and unfair” in an escalating public spat.

EU INAUGURATES FIRST MAINLAND SATELLITE LAUNCH PORT

The European Union wants to bolster its capacity to launch small satellites into space with a new launchpad in Arctic Sweden.

RETAIL GROUP: HOLIDAY SALES UP SLOWER-THAN-EXPECTED 5.3%

Sales for the holiday 2022 season slowed more than expected from its blistering pace a year ago as higher borrowing costs and higher inflation made shoppers pull back, according to the nation’s largest retail trade group.