A week's worth of tech news that takes you 5 minutes to read

Welcome to this week's Sunday Download! What we do is simple: we break down a week's worth of tech news in 5 minutes or less so you can stay informed and up to date. 

This week we'll cover Big Tech, mobility, AI and Machine learning, fintech, futuristic tech, and dinosaur meat.

In return, we ask that you share it with a friend or colleague instead of keeping the Smartology goodness all to yourself. While greed may be good on Wall Street, sharing is caring here at Smartology. 🤝

Lots of stuff to go through, so let's not waste any (more) time. Highlights of this week's issue include:

• Don't answer the phone! (Assuming your phone is from 3CX)

• Artificial Intelligence meets Capitalistic Opportunism (AIs get ads)

• Do plants actually cry when we cut them? The vegan nightmare scenario.

Total read time: 4 minutes and 32 seconds. Let's goooooo! 🚀

That was quick!

Microsoft confirmed they're "exploring" adding ads to its ChatGPT-enabled Bing search. The ads will be identified as sponsored results and include enhanced features like expanded hover content and richer captions (see screenshot below). 

The main question people are asking is how can Microsoft effectively advertise through generative AI considering how different it is from traditional sponsored search engines? Will consumers have options to disengage with the ads if they choose? How can advertisers ensure their content is pushed out to the right audiences? Aren't we, as a tech community, better and more creative than this? 

Probably not, but capitalism is gonna do what capitalism is gonna do. 

Twitter gets even bluer

Starting April 15th, the "For You" section of Twitter (currently showing algorithmically driven suggested content) will only feature people with the blue "verified" checkmark. Additionally, Twitter is getting rid of "legacy" verified checkmarks which means (you got it) that the only way to be a "verified" tweeter is to pay the $8 a month. 

Will this "pay to play" experience ruin Twitter? A lot of people think so, but only time will tell. Elon Musk is either a genius or is hell-bent on ruining the platform. 

Data privacy gets a big win

Meta will allow Facebook and Instagram users to opt out of tracking in Europe, according to The WSJ and confirmed by Meta. Users will be able to opt for a version of the service where they’re only targeted with ads based on broader categories, like age and location. The changes follow multiple multimillion-dollar fines in the EU.

The EU has one of the strongest approaches to protecting the data privacy of end users, a concept lost on American politicians, at least at the federal level. However, the state politicians seem to be getting it. Iowa (yes, Iowa) became the 6th state this week to pass comprehensive data privacy protection laws joining Utah, Connecticut, Virginia, California, and Colorado. 

4G on the moon?

Nokia plans to use a SpaceX rocket to bring a 4G mobile network to the moon later this year. The network consists of a Nova-C lunar lander and a solar-powered rover serving as the network's base. To prove that Earth-based networks can support the data-transfer demands of future space missions, an LTE link will be set up between the lunar lander and rover. The network will be tested on Nasa's Artemis 1 mission, which aims to land humans on the moon for the first time since 1972.

Slowing down the AI train

A group of prominent IT figures, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, have published an open letter urging artificial intelligence research facilities to cease the creation of superintelligent machines. Musk is one of the founders of OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT. 

The Future of Life Institute, which released the letter, requested that research facilities halt the development of artificial intelligence models more sophisticated than GPT-4. The letter emphasizes the potentially catastrophic effects of AI and argues that unaccountable industry elites (their words, not mine) should not determine its destiny. The institution demanded that all AI research facilities immediately cease training AI systems for six months.

This letter comes at the same time as results published by Goldman Sachs, where studies show AI has the potential to automate 25% of current labor throughout the United States and the European Union. Over ten years, the technology can potentially increase yearly gross domestic output by 7%. An estimated 300 million full-time workers will be affected. This will cause significant disruption to the job market. Around 7% of the labor force in the United States performs tasks that may be automated entirely.

This is what it sounds like when plants cry

When plants are thirsty or under stress, they make noises, apparently. Although humans have a hard time hearing ultrasonic noises, some animals may be able to pick them up. The sounds get louder in plants that have just been pruned or that are thirsty. Earlier studies have shown that plants can respond to animal noises. If you want to get slightly creeped out, the article includes audio recordings of plant noises.

Don't pick up that call!

3CX, the creator of a software-based phone system utilized by over 600,000 businesses worldwide, including BMW, McDonald's, and the UK's National Health Service, has been hacked....and it's pretty bad. 

The short version is that a trojanized version of their app got onto the marketplace and was downloaded by most users as an "update." Apple even notarized the virus, which implies that the corporation scanned it for malware and found none. According to the company's community forum, 3CX knew its app was malicious but took zero action for seven days. (mainly because they thought the users on the forum were idiots).

This virus can collect data and save credentials from Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Firefox user accounts. According to a very understated 3CX statement, the business is aware of a "security vulnerability" affecting its Windows and MacBook applications. 

Who's responsible? CrowdStrike believes the supply-chain assault is the work of North Korean threat actor Labyrinth Chollima, a subset of the renowned Lazarus Group.

As a remedy, 3CX advises clients to remove and reinstall the app or utilize its PWA client instead. 

Rapid Fire 

• Apple launches "pay later" through Apple Pay

• Indian tech company valuations are getting slashed in this economy

• Lyft; New CEO, new changes

• Speaking of new CEOs...Groupon has one too

• Virgin Orbit slashing 85% of company

• This anime game will take you on a date and also file your taxes

• In a world of integrations, Zoom is adding new features to compete with Slack, Calendly, Google, and Microsoft

• Arc's new mobile browser is here

• Parloa (contact center automation company) gets $20million in funding

• You can now eat dinosaur meat (no, not a joke)

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