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 everything in between.

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

• It's like Drake but fake, the terrifying (and entertaining) reality of voice AI

• Cyber Security buyers...what makes them tick?

• Apple wants an open relationship

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

AI could replace your favorite musician

The technology surrounding AI voice replacement blew up this week when an artist by the name of "Ghostwriter" released a song that featuring the voices of Drake and The Weeknd even though neither artist had anything to do with the song. Fans couldn't tell the difference with the song amassing almost 1 million plays on Spotify. The same thing happened to Eminem a few weeks ago. 

The question of whether or not this is copywrite infringement isn't an issue for this newsletter (there are lawyer newsletters that can dissect that issue). However, from a technology perspective, this stuff is incredibly cool and ridiculously terrifying. 

Speech synthesis isn't really new technology but it has undergone tremendous advancement in the last 2 years with the popularization of generative AI and learning models. The voice AI programs literally learn how to make themselves sound as authentic as possible, getting better with each attempt. A few issues back we wrote about a journalist who used voice AI to bypass voice authentication to gain access to his bank account. Back in Mark, a video of Joe Rogan and Dr. Andrew Huberman, a frequent guest on The Joe Rogan Experience, were heard discussing a "libido-boosting" caffeine drink. The video made it appear as though both Rogan and Huberman were unequivocally endorsing the product. In reality, their voices were cloned using AI.

While the public is consumed with ChatGPT and text based AI, voice and video generating AI is considered by security experts as the real AI threat on the horizon. An example of this was the the panic created by a fake audio recording of US President Joe Biden discussing Silicon Valley Bank last month. In the recording, Biden was apparently heard warning of an imminent "collapse," and directing his administration to "use the full force of the media to calm the public." Fact-checkers like PolitiFact were quick to debunk the clip, but it's likely millions had heard it by that point which contributed to the large run on the bank.

The reality is that the genie is out of the bottle so all businesses can do is adapt and start to rethink their security protocols. 

Apple's updates

Apple is reportedly exploring the possibility of allowing sideloading of apps on iPhones. Currently, iPhone users can only download apps from the App Store, but this move could allow them to download apps from alternative sources (sideloading). A report from Bloomberg suggests that Apple will lay the groundwork for such functionality with iOS 17 and could make an announcement regarding the same at the Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Last year, the Digital Market Act was introduced in Europe, which will come into effect in 2024 and will force big tech companies to allow alternative app stores on their platforms. Apple hasn’t commented on the report, and it is unclear if sideloading will be allowed with iOS 17 or if the groundwork will enable this possibility at a later stage.

Speaking of Apple, a new report announced that the Apple Watch’s software is set to receive its biggest update since it was released. Though details on watchOS 10’s updated design were scarce, Apple teases their plans to introduce a revamped interface at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June, along with its mixed-reality headset, new Mac laptops and iOS 17. The Bloomberg report says that the updated watchOS 10 will "bring bigger enhancements" than the releases planned for iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV, and the report states that the rest of the hardware changes will be minimal, making the software update the Watch’s biggest news and main focus.

Love is buffering

Netflix's livestream of the "Love is Blind" reunion episode encountered serious issues, resulting in a 75-minute delay and eventual cancellation. Host Vanessa Lachey apologized when the show finally aired, while Netflix tweeted its apologies and pledged to release the episode as soon as possible. Over 10,000 users reported errors accessing Netflix when the reunion was supposed to air.

Although Netflix had previously streamed Chris Rock's comedy special "Selective Outrage" to great success, "Love is Blind" was only the streaming giant's second-ever livestream event. Netflix's acquisition of the streaming rights for the Screen Actor Guild Awards beginning next year may signal a commitment to future livestreaming events. However, the technical issues that marred the "Love is Blind" reunion may dampen viewers' enthusiasm for Netflix's live entertainment offerings.

Best part of all of this was Blockbuster taking a shot. 

Microsoft drops Twitter like it's Windows ME

Microsoft will drop Twitter from its advertising platform on April 25, 2023, nearly two months after Twitter's announcement to begin charging a minimum of $42,000 per month to users of its API. This includes enterprises and research institutions, which prompted users to receive emails about the new pricing details. As a result, Microsoft's Smart Campaigns with Multi-platform and Digital Marketing Center will no longer support Twitter.

The move follows Microsoft's declining to elaborate further about its decision, though it has cash on hand and a market cap of $2.15tn. Users will no longer be able to access their Twitter account, create, schedule or manage tweets via Microsoft's free social media management service. Companies that use Microsoft Advertising will still be able to manage and create content for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn through the platform. Twitter owner Elon Musk has threatened legal action and criticized Microsoft's licensing arrangement with OpenAI.

More Meta layoffs 

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is expected to lay off another round of workers, with the cuts possibly affecting up to 4,000 jobs, according to Vox. The move is part of a broader restructuring, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the “year of efficiency” and began with the announcement of 11,000 layoffs in November 2021. Zuckerberg announced 10,000 more job cuts in March, citing “low priority projects” as the primary targets. These layoffs follow the layoffs last month in the Reality Labs division. Some speculate that teams within the Facebook app and Reality Labs, dedicated to augmented and virtual reality experiences, might be affected. Meanwhile, those working on developing games might be spared, as Meta works to market its metaverse gamble to traditional gamers.

No more airport kiosks?

Alaska Airlines has announced it will remove kiosks from its airport lobbies, as part of its $2.5bn plan to improve the airport experience. Passengers will be encouraged to check in using their mobile phones, with iPad-based bag tag stations introduced instead. These single-function stations will enable travelers to scan their boarding passes and print their bag tags, before using automatic bag drops. The biometric data of travelers will be used for the first time to authenticate passengers at these stations. Charu Jain, Alaska’s senior VP of merchandising and innovation, said the airline was always looking to remove pain points, and the lobby experience was one of those. The airline wants to get every flier through the lobby in five minutes or less.

Snapchat's AI obsession

Snapchat's AI chatbot, My AI, is now available to all users globally, after previously only being available to paid subscribers. My AI, powered by OpenAI's GPT technology, was launched in February and has received almost 2 million messages per day from users. The feature allows users to chat with an AI chatbot, which will suggest things like birthday gift ideas or dinner recipes. The company has now added new features, such as the ability to add My AI to group chats and receive recommendations for places on Snap Map and Lenses. In the future, My AI will be able to respond with generative Snaps, keeping the visual conversation going. However, the chatbot has faced criticism after making inappropriate suggestions to users, despite Snap claiming users had been trying to trick the bot. Safety controls for the generative aspects are not yet clear.

The new way to sell to CISO

The economic downturn and subsequent budget cuts have caused a shift in the priorities and mindsets of chief information security officers (CISOs), and as security practitioners report to corporate boards, they need to understand how to do so and be more business-focused than technical-focused. Marketing expert Dani Woolf has spent her career in B2B tech marketing, and her latest venture is a research agency, Audience 1st, which helps vendors better understand their target.

The main challenge is for cybersecurity vendors to adapt to the buyers' new mindset, which Woolf thinks will remain even after the market recovers. Buyers want to hear how well vendors are integrating with their existing tech stack, rather than pitching one tool to replace all. Woolf learned that the disconnect between cybersecurity vendors and buyers has been made more salient by budget concerns, and since CISOs are under pressure by nature, they have little patience for bad pitches. This "wake-up call" is what led Woolf to launch Audience 1st, which offers services such as 1:1 customer interviews, CISO validation panels, and a training academy.

Woolf also co-hosts a podcast, "WTF Did I Just Read? Tech Sales & Marketing Edition," where they discuss the bad practices that vendors should avoid, such as "ambulance chasing." Woolf suggested that marketers should experiment and ask for feedback, and the cybersecurity community is tight-knit and supportive. To generate demand, content marketing is a great way, but it's not easy to get right when it comes to technical audiences. The common mistake companies make is writing blog posts that are centered around their announcements rather than what a developer might care about.

Rapid Fire 

• Android 14 sneak peak

• Apple launching a new mental health app that turns your phone into a journal/therapist

• Study links your hair turning grey to stem cells that are stuck together

• Online is offline with extreme latency: how you can run most applications without the internet

• Google's CEO warns us to brace ourselves for AI impact (and there's nothing we can do about it)

• A new social video app called Nocam has a radical idea to make social networking more authentic by turning OFF your camera

• Samsung launching its own "Samsung News" app

• Marvel launching an app where you can look like your favorite superhero

• Tesla cuts price on the Model 3

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