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

Happy Memorial Day weekend and 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.

So grab a hot dog, wrap yourself in the ol’ red white and blue, and sit back while we 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:

• Meta has problems in the real universe, not just in the metaverse

• Netflix stops playing nice

• The US government finally realizes that social media can harm kids

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

Meta has a bad week

3 big Meta news announcements this week:

1. Meta was hit this week with a formal suspension order requiring it to stop exporting EU user data to the U.S. for processing. Today, the European Data Protection Board announced that Meta has been fined €1.2 billion (close to $1.3 billion), which the Board confirmed is the largest fine ever issued under the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Meta announced the layoffs of 10,000 more employees, this week. That’s 11,000 in November, 10,000 in March and another 10,000 this week as the Zucker-crew continue the terribly named “Year of Efficiency” to flatten the organization and reduce overhead. Zuckerberg told his staff that he wanted them to be “scrappy”.

3. Last, but not least, Meta was forced to sell Giphy to Shutterstock, this week, in order to comply with the UK and EU’s anti-trust laws. Giphy, for those that don’t know, is a search engine for animated images (aka gifs) that Meta acquired for $400 million about 3 years ago. Giphy was sold to Shutterstock for a reported $53 million, so a major loss for Meta.

Tell Grandma to get her own Netflix

After a delayed launch, Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing is now beginning to roll out to U.S. subscribers and other global markets. The streamer had originally planned to introduce “paid sharing” to U.S. subscribers in the first quarter of this year but pushed the start date back to the summer after seeing cancellations in markets where it had already launched the changes.

Musk’s Mind control gets FDA approval

Elon Musk's brain implant startup, Neuralink, has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin human testing (previous tests were on rats, monkeys, and pigs). In December 2022, Neuralink announced that clinical trials were still six months away, but now they seem ready to proceed. Specific details about the trials and the recruitment of participants are yet to be disclosed. Initially, the trials will likely focus on safety rather than effectiveness, with emphasis on testing the brain implants and the surgical robot used for implantation. Musk and co have to be relieved to finally get approval, considering their past issues with regulators and allegations of misconduct.

For those that don’t know: Neuralink (started by Elon Musk) has the end goal of connecting our brains with computers. They are developing a special technology called a brain-computer interface, or BCI for short. Imagine if you could control things with your mind or even make your brain work better. That's what Neuralink is working on. They are creating tiny devices that can be implanted in our brains to send and receive signals. These devices can help people who have trouble with their bodies or even allow us to do things like communicate with computers just by thinking. While impressive, still ultimately terrifying.

Neuralink isn’t the only BCI game in town. Just this week, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology leveraged BCI technology to help a paralyzed man walk again. To put it plainly, they hooked up 2 sensors, one in his brain and one below the damage to his spine to essentially bypass the damaged nerves and send signals to his legs to allow them to stand. Read more here.

Tiktok Getting AI?

TikTok is testing an AI chatbot named Tako that can recommend videos based on users' questions. If widely released, it could change how we search and navigate within the app. Tako sits beside videos and opens a chat screen when tapped. It can answer various queries and provide related videos and suggestions. The AI model powering Tako is unknown. TikTok calls it a limited experiment and is testing it in the Philippines. The company recently filed a trademark application for "chatbot software" called Tako, suggesting a potential broader release in the future. Other social media platforms have also embraced chatbot technology.

iOS 17 sounds fun

According to a report by Bloomberg this week, Apple is developing a new feature for locked iPhones in iOS 17 that transforms them into smart home displays. When positioned horizontally, the interface will show information like calendar appointments, weather updates, and notifications in a style similar to smart home devices from Google and Amazon. The goal is to make iPhones more useful when not actively used, leveraging dark backgrounds and bright text for easy reading. Apple also plans to bring this feature to the iPad, introduce changes to the Wallet app, enhance location services, and update SharePlay and AirPlay. The official announcement is expected at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

News flash: Social media is bad for kids.

US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has issued an advisory highlighting the harmful effects of social media on children and young people's mental health. The advisory notes that while social media offers benefits like connection and creativity, there are significant indicators that it can harm young individuals. Exposure to content promoting disordered eating, social comparisons, violence, and bullying can have negative impacts. Additionally, social media may interfere with sleep, physical activity, and real-world interactions.

The advisory calls for action from policymakers, researchers, and tech companies to address these issues and prioritize youth mental health. It also encourages young users to adopt healthier online practices, such as blocking distressing content and reporting bullying. While social media can provide positive connections and support for young people, the complex nature of their relationship with it necessitates efforts to make it work better for their well-being.

Uber pushing robo-cars

Waymo and Uber, former rivals in the autonomous vehicle space, have announced a partnership that will make Waymo's robotaxis available for rides and food delivery through the Uber app in Phoenix. A specific number of Waymo vehicles will be accessible to Uber users, although the exact number has not been disclosed. This multi-year partnership aims to combine Waymo's autonomous driving technology with the extensive ridesharing and delivery networks of Uber. While robotaxi services have faced challenges during the pandemic, this collaboration seeks to leverage Waymo's expertise in autonomous driving and Uber's scale to offer convenient and efficient transportation options to customers in Phoenix.

So, if there’s no driver in the car…who gets the surge rates?

Rapid Fire

• Amazon launches 11” Fire Max 11 Tablet for $299

• Google launches early sign-up for their new AI search engine

• Paralyzed man gets the ability to walk again due thanks to the BCI sensors

• Comcast announces $20 streaming service ‘NOW TV’ with Peacock included

• UK based company “Acurable” gets FDA approval to bring it’s tiny sleep apnea device to the US market

• Peloton Wants You to Exercise With Its App – Even if You Don't Own Its Bike

• Remember the game 'Twister'? Now there's a version that uses AR

• Built-in ChatGPT-driven Copilot will transform Windows 11 starting in June

• Most remote workers say they'd take a pay cut to continue being allowed to work from home, a new poll shows

• AI draws attention at G7 Summit, with leaders calling for guidelines

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