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:

• Billionaire fight club but for nerds

• OceanGate (without the memes)

• I can’t believe it’s not chicken (except that it is, in fact, chicken that’s made in a laboratory)

Total read time: 4 minutes and 22 seconds. Let's goooooo! 🚀

Nerd-jit-su

With all that happened this week, one of the top headlines was an exchange between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg that has sparked rumors of a potential cage match between the two tech billionaires (refereed Joe Rogan).

While the conversation started as a joke, their underlying feud stems from a satellite launch failure in 2016. Zuckerberg had leased part of the bandwidth on an Israeli satellite that was supposed to provide internet access to Africa via Facebook. However, the satellite was destroyed in a SpaceX rocket explosion, leading to Zuckerberg expressing his disappointment on Facebook. This did not sit well with Musk and SpaceX employees, who criticized Zuckerberg's response. The feud escalated further when Musk deleted the Facebook pages for SpaceX and Tesla in support of the "Delete Facebook" movement during the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The tensions between the two have continued to simmer as Musk became “Instigator-in-Chief” on Twitter, leading to competition between his social media presence and Facebook.

Read more here.

OceanGate’s Whistleblower

The disappearance of the OceanGate submarine and the tragic loss of life of those on board dominated the meme-verse this week as the internet has minimal sympathy for billionaires spending what most people make in 5 years on an adventure to the bottom of the sea.

However, memes aside, we’re starting to get a clearer picture of what went wrong, and it might have to do with a whistleblower being fired for voicing concerns.

A report this week came out that David Lochridge, the former director of marine operations at OceanGate, was fired after expressing concerns about the safety of the company's submersible before its maiden voyage to the Titanic. Lochridge presented a quality control report detailing numerous safety issues, including flaws in the carbon fiber hull that could lead to failures under pressure.

He recommended non-destructive testing of the hull, but the company insisted on relying on its acoustic monitoring system. Lochridge also raised concerns about the certification of the vessel and the use of hazardous materials.

After filing the report, Lochridge was fired and accused of sharing confidential information. The lawsuit was settled in 2018. The submersible was later tested, and its hull was repaired or rebuilt (it’s unclear which happened).

I’m still holding off judgment till the entire investigation is completed, but ignoring safety advice from engineers is never a good start.

Read more here. 

Apple’s VR Workout plans

According to a report, Apple had plans to include workout and fitness apps in its upcoming Vision Pro mixed reality headset, but they were not ready for the device's initial reveal in June. Former employees revealed that Apple explored partnerships with Nike, considered creating face cushions for intense workouts, and even contemplated allowing users to interact with content while on a stationary bike. Apple was also reportedly developing wellness apps like yoga and tai chi that would utilize the device's cameras for measurements.

The report suggests that Apple may still be refining these applications due to limitations such as the headset's external battery pack and fragile front-facing glass screen. Additionally, Apple was exploring a "co-presence" feature using body tracking technology. The Vision Pro headset is set to launch in early 2024.

The FCC is attempting to fix everything but Net Neutrality

2 big things this week in the FCC/ Service Provider cage match space:

1. The FCC has proposed an investigation into broadband providers and their use of data caps as multiple internet service providers, including Comcast Xfinity, Cox, and AT&T, continue to enforce data caps and charge additional fees for exceeding them. The FCC is requesting the public to share their experiences of how data caps have affected their access to broadband via a consumer complaint form. The aim is to understand the impact of data caps on individuals' broadband access as the demand for data has increased due to factors such as video calls, larger video game downloads, and 4K streaming. Read more here.

2. The FCC has also proposed a rule requiring cable and satellite TV providers to provide the total price of services up front on bills and in ads. The rule aims to increase transparency and prevent surprise fees that can significantly raise the cost of bills. This comes as part of the Biden administration's efforts to crack down on "junk fees" and lower consumer costs. The proposed rule would enable consumers to compare TV services better and know exactly what they are paying for. Final totals “after taxes and fees” can range from 30% to almost 90% increases for some consumers. Read more here.

Coming soon: Robot Housekeepers

London-based startup Prosper Robotics, founded by former OpenAI employee Shariq Hashme, is developing a household robot that it hopes to have ready for the market in the next couple of years. The robot, equipped with wheels and two arms, is designed to perform tasks such as loading and emptying the dishwasher, doing laundry, cleaning surfaces and floors, and preparing simple meals. It addresses safety concerns by using different sets of "gloves" for different jobs and keeping away from people while wielding knives, which is a nice little feature to have. Prosper Robotics aims to sell the robot for $5,000-$10,000, making it more affordable than high-tech factory robots.

Here’s a picture of the robot:

Click here for a video to see it in action.

Marvel backlash

Marvel's latest series, "Secret Invasion," faced backlash after revealing that the show's AI-generated intro sequence was created by VFX company Method Studios using artificial intelligence, not real-life graphic artists. The director admitted to not fully understanding how the AI tool worked but described feeding it ideas and words to generate the sequence. Method Studios clarified that AI was used to assist their creative teams, but artists expressed concerns about the potential impact on their careers. Read more here.

No-Canada

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced plans to end access to news content on its platforms in Canada in response to the country's Online News Act, which requires internet giants to pay news publishers when they post or link to the publisher’s content. Meta had previously threatened to block news sharing unless the legislation was amended. The move comes after the bill was approved by the Senate and is set to become law. Read more here.

Google has also expressed displeasure with the legislation and is working with the government to find a solution. It has also tested ways to block Canadian users from getting their news from any form of a Google link.

Lab-made meat is now legal

Upside Foods and Good Meat, two California-based companies that make real meat in a lab without the use of animals, have received approval from U.S. regulators to sell their cultivated chicken products within the country. The proteins, made from animal cells through a fermentation process, will initially be available in restaurants. Both companies have also obtained grants of inspection from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Before this approval, Singapore was the only country allowing sales of cultivated chicken. The global market for cultivated meat is expanding, with more companies seeking regulatory approval.

For those that want to know: Cultivated meat, also known as lab-grown or cell-cultured meat, is produced by collecting animal cells and growing them in a lab. The cells are cultured, multiplied, and differentiated into specific cell types like muscle or fat. The matured meat is then harvested for processing into meat products.

The end goal is for the meat to look and taste the same as traditionally slaughtered meat…but without all that animal murder.

In a related but yet unrelated “aside”, check out this video of chicken farmers challenging each other to wars. Warning: there is some fowl language (see what I did there?)

Rapid Fire

• DuckDuckGo’s browser now available to try

• Robinhood gets into credit cards with this acquisition 

• Reddit protests over API changes continue 

• FTC sues Amazon for “Tricking” users into Prime subscriptions

• OpenAI is planning to launch its app store

• Spotify releases a bunch of new features

• Oracle launches “sovereign cloud” for EU customers

• Google Pixel Tablet Review: People LOVE it

• AI-written songs are officially out of the running for Grammy nominations

• EU demands all smartphones have easy-to-access replaceable batteries by 2027

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