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

Welcome to this week's Sunday Download! Does anyone else feel like having a holiday on a Tuesday messed with their brain? Hopefully, this week’s issue helps you recalibrate!

For those new here….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.

The week's biggest story was Meta’s launch of their new social media platform, “Threads,”…and we’ll cover that in detail. However, plenty else happened in the tech world, so strap in!

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. 🤝

Highlights of this week's issue include:

• Threads, Threads, Threads

• Telecom companies are quietly poisoning America

• Meta keeps the AI wars alive

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

All the Threads news in one shot

Meta launched their “Twitter killer,” Threads, this week. For those that aren’t keeping up with the latest in social media craziness...here are the highlights:

• Threads is at almost 100 million users in the first week of the launch.

• As for feature sets…there are none. No DM capabilities, no hash-tagging… none of the stuff Twitter already has, but Zuck says they’re coming soon.

• A person’s Threads account is linked to their Instagram, so try and delete threads and you’ll disintegrate your entire Instagram presence.

• Twitter is threatening to sue. Read the lawsuit here.

• Threads is available in 100 countries but not in the EU, as Meta hasn’t figured out how to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act that protects EU citizens’ user data.

• Threads is like the uptight, goody-good cousin of Twitter with some of the most strict community guidelines across social media. That makes it great for brands looking to flourish, but it’s terrible for anyone looking for entertainment.

   

Is Threads making a dent in Twitter’s user traffic? Check out this graphic shared by Cloudflare’s CEO that shows Twitter’s traffic taking a dive:

No porn for you

Pornhub is blocking access for users in Mississippi, Virginia, and Utah due to recently passed laws requiring age verification for adult websites. Similar legislation has already been implemented in Louisiana, resulting in an 80% drop in traffic for Pornhub. The website argues that such age verification measures compromise user safety and privacy, as hackers can breach government databases containing personal information.

These online age verification tools require users to share personal information like their DL number and have repeatedly been proven to be easy targets for hackers. Instead, Pornhub advocates for on-device age verification tools (like parental controls) as a solution. The decision to block access in certain states comes amidst corporate changes, including the sale of parent company MindGeek and the departure of its CEO and COO. Read more here.

Poisoned by the phone company

A Wall Street Journal investigation has revealed that major telecom companies in the US, including AT&T and Verizon, have left behind a vast network of cables covered in toxic lead, which is now spreading across the country. Samples taken from nearly 330 underwater cable sites tested by independent laboratories showed the presence of lead along the banks of rivers such as the Mississippi, Detroit, Willamette, and Passaic. All of these sites contribute to the drinking water of their respective areas.

The soil at popular locations like a fishing spot in Louisiana, a playground in New York, and a school in New Jersey has also been contaminated. These lead-covered cables, remnants of the old Bell System's regional telephone network, have not been addressed by the companies or environmental regulators. Lead levels at many locations exceeded the safety recommendations set by the EPA. Telecom companies have long been aware of the risks associated with the cables but have not taken significant action to mitigate health risks or monitor them.

Coincidentally, a study by JAMA Pediatrics showed that almost half of children under the age of 6 tested positive for lead in their system. How much lead should children have? The CDC says that no amount of lead is safe for children. While the direct cause is not stated in the JAMA study, the correlation is hard to ignore.

Read the full article here to get a sense of the outrage and to hear about how large parts of this country could turn into Flint, MI. 

Scan my body, baby

Health tech startup Neko Health, co-founded by Spotify co-creator Daniel Ek, has raised €60 million ($65 million) in its first external funding round. Neko Health's goal of offering preventative healthcare through full-body scans backed by AI software has made them the new full-body-scan kid on the block.

The scans, which cost €250 ($275) and take approximately 10 minutes, aim to help doctors detect various conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. For comparison, the current leaders in the full body scan market are Ezra and Prenuvo (both of whom also use AI), and cost anywhere from $1,000 to $4,500.

The Stockholm-based company plans to expand its operations with more European clinics and invest in research and development, clinical studies, and recruitment. The funding comes as healthcare costs rise and preventive healthcare becomes a priority.

This is what the Ikea-inspired scanner looks like:

Company to watch: Humane

Humane, a company founded by former Apple employees, has announced its first gadget, the Humane Ai Pin, set to launch later this year. Little is known about the device, as Humane remains secretive about its features and appearance. In a previous demo, the device was used as a voice assistant, made phone calls, and projected a small green screen. The name suggests that the device may be worn or pinned to clothing.

Humane emphasizes using AI sensors for contextual and ambient interactions and focuses their technology on an AI-driven post-smartphone world. Details are expected to be revealed gradually, and the device's unique form factor and interaction approach have piqued interest.

This is the image they used to tease the product. Creepy? Read more here.

BookTok?

ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, has launched its own publishing house called 8th Note Press. The company aims to leverage the marketing power of “BookTok” (the phenomenon that curates the algorithm to bring you content made by authors and publishers) by soliciting authors to publish their books through its platform.

The publishing house, 8th Note Press, is described as an ecosystem where users can find, buy, read, review, and discuss books with plans to focus on digital publishing with limited print-on-demand runs and will sell books through a digital store on TikTok. Read more here.

GPT-4 is here

OpenAI this week announced the general availability of GPT-4, its latest text-generating model, through its paid API. GPT-4 can generate text (including code) and accept image and text inputs which is an improvement over its predecessor GPT-3.5, which only accepted text and performs at a “human level” on various professional and academic benchmarks. GPT-4 still has flaws, but the user experience is undeniably heightened. Read more here.

Google is still making AI moves

Google has been testing its AI tool, Med-PaLM 2, at research hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, since April. Med-PaLM 2 is an updated variant of PaLM 2, the language model powering Google's Bard. It is designed to answer medical questions and provide healthcare conversations, particularly in regions with limited access to doctors.

While Med-PaLM 2 performed well in metrics such as reasoning and consensus-supported answers, it still exhibited accuracy issues (which is a common theme among most AI programs). However, the early stages of the pilot show strong signs that this type of technology will significantly benefit healthcare patients.

Robot Maestro

The android robot EveR 6 debuted as a conductor, leading South Korea's national orchestra at the National Theater of Korea. The two-armed robot with a humanoid face controlled the tempo of the live performance. While it impressed with its detailed movements, some audience members noted that the robot could not listen and provide the necessary collective engagement with the orchestra. Overall, not bad for a robot.

Rapid Fire

• Spotify drops Apple store payment, so you make sure you change your credit card info or lose your music

• The best early Prime Day deals

• How to stop “porch pirates” from stealing your Prime Day deals

• Elon Musk whines about more things while he continues to ruin Twitter

• AirPods may soon have the ability to check your hearing and temperature 

• Will Apple launch a foldable iPhone to compete with the Pixel Fold?

• China launches a high-speed train that breaks records at 281 miles per hour

• Google Calendar now lets users specify where they’re working from

• World’s first tooth is regrown in Japan

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