Following backlash over an increase in “AI slop” taking over users’ feeds, Pinterest on Thursday added new tools that let users limit how much AI-generated content they see on the platform. Users can now personalize their feeds to restrict generative AI imagery in select categories, and the company said it will make its existing GenAI…
Andrew Lissimore has been running the audio apparel site Headphones.com for nearly a decade now. While audiophiles have a high affinity toward their gear and want to try out new gadgets, Lissimore wasn’t satisfied with continuously spending money on platforms like Meta and Google to acquire new customers; he wanted to find a way to…
Francesco Vitali will be the first to admit that when his co-founder Chris Siametis first pitched him on Rent a Cyber Friend, he didn’t quite get the idea. “Who’s going to pay somebody to speak with somebody?” Vitali told TechCrunch. “But Chris was insistent. Chris is a millennial, and I’m Gen X, so it wasn’t…
Energy startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) said Thursday it’s working with Google’s DeepMind division to fine tune — and even improve — the operation of its forthcoming Sparc reactor using AI. The companies’ plan will simulate the plasma that will burn inside CFS’s reactor using specialized DeepMind software known as Torax. They also plan on…
Reddit announced Thursday that it is expanding its AI-powered search experience to five new languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. With this expansion, the feature is now available in countries like Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, and Italy. Users who have set one of these languages as their default, instead of English, can now…
OpenAI announced Thursday it paused the ability for users to generate videos resembling the late civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. using its AI video model, Sora. The company says it’s adding this safeguard at the request of Dr. King’s estate after some Sora users generated “disrespectful depictions” of his image. “While there are…
Meta is shutting down Messenger’s stand-alone desktop apps for Windows and Mac on December 15, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Thursday. Starting December 15, users will no longer be able to log into the apps and will be automatically redirected to the Facebook website to access Messenger. “If you’re using the Messenger desktop apps,…
Amazon’s surveillance camera maker Ring announced a partnership on Thursday with Flock, a maker of AI-powered surveillance cameras that share footage with law enforcement. Now agencies that use Flock can request that Ring doorbell users share footage to help with “evidence collection and investigative work.” Flock cameras work by scanning the license plates and other…
Electric aircraft startup Lilium may have ceased operations a year ago, but its insolvency filing wasn’t quite the end of the German-based company. There were multiple failed attempts to restructure the company, including a last-ditch effort by Mobile Uplift Corporation, a company set up by investors from Europe and North America, to acquire the operating…
Travel search engine Kayak will now allow users to research trips ahead of booking using AI. The company this week launched an “AI Mode” feature that lets users ask travel-related questions as well as compare and book flights, hotels, and cars, through an AI chatbot integrated on the company’s website. The feature is currently available…
