Axios

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in an interview with MSNBC and Recode airing on January 26, that the changes artificial intelligence will bring are "more profound than...electricity or fire," the Verge reports.

Why it matters: Google is a leader in AI development, per the Verge. Pichai said, as with fire, humanity needs to embrace AI for its benefits, but also understand there can be downsides: "History shows that countries that pull back don't do well with change. So you have to embrace the change."

• Go deeper: Microsoft wrote the book on AI and its role in society.

"GOP memo on surveillance ‘abuse’ targets dossier" — WashPost:

• "A document described by House Republicans as a top-secret memo about [FISA] surveillance 'abuse' contains talking points focused on discrediting Fusion GPS, the firm that hired a British ex-spy to compile intelligence reports about alleged connections between President Trump’s associates and the Kremlin."

Twitter said late Friday that it would email 677,775 users who followed one of the Russian troll accounts involved in the 2016 election interference campaign or engaged with their content during the election. The company said it has also identified more than 1,000 new accounts associated with the Internet Research Agency troll farm.

Why it matters: The company — along with Facebook and Google — have been under pressure in Washington to grapple with the role their platforms played in the Russian campaign.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Friday that the tech giant will begin to prioritize news that is "trustworthy, informative, and local" from "trusted sources" in its News Feed beginning next week. They will do this by using data from user surveys about which news sources they find trustworthy to inform their News Feed algorithm.

Why it matters: It's a major step Facebook is taking to weed out bad content and misinformation on its platform and to develop more meaningful interactions between members of its community.

Apple has hired at least 18 people, including two co-founders, from consulting firm Silicon Valley Data Science, according to TechCrunch.

Why it matters: It's not clear what Apple intends to do with the new hires, but according to the firm's website, SVDS specializes in providing data analytics to help companies address their most pressing business needs. In the case of Apple, which has recently been delving more into the enterprise space, that may include "building iOS productivity apps, business transformation services, legacy IT migrations, IoT-based services and more."

Wang-Li Moser, Facebook's executive tasked with "courting" China, resigned last month, according to the New York Times, underscoring the difficulties of getting the social network into China's market.

Why it matters, per Axios' David McCabe: Facebook has been trying to find a way to get to China — and its more than 1 billion consumers — for years.

SoftBank yesterday announced that its $9.3 billion investment in Uber has closed, except that's not entirely true.

Bottom line: Yes, checks have been sent and corporate governance changes implemented. But multiple sources tell Axios that the deal actually remains subject to a CFIUS review, and that SoftBank will not exercise its board voting rights until that process is closer to completion.

Amazon will announce an increase in the price of monthly Prime memberships from $10.99 to $12.99 on Friday, according to a report from Recode.

Why it matters: Amazon first introduced the monthly payment option two years ago as "a way to attract lower-income customers," but a spokesman said that the growing list of benefits has increased the value of the service.

Apple is the world's most admired company, as ranked by Fortune, for the 11th year in a row.