New software that warns air traffic controllers if an inbound aircraft may be lining up to land on a taxiway rather than a runway has been installed at 43 major airports nationwide, the Federal Aviation Administration tells Axios.
Why it matters: Landing on a taxiway — essentially roads for aircraft that connect runways with terminals — can be a major safety hazard.
The Chinese government has the ability to control the software on millions of devices by virtue of its relationship with TikTok's owner, ByteDance, FBI director Chris Wray told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.
Why it matters: TikTok has become a political flashpoint in Congress, with lawmakers introducing legislation that could restrict or ban the app.
Elon Musk apologized on Monday after publicly ridiculing a Twitter employee on the social media platform and speaking dismissively about the worker's disability.
The big picture: Musk's attacks on the employee, Icelandic entrepreneur Haraldur Thorleifsson, who has muscular dystrophy, began after Thorleifsson asked for clarity about his job status at the company.
TikTok's access controls on U.S. user data are much weaker than the company says, a former ByteDance employee told the office of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), per a letter from Hawley to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen shared exclusively with Axios.
Driving the news: The whistleblower's allegations, which have not been independently seen or verified by Axios, suggest that TikTok overstates its separation from its China-based owner ByteDance, relies on proprietary Chinese software that could have backdoors, and uses tools that allow employees to easily toggle between U.S. and Chinese user data.
People are already using chatbots as therapists, as the emergence of generative AI has raised new questions around tech's role in mental health.
Why it matters: Virtually no one is suggesting you replace a compassionate human professional with a probability-driven neural network — but plenty of users seeking info or help say they appreciate the approachability (and low cost) of an onscreen text box.
Just when we thought we'd figured out how to master a long road trip in an electric vehicle (EV), Mother Nature imparted one final lesson.
Why it matters: We almost ruined our 2,500-mile electric adventure from Michigan to Florida and back because we were overconfident in our car's driving range.
We were excited to learn during our recent electric vehicle (EV) road trip that Tesla was opening a portion of its charging network to non-Tesla vehicles.
It seemed like a great opportunity to use Tesla's installed "magic dock" to plug in the Kia EV6 we drove from Michigan to Florida and back again.
The Federal Trade Commission has asked Twitter for information about recent layoffs as well as details on the firm's sharing of internal documents with journalists. Meanwhile, the EU wants Twitter to hire more content moderators, according to the Financial Times.
Why it matters: Regulators around the globe have warned Twitter that, however dire its need to cut costs, it must still meet legal obligations.
