Amazon held its annual fall event to show off the company's latest smart speakers, displays and tablets. But the company's plans to bolster its voice assistant Alexa using generative AI was arguably the biggest news of the day.
Why it matters: The popularity of Alexa helps boost the company’s hardware strategy and e-commerce business. The Alexa changes will also help demonstrate just how well — or not — Amazon’s generative AI capabilities are keeping pace with Google and other rivals.
Donald Trump Jr.'s account was hacked Wednesday on X — the app formerly known as Twitter — a spokesperson for the Trump Organization confirmed to Axios.
Driving the news: The hacker reportedly posted multiple times on his X account, including a false claim that former President Trump had died.
As cities and states invest in digital assistants to make their websites easier to use, the city of Amarillo, Texas, is hoping to set a new standard with a "digital human" that speaks dozens of languages and can help longtime residents and newcomers alike navigate City Hall.
Why it matters: While corporations have been pouring money into AI-enabled features, governments are playing catch-up, using pandemic relief money for new technology that improves public service.
As newsrooms around the globe are beginning to harness AI, this week the New York Times posted a job listing for an editor to serve as "newsroom generative AI lead."
My thought bubble: Good luck to the winning applicant! Journalists, like many other professionals, are fearful and anxious about the new technology, and this is not going to be an easy job — but I'm generous, so here's a memo with some helpful advice.
Republican presidential primary contender Will Hurd is the first candidate to release an AI policy plan — framing coming AI development as a "Cold War with China" and urging licensing of frontier AI models.
Why it matters: Hurd's hawkish, pro-regulation of AI approach is notable given his deep AI credentials.
LimeWire — popular two decades ago as a music file-sharing service — is back, and this time it's aiming to be a community where people create and share AI images, video and audio.
To that end, it is announcing Wednesday the acquisition of BlueWillow, an AI generation model that has been used by 2.3 million people to create around 500 million images.
The more blockchain gets packaged up in Wall Street trimmings, the more folks may end up using the technology without even knowing it.
Driving the news: Goldfinch, a decentralized finance protocol, is making an effort to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission — as an investment adviser.
By the numbers: 54% of the 2,063 adults in a Mitre-Harris Poll survey in July said they were more concerned about the risks of AI than they were excited about the potential benefits.
Major video game publishers may want $100 million to $300 million to put their games on Game Pass on the day they also go on sale, according to leaked internal estimates by Microsoft.
Why it matters: The economics around Game Pass, Microsoft's popular all-you-can-play gaming service with 25 million subscribers, have been lacking in hard figures. But an unprecedented leak of the company's Xbox plans reveals some of the math involved.
Microsoft's board of directors was "fully supportive" of a potential purchase of Nintendo if the opportunity arose, according to a newly leaked email from the company's head of gaming.
Why it matters: The merger would be the largest in gaming history, but Nintendo would have to be a willing participant.
Microsoft has been planning a refresh to its current Xbox line for potential release next year and has mapped out an ambitious, multi-device approach to the new generation that will follow in 2028, newly leaked documents show.
Why it matters: The internal documents offer a stunningly clear, if potentially dated, view of what Microsoft has planned for its gaming division in the near future.
As Washington and Silicon Valley rush to mitigate AI's security risks, a new crop of entrepreneurs and investors are clamoring to monetize the latest emerging security category.
Why it matters: AI security startups are just the latest cohort trying to capitalize on the craze around generative AI and large-language models.
Users can now ask Google's Bard chatbot to double-check its answers and can connect it to their Google apps and services, in the first update to the product since July.
Why it matters: Google is racing to integrate AI into its main products, hoping to extend their dominance, after being caught out earlier this year when Microsoft integrated ChatGPT into its Bing search engine and added an AI "copilot" to Microsoft 365.
A new report shared first with Axios finds that the same forces pushing book bans around the country are also pushing for more digital parental control legislation.
Why it matters: While the two movements appear to be separate issues, the report suggests they're connected through Republican lawmakers' efforts to prevent children from seeing content they've deemed objectionable.
Popular outdoor navigation company onX has added frequently updated, high-resolution satellite imagery to its apps to help adventurers, hunters, off-roaders and so on better plan their trips.
Why it matters: It's the latest example of a space-based technology originally developed for military use — in this case, highly accurate and current satellite imagery — turning into a consumer product, like GPS before it.
Susie and Paul Sensmeier got their first drone delivery on a whim four years ago, but since then, the retired couple from Virginia has made it part of their daily routine.
Why it matters: Drone delivery, still in its infancy, might represent the future of home delivery for elderly people and people with mobility issues.
Elon Musk said Monday he's moving to require all users to pay a monthly fee to use his social media site X, previously called Twitter.
Why it matters: The comments, which he made during a livestreamed event on X with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, come as the company struggles to regain trust with advertisers.
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