Four Canadian school boards announced Thursday that they are suing TikTok, Meta and Snapchat for allegedly disrupting student learning and harming the education system.
Why it matters: The Ontario school boards join a growing number of U.S. school districts that are taking legal action against social media giants, as an expanding body of research shows how social media harms youth mental health.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a Manhattan federal judge on Thursday after being found guilty last year of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme at the now-bankrupt crypto exchange.
Universal Music Group and Spotify on Thursday expanded their relationship, with UMG artists to get expanded video and social features for promoting new releases.
Why it matters: This deal strengthens ties between UMG and Spotify, amid the record label's fight with TikTok.
Oracle announced Thursday that it's adding "more than 200" AI features to its NetSuite software, promising higher productivity in finance and accounting, supply chain and operations, sales and marketing, and customer service tasks.
Why it matters: Instead of charging customers extra for AI features, Oracle is treating these product improvements as table stakes — setting up a showdown with rivals who are charging a premium for similar services.
A preeminent European cybersecurity conference is heading to the United States in 2025, organizers first shared with Axios.
Why it matters: InCyber Forum USA promises to be a convening space for everyone in cybersecurity — including policymakers, business executives and security researchers.
Northwest Arkansas, Louisville and New Orleans are emerging as America's new innovation hotspots, as measured by the change in the number of utility patents granted over time per 100,000 residents.
Why it matters: While Silicon Valley still holds the title for most patents awarded overall, the rate of change over time offers a compelling look at newly ascending areas.
Utility patents may be granted for inventing or discovering a new and useful process, machine or composition of matter, among other things.
One of Silicon Valley's most successful founders and investors just got accused of insider trading.
Driving the news: The SEC on Tuesday alleged that Andy Bechtolsheim confidentially learned of Cisco's plans to buy Acacia Communications, shortly before the $4.5 billion deal was announced in 2019, and then traded Acacia options by accessing brokerage accounts of a relative and associate.
Educators are spliton whether artificial intelligence will help or hinder their careers, according to results of a study by the AI Education Project, first shared with Axios.
Why it matters: Education has been touted as one of the areas that could benefit the most from AI, yet the advent of ChatGPT and other tools has also added fresh challenges for teachers already stretched thin.
Grumbles about generative AI's shortcomings are coalescing into a "trough of disillusionment" after a year and a half of hype about ChatGPT and other bots.
Why it matters: AI is still changing the world — but improving and integrating the technology is raising harder and more complex questions than first envisioned, and no chatbot has the magic answers.