Google’s environmental report pointedly avoids AI’s actual energy cost
Google has issued its 2024 Environmental Report, a more than 80-page document describing all of the massive company’s efforts to apply tech to environmental issues and to mitigate its own contributions. But it totally dodges the question of how much energy is AI using —…
SpaceX wants to launch up to 120 times a year from Florida — and competitors aren’t happy about it
SpaceX’s ambitious plans to launch its Starship mega-rocket up to 44 times per year from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center are causing a stir among some of its competitors. Late last month, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance submitted comments calling on regulators to ensure minimal…
Newsletter writer covering Evolve Bank’s data breach says the bank sent him a cease and desist letter
The situation around a data breach that’s affected an ever-growing number of fintech companies has gotten even weirder. Evolve Bank & Trust announced last week that it was hacked and confirmed the stolen data has been posted to the dark web. Now Evolve has sent…
Twitter/X alternative Mastodon appeals to journalists with new ‘byline’ feature
Mastodon, the open source, decentralized alternative to X (formerly Twitter), is rolling out a new feature that’s meant to make the app more appealing for those who use it to keep up with news and information from writers and journalists. Starting Tuesday, the company is…
X weighs adding a downvote button to replies — but it doesn’t want to emulate Reddit
X, formerly Twitter, could be bringing back a downvote feature for posts — something it had previously tested back in 2021, ahead of Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social network. At the time of the original experiment, Twitter had tested both upvoting and downvoting buttons,…
Supreme Court sends Texas and Florida social media regulation laws back to lower courts
The Supreme Court on Monday vacated two judicial decisions concerning Republican-backed laws from Florida and Texas aimed at limiting social media companies’ ability to moderate content on their platforms. The Supreme Court is sending both cases back to the lower courts for further review, noting…
Gifting on-demand startup Afloat goes nationwide
Afloat, a gift delivery app that lets you shop from local stores and have gifts delivered to a loved one on the same day, is now available across the U.S. The startup announced on Monday that it is rolling out its service nationwide after previously only…
Drive brand impact with a Side Event at TechCrunch Disrupt
Exciting news for tech enthusiasts and innovators! TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 is just around the corner, and we have an incredible opportunity for you to elevate your brand’s visibility. How? By hosting your own Side Event at the most anticipated tech gathering of the year! Why…
Meta changes its label from ‘Made with AI’ to ‘AI info’ to indicate use of AI in photos
After Meta started tagging photos with a “Made with AI” label in May, photographers complained that the social networking company had been applying labels to real photos where they had used some basic editing tools. Because of the user feedback and general confusion around what…
Robinhood snaps up Pluto to add AI tools to its investing app
Investment app Robinhood is adding more AI features for investors with its acquisition of AI-powered research platform Pluto Capital, Inc. Announced on Monday, the company says that Pluto will allow Robinhood to add tools for quicker identification of trends and investment opportunities, help guide users…
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