OpenAI loses another lead safety researcher, Lilian Weng

9 November 2024 at 01:42

Another one of OpenAI’s lead safety researchers, Lilian Weng, announced on Friday she is departing the startup. Weng served as VP of research and safety since August, and before that, was the head of the OpenAI’s safety systems team. In a post on X, Weng said that “after 7 years at OpenAI, I feel ready […]

Block scales back TIDAL investment and shutters TBD in favor of Bitcoin mining

TechCrunch

Maxwell Zeff

8 November 2024 at 04:41

Jack Dorsey’s Block is scaling back its investment in TIDAL, the music streaming platform once owned by Jay-Z, according to a shareholder letter on Thursday. Block is also shutting down TBD, a Bitcoin-focused arm of the business that previously set out to build a decentralized internet, dubbed “Web5.” These cuts will free up the company […]

Crypto CEO kidnapped in Toronto, released after paying $1M ransom

TechCrunch

Maxwell Zeff

8 November 2024 at 01:44

The CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency firm WonderFi was kidnapped and held for ransom on Wednesday, according to CBC. Dean Skurka was reportedly shoved into a vehicle in downtown Toronto during rush hour, only to be released uninjured after electronically sending $1 million (presumably CAD) to his captors. The WonderFi CEO is the latest crypto celebrity […]

The other election night winner: Perplexity

TechCrunch

Maxwell Zeff

6 November 2024 at 20:54

On Tuesday, two AI startups tried convincing the world their AI chatbots were good enough to be an accurate, real-time source of information during a high-stakes presidential election: xAI and Perplexity. Elon Musk’s Grok failed almost instantly, offering wrong answers about races’ outcomes before the polls had even closed. On the other hand, Perplexity offered […]

X reinstates SwapYourVote’s account after suspending it as spam

TechCrunch

Maxwell Zeff

5 November 2024 at 23:09

In the final days leading up to the U.S. presidential election, Elon Musk’s X suspended the official account of a progressive-donor-backed ballot initiative called SwapYourVote. The volunteer-run website tries to get third-party voters in swing states to cast their ballots for Kamala Harris, matching them with Democrats in solidly blue states who agree to vote […]

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