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Instagram is testing a new interface in India and South Korea that prioritizes the Reels page. The redesign places the Reels tab in a prominent position, allowing users to easily access short videos. The DM button has been moved to the navigation bar. The Following tab offers three feed options: 'All,' 'Friends,' and 'Latest.' Meta reports significant growth due to the popularity of short videos.
X Corp (formerly Twitter) is set to appeal an Indian court decision that supports the government's content takedown system, dubbed Sahyog. X Corp argues the system lacks legal basis and violates free speech by enabling arbitrary content removal orders without judicial review. The platform claims Sahyog bypasses the IT Act's safeguards and infringes on Indian citizens' rights. Despite other tech companies joining Sahyog, X has refused to comply and will challenge the ruling to protect free expression.
Venture capitalists, led by firms like General Catalyst, are investing heavily in AI to transform traditional services businesses. The strategy involves acquiring mature firms, implementing AI to automate tasks, and then using the improved cash flow to acquire more companies. General Catalyst has dedicated $1.5 billion to this "creation" strategy, targeting industries from legal services to IT management. However, early warning signs, such as the phenomenon of "workslop" (AI-generated work lacking substance), suggest that this transformation may be more complicated than VCs anticipate, potentially undermining the expected margin gains and slowing down scaling plans.
The autonomous vehicle industry is showing progress with key developments:
Ami Luttwak, chief technologist at Wiz, highlights the growing importance of cybersecurity as AI integrates into enterprise workflows. AI is expanding the attack surface with vulnerabilities stemming from rapid code development.
Attackers are leveraging AI for exploits, including using prompts to extract secrets and compromising AI tools for supply chain attacks.
Wiz has expanded its capabilities to address AI-related threats, launching Wiz Code and Wiz Defend to secure the software development lifecycle and offer runtime protection.
Luttwak emphasizes the need for startups to prioritize security from day one, including compliance and architecture that keeps customer data within their environment.
He sees innovation opportunities across all security domains, particularly in using AI for defense, urging a rethinking of security strategies.
Researchers at BetterUp Labs, along with Stanford Social Media Lab, have identified a new problem called 'workslop,' which refers to low-quality, AI-generated work that appears useful but lacks substance. This 'workslop' can be unhelpful, incomplete, or missing crucial context, ultimately shifting the workload to others for correction or interpretation. A survey revealed that 40% of U.S. employees have encountered 'workslop' in the past month. The researchers advise leaders to promote thoughtful AI usage with clear guidelines to prevent this issue.
South Korea is investing ₩530 billion (about $390 million) in five local companies to develop large language models tailored to the Korean language and culture. The goal is to reduce reliance on foreign AI technologies and strengthen national security. The selected companies include LG AI Research, SK Telecom, Naver Cloud, NC AI, and Upstage. Each company brings unique strengths, from industry-specific data to telecom infrastructure. They aim to compete with OpenAI and Google by focusing on efficiency, real-world applications, and specialized models.
Roboticist Rodney Brooks criticizes the massive investment in humanoid robot startups, particularly those attempting to mimic human dexterity through video training.
He argues that the complexity of human touch and the safety risks associated with large, energy-intensive humanoid robots make current approaches impractical.
Brooks predicts that future successful robots will deviate from the human form, utilizing wheels, multiple arms, and specialized sensors.
He believes current investments are funding expensive experiments unlikely to achieve mass production.
Fintech company Checkout.com has reached a $12 billion valuation through an employee stock buyback program. This valuation follows a period where it was valued at $40 billion in 2022 but later reduced to $11 billion. The current valuation is based on a 409A valuation by an independent third party. Checkout.com, a payment company popular among large e-commerce sites like eBay and Pinterest, is on track for full-year profitability in 2025 and processes about $1 billion in e-commerce payments daily. The company has also expanded its workforce to 2,000 employees across 19 global offices.