In The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff presents what is probably the most comprehensive theory of how the tech giants have maximized their profits at the expense of our freedom. By collecting vast amounts of personal data through our online activity, these companies are able to predict and eventually control our behaviors, manipulating our choices in ways that serve their bottom line. This business model, known as “surveillance capitalism,” has been the subject o
Elon Musk has announced plans to make Twitter into an even more insufferable platform for users who refuse to pay for it—this time, by limiting who can have their voices heard.
Musk has announced that the following changes will be enacted on April 15:
- Only people who are subscribed to Twitter Blue will be eligible to appear as recommended tweets in users’ For You feeds.
- Only people who are subscribed to Twitter Blue will be able to vote in polls.
Microsoft first brought generative AI to bear in search, then in its productivity apps, and now it bringing the new technology to its security practice with Security Copilot.
The new offering follows Microsoft’s general strategy of bringing an AI natural language assistant to its main user interfaces. But security may be a dangerous place to deploy AI technology that “hallucinates.”
The Security Copilot is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4 large languag
Alibaba Group, a singular force in China’s tech industry, announced on Tuesday that it’s morphing into a holding company that will contain six separate business units, a breakup that’s radical enough by itself, but also rarely seen in China. The move should offer Alibaba some latitude—six necks for regulators to breathe down instead of one—after a rough past two years, while allowing each new unit to be laser-focused on optimizing operations, then raise mone
Even after stepping away from Big Tech for more than two decades, incoming Lyft CEO David Risher feels more than capable of taking over the helm at the rideshare company.
“[At Microsoft], I really got a sense of both how technology can work at scale but also really the energy that can come from competing,” Risher tells Fast Company. “Microsoft was very competitive, and so am I. And so does Lyft have to be. When you’re number two, you’ve got to comp
Apple will now offer a buy now, pay later (BNPL) option for customers shopping with a retailer that accepts Apple Pay. Under the new arrangement, which was announced Tuesday, iPhone and iPad users can take out short-term loans with Apple of between $50 and $1,000, which must be paid back in four installments over the course of six weeks.
In a press release, Apple hinted at a need for buy now, pay later options in these economically turbulent times. “There’s no one-size
William Shatner, Monica Lewinsky, and other prolific Twitter commentators—some household names, others little-known journalists— could soon be losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity on the social media platform.
They could get the marks back by paying up to $11 a month. But some longtime users, including 92-year-old Star Trek legend Shatner, have balked at buying the premium service championed by Twitter’s billionaire owner and c
Lyft cofounders Logan Green and John Zimmer are stepping back from day-to-day responsibilities as CEO and president, respectively, the company announced Monday.
Former Amazon executive David Risher, who has been on the company’s board since 2021, will take over Green’s spot as CEO starting in mid-April. Green and Zimmer will retain their seats on the board. Green will transition to chair of the board, while Zimmer will continue as vice chair.
Green and Zimmer
When I signed up for YouTube TV in 2017, its $35 monthly price tag felt too good to be true.
In 2019, when the cost went up to $50, that felt more realistic. For the features and channel lineup, it was a great deal compared to other providers.
When they raised it again to $65 in 2020, that stung a bit—but felt like it had kind of reached parity with all the other players.
Now, it’s going up again—albeit almost three years later, and “onlyȁ
When Elon Musk restored Donald Trump’s Twitter account, a lot of people assumed the former president and one-time superuser would pick up right where he left off. But the predawn, peculiarly capitalized tirades never came.
Months later, in January, Meta followed Twitter’s lead, restoring Trump’s account after a painstaking process that saw the decision seesaw between the company’s executives and its oversight board. But again, after Trump was reinstated,