TikTok said: “The Commission’s preliminary findings present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform, and we will take whatever steps are necessary to challenge these findings through every means available to us.” TikTok is owned by China’s ByteDance, although a recent deal with the Trump administration will spin off its US arm … Read more
There are bold-faced tech names all over the Epstein files. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, Larry Page, Reid Hoffman, Steven Sinofsky, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, on and on and on. These men (and they’re pretty much all men) had wildly varying degrees of interaction with Epstein, and the details matter … Read more
This article is an on-site version of our Swamp Notes newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every Monday and Friday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters The most puzzling aspect of Jeff Bezos’s evisceration of the Washington Post is why he won’t sell … Read more
Modern biotech has the tools to edit genes and design drugs, yet thousands of rare diseases remain untreated. According to executives from Insilico Medicine and GenEditBio, the missing ingredient for years has been finding enough smart people to continue the work. AI, they say, is becoming the force multiplier that lets scientists take on problems … Read more
Political action committees (PACs) representing the interests of the crypto industry have already secured millions of dollars in funding as the US heads toward its midterm elections. Super PACs are the uber-rich, no-limits, non-disclosure counterparts to crypto PACs. Last year, the industry spent at least $245 million in campaign contributions alone. The main super PAC … Read more
Chris Graythen/Getty Images Super Bowl LX is mere days away. For the Arabic-numeral-minded among the NFL fandom, which should be all but a handful of double-fisting Latin football superfans, that’s Super Bowl 60. The use of Roman numerals goes back to near the start of the Super … Read more
A new, unlikely food has reached internet hyperfixation status. Surely by now you’ve noticed that sardines are flooding your FYP? Packed with vitamin D, B12 and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as essential minerals including iodine, selenium, iron, calcium, and potassium, the oily fish is suddenly being feted as the secret to glowy skin. The … Read more
OpenAI announced last week that it will retire some older ChatGPT models by February 13. That includes GPT-4o, the model infamous for excessively flattering and affirming users. For thousands of users protesting the decision online, the retirement of 4o feels akin to losing a friend, romantic partner, or spiritual guide. “He wasn’t just a program. … Read more
Bitcoin Core developer Gloria Zhao has stepped down as a maintainer and revoked her Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) signing key, ending about six years as one of the project’s gatekeepers. On Thursday, Zhao submitted her last pull request to the Bitcoin GitHub repository, removing her key from the trusted keys and withdrawing herself as one … Read more
Spotify is changing how its APIs work in Developer Mode, its layer that lets developers test their third-party applications using the audio platform’s APIs. The changes include a mandatory premium account, fewer test users, and a limited number of API endpoints. The company debuted Developer Mode in 2021 to allow developers to test their applications … Read more