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Fortnite maker Epic Games has hit a stumbling block in its plans to bring the company’s alternative app store, the Epic Games Store, to the EU. As now permitted by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Epic Games announced earlier this year it planned to bring both the digital storefront and its flagship game, Fortnite. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Code references found in the X iOS app indicate that the company could be considering adding downvotes for replies only to improve how they're ranked. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mastodon, the open source, decentralized alternative to X (formerly Twitter), is today rolling out a new feature meant to make the app more appealing to those who use it to keep up with news and information from writers and journalists Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google totally dodges the question of how much energy is AI is using — perhaps because the answer is "way more than we'd care to say." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Figma CEO Dylan Field says the company will temporarily disable its “Make Design” AI feature that was said to be ripping off the designs of Apple’s own Weather app. The problem was first spotted by Andy Allen, the founder of NotBoring Software, which makes a suite of apps that includes a popular, skinnable Weather app Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic is launching a program to fund the development of new types of benchmarks capable of evaluating the performance and impact of AI models, including generative models like its own Claude. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RoboGrocery combines computer vision with a soft robotic gripper to bag a wide range of different items. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These days, when you hear about students and generative AI, chances are that you’re getting a taste of the debate over the adoption of tools like ChatGPT. Are they a help? (Yay! Great for research! Fast!) Or are they a harm? (Boo! Misinfo! Cheating!). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the conversation, Zuckerberg said there needs to be a lot of different AIs that get created to reflect people's different interests. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A travel hack that went viral on TikTok teaches users how to save money on hotels and Airbnbs by booking directly with the properties themselves. Now, a new startup, Directo, will help travelers find those same deals with the help of a Chrome extension that points you to the property’s website, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon is facing another competition lawsuit in the UK. The latest claim, which was filed Thursday, is seeking more than £2.7BN in damages — or around $3.4BN at current exchange rates — before the UK’s Competition Appeals Tribunal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices