Latest from Devin Coldewey
The decision to go monochrome was probably a smart one, considering the candy-colored alternatives that seem to want to dazzle and comfort you.
The problem is not the media, but the message.
OpenAI offers a peek behind the curtain of its AI’s secret instructions
Ever wonder why conversational AI like ChatGPT says “Sorry, I can’t do that” or some other polite refusal? OpenAI is offering a limited look at the reasoning behind its own…
Google DeepMind debuts huge AlphaFold update and free proteomics-as-a-service web app
Google DeepMind has taken the wraps off a new version of AlphaFold, their transformative machine learning model that predicts the shape and behavior of proteins. AlphaFold 3 is not only…
Crypto? AI? Internet co-creator Robert Kahn already did it … decades ago
Robert Kahn has been a consistent presence on the Internet since its creation — obviously, since he was its co-creator. But like many tech pioneers his resumé is longer than…
I finally received the rabbit r1 (the company insists on this lowercase styling) I’ve been writing about since its debut at CES in January. And I was able to tell within about 30…
This Week in AI: Generative AI and the problem of compensating creators
Keeping up with an industry as fast-moving as AI is a tall order. So until an AI can do it for you, here’s a handy roundup of recent stories in the…
Allozymes puts its accelerated enzymatics to work on a data and AI play, raising $15M
Allozymes uses a method in which millions of enzymes can be tested per day, rather than just a few hundred.
Shinkei’s humane, quality-preserving fish-harvesting tech could upend the seafood industry
Shinkei raised $6 million to help it go from pilot to production, with a goal of 10 machines in actual use by the end of the year.
Creators of Sora-powered short explain AI-generated video’s strengths and limitations
OpenAI’s video generation tool Sora took the AI community by surprise in February with fluid, realistic video that seems miles ahead of competitors. But the carefully stage-managed debut left out…
Meta AI tested: Doesn’t quite justify its own existence, but free is free
Meta’s new large language model, Llama 3, powers the imaginatively named “Meta AI,” a newish chatbot that the social media and advertising company has installed in as many of its…
This restores, with some changes and protections, the rules passed back in 2015 allowing the FCC to enforce basic rules of connectivity and fairness in broadband.
Radical thinks the time has come for solar-powered, high-altitude autonomous aircraft
Though many eyes are on space as orbit develops into a thriving business ecosystem, Radical is keeping things a little closer to the ground — but not too close. Its…
Keeping up with an industry as fast-moving as AI is a tall order. So until an AI can do it for you, here’s a handy roundup of recent stories in the world…
How many AI models is too many? It depends on how you look at it, but 10 a week is probably a bit much. That’s roughly how many we’ve seen…
Space startups are licking their lips after NASA converts $11B Mars mission into a free-for-all
Considering how heavily both primes and space startups have been investing in interplanetary capability, this announcement arguably amounts to a historic windfall.
Betaworks is embracing the AI trend not with yet another LLM, but instead a clutch of agent-type models automating everyday tasks that nevertheless aren’t so simple to define. The investor’s…
Astranis unveils Omega ‘MicroGEO’ satellites for beaming dedicated broadband down from high orbit
Astranis has taken the wraps off a new generation of communications satellites that will serve broadband to customers on Earth from geostationary orbit, but faster and smaller than any comsat…
Space diversity initiative builds steam with new leadership and K-12 focused National Space Day
A growing effort to attract more women and people of color into the space industry has shared some of its first results and a new occasion to rally around: National…
Net neutrality’s long trip toward (then away from, then toward again, then away, and now once more toward) federal protections against broadband meddling may be entering its final chapter, either…
‘A Brief History of the Future’ offers a hopeful antidote to cynical tech takes
Cynicism is a quality taken almost for granted in tech journalism, and certainly we are as guilty as the next publication. But both the risk and the promise of technology…
How do you get an AI to answer a question it’s not supposed to? There are many such “jailbreak” techniques, and Anthropic researchers just found a new one, in which…
Why Trump’s digital media company is different from other money-losing startups
Former president Donald Trump’s digital media company is losing money, and lots of it. But why is that any different from other “startups,” which often struggle to post a profit…
OpenAI is making its flagship conversational AI accessible to everyone, even people who haven’t bothered making an account. It won’t be quite the same experience, however — and of course…
Keeping up with an industry as fast-moving as AI is a tall order. So until an AI can do it for you, here’s a handy roundup of recent stories in the world…
Amazon doubles down on Anthropic, completing its planned $4B investment
Amazon invested a further $2.75 billion in growing AI power Anthropic on Wednesday, following through on the option it left open last September. The $1.25 billion it invested at the…
Featured Article
Why it’s impossible to review AIs, and why TechCrunch is doing it anyway
Every week seems to bring with it a new AI model, and the technology has unfortunately outpaced anyone’s ability to evaluate it comprehensively. Here’s why it’s pretty much impossible to review something like ChatGPT or Gemini, why it’s important to try anyway, and our (constantly evolving) approach to doing so.…
Truth Social SPAC could pay Trump’s astronomical legal bills — if board approves it
Donald Trump’s beleaguered SPAC deal is finally going through, and just in time to pay nearly half a billion dollars owed over several legal actions — if the board agrees…
Candela’s electric ferries multiply as the startup lines up $25M in new funding
Electric boat maker Candela is approaching cruising speed with $25 million in new funding and the first commercial deployment of its new P-12 ferry in New Zealand. The company has…
After raising $1.3B, Inflection is eaten alive by its biggest investor, Microsoft
In June 2023, Inflection announced it had raised $1.3 billion to build what it called “more personal AI.” The lead investor was Microsoft. Today, less than a year later, Microsoft…