Bytes: Week in Review — Kids’ online safety legislation, Meta’s AI and EV regrets
Aug 2, 2024
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Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, discusses the company's push to make Meta AI the world's most widely used AI assistant, despite some feature setbacks. Joanna Stern, a tech columnist, shares candid insights from her journey as an electric vehicle owner, revealing both surprises and regrets. The conversation also touches on the recent bipartisan passage of COPPA 2.0 and KOSA, aimed at enhancing online safety for children. It's a blend of tech innovation, personal experience, and crucial legislative updates.
The Senate's bipartisan passage of COPPA 2.0 and KOSA marks a significant step towards enhancing online safety for children and teens.
Meta is pivoting towards more effective AI integration across its platforms, focusing on improving user experience while phasing out underperforming features.
Deep dives
Streamlining Retail with Shopify Point of Sale
Shopify Point of Sale provides a comprehensive solution for managing retail operations seamlessly across multiple locations. The system integrates in-store and online experiences, allowing retailers to offer customers various shopping options such as endless aisles and buy online pickup in-store. This functionality not only enhances convenience for customers but also equips staff with the necessary tools to ensure successful sales transactions. By leveraging first-party data, retailers can create tailored experiences that encourage customer loyalty and optimize marketing efforts.
Legislative Changes for Online Child Safety
Recent legislative actions, including the passing of COPPA 2.0 and the Kids Online Safety Act, aim to enhance protections for minors on the internet. COPPA 2.0 prohibits targeted advertising to children and mandates parental consent before data collection, while COSA introduces a 'duty of care' for online platforms used by minors. This duty requires platforms to take reasonable measures to mitigate potential harms, sparking debates regarding the practicality and implications of enforcing such measures. Concerns have emerged about how this legislation may limit freedom of speech and raise challenges in implementation due to potential loopholes.
Meta's Evolving AI Endeavors
Meta is intensifying its focus on integrating artificial intelligence within its platforms, despite mixed results with previous AI projects. The launch of AI Studio allows creators to build avatars for interactive engagements, reflecting a shift towards enhancing user experience rather than maintaining less successful features like celebrity chatbots. With ongoing development in large language models, Meta aims to navigate the complex intersection between AI and social media, promoting user interaction through various forms of generated content. As part of its AI strategy, Meta is also expanding its assistant's capabilities to its hardware, such as the Quest headset, promising a more integrated digital experience.
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta is expanding AI offerings across its products, even as the company gets rid of AI features that haven’t quite landed with consumers. The bottom line? CEO Mark Zuckerberg says “Meta AI is on track to be the most used AI assistant in the world by the end of the year.”Then, the Wall Street Journal’s senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern shares surprises and regrets on her journey as an electric vehicle owner. But first, this week in Congress, the Senate passed the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, also known as COPPA 2.0, and the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, in a rare bipartisan vote — 91 senators voted in favor, with just three opposing these measures, which aim to reduce harm to kids on the internet.
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