TechCrunch Industry News

In 2023, the U.K. made a big song and dance about the need to consider the harms of AI, giving itself a leading role in the wider conversation around AI safety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a new year, but drama in the WordPress community keeps going. Automattic, the company that runs WordPress.com, said that it would reduce its contribution to WordPress core, the open-source project that acts as the backbone of most of Automattic’s products and ensures the longevity of WordPress as a technology and community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TV providers and streamers’ real competition isn’t each other, it’s social video. Or at least that’s what the president of Comcast Advertising, James Rooke, said during an interview on Wednesday at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Automattic CEO and WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg has deactivated the accounts of several WordPress.org community members, some of whom have been spearheading a push to create a new fork of the open source WordPress project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At CES 2025, Nvidia showcased an intriguing prototype AI avatar, R2X, that resides on your desktop. This animated, video game-like assistant can help users navigate computer apps. R2X utilizes Nvidia's advanced AI models and is compatible with popular language learning models like GPT-4o. Users can interact with it via text or voice, upload files, and even allow it to view live screen activity. The potential for redefining personal assistance through this technology is captivating!

The old chestnut passed around by industry watchers for the past decade was that CES — one of the world’s largest consumer tech trade events — had turned into an auto show. Maybe even the most important auto show of the year. And there was ample evidence of that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walk up to someone wearing a pair of Halliday’s smart glasses, and you might not notice they’re looking at smartphone notifications, live language translations, or advice from an AI assistant.The only giveaway is the tiny green dot of light on their eyeball.Wearables startup Halliday launched a pair of smart glasses at CES 2025 that projects a 3.5-inch round display into your line of sight. The device creating the display is called the DigiWindow, and it’s a tiny round module — smaller than your pinky nail — that sits on the inside of the Halliday’s frames just above your right eye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Discover the latest innovations showcased at CES 2025, including a smart ring that can detect death and trigger personalized 'Death Protections.' Marvel at Davy Robot’s basketball rebounding machine that has everyone shooting hoops at the event. Additionally, learn about Omi, an AI wearable designed to enhance productivity, making waves at the conference. This episode dives into the creativity and practicality behind these revolutionary tech products.

At CES 2025, Honda introduced their sleek 0 SUV prototype, showcasing cutting-edge electric vehicle technology. German Bionic revealed the Apogee Ultra, touted as the world’s most powerful exoskeleton, offering incredible lifting assistance. Meanwhile, Beatbot unveiled their latest robotic pool cleaner, complete with a docking station. The highlight? A whimsical RoboTurtle concept that blends robotics with environmental monitoring, hinting at a future where tech aids in ecological conservation.

As Peacock continues to trail behind major players in the entertainment industry like Netflix, TikTok, and YouTube, the streaming service is adopting strategies similar to its rivals with two new initiatives: mini-games and a short-form vertical video feed. The company previewed these experiments at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday; Reddit unveiled new trends tools aimed at businesses and a new ad format for its Ask Me Anything (AMA) Q&A sessions; As a part of a significant overhaul of its content moderation policies announced on Tuesday, Meta admitted that its approach to limiting political content across its platforms had been “pretty blunt” and would now be addressed. The company said it would once again phase in political content into Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, allowing people who want political content in their feeds to see more of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices