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Google facing its first AI Overviews lawsuit from a major US publisher, California's age verification bill took another step forward, and Tesla's most affordable Cybertruck scrapped after five months Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

Even though Google's AI Overviews were introduced with a comically rocky start, it's about to face a far more serious challenge. Penske Media, the publisher for Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard and others, filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming the tech giant illegally powers its AI Overviews feature with content from its sites; a California bill that would require operating system and app store providers to verify users' ages before they can download apps has cleared the Assembly 58-0, and will now move on to Gov. Gavin Newsom; and the rear-wheel drive trim of the Tesla Cybertruck lasted about five months before it was unceremoniously removed from online sales. The Long Range model represented the most affordable Cybertruck option with its starting price of $69,990

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The FTC is investigating companies that make AI companion chatbots Sep 12, 2025

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Seven companies are being asked to share how they're mitigating harm to younger users.

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The 'next phase' of Microsoft's and OpenAI's partnership, Grok claimed the Charlie Kirk assassination video was a 'meme edit', and Perplexity's definition of copyright gets it sued by the dictionary Sep 12, 2025

Show notes

Microsoft and OpenAI have issued a joint statement to say that they have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for the "next phase" of their partnership. The companies are still finalizing the terms of agreement and haven't shared the details of what their future would look like exactly. In other tech news, Grok has once again been caught spreading blatant misinformation on X. In several bizarre exchanges, the chatbot repeatedly claimed that Charlie Kirk was "fine" and that gruesome videos of his assassination were a "meme edit." And, Merriam-Webster and its parent company Encyclopedia Britannica are the latest to take on AI in court. The plaintiffs have sued Perplexity, claiming that AI company's "answer engine" product unlawfully copies their copyrighted materials.

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Reddit, Yahoo, Medium and more are adopting a new licensing standard to get compensated for AI scraping Sep 11, 2025

Show notes

The group is looking to music royalty nonprofits for inspiration.

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Amazon is reportedly developing separate AR glasses for customers and its drivers, HBO Max is going to get a lot more expensive, and Lyft launched an autonomous fleet with May Mobility in Atlanta Sep 11, 2025

Show notes

Amazon may be muscling into the field of augmented reality glasses. According to a report by The Information, sources claimed that the company is working on AR glasses for consumers, allegedly with plans to release the product in late 2026 or early 2027. In other news, David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, plans to make HBO more expensive, and passwords a lot harder to share, according to The Hollywood Reporter. And, Lyft and May Mobility have teamed up to launch a fleet of autonomous vehicles in Atlanta. It's a pilot program, so it's currently only available to Lyft riders in the area of midtown Atlanta. The companies promise a "measured, safety-first approach" with this rollout.

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Everything announced at the iPhone 17 launch event Sep 10, 2025

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With the start of September comes the promise of crisp, fall-like weather and, like clockwork, new iPhones. Apple's "awe dropping" iPhone event this year had execs showing off the latest iPhones from Cupertino and reminding folks of the changes Liquid Glass and iOS 26 will bring to their handsets in the coming week.

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Is Microsoft planning to use Anthropic models to power some of Office 365's Copilot features? Plus, the FDA approved human trials for pig kidney transplants Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

Microsoft reportedly plans to begin using Anthropic's latest Claude models to power some of the Copilot features in its Office 365 apps. In a report published Tuesday, The Information said the tech giant would announce the change "in the coming weeks." Microsoft currently relies on OpenAI's tech to power the majority of AI features found inside of Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. Also, the FDA approved the biotech company eGenesis to begin human trials of pig-to-human kidney transplants. eGenesis provides pigs with CRISPR-modified genes. These genetic changes reduce the chances of organ rejection in human recipients.

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Meta reportedly suppressed research about how dangerous its VR headsets are for kids Sep 09, 2025

Show notes

Current and former staffers have come forward.

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Judge rejected Anthropic's record-breaking $1.5 billion settlement for the AI copyright lawsuit, Vodafone is testing an AI 'actor', and Bluesky finally has a private bookmarking feature Sep 09, 2025

Show notes

Judge William Alsup has rejected the record-breaking $1.5 billion settlement Anthropic has agreed to for a piracy lawsuit filed by writers. According to Bloomberg Law, the federal judge is concerned that the class lawyers struck a deal that will be forced "down the throat of authors." Alsup reportedly felt misled by the deal and said it was "nowhere close to complete."

Also, Vodafone made a commercial starring an AI avatar posing as a real lady. This is interesting because Vodafone is a major global brand and not a fly-by-night TikTok company. The company said it was “testing different styles of advertising — this time with AI."

And, Bluesky has added a built-in bookmarking feature so users finally have a way to privately save posts on the platform. The update is out now on Bluesky's website and app.

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Apple faces lawsuit over alleged use of pirated books for AI training Sep 08, 2025

Show notes

The company, they said, got their books from an online library with pirated works.

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