🔍 DOJ targets Chrome, Altman joins SF mayor, Alexa woes
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, November 19. Today we are covering:
DOJ Will Push Google to Sell off Chrome to Break Search Monopoly
Sam Altman will co-chair San Francisco mayor-elect Daniel Lurie's transition team
Leaked Amazon memos identify critical flaws in the upcoming AI version of Alexa
Bluesky's success is a rejection of big tech's operating system
OpenAI's Female Staff Complain of Gender Disparity After Murati Exit
Let’s dive in
DOJ Will Push Google to Sell off Chrome to Break Search Monopoly
By Leah Nylen via Bloomberg
DOJ plans to push for the sale of Google's Chrome browser as part of an antitrust effort to address the company's search market monopoly.
Additional measures will target data licensing, artificial intelligence, and Google's Android smartphone operating system.
Google argues the proposals would negatively impact consumers and developers, disputing the claims of anticompetitive practices.
𝕏: Forcing Google to sell Chrome is absurd. Chrome is worth billions to Google but not on the open market. And any company that buys it would just be creating a new monopoly. Also ridiculous: proposals to untie Play from Android, which is impossible. - Mark Gurman (@markgurman)
Sam Altman will co-chair San Francisco mayor-elect Daniel Lurie's transition team
By Maxwell Zeff via TechCrunch
San Francisco mayor-elect Daniel Lurie has named OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as co-chair of his transition team to foster innovation and strengthen ties with the tech industry.
Altman, alongside other prominent figures such as Ned Segal, will help address challenges like public safety and revitalizing San Francisco’s downtown to retain and attract tech entrepreneurs.
Lurie, a political outsider and Levi Strauss heir, aims to leverage Altman’s influence to rebuild trust with the tech community and navigate the city's political and economic challenges.
𝕏: Between this and Musk-Trump, there is a trend developing here, and it is not a good one - Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant)
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Leaked Amazon memos identify critical flaws in the upcoming AI version of Alexa
By Jason Del Rey via Fortune
Internal memos reveal that Amazon's new AI-powered Alexa faces critical issues, including latency delays, poor customer satisfaction scores, and limited compatibility with older Echo devices, raising concerns over its readiness for launch.
The updated Alexa, codenamed Banyan, is positioned as a key player in the consumer AI race, yet struggles with delivering seamless performance and addressing the needs of over 500 million Alexa-enabled devices globally.
Amazon plans to address these challenges through potential partnerships with companies like Uber, OpenTable, and Instacart, aiming to offer enhanced natural interactions and broaden Alexa’s utility beyond its existing Skills library.
𝕏: Amazon's AI efforts are going slow. Can it get it together for CES in January? If not, others are obviously coming (cough, Apple). I remember walking around CES years ago and Alexa was EVERYWHERE. Can it turn its AI efforts around in the next few weeks? - Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer)
Bluesky's success is a rejection of big tech's operating system
By Brian Merchant via Blood in the Machine
Bluesky, the decentralized social network co-founded by Jack Dorsey, has surged to 15 million users, topping the App Store as a refuge for those disillusioned by Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) and its controversial policies.
The platform's user-centric features, including customizable feeds, starter packs for onboarding, and non-algorithmic content display, mark a stark contrast to big tech's extractive, ad-driven models and resonate with users seeking an authentic online experience.
Bluesky's rejection of AI-generated content, link throttling, and exploitative algorithms underscores its mission to offer a simpler, creator-friendly alternative, sparking optimism for a healthier future in social media.
𝕏: For instance, that website does not penalize you if you post a hyperlink, forcing you to undertake an extremely dumb step of adding another post below the original - Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant)
OpenAI's Female Staff Complain of Gender Disparity After Murati Exit
By Stephanie Palazzolo via The Information
OpenAI's female employees have raised concerns about gender disparity within the organization following the exit of senior leader Mira Murati, a former chief technology officer.
The complaints highlight broader issues of representation and inclusion, underscoring challenges in fostering diversity within the highly competitive AI industry.
Murati's departure has intensified scrutiny of OpenAI's leadership dynamics and its ability to support gender equity at senior levels.
𝕏: NEW: Female staff at OpenAI are concerned that the recent exits of female technical leaders like Mira Murati and Lilian Weng will make it harder to recruit and retain women. - Stephanie Palazzolo (@steph_palazzolo)
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