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This week, the tech industry witnessed the US government move to take action against potentially harmful AI by forming an advisory board consisting of Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai and other leaders in the space.
On the social media side, X teased an app for smart TVs, while Threads introduced a new safety feature. Over at TikTok, a legal battle is looming as President Biden just signed the ban or sell bill, which will force ByteDance to sell off its stake or see TikTok banned in the country.
Below, Hypebeast has rounded up the top tech stories of the week so you can stay up to date on trends in the industry.
Sam Altman, Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai Joined an AI Safety Board
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In an effort to encourage the safe use of AI – and set some standards for the rapidly advancing technology – the US government has formed an advisory board made up of leading figures in the industry. The newly-launched Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board counts OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Google’s Sundar Pichai among its 20 or so members, all of whom will provide the Department of Homeland Security with guidance on how to prevent harmful AI that threatens “national or economic security, public health or safety.”
The leaders will also help the government learn how to use AI for the common good and will overall serve as authorities “on the safe and secure development and deployment of AI technology.”
X Teased a Smart TV App
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As Elon Musk angles for X to offer more original video content, it’s been unveiled that the platform is developing a smart TV app. A teaser of the app was shared to X, along with a few of its planned features.
Along with cross-streaming, which allows a user watching a video on their phone to pick right up from where they left off on the TV, the X TV app will use an AI algorithm to curate the latest trending videos and will organize content by a list of subjects. Somewhat unsurprisingly given Musk’s push for political content on X, the teaser for the app previews Tucker Carlson’s show, as well as content from SpaceX and a podcast.
President Biden Signed the TikTok Ban or Sell Bill
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President Biden has officially signed the bill that will force ByteDance to sell its stake in TikTok or see it banned in the US. For the past year or so, the Senate has argued that the app is a means for the Chinese Communist regime to spy on Americans.
ByteDance now has 270 days to divest before the ban kicks in. Naturally, TikTok is gearing up to challenge the bill in court. The company’s head of public policy for the Americas referred to the legislation as a “clear violation” of the First Amendment and said that the ban “is the beginning, not the end of this long process.”
Threads Ramped Up Its Safety Measures With a ‘Hidden Words’ Feature
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Threads is expanding its safety measures with a new “Hidden Words” feature, which automatically hides words, phrases and emojis deemed offensive or hateful. CEO Adam Mosseri announced the tool on his own Threads account.
“Today on Threads, we’re expanding Hidden Words, which until now only were applied to replies, so you can filter out unwanted content from feeds, search, profiles, and post replies on Threads,” Mosseri wrote.
In addition to automatically filtering out certain phrases, Hidden Words will also allow users to input any phrases or words they personally don’t want to see in content.
