You can now make Alexa’s AI personality more friendly, blunt, or chilled out
You can now make Alexa's AI personality more friendly, blunt, or chilled out That Brief option sounds great for people like me who find cheerful chatbots to be creepy or unsettling. | Image: Amazon Amazon is giving you more control over how Alexa behaves during conversations and responses. Three “personality style” presets are launching today […]
Amazon blames human employees for an AI coding agent’s mistake
Amazon blames human employees for an AI coding agent's mistake Amazon Web Services suffered a 13-hour outage to one system in December as a result of its AI coding assistant Kiro’s actions, according to the Financial Times. Numerous unnamed Amazon employees told the FT that AI agent Kiro was responsible for the December incident affecting […]
A $10K+ bounty is waiting for anyone who can unplug Ring doorbells from Amazon’s cloud
A $10K+ bounty is waiting for anyone who can unplug Ring doorbells from Amazon's cloud With Ring facing fierce backlash over its Search Party feature, a new program is challenging developers to move Ring doorbell footage off of Amazon’s cloud – and into users’ own devices. The Fulu Foundation, the consumer advocacy group cofounded by […]
After Search Party backlash, Ring is still avoiding the bigger questions
After Search Party backlash, Ring is still avoiding the bigger questions Siminoff acknowledged in an interview with The New York Times that including maps that showed mass surveillance in an ad was a mistake. | Screenshot from Ring video Ring founder Jamie Siminoff has been on an “explanation tour,” as The New York Times puts […]
Ring’s AI-powered Search Party won’t stop at finding lost dogs, leaked email shows
Ring's AI-powered Search Party won't stop at finding lost dogs, leaked email shows A leaked internal email obtained by 404 Media shows that Ring has bigger plans for its AI-powered neighborhood search capability than just looking for lost dogs. The outlet reports the email, sent last October by founder Jamie Siminoff to all Ring employees, […]
Audible syncs ebook reading and audiobook listening to keep you focused
Audible syncs ebook reading and audiobook listening to keep you focused On Wednesday, Audible launched a new “immersion reading” feature that could help readers concentrate on their audiobooks by allowing them to read along with the ebook version. While listening to an audiobook in the Audible app, users can tap the “Read & Listen” button […]
Let’s talk about Ring, lost dogs, and the surveillance state
Let's talk about Ring, lost dogs, and the surveillance state Today, let’s talk about the camera company Ring, lost dogs, and the surveillance state. You probably saw this ad during the Super Bowl a couple of weekends ago: Since it aired for a massive audience at the Super Bowl, Ring’s Search Party commercial has become […]
Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash
Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash Following intense backlash to its partnership with Flock Safety, a surveillance technology company that works with law enforcement agencies, Ring has announced it is canceling the integration. In a statement published on Ring’s blog and provided to The Verge ahead of publication, the company said: […]
Amazon’s Send to Alexa Plus makes the Kindle Scribe feel more like a productivity device
Amazon's Send to Alexa Plus makes the Kindle Scribe feel more like a productivity device Amazon’s rolling out a new “Send to Alexa Plus” feature to the latest Kindle Scribe and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft owners starting February 12. The feature lets you send your notes or documents to Amazon’s AI-powered Alexa Plus assistant, which can […]
Former Tumblr head Jeff D’Onofrio steps in as acting CEO at the Washington Post
Former Tumblr head Jeff D'Onofrio steps in as acting CEO at the Washington Post Jeff D’Onofrio in 2015, before ruining Tumblr. | Photo: Getty Images After what can generously be called a contentious tenure as the CEO of The Washington Post, Will Lewis is stepping down following mass layoffs this week. Jeff D’Onofrio, former CEO […]