HeyWhatsNew: X Is Expanding to Conference Calling for Meetings, and Watermarks on AI Generated Content Are Coming to California
Hello there, Heyup crew. Welcome back to HeyWhatsNew, your source of the latest updates and tech news shaping our world. Let’s see what big news the tech world has for us in the week beginning 26/08/2024.
The iPhone 16 Launch Event Has Been Confirmed to Take Place on September 9
Apple is set to host its highly anticipated event, now dubbed " It’s Glowtime," during the second week of September at its Cupertino headquarters. The event, scheduled for 9 September at 10:00 PT (18:00 BST), has generated plenty of buzz since the release of the official invitation. It falls on a Monday, an unexpected choice since previous iPhone launch events have been held on Tuesdays. The Daily Mail reports that while the event invitation doesn't reveal much about the upcoming devices, it's widely expected that Apple will unveil the new iPhone 16 range along with updates to other devices and apps.
At Apple's developers conference in June, the company introduced a range of AI features under the 'Apple Intelligence' banner, including an upgraded Siri and a ChatGPT integration. However, these enhancements will only be available on the latest Apple devices and will start rolling out gradually, later in the year.
X Is Working on a Platform for Conference Calls
X seems to be gearing up for a big move into the video conferencing space. According to an official report from an X employee, the company tested its new conference calling tool last week, signaling that a public release might be just around the corner. Elon Musk’s X has already made clear its ambitions to compete with LinkedIn for job listings and PayPal for payments, and now it’s setting its sights on taking on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams with this new feature.
According to TechCrunch, an app researcher known as P4mui on X revealed that users will soon be able to create meetings directly from the iOS app, either instantly or scheduled for later, much like other popular online conferencing tools. However, before rolling out the feature to everyone, X will need to ensure that its privacy and security controls are up to par.
Google Meets Will Now Use AI to Help Take Notes During Meetings
While X pushes forward with its plans to break into the conference call industry, the major players are making some exciting enhancements to their platforms. Google Meet, for example, has just introduced a new AI-powered feature that can automatically take notes during meetings. This is a real game-changer for anyone who's struggled to keep up with discussions while also trying to jot down important points.
This new feature, called "take notes for me," is currently being rolled out to select Google Workspace customers. When activated, it automatically generates a notes document in Google Docs, which is then saved to the meeting owner's Google Drive and accessible to all internal participants. Beyond just convenience, "take notes for me" also has the potential to enhance meeting accessibility. For instance, if a participant is deaf or hard of hearing, the notes document provides a written record of the meeting, ensuring that everyone can fully engage in the discussion.
Adobe, Microsoft, and Open AI Support the Notion to Add Watermarks to AI Generated Content
The "California Digital Content Provenance Standards" aim to ensure transparency in digital media by requiring the identification of content created through artificial intelligence. This proposed law would cover a wide range of AI-generated material, from simple memes to deep fakes that could spread misinformation about political candidates. Support for the bill is coming from major tech companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Adobe, who back the idea of labeling AI-generated content with a digital "watermark."
This push for regulation is part of a larger legislative effort in California, where lawmakers have introduced 65 bills related to AI this session. The Redmond Magazine reports that these proposals address various concerns, such as ensuring algorithmic decisions are unbiased and protecting the intellectual property of deceased individuals from being exploited by AI. However, many of these bills have already stalled. With elections happening this year in countries representing a third of the global population, experts are increasingly worried about the influence of AI-generated content, which has already impacted elections in countries like Indonesia.
A Content Moderator in the UK Has Found the TikTok Workplace Toxic
A positive work environment is crucial for many, but a moderator in the UK claims that's not the case at TikTok. ByteDance Ltd., TikTok's parent company, is now facing a lawsuit over what’s being described as a toxic work environment. The lawsuit, filed by Olivia Anton Altamirano, alleges that the stress and unreasonable targets she faced while working on TikTok’s Badness Project led to pregnancy complications and exacerbated her multiple sclerosis. She claims that TikTok discriminated against her due to her disability.
TikTok has denied these allegations. In addition, the company is also defending itself against a separate lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which accuses ByteDance of allowing millions of children under 13 to create accounts without parental consent. TikTok has rejected these claims, stating that many are either inaccurate or have already been addressed.
That’s a wrap of HeyWhatsNew for this week. Join us again next time and stay in the loop about all the latest events shaping the tech world.
