Welcome to Week in Review: TechCrunch’s newsletter summarizing the week’s biggest news.
This week, Apple unveiled new iPad models at its Let Loose event, including a new 13-inch display for the iPad Air, as well as Tandem OLED and a new M4 chip for the iPad Pro. But its announcement for the new iPad Pro caused biggest stir at the event. for all the bad reasons. For Apple finalists, we compiled all new ads in case you missed it.
In the world of electric vehicles, the embattled Fisker Ocean still faces another federal security investigation. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a fourth investigation into the SUV over allegations of “inadvertent automatic emergency braking.”
AI deepfakes took center stage at this year’s Met Gala. AI-generated images of Katy Perry and Rihannanone of whom attended the event, went viral on X. A good reminder that we can’t believe everything we see online.
It’s been a great week. Let’s get into it.
News
New OpenAI updates: On Monday at 10am PT, OpenAI will demo new features for both ChatGPT and GPT-4. CEO Sam Altman denied reports that the company was preparing to announce a rival search engine product ahead of Google’s I/O conference. Read more
say hello to the portal: A new always-on video portal allows people in New York City and Dublin to interact in real time. Portals.org, the organization behind the project, wants to encourage people to interact with each other “across borders and prejudices.” Read more
OpenAI explores enabling pornography with AI: The company released a new NSFW policy aimed at starting a conversation about how it could allow explicit images and text in its AI products. But can we trust OpenAI (or any generative AI provider) to get it right? Read more
Police officers cannot use Microsoft’s artificial intelligence tool: Microsoft has reaffirmed its ban on US police departments from using generative AI for facial recognition through its enterprise-focused tool: Azure OpenAI Service. Read more
Dorsey says goodbye to Bluesky: Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey revealed on X that he is no longer on Bluesky’s board of directors. In a statement, the company thanked Dorsey for his help funding Bluesky and said they are actively looking to replace his seat. Read more
Is Generation Z abandoning Tinder for Hinge?: Match Group released its first-quarter earnings report, showing a steady decline in Tinder’s paying user base. But Hinge is on track to become a “billion-dollar revenue business,” in part because of its on-demand offerings for the price-conscious Generation Z. Read more
Spotify Paywall Lyrics: The music streamer quietly confirmed that it has started moving its lyrics feature behind a paywall in a bid to entice more users to migrate to its Premium subscription service, sparking anger from users. Read more
Analysis
Apple’s “Crush” ad is disgusting: Devin Coldewey says Apple’s latest ad integrating analog creative tools into an iPad Pro missed the mark. Apple has since apologized and canceled plans to televise it. Read more
How Newchip’s bankruptcy threatened thousands of startups: Mary Ann Azevedo and Christine Hall report on the fall from grace of startup accelerator Newchip and the knock-on effects on its founders, including those who lost their companies in the fall. Read more
Is the rabbit’s R1 really that bad?: Much has been said about Rabbit’s ambitious R1 AI assistant not living up to its promises. Devin maintains that, although it was probably released too soon, an experimental device like this is a fun look at a possible future. Read more