Microsoft has launched new lightweight AI models. Perplexity has a big new raise. Meta wants other people to build Quest headsets. Another reason Apple needs to find new revenue. And if Congress really is going to ban TikTok, are they ever going to tell us exactly why?

Links:

• Microsoft launches Phi-3, its smallest AI model yet (The Verge)
• Meta Expands Its Mixed Reality Beyond the Quest Headsets (CNET)
• Meta wants to be the Microsoft of headsets (The Verge)
• China Smartphone Sales Remain in Black on Huawei, HONOR, Xiaomi Outperformance (Counterpoint)
• AI Search Startup Perplexity Valued at $1 Billion in Funding Round (Bloomberg)
• Adobe’s new Firefly model makes it easier to use Photoshop’s AI tools (The Verge)
• If TikTok Is Such a Threat, Show Us the Receipts (Bloomberg)

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I know we’ve said this before, but TikTok really seems on the brink this time. What the heck is going on with Tesla? Tinder wants you to share your date. Streamers want you to stop dating around and playing the field. An open-source smarthome standard. And again, do we really need standalone AI devices when we already have smartphones?

Links:

• TikTok ‘ban’ passes in the House again, moving to the Senate in foreign aid package (The Verge)
• Tesla lowers price of ‘Full Self-Driving’ to $8,000, down from $12,000 (Electrek)
• Tinder gets a ‘Share My Date’ feature for users to send date plans to their curious friends (TechCrunch)
• Americans’ New TV Habit: Subscribe. Watch. Cancel. Repeat. (NYTimes)
• The little smart home platform that could (The Verge)
• The future of AI gadgets is just phones (The Verge)

Space Ghost Coast To Coast Marathon

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Meta released Llama 3 yesterday, and some of the moves they made have made be consider if Zuck could win these first AI wars. Is Zuck also getting aggressive in VR? Why Apple had to take down the WhatsApp and Threads apps in China. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

Links:

• Meta’s battle with ChatGPT begins now (The Verge)
• Meta, in Its Biggest A.I. Push, Places Smart Assistants Across Its Apps (NYTimes)
• Meta gives the Quest 2 its second permanent price cut in four months (Engadget)
• Cool or creepy? Microsoft's VASA-1 is a new AI model that turns photos into 'talking faces' (Tom's Guide)
• China Orders Apple to Remove Popular Messaging Apps (WSJ)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• How Perfectly Can Reality Be Simulated? (The New Yorker)
• The Life and Death of Hollywood (Harper's Magazine)
• How Neopets’ nostalgic revival tripled users in six months (The Guardian)

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