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TechDesk

@[email protected]

We bring you the latest tech news, deep dives and perspectives on topics like AI, social media and innovations. Posts are handpicked by Flipboard's editorial team, especially for Mastodon.

Boosts do not imply endorsement, but are used to highlight posts we think the community might find interesting.

For a lot more tech news, follow Flipboard's federated Tech Desk (@tech)

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Header illustration: Data particles above Tokyo at night in cyber space by Hiroshi Watanabe/ Getty

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@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Remember Elon Musk's hyperloop project? Washingtonian's Matt Ribel breaks down where it all went wrong (spoiler: it was doomed from the start because no one had a clue what they were doing).

https://flip.it/Nc7apU

TechDesk OP ,
@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar

@mister_shade02X2 Yes, @bflipp makes the same point above!

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Valentine’s Day is approaching. But if you’re not quite feeling the love in the air, this Stanford grad student’s Date Drop app touts itself as a viable solution. “Our matches convert to actual dates at about 10x the rate of Tinder,” Henry Weng told @Techcrunch . “Instead of swiping, we get to know each person deeply and send them one compatible match per week.” Here’s more:

https://flip.it/CnKFJ5

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Buzz of the Olympics: How drone cams deliver high-pace visuals and add a new dynamic for TV viewers.

From @AssociatedPress : https://flip.it/29pZ.L

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Is a career in long-haul trucking soon to be a thing of the past? Aurora Innovations’ self-driving trucks can now travel nonstop on a 1,000-mile route between Fort Worth and Phoenix — exceeding what a human driver can legally accomplish. Read more from @Techcrunch :

https://flip.it/ZYkgKU

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Google, Meta, push back on addiction claims in landmark social media trial in the U.S.

@AssociatedPress reports: "Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt spoke of the disagreement within the scientific community over social media addiction, with some researchers believing it doesn’t exist."

https://flip.it/t_hCHI

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

It's Safer Internet Day! As countries debate social media bans, here's how to keep your teens safe online.

From @euronews : https://flip.it/j70pek

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Arguments to begin in landmark social media addiction trial set in Los Angeles.

From @: "Instagram's parent company Meta and Google's YouTube will face claims that their platforms deliberately addict and harm children. TikTok and Snap, which were originally named in the lawsuit, settled for undisclosed sums."

https://flip.it/TSoLgn

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

A Super Bowl for the “kids picked last in gym class.” Read more from @:

https://flip.it/HaLxEx

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

New York state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would impose a moratorium of at least three years on permits tied to the construction and operation of new data centers. Read more from @:

https://flip.it/FbeYbH

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Pinterest has sacked two engineers for writing a script that tracked layoffs. The tracker created an alert for employee names in communications tools such as Slack being removed or deactivated. A spokesperson told @ this was "a clear violation of Pinterest policy and of their former colleagues' privacy." Pinterest recently laid off around 700 people, with chief executive Bill Ready saying he was "doubling down on an AI-forward approach."

https://flip.it/dvt09i

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Google’s quarterly financial results paint a picture of an internet powerhouse getting stronger in AI age.

@ reports: "Google’s successful evolution has helped drive up Alphabet’s stock price nearly 60% in the past five months, giving it a $4 trillion market value."

https://flip.it/7jfCfr

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

China is to ban hidden door handles on cars. Instead, vehicle doors must have a mechanical release function, inside and outside. The purpose is to make cars safer after electric vehicle accidents where electronic doors reportedly failed to operate and trapped passengers inside. Here's more from @.

https://flip.it/EpUcrc

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , (edited ) to random

Khaby Lame, a 25-year-old Senegalese-Italian influencer, is the world's most followed TikToker. Now, he's sold commercial rights to his brand for a 36-month period for $975 million. The standout feature of this deal: Lame has authorized development of an AI "digital twin," which can operate around the clock, in multiple languages, without his involvement. Here's more from Business Insider Africa.

https://flip.it/OolUQW

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

France summons Elon Musk for questioning as X deepfake backlash grows.

@ reports: "The French investigation, which began in January 2025 over allegations X's algorithm was used to interfere in French politics, now also includes a probe into Grok's dissemination of Holocaust denials and sexual deepfakes."

https://flip.it/4MdpIq

#X

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Elon Musk's SpaceX has acquired xAI in a deal that values the combined company at $1.25 trillion. Here's more from @

https://flip.it/Ye2kyU

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Tech leaders' names are all over the Epstein files. @ breaks down who shows up most often in the 3 million documents and photos released so far, and what is revealed.

https://flip.it/n5OTJt

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

A coalition of nonprofits is demanding that the U.S. government block Grok — the chatbot that was accused of generating thousands of nonconsensual explicit images per hour, which were then disseminated on X — from being used in federal agencies. @ has more:

https://flip.it/N_evnk

#X

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

If your business had 1 billion users or customers, you’d think that was a good sign of overall satisfaction. Windows 11 has 1 billion users — but it seems like there are nearly as many DSATS. Read more from ZDNET.com:

https://flip.it/Xz6jHT

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

AI assistant OpenClaw, briefly known as Moltbot and Clawbot before that, is building a social network where assistants can interact with each other. Andrej Karpathy, Tesla’s former AI director, called it “genuinely the most incredible sci-fi takeoff-adjacent thing I have seen recently.” Read more from @:

https://flip.it/xBxGhS

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

From @: SpaceX has filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission to launch a constellation of up to 1 million solar-powered satellites that it said will serve as data centers for artificial intelligence.

https://flip.it/ERl.g6

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Anthropic’s secret to building a better AI assistant might be treating Claude like it has a soul. No one really believes it has a soul, though, right? @ explores:

https://flip.it/uClTSD

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

The French government is ditching U.S. videoconferencing services such as Zoom. Over the next year, civil servants will start using an open-source videoconferencing platform called Visio. This is part of a family of programs, Suite Numérique, designed to eventually replace all collaboration tools used by the French administration. Here's more from ZDNET.

https://flip.it/UfRUJD

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Mark Zuckerberg gets green light from Wall Street to keep pouring money into AI.

From CNBC: "Although investors have previously expressed concern about Meta’s AI spending spree, they took comfort in the company’s latest results, which were driven by online ads."

https://flip.it/0pQueL

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Some members of the international games development community are staying away from the Game Developers Conference (GDC), set to take place in March, because of the political climate in the U.S. @'s Luke Plunkett spoke to nine past attendees about exactly why they've decided to give it a miss: Concerns for their personal safety, as well as a desire not to support anything taking place in the U.S.

https://flip.it/dHAR1X

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

As the world marks Holocaust Remembrance Day, experts say that social networks are being overrun with AI-generated content about the Holocaust, some of it exploiting the horrors of Nazi crimes for clickbait, some seeking to deny or trivialize them. Jens-Christian Wagner, director of the foundation that manages the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora memorials, points to images of "well-fed prisoners, meant to suggest that conditions in concentration camps weren't really that bad." Here's more from AFP News.

https://flip.it/KCpoPk

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Meta, TikTok and YouTube face landmark U.S. trial over youth addiction claims.

@ reports: "At the core of the case is a 19-year-old identified only by the initials 'KGM,' whose case could determine how thousands of other, similar lawsuits against social media companies will play out."

https://flip.it/Bt.zTg

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

This is probably fine, right? @ reports on how Trump's transportation department plans to use Google Gemini to draft regulations. The agency's remit includes practically all transportation safety. "We don’t need the perfect rule on XYZ. We don’t even need a very good rule on XYZ," said Department of Transportation general counsel Gregory Zerzan in a meeting. "We want good enough."

https://flip.it/REZvNN

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

U.S. TikTok users have been experiencing issues all weekend, with new owners claiming glitches were down to a "power outage at a U.S. data center." Here's more from @.

https://flip.it/VJLes7

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

More countries are considering social media bans for children.

@ reports on the latest efforts in France: https://flip.it/saXWZ1

And Egypt: https://flip.it/1R73m2

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Apple and Google recently announced their AI partnership, and we could get our first real look at the Gemini-powered Siri assistant as soon as February. @ has more:

https://flip.it/i1fv3z

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

TikTok users in the U.S. have grown worried (to put it gently) over the company’s updated privacy policy. @ tells us what the update really means:

https://flip.it/BQaEQm

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

TikTok's transition to U.S. ownership involves collecting even more data about its users, including precise location and AI interactions. It's also likely that the new privacy policy will lead to you seeing more targeted ads. Here's the lowdown from @.

https://flip.it/TNynho

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

The storylines are trite and the acting is even worse, but 60-second “microdramas” are making billions of dollars a year. Read more from @:

https://flip.it/r9VQP8

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Six years, two presidents, and one app: TikTok’s U.S. saga explained.

From @: https://flip.it/JCTvMT

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

The White House seems to have admitted that it digitally altered an image of a Minnesota protester's arrest so it looks like she was crying. When @ asked representatives from the Trump administration about an image of Nekima Levy Armstrong, who was arrested for organizing an anti-ICE protest at a church they were directed to a tweet from Kaelan Dorr, the White House deputy communications director. He shared the altered picture and wrote: “Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

https://flip.it/zS3C_s

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Sometimes the findings of a scientific experiment take time. This one started in 1927, when physicist Thomas Parnell filled a closed funnel with the thickest-known fluid: pitch. It won’t take as much perseverance to read the 380-word story. The livestream is another story. Here’s more from @:

https://flip.it/tev3xf

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Blue Origin is looking at late February for the third launch of its New Glenn mega-rocket. But it won’t be heading to the moon, as the company had previously hinted. Read more from @:

https://flip.it/731aZC

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Trump wants Nvidia to sell powerful AI chips to Beijing. Washington’s China hawks are pushing back.

CNBC reports: "Lawmakers are split between security risks and the preservation of U.S. tech dominance."

https://flip.it/fZAGpH

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

A group of organizations in Europe has launched a new social media platform, W, as an alternative to X. "There is an urgent need for a new social media platform built, governed, and hosted in Europe. With human verification, free speech, and data privacy at its core," CEO Anna Zeiter said in a LinkedIn post announcing the venture. @ has the details.

https://flip.it/E5atNB

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it will appeal the November ruling in favor of Meta in its antitrust case against the social media giant.

@ reports on the case that could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp: https://flip.it/15-BOp

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

British leader says "no option off the table" as UK considers Australia-style teen social media ban.

@ reports on Keir Starmer's remarks: https://flip.it/vXf2Jz

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

It wasn't a good year for the EV market in the U.S. in general, but one brand suffered particularly badly: Tesla. Of the nine models with the steepest year-over-year declines, Tesla manufactured four, with the Cybertruck's sales being roughly half what they were in 2024 — just 20,200. Here's more from Inside EVs.

https://flip.it/4ws4eA

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

If you were one of the more than 1.5 million people affected by last week’s Verizon outage, here’s how you can get your $20 credit. There’s some work (sigh) you’ll have to put in. Read more from @:

https://flip.it/fCzY1X

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Google Maps vs. Waze: Tech writer Jordan Minor recently took on the challenge of determining which app is better: After testing both, he found a clear winner. Read more from @:

https://flip.it/.-p56Z

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

Matthew McConaughey is getting in the fight over unauthorized AI likenesses. The actor is filing trademark applications to prevent AI companies from stealing his likeness. Eight have been approved so far. Read more from @:

https://flip.it/leUZOr

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

OpenAI has decided it’s time to start making money via ads at the bottom of user conversations with ChatGPT. Read more from @:

https://flip.it/_DdPKA

@TechDesk@flipboard.social avatar TechDesk , to random

In 2025, Americans "detoxed" from social media. In 2026, they’re quitting altogether.

Straight Arrow News reports on a recent American Psychiatric Association poll: https://flip.it/6CpEYI

More on the poll: https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/apa-polling-shows-half-of-adults-have-cut-back-on