Welcome back to Week in Review. This week we take a look at Meta’s recent layoffs. Fallout from battle between WordPress and WP Engine; And whether the Cybertruck is too big to exist in Europe. Let’s get into it.
Several teams at Meta have been hit by layoffs. This week. The company confirmed the layoffs in a statement to TechCrunch and noted that changes were made to reallocate resources. The cuts are said to have affected teams working across Reality Labs, Instagram and WhatsApp, but Meta declined to comment on how many employees have been affected and what organizations they belong to.
AWS CEO Matt Garman They say harsh things to remote workers. Go back to the office or quit. The executive recently told employees that “there are other companies around” who don’t like the new five-day in-person work policy. Last month, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees a full return would begin in 2025. This is an increase in the return period, which was approximately 3 days last year.
Waymo hired software engineer Sophia Tung. She offered a promo code for a free ride as an apology for the late-night honking caused by self-driving cars over the summer. But Tung realized there was no limit to the value of the code, so he tried to use the last code to ride Waymo for 24 hours. Her plan was eventually cut short, but it lasted 6.5 hours.
This is TechCrunch’s Week in Review, a recap of the week’s biggest news. Want a newsletter delivered to your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here.
tidings
Optimus receives help from humans. Video from Tesla’s ‘We, Robot’ event shows Optimus mixing drinks, socializing, and even dancing. Although it looks impressive, later reports showed that the robot was being operated remotely by humans. read more
ChatGPT comes to Windows. OpenAI has begun previewing a Windows app dedicated to ChatGPT. The company said the app is an early version that will be released ahead of a “full experience” later this year. read more
Is it too big for Europe?: Tesla’s Cybertruck has caused quite a stir in Europe. The transport agency claimed its oversized, sharp-edged design breaches European safety standards and could endanger pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists. read more
More WordPress Drama: As the feud between WordPress and WP Engine continues, an internal blog post revealed Automattic’s plans to enforce the WordPress trademark using “good and not-so-good lawyers.” read more
X wants to sell your data: The update to X’s privacy policy indicates that it will allow third-party “collaborators” to train AI models on X data unless users opt out. This means the company is looking at licensing its data to AI companies as a potential new revenue stream. read more
Smartphones become more accessible: The FCC has issued regulations requiring all cell phones sold in the U.S. to be compatible with hearing aids. This news comes two years after the FDA made hearing aids available to all Americans without a prescription. read more
Byju Raveendran says: The founder of embattled edtech group Byju’s has admitted he made mistakes and that his startup, once valued at $22 billion, is now effectively worth “zero.” read more
Casio ransomware attack: Japanese electronics giant Casio has confirmed that many of its systems remain unusable. Nearly two weeks after the company suffered the ransomware attack, it sees “no prospect of recovery yet.” read more
CapWay is closing: A Y Combinator-backed fintech that sought to provide financial services to people in banking deserts has shut down after a potential acquisition fell through. Founder Sheena Allen confirmed to TechCrunch. read more
Can AI make us less lonely?: Manifest, an AI-powered mental health app, seeks to combat the “loneliness epidemic” affecting Gen Z by transforming emotions into personalized daily affirmations. read more
analyze
AI Weapon Debate: Silicon Valley is debating whether America’s AI weapons should be fully autonomous. That means an algorithm will make the final decision to kill someone. While some in the defense technology industry argue that it is necessary to keep up with global competition, others believe that humans should always make the final decision. As Margaux MacColl writes, there is a fear that if one country implements autonomous weapons, other countries may feel obliged to follow, and this has enormous ethical implications. read more
