Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Techpresso.
In today's Techpresso:
👓 Alibaba takes on Meta with new AI smart glasses
💥 OpenAI user data exposed in Mixpanel breach
👀 Chinese tech giants train AI models overseas to access Nvidia chips
🫠 MIT study finds AI can replace 11.7% of US workers
🇪🇺 European Parliament calls for social media ban for under-16s
💰 S&P cuts Tether stablecoin rating to 'weak'
🎁 + 13 other news you might like
🔮 + 6 handpicked research papers and tools
👓 Alibaba takes on Meta with new AI smart glasses LINK
Alibaba just unveiled the Quark AI Glasses, a new wearable available in two variants that integrates the company’s Qwen AI models so users can handle tasks through voice control and a paired app.
The device features lenses that function as screens and a frame-mounted camera, allowing owners to translate languages or snap pictures of products to immediately see their prices on the Taobao shopping app.
These glasses will compete directly with rivals like Meta, which recently released its own Ray-Ban Display frames that let customers control the interface using hand gestures via a special wristband.
💥 OpenAI user data exposed in Mixpanel breach LINK
Hackers used a smishing campaign to bypass Mixpanel controls and steal metadata regarding platform.openai.com account profiles, a breach specifically affecting API customers rather than regular users of ChatGPT or other products.
The stolen data contains names, operating system details, and User IDs associated with the account, although OpenAI states that sensitive items like API keys, passwords, and payment details were not compromised.
OpenAI terminated its use of Mixpanel after reviewing the incident and is now advising developers to enable multi-factor authentication to defend against potential phishing attacks targeting the breached email addresses.
👀 Chinese tech giants train AI models overseas to access Nvidia chips LINK
Alibaba and ByteDance are leasing data centers in Singapore and Malaysia to train large language models using high-end Nvidia products that are otherwise blocked by US export controls for domestic use in China.
Beijing now mandates that new government-funded data centers must rely on locally developed chips from manufacturers like Huawei, forcing early-stage projects to pull out foreign semiconductors and shutting Nvidia out of specific sectors.
President Trump signaled he might allow Nvidia to export H200 chips to China and approved the sale of other processors on the condition that the US government receives 15% of the proceeds as leverage.
🫠 MIT study finds AI can replace 11.7% of US workers LINK
Researchers from MIT and ORNL developed the Iceberg Index to calculate that potential automation in administrative and financial services exposes 11.7% of the workforce to AI, drastically exceeding the 2.2% Surface Index figure.
This digital twin categorizes 151 million individual agents by occupation and location, mapping more than 32,000 skills to determine exactly where technical tasks are ready for machines to take over.
Data indicates Rust Belt states face substantial risks in cognitive work supporting manufacturing, leading lawmakers to apply an interactive tool that tests how policy levers might protect local employment from future displacement.
🇪🇺 European Parliament calls for social media ban for under-16s LINK
MEPs passed a resolution stating children under 16 should be banned from using social media unless parents decide otherwise, raising pressure for strict legislation amid growing alarm about mental health risks.
The report specifically calls for disabling addictive design features like infinite scrolling or videos that automatically play for minors, noting such traits are often inherent to the platform business model.
Supporters explicitly framed this vote as a refusal to back down just because a foreign billionaire demands it, despite White House pressure on the EU to lighten regulation on companies.
💰 S&P cuts Tether stablecoin rating to 'weak' LINK
S&P Global Ratings warned that USDT could become undercollateralized and lose its peg to the U.S. dollar if volatile backing assets like Bitcoin drop in value, leading the agency to assign a weak rating.
The report added that the stablecoin issuer provides limited information on the creditworthiness of its custodians, counterparties, or bank account providers while noting a lack of asset segregation to protect against insolvency.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino rejected the assessment by claiming legacy rating models are flawed, stating his company has maintained full resilience through past banking crises and never refused a single redemption request.
Other news you might like
- Apple is challenging India's anti-trust body over a potential $38 billion fineLINK
- Chinese startup founded by Google engineer claims to have developed its own TPU chip for AILINK
- EU moves to ban social media for kids under 16 who don’t have parents’ consentLINK
- Pentagon suggests adding Alibaba, Baidu, BYD to list for aiding China militaryLINK
- Musk’s xAI to build small solar farm adjacent to Colossus data centerLINK
- Jeff Bezos’ Project Prometheus reportedly acquires AI startup General AgentsLINK
- Intel says star hire from TSMC didn’t steal secretsLINK
- AI Shopping Assistants Recommend Outdated ProductsLINK
- HP To Raise Prices, Lower Configurations Due To Soaring Memory CostsLINK
- OpenAI won’t make money by 2030 and still needs to come up with another $207 billion to power its growth plans, HSBC estimatesLINK
- Chinese brands watched the iPhone Air flop and canceled their own plans – reportLINK
- Congress Calls Anthropic CEO to Testify About AI Cyberattack Allegedly From ChinaLINK
- Amazon Workers Issue Warning About Company’s ‘All-Costs-Justified’ Approach to AI DevelopmentLINK
Latest research and tools
penpot: an open-source design and prototyping platform for creating user interfaces and web designs, offering a free alternative to Figma.LINK
gemini-cli-tips: a collection of command-line tips and techniques for using Gemini AI to improve coding workflows and automate development tasks.LINK
Fara: a 7-billion parameter AI model designed to efficiently control computers by understanding screens and executing tasks through mouse and keyboard actions.LINK
jopa: a modernized Java compiler written in C++, updated from the original Jikes codebase to support Java 6 language features.LINK
bonsai_term: a library for building dynamic terminal applications, created by Jane Street, enabling developers to create interactive command-line interfaces with reactive programming patterns.LINK
qiskit: an open-source software development kit that enables developers to write programs and run experiments on quantum computers using Python.LINK
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