All Tech stories

Robots are hitting the runways

After being ranked the second-worst airport in North America, Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is hoping that it can at least be one of the safest. 

Driving the news: Canada’s busiest airport is rolling out a new proof-of-concept for an autonomous safety robot, designed to roam runways and spot security risks — from holes in perimeter fences to larger, more serious safety threats that could affect planes. 
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Would you binge Love is Blind… Presented By Doritos

After trying “run ads during TV shows,” Netflix is taking another page out of the traditional media playbook to shore up its revenue..

What happened: Sorry, streaming subscribers: Netflix is determined to push more brands into your living room by expanding its ads business into title sponsorships, which let brands sponsor shows, like Frito-Lay… when it presents an upcoming season of Love is Blind.
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Robots could be making your next desk lunch

Could a robot making salads in a suburb of Chicago be the first step in a fast food singularity that replaces all human workers? Probably not, but it does mean your next salad might be made by a robot.

Driving the news: The salad start-up Sweetgreen is all in on automation after opening its “Infinite Kitchen” concept earlier this year, a futuristic fast-casual lunch spot where robots and self-serve kiosks handle everything from assembling salads to taking orders. 
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Smart glasses just got smarter

It’s a glorious day for tech dads everywhere: Meta and Ray-Ban smart glasses are officially for sale in Canada.  

Driving the news: Meta has become the latest billion-dollar company to officially enter the smart glasses market with the second iteration of its design with Ray-Bans, now including a built-in Meta AI assistant, hands-free live streaming features, and a personal audio system. 
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Microsoft wins its Activision Blizzard battle

Microsoft had to go through a blizzard of regulation, but it is now the proud owner of a world leader in video games. 

What happened: After nearly two years and multiple regulatory challenges, Microsoft closed its US$75 billion acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard — maker of hit games like Call of Duty and Candy Crush — after British regulators gave the deal a final go-ahead. 
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Amazon wants you to become a regular

Just in time for the holidays, Amazon is rolling out tools designed to get you to spend more. 

Driving the news: Amazon is testing a new ‘Buy Again’ feature aiming to persuade customers to make repeat purchases based on their order history, part of the company’s latest effort to drive up sales amid a post-pandemic slump, per the Wall Street Journal.
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23andMe user data leaked

Your new 23andMe results just came in! 80% Scotch-Irish. 20% Greek. 100% hacked.

What happened: Popular genetic testing website 23andMe is requiring users to reset their passwords after the personal information and details around the genetic ancestry of up to 7 million people leaked last week. Hackers are now trying to sell the data on the dark web.

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AI-generated ads are coming

If there’s ever a modern-day Mad Men reboot, it’ll likely feature less cigarette smoking and whiskey drinking, and more inputting prompts into chatbots.

What happened: Meta has begun rolling out AI ad-generation tools to advertisers across its platforms, allowing ad creators to generate backgrounds, automatically adjust creative assets to fit different types of posts, and create and edit multiple versions of ad copy.  
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AI wearables are so hot right now

The tech industry hopes you’ll consider making AI gadgets a regular wardrobe fixture. 

Driving the news: Tech firms, startups, and entrepreneurs are launching a slew of wearable AI-powered devices, racing to be the first to bring AI to the consumer hardware market, per Axios.
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Silicon Valley loves longevity

Yachts and mansions are nice, but these days, Silicon Valley executives are chasing something money can’t buy: Time.  

Driving the news: The who’s who of Big Tech, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, are leading a Silicon Valley effort to crack the code to longevity, per The Economist
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