The Daily Crunch – Spoken Edition

Pirate group Anna's Archive says it has scraped 86 million songs from Spotify. Also, OpenAI says prompt injections will always be a risk for AI browsers with agentic capabilities, like Atlas. But the firm is beefing up its cybersecurity with an 'LLM-based automated attacker.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alphabet is set to pay $4.75 billion in cash, plus debt, for the data center and clean energy developer. Also, the move is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to delay the construction of 6 gigawatts of offshore wind near a hotspot of data center development. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The bill will require large AI developers to publish information about their safety protocols and report safety incidents to the state within 72 hours. Also, the newest episode raises questions about whether Sequoia's new leadership -- managing partners Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, who took over last month -- can or will rein in Maguire's social media activity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The future may be electric, but that future is being postponed. The European Commission, citing the need for flexibility, has softened its ambitious plan to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The gaming startup will allow Netflix subscribers to create avatars that can extend across gaming titles. Also, Meta is working on an image and video model and new text-based model, which aids with coding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The FTC alleged Instacart misled consumers with unlawful tactics, causing them to pay higher fees while also denying refunds. Also, Apple says it can now collect any money a developer owes the tech giant at any time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The lawsuit is just the latest in a string of copyright-related legal complaints aimed at the AI industry. Also, in an economy where everyone's feeling squeezed, AI-driven price testing of kitchen essentials was bound to attract attention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Isaacman will run the space agency at a time when Trump is trying to both downsize it and task it with returning astronauts to the Moon. Also, DeSantis has spent 27 years at Amazon, including eight years as an SVP for AWS, the cloud provider that powers about one-third of the internet. And, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Skana Robotics built a decision-making algorithm that helps unmanned vessels react and adapt to data from other vessels. Also, Amazon reportedly in talks to invest $10B in OpenAI as circular deals stay popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coursera and Udemy, two of the biggest names in online learning, are combining platforms next year. Mozilla has appointed Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as its CEO, as the Firefox developer scrambles to adapt in a rapidly changing browser market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters hacking collective stole Pornhub premium users' data, including email addresses and viewing history. Also, Everbloom has also developed a chemical process to transform waste fibers and feathers into upcycled materials that resemble everything from polyester to cashmere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's one of the last big steps before the company can truly claim it's operating a robotaxi service, and start to take on Waymo.Industry Also, concerns over Netflix acquiring Warner Bros has led executives to address fears regarding jobs and theatrical releases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TechCrunch's Dominic-Madori Davis writes about women who ran an experiment to see if LinkedIn's new algo was being sexist and thought they proved it. But experts say there's more complexity involved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Improvements to roads, bridges, and other infrastructure could take a hit as data center construction accelerates. That's according to a report from Bloomberg. -At least 5.6 million people had their names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers stolen in a data breach at Seven Hundred Credit, a company that runs credit checks and identity verification services for auto dealerships across the US. Microsoft announced Thursday it would buy 3.6 million carbon removal credits from a biofuels plant in Louisiana owned by C2X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As robotaxi adoption continues, wild ideas like personal ownership and renting them out are starting to pop up again. Also, Reddit, one of the world's largest social platforms, is arguing that it doesn't meet the definition of "social media platforms" as it seeks to overturn Australia's law banning children under 16 years of age from social media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the first time, developers can embed Google's Deep Research tool, based on Gemini 3 Pro, into their own apps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following a couple of months' testing, Opera has finally made its AI-powered browser, Neon, available to the public — though you'll have to shell out for a $19.90-per-month subscription to use it. Also, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe laid out his plan for how Rivian's vehicles will increasingly drive themselves, in a bid to match or exceed the capabilities of rival automakers and AV companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The stealthy startup plans to use a network of satellites to harvest sunlight and send it to Earth using infrared lasers. A new software option could make it possible to see the approximate location of some of Nvidia's AI chips. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google is rolling out managed MCP servers to make its services “agent-ready by design,” starting with Maps and BigQuery, aiming to simplify messy integrations and help AI agents use real tools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While teenagers may start out using AI chatbots for basic questions, their relationship with chatbot platforms has the potential to turn addictive. Plus, Anysphere CEO Michael Truell explained the features his company is focused on building out after reaching $1 billion in annualized revenue,. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google will compete with Meta with its own line of AI-powered smart glasses. Also, Ford and Renault in a ‘fight for our lives.' The automakers will work together to bring two Ford-branded less expensive EVs to European dealerships in 2028. And, Truecaller's Family Protection will be rolled out widely in the first quarter of 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zuckerman, who used to run the stalkerware apps SpyFone and SpyTrac, claimed the ban is hurting his unrelated business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I will be doing a ONE RULE Executive Order this week,” Trump posted on social media. “You can't expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something.” Paramount Skydance on Monday launched a hostile, $108.4 billion bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, days after Warner Bros. agreed to be acquired by Netflix for $82.7 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The $82.7 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros., and the acquisition has already been described as sending Hollywood into “full-blown panic mode,” “possibly a death blow to theatrical filmmaking,” and maybe even “the end of Hollywood” itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New York Times filed a copyright lawsuit against Perplexity, joining other publishers using legal action as leverage to force AI companies into licensing deals that compensate content creators. Also, Meta is partnering with CNN, Fox News, Fox Sports, Le Monde Group, the People Inc. portfolio of media brands, The Daily Caller, The Washington Examiner, and USA Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Texting while driving is banned in nearly every state, even with the use of advanced driver assistance systems like Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software. Also, the agency already opened an investigation in October over Waymo's performance around school buses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revised rules in California would allow self-driving trucks to test on public highways. The rules also close a loophole allowing police to issue tickets for driverless vehicles. Also, Amazon is the USPS' biggest customer, and the e-commerce giant's potential break from the postal agency comes as the two sides are negotiating a new deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can any company, big or small, really topple Nvidia's AI chip dominance? Maybe not entirely but Amazon is already making big bucks trying. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The latest bid to squeeze a ban on states regulating AI into an annual defense bill has reportedly been rejected after facing bipartisan pushback. Also, backed by VC firms like Draper Associates and Hyperplane, Autolane said it will start by coordinating pickup and drop-off points for companies that want to let robotaxis come onto their private property. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We sent over a dozen questions to Mixpanel's CEO about the company's data breach. Here's what we want to know. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon Web Services, which has been building its own AI training chips for years now, just introduced a new version known as Trainium three that comes with some impressive specs. he Indian government is widening the scope of its anti-theft and cybersecurity initiative to cover both new and used smartphones, an effort aimed at curbing device theft and online fraud but a move that is also raising fresh privacy concerns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The AI boom is proving to be a windfall for construction workers building the massive data centers that power it all. According to The Wall Street Journal, workers moving into data-center construction are seeing pay jumps of 25 to 30 percent compared to their previous jobs . Alos, new planned data centers promise to consume even more energy than expected. Meanwhile, a grid monitor is blaming such growth for high electricity prices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Black Friday, Amazon sessions that resulted in a sale were up 100% in the U.S. when the AI chatbot Rufus was used. They only increased by 20% when Rufus wasn't used. Also, James Cameron's movies are often at the cutting edge of visual effects technology, but that doesn't make him a fan of generative AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Though LLMs might not use explicitly biased language, they may infer your demographic data and display implicit biases, researchers say. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The commercial robotaxi service launched last year. Now, the human safety operator is gone. Also, an easy-to-exploit vulnerability in a jury system made by Tyler Technologies exposed the personally identifiable data of jurors, including names, home addresses, emails, and phone numbers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The company announced last month that it would no longer allow minors to use its chat features. Also, startup founders building AI shopping tools think general-purpose models are too broad to deliver truly personalized shopping experiences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Altman and Ive tease a simple AI device aimed at calm, distraction-free computing, launching within two years. Also, DOGE members are reportedly worried that they could face prosecution for some of their activities conducted while under the leadership of Elon Musk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Roblox CEO Dave Baszuki joined the Hard Fork podcast to discuss the gaming platform's new age verification feature — but he seemed to get frustrated at the number of questions focused on child safety. -A new feature seemingly revealed many right-wing “America First” accounts are actually based outside the United States. But the data seems questionable. -Major insurers including AIG, Great American, and WR Berkley are asking U.S. regulators for permission to exclude AI-related liabilities from corporate policies. One underwriter describes the AI models' outputs to the FT as "too much of a black box." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reuters reports that the executive order has been put on hold. If signed, the order would probably face significant opposition, including from Republicans who previously criticized the proposed moratorium on state regulation. Waymo continues to expand its reach, with the robotaxi company posting Friday that it's now “officially authorized to drive fully autonomously across more of the Golden State.” Waymo already operates in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles, as well as outside of California, in Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix. Bloomberg reports that both Meta and Microsoft are asking for federal approval to trade power (Apple has already received this approval). According to Meta, this will allow it to make long-term commitments to buy electricity from new plants, while mitigating the risk by having the ability to resell some of that power on wholesale power markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike denied it had been hacked following claims from a hacker group, which leaked screenshots from inside CrowdStrike's network. -X's new feature will show where users are based, how they're connected to X, and how many times they've changed their username. -Two Trump-appointed FCC officials voted to undo the telecom industry's cybersecurity rules. One Democratic commissioner dissented, saying the decision leaves the United States "less safe" at a time when threats are increasing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

According to Grok, Elon Musk can out slug the MLB's greatest power hitters... except Ohtani. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google is upgrading its image generation model with new editing chops, higher resolutions, more accurate text rendering, and the ability to search the web. Also, the fire that broke out at the Oswego, NY Is the second major fire -- and the third overall -- in the last few months at the Novelis plant, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices