Sony & Microsoft skips E3, Google Fi data breach, Huawei export bans, new Artifact app

Описание: The US government has stopped approving licenses for American companies to export most items to Huawei, due to continued tightening of rules on exports of US technology to China. The move comes as the Biden administration aims to protect US national security and prevent sensitive technologies with military applications from falling into the hands of the Chinese military, intelligence, and security services. Huawei has faced US export restrictions for several years, and was added to a US "entity list" in 2019, requiring US companies to obtain a license from the government to export certain technologies to Huawei. Some licenses have been granted, but the recent move marks a shift towards a total ban on sales of US technology to Huawei.

Google's cell network provider, Google Fi, has confirmed a data breach due to suspicious activity on a third-party support system containing Google Fi customer data. The breach is likely linked to the recent security incident at T-Mobile. Hackers accessed limited Google Fi customer information including phone numbers, account status, SIM card serial numbers, and mobile service plan details, but did not access personal information, payment card data, or call/text contents. Google is working with the network provider to secure the data and identify those impacted. Some customers reported that their phone number was briefly hijacked by the hackers, but it's unclear how many Google Fi subscribers were affected by the breach.

Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony will not attend the revitalized E3 convention in Los Angeles in June, according to a report from IGN. E3 will be an in-person conference after not happening in 2022, and it was hoped that the big three console makers would participate. However, Sony first skipped E3 in 2019 and Nintendo has not felt the need to participate due to their successful Direct video presentations. Reedpop, the organizer of E3, has not confirmed if the big three console makers will be absent but is in discussions with companies about their plans for the show. Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony did not comment on their attendance.

The Instagram co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, have recently formed a new venture called Artifact to explore ideas for next-generation social apps. Their first product is a personalized news feed that uses machine learning to understand the interests of users and allows them to discuss the articles they read with friends. Artifact is unique in that it is a "TikTok for text" with users able to tap on articles that interest them and receive similar posts and stories in the future.


Systrom and Krieger have taken advantage of the transformer which Google developed in 2017, allowing for machine learning systems to understand language with far fewer inputs. As a result, Artifact has become the first app to offer personalized recommendation for news articles and blog posts. While advertising or revenue-sharing deals with publishers are possible, the app will also focus on providing high-quality news and information, by only featuring publishers who adhere to certain editorial standards and removing posts that promote falsehoods.


Artifact is funded by Systrom and Krieger themselves, with a seven-person team working on the app. Systrom and Krieger have shown a passion for technology and a willingness to make hard decisions in order to create a product that people enjoy. Their enthusiasm for the potential of AI and the challenges of making it work are likely to make Artifact a success.

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