Monday, August 19, 2024

Welcome to TC PM! Today we start off on a somber note as we report that Mike Lynch, the former founder of Autonomy, is still missing after the yacht he was on capsized off the coast of Sicily. Also today: We take a look at the rise of electric vehicles at the annual Monterey Car Week, we meet a company that hates generative AI; and a new study says tons of "iPad kids" are on X. — Becca

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Developing: Mike Lynch remains missing after the yacht he was on capsized off the coast of Sicily early this morning. Lynch is known as both a colorful and controversial figure in British tech and was the former founder of Autonomy, which was acquired by HP in 2011. Read more

🚗 Driving in a new direction: General Motors is cutting 1,000 software jobs globally, with the majority located in Michigan. The company said it wants to focus on: "high-priority" technologies like hands-free driving; exploring the use of AI; and its infotainment platform. Read more

🏁 Monterey motors: Monterey's annual car week — packed with parties, people and new cars — wrapped up on Sunday. TechCrunch gives you the lowdown on the event from the dominance of electric vehicles to the rise of Silicon Valley's presence. Read more

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Afternoon must-reads

Image Credits: Christopher Hopefitch / Getty Images

📢An AI hater: While many companies are running toward generative AI, not all of them are. Procreate, a popular iPad design app, came out against the technology this week and vowed it would never incorporate it into its app even if that puts the company at risk of being left behind. Read more

📗 Microsoft AI manual: Have you ever wondered, "What exactly is Microsoft Copilot?" It's time to learn. Kyle Wiggers wrote a comprehensive guide for Microsoft's AI model, including information on what it is, how it differs from the competition, and what it includes. Read more.

🏥 Tumultuous timeline: Back in February, a ransomware attack on Unitedhealth-owned Change Healthcare was one of the largest data breaches of U.S. health and medical data in history. Learn what happened then and what's still happening now. Read more

🚸 The kids are on X: A recent study by parental control software maker Qustodio found that 30% of kids ages 7 to 9 have an X account. There's a rise of interest from these "iPad kids" coming from recent changes to Google search results, and parents may not realize they need to block more apps than they thought. Read more

🎤 Podcast player: Apple today announced a new interface and new features for Apple Podcasts on the web; the features were previously only accessible via the app. You should go try it out by listening to TechCrunch's Found and Equity podcasts. Read more

✈️ FlightAware fumbles: Flight-tracking application FlightAware released a notice on its website that due to a "configuration error," customer data — including names, contact info and in some cases, Social Security numbers — was exposed dating back to the beginning of 2021. Read more

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Around the web

💾 Getting deep with GitHub: GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke sat down with The Verge for a wide-ranging interview that touched on everything from just how much GitHub and Microsoft are intertwined to Dohmke's views on AI competition. Read more.

🔮 Looking back: Today marks the 20th anniversary of when Google went public. Fortune celebrated the milestone by looking back at the history of the company, ending with some sound advice that Larry Page gave University of Michigan graduates in 2009. Read more