Google has announced that it will begin adding a digital watermark to AI-edited images in its Photos app. The watermark uses SynthID technology, which embeds a unique identifier into the image without altering its original content.

Snap's CEO, Evan Spiegel, has launched a new program called the Department of Angels to support wildfire recovery efforts in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. The program is a collaboration between Snap, the California Community Foundation, and other community leaders. It aims to provide independent resources and project management support to help impacted residents rebuild on their own terms.

Tinder, a Match-owned dating app, is set to roll out new AI-powered features for discovery and matching in the coming quarter. The addition aims to offer fatigued singles an alternative to the 'swipe' that defined the dating app in its earlier days.

A group of over 100 organizations has published an open letter calling on the AI industry and regulators to mitigate its harmful environmental impacts. The letter highlights the increasing evidence that AI systems drive up emissions, lock in reliance on non-renewables, and exhaust critical resources.

OpenAI co-founder John Schulman has left AI company Anthropic after a mere five months. He is reportedly joining former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati's secretive new startup. The reason for his departure from Anthropic is unclear, but he had previously cited a desire to deepen his focus on AI alignment and engage in more hands-on technical work.

Qwertykeys, a Guangdong-based mechanical keyboard maker, has announced that it will suspend all U.S. product shipments due to new tariffs on imported Chinese goods. The company cites the Trump administration's recent announcement of 10% tariffs on imported Chinese goods, effective February 1.

GitHub has announced a slew of updates for Copilot, its AI-powered pair programmer. The notable updates include the Vision feature, which allows users to attach a screenshot or photo and generates the interface, code, and alt text. Additionally, GitHub is introducing a new feature called 'next edit suggestions' that uses richer contextual cues to automatically identify and suggest what the next edit should be.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), founded and co-led by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, has reassured its employees that it will continue to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts despite Meta's recent decision to eliminate its DEI programs. CZI's HR leader, Mark Gundacker, told employees that the organization is separate from Meta and will remain committed to its own DEI initiatives.

Paragon Solutions, an Israeli startup that sells surveillance technologies, including phone spyware, has cut ties with the Italian government after WhatsApp disrupted a hacking campaign targeting journalists and human rights activists. The campaign leveraged Paragon's technology to target phone users in several countries, including Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

The EU has published a 13-page guidelines document on the definition of an AI system under its new AI Act. The guidance outlines a risk-based framework for regulating AI applications and determines whether a particular software system falls within the act's scope.

Philadelphia Eagles' star running back Saquon Barkley has not only become an investor in fintech startup Ramp, but he's also the star of the company's first Super Bowl commercial. According to Ramp CEO Eric Glyman, Barkley reached out after reading Peter Thiel's book 'Zero to One' and chose Ramp after mutual investor friends gave it 'strong' recommendations.

Snapchat has rolled out additional features for its Snapchat+ subscribers, including the ability to create and send custom AI-generated stickers. The social media company is also adding self-destructing Snaps, which will vanish if they aren't viewed within a set time frame.

Tesla has been talking about its Dojo supercomputer for years. In 2024, the company pledged to spend $500 million building a Dojo supercomputer at its gigafactory in Buffalo, New York. However, it seems that Cortex is taking up space instead of Dojo.

The onshoring of battery manufacturing for EVs started with a million Series B investment for Our Next Energy, followed by Panasonic's plans to build the world's largest EV battery plant in Kansas. SK Battery America has also invested $2.6 billion into two manufacturing plants in Georgia and reached mass production.

In this week's wheels, we review the 2024 Kia Niro EV. The car is cute and zippy, but we struggled with battery life in winter and the location of the volume button/knob.