Here is the top trending news from the world of technology and AI. News that every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
Donlad Trump wants TikTok Ban to be delayed
President elect Donald Trump has requested the US Supreme Court to postpone the law banning TikTok app in the US to be delayed. The law necessitating a ban or sale of TikTok is set to be implemented from January 19 2025, exactly one day before Trump’s swearing in ceremony. In its statement, Trump’s attorney D. John Sauer wrote to the Supreme Court that the upcoming president wants the opportunity to find a solution to the problem through political means. This marks a complete turn around as Trump had aggressively pursued to ban TikTok during his first term. Nonetheless, this turn around will bring a huge relief for TikTok and its effort to hold on to its largest market.
2)
OpenAI wants to balance ‘profit’ with ‘social benefit’ with PBC
Following months of speculations, OpenAI will be making a decisive transition towards profit model by 2025. However, the company still won’t be restructured as a 100% for profit company. Rather it will be restructured as a PBC (Public Benefit Corporation), which is designed to balance profit-making with social and public benefits. This structure is similar to that adopted by competitors like Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI. This will help in raising substantial capital without compromising on its original goal of using AI for social benefit. The nonprofit division will retain a minority stake in the newly formed PBC through shares, valued by independent financial advisors. However, it will lose direct oversight of the for-profit operations.
3)
Hackers injects malicious code into several Chrome extensions
A latest cyberattack has come to light where hackers have compromised several Chrome extensions, injecting malicious code that potentially affects hundreds of thousands of users. The attack primarily targeted extensions associated with various companies, including the cybersecurity firm Cyberhaven, which confirmed the breach occurred on Christmas Eve. Over all, hackers have managed to insert harmful code into at least 16 Chrome extensions, which allowed them to steal sensitive information such as browsing cookies, passwords, and session tokens. The malicious code was designed to communicate with an external server for data exfiltration. The identity of hackers is still not known.
4)
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket clears final hurdle for maiden launch
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket has successfully completed its final test ahead of its inaugural flight, marking a significant milestone in the company’s launch program and its goal to emerge as a serious competitor to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. For its maiden flight, designated NG-1, New Glenn will carry the Blue Ring Pathfinder, a demonstrator for Blue Origin’s multi-mission space mobility platform. This payload is designed to test various systems for future missions. Its first flight was supposed to take place in October 2024, carrying two Nasa satellites to Mars. But this mission got cancelled due to technical issues.
