1. SpaceX Says No to Refugees
The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, accusing the company of discriminatory hiring practices against asylum seekers and refugees. The lawsuit claims that from September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX systematically discouraged and refused to hire asylees and refugees based on their citizenship status, violating the Immigration and Nationality Act. Ouch - not the cutest look for SpaceX! The Justice Department asserts that SpaceX falsely cited export control laws as reasons for limiting employment to U.S. citizens and green card holders. Additionally, the lawsuit cites public statements by Elon Musk that were deemed discriminatory. The lawsuit seeks remedies including back pay, policy changes, and civil penalties. Elon, what do you have to say for yourself?
2. 75,000 Strong: The Epic Saga of Tesla's Ex-Employee Data Breach.
Tesla revealed that not one, but two of its ex-employees were behind the recent data breach fiasco last May. These former staff members managed to compromise the personal information of a whopping 75,000 individuals, including their very own colleagues – talk about office camaraderie! Tesla had quite the response playbook: lawsuits, device confiscation, and more drama than a soap opera. Bravo, Tesla, for making sure your ex-employees exit in style!
3. From App Hype to Web Hope: Threads' Quest for Social Media Redemption
Remember Threads? That Twitter-clone app from Meta Platforms that everyone cared about for half a minute? Well, it now comes in a web version. Mark Zuckerberg announced in a Threads post that the web version will slowly, oh-so-slowly, trickle down to users over the next few days, (most likely by carrier pigeon). Let's not forget Threads' meteoric rise to 100 million sign-ups, only to then nosedive faster than a lead balloon as people apparently remembered there's already something called "X" (formerly known as Twitter) that's pretty much the same thing. The Android version's plummet from 49.3 million daily active users to a measly 10.3 million in a month could be seen as a testament to just how much people enjoy using Threads. We have total faith that allowing users to access Threads on archaic desktop computers will turn things around. It's awesome to see Meta bravely join the ranks of modernity.
4. Software Engineers Beware!
Meta Platforms is set to launch an AI model called Code Llama, aimed at aiding in writing computer code and bolstering its presence in the A.I. technology domain. The model, built upon Meta's Llama 2 language model, can generate code based on human text prompts, assist in code completion, and aid in debugging. It's time someone tried to phase out arrogant software engineers in their hoodies and flip-flops. This move follows Meta's trend of releasing various AI models for free, including the open-source language model Llama. Code Llama supports multiple coding languages, positioning itself as a competitor to Microsoft's GitHub Copilot tool and expanding Meta's offerings in the evolving generative AI market.
5. Lawsuit Against Youtube on Racial Bias Fails to Impress Judge
YouTube managed to dodge a lawsuit claiming racial bias by Black and Hispanic content creators. A U.S. federal judge in San Francisco just couldn't stop chuckling at the notion that YouTube's algorithm might discriminate based on race and the plaintiffs just couldn't prove they actually suffered from any discrimination. These folks believed YouTube was under some solemn obligation to provide completely neutral content moderation; however, the judge was kind enough to remind them that YouTube's algorithm is far from perfect – it even struggles to understand makeup tutorials involving Donald Trump's "distinctive look" and its association with the Ku Klux Klan. Bravo, YouTube, for your unassailable victory against these poor plaintiffs who dared to dream of fairness.