Spotify’s New Gig: Turning Your Stories into Audiobooks

Spotify’s launching a program for authors to submit short stories (10,000-20,000 words) in romance, mystery, or sci-fi for audiobook production. They’ll handle everything and pay advances plus royalties—no erotica or kids’ stuff, though. It’s a bold move to rival Audible, building on their audiobook push since 2021. Cool, right?

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Microsoft’s AI Gaming Buddy Hits Xbox Soon

Microsoft’s rolling out Copilot for Gaming next month, starting on the Xbox mobile app for Insiders. It’ll guide players with tips, like coaching Overwatch 2 moves or Minecraft crafting, acting as a handy sidekick. Though initial features are basic, Microsoft’s big AI vision will evolve with feedback. Exciting stuff!

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Anthropic CEO Warns Spies Target $100M AI Breakthroughs in Mere Code Snippets

Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, is sounding the alarm about Chinese spies possibly nabbing valuable AI secrets—think $100 million ideas in just a few code lines. Speaking at a recent event, he urged the U.S. government to boost security for AI labs, citing China’s espionage reputation and potential misuse of AI tech.

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Google Apologizes for Chromecast Outage

Google’s emailing Chromecast users today, saying sorry for a glitch hitting 2nd gen and Audio models. Since the weekend, “Untrusted device” errors have frustrated folks trying to cast. They’re working on a fix—might be an expired certificate issue from March 9th—and promise updates soon via the Nest Community page. Hang tight!

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China’s Manus AI: A Game-Changer or a Threat?

China’s Manus AI, the world’s first fully autonomous agent, is shaking things up. It tackles complex tasks—like financial analysis, hiring, and software development—without human help, running 24/7 in the cloud. It’s a wake-up call for Silicon Valley and a worry for jobs, despite server hiccups and controversies. Is this the future of work?

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OpenAI Introduces Responses API for Building AI Agents

OpenAI’s new Responses API offers tools for developers to create AI agents that tackle tasks like web searches and file scanning. Designed to simplify building production-ready agents, it builds on past ChatGPT agents like Operator and Deep Research. OpenAI plans more enhancements soon, while CEO Sam Altman teased a creative writing model.

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AI Startups Soar with Anysphere Targeting $10 Billion Valuation

AI startups are grabbing tons of venture capital, with Anysphere, the team behind the AI-powered code editor Cursor, aiming for a $10 billion valuation in its latest funding round. This mirrors a hot trend, as European players like Poolside AI and Lovable also rake in big investments, showing AI coding’s global boom.

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VC Notes a ‘Vibe Shift’ as Y Combinator Founders Opt for Less Funding

Silicon Valley’s AI startups are hitting big revenue with tiny teams, sparking a shift at Y Combinator. Some founders, like one aiming to “summit Everest” with less venture capital, prioritize ownership over hefty funding. While investors charm with cash, others warn that underfunding risks being outpaced by well-financed rivals.

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TikTok introduces new parental controls

TikTok’s rolling out tools to protect teens, letting parents block app access during set times and monitor followers via Family Pairing. A “wind-down” feature nudges kids under 16 to sleep after 10 p.m. with calming prompts, while STEM feeds return—all part of TikTok’s push to ease lawmaker worries.

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