Happy Friday! Let the weekend vibes begin early!

Geek Goss 🤭 

#GoogleDelay - Is Chrome ever going to give up third-party cookies? Apple and Mozilla ditched them back in 2020, but Google, the ad giant, keeps pushing the deadline. Originally slated for 2022, it’s now 2024, and they’ve just pushed it to 2025, blaming UK regs! Talk about dragging their heels!

#SocialMediaPolitics - Biden's TikTok drama just got juicier! Right after the Senate voted to ban TikTok, the prez was all smiles on the app, clearly ignoring the buzz. But when it came time to sign the bill, he did — no shoutouts to TikTok in his speeches. Despite the backlash and a comment section full of pleas, it’s business as usual for Biden's team on TikTok. With 170 million U.S. users, mostly young voters, it's no surprise they're not dropping the platform anytime soon.

#NetflixControversy - The Netflix hit "What Jennifer Did" has landed in hot water over its use of images depicting Jennifer Pan, the woman behind a chilling murder-for-hire plot against her parents. As the true crime doc soared in popularity, sharp-eyed viewers started spotting oddities in the images—from mismatched earrings to a bizarrely elongated tooth—raising suspicions that they might be AI-generated. Ambiguity around whether AI tools were used has only fueled the debate, spotlighting the broader controversy over AI's role in film and media.

The Past 24 hours ⌛

Threads has 150 million monthly users

Meta's Threads app hits 150 million monthly users, up 20 million since February. Despite initial drop-offs, the app shows consistent growth and outperforms X in some U.S. metrics. Mark Zuckerberg sees potential for Threads to reach a billion users, with plans to monetize once sufficiently grown.

AI search engine Perplexity AI is now evaluated now has $1B evaluation

Perplexity AI, an AI search engine startup, has raised $62.7 million, pushing its valuation to $1.04 billion. The round, led by Y Combinator's ex-head of AI, Daniel Gross, included backers like Jeff Bezos and NVIDIA. The funding will boost consumer and enterprise adoption, aiming to rival Google with its advanced AI models like GPT-4. Perplexity has also launched an enterprise version and secured partnerships with major companies across various sectors to distribute its technology globally.

AI could kill off most call centres, says TCS Head

The CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, K Krithivasan, predicted that AI could significantly reduce the need for call centers within a year. Speaking to the Financial Times, he noted that while there hasn't been a reduction in jobs yet, the adoption of generative AI by multinational clients is set to transform customer support centers, particularly in countries like India and the Philippines. Krithivasan envisions a future where AI and chatbots can predict and resolve customer issues proactively, reducing the volume of incoming calls to a minimum.

Reddit, AI spam bots explore new ways to show ads in your feed

Reddit has launched Dynamic Product Ads globally, enhancing its ad-first business model. These ads leverage discussions and machine learning to display relevant products directly within user feeds. Meanwhile, external services like ReplyGuy are exploiting the platform to promote products through AI-generated responses, posing challenges for Reddit’s spam detection efforts. This evolving advertising landscape shows Reddit's ongoing efforts to integrate more seamlessly targeted ads while combating external spam tactics.

US bans TikTok owner ByteDance, will prohibit app in US unless it is sold

The Senate has passed a bill mandating that ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, sell the company within 270 days or face exclusion from the U.S. market. Labeled as a "foreign adversary controlled application," TikTok could remain in the U.S. if sold in a manner that removes foreign adversary control. If not sold, U.S. app stores and internet services must cease TikTok distribution, with penalties for non-compliance. ByteDance plans to challenge the legislation in court, citing violations of First Amendment rights.

Bit Boutique 👩🏾‍💻

Opengist | Self-hosted pastebin powered by Git, open-source alternative to Github Gist.

Supermemory | Build your own second brain with supermemory. It's a ChatGPT for your bookmarks. Import tweets or save websites and content using the chrome extension.

Miscellaneous 🎲

The Art Of SVG Filters And Why It Is Awesome

There is a gap between pure CSS layout and custom design elements created in software such as Photoshop or Illustrator. Sophisticated SVG filters give us more independence from third-party design tools and bridge this gap by enabling us to create visual styles directly in the browser.Wouldn’t it be great if we could style letters the same way we usually style text with CSS? In this article Dirk Weber will show you how SVG filters help you to create playful, decorative web typography.

Fighting distractions as a software developer

Dalibor Schön tackles the ever-present challenge of distractions for software developers in his article, emphasizing the importance of maintaining focus amidst various productivity killers. He categorizes distractions into obvious ones like calls and messages, grey areas like meetings and updates, and less obvious ones such as searching online during coding. Schön suggests practical measures such as prioritizing tasks, setting a daily routine, and planning for breaks. He also highlights the benefits of using effective tools and the necessity of embracing less productive days for routine tasks, promoting a balanced approach to managing distractions in a developer's workflow.