Turns out people are using AI like a personal shopper

image via qz.com
image via qz.com

“The conversion gap reinforces that AI is being utilized during the research and consideration stage, in advance of when shoppers are ready to hit the buy button.” But, it added, the closing gap “shows that consumers are also increasingly comfortable completing a transaction directly after an AI-powered chat experience.”

https://qz.com/gen-ai-personal-shopper-adobe-e-commerce-1851770510

Apple is turning its AirPods into the Babel fish from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

image via qz.com
image via qz.com

Apple (AAPL) is designing a new AirPods feature that would allow users to listen and respond to live translations of in-person conversations, according to a Bloomberg report that cites unnamed sources. The feature will reportedly work in tandem with an iPhone, which will translate speech for the user and relay it to a pair of AirPods. When the user responds, the iPhone will play a translation out loud, enabling a two-way conversation.

https://qz.com/apple-airpods-translate-ios-19-1851770018

Let’s talk about dating apps — and why they seem to be getting worse

image via qz.com
image via qz.com

This phenomenon, known as “swiping fatigue,” is the feeling of exhaustion that comes from what seems like endless swiping and disappointing attempts to find real connections. Since 2020, downloads for dating apps including Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble have been on the decline due to tired and dissatisfied users.

https://qz.com/dating-apps-tinder-bumble-technology-business-algorithm-1851752577

Google is on the hot seat. Some want to break it up. Good luck

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image via qz.com

Google is in trouble on two major fronts: The Federal Trade Commission says Google has monopolized the internet search industry, and the Department of Justice says Google has monopolized the internet ad industry. There’s a third case in the U.S. relating to Google’s app store, brought by an app maker named Epic Games. In the search case, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the way Google runs its search business is illegal and monopolistic. He’s scheduled hearings on a solution for next spring and said he’ll issue a ruling next summer. The trial in the ad case began this month in Virginia.

https://qz.com/google-search-advertising-monopoly-antitrust-lawsuits-1851654770

Sony’s Access controller for the PlayStation aims to make gaming easier for people with disabilities

image via qz.com
image via qz.com

Playing video games has long been a challenge for people with disabilities. As part of the gaming industry's efforts to address the problem, Sony has developed the Access controller for the PlayStation.

https://qz.com/sonys-access-controller-for-the-playstation-aims-to-mak-1850921182

Once valued at $5.7 billion, Vice may now be headed for bankruptcy

image via qz.com
image via qz.com

Vice started as a punk zine in Montreal in the 1990s, expanding into a global media brand that included a print magazine, a vast digital content operation, a TV and film production studio, and its own TV network, Vice TV. It racked up prestigious journalism awards with its flagship program, Vice News Tonight. Vice’s brash reporting style helped define a new era of news, starting in the mid-2000s, that courted a younger audience, while drawing hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from establishment media companies, including Disney and Fox. The company, however, has failed to turn a profit for years, losing money and resorting to successive rounds of staff layoffs.

https://qz.com/once-valued-at-5-7-billion-vice-may-now-be-headed-for-1850394233