What Is DeepSeek? China Shocks AI Industry With ‘Sputnik Moment’

image c/o pcmag.com
image c/o pcmag.com

Chinese AI company DeepSeek released an AI model that is sending shockwaves through the US tech industry due to its low cost and high performance. Tech investor Marc Andreessen calls it "AI's Sputnik moment," causing US tech stocks to tumble this morning, with Nvidia the hardest hit, down 11%. The app surpassed ChatGPT on the Apple App Store as the most-downloaded free application. But after receiving a flood of registrations and "large-scale malicious attacks"—possibly a DDoS attack—DeepSeek has "temporarily" restricted access to those with a +86 mainland Chinese phone number. You may still be able to sign in with a Google account.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/what-is-deepseek-china-shocks-ai-industry-with-sputnik-moment

Here’s what Samsung’s first Android XR headset looks like in person

image via theverge.com
image via theverge.com

The headset, which Samsung is developing in partnership with Google, runs Android XR, an OS designed specifically for headsets and smart glasses. My colleague Victoria Song got to try Project Moohan late last year, so if you want to know what it’s like to actually wear and use. Samsung plans to launch Project Moohan for developers first, but it won’t be available right away for consumers.

https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/22/24349736/samsung-project-moohan-photos-android-xr-headset

Designers say AI is making stock image sites unusable

image via creativebloq.com
image via creativebloq.com

AI is supposed to make things quicker and easier, right? But while it's true that AI tools can automate or streamline some of the most tedious tasks, it appears that the tech, or its results, are making some tasks more difficult. Some designers who use stock image libraries to source photos, illustrations and vectors for their projects are finding that they have to wade through more unusable content to find an image that suits their needs, adding more time to their workflows.

https://www.creativebloq.com/ai/ai-art/designers-say-ai-is-making-stock-image-sites-unusable

Instagram’s shifting to rectangles, messing up your perfect, square grid

image via mashable.com
image via mashable.com

"I know some of you really like your squares. And square photos are sort of the heritage of Instagram," Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said in an Instagram story. "But at this point, most of what’s uploaded, both photos and videos, are vertical in their orientation. And it just is a bummer to overly crop them. I know it's a change. I know it's a bit of a pain, but I think it's a transitional pain."

https://mashable.com/article/instagram-rectangle-square-grid

Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban

image via techcrunch.com
image via techcrunch.com

The Supreme Court has upheld the law that will effectively ban TikTok on Sunday, January 19. The decision marks the end of TikTok’s months-long legal fight against a law that essentially forces the ByteDance-owned app to shut down unless it divests its U.S. operations on national security grounds. As of Sunday, it will be illegal for app stores and internet hosting services to distribute the social network. TikTok has warned that the app will simply “go dark” on Sunday, but it’s unclear what exactly will happen once the ban takes effect.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/17/supreme-court-upholds-tiktok-ban/