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Another week of layoffs, executive departures and AI-generated everything

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Summary

This week's Week in Review newsletter covers the most read TechCrunch stories, which include Amazon paying customers to tip their delivery drivers, the CEO of Slack stepping down, the release of internal Twitter communications, the viral photo editing app Lensa AI generating controversy, layoffs at Airtable, Plaid, Chipper Cash, and Primer, Google combining its Maps and Waze teams, and Apple's possible cut of Twitter's "Blue" subscription cost. Additionally, TechCrunch+ subscribers read about investors sounding the alarm about possible private equity tech deals, and Rootine's $10 million round pitch deck.

Q&As

What is Week in Review?
Week in Review is a newsletter that takes the most read TechCrunch stories from the last seven days and wraps them up in as few words as possible.

How can people sign up for Week in Review?
People can sign up for Week in Review by visiting the website.

What did Amazon do regarding delivery drivers?
Amazon will pay delivery drivers an extra $5 if customers say, “Alexa, thank my driver” after a delivery.

Who are the CEOs of Salesforce and Slack departing?
The CEOs of Salesforce and Slack departing are Bret Taylor and Stewart Butterfield, respectively.

What controversies have arisen from the Lensa AI photo editing app?
Controversies have arisen from the Lensa AI photo editing app regarding the ethics of selling something generated by an AI trained on the works of real people, as well as the AI being able to be "tricked" into generating otherwise disallowed NSFW imagery.

AI Comments

👍 This article provides a great summary of the week's tech news and upcoming trends!

👎 This article focuses on the negative news in tech, such as layoffs and executive departures.

AI Discussion

Me: It's a weekly roundup of the most read TechCrunch stories from the last seven days. It covers topics like layoffs, executive departures and AI-generated everything.

Friend: Wow, that's a lot of stuff. What are the implications of the article?

Me: Well, the article implies that technology is having a major impact on the workplace, with AI-generated processes replacing many manual tasks and executive departures causing layoffs. It also shows how companies like Amazon and Slack are using technology to drive profits, even if it is not necessarily the most ethical move. Finally, it shows how AI-generated art is becoming popular and raising questions of ethics and copyright.

Action items

Research the ethical implications of AI-generated art and consider how it could impact the work of human artists.
Explore the implications of Amazon's decision to tip drivers on their own dime.
Investigate the potential implications of Google merging the Waze and Google Maps teams.

Technical terms

Layoffs: The termination of employment of a group of employees for economic or other reasons.
Executive Departures: The act of leaving a position of leadership or management in a company.
AI-Generated: Created or produced by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.
WiR: An acronym for Week in Review, a newsletter that summarizes the most read TechCrunch stories from the last seven days.
Alexa: Amazon's virtual assistant, which can be used to control smart home devices, play music, and more.
Salesforce: A cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform.
Stable Diffusion: A company that provides AI-generated art tools.
NSFW: An acronym for Not Safe For Work, which is used to describe content that is not suitable for viewing in a professional or public setting.
Fintech: A portmanteau of "financial technology," which refers to the use of technology to provide financial services.
Drag-and-Drop: A type of user interface where elements can be moved around the screen by dragging them with a mouse or other pointing device.
Google Maps: A web mapping service developed by Google.
Waze: A GPS navigation software app owned by Google.
Twitter Blue: A subscription plan offered by Twitter that comes with a blue “verified” checkmark.
iOS: An operating system developed by Apple for its mobile devices.