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Greetings! Here’s an idea. Instead of Donald Trump letting Elon Musk crash every dinner and phone call Trump has with tech CEOs, how about he invites Apple CEO Tim Cook and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg to jointly dine with him? Maybe the incoming president could sort out the two companies’ differences. Tensions between Apple and Meta date back a while, of course, but Apple’s diatribe against Meta this week was particularly aggressive. The iPhone maker published a paper all but accusing Meta of abusing efforts by European regulators to require Apple devices to work seamlessly with other devices. “Meta has made 15 requests (and counting) for potentially far-reaching access to Apple’s technology stack that, if granted as sought, would reduce the protections around personal data that our users have come to expect,” Apple said. Apple claimed that if Meta succeeded in those requests, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp could read every message and email on someone’s phone, see every call they make and log all of their passwords. Sounds scary—but skepticism is warranted. As the Justice Department said when it filed an antitrust suit against Apple earlier this year, “Apple wraps itself in a cloak of privacy, security and consumer preferences to justify its anticompetitive conduct.” The Europeans want to make it easier for makers of devices like smartwatches, headphones and virtual reality headsets to connect seamlessly with iPhones, as a way of improving competition. Meta’s Ray-Ban smartglasses, for instance, already connect with iPhones, although the connection drops easily, which can be annoying. Transferring photos from the Ray-Bans to your phone is a bizarrely complicated process. It makes sense that Meta wants to improve the experience. It’s not in Apple’s interest, though, to help Meta, seeing as the Ray-Bans undercut the need for Apple’s own AirPods. Apple is reportedly contemplating bringing out its own smart glasses. In other words, Apple is better off if it can make Meta’s products less useful to consumers. As for Apple’s claims about how Meta could see everything on someone’s phone, Meta notes that it is only asking for the same access Apple’s wearable devices already have. Apple’s paper attacking Meta came out as European regulators asked for input from companies, organizations and individuals on how Apple should comply with the European law that requires interoperability between its devices and those of others. It looks like Apple wants to muddy the waters by painting the interoperability requirements as dangerous for users. Let’s not forget the company’s real agenda here. If only there was a Ring camera installed inside Mar-a-Lago’s dining room! A video of the dinner between Trump, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk on Wednesday night—as reported by The New York Times—would be priceless. (Maybe not "My Dinner With Andre" quality, but you get the picture). Just imagine the scene: Bezos is fawning over Trump, complimenting him on how much calmer he is, when Musk ambles up and pulls up a chair. Bezos probably thought to himself, “Not this guy again!” Trump might have even asked himself whether Musk couldn’t find somewhere else to eat. Who else is wondering whether Musk has somewhere else to be? Tesla’s board.
- Fintech banking startup Chime Financial has filed confidential paperwork for an IPO, Bloomberg reported.
- Alec Radford, an OpenAI researcher who helped develop some of its most important artificial intelligence, on Thursday told colleagues he was leaving to pursue research independently (more here).
- Workers at seven U.S. Amazon facilities went on strike Thursday, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said. The striking workers include some warehouse staff employed by Amazon, as well as delivery drivers that Amazon says are not its employees.
- Apple is nearing a deal with the Indonesian government to lift a ban on sales of the iPhone 16 that went into effect in late October, Bloomberg reported.
AI Agenda by Stephanie Palazzolo separates hype from reality and explains how AI is transforming industries. The 4x/week newsletter details the innovation and disruption happening in AI, from the AI startup funding frenzy to the major technological breakthroughs that will set the agenda for decades to come. Sign up today. How do our readers envision the progress of artificial intelligence in 2025 and beyond? How much do we already know about AI’s potential and what remains unknown? The Information surveyed our readers in collaboration with Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs to understand their perspective on what's in store for next year. Read up on the insights they provided here.
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