Reuters
Pope Francis met with a Microsoft executive to discuss AI.
Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Thursday.
- Apple CEO Tim Cook promised to investigate the Saudi app branded "abhorrent" by a US senator for allowing men to track women. Cook says he will take a look at the Saudi government App Store app following an investigation by Business Insider's sister site INSIDER.
- A former Apple executive was accused of insider trading. Gene Levoff, who was Apple's senior director of corporate law and corporate secretary until September, was accused of insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Tesla should be "preparing for battle" in China. With Model 3s on the way and a factory under construction in Shanghai, Tesla is beginning an aggressive push into China's electric vehicle market.
- Apple's rumored video streaming service won't include Netflix, CNBC says. Apple is aiming to launch its video offering in April or early May.
- People on Instagram are worried about a "purge" after discovering they lost a ton of followers, but it turns out it was caused by a bug. The major loss of followers has reportedly affected popular accounts of celebrities including Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, Cristiano Ronaldo, and the YouTuber James Charles.
- Jack Dorsey says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is "mastering" Twitter, but Elon Musk is his favourite tweeter. Dorsey said he respects the "ups and downs" that come with Musk's Twitter usage, which has famously landed him in hot water.
- Microsoft's top lawyer met with Pope Francis to discuss the ethics of artificial intelligence. Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith told Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that "strong ethical and new, evolved laws" are needed as the technology evolves.
- A prominent former Googler says she has "grave concerns about how strategic decisions are made at Google today" and how it treats employees. Liz Fong-Jones, a prominent former Google engineer known for speaking out for employee rights, wrote about her experience inside the search giant in an op-ed published on Wednesday.
- NASA's Opportunity rover is dead, ending the longest-running Mars mission in history. Officials at NASA announced the Martian robot's death on Wednesday.
- Tesla employees fear for their jobs more than workers at any other major tech firm. Tesla employees are most afraid of layoffs at their company, according to a survey of more than 8,000 tech workers by workplace chat app Blind.
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