Tag Archives: silicon-valley

Twitter’s CEO Had Already Been Selling Ads for the Don Lemon Show That Elon Musk Suddenly Canceled – Futurism

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If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

X-formerly-Twitter owner and self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist" Elon Musk abruptly canceled journalist Don Lemon's upcoming X show on Wednesday, an incident that put Musk's glaring double standard when it comes to his town square "for all" on full display.

Despite Musk telling Lemon he had his "full support," he apparently canceled the show "hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday," Lemon wrote in a statement.

Now, as Semafor reports, more details are coming to light, further complicating the story. According to two insider sources, Lemon let a contract languish for "weeks"without signing it. But Lemon's associates shot back, arguing that it was X's legal department that "took weeks to get a contract to the hosts team."

Perhaps most glaringly of all, X CEO Linda Yaccarino was apparently already selling ads for the show at CES in January, despite never having signed a deal.

Musk has yet to give a coherent reason as to why he mysteriously canceled Lemon's show.

In a vague tweet, MuskaccusedLemon of trying to recreate "'CNN, but on social media,' which doesn't work, as evidenced by the fact thatCNNis dying."

"And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity," he added, referring to the former president ofCNN,without clarifying further.

It's a bizarre change of heart that highlights Musk's often self-serving nature and morally dubious business practices.

Was Musk left with a bad taste in his mouth after his interview with Lemon? Is X financially unable to hold up its end of the bargain?

Lemon maintains that "there were no restrictions on the interview that he willingly agreed to," and that his questions "were respectful and wide ranging, covering everything from SpaceX to the presidential election."

In a follow-up video posted to X however, Lemon conceded that the conversation was "tense at times."

According to Silicon Valley chronicler Kara Swisher, the interview also touched on Musk's alleged drug use. The conversation "was not to the adult toddlers liking, including questions about his ketamine use," she tweeted.

"I had told Don that this is exactly what would occur, including at a recent book tour event in NYC for my memoir, 'Burn Book,' he moderated," she added in a follow-up, "despite promises by Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino who extravagantly touted this deal at CES to advertisers that this time was different."

"Why is he so upset?" Lemon said in his video."Does he even have a reason he's upset?"

Without a written agreement, chances are the former CNN anchor is out of luck. It's also unclear if Yaccarino will ever face any consequences for pushing ads against a show that never existed.

The latest news, however, is unlikely the last time we'll hear about the Lemon deal that had gone sour. The former anchor's spokesperson Allison Gollust told Semafor that Lemon "expects to be paid for it."

"If we have to go to court, we will," she added.

More on the deal: Elon Musk Doesn't Like Don Lemon's Interview Questions, Abruptly Cancels His Twitter Show

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Twitter's CEO Had Already Been Selling Ads for the Don Lemon Show That Elon Musk Suddenly Canceled - Futurism

Supreme Court Will Decide What Free Speech Means on Social Media – Gizmodo

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The Supreme Court is hearing two cases on Monday that could set new precedents around free speech on social media platforms. The cases challenge two similar laws from Florida and Texas, respectively, which aim to reduce Silicon Valley censorship on social media, much like Elon Musk has done at X in the last year.

Twitter Verification is a Hot Mess

After four hours of opening arguments, Supreme Court Justices seemed unlikely to completely strike down Texas and Floridas laws, according to Bloomberg. Justice Clarence Thomas said social media companies were engaging in censorship. However, Chief Justice John Roberts questioned whether social media platforms are really a public square. If not, they wouldnt fall under the First Amendments protections.

At one point, the lawyer representing Texas shouted out, Sir, this is a Wendys. He was trying to prove a point about public squares and free speech, but it didnt make much sense.

The cases, Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton, both label social media platforms as a digital public square and would give states a say in how content is moderated. Both laws are concerned with conservative voices being silenced on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms, potentially infringing on the First Amendment.

Silencing conservative views is un-American, its un-Texan and its about to be illegal, said Texas Governor Greg Abbott on X in 2021, announcing one of the laws the Supreme Court is debating on Monday.

If Big Tech censors enforce rules inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will now be held accountable, said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a 2021 press release, announcing his new law.

NetChoice, a coalition of techs biggest players, argues that these state laws infringe on a social media companys right to free speech. The cases have made their way to the United States highest court, and a decision could permanently change social media.

The laws could limit Facebooks ability to censor pro-Nazi content on its platform, for example. Social media companies have long been able to dictate what kind of content appears on their platform, but the topic has taken center stage in the last year. Musks X lost major advertisers following a rise in white supremacist content that appeared next to legacy brands, such as IBM and Apple.

NetChoice argues that social media networks are like newspapers, and they have a right to choose what appears on their pages, litigator Chris Marchese told The Verge. The New York Times is not required to let Donald Trump write an 0p-ed under the First Amendment, and NetChoice argues the same goes for social media.

NetChoices members include Google, Meta, TikTok, X, Amazon, Airbnb, and other Silicon Valley staples beyond social media platforms. The association was founded in 2001 to make the Internet safe for free enterprise and free expression.

Social and political issues have consumed technology companies in recent months. Googles new AI chatbot Gemini was accused of being racist against white people last week. In January, Mark Zuckerberg, sitting before Senate leaders, apologized to a room of parents who said Instagram contributed to their childrens suicides or exploitation.

Both of these laws were created shortly after Twitter, now X, banned Donald Trump in 2021. Since then, Musk has completely revamped the platform into a free speech absolutist site. Similar to Governors Abbot and DeSantis, Musk is also highly concerned with so-called liberal censorship on social media.

The Supreme Courts decision on these cases could have a meaningful impact on how controversy and discourse play out on social media. Congress has faced criticism for its limited role in regulating social media companies in the last two decades, but this decision could finally set some ground rules. Its unclear which way the Court will lean on these cases, as the issues have little precedent.

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Supreme Court Will Decide What Free Speech Means on Social Media - Gizmodo

Ascent Solar Technologies to fly space solar modules on NASA’s upcoming LISA-T mission SatNews – SatNews

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Ascent Solar Technologies (Nasdaq: ASTI) has announced that the Companys solar module products will fly on NASAs upcoming Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and AnTenna (LISA-T) mission, scheduled for launch this summer.

The mission, led by NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate and the agencys Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, will demonstrate the capability to deploy large-area arrays on lightweight, low-cost and small spacecraft.

LISA-T is the fourth mission in NASAs Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) series of missions evaluating novel, small spacecraft capabilities on orbit. Managed by NASAs Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, these demonstration missions facilitate the direct infusion of new technologies into the agencys future science and exploration missions.

LISA-T (PTD-4)s solar arrays are lower mass and stowed volume, and produce three times more power than alternative PV solutions traded within the system envelope. PTD-4s deployable solar arrays are designed to scale larger than the missions CubeSat form factor with options capable of generating kilowatts of power to small spacecraft.

Leading up to this spacecraft demonstration, Ascents PV products were previously evaluated on the International Space Station. Modules tested on NASAs MISSE-X experiment validated the resilience of the companys CIGS material in the space environment, both bare and encapsulated. Additional Ascent modules with lower-cost and lighter-weight laminates are being evaluated on the upcoming MISSE payload slated to fly on SpaceXs 30th Commercial Resupply Mission to the space station scheduled for March.

Selection for this upcoming space mission is the culmination of years of Ascents work with NASA to optimize the PV modules that enabled LISA-Ts ambitious spacecraft mass and power budgets to close, said Paul Warley, CEO of Ascent Solar Technologies. This mission will demonstrate that previously unachievable spacecraft requirements can in fact be met. It also provides a shining example of the benefits of public-private partnerships that leverage new and innovative commercial technologies, as NASA programs like MISSE & PTD lead the way for even more capable spacecraft for government and commercial space missions. The modules developed for LISA-T informed the design of Ascents Titan line of space products, facilitating further maximization of power generation to the extent that spacecraft can produce kilowatts per kilogram of array in the space environment with minimal degradation over the life of the mission.

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Ascent Solar Technologies to fly space solar modules on NASA's upcoming LISA-T mission SatNews - SatNews

Seattle’s Pioneer Square Labs and Silicon Valley stalwart Mayfield form AI co-investing partnership – GeekWire

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Navin Chaddha (left), managing partner at Mayfield, and Greg Gottesman, managing director at Pioneer Square Labs. (Mayfield and PSL Photos)

Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs (PSL) and esteemed Silicon Valley venture capital firm Mayfield are teaming up to fund the next generation of AI-focused startups.

The partnership combines the startup incubation prowess of PSL, a 9-year-old studio that helps get companies off the ground, with Mayfield, a Menlo Park fixture founded in 1969 that has stalwarts such as Lyft, HashiCorp, ServiceMax and others in its portfolio.

As part of the agreement, PSL spinouts focused on AI-related technology will get a minimum of $1.5 million in seed funding from PSLs venture arm (PSL Ventures) and Mayfield.

Weve really been focusing a lot of our efforts on building defensible new AI-based technology companies and found a partner who feels very similarly and has incredible talent, resources, and thought leadership around this area, said PSL Managing Director Greg Gottesman.

Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield, described the partnership as very complimentary. PSL specializes in testing new ideas before spinning out startups. Mayfield steps in when companies are ready to raise a venture round and at later stages.

They have strengths, we have strengths, Chaddha said.

Its a bet by both firms on the promise of AI technology and startup creation.

Its a once-in-a-lifetime transformational opportunity in the tech industry, Chaddha said.

Mayfield last year launched a $250 million fund dedicated to AI. Chaddha published a blog post last month about what Mayfield describes as the AI cognitive plumbing layer, where the picks and shovels infrastructure companies of the AI industry reside.

Theres so much infrastructure to be built, Chaddha said. He added that the applications enabled by new AI technologies such as generative AI are endless.

Gottesman, who helped launch PSL in 2015 after a long stint with Seattle venture firm Madrona, said more than 60% of code written at PSL is now completed by AI a stark difference from just a year ago.

Its not that we have humans writing less code were just moving faster, Gottesman said.

The $1.5 million seed investments are a minimum;PSL and Mayfield are open to partnering with other investors and firms. The Richard King Mellon Foundation is also participating in the partnership.

The deal marks the latest connection point between the Seattle and Silicon Valley tech ecosystems.

Madrona, Seattles oldest and largest venture capital firm, opened a new Bay Area office in 2022 and hired a local managing director.

Bay Area investors have increasingly invested in Seattle-area startups including Mayfield, which has backed Outreach, Skilljar, SeekOut, Revefi, and others in the region. The firm was an early investor in Concur, the travel expense giant that went public in 1998.

Chaddha previously lived in the Seattle area after Microsoft acquired his streaming media startup VXtreme in 1997. He spent a few years at the Redmond tech giant, working alongside Satya Nadella who later went on to become CEO.

I think its fantastic that Mayfield is making a commitment not just to AI, but also to the Seattle area as well, said Gottesman.

PSL raised $20 million third fund last year to support its studio, which has spun out more than 35 companies including Boundless, Recurrent, SingleFile, and others. Job postings show new company ideas related to automation around hardware development and workflow operations for go-to-market execs. The PSL Ventures fundraised$100 million in 2021.

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Seattle's Pioneer Square Labs and Silicon Valley stalwart Mayfield form AI co-investing partnership - GeekWire