This Week in Tech: Netflix Enters Gaming and AI-Powered App Reviews
Emerging Tech Roundup — July 26
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: Netflix hires former Epic Games exec in gaming division, Google updates Play Store with AI-powered app reviews and curated spaces, forever chemicals decomposed using light at room temperature, iPhones to soon stream live video on 911 calls, Chrome adds new warnings and cloud scanning for suspicious downloads, AI models rank their own safety in OpenAI’s new alignment research, and Stability AI steps into a new gen AI dimension with Stable Video 4D.
Netflix Hires Former Epic Games Exec as New President of Games
(Engadget, July 23)
Netflix has appointed former Epic Games exec Alain Tascan as its new president of games, marking a significant step in its expanding gaming division. The streaming giant, which started its gaming project in 2021, has acquired several indie studios and is developing over 80 new games, many of which are interactive fiction based on its shows and movies. Despite a substantial investment, Netflix’s gaming titles had about 1.7 million daily users in 2022, with 23.3 million downloads.
Google is Updating the Play Store with AI-Powered App Reviews and Curated Spaces
(Engadget, July 24)
Google has announced updates to the Play Store to enhance user experience and encourage more engagement. The updates include AI-generated review summaries, auto-generated FAQs powered by Gemini models, and AI-generated highlights for apps. These features aim to make the Play Store a more interactive and informative space, transforming it into an end-to-end experience beyond just a marketplace.
In a First, Forever Chemicals Decomposed Using Light at Room Temperature
(Interesting Engineering, July 24)
Researchers developed a new method using visible LED light to decompose forever chemicals (PFASs) at room temperature, offering a sustainable solution for fluorine recycling and PFAS treatment. This method can recover fluorine from waste PFAS, and addresses the environmental and health threats posed by PFASs. The technique achieved a 100% breakdown of perfluorooctanesulfonate (a type of PFA) in eight hours and an 81% breakdown of Nafion in 24 hours — presenting a groundbreaking approach to mitigating PFAS pollution.
iPhones Will Soon Be Able to Stream Live Video on 911 Calls
(The Verge, July 24)
First responder networks are supporting a major new emergency feature in iOS 18: Live Video support for 911 calls. This feature — integrated with platforms like RapidSOS Unite and Prepare — allows video chatting with dispatchers and emergency responders, enhancing their ability to locate and assist individuals in need. This update is part of Apple’s broader initiative to enhance safety features, which includes Crash Detection, Emergency SOS via satellite, Fall Detection, and the upcoming iMessage and Roadside Assistance through satellite.
Chrome Adds New Warnings and Cloud Scanning for Suspicious Downloads
(The Verge, July 24)
Google has updated Chrome’s suspicious file warnings to provide clearer explanations for blocked downloads, aiming to enhance user understanding. For users with Enhanced protection, the browser now performs automatic cloud scans of suspicious files, significantly increasing the likelihood of detecting malware. These changes are now live in current Chrome releases.
AI Models Rank their Own Safety in OpenAI’s New Alignment Research
(Venture Beat, July 24)
OpenAI recently announced Rules-Based Rewards (RBR), a new way to enhance the alignment of AI models with safety policies. RBR involves AI models scoring responses based on predefined rules set by safety and policy teams, offering a more consistent and less subjective alternative to human evaluators — though it may present ethical concerns and challenges with subjective tasks. OpenAI emphasizes the importance of careful RBR design and the complementary use of human feedback to ensure fairness and accuracy.
Stability AI Steps into a New Gen AI Dimension with Stable Video 4D
(Venture Beat, July 24)
Stability AI has introduced Stable Video 4D, expanding its generative AI models by enabling video input to generate multiple videos from eight different perspectives. This new model builds on the Stable Video Diffusion model, which converts images into videos. Unlike previous ventures, Stable Video 4D goes further by offering a more advanced capability to handle dynamically moving 3D objects in video.
