Today’s tech news roundup:
- AI: Roblox to Offer Creators GenAI Tools
- Big Tech: Google and Apple lose their appeals before the EU
- Cybersecurity: 1.7 million people affected by Slim CD security breach
Roblox develops GenAI tool to create 3D objects
Roblox is a online gaming platform and game creation system which relies on user-generated content. Soon, developers will be able to use a generative AI tool, the 3D Foundations Model, to build 3D assets with text prompts, images, or even videos. The model will be open sourced in hopes of gaining wider adoption in the gaming industry. There is currently no launch date for the 3D Foundations Model.
Why it matters: The tool works like a big learning model, predicting what’s coming next based on information it already knows. Today’s AI generative art tools can already create images from text prompts, but 3D environments are a bit trickier. While a 2D model can’t generate human hands or even spell words correctly, it’ll be interesting to see what the first generation of the Foundations 3D model will create.
Further reading: MIT Technology Review; Ars Technica; PCMag
EU courts win major victory against Google and Apple
In 2017, antitrust regulators in EU fines Google $2.7 billion for abuse of dominant position in the search market by giving preference to its price comparison tool over others. The company appealed and, in 2021, the courts upheld the sanction. Google has appealed againand yesterday, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the European Union’s highest court, upheld the original ruling. In a separate case, the same court found that Apple received an unfair tax break on profits made between 2003 and 2014. The company must now pay $15 billion in back taxes and fees to Ireland, where Apple’s European headquarters is located.
Why it matters: Technology, and therefore tech companies, are evolving much faster than governments can keep up. We are only now seeing the results of the lawsuits filed against tech giants almost a decade ago. At the time, the fine imposed on Google by the European Commission was a record penalty. EU regulations on data privacy, antitrust violations and the Digital Markets Act are stricter than any US laws. US-based companies must decide whether to comply with the regulations, ignore them and continue to pay hefty fines, or cease doing business in the EU.
Further reading: Technological crisis; The Next Web; Engadget; CJEU remarks
Payment Processing Service Provider Slim CD Discloses Data Breach
Most people understand how Visa, Mastercard, and even Square process payments. But they may not know that major credit card companies aren’t the only payment processors. Canadian payment gateway provider Slim CD is notifying its customers of a data breach discovered in June 2024. The company believes attackers gained access to systems as early as August 2023. Nearly 1,700,000 people could be affected by the breach. The attackers had access to credit card numbers and expiration dates, but not the card verification number.
Why it matters: This is another data breach where people’s personally identifiable information (PII) may not have even realized the company that was the victim of the breach had their data. Slim CD is encouraging those affected by the breach to “stay vigilant,” which is bad advice, considering the attacker was lurking in their systems for nearly a year. Hopefully, they did at least that. PCI Compliant.
Further reading: Beeping computer; Safety Week; Technological radar; Slim CD Data Privacy Notice
