AT&T’s sweeping outage: AT&T users across the nation were hit by a massive cellular network outage on Thursday morning, preventing many from calling, texting, and going online if they were away from Wi-Fi. Users also reported trouble reaching 911 emergency lines during the disruption. By late Thursday afternoon, when the telecom company said it had reinstated service, some 70,000 customers had reported losing their network connection. Federal agencies are investigating to determine whether the outage was due to a technical malfunction or a cyberattack. Full story.
Google unplugs feature from AI chatbot: After Google apologized for Gemini’s generation of “inaccuracies” in historical depictions, it cut the cord on the AI chatbot’s image-making functions—at least for now. Gemini users took to social media this week to share images the chatbot produced of racially diverse people in historically white-dominated scenes. Although Google says the diversity within the chatbot’s image generation is good, it admits the system is still “missing the mark.” Google says it’s working on improving its image-generation feature before rereleasing it to the public. Full story.
Nvidia’s stock reaches new heights: After Nvidia’s Q4 earnings blew away Wall Street expectations, with revenue increasing 265% compared to the same quarter last year, its stock went on a tear Thursday, jumping more than 16% and closing at all-time high. The heavy demand for Nvidia’s chips, used to power many of today’s AI technologies, fueled a booming quarter for the software company. Nvidia’s stock performance not only lifted CEO Jensen Huang’s net worth, making him one of the world’s richest people, but it also had a ripple effect on the market. Many other chipmakers and tech manufacturers saw their share price surge Thursday. Full story.
Challenges for EV makers: After reporting a Q4 loss of $1.5 billion, Rivian Automotive says it will lay off 10% of its salaried workers. The news comes after Lucid Group, another electric vehicle maker, lowered its production guidance for 2024 to 9,000 vehicles. Between Rivian’s layoffs and Lucid’s struggle to find EV buyers, the year ahead could prove to be a rough ride for EV manufacturers. Full story.
Volkswagen’s recall: Volkswagen will soon recall more than 261,000 cars in the U.S. for an issue with the pump seal—the same issue that prompted a Volkswagen recall back in 2016. The problem with the pump could lead to a fuel leak and increase the risk of a vehicle fire. Volkswagen will begin sending notification letters to owners of affected vehicles in April; pumps on recalled vehicles will be replaced by dealers free of charge. Full story.
