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☆ Uber will now let you book a shuttle to the airport
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Uber wants to make it cheaper to get a ride to the airport, concerts or sporting events. The rideshare company on Wednesday announced the launch of Uber Shuttle, an offering that will let users book up to five seats in a shuttle from a central location to an event or the airport – for less than the cost of a regular Uber ride. The cost of the shuttle rides won’t be affected by surge pricing, a common affliction when lots of people are looking for rides at the same time. Uber has previously rolled out early shuttle tests, including in India, and as an offering for corporate customers. Uber Shuttle will let riders book up to five seats in a shuttle to the airport or a concert or sporting event, for less than the cost of a regular Uber ride.

Persons: New York CNN — Uber, Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, Camiel Irving Organizations: New, New York CNN, Wednesday, Uber Shuttle, Costco, Lyft Locations: New York, India, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Miami, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Atlanta, Canada

☆ Uber announces shuttle rides, features for caregivers and Costco perks
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Here are the key new offerings the company announced: Uber ShuttleZoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Review trip screen for Uber Shuttle Courtesy: UberRiders looking for a more affordable way to get to the airport, work and live events, such as sports games and concerts, can reserve seats on an Uber Shuttle. Uber said the shuttle services employ commercially licensed drivers, and users can tip and rate them directly within the Uber app. Costco on Uber EatsZoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Costco on Uber Eats Courtesy: UberUber said Costco will be available as an on-demand option within Uber Eats in select locations across the U.S. starting Wednesday. Costco members can enter their member numbers in the Uber Eats app and are eligible for 20% off of Uber One, the company's subscription membership. Uber One for StudentsZoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Uber One for Students Courtesy: Uber

Persons: Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, Ilya S, San Diego Organizations: GE, Chelsea Industrial, Savenok, Getty, Wednesday, Uber, Medicare, Costco, U.S, nonmembers Locations: New York City, Chicago , Pittsburgh, Charlotte, N.C, New York, San Francisco , Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San

☆ China's Ant Group doubles down on global expansion with cross-border payments offering Alipay+
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Sheila Chiang | In Sheilachiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Photo of a person making a mobile payment. Ant InternationalChinese fintech major Ant Group is looking to boost its global presence via its digital offering, Alipay+, as it seeks to connect mobile payment apps around the world. The group's global arm, Ant International, introduced Alipay+ in 2020, allowing foreigners to use apps from their home countries to make payments in China and other countries by scanning QR codes of Ant Group's largely domestically-focused platform Alipay. Ant with its Alipay+ offering seeks to make the most of the early inroads into those markets. "We had the benefit that Alipay was already accepted in many merchants around the world so one of our first steps was [to] convert those merchants to Alipay+ merchants.

Persons: Douglas Feagin, Ant Group's, Ant, Feagin, Alipay Organizations: Ant, Ant Group, CNBC, Ant International Locations: China, Asia, Latam, Europe, U.S, Alipay, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Japan

☆ Presenting the star of this year's TV upfronts: Retailers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Usually, at the US TV upfronts — the annual event where the networks showcase their best upcoming programming in the hopes of securing big advertising commitments — the celebrities are the stars of the show. With more money being spent, advertisers are paying closer attention to what data they can use to inform their TV ad buys and prove that TV is powering their sales. It found that taking advantage of a media company's unique upfront data offerings, including retail data, was a top reason for advertisers to buy linear TV or connected TV in the upfronts, cited by 37%. US retail media CTV ad spend will increase by 86.6% this year to reach $4.19 billion, according to Emarketer. And Walmart's recent deal to acquire the TV manufacturer Vizio reflects the growing trend of retail media's convergence with TV advertising.

Persons: Eric Haggstrom, Dave Morgan, Andrea Montano, there's, NBCU, Mark Marshall, Marshall Organizations: Hollywood, Business, Amazon, TV, CTV, Kroger, Walmart, Netflix Locations: New York

☆ India’s UPI: How e-payments have taken over, from sari shops to street food stalls
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Amy Gunia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“Digital payments are likely to enhance India’s growth by eliminating frictions, increasing efficiency, and reducing costs,” Eswar Prasad, an economics professor at Cornell University, told CNN. Covid-19 further boosted the adoption of digital transactions, as people tried to protect themselves from the virus. In 2023, the number of UPI transactions topped 100 billion. Azeez, a 34-year-old rickshaw driver in Old Delhi, told CNN that he’s too scared of losing money to use e-payments. Sania Farooqui/CNNConvenience aside, India’s digital public infrastructure has helped it achieve an 80% financial inclusion rate.

Persons: Brij Kishore, ”, Agarwal, tuk, India’s, Narendra Modi, Eswar Prasad, Old Delhi Sania Farooqui, Ramesh Kumar's, Sania Farooqui, Ramesh Kumar, he’s, Azeez, Prasad, Kapil Sharma, “ Organizations: Hong Kong / New Delhi CNN, ”, Unified, “, frictions, Cornell University, CNN, “ UPI, India, National Payments Corporation of India, UPI, Sarojini, Finance, Eiffel Locations: Hong Kong / New Delhi, Chandni, India’s Old Delhi, Delhi, India, Old Delhi, Sarojini, Covid

☆ Welcome to Venice. That’ll Be 5 Euros, Please.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pulling into the Santa Lucia train station in Venice on Thursday morning, passengers were told via an overhead announcement that they might have to pay a 5-euro fee to enter the city’s historic center. Failure to pay could result in a fine from 50 to 300 euros, the announcement said. Those who hadn’t were directed to a booth where they could. After registering, overnight visitors were sent on their way without having to pay, but people planning to stay just for the day were charged (though there were other exemptions). It was a new welcome to Venice, the first city in the world to charge day visitors a nominal entrance fee, a measure city officials hope will help counter overtourism.

Persons: “, ”, Lorraine Colcher Locations: Santa Lucia, Venice, Wirral, England

☆ Venice becomes world's first city to charge an entry fee for day-trippers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Venice will begin on April 25, 2024 charging day trippers for entry, a world first aimed at easing pressure on the Italian city drowning under the weight of mass tourism. Venice became the first city in the world to charge a payment for tourists in a bid to alleviate the pressures of mass tourism and make the city more livable for its residents. The pilot program will exact a fee of 5 euros ($5.4) from day-trippers to Venice, one of Italy's most picturesque and historic cities. Municipal workers were seen checking the tickets of day-trippers outside the front of the fragile lagoon city's Santa Lucia railway station. The charge applies to tourists arriving between 8:30 a.m. local time and 4 p.m., while access is free outside of those hours.

Organizations: Reuters Locations: Venice, Italy, Santa Lucia

☆ Taylor Swift’s ‘Tortured Poets’ Arrives With a Promotional Blitz
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Taylor Swift was already the most ubiquitous pop star in the galaxy, her presence dominating the music charts, the concert calendar, the Super Bowl, the Grammys. In the days leading up to the release of “The Tortured Poets Department” on Friday, Swift became all but inescapable, online and seemingly everywhere else. A Spotify-sponsored, Swift-branded “library installation,” in muted pink and gray, popped up in a shopping complex in Los Angeles. In Chicago, a QR code painted on a brick wall directed fans to another Easter egg on YouTube. Videos on Swift’s social media accounts, showing antique typewriters and globes with pins, were dissected for clues about her music.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Department ”, Swift, SiriusXM Organizations: Department, Apple, Spotify, Swift Locations: Los Angeles, In Chicago

A man set himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump stands trial. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementA man lit himself on fire Friday outside of the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump's criminal hush-money trial is taking place, witnesses and police sources told Business Insider. "I am an investigative researcher who has set himself on fire outside of the Trump trial in Manhattan," he wrote. AdvertisementThe incident didn't interfere with Trump's ongoing trial, as the court was on a lunch break at the time.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, Donald, Witnesses, Trump Organizations: Service, Business, New York Police, Trump Locations: Manhattan, Pond

☆ Retailers Get ‘Phygital’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Some experts say phygital (“physical” + “digital”) does a better job of describing how online and brick-and-mortar shops should work together to create a seamless customer experience. That became a necessity during the pandemic, when things like QR codes, digital payment options and contactless order pickups helped ease people’s fears about contracting the virus. Plus, some say phygital captures how retailers are incorporating augmented reality and A.I. Barry Collier, an entrepreneur who helped develop Neopets, a game with virtual pets, points to Ikea’s mobile app, which allows people to virtually sample couches and curtains in their own homes before making a purchase, as an example of phygital innovation. Sephora does a similar thing with makeup.

Persons: Barry Collier

☆ Opinion: We all lose if the Olympic surveillance state becomes the norm
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Opinion Jules Boykoff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

He is the author of six books on the politics of the Olympic Games, most recently “What Are the Olympics For?” The views expressed here are his own. France enacted an Olympic Games Law in May 2023 that legalized the use of AI-driven video surveillance this summer and allowed experimentation with intelligent video surveillance until March 31, 2025. The law made France the first nation in the European Union to greenlight biometric surveillance systems. She told me that the Olympic Law “infringes the right to privacy, the right to be anonymous in the streets.”“Everything in this is political,” Levain said. The French Ministry of the Armed Forces unveiled plans to use HELMA-P, an anti-drone laser weapon system prototype, at the Paris Games.

Persons: Jules Boykoff, Emmanuel Macron, Jules Boykoff Jessi, –, ” Noémie, “, ” Levain, ”, Gérald Darmanin, we’ve, Amelie Oudea, Macron, Natsuko Sasaki, Laurent Nuñez, Le, Danielle Simonnet, Thomas Bach Organizations: Pacific University, Olympic Games, CNN, Olympic, Games, ISIS, Stade de France –, Law, European Union, Amnesty International, European Civic Forum, Human Rights, Ministry of, France’s, French Ministry of, Armed Forces, Paris Games, Stade de France, Paris Police, Le Parisien, Paris, Patriotes, Palais Royal, National Assembly, France Insoumise Party Locations: Paris, Palestinian, Atlanta, France, Le, Europe, Moscow

☆ Taylor Swift's new album rollout strategy shows she's too big to fail
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Callie Ahlgrim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Taylor Swift's new album "The Tortured Poets Department" will arrive on Friday, April 19. The quiet rollout strategy says a lot about Swift's stature in the pop-music landscape. Die-hard fans say it's a masterpiece, destined to win Swift her fifth Grammy Award for album of the year. The aforementioned fans who insist "Poets" will dominate charts and break records have no idea what the album sounds like. The particulars of each rollout strategy are rendered irrelevant, dwarfed by the all-consuming enormity of her own personal news cycle.

Persons: Taylor, —, Taylor Swift, Swift, — Maja, Carole King, Fleetwood Mac, Swiftmania, wouldn't Swift, Swifties, Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter Organizations: Department, Service, Spotify Locations: Chicago, Los Angeles, Texas

☆ India’s economy and elections: Is the hype around Narendra Modi’s vision justified?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Diksha Madhok | Rachel Wilson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New Delhi/London CNN —In just a few days, India will commence the world’s largest democratic election. So, is the hype around Modi’s India, which remains a largely impoverished country, justified? The world’s largest biometric database has also helped the government save millions by reducing corruption in welfare initiatives. Domestic investors, both retail and institutional, have been driving India’s stock market to unprecedented peaks. Still, India’s economy, much like its democracy, is far from perfect.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Indranil Mukherjee, Modi, Himanshu Sharma, Guido Cozzi, Arun Sankar, Billionaire Elon Musk Organizations: London CNN —, Getty, CNN, World, University of St, Unified, Bank, ”, National Stock Exchange of India, bourse, Bombay Stock Exchange, NSE, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Exchange, World Federation of Exchanges, Macquarie Capital, Apple, Foxconn, Billionaire, International Labour Organization Locations: New Delhi, London, India, China, Beijing, Ajmer, Rajasthan, University of St Gallen, Switzerland, Asia’s, Washington, Sriperumbudur, Chennai, Mumbai's Churchgate, AFP

☆ Why Taylor Swift's new album will be a hit — no matter what it sounds like
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Callie Ahlgrim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Taylor Swift's new album "The Tortured Poets Department" will arrive on Friday, April 19. AdvertisementIf you spend enough time in Taylor Swift-devoted territories of social media, as I have, you'll find posts that proclaim "The Tortured Poets Department" is her best album yet. Die-hard fans say it's a masterpiece, destined to win Swift her fifth Grammy Award for album of the year. But the fact that no fan has heard even one second of "Poets" — the album isn't out until Friday — seems to be a moot point. The aforementioned fans who insist "Poets" will dominate charts and break records have no idea what the album sounds like.

☆ How to identify an AI imposter in video, audio and text as deepfake technology goes mainstream
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Kevin Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Generative AI video and audio tools are getting deployed, and getting better, quickly. Even as OpenAI limits access to audio and video tools, dark websites have exploded in number in the past few months selling GPT knockoff products. How to identify an AI video imposterThere are many ways to spot an AI imposter, some relatively simple. If the person complies but their head disappears on the video screen, end the call immediately, Hollenbeck said. How to live a multi-factor authentication life offlineEven with more protections techniques, experts predict a spiraling arms race of deepfakes vs. deepfake tools.

Persons: OpenAI, Sora, Froggett, Carl Froggett, —, Rupal Hollenbeck, Hollenbeck, Chris Pierson, Pierson, Nirupam Roy, it's, Roy, Eyal Benishti, Benishti, It's Organizations: Industry, University of Maryland Locations: Hong Kong

☆ I'm a Gen Zer who lived without a smartphone for 9 months. Here's what I learned from having a clunky flip phone.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Charissa Cheong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementHaving a flip phone removed the impulse to do things on my phone without thinkingThe flip phone I got was clunky and slow. I had to get a smartphone again for workI stopped using the flip phone after nine months. AdvertisementI also felt that having a flip phone hindered me from meeting people and being easy to communicate with. If I were getting to a point where I felt I was using my phone too much, I'd know I could go back to using a flip phone. AdvertisementBefore having a flip phone, I would spend five hours or more a day on my smartphone, but now I think it's more like one or two.

Persons: —, Ella Jones, Jones, she'd, StudentCrowd, I've, I'd, you'll, I'm Organizations: Service, Samsung Galaxy Young, YouTube, Business, Google, Nokia, Facebook Locations: Belfast, Northern Ireland

☆ 'Passport-free' travel begins in Singapore at one of world's busiest border crossings
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email'Passport-free' travel begins in Singapore at one of world's busiest border crossingsPeople traveling via car between Singapore and Malaysia can show self-generated QR codes rather than handing over their passports at two checkpoints.

Locations: Singapore, Malaysia

Singapore made global headlines last year when the government announced that biometric processing will replace travel document verifications at Changi Airport in the first half of 2024. But the city-state is going "passport-free" in another area: its land border with Malaysia. From Tuesday, people traveling by car between Singapore and Malaysia can show self-generated QR codes rather than handing over their passports at two checkpoints. The new rule, which applies to those traveling via the country's Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints, will expedite immigration clearance "without compromising on security," according to Singapore's Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.

Organizations: Changi Airport Locations: Singapore, Malaysia, Woodlands

☆ I tried the luxury movie-theater chain Cinépolis. The premium perks didn't outweigh the huge drawbacks that come with them.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Julz Harvey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

And Cinépolis, a theater chain that offers a "luxury movie-going" experience, recently caught my eye. It was available at my local AMC, but Cinépolis has about half the screens, so it can't show every movie in theaters. I bought my ticket on the Cinépolis site on Friday afternoon for a showing that night. At my local AMC, I can control the recline of the footrest and chair back separately, which makes for a more comfortable experience. When broken down, each movie ticket is about $2.

Persons: —, It's, I'm, Harvey, Cinépolis, Bob Marley, Julz Harvey, chow, Julz Harvey It's, it's, Julz Harvey Cinépolis, I'd Organizations: Service, AMC, Business, showtime Locations: Cinépolis

☆ The cybercrime underworld has removed all the guardrails on the AI frontier, but the good guys are catching them there
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Rachel Curry | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

More than half (55%) of all brand impersonation instances consisted of organizations' own brands in 2023, according to the Perception Point report. Tal Zamir, chief technology officer at Perception Point, discussed how criminals can now create polymorphic malware (or malware with many variations) at scale using AI and automation. Plus, they can defend against a wider swath of problems by feeding data into their existing models or generating new data sets using AI. Still, Grobman compares AI detection to weather forecasting, saying "When you're working in the world of AI, things are a lot less deterministic." Just as legitimate businesses are looking to AI to be more productive and more effective, so too are cybercriminals.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Steve Grobman, Tal Zamir, Zamir, Grobman, Kiri Addison, Addison, McAfee, recalibrated Organizations: Hong, McAfee, Google Locations: Hong Kong, deepfakes

☆ Will Memes About Politicians Now Get Sri Lankans Thrown in Jail?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Pamodi Waravita | Mujib Mashal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even in the darkest of times, Sri Lankans held on to their humor. In 2022, when the island nation’s economy collapsed and the government announced a QR code system to ration gasoline, a meme spread online: “Scanning Fuel QR Code Now Makes You Forget Last Three Months.”And when public anger forced the strongman president to flee his palace, with protesters venturing inside to fry snacks in his kitchen and jump into his pool, another meme captured the mood upon their departure: “We Are Leaving. The Key Is Under the Flower Pot.”It is this kind of online expression, which helped fuel the largest citizens’ movement in Sri Lanka in decades, that activists and rights groups fear is now endangered. They are concerned about a new law, the Online Safety Act, that gives the government wide-ranging powers to deem speech on social media to be “prohibited statements.” Under the law, a committee appointed by the president will rule on what is prohibited, and violations could bring penalties ranging from fines of hundreds of dollars to years in prison.

Persons: ” Locations: Sri Lankans, Sri Lanka

☆ Signos uses a glucose monitor patch and AI to help you eat healthier. Here's what it's like
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

SignosFounded in 2018, Signos uses continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs, and an artificial intelligence-powered app to help people better understand their metabolisms. But Signos' CGM system is meant for average consumers, so it is not intended for diabetes management. The Signos app walked me through the process step by step, offering a one-minute video and a series of GIFs I could watch. Another activity had me try and guess what I thought my glucose levels were at different points throughout the day. After eating a meal, I would often get a "Fast Rise" notification from my Signos app, which indicates that a glucose spike is occurring.

Persons: Ashley Capoot, I've, Signos, Dexcom, Sharam Fouladgar, you've, it's Organizations: CNBC, Abbott Laboratories, Centers for Disease Control, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Dexcom Ventures, Bluetooth Locations: U.S, Mercer

☆ China is making it much easier for foreigners to use mobile pay
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Scanning QR codes with a mobile pay app has become the most common way to pay in mainland China. BEIJING — Foreign visitors to China can now spend up to $2,000 a year using the mobile app Alipay without having to register their ID, the app operator said Friday. The number of foreign travelers to China had declined after the country temporarily imposed strict border controls during the pandemic. However, stringent real-name verification policies have often made it difficult for foreign visitors to China to use mobile pay. Tencent did not confirm an exact figure for ID-free transactions using WeChat Pay, but noted foreigners could complete some payments without registering their ID.

Persons: Ant Organizations: Alibaba, Ant, Pay Locations: China, BEIJING

☆ The North Korean refugees sold to Chinese husbands
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

China considers North Korean refugees to be economic migrants, and forcibly deports them back to North Korea – where, as alleged defectors, they face imprisonment, possible torture or worse, activists say. During that period, she also met other North Korean refugees in the same situation – with their status public knowledge in the village, she said. According to the KFI report, the buying of a North Korean wife is “always known to the local community” but rarely reported to authorities. The other North Korean refugees she’d met in town had connections to brokers who could help them escape, while church organizations and non-profit groups discreetly helped raise funds for the journey. Brokers who remain have raised their prices due to increased risks and surveillance, while newcomers to the business are inexperienced, making it a risky gamble for North Korean refugees.

Persons: South Korea CNN — Chae, –, she’s, Yoonjung Seo, She’d, didn’t, “, ”, Chae, ” didn’t, Kim Jeong Ah, Kim, she’d, we’ll, ” Chae, Seo, Unification Ministry –, She’s, – she’s Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, CNN, North Korea –, Korea Future Initiative, KFI, US State Department, Human Rights Watch, Female North, United Nations, Liberty, Korean, Koreans, Unification Ministry, Brokers Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, China, Laos, Thailand, North Korean, Hebei, Beijing, London, Korea, Korean, North, ”, South, South Koreans

Vizio would no doubt love to reclaim its spot, but the brand's new Quantum Pro 4K QLED TV (VQP65C-84) won't get it there. The Quantum Pro has its advantages, including impressive off-axis viewing and competitive gaming and motion response via its 120Hz panel. Vizio 65-inch Quantum Pro QLED 4K TV Vizio's Quantum Pro is a solid midrange 4K QLED TV with impressive viewing angles for its class. Ryan Waniata/Business InsiderMoving the Quantum Pro from the box to your TV console is relatively simple. Ryan Waniata/Business InsiderGaming with the Quantum Pro is mostly a good time, especially for brighter titles like "God of War: Ragnarok."

Persons: Vizio, Hisense, it's, Ryan Waniata, U7K, Harry Potter, there's, that's, There's, isn't Organizations: Business, Google, Quantum, Shop, Walmart, Dolby, Samsung, Sony, SmartCast, Alexa

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