Uber Says Almost No One Uses Agents To Book Rides – DTH

Uber Says Almost Nobody Uses AI Agents to Book Rides or Order Food

Uber reported extremely low AI agent usage during its busiest week in October despite the growing hype, with only four rides and 500 Uber Eats orders placed via personal AI assistants out of 320 million total transactions. Competitors like DoorDash have observed similar trends, with consumers continuing to prefer standard apps due to their speed and efficiency. However, tech executives remain optimistic that AI agent integration will ultimately drive long-term value and expand platform reach as the market matures.

Source: TechCrunch

Apple Reportedly Preparing a Second-Generation MacBook Neo for 2027

Apple is expected to release the second-generation MacBook Neo in early 2027 with performance updates like an A19 processor, up to 12GB of memory, and new color options, with supply chain forecasts anticipating 16 million shipments following the stratospheric success and doubled production of the initial 2026 model.

Source: AppleInsider

Discord Is Rebuilding Its Desktop App Entirely in Rust

Discord is abandoning Electron and React Native to rebuild its desktop application entirely in Rust, aiming to improve speed and significantly reduce high memory consumption. CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy shared that early internal testing shows RAM usage dropping to under 300MB, with plans to make the native Rust client available to public testers soon.

Source: The Verge

DuckDuckGo Pitches Privacy-Focused Search to Schools Amid Google’s AI Backlash

DuckDuckGo is pitching its privacy-focused search engine to schools following backlash over Google’s policy requiring schools to accept AI features in Google Search if they want to use the service. While Google defends its AI integration and offers features like Guided Learning, DuckDuckGo highlights its flexible options allowing educators to disable AI completely via dedicated settings and sites, driving a reported 30% surge in app installs as users seek alternatives to forced AI tools.

Source: TechCrunch

OpenAI Launches Charm Offensive to Win Over Communities Opposing Data Centers

OpenAI is shifting strategy to rebuild community trust after US midterm election wins for Democrats running on data center permit pauses and voter rejection of pro-data center measures. The company will end non-disclosure agreements with public officials, share transparent construction plans, and emphasize long-term job creation, including a southern Ohio facility projected to add 2,500 jobs. Despite prior alignment with the white house administration, OpenAI leaders like Greg Brockman and Chris Lehane are focusing on direct public engagement to counter skepticism over tech infrastructure growth.

Source: Reuters

Binance Hack Prompts US Regulators to Check Bank Systems

US regulators, including the Federal Reserve and OCC, contacted major banks to assess potential vulnerabilities and disruptions, following the $6.3 billion Binance hack and given the growing links between crypto and traditional finance. Although banks reported no service impacts, cybersecurity teams are conducting internal diagnostics and reviewing AI-driven threats, while Binance confirmed ongoing communication with global regulators. The breach highlights emerging security risks even as recent regulatory shifts under the white house administration have encouraged banks to expand their crypto activities.

Source: Reuters

Apple to Moderate Content Shared Through Public iCloud Links

Apple plans to moderate content shared via public iCloud links to check for undefined “harmful content” starting with version 27.3 of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS. Publicly sharing content via links removes end-to-end encryption, giving Apple the ability to inspect items, remove violating content, disable associated accounts, or contact law enforcement. However, Apple has not clarified how the checks will be conducted or specifically defined what constitutes harmful content, leaving users concerned about potential moderation errors or political influence.

Source: The Register

Apple Launches Retention Messaging to Help Developers Prevent Subscription Cancellations

Apple has officially launched Retention Messaging, a new developer tool announced at WWDC that allows developers to display personalized messages, images, and special offers to users directly within the App Store cancellation flow before a subscription expires. Configurable via App Store Connect and an API, developers can set up to 10 targeted retention messages per app to proactively reduce cancellations by reaching subscribers before they leave, expanding upon Apple’s previous win-back offers.

Source: 9to5Mac

United Airlines Adds Spotify to Seatback Screens Using Starlink Wi-Fi

United Airlines is introducing a native seatback Spotify app enabled by Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency satellite Wi-Fi, allowing passengers to log into their personal accounts and stream their own libraries at 35,000 feet. This partnership marks a significant shift from traditional pre-loaded in-flight entertainment toward personalized, live-streamed experiences. United plans to use this integration as a blueprint for adding more streaming platforms in the future, aiming to maintain a technological edge as competitors also move to upgrade their in-flight Wi-Fi infrastructure.

Source: The Verge

OpenAI Updates ChatGPT With Images 2.6, Adding GIF Generation

And finally, OpenAI has updated ChatGPT with its new Images 2.6 model, enabling the chatbot to natively generate, edit, and share GIFs from prompts or uploaded photos. The update also improves overall image generation speeds as weekly generation volume continues to rise, and the features are rolling out across ChatGPT, Codex, and OpenAI’s API.

Source: The Verge