A look at the rise and fall of 2U, which provides online degree programs for top US universities, and is valued at ~$30M today, down from $5B+ in 2018 (Melissa Korn/Wall Street Journal)

Melissa Korn / Wall Street Journal:
A look at the rise and fall of 2U, which provides online degree programs for top US universities, and is valued at ~$30M today, down from $5B+ in 2018  —  In May 2018, employees from education technology company 2U paraded through the streets of New Orleans, beads and booze abundant on their floats during a Mardi Gras-style procession.

Following attempts to malign Signal as insecure by Telegram’s CEO and Elon Musk, a look at why Signal is widely regarded by experts as more secure than Telegram (Matthew Green/@matthew_d_green)

Matthew Green / @matthew_d_green:
Following attempts to malign Signal as insecure by Telegram’s CEO and Elon Musk, a look at why Signal is widely regarded by experts as more secure than Telegram  —  Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure, with assistance from Elon Musk. The goal seems to be to get activists to switch away from encrypted Signal to mostly-unencrypted Telegram. I want to talk about this a bit. 1/

Q&A with Oracle CEO Safra Catz on generative AI’s risks and impact, providing cloud infrastructure to TikTok, the importance of workplace diversity, and more (Keiichi Murayama/Nikkei Asia)

Keiichi Murayama / Nikkei Asia:
Q&A with Oracle CEO Safra Catz on generative AI’s risks and impact, providing cloud infrastructure to TikTok, the importance of workplace diversity, and more  —  In interview, top executive highlights AI’s potential and importance of diversity  —  Oracle CEO Safra Catz (Photo obtained by Nikkei)

Alibaba leverages computing resources to become a leading AI investor in China; sources: cloud credits made up ~50% of Alibaba’s $800M investment in Moonshot AI (Financial Times)

Financial Times:
Alibaba leverages computing resources to become a leading AI investor in China; sources: cloud credits made up ~50% of Alibaba’s $800M investment in Moonshot AI  —  Ecommerce giant offers computing resources to fast-growing start-ups in exchange for equity  —  Alibaba has been leveraging …

Maryland Apple Store union workers vote to authorize strike over Apple’s alleged refusal to fairly bargain; Short Hills NJ store workers vote against unionizing (Josh Eidelson/Bloomberg)

Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Maryland Apple Store union workers vote to authorize strike over Apple’s alleged refusal to fairly bargain; Short Hills NJ store workers vote against unionizing  —  – Union blames Apple tactics for defeat at Short Hills NJ store  — Maryland Apple Store union members vote to authorize strike

South Korea’s Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok says the government is preparing a $7.3B+ support package for chip investments to win the “war” in the chip sector (Ju-min Park/Reuters)

Ju-min Park / Reuters:
South Korea’s Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok says the government is preparing a $7.3B+ support package for chip investments to win the “war” in the chip sector  —  South Korea is readying plans for a support package for chip investments and research worth more than 10 trillion won …

The demand for AI tech to preserve, animate, and interact with lost loved ones is especially strong in China, where thousands have already paid to use such tech (Zeyi Yang/MIT Technology Review)

Zeyi Yang / MIT Technology Review:
The demand for AI tech to preserve, animate, and interact with lost loved ones is especially strong in China, where thousands have already paid to use such tech  —  Once a week, Sun Kai has a video call with his mother.  He opens up about work, the pressures he faces as a middle-aged man …