Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Bret Taylor, co-founder and CEO of Sierra, a startup that builds customer service AI agents for enterprises, is convinced that the way humans interact with software will change in the near future. Last month, Sierra launched Ghostwriter, an agent designed to build other agents. With this “agent as a service” tool, the startup intends to replace traditional click-based web applications with natural language. Users simply describe what they need, prompting Ghostwriter to autonomously create and deploy a specialized agent to execute the task. The idea of replacing software with language-driven prompts is intriguing in large part because many of the…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Plaintiffs challenging the Trump administration’s cost-cutting measures against an agency that funds and promotes libraries across the U.S. said Thursday they settled the case with the Justice Department in a deal that would reverse some of the steps taken.The American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said that they had reached an agreement with the Justice Department that will allow the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences to continue awarding grants and operating programs that support libraries and museums.The White House referred questions to the Justice Department. The Civil Division of…

Andy Jassy used his annual letter to shareholders to tout Amazon’s AI chip progress — and lay down the gauntlet to Nvidia. Loading audio narration… Amazon is an Nvidia customer, but the e-commerce giant also makes its own AI chips, called Tranium.Jassy said Amazon’s chip business is “on fire” and that this demand is part of a shift in which companies are diversifying where they buy their AI chips from.”Virtually all AI thus far has been done on NVIDIA chips, but a new shift has started,” Jassy wrote. “We have a strong partnership with NVIDIA, will always have customers who…

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Leaders on the board that oversees the Universities of Wisconsin rebuffed the fired system president’s claim that he was “blindsided” by their decision to oust him, telling lawmakers Thursday that he was slow to address pressing issues like artificial intelligence and feared upsetting policymakers, faculty and staff.Members of the board of regents had said little publicly until Thursday about the surprise dismissal Tuesday of Jay Rothman as head of the 165,000-student university system. Regents voted unanimously with no public discussion to fire Rothman after a closed-door meeting. Fired Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman speaks during…

In a dramatic video shared online by the Army ROTC, cadets at Virginia’s Old Dominion University are recounting how they stabbed and disarmed a gunman targeting their classroom, then frantically tried to save the life of the wounded instructor who grappled with the attacker.In the 17-minute video posted Wednesday, the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets tell how Lt. Col. Brandon Shah lunged at the shooter during the March 12 incident at the Norfolk school, placing himself between the gunman and the class.Cadet Jah-Ire Urtarte said Shah, who was shot and did not survive, saved lives that day.“If he didn’t…

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s annual shareholder letter reads something like a Kendrick Lamar diss track, if the rapper was a corporate-speak talking CEO and not a poetic Pulitzer-prize winning musician. Meaning, you have to know the history to understand all of the competitors Jassy takes aim at, alongside cute personal stories about his unrealized dream of being a sportscaster and watching hockey games with his dad. Of course, Jassy doesn’t throw the gauntlet down directly. He takes a more nuanced approach. For instance, in his challenge to Nvidia, he writes, “We have a strong partnership with NVIDIA, will always have…

Ticket discounts of up to $500 will end tomorrow, April 10, at 11:59 p.m. PT. After that, prices for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 go up again. Miss this, and you’ll be paying more for the same access to one of the most anticipated tech epicenters of the year. Register now to lock in these savings. Disrupt: Your launchpad in the tech ecosystem If you want to raise capital, hire top talent, launch your startup, or discover your next portfolio company, missing Disrupt from October 13–15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West is not an option. Here’s what you’ll gain by attending: Actionable insights from builders, operators, and VCs actively shaping today’s market. Check the event page regularly for…

When Cody Luongo left his job last year to become a freelance media consultant, he needed a way to quantify the public relations impact he achieved for his clients. He signed up for a free trial of the marketing tool Semrush, but ultimately decided he didn’t want to pay between $199 and $499 a month for a subscription. Loading audio narration… “You only want one or two features, but you’re paying for everything,” said Luongo, who is based in Charleston, South Carolina.Instead, he opted to pay $40 a month for a subscription to Base44, an AI-driven platform that helped him…

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece became the latest European Union country to unveil plans for a total social media ban for kids 15 and under in a move the country’s prime minister said aims to pressure the 27-member bloc into formalizing EU-wide age restrictions.The new law will target social media platforms that enable the user to create profiles, interact with others and share content, such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.Once the legislation is enacted, social media platforms will be responsible for reverifying the ages of all users in the country to exclude those who are 15 years or under. Authorities…

Please be kind to me. I received some devastating news yesterday. An email from Amazon telling me that older model Kindles from before 2012 will no longer be supported, and I won’t be able to add new titles to the device. This means my beloved Kindle 5 — the kind with physical buttons on the side to turn the page — is effectively useless to me. Loading audio narration… Here’s what the email said:Thank you for being a longtime Kindle customer. We’re glad our devices have served you well for as long as they have. Starting May 20, 2026 —…