The Wall Street Journal reports that Meta has disbanded its Responsible Innovation Team, a group tasked with identifying potential societal harms from the company's new features and products. The team of about two dozen ethicists, engineers, and other employees will be reassigned to other roles within the company, though they are not guaranteed new positions, according to Meta. More: - Meta formed the team several years ago to advise its product teams on “potential harms across a broad spectrum of societal issues and dilemmas," according to a 2021 company blog post.
- The group's former leader, Zvika Krieger, left Meta earlier this year. He told the WSJ that the team had received strong support from former CTO Michael Schroepfer, who stepped down from the role in March.
- A spokesperson said Meta still remains committed to the team’s goals, calling the work "more of a priority than ever, not less."
- The company is scaling the work by adding dedicated expert teams to priority product areas. It plans to have more employees working in responsible innovation within actual product teams than it did in 2020, they said.
- The changes come as Meta has started cost-cutting measures amid a slowdown in its digital-advertising business.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 
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Apple's iOS 16 will be available to download on Monday, Sept. 12. Since July, the new operating system has been in public beta for open testing alongside iPadOS 16, watchOS 9, macOS Ventura, and tvOS 16. New features: - iOS 16 adds the ability to edit and undo messages in the Messages app, with some limitations.
- It adds a new customizable lock screen interface, Live Activities to manage notifications, a Pay Later feature in Wallet, email scheduling, and Face ID in landscape orientation.
- On the accessibility side, Live Captions can transcribe FaceTime calls as they happen. A new door detection tool in the Magnifier app improves navigation for the visually impaired.
- The OS will be available for the iPhone 8, second-gen iPhone SE, and later models including the X, 11, 12, 13, and 14 (Pro, Plus, and Max included).
CNET
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 A message from SECURITY COMPASS This is your show developers! Come and interact with our panel through questions or advice on how we can all improve developer-centric threat modeling. What to expect: Earlier this year, Security Compass ran a survey that probed the mind of developers. During this webinar, we'll be discussing our findings with security experts who live in the developer and threat modeling space. What you will learn: - The connection between developer user stories or requirements, coding, and threat modeling.
- How to keep up with the ongoing discovery of software weaknesses.
- Practical advice for developers is to stay current on threat modeling practices.
When: September 14, 2022, at 11am EST Whether you are a developer, lead, architect, or thread modeler, this webinar will leave you with something to think about. Register Here
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United Airlines has ordered 200 electric air taxis from Eve Air Mobility, with the option to buy 200 more. The U.S. carrier said it will also invest $15M in Eve Air, which is owned by Brazil's Embraer, as it expands its interest in electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs). More: - Eve is developing four-passenger eVTOLs that have a range of 60 miles, ideal for short trips within cities.
- The Urban Air Mobility startup went public on the NYSE earlier this year.
- United said it made a conditional agreement to buy 200 of the aircraft and expects the first deliveries as early as 2026.
- It believes eVTOLs can potentially revolutionize the commuter experience in cities and aid in its goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
- The airline has also invested in the startup Archer Aviation Inc. Last month, United put down a $10M deposit for 100 eVTOLs from Archer.
- Regulators have yet to approve the aircraft for passenger flights.
AXIOS
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Amazon signed a deal to acquire Belgium-based mechatronics specialist Cloostermans. Mechatronics refers to engineering that combines mechanical, computer, and electrical systems. Amazon has already been using Cloostermans’ technology to package products and move palettes and totes at its facilities. More: - Cloostermans specializes in machinery and robotics technology for warehouses and other industrial facilities.
- Under the deal terms, roughly 200 Cloostermans' machinists, engineers, and others will join Amazon's Global Robotics unit for automating some warehouse operations.
- Founded in 1884, Cloostermans has been privately held for six generations.
- Amazon said the acquisition will allow it to boost its R&D and use of mechatronics and robotics in its eCommerce operations. The financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
Zoom-out: - The deal comes as Amazon has been building up its robotics ecosystems. In 2012, it acquired warehouse robotics maker Kiva Systems for $775M and folded it into its Amazon Robotics unit. It purchased warehouse robotics startup Canvas Technology in 2019.
- This past June, Amazon unveiled its first fully autonomous warehouse robot that's designed to operate alongside human workers.
- The company says it now has more than 500,000 robotic drive units at its workplaces globally.
CNBC
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 A message from HIRED Join Hired to understand the state of tech salaries in 2022 Hired's 2022 State of Tech Salaries Report provides one of the most in-depth analyses of the 2022 hiring environment, detailing insights on global compensation trends, benefits, and remote work shifts. And on September 21, 2022, starting at 12 PM ET, industry experts from BlackRock, General Assembly, and others will be discussing Navigating Market Uncertainty: The State of Tech Hiring. In this webinar, you'll learn: - Salary trends are broken down by role and years of experience
- Industry benchmarks including average time-to-hire
- Key opportunities to help you win over top tech talent
- Impact of global remote on tech talent hiring
Save your Seat
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Tesla announced that it will allow the public to cast votes on where its next electric vehicle Superchargers should be. The official @TeslaCharging account has asked people to reply with location suggestions; the tweets with the most likes will be included in a future online poll. More: - So far, some of the top suggestions for Supercharger spots have included U.S. National Parks, Alaska, Hawaii, and Vancouver Island.
- Tesla didn't specify when it could launch an official poll.
- The company is expanding its fast-charging network, already the world's largest with 35,000-plus Superchargers.
- The EV maker recently applied for public funding to grow its U.S. network, with the requirement that it opens up the chargers to other companies' electric vehicles.
- Tesla is working on new Supercharger equipment that would make the chargers compatible with non-Tesla EVs, according to a White House memo.
Zoom-out: - In June, the Biden administration announced plans to set standards for EV charging infrastructure in the U.S. They would require stations every 50 miles and no more than a mile off an interstate.
TECHCRUNCH
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Merriam-Webster has added new technology-related terms to its dictionary, including metaverse, video doorbell, and dumbphone. The publisher defines metaverse as "a persistent virtual environment that allows access to and interoperability of multiple individual virtual realities." More: - A dumbphone is a cell phone that lacks "advanced software features (such as email or an internet browser)," according to Merriam-Webster.
- Other new tech-related additions include microgrid, use case, greenwash, and laggy.
- The publisher also defined "meatspace" as “the physical world and environment especially as contrasted with the virtual world of cyberspace," though it didn't specify if that word was newly added.
- Merriam-Webster said words become eligible for inclusion when enough people use them "in the same way" over a long time period.
- In 2021, Collins Dictionary chose NFT as its word of the year, beating out "metaverse," "crypto," and "double-vaxxed."
ENGADGET
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QUICK HITS - Origin Investments’ IncomePlus Fund has seen its 27th consecutive month of positive returns, generating 18.7% over the past 12 months.*
- Alphabet led a $1B investment in its life science subsidiary Verily. The former Google X unit specializes in health-related technologies with projects including a health-tracking wristband, miniaturized glucose monitors, and smart shoes that can detect health issues.
- Blockchain analyst Chainalysis worked with the U.S. government to recover $30M worth of cryptocurrency stolen from the online video game Axie Infinity this year. The funds were stolen by the North Korean-linked hacking entity Lazarus Group.
- Snap is now working on its next-generation Spectacles for augmented reality applications, though the wearable will likely be available only to developers at first.
- Researchers used machine learning to uncover a link between extreme weather and increases in hate speech on Twitter.
- GameStop announced it will partner with crypto exchange FTX on "new e-commerce and online marketing initiatives." The company will start selling FTX gift cards at a limited number of locations.
*This is a sponsored post.
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 |  | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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