The Texas attorney general has sued Google, alleging that the company collected the face and voice features of millions of residents without gaining consent. The lawsuit, announced Thursday, claims Google illegally gathered the biometric data through Google Photos, Google Assistant, Nest Hub Max, and other products. More: - By doing so, Google violated the state's Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act, the complaint alleges.
- It claims that Google has collected the voiceprints and facial templates of millions of the state’s residents since at least 2015.
- "Indeed, all across the state, everyday Texans have become unwitting cash cows being milked by Google for profits," according to the complaint.
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the suit in state district court in Midland County, Texas.
- As of Thursday morning, Google had yet to issue a response.
* This story is developing. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 
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The U.S. Energy Department will give out $2.8B in grants to 20 companies to help boost the production of electric-vehicle batteries, the Biden administration announced on Wednesday. The effort will support manufacturing and processing companies in a dozen states to develop battery-grade lithium, nickel, and graphite. More: - The funding is designed to back projects that will develop enough battery-grade lithium to produce 2 million EVs a year.
- It aims to support enough graphite and nickel for 1.2 million and 400,000 EVs a year, respectively.
- The funding, from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will also bankroll two massive projects that are firsts for the U.S.: a lithium iron phosphate cathode facility and a large-scale commercial lithium electrolyte salt production facility.
- Another project — an electrode binder facility — is expected to fill 45% of expected domestic EV demand by 2030.
- By then, the Biden administration wants EVs to make up half of all new car purchases in the U.S.
- On Wednesday, the White House also announced the new American Battery Manufacturing Initiative to support battery products for a variety of uses, including EVs, homes, and the military.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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 Tesla reported its Q3 earnings on Wednesday, disclosing revenue of $21.45B versus the $21.96B expected by analysts. The company still set production records for the quarter. It reported $18.69B in revenue from automotive sales, a 55% increase YoY. Other announcements: - In Q3, Tesla produced 365,923 vehicles and delivered 343,830. In Q2, it produced 258,580 and delivered 254,695 during pandemic-related shutdowns in China.
- Tesla's profits have doubled in the past year. CEO Elon Musk predicted "excellent demand for Q4" and sales of every vehicle.
- The company expects to widely release its Full Self-Driving beta software to all customers by the end of this year Musk said.
- He reaffirmed that sales of its long-delayed semi-truck will begin in December. The Semi is being produced at its Nevada factory.
- Musk expects to start production on the Cybertruck in mid-2023 at the earliest.
- The company could unveil a robotaxi for a car-sharing service in 2023.
TECHCRUNCH
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Netflix is exploring a cloud gaming offering for TVs and PCs as it seeks to push further into the gaming space, according to VP Mike Verdu. The streaming platform for games would complement Netflix's existing services and is not intended to be a console replacement, Verdu said. More: - Verdu, Netflix's VP of game development, made the announcement during this week's TechCrunch Disrupt 2022 conference.
- He told the audience that a Netflix cloud gaming platform would have a different business model than services that are designed to replace consoles.
- In that way, it wouldn't be like Google Stadia, which was intended to be a console replacement. Google is shutting down the Stadia cloud-gaming service in January after it failed to gain user traction.
- "We'll approach this the same way we did with mobile, which is start small, be humble, be thoughtful, and then build out," Verdu said.
- Netflix currently offers 35 mobile games to its subscribers for free and is developing an additional 55 games.
TECHCRUNCH
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Apple confirmed that it will release iOS 16.1 to the general public starting next Monday, Oct. 24. The update for iPhone users will add an iCloud Shared Photo Library feature, Live Activities for third-party apps, and more. More: - The iCloud Shared Photo Library lets multiple users add, remove, and edit photos in a shared cloud library.
- Live Activities will expand to third-party apps in the Apple App Store. The tool lets users stay informed of real-time events, such as food orders, from the Lock Screen or Dynamic Island.
- iOS 16.1 will add a new battery percentage icon for iPhone XR, 11, 12 mini, and 13 mini.
- Users will be able to delete the Apple Wallet app, which would also cut off Apple Pay, Apple Cash, and Apple Card.
- Finally, a new Clean Energy Charging feature optimizes charging times to occur "when the grid is using cleaner energy sources." The aim is to curb the iPhone's carbon footprint.
MAC RUMORS
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 Google said its "AI Test Kitchen" app will open up to U.K. users on a waitlist. Testers can interact with Google's chatbot known as LaMDA, or Language Model for Dialogue Applications. The AI can engage in “free-flowing” conversations about most topics and provide intelligent tips and suggestions. More: - Google launched the app to U.S. testers in August. Users can download the app (Android and iOS) and sign up or use a Google account to join a waitlist.
- The app is divided into three demos.
- "Talk About It" lets users speak with LaMDA to help it learn to stay on the same topic.
- "List It" asks users to name a topic or goal, and LaMDA will break it down into tasks.
- In "Imagine It," users give the AI a prompt starting with the phrase "Imagine if…”
- The demos invite users to give feedback, which can make Google's generative language models "safer and more accurate."
- The company will open up the app to small groups of people gradually over the coming months.
INTERESTING ENGINEERING
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- NFTs are to be taxed in 2022. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service offered investors clarity on stablecoins, NFTs, and cryptocurrencies, which are now subject to taxes.
- Lenovo announced plans to explore building a remote-work metaverse where even factory workers can "work from home."
- Adobe has developed an AI system that generates an animation of a person or people dancing based on a single photo.
- Climate technology investor Propeller raised $100M for its initial seed fund. The venture firm, co-founded by former HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan, will invest in startups specializing in offshore wind, ocean carbon removal, and other areas.
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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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