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 Source: IDC Dell Technologies said it will lay 5% of its workforce, or about 6,650 employees, to deal with the "challenging global economic environment," according to an SEC filing. The computing giant has been hit hard by the decline in PC shipments worldwide. More: - In a memo to employees, Dell vice chairman Jeff Clarke said the company has already paused hiring, restricted employee travel, and taken other cost-cutting measures, which haven't been enough.
- Dell now has to pursue "additional decisions" to make preparations "for the road ahead," he wrote.
- After the staff reductions, Dell is expected to have nearly 40,000 fewer employees than it did at its peak in January 2020.
Zoom Out: - The hardware maker benefitted from the pandemic-fueled boom in PC purchases.
- Dell reached a height of 17.28 million computer shipments in the final quarter of 2021 before those numbers fell precipitously during 2022.
- In the fourth quarter of 2022, Dell's PC shipments were down by 37% YoY, a higher percentage than Apple, Lenovo, and HP.
BLOOMBERG 
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Twitter is reportedly asking businesses to pay $1,000 per month to keep their gold check-mark verification badges. The gold checks were rolled out in December, replacing the blue check marks for businesses. More: - The cost structure was uncovered in an email sent by a Twitter product manager to an unidentified business, which laid out the $1,000-per-month cost plus an additional $50 per month for each affiliated handle.
- The program includes "Tweet Boosting," which promotes an organization's distribution and reach whenever a tweet is sent, the message says.
- The business pricing is still being finalized and could change, according to The Information, which first reported the news.
- Twitter still offers the blue check verification for individuals, which costs $8 per month via the web and $11 per month through Apple’s iOS.
Zoom Out: - The costs highlight Twitter's efforts to find additional revenue sources under new owner Elon Musk.
- On Sunday, Musk tweeted that the last three months have been "extremely tough" as he juggled saving Twitter from bankruptcy with his Tesla and SpaceX duties.
- While Twitter still faces challenges, Musk said the platform is "now trending to break even if we keep at it."
THE INFORMATION
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Apple could potentially release a high-end iPhone “Ultra” as early as 2024, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The Apple insider believes the smartphone could have a larger display, improved camera hardware, and a faster processor than today's most advanced iPhones. More: - The "Ultra" would be a step above the iPhone Pro and Pro Max, currently the most advanced phones in the lineup.
- According to Gurman, Apple could release a more expensive and powerful "Ultra" tier with the launch of the iPhone 16 series in 2024.
- It would be pricier than the latest iPhone 14 Pro Max, which currently starts at $1,099.
- The Ultra version may lack a charging port and fully rely on wireless charging, he wrote.
- Gurman's prediction was backed by recent remarks by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said the iPhone is "integral" to the lives of consumers. Cook believes people "are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category.”
BLOOMBERG
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About 40 staff contractors for YouTube Music have gone on strike to protest a company order to return to the office. The group of workers is employed by Cognizant, a subcontractor for Alphabet, which owns YouTube as well as Google. The workers claim that the return-to-office mandate is retaliation by Alphabet over their attempt to unionize. More: - The YouTube Music Content Operations team workers have been asked to return to Google's office in Austin, Texas.
- However, many of them said they were hired to work remotely and cannot afford the cost to relocate or live in the city.
- The contractors have been seeking to unionize with the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), which recently submitted an unfair labor practice charge against Cognizant and Alphabet.
- In the charge, the workers claimed the return-to-office order was an attempt to "interfere with the fair voting conditions mandated by federal law."
- In response, Cognizant said it has repeatedly communicated to the workers that their roles were in-office jobs and that the workers would be given 90 days' notice to return to the office.
BUSINESS INSIDER
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SpaceX could launch its Starship rocket into orbit as early as March, according to Elon Musk. Over the weekend, the SpaceX CEO tweeted that the company will attempt the inaugural liftoff next month as long as the "remaining tests go well." More: - The long-awaited test flight would see Starship launch on top of the Super Heavy booster from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas.
- For the initial orbital flight, Starship will circle the Earth one time and then splash down into the Pacific Ocean.
- The news comes after Starship completed a “wet dress rehearsal” in January, when the ship and booster were fully loaded with fuel.
- Initial flights will carry Starlink internet satellites into orbit. NASA later wants to use Starship to bring astronauts to the moon, now scheduled to occur as early as 2025.
- Musk said he wants to eventually haul cargo and crew members to Mars and create a permanent settlement there.
SPACE.COM
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Google has invested a reported $300M into Anthropic, an artificial intelligence startup that developed a chatbot similar to ChatGPT. According to The Financial Times, the deal gives Google a 10% stake in Anthropic, which could now be valued at $5B. More: - Anthropic recently debuted a general-purpose AI assistant, Claude, which has yet to be released to the public.
- Under the new deal, Google Cloud is now Anthropic's preferred cloud provider. The partnership will see Anthropic purchase cloud computing and resources from the tech giant.
- Google Cloud will also build large-scale GPU and TPU clusters for Anthropic to train its AI systems.
- The companies haven't disclosed the exact amount of the investment.
- The deal highlights the growing competition between Google and Microsoft, which has already allied with ChatGPT creator OpenAI. Microsoft is now investing $10B in OpenAI.
THE VERGE
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Community Corner I'm Kiani from Inside.com, and last week, we asked our community, "What fields do you see AI not being able to take over?" and received over 100 very split responses! Here are some highlights: - Chris Murphy (p/cemmurphy), VP of Engineering at Nudge Security, wrote, “I think in general AI will touch just about every "field" to some degree. It may be tough, short term, for AI to completely replace humans in fields that require really fine grained motor skills … It may also be tough for AI to fully participate in fields that require complex, subjective, human interactions.” He concluded with, “With that said, I would never ****speak in absolutes. ;-)”
- Patrick Giblin (p/patgiblin), Founder of 451 Degrees, wrote, “The better question is what fields do you see AI taking over because there are very few. Influence, yes, take over, no. it is a wonderful tool not a masterpiece.”
- Greg Armstrong (p/greg851602), Founder of PencilPay, wrote, “With enough training data and time, it is hard to find something that AI can't do better than a human.”
Join the conversations at Inside.com, and we may shout out your name and business or contact you for more! ⭐️
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 |  | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. She has written the Inside AI newsletter since 2019. 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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