Amazon to close two NYC Go stores
Amazon is closing eight of its 29 Go convenience stores around the country, including two of its 10 Manhattan locations, as it reevaluates its brick-and-mortar grocery store strategy. Credit: Getty Images / Noam Galai
Amazon is closing eight of its 29 Go convenience stores around the country, including two of its 10 Manhattan locations, as it reevaluates its brick-and-mortar grocery store strategy. The stores feature Amazon’s cashier-less Just Walk Out technology that allows customers to avoid checkout lines.
Additionally, Amazon has hit the pause button on opening some of its larger Amazon Fresh supermarkets. Newsday last month reported it is unclear if the company will proceed with opening two almost completed Amazon Fresh stores planned for Plainview and East Setauket.
The Manhattan Amazon Go stores slated for closing on April 1 are in the Financial District and Park Avenue South in Midtown.
Meta slashes VR headset price
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the $500 price cut on its Quest Pro VR headset will help “more people get into VR.” Credit: Meta
Facebook parent Meta lowered the price of its top-of-the-line Quest Pro VR headset to $999 from $1,499 just six months after it was launched. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the price drop on the virtual reality headset — a cornerstone of his bet on the metaverse — would help “more people get into VR.” Reality Labs, Meta’s virtual reality unit, posted an operating loss of $13.7 billion last year.
Slack adds AI chatbot
Business communications platform Slack is the latest to add an artificial intelligence chatbot to its product. Credit: Slack
Business communications platform Slack is the latest to join the artificial intelligence chatbot craze. Under a deal with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Slack says the bot will help users “deliver instant conversation summaries, research tools and writing assistance.” ChatGPT, Bing AI and other “generative AI tech” products can mimic human conversations and produce written material and realistic-looking photos.
More nations shut down internet
Authorities in 35 countries instituted internet shutdowns last year, the most ever, according to digital rights watchdog Access Now. Above, people gather during a protest in Tehran, Iran, in September 2022. Credit: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Authorities in 35 countries instituted internet shutdowns last year, the most ever, according to digital rights watchdog Access Now. India was the most prolific at suspending the internet, topping Access Now’s list for the fifth year in a row. Triggers for shutdowns included elections and large protests and conflict situations, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and mass civilian protests in Iran. — THE WASHINGTON POST
