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Hey, friends, welcome to Week in Review (WiR)<\/a>, TechCrunch\u2019s roundup of the week in tech news. Life getting in the way of your daily TechCrunch habit? Not to worry. WiR will get you caught up in no time.<\/p>\n This week, WiR covers the improving quality of AI porn generators and the ethical dilemmas they raise; Twitter rebranding to \u201cX\u201d; and hackers infecting Call of Duty with self-spreading malware. Elsewhere, we dive into a North Korean hacking group, foreign Chinese visitors\u2019 newfound ability to go cashless, and the rollout of Sam Altman\u2019s Worldcoin eyeball-scanning crypto project.<\/p>\n As always, it\u2019s a lot to get to, so let\u2019s not delay. But first, a reminder that if\u00a0you haven\u2019t already, sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to get WiR in your inbox every Saturday.<\/p>\n Twitter rebrands to \u201cX\u201d:<\/strong><\/a> This week, Twitter removed its iconic bird logo and adopted \u201cX\u201d as its new official branding. The move, which Elon Musk announced over the weekend<\/a>, is a harbinger of the platform\u2019s shift \u2014 perhaps more aspirational than concrete \u2014 to deemphasize text tweets in favor of audio, video, messaging and payment and banking.<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s my X:<\/a> <\/strong>Twitter\u2019s rebranding to X hasn\u2019t been faring exceptionally well. In addition to a haphazard rollout that saw<\/a> parts of the site referencing \u201cX\u201d while others still implored you to \u201csearch Twitter\u201d or push a blue button to \u201cTweet,\u201d the company didn\u2019t even make an attempt to secure the @x Twitter handle<\/a>, owned by\u00a0Gene X Hwang\u00a0of the corporate photography and videography studio\u00a0Orange Photography. Twitter later wrested control<\/a> of the handle without notifying or compensating Hwang.<\/p>\n Hackers infect Call of Duty:<\/strong><\/a> Hackers are infecting players of an old Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 2, with a worm that spreads automatically in online lobbies. As Lorenzo writes, Modern Warfare 2 was released quite a bit ago \u2014 2009 \u2014 but still has a small community of players. Call of Duty publisher Activision said in a tweet that it would bring the Steam version of the game offline as it \u201cinvestigates report of [the] issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Foreign visitors to China go cashless:<\/a> <\/strong>This week, China\u2019s two dominant mobile payment solutions,\u00a0WeChat Pay\u00a0and\u00a0Alipay, announced that foreign users can now pay at Chinese retailers by linking their foreign credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard and Discover. Previously, using WeChat Pay and Alipay in China required a local bank account, making it challenging for short-term visitors to use these payment methods.<\/p>\n Worldcoin launches its eyeball-scanning project:<\/a> <\/strong>Worldcoin, Sam Altman\u2019s audacious eyeball-scanning crypto startup, has begun the global rollout of its services to help build a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online. People can download World App, the startup\u2019s protocol-compatible wallet software, and visit an Orb, Worldcoin\u2019s helmet-shaped eyeball-scanning verification device, to receive a unique \u201cWorld ID.\u201d<\/p>\n North Korean hackers expose themselves:<\/a> <\/strong>Security researchers say they have high confidence that North Korean hackers were behind a recent intrusion at enterprise software company JumpCloud because of a mistake the hackers made. Mandiant, which is assisting one of JumpCloud\u2019s affected customers, attributed\u00a0the breach<\/a>\u00a0to hackers working for North Korea\u2019s Reconnaissance General Bureau, or RGB, a hacking unit that targets cryptocurrency companies and steals passwords from executives and security teams.<\/p>\n Waymo puts the brakes on trucks:<\/strong><\/a> Waymo is tapping the brakes on self-driving trucks and shifting most of its capital, resources and talent to one commercial bet: ride-hailing. Kirsten writes that the move, which was announced Wednesday in a company blog post, comes six years after Waymo first tested its autonomous vehicle system in Class 8 trucks. The company emphasized the decision was driven by the commercial opportunities in applying its autonomous vehicle technology to ride-hailing.<\/p>\n SEC probes Bolt ex-CEO:<\/a><\/strong> Ryan Breslow, co-founder of the e-commerce software outfit Bolt, was subpoenaed along with the company last year by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Christine reported this week. A letter authored in April by a lawyer representing Bolt investors said the SEC was investigating whether federal securities laws were violated in connection with statements made when Bolt was raising money in 2021.<\/p>\n In need of a podcast to fill the hours? You\u2019re in luck. TechCrunch has a roster of new episodes to keep you both entertained and informed.<\/p>\n On Equity<\/a> this week, the crew dug through the headlines of the past few days, starting with AngelList\u2019s acquisition of Nova, Waymo steering toward robotaxis and the latest on interest rates from the Fed. They also touched on earnings for Big Tech and how more limited partner capital can funnel into diverse venture funds.<\/span><\/p>\n Found<\/a> featured a conversation with Mandy Price, the co-founder and CEO at Kanarys, a software-as-a-service startup that helps companies tackle their diversity and inclusion problems with data. Mandy talked about why she started the company after a decade-long career as a lawyer and why she didn\u2019t want Kanarys to just be focused on hiring metrics, as many other diversity, equity and inclusion platforms are.<\/p>\n And on Chain Reaction<\/a>, Deana Burke and Natasha Hoskins, the co-founders of Boys Club, spoke about their social decentralized autonomous organization for the \u201ccrypto curious.\u201d Originally designed to get women and nonbinary people into the web3 world, Boys Club now aims to be an open space for anyone looking to get into the space.<\/p>\n TC+ subscribers get access to in-depth commentary, analysis and surveys \u2014 which you know if you\u2019re already a subscriber. If you\u2019re not,\u00a0consider signing up<\/a>. Here are a few highlights from this week:<\/em><\/p>\n Why SAFE rounds are safe:<\/strong><\/a> SAFEs, simple agreements for future equity, have long been touted as a founder-friendly structure for signing venture deals. But is it really fair to call them that? Rebecca investigates.<\/p>\n Positivity in the face of toxicity:<\/a> <\/strong>Dominic writes about how prioritizing positive company culture is just as important \u2014 or at least, should be as important \u2014 as investor returns.<\/p>\n Playing the long AI game:<\/strong><\/a> Microsoft\u2019s and Alphabet\u2019s results indicate the AI game is more of a long-term strategy, Alex writes.<\/p>\n Get your TechCrunch fix IRL. Join us at Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco this September to immerse yourself in all things startup. From headline interviews to intimate roundtables to a jam-packed startup expo floor, there\u2019s something for everyone at Disrupt. Save up to $600 when you buy your pass now through August 11, and save 15% on top of that with promo code WIR. Learn more<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nMost read<\/h2>\n
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