Twitter addresses bias issues in its image cropping algorithms, we take a look at Mario Kart Live, and the stock market takes a hit after President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis. This is your Daily Crunch for October 2nd, 2020.
The Big Story: Twitter addresses image cropping concernsLast month, (white) graduate student Colin Madland highlighted potential algorithmic biases on Twitter and Zoom - in the case of Twitter, because his automatic image cropping seemed to consistently highlight Madland's face over that of a black colleague.
Today Twitter said it looked into the matter: "While our analyzes to date have shown no racial or gender bias, we recognize that the way we automatically crop photos means there is potential harm."
Does that mean it will stop auto cropping of images? The company said it is "exploring different options" and added, "We hope that giving people more choices for cropping images and previewing how they will appear in the tweet composer will help reduce the risk of harm."
The tech giantsNintendo's new RC Mario Kart looks great - Mario Kart Live (featuring a real world racing car) is an impressive demo.
Tesla delivers 139,300 vehicles in the third quarter, beating expectations: Tesla's numbers in the third quarter marked a 43% improvement over the same period last year.
Zynga completes the acquisition of hyper-casual game maker Rollic - CEO Frank Gibeau told me this represents Zynga's first move into the world of hyper-casual games.
Startups, financing and venture capitalElon Musk says that an update for SpaceX's Starship Spacecraft Development Program will arrive in 3 weeks: Starship is a fully reusable next-generation spacecraft that the company is developing with the goal of replacing all of its launch vehicles.
Paired raises $ 1 million in funding and launches its relationship app for couples - Paired combines expert audio tips with "fun daily questions and quizzes" that partners answer together.
With $ 2.7 million in new funding, Sora hopes to bring virtual high school to the mainstream - Long before the coronavirus, Sora was playing with the idea of a live virtual high school.
Tips and analysis from Extra CrunchThe Spanish Startup Ecosystem: 9 Remote Work Investors, Green Shoots, and 2020 Trends - While the major hubs of Madrid and Barcelona are politically stunning, the tech ecosystems in each city have developed with local support.
Which neobanks will go up or down? - Neobanks led $ 3.6 billion in venture capital funding for consumer fintech startups this year.
Asana's strong direct listing illuminates an alternative path to the public market for SaaS startups - Despite rising consumption and cash losses, Wall Street has welcomed the productivity firm.
All the restUS Stocks Drop On President's COVID-19 Diagnosis - News is weighing heavily on all major US indices, but heavier on tech stocks.
Digital mail voting applications in most states are inaccessible to people with disabilities - According to a Deque audit, most states do not actually have an accessible digital application.
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