Computer science enrollment at University of California campuses saw a decline this year, while Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, is experiencing significant departures, and a new AI video generator is facing criticism from Hollywood, according to multiple reports. These developments highlight shifting trends in technology and the ongoing evolution of the industry.
Computer science enrollment across the UC system dropped 6% this year, following a 3% decline in 2024, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. This downturn occurred even as overall college enrollment nationally increased by 2%, according to January data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The exception to this trend was UC San Diego, which added a dedicated AI major this fall. Some experts suggest this shift could be a temporary blip, while others see it as an indicator of future trends.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk's xAI is facing a wave of departures. Following the announcement that SpaceX is acquiring xAI, at least 11 engineers and two co-founders left the company, as reported by The Verge. Some departures were attributed to a desire to start new ventures, while others cited concerns about the company's disregard for safety. One former employee told The Verge that employees had become increasingly disillusioned.
In the realm of AI-generated video, Hollywood organizations are expressing concern over Seedance 2.0, a new model from ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok. According to the Wall Street Journal, the model allows users to create videos by entering text prompts and is currently available to Chinese users of ByteDance's Jianying app, with plans for a global rollout through its CapCut app. Critics are concerned about the lack of guardrails around the technology, echoing similar concerns raised about OpenAI's Sora.
In other tech news, Alta, the company behind the "Clueless"-inspired app, is integrating styling tools into websites. The company, founded by Jenny Wang, raised $11 million in a round led by Menlo Ventures, allowing users to create digital closets and virtually try on clothes.
Finally, the Department of Justice released emails from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Many of the emails are full of garbled symbols, which spurred conspiracy theories that it could be some kind of code. However, the symbols are likely artifacts from a technical error, according to The Verge.
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