Devin Coldewey
Writer & Photographer
The Latest from Devin Coldewey
After being pushed out of Google, Timnit Gebru forms her own AI research institute: DAIR
Almost exactly one year ago, Timnit Gebru, one of the leaders of Google’s ethics in AI team and one of the foremost experts in that topic, was fired after sending an email of concern to her team
Report claims Amazon collects over a third of seller revenue, bringing in $121B in 2021
A new study claims that Amazon makes far more from fees on its Marketplace platform than even the cash cow known as AWS. The report says that Amazon’s fees for participating effectively on its s
AI proves a dab hand at pure mathematics and protein hallucination
One of the reasons artificial intelligence is such an interesting field is that pretty much no one knows what it might turn out to be good at. Two papers by leading labs published in the journal Natur
Gift Guide: 15 gift ideas for gamers when the next-gen consoles aren’t an option
The giving season has arrived, but an ample supply of next-gen consoles has not. Between chip shortages and resellers/bots, the chances of someone getting their hands on a PS5 or Xbox Series X without
Robots and AI assist in designing and building Swiss university’s ‘hanging gardens’
Architecture and construction have always been, rather quietly, at the bleeding edge of tech and materials trends. It’s no surprise, then, especially at a renowned technical university like ETH
Virgin Galactic announces first raffle winner for two tickets to space
Back at Virgin Galactic’s big event for its founder’s first flight, Richard Branson announced that the company would be making seats on its spacecraft available via online raffle platform
Report shows accessibility in gaming is both challenge and opportunity
The gaming community, developers and publishers are beginning to embrace accessibility as a core part of the business and hobby, but there’s a long way to go. A report on the needs and habits of
‘Armageddon’ now: NASA’s asteroid-deflecting DART mission launches tonight
Update: Successful launch and NASA has acquired DART’s signal. One of NASA’s most exciting and unusual missions in years, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), is scheduled to launc
Meet the next generation of launch companies at TC Sessions: Space
The new economy of space has been made possible by the new generation of launch companies — the old new generation now, actually, as SpaceX and Rocket Lab cement their reputations. Now it’s up
Gift guide: 11 gift ideas for the friend who is on way, way too many video calls
Welcome to TechCrunch’s 2021 Holiday Gift Guide! Need help with gift ideas? We’ve got lots of them. We’re just starting to roll out this year’s gift guides, so check back from now until the en
With new tech and $3.6M seed, DiviGas aims to clean up hydrogen production
Hydrogen is at the center of many industrial processes and potentially part of major future energy ecosystems, but the process of isolating and storing it is wasteful and expensive. DiviGas, armed wit
Cognixion raises $12M to build its brain-monitoring headset for people with disabilities
Cognixion, a startup designing an intuitive brain-monitoring headset and interface for people with physical disabilities, has raised a $12M A round to pursue its accessibility ambitions. Armed with th
Review: Kobo’s Sage and Libra 2 e-readers improve displays but compromise on design
The latest pair of e-readers from Kobo provide a modest but noticeable upgrade to the display, stylus support and Bluetooth for listening to audiobooks but take a step down in build quality from the a
Tobii’s TD Pilot brings gaze-based typing, text-to-speech and app navigation to iPad
Tobii is bringing its eye-tracking tech to the iPad with TD Pilot, a case meant to turn Apple’s tablet into a powerful all-in-one tool for people with physical impairments. Equipped with TD Pilo
Writer’s automated style guide for anyone writing online brings in $21M A round
For any company, organization, or even individual writer, maintaining a consistent voice is a constant challenge. Writer is a startup aiming to provide a solution with an intelligent integrated style
Nintendo’s Zelda Game & Watch is another worthwhile stocking stuffer for retro collectors
I have in my hands the Legend of Zelda Game & Watch, the second in Nintendo’s line of whimsical throwback handhelds clearly meant as stocking stuffers for those who already have (or can̵
Blackshark.ai’s digital twin of Earth attracts $20M in funding
Blackshark.ai, the Austrian startup behind the digital globe you fly over in Microsoft’s Flight Simulator, has raised a $20 million round A to develop and scale its replica-Earth tech. The poten
Google tests Project Relate, a voice recognition and synthesis app for people with speech impairments
Google is looking for help developing an Android app aimed at providing more communication options for people with speech impairments. Project Relate, as the effort and app is now called, will provide
Microsoft takes on Chromebooks with school-focused $250 laptops and Windows 11 SE
Microsoft is making its play for the new shape of classrooms with a pared-down version of Windows 11 and a set of inexpensive laptops from the Surface brand and several other manufacturers. It’s
Isomorphic Labs is Alphabet’s play in AI drug discovery
The field of drug discovery has been supercharged by the capabilities of AI, which several companies have applied in various ways to turn an enormous practical problem into a tractable information pro