Author: M.Karatas

Written by: Liis VeersaluIn honor of today’s International Women’s Day, we’ve compiled a list of powerful quotes by Starship women who have made an impact in their fields, for our company and beyond. These quotes serve as a reminder of the strength, resilience, and wisdom of women throughout history, and inspire us all here at Starship to continue fighting for a more just and equitable world.Despite significant progress in recent years, women remain proportionally underrepresented in the tech and startup industries. According to a report by The World Bank, women make up less than a third of the world’s workforce…

Grace wanted a better-paid job based closer to where she lived, but she dreaded writing another cover letter. And although her job as a land-use planner does require some writing, she felt a cover letter wouldn’t actually do a good job of showcasing it. “It’s technical writing,” Grace said. “It’s not plucky ‘You should hire me because I’m amazing but my weakness is I’m extra amazing.’” Instead, she took a friend’s advice and used ChatGPT, the text-generating AI software that’s gone viral in recent months. Grace, who asked that we leave out her last name so as not to jeopardize…

Every science fiction author tries to imagine the future. But very few get what Neal Stephenson is experiencing: Some of the world’s most powerful companies are actively trying to create the future he sketched out three decades ago. That would be in Snow Crash, the 1992 dystopia/parody he wrote about people who escape the physical world by strapping on goggles and disappearing in the metaverse. Which is now the vision of the world Mark Zuckerberg is actively embracing, both by burning billions on the effort and renaming his company Meta. Apple is also chasing after this idea, and may finally…

For something that’s defined by change, the world of technology feels extra disruptive lately. Artificial intelligence is making headlines on a regular basis. Electric vehicles are taking over the roads. Microchips are made in America again. For the techno-optimists out there, we’re finally living in a version of the science fiction-inspired future we were promised. But our present is more complicated than that. The tech industry is facing a series of crossroads. The businesses that once seemed like unstoppable profit machines are starting to sputter, slowing the meteoric growth of tech giants as leaders in Washington target them for being…

The world’s first generative AI-powered search engine is here, and it’s in love with you. Or it thinks you’re kind of like Hitler. Or it’s gaslighting you into thinking it’s still 2022, a more innocent time when generative AI seemed more like a cool party trick than a powerful technology about to be unleashed on a world that might not be ready for it. If you feel like you’ve been hearing a lot about generative AI, you’re not wrong. After a generative AI tool called ChatGPT went viral a few months ago, it seems everyone in Silicon Valley is trying…

Since its introduction to the US in 2018, TikTok has been fighting for its right to exist. First, the company struggled to convince the public that it wasn’t just for pre-teens making cringey memes; then it had to make the case that it wasn’t responsible for the platform’s rampant misinformation (or cultural appropriation … or pro-anorexia content … or potentially deadly trends … or general creepiness, etc). But mostly, and especially over the past three years, TikTok has been fighting against increased scrutiny from US lawmakers about its ties to the Chinese government via its China-based parent company, ByteDance. On…

Amid growing concerns (and lawsuits) about social media’s impact on the mental health of children, TikTok announced on Wednesday that it’s setting a 60-minute time limit on screen time for users under 18 and adding some new parental controls. Those “limits,” however, are really more like suggestions. There are ways young users can continue to use the app even after the screen time limits have passed. The news comes amid a larger discussion about the harms of social media on younger people as well as an enormous amount of scrutiny on TikTok itself over its ties to China. And while…

You may have never heard of it, but Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is the legal backbone of the internet. The law was created almost 30 years ago to protect internet platforms from liability for many of the things third parties say or do on them. Decades later, it’s never been more controversial. People from both political parties and all three branches of government have threatened to reform or even repeal it. The debate centers around whether we should reconsider a law from the internet’s infancy that was meant to help struggling websites and internet-based companies grow. After…

“If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product” has long been a common refrain about the business of social media. The saying implies that you, the user, aren’t paying for apps like Instagram and Twitter because you’re giving away something else: your attention (and sometimes your content), which is sold to advertisers. But now, this free model of social media — subsidized by advertising — is under pressure. Social media companies can’t make as much money off their free users as they used to. A weaker advertising market, privacy restrictions imposed by Apple that make it harder…

When Ugo moved to a new country last October, he got a new phone number. Ugo, who lives in Europe, where WhatsApp is very popular, didn’t immediately register his new phone number on the app, but was able to continue to use it as normal. It was only when he told WhatsApp that he had a new phone number that the trouble began. His profile photo changed to a picture of a young woman, and his phone was flooded with new messages from Italian-speaking strangers, including from group chats he was suddenly added to — one of which seemed to…