Apple’s latest Airpods could help those with hearing impairments. The tech company’s software update has been approved by the FDA to be used as hearing aids.

The FDA approved Apple’s hearing aid feature on September 12. The free update, available on AirPods Pro 2, will amplify sounds for the hearing impaired. However, the feature is simply available to adults 18 and older with an iPhone or iPad compatible with iOS 18.

“Today’s approval of over-the-counter hearing aid software for a commonly used consumer audio product is another step that will increase the availability, affordability, and acceptability of hearing support for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss,” said Dr. Michelle Tarver, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, in a press release. obtained by .

They confirmed the feature’s use after a clinical trial with 118 participants. The results showed that users “achieved similar perceived benefits to those who received a professional fit on the same device.” Apple also announced the brand new development just days before the agency’s approval.

“Hearing health is an essential part of our overall well-being, yet it is often overlooked — in fact, according to Apple’s Hearing Study, as many as 75 percent of people diagnosed with hearing loss go untreated,” said Sumbul Desai, MD, vice chairman of Health at Apple. press release“We’re excited to deliver breakthrough software features in AirPods Pro that put users’ hearing health first, offering new ways to test and get help for hearing loss.”

What’s more, Apple intends its recent AirPods to supply a “world-first” hearing health experience. Noting that 1.5 billion people suffer from hearing loss, the device also goals to forestall and detect hearing problems.

“Your AirPods Pro will transform into your own personalized hearing aid, amplifying the specific sounds you need in real time, such as parts of speech or elements of your environment,” Desai added in a video announcing the event.

The latest AirPods are a part of a growing variety of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. They usually are not only more accessible, but additionally significantly cheaper than prescription medical devices. While they’re designed for individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss, they’ll initially treat those with limited abilities.

AirPods Pro 2 is available now for $249.

LinkedIn could have trained AI models on user data without updating its terms.

LinkedIn users within the United States — but not within the EU, EEA, or Switzerland, likely as a consequence of data privacy laws in those regions — have the choice to opt out toggle on the settings screen, revealing that LinkedIn collects personal data to coach “AI models to create content.” The toggle isn’t recent. But, as in early reported According to 404 Media, LinkedIn didn’t initially update its privacy policy to handle data use.

The Terms of Service have already been published. updatedbut that sometimes happens well before an enormous change, equivalent to using user data for a brand new purpose like this. The idea is that this offers users the choice to make changes to their account or leave the platform in the event that they do not like the changes. It looks like that is not the case this time.

So what models does LinkedIn train? Its own, the corporate’s says in a Q&A session, including models to put in writing suggestions and post recommendations. But LinkedIn also says that generative AI models on its platform could be trained by a “third-party vendor,” equivalent to its corporate parent Microsoft.

“As with most features on LinkedIn, when you use our platform, we collect and use (or process) data about your use of the platform, including personal data,” the Q&A reads. “This may include your use of generative AI (AI models used to create content) or other AI features, your posts and articles, how often you use LinkedIn, your language preferences, and any feedback you may have provided to our teams. We use this data, in accordance with our privacy policy, to improve or develop the LinkedIn Services.”

LinkedIn previously told TechCrunch that it uses “privacy-enhancing techniques, including redaction and removal of information, to limit personally identifiable information contained in datasets used to train generative AI.”

To opt out of LinkedIn’s data collection, go to the “Data Privacy” section of the LinkedIn settings menu in your computer, click “Data to improve Generative AI,” after which turn off “Use my data to train AI models to create content.” You may try a more comprehensive opt-out through this typebut LinkedIn notes that opting out is not going to affect training that has already taken place.

The nonprofit Open Rights Group (ORG) has asked the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection laws, to research LinkedIn and other social networks that train on user data by default. Earlier this week, Meta announced it was resuming plans to gather user data for AI training after working with the ICO to simplify the opt-out process.

“LinkedIn is the latest social media company to process our data without asking for our consent,” Mariano delli Santi, a lawyer and policy officer at ORG, said in a press release. “The opt-out model once again proves to be completely inadequate to protect our rights: society cannot be expected to monitor and prosecute every internet company that decides to use our data to train AI. Opt-in consent is not only legally required, but also common sense.”

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), the supervisory authority responsible for monitoring compliance with the GDPR, the EU’s general privacy rules, told TechCrunch that LinkedIn had last week announced that clarifications on its global privacy policy could be published today.

“LinkedIn has informed us that the policy will include an opt-out setting for members who do not want their data used to train AI models that generate content,” a DPC spokesperson said. “This opt-out is not available to EU/EEA members, as LinkedIn does not currently use EU/EEA member data to train or tune these models.”

TechCrunch has reached out to LinkedIn for comment. We will update this text if we hear back.

The need for more data to coach generative AI models has led to more platforms repurposing or otherwise repurposing their vast troves of user-generated content. Some have even taken steps to monetize that content—Tumblr owner Automattic, Photobucket, Reddit, and Stack Overflow are among the many networks licensing data to AI model developers.

Not all of them made opting out easy. When Stack Overflow announced it will begin licensing content, several users deleted their posts in protest — only to see those posts restored and their accounts suspended.

Parents understand how difficult it’s to keep their children engaged in online learning. Education is a brand new app designed for youths aged 4 to 7 that gives interactive content and games that can keep them engaged. The company’s mission is to equip kids with key life skills comparable to socialization, basic financial literacy, mindfulness, fitness, nutrition and more through story-driven adventures that children can actively take part in.

Nurture announced its $2.8 million pre-seed round on Wednesday, led by Golden Gate Ventures. The funding will go toward hiring preschool content creators to help create content for the platform.

The flagship title that Nurture first launched is known as “Doki’s Delivery” and focuses on helping children learn social-emotional skills. The series follows a gaggle of characters who’re on a mission to deliver an egg via spaceship.

The app also has a dual-screen component that requires parents to download the Nurture TV app on Fire TV or Google TV so kids can interact between each screens. In the case of “Doki’s Delivery,” kids can use their phone or tablet as a game controller while playing on the TV screen. They can tilt their mobile device from side to side to help the characters avoid obstacles.

Other interactions include responding to the protagonist’s calls, designing a spaceship, and hatching a mysterious egg that players can then take care of – similar to Tamagotchi, the favored children’s toy.

“I didn’t want it to be passive, mindless screen time. I want it to be an active, interactive learning process,” co-founder and CEO Roger Egan told TechCrunch. “(Once kids) understand the concepts, we use games and interactive materials to practice the skills and apply them.”

The company plans to release latest original content focused on “growth mindset and financial thinking,” Egan explained. Additionally, Nurture is in talks with about 20 popular third-party creators to expand its content library. Nurture’s creator platform lets creators host content on their very own digital “islands,” which users can access with a swipe of the app’s menu.

In addition to engaging educational content, parents will have the opportunity to track their children’s gaming performance.

“We have these moments called reflection moments where we ask questions and the child can answer them…With that answer, we can synthesize that information and understand how well they understand a concept, and then feed that into the product and let the parents know how the child is learning and how they’re progressing,” Egan said.

Offline classes may even be available to help parents learn the way to consolidate the knowledge they’ve acquired through the app, and to encourage children to apply their knowledge in on a regular basis situations.

Nurture was founded in 2022, just a few years after Egan’s children began distant learning throughout the pandemic. With a front-row seat to his children’s education, he felt that traditional education wasn’t adequately preparing children for a rapidly changing world, especially one dominated by artificial intelligence. He also believes that children should learn things like adaptability, critical pondering, digital literacy, mindfulness, and empathy to achieve success in the long run. But he struggled to find suitable alternatives to complement his children’s education.

Egan previously founded online food market RedMart, which was acquired by Alibaba. He was joined by co-founders Danny Limanseta (chief product officer), who served as product design manager at Redmart; Sally Doherty (chief human resources officer), who previously worked at Microsoft; and Scott and Julie Stewart (creative directors), a husband-and-wife team specializing in animated children’s content comparable to “Lego Friends: The Next Chapter.”

In addition to being an investor, Priebe can be a game design advisor at Nurture. Priebe was chargeable for creating Club Penguin, the wildly popular online multiplayer game.

“The next generation of kids are learning games faster than they are learning shows,” Priebe told us. “I really like the idea that you’re not just going to sit and watch linear TV anymore… It’s really innovative how the (Nurture) characters stop and pull the kid into the adventure and ask, ‘What would you do?’ or ‘How would you like us to do this?’”

Nurture is currently in an invite-only beta for users within the U.S., U.K., and Canada. It plans to expand to other markets in 2025. The company may even launch a paid subscription once the app is publicly available.

Other participants within the round included Reach Capital and Seedcamp, with participation from Club Penguin co-founder Lance Priebe. Other notable advisors included Manual Bronstein, Roblox’s chief product officer; Scott Kraft, former head author and executive producer of “Paw Patrol”; and Joey Mazzarino, a puppeteer on “Sesame Street” known for his roles as Murray Monster, Stinky the Stinkweed and other Muppets.