Arguing with AI: A dispute with Microsoft’s brilliant and boneheaded Bing search engine

Super Bowl tech ads | Techstars Seattle Demo Night | Tech Moves ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: Attention Washington Founders: [$250k will be awarded at the Flywheel Conference in Wenatchee. Apply by Feb 14.]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Bring it on, Bing. Microsoft’s new and improved search engine is brilliant and boneheaded as illustrated by our argument with AI. - For GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop, who has been using the new Bing as part of his daily work this week, what started as a question about a previous story turned into a frustrating and revealing back and forth with a bot. [Read more.]( Microsoft’s layoffs are continuing, with another 617 people let go this week in the Seattle region as part of the 10,000 global cutbacks announced by the company in January. - The latest cuts bring the total number impacted in Microsoft’s home region to nearly 1,500 people. The layoffs are expected to be done by the end of March. - The Surface, HoloLens and Xbox units were among the business units hit hardest by the latest round, [Bloomberg News]( reports. [Read more](. Techstars Seattle held its annual Demo Night event Thursday as 12 startups pitched after spending the past three months honing their business models inside the accelerator program. - GeekWire startups reporter Nate Bek covered the event and highlighted the pitches that stood out. [Read his take](. Save room for the tech! Amid the smorgasbord of Super Bowl beer and snack commercials, companies are pitching everything from smartphones to home internet. - John Travolta (above) sings T-Mobile’s praises and the fix is in for Google’s Pixel photos. What’s missing? Crypto ads. [See our roundup]( of what to expect between plays on Sunday. A Seattle organization devoted to combating infectious diseases landed $9.9 million from the U.S. government to develop an RNA-based nasal flu vaccine. - The Access to Advanced Health Institute is targeting two bird flu viruses that have pandemic potential. [Read more.]( Tech Moves: - Elieum Therapeutics' CEO is departing amid layoffs; e-commerce company Rokt hired an Amazon vet to lead a new Seattle office; [and more key personnel changes](. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, [kurt@geekwire.com](. SPONSOR MESSAGE [A better life, thanks to WSU]( Much of the research that goes on at Washington State University affects the rhythm of our days. We make food tastier and more abundant. We keep our first-responders safe when they’re working through the night. And we bring healthcare to the most vulnerable among us. WSU is making lives better throughout Washington and across the world. #GoCougsMeans [Learn how Go Cougs means a better life.]( LATEST HEADLINES [Tech Moves: Eliem CEO out amid layoffs; Rokt taps Amazon vet to lead new Seattle office; and more]( [Microsoft continues with previously announced layoffs, as Seattle-area total nears 1,500 people]( [Super Bowl ad roundup: Travolta sings T-Mobile’s praises; Google’s fix is in; and more tech spots]( [Our favorite startup pitches from Techstars Seattle Demo Day]( [Arguing with AI: My first dispute with Microsoft’s brilliant and boneheaded Bing search engine]( [Seattle institute lands $9.9M to develop nasal spray vaccine against bird flu]( [Blue Origin wins an order from NASA for launch of Mars magnetosphere mission]( [Washington state lawmakers seek to ban at-home rape test kits after AG takes aim at startup]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [MedBridge: Software Engineer III (Back end)]( - [Remitly: Senior Software Engineer, Fraud Prevention]( - [GeekWire: GeekWire Advertising Project Manager]( - [Remitly: Engineering Manager, Lending]( - [INRIX: Vice President, Sales – Public Sector]( - [MovingWorlds: Senior Fullstack Engineer for Scaling Social Enterprise]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? BUY A FEATURED LISTING TO APPEAR HERE]( [About GeekWire]( [Contact Us]( [Advertise]( Copyright © 2023 GeekWire LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted to receive emails from GeekWire LLC.  Our mailing address is: GeekWire LLC 123 NW 36th St, Suite 203 Seattle, WA 98107  [change email frequency or address]( | [unsubscribe](