CNET senior producer Wes Ott takes tech to the court to see what contraptions are actually useful to aspiring tennis pros and which ones are just out of bounds. #tennis #tech #sports #fitnesstech

The internet has a trust problem, and it’s not just because social media feeds are filling up with AI slop. AI-generated text and images are now making their way into job applications, product reviews, and even insurance claims, leaving platforms and users alike scrambling to figure out what’s real.

A handful of startups have cropped up in the past couple of years to become the “trust layer” the internet needs — including Pangram. The startup recently snapped up $9 million for its AI detection system and landed a partnership with Substack, which is now using Pangram’s tech to show readers which of their favorite authors use AI to write their newsletters. Pangram also recently dropped a new AI image detection tool.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Pangram co-founder and CEO Max Spero joins Rebecca Bellan to dig into the promise of AI detection tools and where to draw the line between AI assisted and AI generated.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

1:15 Building Pangram: from binary detector to gauging AI assistance

2:06 Why job applications, reviews, and Amazon are drowning in slop

5:39 How Pangram actually spots AI writing

9:26 Where people draw the line on AI-assisted vs. AI-generated

12:50 The false positive problem, and “America has a Pangram problem”

14:30 Detecting fake images, now that AI photos are scarily good

19:13 Competing with GPTZero, Winston, and building “core infrastructure”

21:43 Will good writing jobs actually come back?

23:36 Outro

ACER came to IFA 2026 with a stacked product lineup, including the much talked about Project Dualplay Mini, a handheld gaming device with a rotatable screen. See what else ACER showed in our highlight reel of the keynote.

You can find the products mentioned in this article linked below
Acer Aspire Vero 16 AI Powered Laptop 16.0″ IPS WQXGA
*CNET may get a commission on these offers

Read more about Acer’s IFA 2026 press conference on CNET.com
Acer Recommits to Repairability With New Vero 16 Laptop

0:00 Intro
0:03 Packard Bell Returns
0:13 Packard Bell: Bluetooth Turntable
0:43 Packard Bell: Notebook
1:23 ACER SFF RTX Spark
2:21 NVIDIA Talks RTX Spark
4:17 ACER Veriton RI110 AI Mini Workstation
5:03 ACER Swift Blade 14
5:40 ACER Vero 16
6:50 ACER EP 130 K
7:25 ACER PD163Q P3
7:46 ACER Swift Air 16
8:13 GoogleBooks!
9:09 Predator Atlas 7
10:32 Nitro XV275X P
11:33 Predator XB253Q U1
12:11 ACER Aspire G 3D 16
13:00 Project Dualplay Mini

Video Credits:
Producer/Editor: Numidas Prasarn

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#acer #newlaunch #gaming