Tech
Google to release ChatGPT-like bot named Bard
Google said Monday it will release a conversational chatbot named Bard, setting up an artificial intelligence showdown with Microsoft which has invested billions in the creators of ChatGPT, a language app that convincingly mimics human writing. ChatGPT, created by San Francisco company OpenAI, has caused a sensation for its ability… Read
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, Inpex complete conceptual study for ammonia bunkering vessel
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co Ltd, a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group company based in Yokohama, has recently completed a conceptual study for an ammonia bunkering vessel capable of supplying ammonia fuel to ships. This study involved joint investigations with Inpex Corp, which boasts abundant achievements and experience in the energy supply… Read
Japan looks beyond territorial waters for wind power amid green push
Japan is planning to expand offshore wind power generation beyond its territorial waters to its exclusive economic zone, in a push to achieve carbon neutrality and ensure energy security amid Russia's war in Ukraine. A panel of experts who looked into the feasibility of building wind power facilities in the… Read
Synthetic fossil fuels made from light, water, and CO2 in the air tested in Osaka
As technology advances, so do the opportunities to make synthetic versions of unsustainable materials. Synthetic leather has been around for a while and synthetic sweeteners frequently hit the market. Even ways to make synthetic fuel have been around for a century, but not quite like the way being tested out in Osaka recently. From January 11-17,… Read
Chill pervades China's tech firms even as crackdown eases
A grinding crackdown that wiped billions of dollars of value off Chinese technology companies is easing, but the once-freewheeling industry is bracing for much slower growth ahead. Analysts say China’s easing of restrictions on companies like e-commerce giant Alibaba and online games company Tencent and talk of support for the… Read
Limits to computing: Even in the age of AI, some problems are just too difficult
Empowered by artificial intelligence technologies, computers today can engage in convincing conversations with people, compose songs, paint paintings, play chess and go, and diagnose diseases, to name just a few examples of their technological prowess. These successes could be taken to indicate that computation has no limits. To see if… Read
Clickbait or creativity? The art world wrestles with AI
Online tools that can create wonderful, absurd and sometimes horrifying images using artificial intelligence (AI) have exploded in popularity, sparking soul-searching over the nature of art. Tech companies tout their inventions as a liberating force of art for all, but purists argue that the artist is still the central cog… Read
Apple suffers 1st quarterly sales decline in nearly 4 years
Apple on Thursday posted its first quarterly revenue drop in nearly four years after pandemic-driven restrictions on its China factories curtailed sales of the latest iPhone during the holiday season. The company's sales of $117 billion for the October-December period represented a 5% decline from the same time in the… Read
Google has the next move as Microsoft embraces OpenAI buzz
Before the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT was unleashed into the world, the novelist Robin Sloan was testing a similar AI writing assistant built by researchers at Google. It didn’t take long for Sloan, author of the bestseller “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore,” to realize that the technology was of little use… Read
Honda outlines hydrogen power plans to go green
Honda Motor Co is expanding the use of hydrogen to include trucks and construction equipment, electricity for buildings and even outer space, not just cars on the roads. Honda plans a new fuel cell vehicle for sale next year, packed with a fuel cell stack developed with General Motors Co… Read
