Tech
Mark Zuckerberg, AI's 'open source' evangelist
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and CEO of Meta, has become an unexpected evangelist for open source technology when it comes to developing artificial intelligence, pitting him against OpenAI and Google. The 40-year-old tech tycoon laid out his vision in an open letter titled "Open Source AI is the… Read
Don't look down: Fearless trainees propel wind turbine boom
Perched almost 90 meters above the New Mexico plains, strapped to the sheer-edged roof of a wind turbine's generator by a single safety harness, Terrill Stowe is in his element. "I've never had anyone fall in 14 years. Hopefully today's not the first," jokes the technician instructor to AFP journalists… Read
OpenAI to challenge Google with new search functionality
OpenAI on Thursday said it was putting its artificial intelligence engine to work in a challenge to Google's market-dominating search engine. The startup behind ChatGPT announced that it is testing a "SearchGPT" prototype that is "designed to combine the strength of our AI models with information from the web" to… Read
U.S. lawmakers urge Meta to delay shutting down transparency tool
U.S. lawmakers have voiced "concern" over Meta's decision to shut down CrowdTangle -- a digital tool considered vital in monitoring falsehoods –- in a major election year, urging the tech giant to delay the move by six months. The Palo Alto company has said CrowdTangle will be unavailable after August… Read
Kishida eyes legislation to boost domestic chip production
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed Wednesday to craft legislation aimed at supporting the domestic production of advanced semiconductors by helping manufacturers secure enough funding. "I will be seeking the early submission to parliament of a bill necessary for the mass production of next-generation chips," which will require heavy investment,… Read
CrowdStrike blames bug for letting bad data slip through, leading to global tech outage
CrowdStrike is blaming a bug in an update that allowed its cybersecurity systems to push bad data out to millions of customer computers, setting off last week's global tech outage that grounded flights, took TV broadcasts off air and disrupted banks, hospitals and retailers. CrowdStrike also outlined measures it would… Read
JR West now has giant robots performing maintenance work via VR-goggled operators
As the largest rail operator in west Japan, keeping its tracks in good working order is of critical importance to West Japan Railway Company. So this month JR West, as the company is also known, has added a new maintenance worker…a new robot maintenance worker. Developed jointly by JR West, Nippon Signal, and Shiga… Read
Cloud and search lift Google-parent quarterly profit
Google-parent Alphabet on Tuesday reported profit and revenue that beat expectations as its cloud and search ads businesses thrived. The tech giant said its net income for the recently ended quarter was $23.6 billion on revenue that climbed 14 percent to $84.7 billion when compared to the same period a… Read
As AI industry influences the world, Mozilla adviser Abeba Birhane challenges its core values
“Scaling up" is a catchphrase in the artificial intelligence industry as tech companies rush to improve their AI systems with ever-bigger sets of internet data. It's also a red flag for Mozilla's Abeba Birhane, an AI expert who for years has challenged the values and practices of her field and… Read
All eyes on AI to drive Big Tech earnings
Over the next two weeks, the quarterly results of Big Tech giants will offer a glimpse on the bankability of artificial intelligence and whether the major investments AI requires are sustainable for the long haul. Analysts at Wedbush Securities, one of Wall Street’s biggest believers in AI’s potential, expect "growth… Read
