By Julie JAMMOT SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 6, 2023 (AFP) – Whether they sell smartphones, ads or computer chips, the heavyweights of Silicon Valley have everything to prove to investors looking to see who is best placed in the race to dominate the generative artificial intelligence market. “If you’re a company, and you don’t have an AI message, you’re not going to be in business very long,” says independent industry analyst Jack Gold. “Everyone is focused […]
Life
Musk teases AI chatbot ‘Grok,’ with real-time access to X
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 4, 2023 (AFP) – Elon Musk on Saturday unveiled details of his new AI tool called “Grok,” which can access X in real time and will be initially available to the social media platform’s top tier of subscribers. Musk, the tycoon behind Tesla and SpaceX, said the link-up with X, formerly known as Twitter, is “a massive advantage over other models” of generative AI. Grok “loves sarcasm. I have no idea who […]
YouTube takes aim at teens bingeing on body image videos
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 2, 2023 (AFP) – YouTube on Thursday said it tweaked its recommendation system in the United States to prevent teens from bingeing on videos idealizing certain body types. The move comes about a week after dozens of US states accused Facebook and Instagram owner Meta of profiting “from children’s pain,” damaging their mental health and misleading people about the safety of its platforms. YouTube’s video recommendation engine has been targeted over time […]
‘Air-pocalypse’: Indian capital launches ‘Green War Room’
By Abhaya SRIVASTAVA NEW DELHI, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – The enemy is nearly invisible and there are no soldiers, but the Indian capital’s new “Green War Room” is battling air pollution that is cutting lives of residents by over a decade. “It’s a pollution emergency”, said Gopal Rai, environment minister for the rapidly expanding megacity of over 20 million people, consistently ranked the world’s worst capital for air quality. Rai dubs the problem an […]
New Beatles single ‘Now and Then’ released
By Stuart GRAHAM, Helen ROWE LONDON, Nov 2, 2023 (AFP) – A new Beatles song produced with a little help from artificial intelligence and including the vocals of John Lennon was released on Thursday — to lukewarm reviews. The song comes more than four decades after it was originally recorded as a demo, but despite the hype left critics distinctly underwhelmed. “‘Now and Then’ is not terrible… But ultimately, it’s kind of mundane,” wrote Geoff […]
Former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all counts at fraud trial
By Thomas URBAIN NEW YORK, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Sam Bankman-Fried, the one-time cryptocurrency golden boy accused by US prosecutors of stealing billions of dollars of his customers’ money, was found guilty on Thursday on all counts, and now faces up to 110 years behind bars. Following five weeks of trial in New York, the jury reached its decision in just five hours. Sentencing for man widely known as “SBF” will take place at […]
Australian police arrest woman suspected of poisoning family with mushrooms
By Sharon MARRIS SYDNEY, Nov 2, 2023 (AFP) – Australian police on Thursday arrested the woman at the centre of a mushroom meal mystery that left three people dead and a local preacher fighting for his life. The arrest of Erin Patterson, 49, is the latest twist in a saga that has gripped the nation and thrust the spotlight on the small rural town of Leongatha, 110 kilometres (70 miles) southeast of Melbourne. Detective Inspector […]
Flooding, heavy rain kill three in Vietnam
HANOI, November 1, 2023 (AFP) – Three people died after days of heavy rain in central and north Vietnam that flooded homes and submerged roads, disaster management authorities said Tuesday. Access to several communities in central Ha Tinh province has been cut off, while the police and military have been mobilised to rescue people from high-risk areas. A woman and a 13-year-old boy were found dead in the province after being swept away by strong […]
Samsung Electronics says Q3 operating profits down but flags 2024 chip recovery
By Kang Jin-kyu SEOUL, Oct 31, 2023 (AFP) – South Korea’s Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that its operating profits for the July to September period were down nearly 80 percent, but forecast that a prolonged slump in the memory chip market was coming to an end. The firm is the flagship subsidiary of Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Samsung announced third-quarter operating profits […]
School’s out forever in ageing Japan
By Etienne BALMER, Elie GUIDI NAMEGATA , Japan, Oct 31, 2023 (AFP) – Fading photos of smiling children still adorn the staircase walls at the Ashigakubo primary school, one of thousands that have shut in ageing Japan over the past 20 years. The school, which was more than a century old, was forced to close in 2009 when the last few dozen children left to join a bigger one “because they couldn’t make any friends”, […]
Chinese astronauts return to Earth after ‘successful’ mission
Three Chinese astronauts safely returned to Earth on Tuesday after five months in orbit at the country’s space station, state media reported. Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao touched down at China’s Dongfeng landing site at 8:11 am (0011 GMT), according to state broadcaster CCTV. Footage showed their return capsule parachuting down into the barren Gobi Desert, kicking up a cloud of orange dust as it hit the ground. “On-site medical supervision and insurance […]
UK prepares to host global leaders’ gathering on AI
By Clara LALANNE The UK government will welcome foreign political leaders, tech industry figures, academics and others this week for a two-day summit billed as the first of its kind on artificial intelligence (AI). The gathering, set to be attended by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, US Vice President Kamala Harris, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, will focus on growing fears about the implications of so-called frontier AI. The most […]