Sci-Tech

Google to develop AI that takes over computers, The Information reports

Oct 27 (Reuters) Alphabet’s Google is developing artificial intelligence technology that takes over a web browser to complete tasks such as research and shopping, The Information reported on Saturday. Google is set to demonstrate the product code-named Project Jarvis as soon as December with the release of its next flagship Gemini large language model, the report added, citing people with direct knowledge of the product. Microsoft backed OpenAI also wants its models to conduct research […]

Three decades later, first brown dwarf ever found offers a surprise

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In 1995, astronomers confirmed the discovery for the first time of a brown dwarf, a body too small to be a star and too big to be a planet – sort of a celestial tweener. But it turns out that was not the full story. Researchers now have taken a fresh look at that brown dwarf and learned that it actually is not a single brown dwarf but rather […]

SpaceX catches giant Starship booster in fifth flight test

By Joey Roulette (Reuters) -SpaceX in its fifth Starship test flight on Sunday returned the rocket’s towering first stage booster back to its Texas launch pad for the first time using giant mechanical arms, achieving another novel engineering feat in the company’s push to build a reusable moon and Mars vehicle. The rocket’s first stage “Super Heavy” booster lifted off at 7:25 a.m. CT (1225 GMT) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas launch facilities, sending the […]

Webb telescope reveals surprising details of Pluto’s moon Charon

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope are giving scientists a fuller understanding about the composition and evolution of Pluto’s moon Charon, the largest moon orbiting any of our solar system’s dwarf planets. Webb for the first time detected carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide – both frozen as solids – on the surface of Charon, a spherical body about 750 miles (1,200 km) in diameter, researchers said on Tuesday. […]

NASA narrows Crew-9 lineup to accommodate astronauts aboard ISS

(Reuters) – NASA said on Friday it will replace two crew members for an upcoming SpaceX flight to accommodate the two astronauts aboard the International Space Station who had arrived on Boeing’s faulty Starliner capsule. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both former military test pilots who launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, will replace Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson on the SpaceX mission. Last week, NASA officials deemed issues with Starliner’s propulsion […]

SpaceX to return Boeing’s Starliner astronauts from space next year, NASA says

By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Two NASA astronauts who flew to the International Space Station in June aboard Boeing’s faulty Starliner capsule will need to return to Earth on a SpaceX vehicle early next year, NASA officials said on Saturday, deeming issues with Starliner’s propulsion system too risky to carry its first crew home as planned. Veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both former military test pilots, became the first crew to ride […]

Russia says DDoS attack disrupts Telegram, WhatsApp

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian users of Telegram and WhatsApp had trouble accessing the messaging apps on Wednesday due to disruption the state communications monitoring service said was caused by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. The service said the attack had been repelled and that the messaging networks were working normally again. Russian media said other sites, including Wikipedia, Skype and the social media platform Discord had also been affected. “The disruption is related to a DDoS […]

Video game actors to strike in California

LOS ANGELES, United States, July 26, 2024 (AFP) – Hollywood’s video game actors will go on strike early Friday to demand safeguards against artificial intelligence, the US actors’ union announced. The work stoppage for the industry’s video game voice actors and motion capture performers begins at 12:01 am (0401 GMT) in California, according to the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). Thursday’s announcement comes after more than a year […]

Nearby exoplanet could be first known ocean world: Webb telescope

By Pierre Celerier PARIS (AFP) – A planet relatively close to Earth could be the first ever detected with a potentially life-sustaining liquid ocean outside our Solar System, according to scientists using the James Webb space telescope. More than 5,000 planets have been discovered outside of the Solar System so far, but only a handful are in what is called the “Goldilocks zone” — neither too hot or too cold — that could host liquid […]

S. Korea administrative robot defunct after apparent suicide

SEOUL (AFP) – A city council in South Korea said Wednesday their first administrative officer robot was defunct after throwing itself down some stairs, with local media mourning the country’s first robot suicide. South Korea’s Gumi City Council announced the robot was found unresponsive after having apparently fallen down a two-meter (six-and-a-half foot) staircase last week. Witnesses saw the robot officer “circling in one spot as if something was there” before the accident occurred, but […]

Black hole observed ‘awakening’ for the first time

PARIS, June 18, 2024 (AFP) – Astronomers have been able to observe a supermassive black hole waking up and setting the heart of its host galaxy alight for the first time, the European Southern Observatory said on Tuesday. The galaxy 300 million light years from Earth in the Virgo constellation had been quiet for decades until late 2019, when it suddenly began to shine brighter than ever before. The centre of the galaxy — where […]

Meta pauses AI plans in Europe after privacy complaints

VIENNA, June 14, 2024 (AFP) – Meta has paused plans to use personal data to train its artificial intelligence technology in Europe, Ireland’s regulator said Friday, after the social media giant was hit with privacy complaints. Last week, a Vienna-based privacy campaign group filed complaints in 11 European countries against Meta, saying the global tech giant’s planned privacy policy change would allow “unlawful” use of personal data to train an “undefined” type of current and […]