Sci-Tech

Twitter service stumbles as paying users get more room

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Thousands of Twitter users on Wednesday reported problems using the platform as the Elon Musk-owned social network began letting paying users post tweets as long as 4,000 characters. “Twitter may not be working as expected for some of you,” the company said in a tweet. “Sorry for the trouble. We’re aware and working to get this fixed.” Reports of Twitter troubles spiked at website Downdetector early afternoon in Silicon […]

Deepfake ‘news anchors’ in pro-China footage: research

Washington, United States | AFP | The “news broadcasters” appear stunningly real, but they are AI-generated deepfakes in first-of-their-kind propaganda videos that a research report published Tuesday attributed to Chinese state-aligned actors. The fake anchors — for a fictious news outlet called Wolf News — were created by artificial intelligence software and appeared in footage on social media that seemed to promote the interests of the Chinese Communist Party, US-based research firm Graphika said in […]

Japan rolls out ‘humble and lovable’ delivery robots

by Natsuko FUKUE / Tomohiro OSAKI Agence France-Presse FUJISAWA, Japan (AFP) — “Excuse me, coming through,” a four-wheeled robot chirps as it dodges pedestrians on a street outside Tokyo, part of an experiment businesses hope will tackle labor shortages and rural isolation. From April, revised traffic laws will allow self-driving delivery robots to navigate streets across Japan. Proponents hope the machines could eventually help elderly people in depopulated rural areas get access to goods, while […]

China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

Beijing, China (AFP) — Chinese search engine giant Baidu on Tuesday said it was developing an AI-powered chatbot, as tech giants rush to match the success of ChatGPT, a hugely popular language app that has sparked a gold rush in artificial intelligence technology. ChatGPT, created by San Francisco company OpenAI, has caused a sensation for its ability to write essays, poems or programming code on demand within seconds, sparking widespread fears of cheating or of […]

Google to release ChatGPT rival named Bard

by Glenn CHAPMAN with Laurence BENHAMOU in Paris Agence France-Presse San Francisco, United States (AFP) — 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, the hugely popular language app that convincingly mimics human writing. ChatGPT, created by San Francisco company OpenAI, has caused a sensation for its ability to write essays, poems or programming code […]

Colombian judge uses ChatGPT in ruling

Bogotá, Colombia (AFP) — A judge in Colombia caused a stir by announcing he had used the AI chatbot ChatGPT in preparing a ruling in a children’s medical rights case. Judge Juan Manuel Padilla said he used the text-generating bot in a case involving a request to exonerate an autistic child from paying fees for medical appointments, therapy and transportation given his parents’ limited income. Padilla told Blu Radio on Tuesday that ChatGPT and other […]

Google, Apple disappoint as tech earnings hit by gloom

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google and Apple on Thursday reported downbeat results for the last quarter of 2022 as Amazon beat expectations, but warned that the coming months would be uncertain in a difficult moment for Big Tech. The world’s biggest tech companies posted their earnings as shares in Meta skyrocketed a day after it reported better results than expected and signaled spending and job cuts. The results follow several weeks of unprecedented […]

Sony hikes net profit forecasts as weak yen boosts gaming

by Katie Forster / Hiroshi HIYAMA Agence France-Presse Tokyo, Japan (AFP) — Sony upgraded its annual net profit forecasts on Thursday, saying it expects strong results in its key gaming sector as the weak yen inflates profits on products sold abroad. The Japanese electronics and entertainment giant said net profit in the April-December period jumped five percent year-on-year to 809 billion yen ($6.3 billion). This was partly thanks to strong sales in the game, music […]

Seeing is believing? Global scramble to tackle deepfakes

by Anuj Chopra with Saladin Salem in Berlin Agence France- Presse Washington, United States (AFP) — Chatbots spouting falsehoods, face-swapping apps crafting porn videos and cloned voices defrauding companies of millions — the scramble is on to rein in AI deepfakes that have become a misinformation super spreader. Artificial Intelligence is redefining the proverb “seeing is believing,” with a deluge of images created out of thin air and people shown mouthing things they never said […]

Meta reports sales fall, but beats expectations

by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook and Instagram owner Meta on Wednesday reported its first annual sales drop since the company went public in 2012, but the fall was less brutal than expected, sending its share price soaring. The social media giant said sales dropped one percent to $116.6 billion in 2022, while it also announced that the number of daily users on Facebook hit two billion for the […]

‘Love hormone’? Not so fast, new study suggests

by Sara HUSSEIN Agence France Presse Tokyo, Japan (AFP) — The “love hormone” oxytocin has long been thought key to behaviours including pairing up with a partner and nurturing offspring, but a new study in prairie voles is raising doubts. The research found that voles bred to lack functioning receptors for oxytocin were still able to form strong pairs, produce young and nurse — all behaviours previously believed to depend on the hormone. Prairie voles […]

Phew! Truck-sized asteroid misses Earth

by Huw GRIFFITH Agence France-Presse Los Angeles, United States (AFP) Bruce Willis: you can stand down. A truck-sized asteroid that suddenly loomed out of the darkness a few days ago — with the Earth in its sights — sailed harmlessly past us on Thursday, space scientists said. Despite what we’ve seen in movies like “Armageddon,” no global mission to blow it up or knock it off course with nuclear weapons was required. Instead, Asteroid 2023 […]