President Biden issued an executive order (EO) to set “new standards” for AI safety and security, including requirements for foundation AI model developers to notify the federal government and share safety test results before deploying them to the public. An international discussion about boundaries to stop algorithms from becoming too …
Read More »Deepfakes About Ukraine War Sow Distrust And Alter Reality
New research on deepfake videos about the Russian invasion of Ukraine shows they distort reality and create a dangerous environment where users distrust all media. Conspiracy theories and paranoia thrive on this distrust. Image manipulation in political propaganda is nothing new. A 1937 photograph of Joseph Stalin walking along the …
Read More »Anjouan’s Volcanic Island Has “Impossible” Rocks
A volcanic island in the southwestern Indian Ocean, Anjouan, has a strange geological mystery. Residents and geologists on the island keep finding an unusual rock. The island is made of basalt, which formed when tectonic plates shifted away and magma rose and cooled in an ocean basin. Quartzite, a sedimentary …
Read More »Honda, GM, and Cruise to launch robotaxi in Japan
Today, General Motors, Cruise, and Honda announced a joint venture to launch a robotaxi service in Japan. The companies plan to launch the service in central Tokyo in early 2026 with Cruise Origin vehicles. The service will launch with dozens of Cruise Origins. The companies plan to expand the service …
Read More »Google uses gen-AI to help Indians find government welfare programs
At its Google for India event, Google announced several generative AI tools. The features include images, videos, and government scheme information. Google announced today that users will be able to view summaries of over 100 Indian government-led schemes in the coming weeks. The feature will provide Hindi and English information. …
Read More »Indian ONDC and Google Maps add metro ticket booking
Google Maps will soon let Indian users book metro tickets directly through the app as it expands its partnership with the country’s open e-commerce network. After partnering with Open Network for Digital Commerce, Google announced at the Google for India event on Thursday that Maps users can book metro tickets. …
Read More »Google to make Pixels in India
A Google executive said the company will start assembling its Pixel smartphones in India, becoming the latest tech giant to target the South Asian market. Rick Osterloh, Senior VP of Devices and Services at Google, announced at the company’s annual India event Thursday that the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 …
Read More »Israel to launch SpaceX Starlink internet amid Hamas war
An Israeli official said Tuesday that Israel is in talks with SpaceX to provide Starlink internet services, especially to conflict zones. Starlink has never been offered in Israel, so this would be the first time. That official said it is considering halting cell and internet communications in Gaza to boost …
Read More »Tesla wants stricter fuel standards to maintain EV dominance
Tesla dominates the U.S. electric vehicle market. Now it wants stricter regulations to gain an edge. Tesla is urging the Biden administration to adopt stricter fuel economy standards than regulators have proposed, which will irritate legacy automakers like General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis. These three companies face $10.5 billion in …
Read More »X experiments with a $1-per-year new user fee
X, formerly Twitter, announced today that it will experiment with charging “new unverified” users $1 per year to interact with posts. The company said this test is live in New Zealand and the Philippines and won’t affect existing users. Users can post, like, repost, reply, bookmark, and quote for that …
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