Author: zppiot
I can only imagine how you must be feeling after sexually explicit deepfake videos of you went viral on X. Disgusted. Distressed, perhaps. Humiliated, even. I’m really sorry this is happening to you. Nobody deserves to have their image exploited like that. But if you aren’t already, I’m asking you to be furious. Furious that this is happening to you and so many other women and marginalized people around the world. Furious that our current laws are woefully inept at protecting us from violations like this. Furious that men (because let’s face it, it’s mostly men doing this) can violate us…
Bard, Google’s AI collaboration tool, is getting a major update today, adding advanced capabilities and new features to a larger audience, including the ability to create images and more languages.Perhaps the most exciting of the Bard improvements that were announced today via a blog post, is the brand new skill that puts it in a closer footing to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus: the ability to create images based on the user’s prompts. While ChatGPT requires a paid subscription in order to gain access to tools like DALL-E, Bard will now allow you to do the same for free. This feature is…
Japanese flight controllers re-established contact with the robotic SLIM lunar lander Saturday, eight days after the spacecraft tipped over and lost power as it was touching down on Jan. 19, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced Sunday.An engine malfunction moments before landing caused the Smart Landing for Investigating (the) Moon, or SLIM, spacecraft to drift to one side during its final descent instead of dropping straight down to the surface.That lateral velocity apparently caused the probe to tilt over as it touched down, leaving its solar cells, attached to the top of the lander, facing away from the sun. Without…
Last week, sexually explicit images of Taylor Swift, one of the world’s biggest pop stars, went viral online. Millions of people viewed nonconsensual deepfake porn of Swift on the social media platform X, which has since taken the drastic step of blocking all searches for Taylor Swift to try to get the problem under control.This is not a new phenomenon: deepfakes have been around for years. However, the rise of generative AI has made it easier than ever to create deepfake pornography and sexually harass people using AI-generated images and videos. Thankfully, there is some hope. Our senior AI writer…
Venturing out by themselves That’s why Chinese auto companies, which have become such prominent exporters thanks to the rise of EVs, are starting to form their own shipping businesses. News that BYD was looking to buy or charter ships was first reported by the shipping outlet Lloyd’s List in late 2022. In December that year, the company changed its corporate registration to include the business of international cargo shipping and ship management. MIT Technology Review contacted BYD for comment, but it did not respond in time for publication. BYD Explorer No.1 was delivered at the beginning of this year. The…
Today, Google is introducing a new way for Google Maps users to find places using generative AI. Google’s large-language models (LLMs) will analyze the detailed information that Maps has for over 250 million places and reviews and recommendations from more than 300 million contributors. With this huge data bank, Google Maps will be able to tell you where to go. Google’s Local Guides will get first crack at the new feature this week. These are, in the words of Miriam Daniel, VP & GM, Google Maps, “…some of the most active and passionate members of the Maps community. Their insights and…
Neuralink has embedded the first computer chip in a human brain, founder Elon Musk announced on social media Monday, marking a major milestone in neuroscience and a giant step forward in the company’s push to promote brain-machine interface implants. In a post on X, Musk said a human volunteer underwent surgery last Sunday to receive the chip, which Neuralink designed. He added that the patient is recovering well. “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection,” Musk said in the post. Artificial intelligence, Elon Musk and the biggest tech stories of 2023 04:26 Neurons are cells that make up the brain and nervous system. Spikes…
Rare earth metals became ubiquitous across technologies because they represented “a huge jump” in the energy density of magnets when they were discovered in the 1960s, says Matthew Kramer, a senior scientist at Ames National Laboratory. One of the primary gauges of a magnet’s properties is its energy density, measured in mega-gauss-oersteds (MGOe). While the ferrite magnets on your fridge likely have an MGOe of around 5, neodymium-based magnets are much stronger, reaching around 50 MGOe. Rare earth metals like neodymium are currently a crucial ingredient in permanent magnets because they can wrangle other metals into an arrangement that helps…
YouTube Music and Premium announced today that it has hit a major milestone for the platform’s music streaming goals, surpassing 100 million members (including trial users). This number, which is accurate as of January 2024, represents a 20-million-member growth in just over a year, according to Lyor Cohen (Global Head of YouTube Music).In 2015, YouTube Music was launched with the goal of giving music lovers a one-stop-shop for all their music needs, including ad-free listening, offline capabilities, and access to music videos. As a result of feedback from the community and changes in the industry, the service underwent several changes…
A bipartisan Senate duo is pressing the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to help prepare state and local officials to ward off artificial intelligence-produced disinformation targeted at voters. In a new letter exclusively obtained by CBS News, Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins shared that they have “serious concerns” while urging for more steps to be taken to help officials around the country “combat these threats.” Tuesday’s letter comes after an incident involving New Hampshire’s presidential primary. Before the contest, a fake robocall impersonating President Biden encouraged voters not to vote in the Jan. 23 primary and instead…
The Chinese electric-vehicle maker has been particularly good at expanding into different, related businesses. Not only can it make high-performing and safe batteries for cars, but it also does almost everything in house, from designing car chips to mining lithium and other materials. The fact that it has subsidiaries in every step of the EV supply chain enables the company to keep its costs down and sell cars at more competitive prices. Now, to pull that off once again, BYD is starting a sea freight business. As I just wrote in a story published today, the company is assembling a…
Apple and Google both removed the Wizz app from their respective app storefronts this week. Wizz is a social media app popular among U.S. teens. According to NBC News, the alleged use of the app in sextortion scams led the National Center on Sexual Exploitation to send an email to Apple and the latter removed the app from the App Store. NBC News was able to review some emails and reported that one from an Apple representative to the center said, “We take App Store violations seriously and appreciate your outreach. The app has been removed from the Store and we…
Tech leaders to testify on social media safety for kids – CBS News Watch CBS News CEOs from five of the biggest tech companies are set to testify on what they’re doing to protect children who use their social media platforms. Jo Ling Kent speaks to a woman whose daughter died by suicide following sexual exploitation by online predators. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On #Tech #leaders #testify #social #media #safety #kids
Earlier this month, a massive ship picked up over 5,000 electric cars from two ports in northern and southern China. Five days later, it passed through Singapore, and it is now headed for India. However, its final destination is in Europe, where most of the cars will be sold. The ship’s name is BYD Explorer No.1. As the first of a massive fleet that BYD is building, it reflects the Chinese company’s ambition to establish a seafaring business that supports its new role in the global car trade. There’s rising appetite for BYD’s cars overseas. In 2023, BYD exported over…
Just in case you have been living under a rock — or just don’t follow what’s going on in American sports — next Sunday, February 11th, is the Super Bowl LVIII. Famous for being that event where sports and non-sports fanatics can gather to eat copious amounts of food and enjoy some entertainment — be it in the form of a football game or the halftime show — there is one other feature that the Super Bowl is known for: its ads.For this televised event, companies invest in and compete for that celebrated spot of the best Super Bowl commercial.…
For Tammy Rodriguez, online safety for kids is literally a matter of life and death. Her 11-year-old daughter, Selena, died by suicide after an extreme social media addiction led to sexual exploitation by online predators.”I had no idea that it could get to that. I would have never let her have it in the beginning,” Rodriguez told CBS News. “These are all things that are all hidden in the background. That, you know, it seems like these big tech companies, they know exactly how to make it work for them. And the parents don’t know what’s going on.”Rodriguez said her…