'Where is the phone?' Huawei keeps quiet about Mate 60 Pro but takes aim at Tesla
Huawei has disappointed legions of fans — and US officials — eager to know more about its Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which has quickly become a symbol of the tech rivalry between the United States and China since it went on sale last month.
2023-09-25 21:29
Amazon invests $4 billion in Anthropic AI in exchange for minority stake and further AWS integration
Amazon said on Monday that it's investing $4 billion into the artificial intelligence company Anthropic in exchange for partial ownership and Anthropic's greater use of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the e-commerce giant's cloud computing platform.
2023-09-25 21:23
Tesla unveils new yoga-practicing robot
Tesla has unveiled the latest version of its humanoid robot, demonstrating its ability to adapt to its environment and even perform yoga poses. It is significant progress for the Optimus bot, which was unable to walk unassisted just one year ago. “Optimus is now capable of self-calibrating its arms and legs,” stated a video showing off the robot. “Accurately calibrated, Optimus learns various tasks more efficiently... For example, it can now sort blocks by colour fully autonomously. And it does so while dealing with the dynamic reality of our world.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, with the caption “progress”. Mr Musk has previously said that Tesla’s humanoid robot has the potential to be “more significant” than the company’s car business. It is being developed to replace low-skilled labour, with its humanoid form designed to allow it to carry out human tasks, ranging from shopping in a supermarket to working on factory production lines. “Essentially in the future, physical work will be a choice,” Mr Musk said when the robot was first announced in 2021. “It has profound implications for the economy, given that the economy at its foundational level is labour.” New details from the tech billionaire’s authorised biography also revealed that he told employees that Optimus was the key to turning Tesla into a $10 trillion company. Tesla is yet to give any information about Optimus’s price or release date, though early versions are expected to be tested on the company’s vehicle production line. At last year’s Tesla AI Day, Mr Musk said deliveries could take place within three-to-five years, though his estimates are typically overly ambitious. Tesla is also currently undertaking a recruitment drive to help speed up the development of Optimus, with more than 50 positions listed on its website relating to robotics. Read More Elon Musk and the one trillion-dollar algorithm that explains everything he does Elon Musk warns of ‘civilisational risk’ posed by AI at historic gathering Cybertruck sparked secret Tesla revolt, Elon Musk biography reveals Volcano discovery could power electric cars for decades, scientists say
2023-09-25 19:28
South Korea breezes through first day of League of Legends competition in Asian Games esports
South Korea’s League of Legends team has breezed through its first day of competition at the Asian Games and was bolstered by a strong performance by top player Lee Sang-hyeok
2023-09-25 18:46
People don’t become adults till they’re in their 30s, research suggests
Ever felt a bit immature? Well, don't worry. People don't become fully "adult" until they're in their 30s, according to experts. While, in the UK, we legally become adults at 18, research suggests people in their late teens are still going through significant changes in the brain. Professor Peter Jones, from Cambridge University, told the BBC back in 2019: "What we're really saying is that to have a definition of when you move from childhood to adulthood looks increasingly absurd. "It's a much more nuanced transition that takes place over three decades." He added: "I guess systems like the education system, the health system and the legal system make it convenient for themselves by having definitions." When you reach 18, you can vote, buy alcohol, get a mortgage and are also treated as an adult if you get in trouble with the police. Despite this, Professor Jones says he believes experienced criminal judges recognise the difference between a 19-year-old defendant and a "hardened criminal" in their late 30s. "I think the system is adapting to what's hiding in plain sight, that people don't like (the idea of) a caterpillar turning into a butterfly," he said. "There isn't a childhood and then an adulthood. People are on a pathway, they're on a trajectory." Meanwhile, in an interview with PBS, Dr Jay Giedd, chair of child psychiatry at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, said that the development of the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for social interactions, regulating emotions, controlling impulsive behaviour, and assessing risk, doesn’t stop at age 18. Instead, he said it takes almost 25 years. So give yourself a break unless you are in your 30s. And if you are? Grow up. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-09-25 17:49
Meta plans to develop chatbot with ‘sassy robot’ persona for young users, report says
Facebook parent company Meta is reportedly planning to internally release an artificial intelligence chatbot called “Gen AI Personas” aimed at younger users. The chatbot, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is set to be launched during Meta’s Connect Event on Wednesday. The tech giant is testing the chatbot, which comes in multiple “personas” aimed to engage young users, including a “sassy robot” persona inspired by Bender from Futurama,according to The Wall Street Journal. Meta is reportedly developing “dozens” of these chatbots, including some to help with “coding and other tasks” and improve productivity as well as a tool to help celebrities make their own chatbots for their fans. The development of some of these chatbots – including one with the personality of former US president Abraham Lincoln – are part of Meta’s attempts to boost engagement on its social media platforms, reports previously suggested. The development of these new chatbots are signs of Meta’s growing interest in the market for large language models (LLM) similar to ChatGPT. It launched a new version of its open-source model in July called Llama 2 for commercial use, becoming the first major tech firm to release its AI chatbot. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said at the time of Llama 2’s release that it would “drive progress across the industry” while the firm’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun said it will “change the landscape of the LLM market”. The tech firm’s development of “personas” also comes as tech industry leaders called for a balanced approach towards regulating AI at a historic gathering convened by US senate majority leader Chuck Schumer. At the meeting held earlier this month, Mr Zuckerberg said the two defining issues for AI are “safety and access.” He urged the US Congress should “engage with AI to support innovation and safeguards”. “New technology often brings new challenges, and it’s on companies to make sure we build and deploy products responsibly,” the Meta chief said. “This is an emerging technology, there are important equities to balance here, and the government is ultimately responsible for that,” he added. Read More Meta’s new end-to-end encryption ‘means thousands of criminals could go undetected’ Elon Musk warns of ‘civilisational risk’ posed by AI at historic gathering of tech giant chiefs WhatsApp update brings ‘channels’, allowing people to follow updates from celebrities and companies Facebook changes logo to ‘make F stand apart’ – but can you tell the difference? Elon Musk warns of ‘civilisational risk’ posed by AI at historic gathering Nasa just delivered a piece of a distant asteroid to Earth
2023-09-25 16:52
Local baffled by mysterious 'UFO' hovering in the sky
A mysterious spinning ‘UFO’ has been spotted in the night sky by a stunned local. The brightly illuminated object is seen spinning in the air, but it appears to hover above a mountain. The shocked onlooker zooms in on the mysterious aircraft while saying in wonder: “It’s moving.” The hovering UFO was filmed in the village of Honorato Vásquez, Ecuador, on Tuesday (9 Sept) evening. The local authorities have yet to respond to claims that the object was from outer space. One local said: “I believe it.” Manuel wrote: “Those crazy aliens.” Yet Eddy joked: “In that drone there, you wouldn’t even be able to fit two-quarters of a Martian!” It followed an alleged aerial battle between military personnel and several alien spaceships in Argentina this month. Scared locals claimed that the military base was attacked by four black triangular-shaped UFOs. Scores of residents gathered outside the Commander Espora Air Naval Base near Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, as thunderous noises sounded from within the perimeter walls. The Commission for the Study of UFO Phenomena of the Argentine Republic, an organisation dedicated to investigating alleged alien sightings, claimed to have information that there were four UFOs seen attacking the military base. The group said the alien spacecrafts were black and triangular in shape and that Argentine troops fired at them with anti-aircraft weapons. Group spokesperson Andrea Pérez Simondini said witnesses saw “four lights entering the territory from across the ocean before taking a strategic position over one of the buildings where ammunition is stored”. However, the military authorities have denied that the base was under attack and claimed that the videos were faked by unscrupulous locals. Navy spokesperson Captain Germán Luis Zarralanga said their Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopter was taking part in a training exercise that night, but was not involved in any kind of altercation with other aircraft. When discussing the social media footage, the spokesperson said: “It’s an edit. I don’t know what their intentions were. “Airport security and airport workers did not report seeing anything, and everyone at the base was sleeping except for the person piloting the helicopter. There was no type of special activity, no tactical manoeuvres, just a normal helicopter training flight, nothing related to ammunition.” One local commented: “Incredible! How many UFOs? I can't believe it! Amazing. An interplanetary war has begun.” Another said: “Are you telling me that it was one of the first-ever confrontations between humans and UFOs and we shot them down?” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-09-24 18:55
Archaeologists are too scared to open up the tomb of China’s first emperor
Archaeologists are terrified to open the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor who has been buried for 2,200 years. The tomb of Qin Shu Huang, who ruled from 221 BC to 210 BC, is guarded by a terracotta army of soldiers and horses. The discovery was found by farmers back in 1974 in the Shaanxi province of China. While archaeologists explored the area, they have never opened the tomb itself – and within good reason. According to IFL Science, not only do archaeologists believe it will cause damage, but there are rumours of deathly booby traps that could kill curious intruders. Writings by Chinese historian Sima Qian 100 years after Qin Shu Huang's death claim "Palaces and scenic towers for a hundred officials were constructed and the tomb was filled with rare artifacts and wonderful treasure." He continued: "Craftsmen were ordered to make crossbows and arrows primed to shoot at anyone who enters the tomb. Mercury was used to simulate the hundred rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow River, and the great sea, and set to flow mechanically." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Even if those alleged crossbows failed thousands of years later, there are still fears of liquid mercury seeping through the cracks. "Highly volatile mercury may be escaping through cracks, which developed in the structure over time, and our investigation supports ancient chronicle records on the tomb, which is believed never to have been opened/looted," one 2020 paper suggests, as per the publication. Scientists have reportedly toyed with the idea of using non-invasive techniques to open the tomb, however, they have not yet come to fruition. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-09-23 16:21
California governor vetoes bill banning robotrucks without safety drivers
By Abhirup Roy SAN FRANCISCO California Governor Gavin Newsom late on Friday vetoed a bill to prevent heavy-duty
2023-09-23 15:54
Britain uses UN speech to show that it wants to be a leader on how the world handles AI
Britain is pitching itself to the world as a ready leader in shaping an international response to the rise of artificial intelligence
2023-09-23 09:26
Stronger Investment Curbs Are Needed to Counter China, McCaul Says
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul says Congress needs to tighten restrictions on US firms’ investment in
2023-09-23 07:24
Standard Life confirms plans for pensions dashboard
Standard Life has confirmed plans to create a commercial pensions dashboard, to help its four million customers have greater awareness around their retirement savings. It has partnered with financial technology company Moneyhub to deliver the dashboard, which will eventually be embedded into Standard Life’s existing customer app. The pensions dashboard will also be available to customers through Standard Life’s online desktop. We are excited to extend our collaboration with Moneyhub to develop and launch one of the UK’s first fully functional commercial pensions dashboards Gail Izat, Standard Life Standard Life said the initiative would help customers to find and view their state, workplace and personal pensions. Work has been under way within the pensions industry for several years to develop pensions dashboards, where people will be able to see their pension savings online, in one place. In June, pensions minister Laura Trott said the Government remained “as committed as ever” to making pensions dashboards a reality. The Government previously said more time was needed for the complex build of pensions dashboards to be set up. Standard Life said it was putting “the building blocks in place” so that it could be ready to hit the ground running with its dashboard, adding that the timeline for its delivery was dependent on the Government programme. The Government’s pensions dashboards programme has been urging providers to continue with their plans and Standard Life has seized the initiative Samantha Seaton, Moneyhub The pension provider added that it had been preparing to finalise plans so that it would be ready for launch when the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) regulatory approval process was in place. As well as finding and viewing pension data, Standard Life said its pension scheme members would be able to go further by connecting to and seeing their bank accounts, credit cards, savings, property valuations, Isas, loans, mortgages, and other financial products, in one place. Standard Life’s parent company, Phoenix Group, anticipates extending dashboard access to all of its 12 million UK customers “in due course”. Gail Izat, managing director of workplace at Standard Life, said: “It may seem obvious but simply knowing how much all your pensions are worth will allow you to plan for the future and understand what you can do today to have enough money to allow you to live your desired lifestyle later in life. Pensions dashboards will transform the way people plan for retirement. We remain committed to their delivery Department for Work and Pensions “We are excited to extend our collaboration with Moneyhub to develop and launch one of the UK’s first fully functional commercial pensions dashboards, while leading the way in shaping the future of retirement saving by giving customers greater certainty and a truly holistic view of their finances.” Samantha Seaton, chief executive of Moneyhub, said: “The Government’s pensions dashboards programme has been urging providers to continue with their plans and Standard Life has seized the initiative.” A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesperson said: “Pensions dashboards will transform the way people plan for retirement. “We remain committed to their delivery and to working closely with the pensions industry to ensure the record number of people saving for retirement have the support they need to make informed choices about their financial futures.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live BBC reviews Russell Brand’s time at corporation as YouTube demonetises content BBC removes some Russell Brand content as monetisation suspended on YouTube How does Russell Brand make money online?
2023-09-23 07:16
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