Tag Archives: technology

Ars Technica reports: In a Black Mirror-esque turn, some cash-strapped actors who didn’t fully understand the consequences are regretting selling their likenesses to be used in AI videos that they consider embarrassing, damaging, or harmful. Among them is a 29-year-old New York-based actor, Adam Coy, who licensed rights to his face and voice to a company called MCM for one …

Wired reports: On Saturday, about 12,000 human athletes ran in a half marathon race in Beijing, but most of the attention was on a group of other, unconventional participants: 21 humanoid robots. The event’s organizers, which included several branches of Beijing’s municipal government, claim it’s the first time humans and bipedal robots have run in the same race, though they …

404 Media reports: American police departments near the United States-Mexico border are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for an unproven and secretive technology that uses AI-generated online personas designed to interact with and collect intelligence on “college protesters,” “radicalized” political activists, and suspected drug and human traffickers, according to internal documents, contracts, and communications 404 Media obtained via public …

Wired reports: Let’s say a laptop costs $400 at import in the US. A retailer would then add an average gross margin rate of 30 percent—how much revenue the retailer retains after deducting the cost to produce or acquire the item—and that laptop will now cost $571. That’s the price you’ll pay at a big box store. China exports a …

Ars Technica reports: Since Amazon announced plans for a generative AI version of Alexa, we were concerned about user privacy. With Alexa+ rolling out to Amazon Echo devices in the coming weeks, we’re getting a clearer view at the privacy concessions people will have to make to maximize usage of the AI voice assistant and avoid bricking functionality of already-purchased …

The Associated Press reports: A private lunar lander carrying a drill, vacuum and other experiments for NASA touched down on the moon Sunday, the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earth’s celestial neighbor ahead of astronaut missions. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient …

NPR reports: Skype, the pioneering and once ubiquitous free video calling service, will be history come May. It was so popular that people used it as a verb: “I’ll Skype you in the morning.” Microsoft, which acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, announced in a post on X on Friday that the iconic voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) service would soon …

Axios reports: Apple on Monday morning announced plans to invest more than $500 billion in the U.S. and hire 20,000 people over the next four years, with expansion and construction planned from coast to coast. The new jobs will focus on research and development, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning. Apple plans to greatly expand chip and …

The Washington Post reports: Amazon plans to unveil a revamped version of its Alexa virtual assistant in New York later this month — the second launch event after a series of delays since the artificial-intelligence-powered upgrade was first announced in September 2023. Amazon staff learned of the new delay, which is due in part to the new version of the …

CBNC reports: Google donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, becoming the latest major tech company to try and curry some goodwill with the incoming administration. “Google is pleased to support the 2025 inauguration, with a livestream on YouTube and a direct link on our homepage. We’re also donating to the inaugural committee,” Karan Bhatia, Google’s global head …

Study Finds reports: Commissioned by UserTesting and conducted by Talker Research, the survey exposes the growing frustration with the current streaming landscape. The research paints a vivid picture of entertainment exhaustion, revealing that the average person now spends a staggering 110 hours per year — nearly five full days — simply scrolling through streaming platforms in search of something to …

The Guardian reports: America’s political divide is likely to get even wider thanks to a new real-estate platform that lets potential buyers see the political affiliations of their future neighbors, as well as other social data and local demographics. Oyssey, a tech startup launching this month in south Florida and New York City, allows buyers access neighborhood political affiliations based …

Via press release from Amazon: Starting today, vehicle shoppers in 48 U.S. cities can browse, order, finance, and schedule pickup of a new Hyundai vehicle from their local participating dealer directly on Amazon. Amazon Autos offers online automotive shopping from Hyundai dealers across major metropolitan areas nationwide. We continue to add more Hyundai dealerships, and next year, we will roll …

The New York Times reports: A coalition of Canada’s biggest news organizations is suing OpenAI, the maker of the artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, accusing the company of illegally using their content in the first case of its kind in the country. Five of the country’s major news companies, including the publishers of its top newspapers, newswires and the national broadcaster, …

The New York Times reports: Australia has passed a law to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts on social media platforms. The bill, which the government calls a “world leading” move to protect young people online, was approved in the Senate on Thursday with support from both of the country’s major parties. The lower house of Parliament had passed …

Ars Technica reports: Elwood Edwards, the voice behind the online service America Online’s iconic “You’ve got mail” greeting, has died at age 74, one day before his 75th birthday, according to Cleveland’s WKYC Studios, where he worked for many years. The greeting became a cultural touchstone in the 1990s and early 2000s in the early Internet era; it was heard …

The Washington Post reports: Chinese hackers have breached at least three major U.S. telecommunications providers in what appears to be an audacious espionage operation likely aimed in part at discovering the Chinese targets of American surveillance, according to U.S. officials. The investigation by the FBI, U.S. intelligence agencies and the Department of Homeland Security is in its early stages. The …

ABC News reports: Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Saturday that would have required new cars to beep at drivers if they exceed the speed limit. California would have become the first to require such systems for all new cars, trucks and buses sold in the state starting in 2030. The bill, aimed at reducing traffic deaths, would have mandated …

Reuters reports: Apple on Monday unveiled its artificial intelligence-boosted iPhone 16, showing off the long-awaited phone hours after Chinese rival Huawei’s tri-fold phone began racking up orders. “The next generation of iPhone has been designed for Apple Intelligence from the ground up. It marks the beginning of an exciting new era,” Chief Executive Tim Cook said at a product launch. …

Futurism reports: In a pitch deck to prospective customers, one of Facebook’s alleged marketing partners explained how it listens to users’ smartphone microphones and advertises to them accordingly. As 404 Media reports based on documents leaked to its reporters, the TV and radio news giant Cox Media Group (CMG) claims that its so-called “Active Listening” software uses artificial intelligence (AI) …