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Microsoft develops AI tool that can diagnose 'sequentially' like a doctor <br> Microsoft researchers say an AI tool that diagnoses patients step by step, as doctors do, was more than twice as accurate as general physicians at solving complex medical cases, according to a study published on Thursday in Science. The model identifies and coordinates the questions that should be asked of a patient, as well as the exams and tests that should be ordered, using an &quot;orchestrator&quot; that organises how AI will tackle a problem by employing a simulated panel of clinical experts collaborating to solve diagnostic cases, according to the report. Existing medical AI models typically take an all-at-once approach that examines all of a patient&#39;s symptoms, lab results and imaging studies to generate a diagnosis. With the orchestrator coordinating the steps to reaching a diagnosis, the AI model first decides what to ask about the patient&rsquo;s history a...

Apple launches into foldable market as iPhone Duo sales begin <br> Sales of Apple&#39;s first folding phone, the iPhone Duo, began on Friday, with market watchers betting on whether the device can reinvent the small foldables market in the same way the iPhone did for smartphones. The Duo&#39;s reception could prove an early test for new CEO John Ternus, the former hardware chief who unveiled the phone barely a week after taking charge in September. It could also have large implications for a niche category in which ⁠rivals such as Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies have sold premium ​offerings for several years. Within minutes of pre-orders opening last Friday, Apple&#39;s estimated delivery dates for the Duo had slipped to late January as demand outpaced supply. The US company called the response from customers &quot;nothing short of extraordinary.&quot; In Sydney, the first Apple store to sell the phones on Friday, a queue of customers form...

Millions of hacking attempts as companies, governments rush to patch PHP flaws <br> Global firms and governments rushed on Thursday ​to patch critical flaws in the PHP programming language that underpins much of the internet, as a cloud firm reported millions of hacking attempts after vulnerabilities were disclosed. The push came &zwnj;after governments in Europe and elsewhere took websites offline as a precaution on Wednesday while website operators scrambled to secure systems running the software. The emergency shutdowns of banking, airline, rail, tax and government services from Tokyo to Helsinki mark one of the most dramatic tests of the decades-old programming tools that keep the web running, exposing how deeply governments and companies depend on code that few people understand. Read: Government websites in Europe, elsewhere go dark as software flaw sparks security scramble &quot;I&#39;ve not seen anything like this in a long, long time,&quot; Micro...

Apple will have limited iPhone Duo units available in stores on Friday <br> Apple has said it will ​have &#39;limited&#39; numbers of its folding iPhone Duo phone available &zwnj;for walk-in customers when the device launches on Friday, after initial online orders sold out in minutes and pushed delivery times for some customers to January. Apple announced ​its first folding phone in September, with analysts expecting it ​to quickly come to dominate a niche segment where ⁠rivals such as Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies have sold premium ​offerings for years. But the iPhone Duo is also a more complex ​product than standard candy-bar iPhones, with a tight-fitting hinge that analysts believe may take time for Apple to learn to manufacture in high volumes. Read: India investigating Tata data leak that exposed Apple iPhone secrets &ldquo;On Friday morning, our ​teams look forward to welcoming customers at Apple Stores to ​experience iPhone Duo and th...

DeepSeek wrapping up $15b fundraising to fuel AI race, sources say <br> Chinese ​AI startup DeepSeek has raised about 100 billion yuan ($14.98 billion) in its latest funding round from investors including chipmaker &zwnj;GigaDevice, food delivery company Meituan and automaker Geely, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. Battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and WeChat operator Tencent Holdings, both existing shareholders, were among the biggest investors in the round, said two of the people. Home appliances maker Midea and existing shareholder NetEase also participated, the people ​said. Other investors include Boyu Capital, CPE and Legend Capital, as well as existing shareholder IDG Capital, three of the people said. The ​total number of investors in the funding round exceeded 15, one of the people said. Read: Trump says companies should pay &#39;dividend&#39; to communities to make data centres popular DeepSeek, which sourc...

Electronic Arts to cut 400 jobs, shut down BioWare, cancel next 'Mass Effect' game <br> Electronic Arts (EA) plans to lay off 400 employees, close its BioWare studio and cancel the next &quot;Mass Effect&quot;&nbsp;game, Bloomberg reported on&nbsp;Wednesday. The layoffs will affect 3% of the US video game publisher&rsquo;s workforce, including 50 employees at BioWare, the studio behind the popular &quot;Mass Effect&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;Dragon Age&quot;&nbsp;franchises. In an internal letter, EA executives said the company reviewed its operations and decided to cancel several projects to reduce costs. Read:&nbsp;Saudi-led consortium finalises $55b acquisition of gaming giant EA &ldquo;Across our portfolio, we&rsquo;re making deliberate choices to align talent and investments where we see the greatest opportunities for players and long-term growth,&rdquo; they wrote. EA will also cancel a planned game in ...