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Google DeepMind AI reveals potential for thousands of new materials Google DeepMind has used artificial intelligence (AI) to predict the structure of more than 2 million new materials, a breakthrough it said could soon be used to improve real-world technologies. In a research paper published in science journal Nature on Wednesday, the Alphabet-owned AI firm said almost 400,000 of its hypothetical material designs could soon be produced in lab conditions. Potential applications for the research include the production of better-performing batteries, solar panels and computer chips. The discovery and synthesis of new materials can be a costly and time-consuming process. For example, it took around two decades of research before lithium-ion batteries – today used to power everything from phones and laptops to electric vehicles – were made commercially available. “We're hoping that big improvements in experimentation, autonomous synthesis, and machine learning models will significantl...

Elon Musk curses out advertisers who left X over antisemitic content Billionaire Elon Musk told advertisers that have fled his social media platform X over antisemitic content to "Go fuck yourself" in a fiery Wednesday interview. His profanity-laced remarks followed a moment of contrition in a New York Times DealBook Summit interview. Musk said repeatedly he was sorry for publishing a tweet on Nov. 15 that agreed with an anti-Jewish post. Musk has faced a torrent of criticism ever since he agreed with a user who falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people. Musk in his post said the user, who referenced the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, was speaking "the actual truth." On Wednesday Musk said he had "handed a loaded gun" to both detractors and antisemitic people, describing his post as possibly the worst he had made during a history of messages that included many "foolish" ones. The Tesla CEO bristled...

Apple ProRAW lets you shoot RAW images from your iPhone iPhone Pro users have a unique built-in feature that allows them to create better image edits internally using the camera. Apple ProRAW is a file format that lets iPhone users to edit color and exposure with better results than the default JPEG. First launched with iPhone 12 Pro model, Apple ProRAW is now available on every Pro model launched since then, with iOS 14.3 or later. A RAW image is better than a JPEG because it can capture more data that can be adjusted later like color balance. JPEG files lacks the extra data that will make the image adjustment a little different and not quite right. RAW files will produce better results when adjusted, espcially with color manipulation. They also have a wider dynamic range, which means that the darkest and lightest areas of the image will retain more detail than on a JPEG. Professional photographers prefer to shoot in RAW files, but the iPhone Pro models is one of the first to introd...

Amazon's AWS appeals to corporate customers with new chatbot, AI safety measures Amazon is trying to lure big corporate customers to it AWS cloud computing service with a new chatbot for businesses, and by offering to guard them against legal and reputational damage that can come from the output of artificial intelligence. The new chatbot, called Q, is designed to help with productivity by helping workers summarize important documents and support tickets and chat via communication apps such as Slack, the company announced at its annual cloud computing conference Tuesday in Las Vegas. The software can also automatically make changes to businesses source code, speeding development, the company said. The new software arrived roughly a year after OpenAI’s ChatGPT burst onto the scene, setting off a frenzy of investment in generative AI startups. Alphabet and others have announced their own chatbots, which can have human-like conversations with users to help with daily tasks. AWS CEO ...

iOS 17's NameDrop feature sparks privacy concerns The latest iOS 17 update brings a new feature called NameDrop, enabling iPhone users to share their contacts by bringing their devices in close proximity. The feature received some backlash when it comes to privacy and safety. As per users, NameDrop is enabled by default and the feature presents a safety threat, particularly to children. The feature is crafted for seamless contact sharing, but it incorporates precautions to prevent accidental information sharing. Simply tapping two iPhones together doesn't trigger NameDrop as confirmation on the iPhone's display is required. Users must confirm both sharing and receiving contact information. Despite fearmongering in viral posts, the iPhone needs to be unlocked with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode for NameDrop to function. Read More TikTok obtaining Indonesia e-commerce permit Users can disable NameDrop by opening the Settings app, tapping the AirDrop option and switching o...

TikTok obtaining Indonesia e-commerce permit Short video app TikTok is in the process of obtaining an e-commerce permit from Indonesia's government, state news agency Antara reported, citing the deputy trade minister. In September, Indonesia banned e-commerce transactions on social media, a major blow for TikTok, which had pledged to invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, the region's biggest economy. "Before, they (TikTok) were not compliant, they didn't have the permit. Now they are taking care of it," Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga was quoted saying by Antara on Tuesday. He said a partnership with a local firm could be done providing it was in accordance with regulations. TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, has 125 million active monthly users in Indonesia, a country of more than 270 million people. It has been looking to translate the large user base into a major e-commerce revenue source. TikTok did not immediately resp...

AI threatens wages, not jobs - so far, ECB paper finds The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence could reduce wages, but so far is creating, not destroying jobs, especially for the young and highly-skilled, research published by the European Central Bank showed on Tuesday. Firms have invested heavily in artificial intelligence, or AI, leaving economists striving to understand the impact on the labour market and driving fears among the wider public for the future of their jobs. At the same time, employers are struggling to find qualified workers, despite a recession that would normally ease labour market pressures. In a sample of 16 European countries, the employment share of sectors exposed to AI increased, with low and medium-skill jobs largely unaffected and highly-skilled positions getting the biggest boost, a Research Bulletin published by the ECB said. But it also cited "neutral to slightly negative impacts" on earnings and said that could increase. "These res...

AI threat demands new approach to security designs The potential threat posed by the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) means safeguards need to be built in to systems from the start rather than tacked on later, a top US official said on Monday. "We've normalized a world where technology products come off the line full of vulnerabilities and then consumers are expected to patch those vulnerabilities. We can't live in that world with AI," said Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. "It is too powerful, it is moving too fast," she said in a telephone interview after holding talks in Ottawa with Sami Khoury, head of Canada's Centre for Cyber Security. Easterly spoke the same day that agencies from 18 countries, including the United States, endorsed new British-developed guidelines on AI cyber security that focus on secure design, development, deployment and maintenance. "We have to look at ...

ByteDance says to restructure Nuverse in retreat from gaming business TikTok maker ByteDance plans to wind down its Nuverse gaming brand and retreat from mainstream video games, four people familiar with the matter said. ByteDance told Reuters it had decided to restructure its gaming business after a review, without giving further details. "We regularly review our businesses and make adjustments to centre on long-term strategic growth areas. Following a recent review, we've made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business," the spokesperson said. The sources said ByteDance will tell employees on Monday to stop working on unreleased games by December, and that it will look for ways to divest from titles already launched. The decision is likely to impact hundreds of employees, some of whom learnt about the move at the weekend, the people said. The Chinese technology firm has no plan to return to the $185 billion global video games market, they added, declini...

US, Britain, other countries ink agreement to make AI 'secure by design' The United States, Britain and more than a dozen other countries on Sunday unveiled what a senior US official described as the first detailed international agreement on how to keep artificial intelligence safe from rogue actors, pushing for companies to create AI systems that are "secure by design." In a 20-page document unveiled Sunday, the 18 countries agreed that companies designing and using AI need to develop and deploy it in a way that keeps customers and the wider public safe from misuse. The agreement is non-binding and carries mostly general recommendations such as monitoring AI systems for abuse, protecting data from tampering and vetting software suppliers. Still, the director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Jen Easterly, said it was important that so many countries put their names to the idea that AI systems needed to put safety first. "This is the f...

Pixel 8 Pro owners complain about display bumps Google admits the Pixel 8 Pro odd bump complaints by users is a real issue in the phone series. "Pixel 8 phones have a new display. When the screen is turned off, not in use and in specific lighting conditions, some users may see impressions from components in the device that look like small bumps. There is no functional impact to Pixel 8 performance or durability," a Google spokesperson told 9to5Google. Users are still finding it odd to see uneveness in their screen displays, though it is only visible in specific lighting conditions and when the display is turned off. Many are also worried over the phone's one-year warranty, concerned that the uneven screen issue might get worse over time. Google hasn't yet indicated if it intends to replace the devices exihibiting the issue.

Four reasons for not missing out on ChatGPT 3 mobile app The launch of ChatGPT-3 took the world by storm, not only becoming a helping hand for many but also igniting a field of competition among leading tech giants Building on its web version, OpenAI has also made ChatGPT 3 available on mobile as an app. It is designed to mimic human-like conversation, providing responses that are not just accurate but contextually relevant. Here are some details about the app that you should not miss; 1. Simple User Interface The developers have put in detailed effort to ensure that the app is not just powerful, but also user-friendly and accessible. With a clean, intuitive design, it caters to both tech-savvy users and those new to AI technology. Additionally, the app includes accessibility features, making it a tool that is truly for everyone. 2. Multi-Language Support To make it accessible to a maximum number of people, ChatGPT 3 can converse in multiple languages. To opt for a different language...

Huawei to move smart car operations to new joint company with Changan China's Huawei said on Sunday it will move core technologies and resources in its smart car unit, which has chalked up robust sales for a number of new vehicles, to a new joint company owned up to 40% by automaker Changan Auto. The new company will engage in research and development, production, sales and service of intelligent automotive systems and component solutions, Huawei said in a press release. "The new company will ... work with partners to promote innovation and leadership in smart car technology and promote the prosperity and development of the automotive industry," the release said. The equity ratio and amount of capital contributed will be negotiated by the two parties, Chongqing Changan Automobile said in a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Sunday. "The two parties will jointly support the target company to become an industry leader in automotive intelligent systems and com...

Technical error causes ad pop-ups in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Ubisoft confirms that a technical error caused ad pop-ups in Assassin's Creed Odyssey this week. The ad pop-ups appeared on the Xbox and PlayStation versions of the game. The pop-ups appeared when a player tried to navigate to the map screen which caused a lot of inconvenience. Read More India warns Facebook, YouTube to enforce rules to deter deepfakes Ubisoft says it was trying to put an ad for Assassin’s Creed Mirage in the main menu of other Assassin’s Creed games. However, due to a technical error, the promotion showed up on in-game menus instead. We have been made aware that some players encountered a pop-up message in-game while playing certain Assassin’s Creed titles yesterday. This was the result of a technical error that has now been fixed. Our intention was to display a promotion for Assassin's Creed Mirage as part… — Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) November 24, 2023 The technical error d...

Instagram now lets users download Reels from public accounts After going through the testing phase, Instagram now lets all users download reels from public accounts. Instagram's CEO Adam Mosseri announced the update on his broadcast channel. According to Mosseri, the downloaded memes will have a watermark of Instagram along with the account's username. Reels will only come with music if they have original tracks. Instagram will remove their audio if they use licensed music as a background. Read More OpenAI researchers warned board of AI breakthrough ahead of CEO ouster, sources say The option to download videos is available on TikTok, which makes it easier for users to share their content on multiple platforms. Instagram's latest move is said to be a replication of it.  

How to increase laptop battery life How annoyed do you get when you see the 'low battery' notification while in the midst of working on an important project? The dreaded sign has all of us rushing to find the charger and a power outlet. Different laptop functions play a major role in determining your battery life and can easily be optimised for extended duration. Regardless of whether you're using a PC or Mac laptop, factors like power settings, how many apps you're running, and the temperature of the room in which you're working, can determine your device's battery life. Using Windows Performance Management Tool This exclusive PC tool is available on the taskbar slider on Windows 10 and groups all battery-affecting functions and settings. Windows 11 users can find this tool in Settings, under Systems and Power & Battery. Under this tool, battery and laptop performance is grouped by the company provider, from Best Performance to Battery Saver modes. The Be...

OpenAI researchers warned board of AI breakthrough ahead of CEO ouster, sources say Ahead of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s four days in exile, several staff researchers wrote a letter to the board of directors warning of a powerful artificial intelligence discovery that they said could threaten humanity, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The previously unreported letter and AI algorithm were key developments before the board's ouster of Altman, the poster child of generative AI, the two sources said. Prior to his triumphant return late Tuesday, more than 700 employees had threatened to quit and join backer Microsoft in solidarity with their fired leader. The sources cited the letter as one factor among a longer list of grievances by the board leading to Altman's firing, among which were concerns over commercializing advances before understanding the consequences. Reuters was unable to review a copy of the letter. The staff who wrote the letter did not res...

Google Bard can now answer questions about YouTube videos Google has announced that its AI chatbot can now answer questions about content related to YouTube videos.  “We’re taking the first steps in Bard’s ability to understand YouTube videos,” the company wrote on Bard’s updates page. “For example, if you’re looking for videos on how to make olive oil cake, you can now also ask how many eggs the recipe in the first video requires. We’ve heard you want deeper engagement with YouTube videos. So we’re expanding the YouTube Extension to understand some video content so you can have a richer conversation with Bard about it.” In the last update, the YouTube extension for Bard could only be used to find specific videos like funny videos or related to a particular subject. In the latest update queries posed can be answered pertaining to the content of the videos selected. Two weeks earlier, YouTube was experimenting with new generative AI features like questions about YouTube’s content,...

Android 14 improves accessibility, customisation, and security for users After its launch on October 4, Google is rolling out multiple features of Android 14 on different devices globally. The features mainly revolve around accessibility, customization, privacy, and security. Android 14 introduces flash notifications, enabling the OS to use the phone's camera flash or brighten the screen for notifications and alarms. This feature benefits those with hearing difficulties, addressing previous inconsistency across Android devices, with Samsung being a notable exception in providing such support. Android 14 also has a dedicated settings page for hearing aids, separate from other Bluetooth devices. In the Accessibility settings, under "Hearing devices," users can pair new hearing aids, add shortcuts, and optimize volume button functionality for quick access. Google also includes a toggle to enhance compatibility with telecoils and minimize unwanted noise. Read More Nissan to...

EU lawmakers back rules forcing Big Tech to tackle child pornography EU lawmakers agreed on Wednesday to draft rules requiring Alphabet's Google, Meta and other online services to identify and remove online child pornography, saying that end-to-end encryption would not be affected. The draft rule on child sexual abuse material (CSAM), proposed by the European Commission last year, has been a bone of contention between advocates of online safety measures and privacy activists worried about surveillance. The European Union executive came up with the CSAM proposal after the current system of voluntary detection and reporting by companies proved to be insufficient to protect children. EU lawmakers have to thrash out the final details with member states before the draft can become legislation in a process that may be finalised next year. The proposed legislation forces messaging services, app stores and internet access providers to report and remove known and new images and videos, as...

Google DeepMind's Graphcast revolutionises weather forecasting with AI predictions With AI, traditional weather forecasting tools can go obsolete as Google DeepMind brings together an AI model that will predict 10-day or more, weather forecast in under a minute. The experimental weather software has already succeeded in predicting extreme weather, days before they ocurred, like Hurriace Lee, and other storms in Novia Scotia and Long Island. Researchers have described Graphcast in a science paper as "a graph neural network made up of 36.7 million parameters". Trained on 39 years of data from 1979 to 2017 by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the software can produce a ten-day weather forecast, split into six-hour increments. A report by the Financial Times has already vouched that Graphcast predictions were more accurate than conventional forecasts. ECMWF machine learning specialist Matthew Chantry told Business Insider that GraphCast represe...

Zoom lifts annual results forecast as AI features boost demand Zoom Video Communications raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts on Monday, as hybrid work trends and the integration of artificial intelligence technology into its products boosted demand. Platforms including Zoom, Microsoft's Teams and Cisco's Webex became household names during the COVID lockdowns and have enjoyed resilient demand as many businesses shifted to hybrid work models. Zoom now expects annual adjusted profit per share between $4.93 and $4.95, higher than its prior forecast of $4.63 and $4.67. The company lifted its full-year revenue forecast to between $4.506 billion and $4.511 billion, from $4.485 billion to $4.495 billion earlier. "We bolstered Zoom's all-in-one intelligent collaboration platform with advanced new capabilities like Zoom AI Companion and continued to evolve our customer and employee engagement solutions," CEO Eric Yuan said. Zoom's AI Companion, introduced ...

OpenAI appoints new boss as Sam Altman joins Microsoft in Silicon Valley twist  OpenAI named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing chief Sam Altman moved to backer Microsoft, in a surprise turn of events that clouded the future of the startup at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom. The appointments, settled late on Sunday, followed Altman's abrupt ousting just days earlier as CEO of the ChatGPT maker and ended speculation that he could return. By Monday, close to all of OpenAI's more than 700 employees threatened to quit in a letter demanding the resignation of the board and reinstatement of Altman and former President Greg Brockman, according to a copy viewed by Reuters and a person familiar with the matter. The document was signed by employees including OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, the board member who fired Altman. "I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything w...

X sues Media Matters after report about ads next to antisemitic content Social media company X on Monday sued media watchdog group Media Matters, alleging the organization defamed the platform after it published a report that said ads for major brands had appeared next to posts touting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. X, formerly Twitter, has faced growing outrage since Media Matters published the report on Thursday, which led IBM, Comcast and several other advertisers to pull ads from the platform in response. In the lawsuit filed in a US District Court in Texas, X claimed Media Matters "manipulated" the social media platform by using accounts that exclusively followed accounts for major brands or users known to produce fringe content, and "resorted to endlessly scrolling and refreshing" the feed until it found ads next to extremist posts. Media Matters' report misrepresented the typical experience on X "with the intention of harming X and its business,...

Google Play Store features to maximize app experience Google Play Store stands as the central hub for all the app needs. From the latest games to essential productivity tools, it has something for everyone. However, many users might not know its features beyond downloading apps. Here are some of the tips and tricks that will help you navigate, manage, and maximize the potential of the Google Play Store; 1. Updating Playstore Updating the Google Play Store app is typically an automatic process, where users receive notifications and updates as needed. However, if you reset your phone to factory settings and lose the updated version of the Play Store, you can manually update it. To do this, open the Play Store app, go to Settings, scroll to the bottom, and tap on the "Play Store Version" option several times. If you're already using the latest version, it will notify you with a message; if not, the update will start immediately. 2. Install apps from Desktop to Phone This f...