Sci-Tech

AI giant Nvidia unveils higher performing ‘superchip’

By Glenn CHAPMAN SAN JOSÉ, United States, March 18, 2024 (AFP) – Nvidia on Monday unveiled its latest family of chips for powering artificial intelligence, as it seeks to consolidate its position as the major supplier to the AI frenzy. “We need bigger GPUs. So ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to a very, very big GPU,” said CEO Jensen Huang at a developers conference in California, referring to the graphics processors […]

Will AI save humanity? US tech fest offers reality check

By Julie JAMMOT AUSTIN, March 15, 2024 (AFP) – Artificial intelligence aficionados are betting that the technology will help solve humanity’s biggest problems, from wars to global warming, but in practice, these may be unrealistic ambitions for now. “It’s not about asking AI ‘Hey, this is a sticky problem. What would you do?’ and AI is like, ‘well, you need to completely restructure this part of the economy’,” said Michael Littman, a Brown University professor […]

SpaceX mega rocket lost in final phase of test flight

By Chandan Khanna with Issam Ahmed in Washington BOCA CHICA, United States, March 14, 2024 (AFP) – Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket, flew further and faster than ever before during its third test flight Thursday, although it was eventually lost as it re-entered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, SpaceX said. Lift-off from the company’s Starbase in southeast Texas came around 8:25 am local time (1325 GMT) and was carried live on a webcast […]

SpaceX poised for third launch test of Starship megarocket

By Chandan KHANNA BOCA CHICA AND MEDFORD COLONIA, United States, March 14, 2024 (AFP) – SpaceX plans on Thursday to attempt another launch of Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket that is vital to NASA’s plans for landing astronauts on the Moon later this decade — and Elon Musk’s hopes of eventually colonizing Mars. Two previous attempts have ended in spectacular explosions, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing: the company has adopted a rapid […]

What’s included in the new EU law on AI

By Raziye Akkoc The European Parliament on Wednesday gave the final nod to far-reaching rules on artificial intelligence that the EU hopes will both harness innovation and defend against harms. The law, known as the “AI Act”, was first proposed in April 2021 by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. But it was only after Microsoft-funded ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022 that the real AI contest began — and also the […]

Japan private rocket explodes just after launch

TOKYO, March 13, 2024 (AFP) – A rocket made by a Japanese company exploded just after launch on Wednesday, with public broadcaster NHK showing footage of the fiery failure. Tokyo-based startup Space One had been aiming to become the first Japanese private firm to successfully place a satellite into orbit. Its 18-meter (60-foot) solid-fuel Kairos rocket blasted off from the startup’s own launch pad in Wakayama prefecture in western Japan, carrying a small government test […]

Musk says will ‘open source’ Grok chatbot

Elon Musk on Monday said he would make his Grok chatbot, a rival to ChatGPT, open source as his feud with OpenAI deepens. The multi-billionaire unveiled Grok late last year as he attempts to catch up with OpenAI which he helped create in 2015 along with its CEO Sam Altman, providing key financing in its early days. He left OpenAI a few years later and last week filed a shock lawsuit against the company for […]

New NASA astronauts graduate, eying Moon — and Mars

After two years of rigorous training, ten Americans officially became astronauts on Tuesday, and are now eligible for planned NASA missions to the International Space Station, the Moon, and — if all goes well — to Mars. Two Emiratis who trained alongside them also graduated Tuesday during a ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Members of the class, nicknamed “The Flies,” were selected from more than 12,000 applicants in 2021 and their training […]

Astronauts arrive at International Space Station for swap

(AFP) — Three US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut arrived Tuesday at the International Space Station for a six-month mission on board the orbiting laboratory. During their stay, in which they are rotating in to replace departing crew, some 200 scientific experiments are scheduled to be carried out. The quartet blasted off from Florida late Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The capsule docked with the ISS and its hatch was opened at 3:50 […]

ChatGPT-rival Anthropic releases more powerful AI

Anthropic, a major player in generative artificial intelligence, announced new models to fuel its Claude chatbot, the company said on Monday, as ChatGPT faces more rivals. The company said three new AI models – called Claude 3 Opus, Sonnet and Haiku – were its most high-performing tools yet and were industry leading in terms of their ability to match human intelligence. Founded in 2021, Anthropic was created by former employees of OpenAI, the company behind […]

SpaceX set to launch new crew to ISS

Three American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut are due to blast off Sunday night from Florida for a six-month mission on the International Space Station. After an attempt was called off Saturday night due to strong winds, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is due to lift the travelers into orbit at 10:53 pm (0353 GMT Monday) from the Kennedy Space Center. If forced to abort before launch again, SpaceX will have another opportunity Monday night. […]

Japan Moon lander put to sleep after surviving lunar night

TOKYO, March 2, 2024 (AFP) – Japan’s Moon lander has been put back to sleep after it surprisingly survived the freezing, two-week lunar night, the country’s space agency said, with another operation attempt scheduled for later this month. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) touched down in January at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the wrong way. As the sun’s angle shifted, it came back to life for two […]