Sci-Tech

EU demands Meta provide more information on measures to address child sexual abuse online

BRUSSELS, Dec 1, 2023 (AFP) – The EU on Friday demanded Instagram-owner Meta provide more information about measures taken by the company to address child sexual abuse online. The request for information focuses on Meta’s risk assessment and mitigation measures “linked to the protection of minors, including regarding the circulation of self-generated child sexual abuse material (SG-CSAM) on Instagram”, the European Commission said. Meta must also give information about “Instagram’s recommender system and amplification of […]

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Japanese experimental nuclear fusion reactor inaugurated

TOKYO, Dec 1, 2023 (AFP) – The world’s biggest experimental nuclear fusion reactor in operation was inaugurated in Japan on Friday, a technology in its infancy but billed by some as the answer to humanity’s future energy needs. Fusion differs from fission, the technique currently used in nuclear power plants, by fusing two atomic nuclei instead of splitting one. The goal of the JT-60SA reactor is to investigate the feasibility of fusion as a safe, […]

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Elon Musk’s Cybertruck dream becomes a reality

By John BIERS NEW YORK, Nov 30, 2023 (AFP) – Tesla began customer deliveries of the Cybertruck on Thursday, bringing to fruition an Elon Musk passion project that the billionaire boasts is stronger than bullets and faster than a Porsche. “It’s very rare that a product comes along that is seemingly impossible… that experts said would never be made,” a giddy Musk told a crowd at Tesla’s Austin, Texas headquarters. “And this is one of […]

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Meta sues to block FTC’s proposed privacy settlement changes

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 1, 2023 (AFP) – Meta filed a lawsuit late Wednesday arguing that US regulators planning to change the terms of a 2020 privacy settlement are overstepping their authority and should be stopped. The Silicon Valley tech giant, known as Facebook when the $5 billion settlement was made, said that aspects of the Federal Trade Commission’s very structure violate the US Constitution, making its proceeding against Meta unlawful. Meta contended in a filing […]

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After chaos, Microsoft wins observer seat at OpenAI

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 30, 2023 (AFP) – Microsoft, the tech titan that has invested billions of dollars in ChatGPT creator OpenAI, has been given a seat on the startup’s board. The nomination was shared in a memo to OpenAI staff on Wednesday that was later posted to the company’s blog and included a list of priorities from CEO Sam Altman about how the company would move forward. The boardroom addition comes after OpenAI was thrown […]

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Big Tech in charge as ChatGPT turns one

By Alex PIGMAN WASHINGTON, Nov 29, 2023 (AFP) – A year after the history-making release of ChatGPT, the AI revolution is here, but the recent boardroom crisis at OpenAI, the super app’s company, has erased any doubt that Big Tech is in charge. In some ways, the discreet reveal of ChatGPT on November 30 last year was the revenge of the geeks, the unsung researchers and engineers who have been quietly building generative AI behind […]

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Amazon releases AI chatbot called ‘Q’

Amazon on Tuesday released its own AI chatbot intended for businesses, about one year after ChatGPT took the world by storm. “Q” will be available only to Amazon’s AWS cloud computing customers and will be in direct competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT as well as Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s copilots that also run on OpenAI’s technology. Chatbots targeted at businesses have become the main battleground for generative AI, a year after ChatGPT wowed the world with […]

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TikTok owner ByteDance cuts hundreds of jobs in gaming division

BEIJING, Nov 27, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese tech giant and TikTok owner ByteDance is slashing hundreds of jobs in its gaming unit, a source familiar with the matter told AFP on Monday. The move marks a retreat from the competitive video gaming sector. Nuverse, a video game publisher that is a subsidiary of Beijing-based ByteDance, is currently conducting a round of layoffs that will affect “several hundred people”, said the source. “We regularly review our […]

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President Putin says Russia must rival ‘dangerous’ Western AI

MOSCOW, Nov 24, 2023 (AFP) – President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the West had a “dangerous” monopoly over artificial intelligence and Russia needed to rival “biased” Western chatbots with its own technology. The race to develop AI has heated up since the breakout launch of the ChatGPT generative chatbot last year, with Russia and China spending billions to rival the United States’ dominance in the field. “I think you are well aware that […]

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Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket successfully completes hot-fire test

The European Space Agency’s Ariane 6 rocket successfully completed a dress rehearsal on Thursday, test-firing its engine in preparation for a maiden voyage scheduled for 2024. The final results of the ignition test, which involved firing up the Vulcain 2.1 engine and running it for more than seven minutes, will not be released until November 30, pending a full analysis. But manufacturer ArianeGroup already called the rehearsal “successfully completed”. The hot-fire test at Europe’s Spaceport […]

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Sam Altman to return as OpenAI CEO after shock ouster

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – ChatGPT creator OpenAI announced Tuesday that Sam Altman would return as its CEO, days after his shock dismissal plunged the pioneering artificial intelligence firm into crisis. Hundreds of OpenAI staff had threatened to quit following Altman’s sacking on Friday, demanding in a letter released to the media the resignation of the board, as speculation swirled about the future of the company. His dramatic exit also sparked intense lobbying […]

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Korean space race? North and South chase spy satellites

North Korea claimed Wednesday to have successfully put its first military surveillance satellite into orbit, with the South also preparing to send up its first spy satellite later this month. The two launch attempts, set to come in such quick succession, appear to be the beginnings of a space race on the Korean peninsula. Here, AFP takes a look at what we know about the new competition between the North and South: – Why does […]

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