Tag: AI

Microsoft, Google ride AI wave as revenues surge

By Glenn CHAPMAN Microsoft and Google delivered solid corporate earnings on Tuesday as the tech giants said demand for artificial intelligence services stoked revenue. The tech titans have made big bets on generative AI, with their cloud computing divisions seeing a boost in demand as clients seek the hefty — and more expensive – computing power that drives the technology. Microsoft has moved the fastest and furthest into the AI space, investing in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI […]

Mac computers could ride AI wave or be left behind

By Glenn CHAPMAN Forty years after igniting a PC revolution, Apple’s Mac is stronger than ever and could reach new glory due to AI computing — or be left behind. Apple launched the Macintosh in 1984 with a history-making television ad pitching the machine as an anti-establishment blow against a dystopian future. The computer, referred to simply as a Mac, won fans with user-friendly features such as a graphical interface, clickable icons, and a mouse. […]

At CES tech show, seeking robots neither too human nor too machine

By Julie JAMMOT LAS VEGAS, Jan 17, 2024 (AFP) – With big, expressive eyes, elfin ears and adorable cooing, Miroka and Miroki could be an apparition from your favorite cartoon. But behind their cute facade, these robots are all sensors and engineering, and designed to perform the drudgery of logistical support in hospitals or hotels. “Why live with ugly machines,” says Jerome Monceaux, head of Paris-based start-up Enchanted Tools, who was on hand to present […]

US bans pharmacy Rite Aid from facial recognition use

WASHINGTON, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – Pharmacy group Rite Aid was ordered Tuesday to stop using facial recognition for the next five years by a US regulator, which said the company falsely identified consumers as shoplifters using the technology. The case touches on one of the main concerns about the proliferation of artificial intelligence, and facial recognition in particular, which is deemed to potentially misidentify or discriminate against individuals, especially non-whites and women. “Rite Aid’s […]

OpenAI releases guidelines to gauge ‘catastrophic risks’ of AI

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI published Monday its newest guidelines for gauging “catastrophic risks” from artificial intelligence in models currently being developed. The announcement comes one month after the company’s board fired CEO Sam Altman, only to hire him back a few days later when staff and investors rebelled. According to US media, board members had criticized Altman for favoring the accelerated development of OpenAI, even if it meant sidestepping certain questions about its tech’s possible risks. In […]

US identifies use of AI as risk in financial system

WASHINGTON, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – US regulators have identified the use of artificial intelligence as a vulnerability in the financial system for the first time, according to a report released on Thursday. There is a need to monitor “rapid developments in AI, including generative AI, to ensure that oversight structures keep up with or stay ahead of emerging risks to the financial system,” said the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) in its annual report. […]

EU negotiators reach agreement on groundbreaking AI act

By Raziye Akkoc BRUSSELS, Dec 8, 2023 (AFP) – EU member states and lawmakers clinched a deal on Friday on how to draft “historic” rules regulating artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT — after 36 hours of negotiations. Meeting in Brussels, negotiators nailed down curbs on how AI can be used in Europe, which they said would not hurt innovation in the sector nor the prospects for future European AI champions. “Historic! With the political […]

US, UK, Australia defense chiefs tout deep space radar, AI in joint deal

By Josh EDELSON MOUNTAIN VIEW, United States, Dec 2, 2023 (AFP) – The defense chiefs of the United States, Australia and Britain met in California on Friday, touting high-tech co-operation on deep space radar, AI and quantum computing systems aimed at bolstering their armed forces in the face of growing global threats, including from China. The three men huddled in Silicon Valley — the heart of the US tech sector — to build on the […]

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 […]

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 […]

AI threatens millions of South Korean jobs, central bank says

SEOUL, Nov 16, 2023 (AFP) – Nearly four million jobs in South Korea are at risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence technology over the next two decades, a central bank study released on Thursday said. Rapidly advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technology has triggered global concern over everything from job losses and cyber attacks to humans losing control of the systems they have designed. The new study by the Bank of Korea said some 3.9 […]

Actors union explains AI guardrails in strike deal

By Andrew MARSZAL LOS ANGELES, Nov 11, 2023 (AFP) – From computer-generated “extras” to AI “zombies,” new restrictions against the use of artificial intelligence in Hollywood were set out by the actors’ union Friday. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) reached a deal with studios like Disney and Netflix this week to end its nearly four-month strike. Its board members on Friday voted 86 percent in favor of ratifying the agreement. Besides a seven percent minimum […]