Innholdsfortegnelse for #632 i Techlife News

Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of project Gemini, an AI model trained to behave in human-like ways that’s likely to intensify the debate about the technology’s potential promise and perils. The rollout will unfold in phases, with less sophisticated versions of Gemini called “Nano” and “Pro” being immediately incorporated into Google’s AI-powered chatbot Bard and its Pixel 8 Pro smartphone. With Gemini providing a helping hand, Google promises Bard will become more intuitive and better at tasks that involve planning. On the Pixel 8 Pro, Gemini will be able to quickly summarize recordings made on the device and provide automatic replies on messaging services, starting with WhatsApp, according to Google. Gemini’s biggest advances won’t come until early next year when its Ultra model…

Facebook and Instagram fail to protect underage users from exposure to child sexual abuse material and let adults solicit pornographic imagery from them, New Mexico’s attorney general alleges in a lawsuit that follows an undercover online investigation. “Our investigation into Meta’s social media platforms demonstrates that they are not safe spaces for children but rather prime locations for predators to trade child pornography and solicit minors for sex,” Attorney General Raul Torrez said in a statement Wednesday. The civil lawsuit filed late Tuesday against Meta Platforms Inc. in state court also names its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, as a defendant. In addition, the suit claims Meta “harms children and teenagers through the addictive design of its platform, degrading users’ mental health, their sense of self-worth, and their physical safety,”Torrez’s office said…

HYPE AND COMMOTION SURROUND THE MARQUE’S POTENTIAL GAMECHANGER One might dare to regard as it as a vision of the automotive future that actually evokes futurism in a way unlike any concept vehicle the world has witnessed in recent years, or instead as a distinctly Muskian folly, or even simply Tesla’s first entry into the pickup truck market. Regardless, the Tesla Cybertruck has been attracting comment, admiration, and derision since 2019. But only now, has it finally launched. Or to be specific, the first production-specification Cybertrucks were at last handed over to their buyers during the delivery event at Gigafactory Texas on November 30, 2023. The event saw the announcement of the vehicle’s final pricing, availability, and other product details, and even alluded to one of the most infamous popular-culture…

You can find all-wheel drive on most new SUVs on sale today, and some of the most popular models even come standard with this feature. All-wheel drive can be beneficial for the additional traction it provides on slippery or icy roads, especially when you’re trying to accelerate from a stop or up a hill. But what if you want all-wheel drive without the SUV? After all, SUVs are typically less fuel-efficient and more expensive than a comparably sized sedan or hatchback. Fortunately, there are options for shoppers seeking SUV alternatives with all-wheel drive. Experts have picked five of their favorites. The following prices include destination charges. 2023 TESLA MODEL 3 The Model 3 has been the lowest-priced option in the automaker’s lineup since its debut and it continues to be…

Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak will be getting a Serbian passport, Serbia’s president announced this week. The convivial Wozniak, who teamed up with the late Steve Jobs to found Apple in 1976, arrived in Serbia ahead of Dec. 17 parliamentary and local elections, in an apparent boost for President Aleksandar Vučić and his populist right-wing governing party. Wozniak said he feels “so lucky” to be in Serbia and that he and his wife Janet, who is also getting a passport, will from now on “promote” Serbia. He said he will become a Serb living in the U.S. Vučić said at a joint news conference in Belgrade that “it is an honor” for Serbia to deliver the passports to Wozniak and his wife. “Now we can proudly say that a computer…

You won’t see Tom Hanks on one of those space tourism flights that whisk celebrities and millionaires on a suborbital jaunt for a few hours. He says it wouldn’t be enough time out of this world. “I don’t need to go up and down,” Hanks said. “I think I’d need a little bit longer in paradise.” Going to the moon is another matter – and the subject of “The Moonwalkers,” an immersive documentary co-written and narrated by Hanks. “I’d do that in a second,” Hanks said. “I don’t have the math. I do not have those abilities, but I’m sure there’s something I could do in order to help the program.” The two-time Academy Award-winning actor is a lifelong space buff, and he has channeled his passion into “The Moonwalkers”…

An internal Amazon memo has provided a stark look at the company’s carefully laid out plans to grow its influence in Southern California through a plethora of efforts that include burnishing its reputation through charity work and pushing back against “labor agitation” from the Teamsters and other groups. The eight-page document — titled “community engagement plan” for 2024 — provides a rare glimpse into how one of American’s biggest companies executes on its public relations objectives and attempts to curtail reputational harm stemming from criticisms of its business. It also illustrates how Amazon aims to methodically court local politicians and community groups in order to push its interests in a region where it could be hampered by local moratoriums on warehouse development, and it is facing resistance from environmental and…

Bitcoin is once again having a moment. This week, the world’s largest cryptocurrency soared past $41,000 for the first time in over a year and a half — and marking a 150% rise so far this year. Volatile bitcoin rocketed from just over $5,000 at the start of the pandemic to nearly $68,000 in November 2021, according to FactSet, a period marked by a surge in demand for technology products. Prices fell back to earth during an aggressive series of Federal Reserve rate hikes aimed at taming inflation and then the collapse of FTX, one of the biggest companies in crypto. When 2023 began, a single bitcoin could be had for less than $17,000 after losing more than 75% of its value. Investors, however, began returning in large numbers as…

Spotify says it’s axing 17% of its global workforce, the music streaming service’s third round of layoffs this year as it moves to slash costs while focusing on becoming profitable. In a message to employees posted on the company’s blog Monday, CEO Daniel Ek said the jobs were being cut as part of a “strategic reorientation.” The post didn’t specify how many employees would lose their jobs, but a spokesperson confirmed that it amounts to about 1,500 people. Spotify had used cheap financing to expand the business and “invested significantly” in employees, content and marketing in 2020 and 2021, the blog post said. But Ek indicated that the company was caught out as central banks started hiking interest rates last year, which can slow economic growth. Both are posing a…

Last weeekend, Kiss closed out the final performance of their “The End of the Road” farewell tour at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. But as dedicated fans surely know — they were never going to call it quits. Not really. During their encore, the band’s current lineup — founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons as well as guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — left the stage to reveal digital avatars of themselves. After the transformation, the virtual Kiss launched into a performance of “God Gave Rock and Roll to You.” The cutting-edge technology was used to tease a new chapter of the rock band: after 50 years of Kiss, the band is now interested in a kind of digital immortality. The avatars were created by George…

California regulators are alleging a San Francisco robotaxi service owned by General Motors covered up the severity of an accident involving one of its driverless cars, raising the specter they may add a fine to the recent suspension of its California license. The potential penalty facing GM’s Cruise service could be around $1.5 million, based on documents filed late last week by the California Public Utilities Commission. The notice orders Cruise to appear at a Feb. 6 evidentiary hearing to determine whether the robotaxi service misled regulators about what happened after one of its driverless cars ran into a pedestrian who had already been struck by another vehicle driven by a human on the evening of Oct. 2 in San Francisco. The February hearing comes just six months after the…

The highly-anticipated trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI arrived a little early after a copy was leaked online. Rockstar Games released its first look for the sixth game of the cult-classic video game series Monday evening — roughly 15 hours before the planned Tuesday morning unveiling — while citing the leak. “Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube,” Rockstar Games wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, just after 6 p.m. ET Monday. Rockstar Games and its New York parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., did not provide further details on the leak. The company did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ requests for comment early Tuesday. Still, avid Grand Theft Auto fans were able to learn a few things from the…

Tech leaders have been vocal proponents of the need to regulate artificial intelligence, but they’re also lobbying hard to make sure the new rules work in their favor. That’s not to say they all want the same thing. Facebook parent Meta and IBM on Tuesday launched a new group called the AI Alliance that’s advocating for an “open science” approach to AI development that puts them at odds with rivals Google, Microsoft and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. These two diverging camps — the open and the closed — disagree about whether to build AI in a way that makes the underlying technology widely accessible. Safety is at the heart of the debate, but so is who gets to profit from AI’s advances. Open advocates favor an approach that is “not proprietary and…

Trouble with playground bullies started for Maria Ishoo’s daughter in elementary school. Girls ganged up, calling her “fat” and “ugly.” Boys tripped and pushed her. The California mother watched her typically bubbly second-grader retreat into her bedroom and spend afternoons curled up in bed. For Valerie Aguirre’s daughter in Hawaii, a spate of middle school “friend drama” escalated into violence and online bullying that left the 12-year-old feeling disconnected and lonely. Both children received help through telehealth therapy, a service that schools around the country are offering in response to soaring mental health struggles among American youth. Now at least 16 of the 20 largest U.S. public school districts are offering online therapy sessions to reach millions of students, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. In those districts…