TechDesk

TechDesk, 3 hours ago to ai

When OpenAI created its “Superalignment” team in summer 2023, the goal was for it to “steer and control future AI systems that could be so powerful they could lead to human extinction,” reports @engadget. “Less than a year later, that team is dead.”

Jan Leike, one of the team’s leaders, who quit earlier this week, posted a scathing statement on X showing the internal tensions between the safety team and the wider company.

“OpenAI is shouldering an enormous responsibility on behalf of all of humanity,” he wrote. “But over the past years, safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products.” Engadget has more.

https://flip.it/PRqSl5

#AI #ChatGPT #OpenAI #Tech

TechDesk, 5 hours ago to ai

If you use Slack for work, your messages and DMs to friends and colleagues are now being used to train the company’s machine learning features — and everyone is opted in by default.

A quiet update to the company’s policy suggests messages, data and files sent by users are helping Slack to improve its in-app features like channel recommendations, search results and emoji suggestions, reports @PCMag. Individual users can’t opt out either, something critics have called a “privacy mess.”

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#Slack #AI #MachineLearning #Tech

TechDesk, 6 hours ago to cars

For anyone who watched The Jetsons and dreamed of a future of flying cars, that future could be up for pre-order as soon as this year, according to Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng.

Xpeng AeroHT aims to deliver its flying car to customers in 2026, the company’s president told CNBC, with the vehicle currently going through a certification process with the Chinese aviation regulator. Here’s more.

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#Cars #FlyingCars #ElectricVehicles #Tech

TechDesk, 1 day ago to microsoft

Microsoft is reportedly asking hundreds of its China-based employees working in the company’s cloud computing and AI operations to consider relocating out of the country.

Some 700 to 800 people are said to have been asked about the move, according to the Wall Street Journal, as the U.S. crackdown on Beijing’s access to AI technology continues.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the company had “shared an optional internal transfer opportunity with a subset of employees” without confirming details on the number and affiliation of staff affected. Here’s more.

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#Microsoft #AI #China #Tech

TechDesk, 1 day ago to Facebook

The European Union has opened a formal investigation into Meta over concerns it isn’t doing enough to safeguard the mental and physical health of children, reports @theverge.

The probe will assess whether Meta has breached rules under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), noting that Facebook and Instagram’s UI and algorithms may cause “behavioral addictions in children.” There are also concerns that Meta isn’t doing enough to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content, and that its age-verification tools may not be “reasonable, proportionate, and effective.”

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#Facebook #Instagram #Meta #SocialMedia #Tech

TechDesk, 2 days ago to mentalhealth

The internet and time spent online is often cited as one of the biggest contributing factors to low self esteem and poor mental health, but a new study has found the opposite to be true.

“Nearly everyone seems to think that internet-powered technologies are driving an epidemic of ill-being and mental health problems,” said lead study author Dr. Matti Vuorre, assistant professor of social psychology at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, in an email to @CNN.

“Our study of over two million individuals from 160+ countries runs contrary to this idea.” Here’s more on the findings.

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#MentalHealth #Tech #Online #Internet #Online #MentalHealth

TechDesk, 2 days ago to TikTok

Frank McCourt, the billionaire real estate mogul and former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is currently working on a bid to buy TikTok, according to reports.

While it remains to be seen whether TikTok’s parent company ByteDance will agree to a sale to anyone, @Gizmodo reports that “McCourt’s background in utopian tech advocacy makes him an interesting figure to enter the race.” Here’s what we know so far.

https://flip.it/2yVwdF

#TikTok #TikTokBan #SocialMedia #Tech

TechDesk, 3 days ago to retrocomputing

If you remember a time when using floppy disks didn’t seem weird, you’re probably at least 30 years old. Floppy disks or diskettes emerged around 1970 and, for a good three decades or so, they were the main way many people stored and backed up their computer data.

However, it’s now been over a decade since the last floppy disc was made, and it wouldn’t even have enough capacity to store a modern smart phone picture. So why do some people still love using them? BBC Future speaks to some of the floppy disk faithful to find out.

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#RetroComputing #FloppyDisk #Nostalgia #Tech #Technology

TechDesk, 3 days ago to cryptocurrency

Distrust over Chinese-owned tech brands operating in the U.S. continues to grow, with President Joe Biden blocking a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining firm from owning land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base.

Calling the proximity to the base a “national security risk”, the order forces the divestment of property operated as a crypto mining facility, and also requires certain equipment to be removed from the site too. Here’s more from AP.

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#Cryptocurrency #China #Biden #Tech

TechDesk, 4 days ago to ChatGPT

OpenAI has announced the launch of GPT-4o, an iteration of its GPT-4 model that powers ChatGPT — and the rollout starts today.

The latest update “is much faster” and improves “capabilities across text, vision, and audio,” according to a livestream announcement by OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. It’ll be free for all users, and paid users will continue to “have up to five times the capacity limits” of free users, reports @theverge.

https://flip.it/BfWfrr

#ChatGPT #OpenAI #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Tech

TechDesk, 4 days ago to cryptocurrency

Donald Trump is poised to be the first major party nominee to court cryptocurrency traders, reports @politico.

Trump made an overt play for the crypto faithful at Mar-a-Lago last week, telling them that they “better vote” for him, citing the Biden administration’s regulatory crackdown on the industry — a big shift from the criticism he himself placed on it in his first term.

Could crypto help get Trump back to the White House? Here’s more.

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#Trump #Cryptocurrency #Crypto #Tech

TechDesk, 4 days ago (edited 3 days ago) to twitter

“No other American megabillionaire businessperson has so publicly fostered ideological relationships with world leaders to advance personal politics and businesses.”

The @nytimes looks into Elon Musk’s use of X to build influence with nationalist and right-wing politicians, publicly backing their views, aggressively confronting their enemies, and even personally intervening in X’s content policies in ways that appear to aid them — and all to the benefit of his other businesses. Here’s more.

https://flip.it/J77dC7

[Subscription may be required]

#ElonMusk #Twitter #Business #Tech

TechDesk, 4 days ago (edited 4 days ago) to VegetableGardening

The solar storm that brought the auroras to many parts of the world this weekend also broke vital GPS and precision farming functionality in tractors and agricultural equipment during a critical point of the planting season, reports @404mediaco.

One chain of John Deere dealerships even warned farmers that the accuracy of some of the systems used by tractors had been “extremely compromised,” and that farmers who planted crops during periods of inaccuracy would face problems when they go to harvest.

The outages have highlighted the vulnerability of modern tractors to satellite disruption, and the threat this places on our food supply — something experts have been warning about for years. Here’s more.

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#SolarStorm #AuroraBorealis #Farming #GPS #Tech

TechDesk, 5 days ago to tech

Futurism wanted to know: What kind of a company creates fake authors for a newspaper or magazine and operates them like sock puppets? What they discovered "should alarm anyone who cares about a trustworthy and ethical media industry." https://flip.it/oxcxAC
#Tech #Technology #AI #Journalism

TechDesk, 5 days ago to tech

Layoffs are hitting workers at some tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Tesla. Here’s why that may backfire, explains Business Insider’s Tim Paradis. "In short, the effects of layoffs can counter the financial benefits of expenses carved out of a P&L."
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#Tech #Career #LayOffs #Google #Microsoft #Tesla

TechDesk, 6 days ago to tech

Google’s mobile platform will have to look a little different to compete in the AI era. And, Allison Johnson writes, “If the past 12 months is any indication, it’s going to be a little messy." Read more from @theverge. https://flip.it/xwIUGs
#Tech #Technology #AI #Google #Android

TechDesk, 6 days ago to tech

With more than 25,000 charging ports in the U.S. and over 50,000 worldwide, Tesla’s Supercharger network is the undisputed king of EV fast charging. But with the recent layoffs, CEO Elon Musk “cast a cloud over the private infrastructure project.” Read more from TechCrunch: https://flip.it/KJAelX
#Tech #Technology #Tesla #ElonMusk

TechDesk, 7 days ago to InitialD

A new sculpture appeared in Flatiron South Pacific Plaza in New York this week, but it’s not your typical artwork. Instead, it allows people in NYC to interact with people in Dublin via video, in real time.

"The Portal" has an 8-foot screen and an always-on video link between the two countries, with security a “key consideration” for New York City before approving the project. Here’s more from @TechCrunch.

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#Video #Tech

TechDesk, 7 days ago to tesla

After firing the 500-strong Supercharger team just last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has quickly reversed course, claiming the company is still committed to spending “well over” half a billion dollars to grow its Supercharger network, reports Futurism.

Even Musk’s most ardent supporters were shocked by his tanking of this key department — something that sets Tesla apart from many of its competitors. So has he realised his mistakes, or is he simply trying to reassure spooked investors?

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#Tesla #ElonMusk #ElectricVehicles #Tech

TechDesk, 7 days ago to Cybersecurity

Generative AI is not just teaching cyber bad guys new tricks — it’s also making it easier for anyone to become a bad guy, according to Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) chief Jen Easterly.

“I look at AI: how fast it’s moving, how unpredictable it is, how powerful it is,” Easterly told @AxiosNews. “I think it’ll make people who are less sophisticated actually better at doing some of the bad things that they want to do.” Here’s more from the interview.

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#Cybersecurity #AI #Tech

TechDesk, 7 days ago (edited 7 days ago) to ai

Could creating your own AI friendship circle be the answer to the loneliness epidemic, or are users at danger of being isolated further? Kevin Roose decided to find out for @nytimes, by creating a group of 18 friends, entirely from AI. Here's how he found it.

https://flip.it/fh.WwM [Subscription may be required].

#AI #Friends #Loneliness #Tech

TechDesk, 8 days ago to ai

Stack Overflow, a popular forum for programmers and software developers, announced a partnership with OpenAI earlier this week, selling the site’s data, including users’ forum posts, to train ChatGPT.

Now unhappy users are finding themselves banned for editing their popular posts in protest, and even finding those posts changed back by admin – “a reminder that anything you post on any of these platforms can and will be used for profit,” concluded one. Futurism has more.

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#AI #OpenAI #ChatGPT #LLM #Tech #StackOverflow

TechDesk, 8 days ago to Xbox

Following the shock closure of a number of Bethesda studios earlier this week, @theverge digs deeper to uncover the reasons behind these decisions, and finds "growing discontent and fear among Xbox employees about what comes next."

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#Xbox #Microsoft #Bethesda #Gaming #GamingNews #Tech

TechDesk, 9 days ago to ai

From fictional biographies to AI-generated profile pictures, Futurism has been investigating AdVon Commerce, the company behind the Sports Illustrated fake writer scandal from last year — and its reach appears to stretch further than many could have predicted.

“What we found should alarm anyone who cares about a trustworthy and ethical media industry,” reports Futurism. “It’s a practice that blurs the line between journalism and advertising to the breaking point, makes the web worse for everybody, and renders basic questions like ‘is this writer a real person?’ fuzzier and fuzzier.”

https://flip.it/_0pxzG

#AI #SportsIllustrated #Journalism #Tech

TechDesk, 9 days ago to tesla

The Department of Justice is looking into whether Tesla committed securities and wire fraud around its self-driving vehicle claims.

The investigation into whether Tesla executives misled consumers, investors, and regulators by making unsupported claims about its autonomous capabilities has been going on since late 2021, reports @theverge, but it has now zoned in on specific charges related to statements made by Elon Musk himself. Here’s more on the filing.

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#Tesla #ElonMusk #AutonomousVehicles #Tech