Big Tech keeps spending billions on AI, mostly for new data centers
The huge investment is pushing up forecasts for how much energy will be needed in the United States in the coming years to run data centers.
artificial intelligence
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Google combining Android software, Pixel hardware divisions to more broadly integrate AI
In a letter to employees, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the changes will “turbocharge the Android and Chrome ecosystems” while helping to spur innovation.
Law regulating AI usage in elections takes effect
The law requires that candidates include a disclaimer when a political ad includes the use of generative AI, and it creates a path for legal action when candidates believe they are misrepresented.
Purdue launches interdisciplinary master’s program in AI
Representatives from 10 different colleges at Purdue provided input to help develop the curriculum. One track is aimed at people with technical backgrounds, and the other is for people without such background.
Meta, IBM create industrywide AI alliance to share technology
The group also will look to increase the number of open source AI models—rather than the proprietary systems favored by some companies—develop new hardware and team up with academic researchers.
Google rolls out updated AI model capable of handling longer text, video
Google and its rivals have spent billions to ramp up their capabilities in generative AI and are keen to attract corporate clients to show their investments are paying off.
Amid artificial intelligence boom, AI girlfriends and boyfriends make their mark
An analysis of 11 romantic chatbot apps released Wednesday by the not-for-profit Mozilla Foundation said almost every app sells user data, shares it for things like targeted advertising or doesn’t provide adequate information about it in their privacy policy.
Meta says it will label AI-generated images on Facebook, Instagram
Facebook and Instagram users will start seeing made-by-AI labels on deepfake images that appear on their social media feeds, part of a broader tech industry initiative to sort between what’s real and not.
X pauses some Taylor Swift searches as deepfake explicit images spread
Sexually explicit and abusive fake images of Swift began circulating widely last week on X. It’s made her the most famous victim of a scourge that tech platforms and anti-abuse groups have struggled to fix.
FTC opens inquiry into Big Tech’s partnerships with leading AI startups
The action targets Amazon, Google and Microsoft and their sway over the generative AI boom that’s fueled demand for chatbots such as ChatGPT.
House committee OKs bill criminalizing AI nudity
The Indiana House Courts and Criminal Codes committee unanimously voted Wednesday to move a bill adding computer-generated nude pictures of real people to Indiana’s revenge pornography statute
Translation app Duolingo fired some contract workers in favor of AI
Language-learning app Duolingo has been steadily firing contract writers and translators and replacing them with artificial intelligence, in one of the most high-profile instances yet of a company getting rid of human workers in favor of AI.
Microsoft’s new AI key is first big change to keyboards in decades
Starting this month, some new personal computers that run Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system will have a special “Copilot key” that launches the software giant’s AI chatbot.
Chief Justice Roberts casts wary eye on artificial intelligence in federal courts
Chief Justice John Roberts turned his focus to the promise, and shortcomings, of artificial intelligence in the federal courts, in an annual report that made no mention of Supreme Court ethics or legal controversies.
Lilly signs another AI deal, this one for obesity
Fauna Bio, based in the San Francisco area, said Thursday it will give Lilly access to its AI platform, called Convergence, to support preclinical drug discovery efforts in obesity.
OpenAI lays out plan for dealing with dangers of AI
OpenAI’s “Preparedness” team will hire AI researchers, computer scientists, national security experts and policy professionals to monitor the tech, continually test it and warn the company if it believes any of its AI capabilities are becoming dangerous.
Google ups stakes in AI race with more human-like Gemini
Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of 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.
Will AI laws protect consumers or stifle innovation?
Local tech founders and funders have diverse and nuanced opinions on whether new laws governing AI are necessary or whether effective legislation of the technology is even possible.
City-County Council committee advances artificial intelligence proposal
The proposal from Republican Councilor Michael-Paul Hart, which would create a study commission on the city’s usage of AI, was passed unanimously by the Rules and Public Policy Committee.
Crane naval base poised for growth as innovation hub
Twenty years after nearly being shuttered, U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, has become a key player in the federal government’s strategy to outpace its foreign rivals in the booming microelectronics industry.