On Friday morning, shortly after midnight in New York, a global disaster began to unfold. In Australia, shoppers encountered Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) messages at self-checkout aisles. In the UK, Sky News suspended its broadcast after servers and PCs started crashing. Airport check-in desks in Hong Kong and India also failed. By morning in New York, millions of Windows computers had crashed, sparking a worldwide tech crisis.
OpenAI has announced the launch of its new AI model, GPT-4o mini, aimed at broadening the use of its popular chatbot. The company described the new release as the most capable and cost-efficient small model available today, with future plans to incorporate image, video, and audio capabilities.
OpenAI is recognized as a leader in the pursuit of human-level artificial intelligence, reportedly just four steps away from achieving this goal.
The company has introduced a five-level system to monitor its progress in developing artificial general intelligence (AGI), which it shared with employees this week, according to an OpenAI spokesperson cited by Bloomberg. This system ranges from the current level of conversational AI to AI capable of performing organizational tasks. OpenAI plans to present these levels to investors and external stakeholders.
According to a report from Search Engine Land, the latest feature to be discontinued by Google is continuous scrolling on search results. As we discussed in a previous article, originally introduced for mobile devices in October 2021 and extended to desktop search results in late 2022, this feature mimicked the endless scrolling behavior seen on social media feeds.
Nvidia has achieved the status of the world's second most valuable company. As of Wednesday, the chipmaking giant's market capitalization reached $3.01 trillion, surpassing Apple's $3 trillion valuation. With its flagship H100 chip leading the charge in the AI race, Nvidia's market capitalization has continued its upward trajectory. Having attained a $1 trillion valuation in May 2023, the company soared past $2 trillion in February of the current year, surpassing the valuations of both Amazon and Alphabet.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao received a four-month prison sentence for his failure to establish sufficient anti-money laundering measures. Zhao, formerly the leader of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, admitted guilt in November 2023.
Prosecutors sought a three-year prison term, twice the 18-month sentencing guideline, citing the extensive scope and impact of Zhao's wrongdoing in their sentencing memorandum. They also argued that Zhao's sentence should reflect the significant harm to US national security resulting from his criminal actions.
The Senate approved legislation mandating that TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, divest itself of the app within 270 days or risk expulsion from the US market. The bill, previously passed by the House, received President Biden's signature.
Designated as a foreign adversary controlled application, TikTok must be sold to another entity within the specified timeframe. President Biden retains the authority to extend this deadline by up to 90 days if a sale is actively being pursued. This requirement extends to any subsequent applications similarly identified. Failure by ByteDance to comply with the sale mandate would result in the removal of TikTok from US app stores and a prohibition on internet hosting services facilitating its distribution. Violating entities would be subject to civil penalties.
TikTok is now introducing its Instagram competitor, TikTok Notes, to specific Android and iOS users in Australia and Canada. This rollout allows users to download the app and participate in limited testing. The announcement was made through a tweet, and the app is also listed on the App Store and Google Play, complete with official images showcasing its features for those who haven't accessed it yet.
The humanoid robotics market is witnessing a surge in activity, prompting Boston Dynamics, the industry pioneer, to take decisive action. Introducing their latest creation, the new humanoid robot dubbed Atlas, the company marks a significant step towards commercial viability.
While both the old and new Atlas share a name, their design and functionality diverge significantly. The previous iteration, renowned for its agility and viral stunts, relied on a complex hydraulic system. In contrast, the new Atlas is entirely electric, boasting a more compact and lightweight construction. Notably, it adopts a consumer-oriented design, featuring protective covers and user-friendly elements such as a prominent status light and an illuminated power button reminiscent of Boston Dynamics' Spot series.
Google has agreed to either delete or de-identify billions of records of web browsing data gathered while users were in its private browsing mode, "Incognito", as outlined in a proposed class action settlement filed on Monday.
The settlement proposed in the case of Brown v. Google will additionally require the company to provide more transparency regarding its data collection practices in Incognito mode and impose restrictions on future data gathering. Pending approval from a federal judge in California, the settlement may affect 136 million Google users. The lawsuit, initiated in 2020 by Google account holders, alleged that the company unlawfully monitored their activities through the private browsing feature.
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