With tech industry players rolling out shiny new AI investments on the banks of the Hudson River, international leaders gathered across Manhattan on the East River, coalescing for September’s annual UN General Assembly session — a global forum on big issues like sustainable development, ending armed conflict, and, amid it …
Read More »Waymo’s driverless cars are coming to these cities next
Waymo, the driverless car company run by Google parent company Alphabet, already operates autonomous vehicles in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, and will soon be available in Atlanta and Austin. The Georgia and Texas Waymo experiences, set to launch early next year, will be a bit different than what …
Read More »'A powerful new tool': A disabled advocate on Apple's FDA-approved hearing aids
Apple made history this month when a feature in the company’s forthcoming AirPods Pro 2 was approved by the Food and Drug Administration as the first over-the-counter (OTC), clinical-grade hearing aid software. The Hearing Aid Feature, as Apple refers to the software, amplifies sound for adults with perceived mild to …
Read More »Google searches will now detect origin of AI-manipulated images
Google is expanding efforts to properly label AI-generated content, updating its in-house “About This Image” tool with a global standard for detecting the origins of an AI-edited image. The new label was formulated as part of Google’s work with the global Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). Members of …
Read More »Sam Altman steps down as head of OpenAI's safety group
OpenAI ‘s internal safety committee is becoming an independent oversight body, as CEO Sam Altman leaves the group’s top leadership role. The announcement came as part of the results of a 90-day evaluation by the existing Altman-chaired Safety and Security Committee into the company’s AI safeguards and governance. The committee’s …
Read More »As Silicon Valley sours on diversity, women in tech suffer
There is a financial crisis among groups that recruit and advocate for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, the BBC reports. Funding has dried up for many of these organizations, with Women Who Code and Girls in Tech — two of the most prominent U.S. organizations supporting …
Read More »Big Tech is emitting way, way more greenhouse gas emissions than reported
Big Tech’s data hunger is even worse for the environment than its main players let on, according to a new investigation by the Guardian. The all-out push for AI (and the necessary processing energy it demands) is only exacerbating the demand. SEE ALSO: How much is AI hurting the planet? …
Read More »TikTok ban update: Court case against U.S. government set to begin
TikTok is set to begin its fight against a possible ban in the United States. The social media company will have a crucial day in court on Monday, Sept. 16. A federal appeals court will hear arguments about the law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, that would essentially …
Read More »OpenAI is reportedly going all-in as a for-profit company
OpenAI may be overhauling its complex nonprofit structure in favor of a traditional for-profit push in 2025, the key to a potential $150 billion valuation as the AI leader veers down a similar profit-seeking path to that of its Silicon Valley peers. The news was first reported by Fortune, based …
Read More »Apple gets FDA green light on AirPods Pro hearing aid mode
Apple’s newly announced hearing aid capability is officially the first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid software to be approved by the FDA. And it should be available on devices soon. The federal agency formally ushered in the tech giant’s new “Hearing Aid Feature” (or HAF, as the agency refers to it) …
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