TECH - Page 20

Numerous figures in artificial intelligence, including pioneering expert Yoshua Bengio, have endorsed an open letter advocating for increased regulation in the development of deep fakes—fabricated images or videos of individuals. These experts contend that the swift progress of this technology presents substantial societal risks, encompassing concerns such as the creation of deceptive sexual content, fraudulent activities, and the dissemination of political disinformation. The signatories—the chief scientist at Microsoft-backed AI lab Meta and the president of the Quebec AI Institute—are among

Microsoft, the U.S. software behemoth, is set to boost its artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure in Spain with a planned investment of $2.1 billion over the next two years, as announced by Brad Smith, the company’s Vice Chair and President, on the social media platform X. This decision follows Microsoft’s recent declaration of a 3.2 billion euros ($3.45 billion) investment in Germany, with a focus on AI, over the same two-year period. The company’s new AI investment in Spain

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind the popular generative chatbot ChatGPT, has completed a deal valued at $80 billion or more. The value jump makes it one of the world’s most valuable closely held technology companies, above Stripe and Chinese online retailer Shein. The move also vaults it ahead of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and TikTok parent ByteDance. The new valuation comes more than a year after the company dazzled audiences with its debut of a generative AI technology that could

Microsoft shook up the gaming world on Thursday by announcing it would release four titles from its Xbox ecosystem on external platforms. CEO Phil Spencer explained the decision during a podcast hosted by the company’s leadership team, and he said that it was being made with the long-term health of Xbox in mind. He added that this includes increasing its user base and reaching gamers on other consoles. The first game to leave the exclusive Microsoft fold is reportedly Hi-Fi

On Thursday, the stocks of lesser-known AI companies experienced a surge as Nvidia, the leading artificial intelligence chip manufacturer globally, revealed their investments in these smaller firms. In a 13F filing, Nvidia said it owned shares in several small public companies, including Arm Holdings, SoundHound AI, Nano-X Imaging, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, and TuSimple. Each of the smaller companies saw its stock surge in premarket trading. The move is a sign of the market’s pent-up exuberance over the AI sector and offers

OpenAI, a company supported by Microsoft, is currently developing software designed to create one-minute videos in response to textual prompts. The company, created by former Google executive Sam Altman, showcased the tool Thursday at its X event, demonstrating photorealistic details of fantasy scenes from prompts. It’s a significant step beyond previous text-to-video models, typically creating shorter clips or filling in missing frames of existing video footage. During its demonstrations, the OpenAI team also highlighted the system’s ability to create objects

On Thursday, Renesas Electronics of Japan announced its acquisition of Altium, an electronics design company specializing in tools for circuit board design. The cash transaction is valued at $5.9 billion. This strategic move positions Renesas as a key player in the Japanese chip industry’s dealmaking and investment landscape. The automotive chipmaker, known for its acquisitive nature, aims to enhance its offerings by providing digital device design services to its clientele through this acquisition. Renesas said it would accelerate its software

In a rare feat that threatens to reshape the technology landscape, Nvidia, the trailblazer in AI chips, overtook Amazon’s market value and is now within striking distance of overtaking Google’s parent company, Alphabet. Nvidia’s stock has quadrupled in the past 15 months as investors buy into its dominance in space, revolutionizing industries and driving business transformations. The rise of Nvidia is remarkable given that it was only the seventh-largest company a year ago, the 12th largest three years ago, and

Artificial intelligence researcher Andrej Karpathy, whose work has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of AI technologies, is leaving OpenAI. The prominent research group said in a post on social media platform X that Karpathy had departed the Microsoft-backed company, known for its competitive edge in developing increasingly capable artificial intelligence. Karpathy, well-known for his computer vision and machine learning work, has been with the firm since its founding. According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as a research scientist

On Wednesday, the primary provider of equipment to computer chip manufacturers expressed concerns about business risks stemming from geopolitical tensions and the potential extension of a U.S.-led effort to limit exports to China. ASML, in its annual report released on the same day, highlighted the increasing array of restrictions implemented by the United States, often with the approval of the Dutch government. These restrictions have resulted in the exclusion of certain customers from acquiring ASML’s lithography machines, essential for printing