China just stopped exporting two minerals the world's chipmakers need
China's exports of two rare minerals essential for manufacturing semiconductors fell to zero in August, a month after Beijing imposed curbs on sales overseas, citing national security.
2023-09-21 18:59
Take That appear to tease 2024 UK football stadium tour
Take That appear to be teasing a huge stadium tour for next year.
2023-09-21 18:57
Nagorno-Karabakh: Fresh reports of gunfire despite ceasefire
Azerbaijan denies that fighting has resumed a day after ethnic-Armenian forces agreed to surrender.
2023-09-21 18:54
VinFast discloses revenue surge in first report since blockbuster debut
(Reuters) -Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker VinFast on Thursday reported a 131.2% rise in revenue in its first quarterly report since going
2023-09-21 18:49
Jude Bellingham admits he has 'goosebumps' playing for Real Madrid
Jude Bellingham has admitted he has "goosebumps" playing for Real Madrid after scoring another late winner on Wednesday evening.
2023-09-21 18:47
Exclusive-China scrutinises quant strategies as market weakness stokes public anger - sources
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -As China's stock market struggles to recover, regulators have started to probe some hedge funds and brokerages on
2023-09-21 18:30
US House Republicans look to restart spending agenda with defense vote
By David Morgan WASHINGTON U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will try to restart his stalled Republican spending agenda
2023-09-21 18:30
'I didn't know how to appreciate them!' Anne Hathaway felt 'badly' about herself in certain outfits
'The Devil Wears Prada' star Anne Hathaway used to feel "badly" about herself in certain outfits.
2023-09-21 18:29
NextEra workers roll the dice with big bet on company stock
By Tim McLaughlin NextEra Energy's $5.4 billion retirement plan for employees has suffered about half a billion dollars
2023-09-21 18:28
Paris Hilton announces handbag and sportswear collection with 'the perfect vibe'
Socialite and reality star Paris Hilton is launching her own collection of sportswear and handbags alongside IHL Group.
2023-09-21 17:58
Amazon Alexa gets new AI powers, with the same kind of brain as ChatGPT
Amazon is adding the same kind of brain that powers ChatGPT into Alexa. The new technology is intended to allow the virtual assistant to be more powerful and able to speak with its owners in more natural conversations. The announcement were part of a wide array of new devices launched by Amazon this week. It also revealed new tablets and Echos, including those with screens, as well as plans to use generative artificial intelligence to create art to show on those screens. Every year, Amazon announces a number of Alexa devices, which have in the past included everything from soundbars to microwaves. This year, much of its focus was on artificial intelligence. While Alexa was one of the first virtual assistants of its kind to go mainstream, Amazon has lagged behind rivals such as Microsoft and Google in integrating new large language models into those systems. The sudden rise of such technology has sparked greater scrutiny of AI from regulators, given its explosion into general use and concerns over its potential impact on human life as well as industry, jobs and education. During a live event to unveil its latest range of Alexa-powered devices, Amazon looked to reaffirm its position as a market leader in AI by showing off an update to the assistant that will allow for more natural conversations with Alexa, rather than just the transactional request fulfilment it currently runs on. In a live demonstration of Alexa’s new large language model (LLM), Amazon devices boss Dave Limp showed how the new version of the assistant will be able to be more expressive in its responses - for example sounding happier when returning a positive sporting result for a user’s favoured team. Based within a new section of the service called “Let’s Chat”, Alexa will respond without the use of a wake word first, be able to pick up a conversation after a break and still understand the context, as well as understand inferences and more vague prompts in a way that Limp said is “like talking to a friend”. For example, the new Alexa will respond to the prompt “I’m cold” by turning on the heating in a connected home. Amazon has not confirmed a general release date for the new version of Alexa, instead focusing on an early preview programme in the US to try out the new capabilities among some users. Technology expert Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said it was “little surprise” to see Amazon discussing the power of its AI assistant in this way. “It undoubtedly knows that it needs to keep pace with rivals such as Google and Microsoft so articulating what it is doing in this area was essential for this event,” he said. “The upgraded way to talk to Alexa certainly makes it a more personal experience but success will depend on Amazon being able to get consumers to engage with the Echo devices in a very different way to the transactional and basic requests used today. “Some users may find it a little intimidating, but if successful it could make interactions a lot more conversational.” Elsewhere at its hardware event, Amazon unveiled a string of new hardware products, including several new Alexa-powered Echo smart speakers and smart home hubs, as well as new Fire tablets and updated Fire TV Stick devices. Read More Neuralink’s monkeys may have died due to brain implants contrary to Musk’s claims Facebook changes logo to ‘make F stand apart’ – but can you tell the difference? What is ‘Rumble’, where Russell Brand is posting videos? Neuralink’s monkeys may have died due to brain implants contrary to Musk’s claims Facebook changes logo to ‘make F stand apart’ – but can you tell the difference? What is ‘Rumble’, where Russell Brand is posting videos?
2023-09-21 17:57
Former Elon Musk employee speaks out on 'ridiclous' death of Neuralink's monkeys
A new report from Wired has alleged that Elon Musk's Neuralink - a neurotechnology company developing a brain-computer interface - euthanised the company's macaque subjects after they suffered various complications from the implant. The report comes after human-test subjects were recently approved for Neuralink's clinical trial. Elon Musk had claimed earlier this month that "no monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant, but public documents obtained by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and seen by Wired, suggest that the primate subjects suffered complications including "bloody diarrhoea, partial paralysis, and cerebral edema." Musk had acknowledged the deaths on September 10 on Twitter/X, denying the deaths were "a result of a Neuralink implant", and that researchers had selected subjects who were already "close to death." However an anonymous former employee called this "ridiculous" if not a "straight fabrication." However, the public records reviewed by Wired suggest a different story. The PCRM, a nonprofit aiming to abolish live animal testing, claim that Musk knew his comments about the primate subjects deaths "to be false". They write that investors deserve to hear the truth about the safety, "and thus the marketability," of Neuralink's product. A December 2019 experiment outlined in one of the documents mentioned a subject known as Animal 15. The documents said that the subject "began to press her head against the floor for no apparent reason" just days after receiving the implant. Her condition only worsened as she "began to lose coordination" and "would shake uncontrollably when she saw lab workers." Staff finally euthanised her months later. Last year, the PCRM filed a complaint with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) alleging that Neuralink's practices violate the Animal Welfare Act. The US Department of Transportation is also investigating Neuralink over allegations contimanted devices that were removed from monkeys' brains were illegally transported. Indy100 have reached out to Neuralink for comment. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-09-21 17:55
