List of All Articles with Tag 'tec'

Artificial intelligence is using gallons upon gallons of water. Microsoft alone used more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water in its data centres last year. The latest numbers are leading to yet more questions about the sustainability and environmental dangers of the growth of artificial intelligence and related technology. Artificial intelligence requires vast computing resources, undertaking deeply complex calculations on behalf of people around the world. AI systems tend to be run in the cloud rather than on individual people’s computers, meaning that companies running them must operate vast server farms to deal with the queries of their users. Those server farms in turn need to pump in water to cool themselves down, because of the heat generated by those computers. That has long been a concern for environmentalists, but the sharp growth in artificial intelligence has led to even more use. Microsoft’s water consumption rose 34 per cent between 2021 and 2022, according to its latest environmental report, highlighted by the Associated Press. It was up to almost 1.7 billion gallons. Not all of that is from artificial intelligence. But Shaolei Ren, a researcher at the University of California, Riverside working to better understand the environmental impact of AI told the AP that the “majority of the growth” is because of the technology. Google also said that its water use had increased by 20 per cent over the same period. That varied across its different data centres, which are based in different parts of the US. For each 5 to 50 prompts, or questions, put to ChatGPT, it uses 500 millilitres of water, according to a paper that will be published by Professor Ren and his team later this year. Many technology companies have expressed concerns about their own water use, and how to minimise any negative effects of their data centres. The environmental concerns can be especially pressing because the use of water can be focused in particular areas around a data centre, meaning that the damage may not be spread. Google said last year for instance that “Wherever we use water, we are committed to doing so responsibly”. That includes analysing where water is being used and how much stress it might put on the surrounding area, for instance. Read More AI can help generate synthetic viruses and spark pandemics, warns ex-Google executive China’s ‘government-approved’ AI chatbot says Taiwan invasion likely Google launches AI to go to meetings for you

It's 500 feet tall and is being built inside of a mountain.

BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators have delayed their investigation into Amazon's $1.7 billion acquisition of robot vacuum cleaner maker

Tesla's Dojo supercomputer could fuel a $500 billion jump in the electric vehicle maker's market value, analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note Monday.

Storm chasers filmed the inside of a hurricane and it looks just as terrifying as you might imagine it would. The footage taken from inside the eye of Hurricane Lee was captured on Friday (8 September) as the storm moved over the Atlantic Ocean. The video taken shows lightning striking inside the Category 4 hurricane, illuminating the cloud wall around it and with the black eye overhead. The stunning clip was captured by the U.S. Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron in Biloxi, Mississippi. They are affectionately known as the “Hurricane Hunters”. As a Category 4 storm, Hurricane Lee has sustained winds of between 130 to 156 mph. The storm was located off the coast of Puerto Rico and was forecast to move northwards. The footage was able to be captured thanks to the squadron’s WC-130J Hercules aircraft. These planes are specifically designed for flying weather reconnaissance and have equipment onboard including sensors and instruments to measure the profile of a hurricane’s wind, temperature and pressure. The Hercules aircraft can stay airborne for up to 18 hours ensuring the crew onboard can record the weather data over a long time period. In a statement released by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Hurricane Center, they were unable to determine what the impact of the storm might be on the country’s eastern coast yet. The statement read: “It remains too soon to know what level of impacts, if any, Lee might have along the U.S. East Coast and Atlantic Canada late this week.” Hurricane Lee is the fourth hurricane to be recorded during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, along with nine other named storms. 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.

Elon Musk has denied reports that his brain implant startup Neuralink killed monkeys during research experiments, claiming instead that tests were only done on “terminal” primates. Neuralink admitted to euthanizing eight animals during trials of its brain-computer interface technology last year, however denied accusations from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) that it subjected monkeys to “extreme suffering”. The animal rights group accused Neuralink of “inadequate animal care” at the company’s lab at the University of California’s Davis Primate Centre, alleging that nine violations of the Animal Welfare Act were committed. Neuralink defended its animal testing record in a blog post last year, claiming that it is “absolutely committed to working with animals in the most humane and ethical way possible”. The firm also noted that “all novel medical devices and treatments” must be tested on animals before they can be trialled on humans. “The use of every animal was extensively planned and considered to balance scientific discovery with the ethical use of animals,” the blog post stated. Neuralink CEO Elon Musk has now added more details about the startup’s animal testing practices, after the issue was brought up by one of his followers on X, formerly known as Twitter. “No monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant,” Mr Elon Musk posted to X. “First our early implants, to minimise risk to healthy monkeys, we chose terminal monkeys (close to death already).” Mr Musk founded Neuralink in 2016 with the ultimate aim of merging artificial intelligence with the human brain. An implanted chip could improve hearing and vision, while also delivering “enhanced abilities” like greater reasoning and anxiety relief, according to the tech billionaire. Early applications of the technology will be for treating brain disorders and neurological conditions, though the company is yet to set a date for when its chips will be ready to use. In May, Neuralink revealed that it had received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin testing its technology on humans. Neuralink said that FDA approval “represents an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people”. Read More 10 ways AI will change the world – from curing cancer to wiping out humanity SpaceX launch of Starship rocket on hold amid ‘mishap investigation’ Famed tech journalist deletes X account with epic rant at Elon Musk First photo emerges of Elon Musk and his baby twins with Neuralink director

Bill Gates went to see Elon Musk in 2022, hoping to convince the fellow billionaire to give away more of his money -- the way the Microsoft founder had.

Crossing in the rain? The Starling Crossing will create a wider buffer for you. Crossing diagonally? It'll adapt to your path.

Self-driving technology maker Mobileye Global named insider Moran Rojansky as its chief financial officer on Monday, succeeding Anat

The iPhone is a device that redefined the term "cell phone." With about 1.2 billion active devices out in the world, Apple's trademark product created a revolution in the mobile phone industry, marking a shift away from the flip phones and keyboards of the past toward a future full of larger touch screens and powerful cameras.

Daniel Zhang, the former CEO of Alibaba, has stepped down from his position in the tech giant’s cloud division, in a move that has shocked industry leaders. The 51-one-year-old had taken charge of the cloud division just months ago. Since the announcement by Alibaba, the component stock dropped 3 per cent on Monday in Hong Kong. “The board of our company expresses its deepest appreciation to Mr Zhang for his contributions to Alibaba Group over the past 16 years,” Alibaba said in a statement. Eddie Yongming Wu will succeed Mr Zhang as the acting chairman and CEO of its cloud unit, according to the statement. Nearly three months ago, Mr Zhang quit as company chief and said that he wanted to take care of the spin-off of its cloud business. Now, as Alibaba announced his exit from the cloud division amid the biggest-ever restructuring of the company, Mr Zhang’s exit has come as a surprise to analysts. “We were surprised by the announcement,” Citi analysts wrote on Monday. “Mr Zhang may have wanted to step back from the public spotlight, in our view,” they added, according to CNN. The cloud division is currently estimated to be worth $41bn - $60bn. However, analysts said the reams of data it oversees puts it at risk of facing regulatory scrutiny from both domestic and international regulators. Alibaba split into six business groups – including cloud, e-commerce, logistics, media and entertainment – in March in a major restructuring. “Daniel has expressed his wish to transition away from his role as chairman and CEO of Cloud Intelligence Group,” Alibaba said in the letter. “Following careful consideration, the Alibaba board respected and accepted Daniel’s decision and appointed Eddie as acting chairman and CEO of Cloud Intelligence Group, effectively immediately.” Citi analyst Alicia Yap was quoted as saying by CNBC on Monday that “investors may be concerned that the timing and process of AliCloud’s spin-off may be affected”. She added that Citi will continue to monitor developments and that they are awaiting any new announcements. CNN reported that in an internal letter to employees, Joseph C Tsai, chairman of Alibaba Group, said that he and Mr Wu are looking forward to embracing “the next phase” of Alibaba’s development. “This past March, we embarked on our most ambitious reorganisation in Alibaba’s 24-year history – “1+6+N” – in order to position the company for the future,” he wrote on Sunday, referring to the company’s organisational structure after the restructuring – 1 holding company, six business groups and various businesses. “Under Daniel’s and our team’s dedicated efforts, the reorganisation is making steady progress while our business continues to grow.” Read More Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announces new CEO and chairman in major management reshuffle Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says it will not sell shares in Ant's buyback program Chinese livestreamers set their sights on TikTok sales to shoppers in the US and Europe How Google reshaped the world – and is about to do it all over again Update your iPhone immediately The new iPhone could be the most expensive ever by far

Tesla Inc.’s Dojo supercomputer may add as much as $500 billion to the company’s market value through faster