Software engineer Vishnu Mohandas decided he would quit Google in more ways than one when he learned the tech giant had briefly helped the US military develop AI to study drone footage. In 2020, he left his job working on Google Assistant and also stopped backing up all of his images to Google Photos. He…
The US government has been imposing similar export controls on China aimed at limiting its ability to mint advanced silicon for years, but the controls apparently didn’t stop Huawei from developing competitive chips for training large AI models. The Chinese tech giant, which was temporarily crippled by US sanctions half a decade ago, sent samples…
AI-generated writing is now all over the internet. The introduction of automated prose can sometimes change a website’s character, like when once beloved publications get purchased and overhauled into AI content mills. Other times, however, it’s harder to argue that AI really changed anything. For example, look at LinkedIn. The Microsoft-owned social media site for…
What are the key differences between ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and other top AI tools? Which one is best? How deeply should you be concerned about AI systems using your personal data? Are the reported inaccuracies and biases of the AI platforms really as bad as what I read? Earlier this month, we asked you,…
Unlike other robots, Proxie’s battery can be swapped out to avoid downtime charging. Cobot declined to say how much Proxie costs to buy or lease, but mobile robots often cost tens of thousands of dollars a piece. The robots work alongside humans, taking turns moving carts and navigating busy spaces without running into anyone. Porter…
The US Patent and Trademark Office banned the use of generative artificial intelligence for any purpose last year, citing security concerns with the technology as well as the propensity of some tools to exhibit “bias, unpredictability, and malicious behavior,” according to an April 2023 internal guidance memo obtained by WIRED through a public records request….
The more certain short-term impact is that US investors who are still interested in Chinese AI startups will have to do a whole lot more due diligence. The Treasury Department is not setting up a new government committee like CFIUS that will review every transaction investors submit, and is instead asking them to do their…
In perhaps the most adorable hacker story of the year, a trio of technologists in India found an innovative way to circumvent Apple’s location restrictions on AirPod Pro 2s so they could enable the earbuds’ hearing aid feature for their grandmas. The hack involved a homemade Faraday cage, a microwave, and a lot of trial…
Substack does not have an official policy governing the use of AI. One of Substack’s cofounders, Hamish McKenzie, has described the generative AI boom as a sea change that writers will need to confront, regardless of their personal views on the tech: “Whether you’re for or against this development ultimately doesn’t matter. It’s happening,” he…
I can tell this question comes from an honest place of wanting to reduce the harm you cause through your individual interactions with AI software, which we know is quite resource-intensive. But first, take a step back with me for a moment and free yourself from the guilt of existence. I would bet serious cash…