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GPT-4 is OpenAI’s latest innovation

GPT-4 –  The world was shook in late 2022 when OpenAI released ChatGPT, a revolutionary tool that would transform work and academics.

Since its launch, companies in the tech sector have increased their attempts to compete with ChatGPT’s popularity.

Google has been determined to catch up, but they have been methodical in their approach.

Although competitors seek to develop their own AI technology, OpenAI has already released its next innovation: GPT-4.

The news

About four months after launching ChatGPT, OpenAI is releasing the next-generation version of the popular chatbot platform.

OpenAI released a blog post on Tuesday to reveal GPT-4 and extend the gap with its competitors.

According to the firm, GPT-4 can perform a variety of standardized exams.

Following several reports of ChatGPT running “off the rails,” OpenAI has addressed the concerns with their answers.

Changes

The updated system, according to OpenAI, passed a simulated law school bar exam, ranking in the top 10% of test takers.

However, the previous version, GPT-3.5, performed poorly, falling into the bottom 10%.

GPT-4 may now execute the following functions:

  • Read
  • Analyze
  • Generate over 25,000 words of text
  • Write code in all major programming languages

The upgrade was hailed by OpenAI as the company’s most recent milestone.

While technology is still less proficient than people in real-world circumstances, GPT-4 outperforms humans in professional and academic standards.

Updates

GPT-4 is the most recent addition to OpenAi’s extensive language model.

The model is trained on large volumes of web data in order to produce unique and engaging replies to user inputs.

The most recent version is now accessible, but customers must sign up for a waitlist.

GPT-4 is already being gradually integrated into a number of third-party applications, including Microsoft’s future AI-powered Bing.

Microsoft issued a statement on Tuesday expressing its delight over the upgraded edition.

“We are happy to confirm that the new Bing is running on GPT-4, which we’ve customized for search,” the company wrote.

“If you’ve used the new Bing preview at any time in the last five weeks, you’ve already experienced an early version of this powerful model.”

Read also: ChatGPT makes waves in real estate industry

Concerns

Users have been delighted with OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology since its introduction in November 2022.

ChatGPT has been praised for its capacity to generate unique stories, essays, and song lyrics depending on user input.

Despite its innovative nature, ChatGPT has prompted certain concerns.

AI chatbots in general have been criticized in recent weeks for the following reasons:

  • Being emotionally reactive
  • Making factual errors
  • Engaging in outright “hallucinations”

Hallucinations, according to AI specialists, occur when AI systems provide a constructed result that appears convincing but has no real-world basis for its answer.

Microsoft and Google have notably been criticized for their AI products generating hallucinations.

Improvements

Although GPT-4 has been improved, the upgraded technology still has the same restrictions as prior GPT versions.

On Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed the upgrade via a series of tweets.

“It is more creative than previous models, it hallucinates significantly less, and it is less biased,” Altman started.

“It can pass a bar exam and score a 5 on several AP exams. There is a version with a 32k token context.”

“We are previewing visual input for GPT-4; we will need some time to mitigate the safety challenges.”

“We now support a “system” message in the API that allows developers (and soon ChatGPT users) to have significant customization of behavior,” he continued.

“If you want an AI that always answers you in the style of Shakespeare or in json [SIC], now you can have that.”

“We are open-sourcing OpenAI Evals, our framework for automated evaluation of AI model performance, to allow anyone to help improve our models.”

“We have had the initial training of GPT-4 done for quite a while, but it’s taken us a long time and a lot of work to feel ready to release it.”

Third-party business

The GPT-4 announcement comes just two weeks after OpenAI revealed that third-party firms now had access to ChatGPT tools.

The decision allows the chatbot to be linked into a variety of apps and services, including:

  • Instacart
  • Snap
  • Tutor app Quizlet

Microsoft announced a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI in January.

Since then, the technology has been integrated into the company’s products, most notably the search engine Bing.

Image source: BBC

Afeela makes debut in Las Vegas presentation

Image source: Mashable

Afeela: Sony and Honda entered a collaboration to create an innovative electric vehicle (EV) prototype.

The partnership brings together two behemoths, each of which has a particular area of specialty.

On Wednesday, Sony unveiled the Afeela electric vehicle prototype at the CES in Las Vegas.

The EV

The joint mobility electric vehicle (EV) prototype known as the Afeela was created in conjunction between Sony and Honda.

It is a small, lightweight vehicle created especially for urban use to give city people a practical, environmentally friendly mobility option.

The Afeela is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, a sleek, modern style, and robust driver-assisting systems created by Sony.

The car will have more than 40 sensors, including lidar, radar, ultrasonic, and cameras.

They will assist with object recognition and autonomous driving.

More than just a vehicle

There are still many questions about the vehicle.

The CEO of Sony Honda Mobility, Yasuhide Mizuno, states that the firm created a unique electric vehicle utilizing its knowledge of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, entertainment, and virtual reality.

“Afeela represents our concept of an interactive relationship where people feel the sensation of interactive mobility and where mobility can detect and understand people and society by utilizing sensing and AI technologies,” said Mizuno.

The CEO claims that the vehicle will aim to encapsulate three ideas: autonomy, augmentation, and affinity.

Presentation

The Afeela’s presentation on Wednesday was very different from the original design Sony exhibited at CES three years prior.

During the recent presentation, a sedan was on display with a light bar across the front, a high-gloss black top, and a closed-off grille.

With vivid highlights above them and dark hubcaps, the wheels themselves had a striking appearance.

According to one description, the prototype resembled a cross between a Porsche 911 and a Lucid Air.

Read also: Prices in the past year: the good and the bad

Pricing

The Sony Honda EV is a high-end electric vehicle that will rival Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Audi, and BMW in terms of quality and price.

Sony anticipates that its software will offer subscription services, for which car owners would probably need to make ongoing payments to access advanced features.

Initial concept

When Sony debuted its Vision-S car concept at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January 2020, it was greeted with high anticipation.

It was a prototype, not the final product, demonstrating Sony’s ideas and improvements.

The Vision-S provides its passengers with a variety of entertainment and music options in addition to its transportation features.

It had a large touchscreen display that could be used to access music, movies, and other forms of entertainment, as well as several built-in speakers.

The Vision-S was initially solely intended to demonstrate what Sony was capable of achieving with a vehicle.

Sony asserted that it had no plans, however, reports of their collaboration with Honda started to circulate in early 2022.

Production and release

At a Honda plant in the US, the development of Sony Honda automobiles will begin.

However, they didn’t provide any specifics regarding the number of cars they wished to produce.

The Afeela will be made available in the US in 2026, then in waves in Japan and Europe.

In 2025, the cars will be ready for preorder.

Other ideas

The Afeela was expected to contain a built-in PS5 and other entertainment capabilities.

Yasuhide Mizuno claims that the idea was to create hardware analogous to that found in automobiles and specially designed for the network and entertainment Sony Honda Mobility wants to provide.

Sony and vehicles

Technological improvements by Sony depend on the automobile sector.

The business has long researched and invested in electric automobiles.

Additionally, according to Sony, EVs have the potential to lessen dependency on fossil fuels, enhance air quality, and advance the transition to a more sustainable future.

The corporation sees vehicles as a potent medium for delivering its technologies and services to clients.

It is constantly looking for innovative ways to employ its expertise to create unique, worthwhile experiences and products for drivers and passengers.

Sony is interested in creating additional technologies and products for the automobile sector, such as intelligent driver support systems and in-car entertainment systems.

Honda EVs

In addition to the Aleefa, Honda is also creating a different series of electric vehicles.

The Prologue is being produced with the assistance of General Motors.

The Prologue, Honda’s first long-range EV, will go on sale in North America in 2024.

The company will also release 30 hybrid battery-electric fuel-cell vehicles by the end of the decade, with this particular type being a part of the inaugural wave.

In addition to its first electric car, the business will also use GM’s Ultium platform to power an unnamed Acura model for 2024 based on the Precision concept.

Reference:

Sony and Honda just announced their new electric car brand, Afeela

Social media set for hurdles in 2023 as regulations mount

Image source: Tobacco Reporter

Social media: The installation of TikTok on mobile devices used by the government employees was prohibited under the bipartisan spending bill that Congress passed last week.

As 2023 approaches, groups and lawmakers unveiled ideas for more regulation of social media companies.

TikTok

Chinese firm ByteDance owns the video-sharing app, which has more than 1 billion monthly users.

Lawmakers and FBI Director Christopher Wray have openly expressed their opinions on TikTik’s ownership structure.

They contended that the structure divulges data about US consumers.

By law, Chinese-based companies are required to give the government access to user data at request.

The concern

The two Chinese regulations that have disturbed the US administration since 2019 are the National Intelligence Law of 2017 and the Counter-Espionage Law of 2014.

The Counter-Espionage law states that when state security agencies holds an espionage investigation and finds important information, businesses and people “may not refuse” to share it.

As stated in Article 7 of the Intelligence Law, organizations or individuals are expected to help, aid, and cooperate with governmental intelligence initiatives.

The state likewise shelters people who help them.

Response

Little has changed since their comments, despite TikTok’s repeated assurances that US customer data is not stored in China.

TikTok has been compared by Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher to “digital fentanyl.”

Additionally, he believes that the app has to be wholly blocked across the board.

“It’s highly addictive and destructive,” said Gallagher.

“We’re seeing troubling data about the corrosive impact of constant social media use, particularly on young men and women here in America.”

Read also: Prices in the past year: the good and the bad

Social media regulation

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen says Twitter, YouTube, and other social networking sites like TikTok employ the same algorithms.

She believes that the regulators’ initial action should be to make their activities more transparent.

The majority of individuals are oblivious of the US’s inferior social media regulation versus other countries, claims Haugen.

“This is like we’re back in 1965,” said Haugen. “We don’t have seatbelt laws yet.”

Tech bills in 2022

The year prior, Congress failed to enact some of the most extreme provisions of technology-related legislation.

Among the laws that were vetoed were an antitrust law and a measure to protect children.

Antitrust legislation

Legislators drafted a bill that explicitly targeted Apple’s and Google’s app stores for mobile devices in the middle of 2022.

The law also imposed sanctions on developers.

Some of the same goals are found in the American Innovation and Choice Online Act.

The Act prohibits larger businesses from treating or favoring their own products over their rivals.

According to the idea, if the app store had more than 50 million US users, developers would not be compelled to use the platform’s payment method for distribution.

In addition, selling their products for less elsewhere is not punishable behavior for app developers.

Kids Online Safety Act

Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal introduced bipartisan legislation in November to impose restrictions on websites that minors under 16 may access.

The proposed regulation would oblige platforms to prohibit content that would endanger the physical or mental health of young users, such as the following:

  • Self-harm/suicide
  • Encouragement of addictive behavior
  • Enabling online bullying
  • Predatory marketing

The regulation also stipulates that connection limitations and default privacy settings must be adhered to by websites.

Several organizations continued to oppose the legislation even after it underwent revisions.

Read also: Robots were influential to restaurants, but how far is the progress?

Change

Even while Congress made substantial headway toward a consensus measure on national privacy standards in 2022, there is still a patchwork of state regulations regulating how to preserve customer data.

According to Senator Amy Klobuchar, many of the proposals that have made it to the Senate floor have support from both parties.

She did issue a warning, though, that the enormous power of the tech sector might cause strong bipartisan support to fade over the course of the next 24 hours.

The American people will demand social media reform, according to Klobuchar, once they decide they have had enough.

“We are lagging behind,” said Klobuchar.

“It is time for 2023, let it be our resolution, that we finally pass one of these bills.”

References:

More social media regulation is coming in 2023, members of Congress say

Huawei says it would never hand data to China’s government. Experts say it wouldn’t have a choice

Senate committee advances bill targeting Google and Apple’s app store profitability

Kids Online Safety Act may harm minors, civil society groups warn lawmakers

HUBC up 75% in the last 20 days as Investors seek to get in on Confidential Computing Disruption

After initial profit taking following the company’s NASDAQ listing, HUB Cyber Security (NASDAQ: HUBC) has since rallied thanks to what seems like an influx of North American investors who are eager to get a piece of the Israeli cyber disruptor. After dropping to a low of $ 1.25 on March 2nd after the de-SPAC, HUBC has since risen +75% to $2.19 as of March 22nd – just a mere twenty days. 

What is HUB Cyber Security?

HUB was established in 2017 by veterans of Israel’s elite intelligence and cyber units. The company specializes in unique Cyber Security solutions protecting sensitive commercial and government information and is a leading confidential computing developer. The company debuted an advanced encrypted computing solution aimed at preventing hostile intrusions at the hardware level while introducing a novel set of data theft prevention solutions. HUB operates in over 30 countries and provides innovative cybersecurity computing appliances as well as a wide range of cybersecurity services worldwide.HUB Security is a standout in the confidential computing market, having gained a strong position among major clients such as the Pentagon, Lockheed Martin, NASA, GE, and HSBC bank with its unique hardware-based HSM solution. In early March, the company listed on the NASDAQ completing a de-SPAC. Since then,  HUBC has seen incredibly high trade volumes, alongside being one of the most talked about stocks on the internet (#1 on stocktwits) and one of the most active stocks traded in after hours. 

Confidential Computing – The Next Big Thing?

Confidential computing involves the use of hardware-based security measures to safeguard data while it is being used. This includes the implementation of secure enclaves, which are isolated areas within a computer’s hardware specifically designed to protect sensitive data. Confidential Computing represents a major shift in the way data is protected. Traditional cybersecurity measures primarily focus on protecting data while it is at rest or in transit, but they are less effective at protecting data while it is in use. By closing the security gap, confidential computing offers a more comprehensive approach to data protection.

According to Everest Group, the confidential computing market is likely to grow exponentially over the next few years, driven by enterprise cloud and security initiatives. According to Everest’s report, the market for this technology could reach over $54 billion by 2026.

HUBC

Governmental Cyber Spend Increasing

Corporations are not the only ones who are facing the risks of cyber attacks. Governments too are planning to substantially increase spending on cyber security. In fact, The proposed White House budget for 2024 sits at a total of $6.8 trillion and calls for a big investment in tech innovation to keep pace with foreign rivals alongside a bigger budget for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Just this month, the white house announced an ambitious national cyber security strategy which would include, among other things, “investing in a resilient future”, which according to the fact sheet would be aimed at reducing systematic technical vulnerabilities and prioritizing cyber research and development for next generation technologies. 

It seems that confidential computing would play a role in achieving these goals, given its relevance to securing data in all its states, which could be seen as a systematic vulnerability that it is imperative we develop solutions for. If one were to speculate, it seems like HUB Cyber Security in particular could be a relevant candidate given the solutions they are developing in the field. 

Recent Signals from HUB
Just a few days ago the company announced the addition of the former Deputy secretary of defense John C. Rogers to their advisory board, which would likely be helpful in securing further government contracts. According to the announcement “Rogers brings over 25 years of experience… operating at the intersection of technology, security, public policy, and global challenges. He served as the Principal Deputy Assistant and Deputy Assistant Secretary for legislative affairs at the United States Department of Defense and led a billion-dollar mobility company as CEO.“

This comes on top of HUB’s CEO, Uzi Moskowitz, who himself is a former IDF general who is considered a world renowned cyber security expert. HUB is also planning to hold an investor event on March 28th, during which Management will present the company’s business progress, new developments, vision and strategic plans. It also seems that Cathie Wood reinvested in HUB over the past few days after previously holding substantial positions via ARK and IZRL ETF. At the same time, it’s important to mention that HUB is still in its early days and has risen to fame very quickly. While it indeed has reported a pipeline of many exciting deals, there is still uncertainty as to their finality and investors await to see whether or not the company will continue to deliver on its promise. Either way, the confidential computing field seems like one to keep our eyes on. 

Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. Always do your own research and due diligence. MarketDaily authors may be active in the markets or in the enterprise world and thus may be subject to conflicts of interest. 

The Changing Landscape of Work: How Technology, Automation, and AI are Reshaping the Workplace

As companies seek to adopt new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR), they are bound to face a number of both opportunities and challenges. While many technological advancements and changes have yet to be seen, two things remain clear: challenges often provide opportunities for growth, and potential pitfalls tend to accompany new technologies like AI and automation. 

Nevertheless, Eric Sugar, president of LineZero, says the time has come when companies will either adapt or be left behind.

Prepare for digital transformation with change management 

A McKinsey & Company survey reveals that 70% of digital transformations flop, and a BCG survey says 75% of transformation efforts don’t deliver the results companies hope to see. “Most workplaces approach tech with an ‘If you build it, they will come’ mentality,” Sugar remarks. “If leadership wants to take advantage of new technology in workplace productivity and efficiency, they must start with change management. This means building purpose and intention into their initial rollout plans.”

Change management arms the people encountering new tools with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to implement them. Deploying new technology means first educating the workforce about how it will benefit them. 

Without change management, new technology will never achieve the results that managers expect. “Leaders are best served with a bottom-up approach ensuring their employees the technology will make their lives better,” Sugar explains. “When technology products fail in the workplace, it is not because they don’t work. It is because they were deployed incorrectly.”
 

New technology requires innovation and a culture of continuous learning  

Successful companies are able to meet the rapidly changing technological landscape with a culture of continuous learning. After all, progress and growth in tomorrow’s workplace are all about adaptability. 

“The most successful companies have innovation written into their DNA, and that innovation is intentional,” Sugar remarks. “If there is no one responsible for implementing new technology at the highest level of corporate strategy, innovation will not happen.” 

Sugar says innovation regarding new technology must filter down from the top, but he also sees innovation rising from the bottom. “Smart businesses empower employees to come forward with creative solutions through competitive contests. They even gamify feedback and make it fun.”

Today’s rapid technological innovation in the workplace is challenging to predict, but consumer habits frequently influence commercial habits. In other words, how people play influences how they work. “Looking at how we spend our time on apps and social media, we can assume that mixed reality and virtual experiences will soon drive change in how we work,” Sugar observes. 

The workplace is likely to see use cases for VR in many areas, including hiring, skills assessment, technical training, and sales. “Group meetings are one of the best use cases for virtual or augmented reality,” remarks Sugar. “They enhance collaboration and connectivity and level the playing field for remote and on-site employees. While conducting 3D virtual team meetings in the metaverse may seem futuristic, I predict we will see them in the very near future.”
 

Balancing the benefits of automation and AI with potential risks to job security and privacy 

Although it can be tempting to view innovation through rose-colored glasses, not all of the changes that AI and automation bring to the workplace are beneficial. In response to today’s advances in technology, tomorrow’s workplaces will likely confront issues regarding job insecurity, ethical dilemmas, and inequality. 

“We learn to walk a tightrope when balancing the risks and benefits of new technology,” Sugar admits. “For example, when businesses introduce automation on a production line, jobs are impacted, and opportunities are created. I don’t know if it balances out, but AI will close doors for some people and open doors for others.”

In terms of inclusivity and equality, AI often falls short. Contrary to popular belief, AI does not have a mind of its own — it learns from the data people feed it. “AI is trained by people with specific datasets,” says Sugar. “These people may have the best intentions, but if they are all white males, for example, they have a similar, limited perspective. And, unintentionally, they will transfer that bias to the AI by the data they feed it.” 

For example, AI in HR departments can scan resumes and recommend certain employees for promotion. Profiles of successful employees train these AI, but what happens when the AI begins to favor certain background information such as schools, gender, or geographic location? “These are the risks people need to be aware of with increased dependence on AI systems,” Sugar warns. 

In the end, Sugar advises companies to incorporate new technology in a way that is consistent with their values. “We cannot avoid digital transformation,” he says. “For example, CEOs who feel a corporate responsibility not to disrupt jobs may hesitate to automate processes. If a process for accomplishing a task once required three people and now requires only the click of a button, what is the right thing to do? Companies that retain those three people’s jobs by refusing to automate that process put themselves and all their other employees at a competitive disadvantage.” 

Ultimately, AI and automation are neither inherently good nor bad. They are simply tools, but decisions about their use are guided by a company’s principles. As such, business leaders must apply the same ethical consideration to automation and AI as they do to their daily decision-making, such as who to partner with and how to treat competitors. 

“Automation and AI do not cause companies to compromise integrity, in and of themselves,” Sugar concludes. “As we adopt new technology, we must consistently align its usage with our corporate values.” 

TikTok prohibited on government devices, according to new US sanction

Image source: NY Times

TikTok:The bipartisan spending agreement will restrict TikTok from being used on devices used by the government, which is a drastic measure.

Both Houses of Congress adopted the legislation on Friday.

The decision reveals the rising unease over the popular video-sharing app, which is controlled by the Chinese company ByteDance.

The bill

The bipartisan spending package has not yet received President Joe Biden’s approval.

It implores online stores to carry out greater investigation to prevent the selling of counterfeit goods.

The legislation also raises the filing costs for businesses submitting merger applications to the federal antitrust authorities.

Congress, however, was unable to enact a number of restrictive standards directed at the tech sector, such as:

  • Antitrust legislation that requires Apple and Google app stores to give developers more payment options
  • A measure mandating new guardrails to protect children online

The protection of consumer data is still governed by a patchwork of state laws, despite the progress made by Congress in 2022 toward a bipartisan proposal on national privacy standards.

Reaction to the bill

The Chamber of Progress, a tech industry lobby with a center-left slant, applauded the rejection of numerous antitrust proposals that would have targeted its donors, including:

  • Amazon
  • Apple
  • Google
  • Meta

Adam Kovacevich, CEO of the Chamber of Progress, issued the following  statement after the package was announced:

“What you don’t see in this year’s omnibus are the more controversial measures that have raised red flags on issues like content moderation.”

A well-known antitrust law called the American Innovation and Choice Online Act has previously caused the corporation to express its concerns.

Another tech company, NetChoice, applauded Congress for standing firm against unfettered hardline leftist ideals that would have changed American antitrust law.

However, the legislation that was passed by MPs as part of the budget package will have an effect on the sector in a number of ways.

Read also: Google review system pressures employees

TikTok ban

TikTok being removed from government-issued devices may have an impact on competing platforms like Snap, Facebook, and Instagram that are vying for the attention of younger people.

Law enforcement, national security, and research are all given exceptions from the rule.

TikTok’s ownership structure has lawmakers and FBI Director Christopher Wray worried that Chinese companies who might be forced by law to hand over user information may gain access to US user data.

Although TikTok has frequently affirmed that the data it collects from US users is not stored in China, these claims haven’t made much of an impact.

In an effort to ease concerns about national security, the company has been negotiating with the government through the US Committee on Foreign Investment.

Following the announcement, a TikTok representative issued the following statement:

“We’re disappointed that Congress has moved to ban TikTok on government devices – a political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests – rather than encouraging the Administration to conclude its national security review.”

“The agreement under review by CFIUS will meaningfully address any security concerns that have been raised at both the federal and state level.”

“These plans have been developed under the oversight of our country’s top national security agencies – plans that we are well underway in implementing – to further secure our platform in the United States, and we will continue to brief lawmakers on them.”

Mergers

A bill that helps raise money for the antitrust organizations that look into mergers was included in the end-of-year legislation even if other antitrust measures targeting digital platforms were not.

The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act increases the filing fee businesses seeking substantial mergers are required to pay to the antitrust agencies in order to abide by the law’s provisions.

The bill also decreases the price of lesser fees and permits annual charge modifications in line with the CPI.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division are the intended recipients of the proposal.

Without proper budget increases, both have experienced a significant spike in merger filings in recent years.

The merger filing fee measure was praised despite falling short of antitrust organizations’ expectations.

The American Economic Liberties Project’s executive director, Sarah Miller, claims that the bill would enhance antitrust law for the first time since 1976.

“This is a major milestone for the anti-monopoly movement,” said Miller.

“Big Tech, Big Ag, and Big Pharma spent extraordinary sums in an unprecedented effort to keep Congress from delivering on antitrust reform and undermine the ability of state and federal enforcers to uphold the law – and they lost.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, the bill’s sponsor, argued that revising merger fees after decades is essential to giving antitrust enforcers the tools they need to do their jobs.

“This is clearly the beginning of this fight and not the end,” she said.

“I will continue to work across the aisle to protect consumers and strengthen competition.”

Read also: Study finds TikTok suggests harmful content for teens

Tech impact on children

The Children and Media Research Advancement (CAMRA) Act is included in the bill.

It gives the Department of Health and Human Services permission to conduct studies on the effects of media and technology on infants, kids, and adolescents.

The following technological developments may have an impact on one’s physical, mental, and cognitive health, per the law:

  • Social media
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Video games
  • Virtual reality

Within two years of the law’s passage, the National Institutes of Health director is required to provide a report to Congress on the organization’s functioning.

Reference:

TikTok banned on government devices under spending bill passed by Congress

SpaceX comprise more than half of the space orbit above Earth

SpaceX – It’s no wonder that the spacecraft business has advanced given the quantity of tools at our disposal.

With more satellites in the sky, determining which belongs to which corporation is practically impossible.

SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) is among those with a large number of satellites orbiting the Earth, accounting for more than half of the operating space stations.

Although this is a wonderful accomplishment, it is also becoming a problem since the number of satellites in low Earth orbit is expanding at a rate that regulations are unable to keep up with.

The news

SpaceX launched 21 additional satellites on February 27 to connect with the broadband Starlink fleet.

As a result, there are presently 3,660 Starlink satellites in operation.

According to astronomer Jonathan McDowell’s calculations, it accounts for more than half of the almost 7,300 operational satellites in orbit.

“These big low-orbit internet constellations have come from nowhere in 2019, to dominating the space environment in 2023,” said McDowell.

“It really is a massive shift and a massive industrialization of low orbit.”

Streaks in the sky

SpaceX has been sending Starlink satellites into orbit since 2019 in order to offer broadband connectivity to rural parts of the world.

Around the same time period, astronomers have warned that the SpaceX satellites might interfere with their work, causing streaks on telescope photos as they pass by.

The Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched in 1990 and orbits more than 310 miles above Earth, is prone to recording satellite streaks.

Increased obstruction

Sandor Kruk of the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, and her colleagues published research in Nature Astronomy on March 3.

According to the researchers, the number of Hubble photos damaged by low-orbit satellite illumination has grown by 50%.

The amount of photos obscured by satellites remains low.

Yet, for Hubble’s cameras, it increased from about 3% between 2002 and 2005 to more than 4% between 2018 and 2021.

Consider the fact that there are now hundreds more Starlink satellites than in 2021.

“The fraction of [Hubble] images crossed by satellites is currently small with a negligible impact on science,” said Kruk and her colleagues.

“However, the number of satellites and space debris will only increase in the future.”

The team predicts that by the 2030s, the chances of a satellite entering Hubble’s field of vision every time it takes a picture would be between 20% and 50%.

They examined over 100,000 individual Hubble pictures from over 10,000 citizen scientists participating in the Hubble Asteroid Hunter project for the study.

A deep learning algorithm was taught to detect satellite streaks in photos while disregarding comparable characteristics created by natural processes such as:

  • Asteroids
  • Cosmic rays
  • Gravitational lensing

While the data for the analysis was collected in 2021, additional satellites are now in orbit, implying that the situation is significantly worse.

Kruk and her colleagues arrived at the following depressing conclusion:

“With the growing number of artificial satellites currently planned, the fraction of Hubble Space Telescope images crossed by satellites will increase in the next decade and will need further close study and monitoring.”

Read also: Ban on TikTok proposed again, Meta on the lookout

Space traffic

The increase of Starlink satellites, according to astronomer Samantha Lawler of the University of Regina in Canada, raises a problem: space traffic.

The Starlink satellites all orbit the Earth at the same altitude.

“Starlink is the densest patch of space that has ever existed,” said Lawler.

The satellites avoid colliding by maneuvering themselves out of each other’s way.

Moreover, 310 miles is a common altitude for Hubble, the International Space Station, and the Chinese space station.

“If there is some kind of collision [between Starlinks], some kind of mishap, it could immediately affect human lives,” Lawler added.

Starlink satellites are launched at least once a week by SpaceX.

It launched 51 satellites on March 3.

In addition, several firms are deploying broadband satellite constellations alongside SpaceX.

Scientists believe that by the 2030s, there might be 100,000 satellites in low Earth orbit.

At the time being, no international laws limit the number of satellites that a private business can launch or the orbits that they can occupy.

“The speed of commercial development is faster than the speed of regulation change,” said McDowell.

“There needs to be an overhaul of space traffic management and space regulation generally to cope with these massive commercial projects.”

A need for regulation

Astronomers have been banding together to avoid the situation from deteriorating worse.

In a recent development, a multinational partnership petitioned the United Nations for assistance, asking the formation of an expert committee to solve the matter.

Meanwhile, astronomers can discover (and maybe repair) destroyed photos using data and filtering algorithms.

According to NASA, the majority of the impacted photos are still usable, but the additional time and cost for astronomical study aren’t ideal.

Astronomers are also requesting that satellite operators collaborate with them, including making the spacecraft less reflective.

SpaceX reacted to the request by experimenting with Starlink mitigation options like as black paint that absorbs sunlight.

Yet, the mitigation was not as successful as they had hoped.

They’ve also experimented with other ways, such as adding a visor to prevent reflecting sunlight and modifying orientations to decrease surface area, all of which the business claims are extremely successful.

In addition, SpaceX is testing “dielectric mirror film” to reflect light away from Earth.

Image source: Bleeping Computer

Ban on TikTok proposed again, Meta on the lookout

Ban For investors in digital media firms like Meta and Snap, 2022 was a turbulent year.

And, while the difficulties may have gone, investors received some encouraging news this week, which renewed their optimism.

TikTok, a major competitor for many businesses, seems set for a ban in the United States.

The news

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted on Wednesday to forward legislation allowing President Joe Biden the authority to ban TikTok.

The video-sharing software was established by ByteDance, a Chinese firm, and has been a big driver in snatching market share away from social media companies.

In an interview, Laura Martin, a Needham analyst, stated that if the ban is implemented, various platforms will gain, including:

  • Snap, the parent company of Snapchat
  • Meta’s Facebook
  • YouTube

“Implications are great for anybody that has been losing market share to TikTok,” said Martin.

TikTok

Throughout the years, ByteDance’s video-sharing app has risen dramatically in popularity in the United States.

Its presence was most noticeable in 2022, when the unpredictable economy impacted the internet ad business.

The platform had over a billion monthly users by 2021.

According to a Pew Research Center study, over 67% of American teenagers use TikTok, with 16% saying they are nearly often on the network.

According to Insider Intelligence, the app accounts for 2.3% of the worldwide digital ad market, trailing after Google (including YouTube), Facebook (including Instagram), Amazon, and Alibaba.

Privacy concerns

Despite TikTok’s meteoric rise and growing fame, its parent firm is situated in China, which poses some privacy issues.

Furthermore, ByteDance is a privately held company, which presents a problem among officials.

TikTok was outlawed on government devices by lawmakers in December as part of a bipartisan spending agreement.

Some governors have withdrawn the program from state computer networks and public colleges since then.

In January, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., suggested a countrywide ban.

On Wednesday, TikTok responded.

“A US ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide,” said a company spokesperson.

“We’re disappointed to see this rushed piece of legislation move forward, despite its considerable negative impact on the free speech rights of millions of Americans who use and love TikTok.”

Read also: Meta goes the extra mile for teen protection, adds new tool

Reality of the ban

While another bill was heard by the committee this week, it will take time for legislators to impose serious restrictions.

If the measure is approved by the Republican-controlled House, it must then be approved by the Democratic-majority Senate.

As a result of the resistance expressed by certain Democrats, there will be a problem.

Notwithstanding, if it passes the Senate, Biden will either sign it or veto it.

Past oppositions

TikTok has been criticized by US officials previously.

During his presidency, Donald Trump stated that he intended to stop it by executive order in 2020.

To avoid TikTok being taken down, ByteDance had devised a future spinoff.

Nonetheless, they did negotiate an arrangement with Trump that includes corporations such as Oracle and Walmart.

The two companies were scheduled to become investors, but the deals never materialized.

TikTok may now be purchased, according to Laura Martin.

While it may be a lesser competitor with questionable experience, it would not just quit operations.

Beneficials

If TikTok is banned in the United States, Meta will profit the most, according to JMP analyst Andrew Boone.

Facebook has increased its spending in its Secondary features, which, unlike its flagship newsfeed, have yet to establish a sustainable revenue model.

In its fourth-quarter earnings call, Meta stated that it expects Reels to attain revenue neutrality by the end of 2023 or early 2024.

“If TikTok were to go away, I think that there would be a lot more consumption of Instagram Reels,” said Boon.

Potential benefits were also mentioned for Snapchat Spotlight and YouTube Shorts.

Rough days

In 2022, Meta’s Reels, Spotlight, and YouTube Shorts all failed.

After three straight quarters of falling earnings, Meta lost two-thirds of its value.

Snap stock, on the other hand, plunged 81% as growth slipped into the single digits.

For the second time in a row, the company declined to provide a forecast.

YouTube advertising revenue fell 8% year on year in the fourth quarter, falling short of analyst projections.

Because of TikTok’s success, several digital media firms have copied its business model.

As celebrities chastised Instagram for attempting to imitate TikTok, CEO Adam Mosseri addressed the modifications.

Another Instagram post, which gained more than 1.6 million likes and more than 140,000 petition signatures, urged the corporation to keep Instagram as it was.

Image source: Tech Crunch

Nvidia is in favor of Microsoft-Activision deal

Nvidia Microsoft has been on a roll with its artificial intelligence advancements in 2023, and it now appears that the corporation will continue to win.

On Tuesday, the tech titan announced that it will add Xbox PC games to Nvidia’s cloud gaming service.

According to reports, the gaming chipmaker was opposed to a huge gaming deal.

The news

The announcement came after a meeting on Tuesday between Microsoft President Brad Smith and European Union officials.

The conversation was centered on his efforts to persuade them that Activision Blizzard’s proposed $69 billion acquisition would improve competition.

Microsoft promised reconciliation in order to avoid the merger being blocked, therefore expanding its gaming business, which accounts for 9% of total sales.

Despite falling Xbox console sales, Microsoft has been investing in growing its game collection and allowing players to play through Microsoft cloud data centers.

Brad Smith stated during a press conference that Xbox titles will be available instantaneously on Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud game services.

Smith indicated that after the Activision acquisition is done, all Activision Blizzard titles would be available in GeForce Now.

Nvidia yields

Microsoft and Nvidia published a joint statement announcing a 10-year deal, putting Nvidia in the same regulatory boat as Microsoft’s proposed purchase.

Bloomberg reported last month that Nvidia has raised concerns with the US Federal Trade Commission regarding the Activision purchase.

Nvidia’s senior vice president of GeForce, Jeff Fisher, stated:

“Combining the incredibly rich catalog of Xbox first party games with GeForce Now’s high-performance streaming capabilities will propel cloud gaming into a mainstream offering that appeals to gamers at all levels of interest and experience.”

“Through this partnership, more of the world’s most popular titles will now be available from the cloud with just a click, playable by millions more gamers.”

Microsoft originally proposed acquiring Activision Blizzard in January 2022, but the acquirer has since faced regulatory objections in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.

Investigations

According to Brad Smith, the Nvidia agreement is crucial because it allows Microsoft to resolve a number of issues raised by regulators.

In November, the European Commission undertook a detailed investigation of the transaction, expressing concerns that it would hinder competition in the video gaming industry.

Last year, the EU Commission voiced concern that if the deal goes through, Microsoft may restrict access to the game on other platforms.

Also, the commission is concerned that Microsoft may gain an unfair advantage in cloud gaming.

Subscriptions

Microsoft now provides the Game Pass service, which charges gamers $9.99 per month for access to a huge number of titles.

The acquisition of Activision would allow them to bring high-profile titles to Game Pass.

The GeForce Now service from Nvidia has over 25 million customers.

However, Microsoft claimed that Game Pass had 25 million subscribers.

Nvidia offers both free and premium GeForce Now tiers, with the latter offering a higher resolution.

GeForce Now subscribers may stream games purchased from Microsoft’s app store, as well as titles purchased from Epic Games and Steam’s app shops, across the cloud.

Read also: Microsoft’s demos showed AI errors in event

The ten-year commitment

When the Activision merger was done, Microsoft guaranteed a 10-year commitment to deliver Call of Duty to Nintendo.

Many saw the declaration as an attempt to allay antitrust regulators’ concerns.

Furthermore, Smith tweeted on Tuesday that the two had signed a formal 10-year legal agreement to offer Call of Duty to Nintendo gamers on the same day that Microsoft’s Xbox was released.

The Microsoft CEO also remarked that the acquisitions of Nintendo and Nvidia are advantageous to gaming competition.

“I think if you’re a competition regulator and you’re focused on the interests of consumers and competition, today was a good day,” said Smith.

Regulators eye the deal

European officials aren’t the only ones concerned about the merger; officials in the United States and the United Kingdom are as well.

Earlier this month, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority claimed that the merger will only exacerbate competition difficulties, leading to higher prices, fewer alternatives, and less innovation.

According to the regulator, the transaction might be halted, and Microsoft’s options include divesting the Call of Duty brand.

Smith, on the other hand, argued that there is no practical requirement for the firm to sell the Call of Duty game.

“It just isn’t something that seems to be lining up,” said Smith.

“The only reason to sell it off is the CMA’s potential concern that if we buy it, we won’t provide it to others as broadly.”

“I think that concern should be dispelled by the two agreements we’ve signed today.”

FTC involvement

The FTC filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft in December in an attempt to block the Activision deal.

Alphabet, Google’s parent firm, was evidently dissatisfied with the Microsoft purchase and sought the FTC.

“The European Commission asked for our views in the course of their inquiries into this issue,” said a Google spokesperson.

“We will continue to cooperate in any processes, when requested, to ensure all views are considered.”

Although they did not address the charges, Alphabet’s worries were recognized by Brad Smith, who stated:

“It’s easy to understand that Google might have questions about whether something like Call of Duty would be available in the future on, say, Chromebooks and the Chrome operating system.”

Image source: CNN

Microsoft’s demos showed AI errors in event

Microsoft Last week, two significant tech companies competed to show off their advancements in AI.

At two separate events, early iterations of Google and Microsoft’s AI-powered search engines were on display.

Microsoft had an advantage because their event occurred the day before Google’s, whose dismal failure caused Alphabet’s shares to decline.

Due to the presentation’s broad publicity, more than a million people made attempts to sign up for and use Microsoft’s new tool in the first 48 hours.

Technology may have been “brought to knowledge work” during the industrial revolution, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Since its AI confirmed worries about accuracy, the accomplishment was not without flaws.

The demo

In the trial, the Bing search engine’s ChatGPT-inspired AI system looked at financial data, including information from Gap and Lululemon.

When compared to the real reports, the chatbot’s results revealed that it had a flaw in that it had ignored certain data.

The viewers also saw that several of the data appeared to be incorrect.

Independent search researcher Dmitri Brereton published the following on Substack on Monday:

“Bing AI got some answers completely wrong during their demo. But no one noticed. Instead, everyone jumped on the Bing hype train.”

Brereton also brought attention to what seemed to be factual inconsistencies with the demo’s abnormalities in the vacuum cleaner’s specs and the trip arrangements to Mexico.

The researcher said he wasn’t deliberately looking for mistakes.

Before he attempted to compare the Microsoft and Google AI revelations in his article, Brereton was unaware of the mistakes.

Meanwhile, the inaccuracies were classified as “hallucinations” by AI experts.

Artificial intelligence refers to tools’ propensity to provide data based on in-depth linguistic models as hallucinations.

When Google staged a comparable event, their AI system similarly generated factual mistakes that were simple to see.

AI and search engines

As a method to demonstrate their advancement, Google and Microsoft are striving to include new varieties of generative AI into their search engines.

After OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in November, the rivalry grew more heated.

Microsoft gave billions of dollars to OpenAI.

Several businesses, like Stability AI and Hugging Face, had significant growth at this period as a result of private financing rounds with billion-dollar values.

Read also: Twitter faces more competition in 2023, ex-employees on the rise

On the other hand, Google was hesitant to include AI-generated solutions in its search engines because it needed to uphold its reputation for offering the best results.

The company was also concerned about safety.

However, Microsoft made a point of emphasizing how quickly some members of the public may be exposed to its technology at its launch.

“I think it’s important not to be in a lab,” Nadella added. “You have to get these things out safely.”

Demo problems

The results for company profitability were problematic when Bing introduced their AI technology.

A Microsoft marketing official named Yusuf Mehdi directed Bing AI to highlight the company’s November third-quarter financial results after visiting the Gap investor relations website.

The AI-generated findings revealed the following inaccuracies in the summary:

  • Gap’s declared gross margin was 37.4%, but once Yeezy was removed, it increased to 38.7%.
  • The operational margin of the corporation was 4.6% as opposed to 5.9% (this information was removed from Gap’s report).
  • Adjusted diluted profits per share were $0.71 as compared to the reported $0.42. According to Gap’s report, there was a gain from adjusted income taxes of over $0.33.
  • According to Gap, net sales would decline sequentially by the mid-single digits in the fourth quarter, resulting in reduced revenue for the whole year. But there is no prediction for the operating margin.

Response

Microsoft is aware of the mistakes and anticipates that the Bing AI will continue to make them.

“We’re aware of this report and have analyzed its findings in our efforts to improve this experience,” said a Microsoft spokesperson.

“We recognize that there is still work to be done and are expecting that the system may make mistakes during this preview period, which is why the feedback is critical, so we can learn and help the models get better.”

Image source: Windows Central