Thursday, 28 Mar, 2024

Tech

At CES, gadgets to make everyday life easier

Technology is often designed to lighten the load from the everyday — and brushing your teeth or using the toilet are no exception. Here are some highlights from the array of gadgets on display at the Consumer Electronics Show intended to make the mundane more efficient:

Our fingerprints may not be unique, claims AI

There is a belief that each fingerprint on one person's hand is completely unique but that is now being challenged by research from Columbia University. A team at the US university trained an AI tool to examine 60,000 fingerprints to see if it could work out which ones belonged to

Artemis: Nasa delays crewed return to the Moon's surface

US space agency astronauts won't get to walk on the Moon again until September 2026 at the earliest. It represents a slip of a year in the previously targeted date for the return of humans to the lunar surface that was last achieved in 1972. Nasa says the delay to what's

Aditya-L1: India's Sun mission set to reach destination in hours

India's first solar observation mission is set to reach its final destination in a few hours. On Saturday, the space agency Isro will attempt to place Aditya-L1 in a spot in space from where it will be able to continuously watch the Sun. The spacecraft has been travelling

Smart Election Management App provides all election info

Smart Election Management App introduced by the Election Commission (EC) provides all kinds of information related to polls. This app enables citizens to access comprehensive election information, including details about all seats in every division of the country. Election

SpaceX accused of unlawfully firing staff critical of Elon Musk

SpaceX has been accused of unlawfully firing eight workers who were critical of its multi-billionaire chief executive Elon Musk. A complaint by a US labour agency says the employees sent an open letter to the firm's executives in 2022, detailing workplace concerns. The letter

Chinese spy balloon 'linked' to US-based internet provider

The US claimed that a Chinese spycraft, which traversed above the US earlier this year, was in communication with China through the services of a US-based internet provider. Unnamed US intelligence officials alleged that, based on investigations, a US internet company provided services

Microsoft’s Copilot app now available on iOS

Just days after introducing a Copilot app on Android, Microsoft has rolled out an app for its AI chatbot on iOS and iPadOS. Both versions of the app are now available to download from the Apple App Store. The app gives you access to Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) and works

The Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I. Use of Copyrighted Work

The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement on Wednesday, opening a new front in the increasingly intense legal battle over the unauthorized use of published work to train artificial intelligence technologies. The Times is the first major American media

Apple to halt US sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2

Apple will pause sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the US this month as the result of an ongoing legal battle with health tech company Masimo.  The US International Trade Commission, the federal agency that handles trade-related mandates, previously

Europe counts down to Ariane 6 rocket's maiden launch in mid-2024

Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), confirmed the dates for Ariane 6's long-awaited debut flight following the success of a key test on 23 November. Speaking to RFI, Aschbacher called the test at Europe's spaceport in French Guiana

SpaceX delays US robot spaceplane liftoff for safety checks

SpaceX said it was targeting, December 28 for the launch of the United States military's X-37B robot spaceplane on its seventh mission to orbit. "Now targeting no earlier than Thursday, December 28 for Falcon Heavy to launch USSF-52 to orbit from Florida," SpaceX said in

Pope Francis urges global treaty on AI ethics for a safer future

Pope Francis has called for world leaders to adopt a global treaty on the use of artificial intelligence to ensure it is used ethically. The 86-year-old pontiff appealed in a six-page message published ahead of the Catholic Church's World Day of Peace on January 1, which this year

Turkish authorities launch investigation over Meta's Threads

The Turkish Competition Authority has decided to investigate Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, based on allegations of violating the Law on Protection of Competition. According to a statement released by the Competition Board's website, a

Fortnite maker Epic Games wins case against Google Play Store

A jury in the United States has found that Google unlawfully made its Play Store dominant over rival app stores. Epic Games, which owns popular video game Fortnite, sued Google in 2020, accusing it of a monopoly over the distribution of apps and in-app billing. Hundreds of millions

TikTok to reopen Indonesia shop after $1.5bn deal

Social media app TikTok has struck a joint venture deal with Indonesian tech giant GoTo to restart its online shopping business in the country. The firm, owned by China's Bytedance, plans to invest over $1.5bn (£1.2bn) in the long-term in Indonesia's biggest e-commerce

EU agrees ‘historic’ deal with world’s first laws to regulate AI

The world’s first comprehensive laws to regulate artificial intelligence have been agreed in a landmark deal after a marathon 37-hour negotiation between the European Parliament and EU member states. The agreement was described as “historic” by Thierry Breton, the

Google faces controversy over edited Gemini AI demo video

Google is facing scrutiny over its demonstration video for its newly launched artificial intelligence model, Gemini. On Wednesday, just weeks before the year’s end, Google launched what it considers its largest and most capable AI model Gemini and presented a demonstrative video

Google launches Gemini, the AI model it hopes will take down GPT-4

It’s the beginning of a new era of AI at Google, says CEO Sundar Pichai: the Gemini era. Gemini is Google’s latest large language model, which Pichai first teased at the I/O developer conference in June and is now launching to the public.  To hear Pichai and Google

Spanish media files near $600M lawsuit against Meta over unfair ads

A group representing 83 Spanish media outlets on Monday said it has filed a 550 million euro ($598 million) lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta Platforms, citing unfair competition in the advertising market. The lawsuit was filed by the AMI newspaper publishing association in a