ICT news

• ChatGPT-Style Search Represents a 10x Cost Increase For Google, Microsoft

  22-02-2023 23:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Today Google search works by building a huge index of the web, and when you search for something, those index entries gets scanned and ranked and categorized, with the most relevant entries showing up in your search results. Google's results page actually tells you how long all of this takes when you search for something, and it's usually less than a second. A ChatGPT-style search engine would involve firing up a huge neural network modeled
  
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• Spain Officials Quit Over Trains That Were Too Wide For Tunnels

  22-02-2023 23:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  WmHBlair writes: Two top Spanish transport officials have resigned over a botched order for new commuter trains that cost nearly $275m. The trains could not fit into non-standard tunnels in the northern regions of Asturias and Cantabria. The head of Spain's rail operator Renfe, Isaias Taboas, and the Secretary of State for Transport, Isabel Pardo de Vera, have now left their roles. The design fault was made public earlier this month. The Spanish government says the mistake was spotted early enou
  
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• Alarming Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' Found in Animals' Blood

  22-02-2023 22:21 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Hundreds of animal species across the globe from ticks to whales have blood contaminated with toxic PFAS, a new analysis of previous peer-reviewed research shows. From a report: Though the analysis does not aim to reveal how the exposure to PFAS affects wildlife, anecdotal evidence in some of the previous studies show the chemicals are likely sickening animals. The analysis was compiled by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit that tracks PFAS contamination and developed an interact
  
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• Samsung Says Users Will Be Able To Clone Their Voice To Respond To Calls

  22-02-2023 21:42 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  AI voice clones are already being deployed in podcasts and video games, but how long until they can be harnessed directly by the general public? From a report: Probably sooner than you think, with Samsung today announcing a feature for its Bixby mobile assistant that lets users clone their voice to answer phone calls. The idea is that if someone calls you but you can't answer aloud you can type out a response and it'll be read in a simulacrum of your voice. Some caveats here: this feature is onl
  
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• Amazon Corporate Workers Face Pay Reduction After Shares Slip

  22-02-2023 21:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The steep decline in Amazon's stock over the past year is roiling the technology company's stock-heavy compensation plan, resulting in employee pay coming in significantly lower than target compensation, WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: Amazon pays its corporate employees a large chunk of their annual salaries in restricted stock units, and a prolonged slump in the company's shares is causing pay for 2023 to be between 15% and 50% lower than the projected ta
  
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• China Tells Big Tech Companies Not To Offer ChatGPT Services

  22-02-2023 20:21 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Regulators have told major Chinese tech companies not to offer ChatGPT services to the public amid growing alarm in Beijing over the AI-powered chatbot's uncensored replies to user queries. From a report: Tencent Holdings and Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, have been instructed not to offer access to ChatGPT services on their platforms, either directly or via third parties, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia. Tech companies will also need to re
  
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• The Raucous Battle Over Americans' Online Privacy is Landing on States

  22-02-2023 19:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Tech privacy advocates frustrated by failures on Capitol Hill are looking to mine state capitals for legislative victories. From a report: A broad bipartisan federal privacy bill that died in Congress last year has quickly become the template for a statehouse-by-statehouse campaign to enact tough new restrictions on how Americans' personal data can be mined and shared. Lawmakers in Massachusetts and Illinois are already proposing privacy measures modeled on the federal bill, and Democrats in Ind
  
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• Microsoft Brings Bing Chatbot To Phones After Curbing Quirks

  22-02-2023 19:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft is ready to take its new Bing chatbot mainstream -- less than a week after making major fixes to stop the artificially intelligent search engine from going off the rails. From a report: The company said Wednesday it is bringing the new AI technology to its Bing smartphone app, as well as the app for its Edge internet browser. Putting the new AI-enhanced search engine into the hands of smartphone users is meant to give Microsoft an advantage over Google, which dominates the internet sea
  
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• Google Claims Breakthrough in Quantum Computer Error Correction

  22-02-2023 18:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google has claimed a breakthrough in correcting for the errors that are inherent in today's quantum computers, marking an early but potentially significant step in overcoming the biggest technical barrier to a revolutionary new form of computing. From a report: The internet company's findings, which have been published in the journal Nature, mark a "milestone on our journey to build a useful quantum computer," said Hartmut Neven, head of Google's quantum efforts. He called error correction "a ne
  
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• Google Warns Internet Will Be 'A Horror Show' If It Loses Landmark Supreme Court Case

  22-02-2023 17:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. Supreme Court, hearing a case that could reshape the internet, considered on Tuesday whether Google bears liability for user-generated content when its algorithms recommend videos to users. From a news writeup: In the case, Gonzalez vs, Google, the family of a terrorist attack victim contends that YouTube violated the federal Anti-Terrorism Act because its algorithm recommended ISIS videos to users, helping to spread their message. Nohemi Gonzalez was an American student killed in a 201
  
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• Supreme Court Snubs Wikipedia Bid To Challenge NSA Surveillance

  22-02-2023 17:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a bid by the operator of the popular Wikipedia internet encyclopedia to resurrect its lawsuit against the National Security Agency challenging mass online surveillance. From a report: Turning away the Wikimedia Foundation's appeal, the justices left in place a lower court's dismissal of the lawsuit based on the government's assertion of what is called the state secrets privilege, a legal doctrine that can shut down litigation if disclosure of certain i
  
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• Meta Plans To Cut Thousands of Jobs

  22-02-2023 16:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Facebook parent company Meta is preparing for a fresh round of job cuts, deputizing human resources, lawyers, financial experts and top executives to draw up plans to deflate the company's hierarchy, in a reorganization and downsizing effort that could affect thousands of workers. From a report: Meta plans to push some leaders into lower-level roles without direct reports, flattening the layers of management between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the company's interns, according to a person famili
  
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• JPMorgan Restricts Staff's Use of AI-Powered ChatGPT Bot

  22-02-2023 15:40 via slashdot.org
  
  JPMorgan Chase has curbed its staff's use of the ChatGPT chatbot, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. From the report: The artificial intelligence software is currently restricted, the person said, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The move, which impacts employees across the firm, wasn't triggered by any specific incident but reflects normal controls around third-party software. ChatGPT became an internet phenomenon in re
  
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• Microsoft is Now Injecting Full-Size Edge Ads on Chrome Website

  22-02-2023 15:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: Being the default out-of-the-box browser on Windows 10 and 11 makes Microsoft Edge a go-to utility for downloading Chrome or another browser. That upsets Microsoft so much that it constantly comes with more aggressive and user-hostile methods to make customers stay on Edge. An attempt to install Chrome using Edge Canary now results in the browser displaying two ads: the first (tiny one) will pop on the screen when the Chrome website loads, and the second, a h
  
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• Wilson's 3D-Printed Basketball Never Goes Flat

  22-02-2023 14:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Wilson has been working to redesign the basketball with a prototype that's covered in an intricate pattern of holes but never goes flat. Although calling the basketball "airless" is a bit of a misnomer given air is still able to pass right through it, it's the most common term that's been used to describe this technology that replaces the need for pressurized bladders in objects designed to bounce or absorb impacts. Wilson partnered with a compan
  
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• Subway To Build EV Charging Playgrounds, 'Oasis' For Diners

  22-02-2023 11:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Subway said on Tuesday it plans to add charging parks to select restaurants. "Dubbed Subway Oasis, the EV parks will be outfitted with 'charging canopies with multiple ports, picnic tables, Wi-Fi, restrooms, green space, and even playgrounds,'" reports Insider. From the report: Subway is working with EV tech startups GenZ EV Solution and RED E Charging to open these parks. Additionally, the company said that Subway is opening smaller fast-charging EV stations at new or newly remodeled restaurant
  
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• NASA Mars Orbiter Reveals China's Zhurong Rover Has Not Moved For Months

  22-02-2023 08:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal that China's Zhurong rover remains stationary on the Red Planet as China remains silent on the status of its spacecraft. SpaceNews reports: The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured images of the rover on March 11, 2022, a second on Sept. 8, 2022 and finally Feb. 7, 2023. The images were published Feb. 21 by the HiRISE Operations Center The images show that the solar-p
  
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• Texas Is Planning To Make a Huge Public Investment In Space

  22-02-2023 04:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: As part of the state's biennial budget process, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called on the state legislature to provide $350 million to create and fund a Texas Space Commission for the next two years. "With companies seeking to expand space travel in coming years, continued development of the space industry in the state will ensure Texas remains at the forefront not only in the United States, but the entire world," Abbott stated in his bud
  
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• Tumblr iOS Revenue Increased 125% Since Launching Its Parody of Paid Verification

  22-02-2023 03:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Tumblr's parody of paid verification has already delivered the social network and blogging platform a 125% boost in iOS in-app purchase revenue since November, according to a new analysis of the app's in-app consumer spending. TechCrunch reports: The company, now operated by WordPress.com owner Automattic following its 2019 acquisition, launched its response to Twitter's paid verification hustle with the addition of its own purely cosmetic double blue checks -- a sort of tongue-in-cheek rebuttal
  
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• Microsoft To Test Bing Chat Tones, Allows Longer Chat Sessions

  22-02-2023 02:25 via slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft will start testing Bing Chat tones, enabling users to switch between receiving answers that are either more creative or more focused on their queries. Once the new option is available, you can choose between precise, balanced, or creative replies from Redmond's AI-powered Bing chat bot. BleepingComputer reports: We are "going to begin testing an additional option that lets you choose the tone of the Chat from more Precise -- which will focus on shorter, more search focused answers -- t
  
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• Biden Won't Stop a Potential Ban On Importing Apple Watches

  22-02-2023 01:45 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  Medical device maker AliveCor announced today that President Biden has upheld an International Trade Commission ruling that could result in a potential import ban on the Apple Watch over its EKG feature. The Verge reports: Back in December, the ITC issued a final determination (PDF) that Apple had infringed on AliveCor's wearable EKG tech. In the ruling, the ITC recommended a limited exclusion order and a cease-and-desist order for Apple Watch models with EKG features. If enforced, that would me
  
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• Republican Bill In Idaho Would Make mRNA-Based Vaccination a Crime

  22-02-2023 01:02 via politics.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Two Republican lawmakers in Idaho have introduced a bill that would make it a misdemeanor for anyone in the state to administer mRNA-based vaccines -- namely the lifesaving and remarkably safe COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. If passed as written, it would also preemptively ban the use of countless other mRNA vaccines that are now in development, such as shots for RSV, a variety of cancers, HIV, flu, Nipah virus, and cy
  
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• Microsoft Inks Nvidia Game Deal To Assuage Regulators Over Activision Merger

  22-02-2023 00:20 via games.slashdot.org
  
  "Microsoft has struck a 10-year deal to bring "Call of Duty" and other Activision games to Nvidia's gaming platform, if the Xbox maker is allowed to complete its much-contested $69 billion acquisition of Activision," reports Reuters. It comes hot on the heels of a 10-year deal with Nintendo that guarantees Nintendo players will get Activision games on the same day as Xbox, with full feature and content parity. Reuters reports: Regulators and competitors like Sony have come out hard against the p
  
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