AP Technology
AP-Technology
Google leans further into AI-generated overviews for its search engine
Google is updating its ubiquitous search engine with the next generation of its artificial intelligence technology as part of an effort to provide instant expertise amid intensifying competition from smaller competitors. The company announced Wednesday that it will feed its Gemini 2.0 AI model into its search engine so it can field more complex questions involving subjects such as computer coding and math. Google is also going to begin rolling out an “AI mode” option that will result in even more AI Overviews. When search is in AI mode, Google says the overviews are likely to become more conversational and sometimes head down online corridors that result in falsehoods.
Digg to relaunch with focus on ‘humanity and connection’
Before Reddit there was Digg, which popularized up- and down-votes on online posts. Now the founders of both platforms — social media veterans Kevin Rose and Alexis Ohanian — are relaunching the early Reddit rival with a focus on “humanity and connection” they hope will be boosted by the use of artificial intelligence. The new Digg will launch as a website and mobile app in the coming weeks.
Judge denies Elon Musk’s request to block OpenAI for-profit conversion but welcomes trial
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has denied Elon Musk’s request for a court order blocking OpenAI from converting itself to a for-profit company. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said late Tuesday she could expedite a trial to consider Musk’s claims. The billionaire Trump adviser is suing for breach of contract over what he said was the betrayal of its founding aims as a nonprofit. OpenAI says it was always about competition. The ChatGPT maker says it welcomes the court’s decision. Musk’s attorney says he is pleased that the court has offered an expedited trial.
AI pioneers who channeled ‘hedonistic’ machines win computer science’s top prize
Teaching machines in the way that animal trainers mold the behavior of dogs or horses has been an important method for developing artificial intelligence and one that was recognized Wednesday with the top computer science award. Two pioneers in the field of reinforcement learning, Andrew Barto and Richard Sutton, are the winners of this year’s A.M. Turing Award, the tech world’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Research that Barto, 76, and Sutton, 67, began in the late 1970s paved the way for some of the past decade’s AI breakthroughs. At the heart of their work was channeling so-called “hedonistic” machines that could adapt their behavior in response to positive signals.
Minnesota considers blocking ‘nudify’ apps that use AI to make explicit images without consent
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota is considering a new strategy for cracking down on deepfake pornography. A bill making its way through the Legislature targets “nudification” websites and apps. They let anyone upload a photo of someone and, through artificial intelligence, generate a sexually explicit image or video. States and Congress are consider varying strategies for regulating AI. Most already have approved some kind of bans on dissemination of sexually explicit deepfakes or revenge porn. The author of the Minnesota legislation says the aim is to try to prevent the material from being created in the first place — before it spreads online.
UK watchdog drops competition review of Microsoft’s OpenAI deal
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog says it has dropped its review of Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI. The watchdog said Wednesday it’s satisfied that the deal doesn’t need a closer investigation under the country’s merger rules. The Competition and Markets Authority said that based on “available evidence,” the partnership between the U.S. tech giant and the ChatGPT maker doesn’t qualify for a merger investigation. It said Microsoft does not have de facto control over OpenAI. The CMA has stepped up scrutiny of AI deals amid a wave of investment from Big Tech companies into startups working on generative artificial intelligence.
Cybercrime crew stole then resold hundreds of tickets to Swift concerts, prosecutors say
NEW YORK (AP) — A cybercrime crew stole then resold more than 900 digital tickets to Taylor Swift concerts and other pricey events. New York prosecutors say the international scam involved people working in Jamaica for a firm contracted by the online ticket marketplace StubHub. The contractors stole the URLs of purchased tickets and emailed them to others in New York, who then downloaded and resold them on StubHub at exorbitant prices. The majority of the stolen tickets were for Swift’s Eras Tour, but the thieves also boosted ones for Adele and Ed Sheeran concerts, NBA games and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.
Giant chipmaker TSMC to spend $100B to expand chip manufacturing in US, Trump announces
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to invest an additional $100 billion in the United States, President Donald Trump announced Monday as he appeared with the company’s head at the White House. TSMC, the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer, produces chips for companies including Apple, Intel and Nvidia. The company had already announced plans to invest more than $65 billion in the U.S., including three plants in Arizona after the Biden administration offered billions in subsidies. Its first factory in Arizona has started mass production of its 4-nanometer chips. Trump and TSMC’s chief executive officer C. C. Wei said the $100 billion is on top of the $65 billion that was already announced.
Uber teams up with Waymo to start selling driverless rides in Austin, Texas
Uber is shifting into a new gear in Austin, Texas where its ride-hailing service will begin dispatching self-driving cars to pick up passengers looking for a way to get around that city. The autonomous option starting Tuesday is being provided through partnership that is bringing together Uber’s leading ride-hailing service with robotaxi pioneer Waymo, which already sells rides in its self-driving vehicles through its own app in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. After hitting the road in Austin, Uber and Waymo plan to team up to being offering robotaxi rides in Atlanta later this year. Uber’s network of human-driven cars will continue to operate in Austin, too.
Georgia lawmakers push to ban automated speed cameras near schools
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Some Georgia lawmakers are trying to get rid of automated cameras that enforce school zone speed limits, saying the cameras are more about making money than the safety of children. But others are trying to hold on to the cameras, saying they do make drivers slow down. Georgia’s House has passed two bills Tuesday, one to ban cameras and one to more closely regulate them. State Rep. Dale Washburn is leading the effort to ban cameras. He says operators “are engaged in deceit and trickery” and are mostly interested in making money. But bills to regulate cameras and not ban may have a better chance of becoming law.
