Tuesday, September 19, 2023

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☕️ Elon Musk could charge everyone for X

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This is your daily dose of ☕️ Techpresso, where you get the latest tech news of the day effortlessly.


Here's the latest tech news from the last 24 hours:


🐦 Elon Musk could charge everyone for X
🤖 Google is turning its Bard AI chatbot into a personal assistant
💾 Microsoft AI team accidentally leaks 38TB of private company data
🧬 DeepMind’s new AI can predict genetic diseases
🚀 SpaceX competitor Rocket Lab suffers first failure in over two years
🦾 This startup is ready to build 10,000 humanoid robots per year
🎮 Microsoft's interest in acquiring Nintendo in 2020

🐦 Elon Musk could charge everyone for XLINK

  • Elon Musk announced plans for Twitter, now renamed X, to have a small monthly subscription fee to counteract bot activity.
  • Musk revealed that X currently has around 550 million monthly users, generating between 100 and 200 million posts each day.
  • Despite criticism over the allowance of hate speech, Musk maintains that X is taking steps to regulate content and manage user verification through a paid system.
  • 🤖 Google is turning its Bard AI chatbot into a personal assistantLINK

  • Google's Bard AI now has enhanced capabilities, pulling real-time data from Google's other applications and a user's data silo to deliver more relevant chatbot responses.
  • A new feature named Bard Extensions allows the AI to access user's personal Google data to provide specific answers about their daily activities, while promising not to be used for ad targeting or training the AI model.
  • To increase transparency and accuracy, Google is introducing a 'Double Check' feature where Bard audits its responses and highlights contradictory or heavily referenced statements.
  • 💾 Microsoft AI team accidentally leaks 38TB of private company dataLINK

  • Microsoft's AI researchers accidentally leaked 38 terabytes of data, including personal passwords, and Teams chat messages due to a misconfigured cloud storage.
  • Wiz cybersecurity researchers discovered the leak and alerted Microsoft, which soon secured the data and confirmed no unauthorized access occurred.
  • To prevent future incidents, Microsoft has expanded GitHub’s secret scanning service, a tool that tracks exposed credentials in public open-source code.
  • 🧬 DeepMind’s new AI can predict genetic diseasesLINK

  • DeepMind has released AlphaMissense, an AI tool that can predict the likelihood of genetic diseases by analyzing genetic mutations called missense variants.
  • AlphaMissense operates like a large language model, trained on human and primate biology, capable of identifying normal sequences of proteins and detecting changes that could suggest a disease.
  • With 90% accuracy, AlphaMissense is more reliable than existing tools, potentially accelerating the process of identifying disease-causing genetic mutations, which previously required months of meticulous research.
  • 🚀 SpaceX competitor Rocket Lab suffers first failure in over two yearsLINK

  • Rocket Lab's 41st Electron mission on behalf of customer Capella Space ended in failure shortly after stage separation, marking its first failure since May 2021.
  • The company will defer its next mission, scheduled for the end of the third quarter, while it investigates the cause of the failure with the FAA and implements corrective actions.
  • In light of this setback, Rocket Lab plans to provide revised revenue guidance for the quarter, having previously projected revenues of around $30 million from its launch.
  • 🦾 This startup is ready to build 10,000 humanoid robots per yearLINK

  • Agility Robotics is preparing to launch its RoboFab, a factory capable of producing over 10,000 advanced humanoid robots, named Digit, annually.
  • The 70,000-square-foot robot factory, located in Salem, Oregon, is set to open later this year, marking the beginning of mass production of commercial humanoid robots.
  • Digit is designed to address workforce challenges such as injuries, burnout, high turnover, and labor gaps, with the company's ultimate goal being to enhance human capabilities.
  • 🎮 Microsoft's interest in acquiring Nintendo in 2020LINK

  • Microsoft Gaming head Phil Spencer once considered acquiring Nintendo as a significant moment in his career, believing Microsoft to be the sole American company capable of such an acquisition.
  • Despite Microsoft's intentions and having a Microsoft board's heavy support in ValueAct Capital, Nintendo's strong financial position and unambitious growth made them an unlikely candidate for a buyer search.
  • Microsoft, despite its unsuccessful history of attempts to merge with Nintendo, continues to play the long game, with its future plans still uncertain as its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is disputed by the Federal Trade Commission.
  • Other news you might like

    Meta revives employee perks such as happy hours and branded t-shirts to incentivize staff to return to the office, amidst cost-cutting efforts.LINK

    Universal Music and Deezer's new deal prioritizes professional artists' work, doubles their streams' value, and demonetizes AI-generated ambient noises to fight streaming spam.LINK

    Writer, an AI startup making industry-specific language models for businesses, raises $100 million for its AI platform, reaching up to $750 million valuation.LINK

    GE Health is developing an AI-assisted ultrasound tool, funded by Gates Foundation, aimed at enhancing diagnosis and treatment in maternal, fetal, and pediatric care.LINK

    Director Gareth Edwards attempted to use AI to replicate Hans Zimmer's music style for a film soundtrack, but found the tech couldn't match the human composer's expertise.LINK

    Bankrupt firm FTX accuses 'King of Crypto's' parents of fraudulently holding millions and contributing to mismanagement that led to the company's collapse.LINK

    Amazon hires Microsoft's outgoing Product Chief, Panos Panay, to head their device group overseeing Alexa, Echo and Fire TV.LINK


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