☕️ Nuclear fusion scientists achieve net energy gain

August 7, 2023

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


💥 Nuclear fusion scientists achieve net energy gain
💼 Tesla's CFO Zachary Kirkhorn steps down
🔍 Zoom can now train its AI using customer data
💱 PayPal launches first major U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin
🔎 Google Search launched AI-powered grammar checker

💥 Nuclear fusion scientists achieve net energy gainLINK

  • U.S. scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have successfully recreated a fusion ignition reaction, yielding an even higher energy gain than the initial experiment announced in December.
  • The fusion experiment required 2 megajoules of energy and produced 3 megajoules, indicating a significant milestone where fusion reactions output more energy than they consume, traditionally a major challenge in fusion research.
  • Despite these successes, the development of fusion power stations is still likely decades away, but these breakthroughs show potential for the development of clean, laser-induced fusion energy on Earth.
  • 💼 Tesla's CFO Zachary Kirkhorn steps downLINK

  • Zachary Kirkhorn, Tesla’s CFO known as the 'Master of Coin', stepped down on August 4 after 13 years, with his role to be succeeded by Vaibhav Taneja, the current chief accounting officer.
  • Kirkhorn will continue at Tesla until the end of 2023 to assist with the transition, but the reasons for his departure and his future plans remain unclear.
  • Taneja has a history of various financing and accounting roles at Tesla and SolarCity Corporation, a solar energy company Tesla acquired in 2016.
  • 🔍 Zoom can now train its AI using customer dataLINK

  • Zoom's updated Terms of Service in March gave the company the right to train AI on user data, but clarified in a recent blog post that they will not use audio, video, or chat content for AI training without customer consent.
  • The new terms sparked concern as Zoom customers must either agree to data use or leave a meeting if a call starts with generative AI features enabled; Zoom stated that customers decide whether to enable these AI features and share data for product improvement.
  • Zoom's privacy track record is questionable, with a history of issues such as providing less secure encryption than claimed and sharing user data with Google and Facebook, leading to an $85 million settlement in 2021.
  • 💱 PayPal launches first major U.S. dollar-backed stablecoinLINK

  • PayPal has announced the rollout of its stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), issued by Paxos Trust Company and backed by U.S. dollar deposits and similar cash equivalents, marking a first for a major U.S. financial institution.
  • Eligible U.S. PayPal customers can transfer PYUSD between PayPal and compatible external wallets, use it for person-to-person payments and purchases, and convert other supported cryptocurrencies to and from PYUSD.
  • As an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, PYUSD is available to a growing community of external developers, wallets, and web3 applications, and Paxos will publish monthly reports detailing the assets backing PYUSD.
  • 🔎 Google Search launched AI-powered grammar checkerLINK

  • Google has introduced an AI-powered grammar check feature in its search bar, which is currently available only in English.
  • To use the feature, users can enter a sentence or phrase into Google Search, followed by "grammar check", "check grammar" or "grammar checker", and Google will indicate if the phrase is grammatically correct or suggest a correction if needed.
  • The grammar check tool is accessible on both Google desktop and mobile platforms.
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    Porcha Woodruff is suing Detroit police for false arrest and imprisonment, alleging facial recognition software erroneously linked her to a robbery and carjacking case.LINK

    Microsoft's AI-powered Bing Chat, featuring features like summarized answers and image creation, is set to expand to third-party browsers soon.LINK


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