Here is top trending news from the world of technology. News that every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
Elon Musk slams media reports about ‘Robot attack, calls its ‘absurd’
Elon Musk has dismissed recent media reports of a robot “attack” in a Tesla factory in Austin as absurd and truly shameful. He criticized the media for falsely implying that the accident was due to the humanoid robots. The Tesla CEO also defended the Optimus Robot, arguing that the Optimus robot is 100% safe and will duly contribute to the global prosperity. Musk’s critical response came after slew of media reports claimed that in 2021 Tesla’s robot had seriously injured an engineer at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Texas. The media reports further claimed the robot arm pinned the engineer, causing an severe open wound on his hand. These reports have come just days after Tesla unveiled the latest version of its Optimus Robot.
2)
Microsoft Copilot is now available on IOS and iPadOS
Starting from December 29, 2023, Microsoft’s AI chatbot Copilot will be officially available on iOS and iPadOS. The app is available for download on Apple App store. This will open up Microsoft’s powerful AI chatbot to whole new audience of Apple users. The IOS debut has come barely three days after Copilot was launched on Android. Microsoft Copilot is powered by OpenAI powerful LLM GPT4 and DALL-E-3. Copilot can do host of things, from creating & summarizing content, helping you learn new skills, organizing meeting highlights, enhancing PowerPoint presentation and host of other things. However, it is important to note that Microsoft Copilot is still under development, and like any AI tool, it has limitations.
3)
GitHub makes Copilot Chat generally available
GitHub Copilot, which was previously available only in beta for limited & paid users, will be now accessible to almost all users. Starting from today, verified teachers, students, and maintainers of certain open-source projects can use it for free. Copilot Chat is ChatGPT-like programming-centric chatbot that lets developers ask questions about their code in natural language. Think of it as a real-time coding buddy you can talk to within your IDE. It can be generally accessed in the sidebar panel of Microsoft’s IDEs and Visual Studio Code. It is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4 large language model.
4)
OpenAI hold talks with News Publishers for Licensing Content
OpenAI has reportedly been in negotiations with major publishers like News Corp, Gannett, and IAC about licensing their content for a significant period. This clearly hints a shift away from the current practice of “scraping” news content from the internet without permission, which is facing severe legal scrutiny. If successful, licensing agreements could provide much-needed revenue for struggling news organizations and ensure proper compensation for their work. These media reports have emerged just days after The New York Times sued OpenAI for unauthorized accessing of its content. Copy infringement has become hot issue ever since the boom of generative AI and phenomenal success of ChatGPT.
5)
Google to settle $5 billion Privacy Lawsuit
Google has agreed to settle a $5 billion consumer privacy lawsuit, which alleged that the company secretly tracked the internet use of millions of people. The lawsuit claimed that Google’s Chrome browser’s “incognito mode” did not provide the expected privacy, as the company continued to track users’ data. The settlement is expected to be presented to the court for approval by February 24, 2024. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, sought at least $5,000 in damages per user for privacy violations. This settlement sets a precedent for future lawsuits regarding consumer privacy and data collection, even leading to stricter regulations and increased transparency.
