Here is the top trending news from the world of technology. News that every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
OpenAI bans a Developer for creating Bot mimicking Democratic Politician
In an unprecedented event, OpenAI has banned the account of a developer for creating a bot that tried to impersonate the democratic presidential candidate Dean Philips. This is probably the first time that ChatGPT’s parent company OpenAI has suspended the account of a developer for misusing its generative AI tool. The name of the developers whose account has been suspended are Matt Krisiloff and Jed Somers, both of whom are Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. OpenAI has not said anything on when it plans to revoke the suspension of their account. This event again highlights the potential misuse of AI tools for manipulating or influencing election results.
2)
Russian Hackers target Microsoft’s email accounts
Software giant Microsoft has revealed that Russian state-sponsored hackers managed to gain access to the emails of Microsoft’s senior leadership. The attack took place in late November 2023 and Microsoft came to know about this event only on January 12, 2024. Microsoft said that the hackers belonged to hacking group called “Midnight Blizzard” and has strong links with Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service. While the true motives of the Russian hacking group are not clear but it is no secret that Russia has been activity engaged in Cyber war against American companies as part of its proxy war against America.
3)
Apple Vision Pro Deliveries Delayed to ‘March’
Apple finally started taking pre-orders for its long-awaited Vision Pro Headsets from last week’s Friday. While Apple claims to witness strong demand in pre-orders but there is one bad news. According to reports, Apple is going to delays the delivery dates of its pre-ordered headset or online orders to second week of March. The delay could indicate higher-than-expected demand for the Vision Pro, surpassing Apple’s initial production capacity. The delay could also suggest unforeseen production challenges or supply chain issues. Vision Pro headset is Apple’s most ambitious product launch since the launch of its iconic iPhone in 2007. Therefore, Vision Pro’s success is highly critical for Apple’s future growth.
4)
Elon Musk Denies $500 million funding to xAI
Elon Musk has publicly denied a recent report by Bloomberg that xAI secured $500 million in funding commitments from investors. He called the report “fake news” in response to a user who shared the article on social media platform X. Although Musk has denied the funding news, it is almost confirmed news that Musk is in touch with investors to raise funds for xAI. However, there is still no clarity how much funds is xAI expected to raise. This fundraise may be critical for xAI for developing ambitious AI products in the future following the launch of its AI chatbot Grok. xAI was founded by Musk in July 2023 in order develop AI that could best serve the humanity.
5)
Is TikTok’s Popularity slowing down?
TikTok’s popularity is apparently decreasing. After averaging a 12% year-over-year quarterly increase in monthly active users in 2022, TikTok’s growth dipped to a mere 3% in 2023. This has been revealed data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. What is equally worrying for TikTok is the declining number of users in the American market, which is a crucial market for TikTok. The data revealed that after peaking at 114 million in June 2023 in American market, the MAUs have dipped slightly to around 111 million. Some analysts are blaming TikTok’s foray into e-commerce for this apparent decline. TikTok Shop was launched in the American market in late 2022, which allowed brands and creators to directly sell products within the app.