Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Hands-on with Sudowrite's Story Engine, a generative AI tool for long-form fiction that works better than previous options but still has big limitations (Adi Robertson/The Verge)

Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Hands-on with Sudowrite's Story Engine, a generative AI tool for long-form fiction that works better than previous options but still has big limitations  —  Thoughts are swarming my mind like a nest of cyber-rats. … Last week, generative fiction tool Sudowrite launched a system for writing whole novels.



Microsoft's Azure AI Studio will let customers build their own 'Copilot'

Azure AI Studio will provide tools to businesses and developers to build a new capability within the Azure OpenAI Service to combine OpenAI chatbots with their own data to build a chat assistant or an app. The company mentioned that the Azure OpenAI Service is already benefitting more than 4,500 companies, including Coursera, Grammarly, Volvo and IKEA. https://ift.tt/Fj7W61H

US filing: South Korea, Samsung, and SK Hynix ask the US to review its chip subsidy criteria, concerned over the impact on limiting chip investment in China (Soo-Hyang Choi/Reuters)

Soo-Hyang Choi / Reuters:
US filing: South Korea, Samsung, and SK Hynix ask the US to review its chip subsidy criteria, concerned over the impact on limiting chip investment in China  —  South Korea has asked Washington to review its criteria for new semiconductor subsidies, concerned over the impact of rules …



OnePlus 115G Marble Odyssey edition smartphone confirmed to launch in India soon

OnePlus launched its flagship smartphone -- OnePlus 11 earlier this year in India. The Chinese smartphone maker is now all set to launch a new variant of the smartphone in India. https://ift.tt/WxseSQc

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Shutterstock plans to acquire Giphy from Meta for $53M in cash, after the UK CMA blocked Meta's acquisition in 2022; Meta can still access Giphy content (Yuvraj Malik/Reuters)

Yuvraj Malik / Reuters:
Shutterstock plans to acquire Giphy from Meta for $53M in cash, after the UK CMA blocked Meta's acquisition in 2022; Meta can still access Giphy content  —  Stock photos repository Shutterstock Inc (SSTK.N) said on Tuesday it would buy animated-images platform Giphy Inc from Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) for $53 million in cash.



Adobe launches Generative Fill for Photoshop, one of the first Creative Cloud apps to use its generative AI Firefly tool, in beta, rolling out fully in H2 2023 (Jess Weatherbed/The Verge)

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Adobe launches Generative Fill for Photoshop, one of the first Creative Cloud apps to use its generative AI Firefly tool, in beta, rolling out fully in H2 2023  —  / Generative Fill will arrive in Photoshop in ‘the second half of 2023.’  —  Adobe Photoshop is getting a new generative AI tool …



Motorola Edge 40 vs Motorola Edge 30: What customers will get by paying Rs 5,000 extra

Motorola Edge 40 is here. Lenovo-owned Motorola expanded its premium smartphone lineup in India with the launch of Motorola Edge 40 in India. The smartphone is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity chipset. The smartphone runs Android 13 operating system and it features an FHD+ display. https://ift.tt/Od9XeKs

Warner Bros. Discovery launches Max, offering substantially more 4K content than HBO Max via its $19.99 per month Ultimate plan, above the $15.99 ad-free plan (Chris Welch/The Verge)

Chris Welch / The Verge:
Warner Bros. Discovery launches Max, offering substantially more 4K content than HBO Max via its $19.99 per month Ultimate plan, above the $15.99 ad-free plan  —  When Max goes live on May 23rd, the new Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service will offer substantially more 4K entertainment than HBO Max ever did.



Qualcomm’s faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset may come to more smartphones

Samsung has partnered with Qualcomm for the Galaxy S23 series, featuring a faster "Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy" chipset. However, the exclusive deal could soon end, with Qualcomm planning to offer the same, but overclocked, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip to other manufacturers like Xiaomi and Oppo. It is unknown if the new chips will be identical to the ones designed for Samsung. https://ift.tt/mxyFsDf

London-based Builder.ai, which offers low-code app building tools, raised a $250M Series D led by the Qatar Investment Authority, taking its funding to $450M+ (Mike Butcher/TechCrunch)

Mike Butcher / TechCrunch:
London-based Builder.ai, which offers low-code app building tools, raised a $250M Series D led by the Qatar Investment Authority, taking its funding to $450M+  —  It was only recently that we reported Buildier.ai had signed a strategic collaboration with and undisclosed investment from Microsoft.



Monday, May 22, 2023

Australian blockchain-based fitness app Stepn says iOS users can now buy and sell NFTs from its app, signaling perhaps Apple has softened its stance on crypto (RT Watson/The Block)

RT Watson / The Block:
Australian blockchain-based fitness app Stepn says iOS users can now buy and sell NFTs from its app, signaling perhaps Apple has softened its stance on crypto  —  - Stepn users will be able to buy, sell and trade the game's NFT sneakers without having to leave the app.



WhatsApp rolling out the password reminder feature: Here’s what it does

Popular messaging app WhatsApp is reportedly working on various new features for a better user experience. Now a new report has surfaced online revealing that the Meta-owned platform is rolling out a password reminder feature. https://ift.tt/C57LGrN

After Google Photos labeled two Black people as "gorillas" in May 2015, photo apps from Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft still do not identify gorillas (New York Times)

New York Times:
After Google Photos labeled two Black people as “gorillas” in May 2015, photo apps from Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft still do not identify gorillas  —  Eight years after a controversy over Black people being mislabeled by image analysis software — and despite big advances …



Some educators are cautiously experimenting with generative AI, questioning whether the tech can be used in classrooms without undermining numeracy and literacy (Financial Times)

Financial Times:
Some educators are cautiously experimenting with generative AI, questioning whether the tech can be used in classrooms without undermining numeracy and literacy  —  When Lauren started researching the British designer Yinka Ilori for a school project earlier this year, she was able to consult her new study pal: artificial intelligence.



China's Micron ban means South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix could fill the void, an uncomfortable position because of their exposure to China and US pressure (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal:
China's Micron ban means South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix could fill the void, an uncomfortable position because of their exposure to China and US pressure  —  Samsung, SK Hynix would be best positioned to fill Micron's void, though geopolitical pressure from both Beijing and Washington make for a tough choice



Finland, Canada, the US, and other countries are testing tech for passport-free travel, including facial recognition and a "digital travel credential" (Matt Burgess/Wired)

Matt Burgess / Wired : Finland, Canada, the US, and other countries are testing tech for passport-free travel, including facial recogniti...