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Tech

AI Summary

  • AI continues to dominate tech investment and innovation, though it's grappling with serious ethical and legal challenges, from data copyright issues to privacy concerns.
  • The private space industry is pushing ambitious projects, like SpaceX's plan for a million solar-powered data center satellites and a potential IPO, alongside Blue Origin's shift to lunar missions.
  • Autonomous vehicle technology is rapidly advancing, attracting massive funding and expanding into new services, but it's also facing increased public safety scrutiny following recent incidents.
  • Big tech companies are seeing strong financial performance, exemplified by Apple's record iPhone sales, while also making strategic acquisitions in AI and navigating ongoing discussions around user data and platform governance.
  • Cybersecurity remains a critical issue, with reports of state-sponsored hacking and new privacy concerns emerging from widespread data collection practices and the deployment of AI systems.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • NVIDIA is still planning to make a 'huge' investment in OpenAI, CEO says 7 hours ago by Cheyenne MacDonald
    Mergers, Acquisitions & Takeovers, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Cheyenne MacDonald

    NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang told reporters that the company will "invest a great deal of money" in OpenAI's latest funding round, according to Bloomberg, after The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that the two companies were rethinking a previous $100 billion deal that hasn't "progressed beyond the early stages" of negotiations. Speaking to reporters in Taipei this weekend, Huang reportedly said it could be "the largest investment we've ever made."  NVIDIA and OpenAI jointly announced in September that NVIDIA would be investing up to $100 billion in OpenAI to build 10 gigawatts of AI data centers. The companies said then

  • Ayaneo's Pocket S Mini has the perfect aspect ratio for revisiting classic console games 7 hours ago by Jackson Chen
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    There may be plenty of gaming handhelds out there, but there aren't many horizontal options that let you play childhood favorites in the original 4:3 aspect ratio. To address that gap, Ayaneo launched a premium option with the Pocket S Mini. As a "true 4:3 retro handheld," the Pocket S Mini won't have those pesky vertical black bars whenever you're emulating video games from the CRT television era. Handhelds like the Anbernic RG405M and even Ayaneo's own Pocket Air Mini already offer a 4:3 aspect ratio, but the Pocket S Mini presents a more high-end build with a full metal frame

  • OnlyFans is reportedly in talks to sell a 60 percent stake to a San Francisco investment firm 8 hours ago by Jackson Chen
    Mergers, Acquisitions & Takeovers, Investment & Company Information, Finance, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    OnlyFans is looking to cash out once again, but this time in a deal that would value it at several billion dollars less than a potential sale that previously fell through. As reported by TechCrunch, the online platform known for subscription-based pornographic content is in talks to sell a majority stake to Architect Capital, an investment firm based in San Francisco. According to the report, the proposed deal includes $3.5 billion in equity and $2 billion in debt, which values OnlyFans at $5.5 billion. TechCrunch also reported that Architect Capital and OnlyFans are currently in exclusive talks, where the website's owner

  • SpaceX wants to launch a constellation of a million satellites to power AI needs 10 hours ago by Jackson Chen
    Space & Astronomy, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    Elon Musk and his aerospace company have requested to build a network that's 100 times the number of satellites that are currently in orbit. On Friday, SpaceX filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch a million satellites meant to create an "orbital data center." This isn't the first time we're hearing of Musk's plans to build an orbital data center, as it was mentioned by company insiders following the news that the CEO was reportedly preparing to take SpaceX public. According to the filing spotted by PCMag, this data center would run off solar power and deliver

  • Blue Origin is pausing its space tourist flights to work on lunar landers for NASA 13 hours ago by Mariella Moon
    Science, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Mariella Moon

    Blue Origin plans to put a focus on the development of its human lunar capabilities, so it won’t be sending tourists to space for at least the next two years. That means we won’t be seeing any New Shepard launches for quite some time. Blue Origin is one of the companies NASA chose to develop human landing systems for its Artemis program, along with SpaceX. Specifically, it will work on landers for the Artemis III and Artemis V missions. The company was originally contracted to build the human landing system that would transfer astronauts from NASA’s Gateway station to the moon’s


The Verge

  • Nvidia CEO denies he’s ‘unhappy’ with OpenAI 4 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    AI, News, Nvidia, OpenAI, Tech

    Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang denied reports that he was unhappy with OpenAI and said his company still planned to make a "huge" investment in the ChatGPT firm. NVIDIA announced in September that it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, but recently, there have been suggestions that the deal might not happen. While Huang told reporters in Taipei that it was "nonsense" to say he was unhappy with OpenAI, when asked if Nvidia would be investing over $100 billion, he replied, "No, nothing like that." Reuters reported Huang said: > "We are going to make a huge investment in OpenAI. I

  • “No more Minnesota nice, Minneapolis will strike” 7 hours ago by Gaby Del Valle
    Policy

    It was too cold to take off my mittens and check Google Maps so I put my faith in the trickle of bundled-up people ahead of me. All of them were carrying signs and wearing whistles around their necks on top of layers and layers of winter clothing. At first there were dozens of us walking toward Government Plaza, across the street from Minneapolis City Hall, and within a block it was hundreds. By the time I arrived it was thousands. Some reports said five to ten thousand, but on the ground, it felt like a single vibrating mass that

  • SpaceX wants to put 1 million solar-powered data centers into orbit 8 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    AI, Elon Musk, News, Science, Space, SpaceX, Tech

    SpaceX filed a request with the FCC on Friday seeking approval to put a constellation of 1 million data center satellites into orbit. While the FCC is unlikely to approve a network that expansive, SpaceX's strategy has been to request approval for unrealistically large numbers of satellites as a starting point for negotiations. The filing proposes establishing a network of solar-powered data centers in low Earth orbit that communicate with one another via lasers. The filling speaks of the constellation in ambitious sci-fi terms, calling it a "first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization - one that can harness the

  • The AirPods 4 and Google’s 4K streamer are just two of this week’s best deals 12 hours ago by Brandon Widder
    Apple, Deals, Gadgets, Headphones, Tech, Verge Shopping

    Happy Saturday, folks! After a few weeks of middling deals, we’re starting see things pick up. Some of our favorite deals of the holiday season have returned in some fashion, making now a great time to pick up deal stalwarts like the AirPods 4 with ANC or Google’s TV Streamer (4K). We also stumbled upon a deal that knocks $5 off a pair of Lego Roses, as well as another that lets both new and returning subscribers snag a month of Apple TV Plus, completely free of charge. So let’s get into it, shall we? ---------------------------------------- If you can afford it, I highly

  • Cassette Boy forces you to see its world in a whole new way 14 hours ago by Jay Peters
    Entertainment, Games Review, Gaming

    It's no secret that Cassette Boy is inspired by the classics. It's a top-down adventure game in the vein of a retro Legend of Zelda, while your home base is a small town like in an older Pokémon game, complete with a mom who is constantly wishing you well. The game's blocky 3D graphics evoke Minecraft, and you save at campfires that reset the world, like a FromSoft game. Everything in Cassette Boy even has a green tint that reminds me of playing games on my original Game Boy. But despite all of the clear influences, it still feels unique:


Wired


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