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AI Summary

  • WhatsApp has reversed its decision to ban third-party chatbots in Brazil after a competition agency intervention, allowing AI providers to continue operating.
  • Indian startup EtherealX is making strides in the space industry, aiming for a significant valuation increase as it prepares for engine tests with plans for a 2027 launch.
  • Microsoft is making moves in carbon reduction efforts by purchasing over 100,000 tons of carbon removal credits from India's Varaha over the next three years.
  • Regulatory actions are increasing around AI, highlighted by the California Attorney General's investigation into xAI's Grok chatbot for generating nonconsensual images, while the FTC has settled data-sharing issues with GM that will restrict its practices.
  • Meta's ongoing metaverse strategy faces challenges as it shuts down three VR studios, indicating a shift in focus towards AI hardware and wearables amidst substantial financial losses in that division.

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Engadget

  • OpenAI quietly rolls out a dedicated ChatGPT translation tool 37 minutes ago by Kris Holt
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Kris Holt

    OpenAI has debuted a dedicated ChatGPT-powered translation tool. While folks have been using the main chatbot for translation for some time, you can now find ChatGPT Translate on its own webpage, as Android Authority spotted.  The tool can translate text, voice inputs and images into more than 50 languages in seconds, OpenAI says. There’s an automatic language detection function too. Most interestingly, ChatGPT Translate can rewrite the output to take various contexts and tones into account, much in the same way that more general text-generating AI tools can do. With a single tap, it can rewrite the translation into something "more fluent,"

  • Spotify is getting a buck more expensive in February 44 minutes ago by Mariella Moon
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Mariella Moon

    Spotify is raising the prices for its premium subscriptions by $1 to $2 across the board, starting this February. Those are similar figures to the company’s last price hike in 2024. Subscribers across the US, Estonia and Latvia will soon receive an email, notifying them that they’ll be paying a larger amount for their February bill. The streaming service said it’s raising its prices occasionally to “reflect the value that Spotify delivers,” “to continue offering the best possible experience” and to “benefit artists.” It reported last year that it paid out $10 billion to music rights-holders in 2024. However, it’s worth

  • Get up to $90 off reMarkable E Ink tablet bundles an hour ago by Andre Revilla
    Tablets, Technology & Electronics, Handheld & Connected Devices, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Andre Revilla

    E Ink tablets can provide the best of both worlds, giving you a similar tactile response to writing with pen and paper while also conveniently holding all of your digital files. reMarkable has a new year sale going on right now on its E Ink tablets, where you can save between $70 and $90 on a bundle, depending on the configuration you choose. For example, you can get the reMarkable 2 tablet with the Marker and Book Folio for $449, instead of the usual $568. The company also sells a newer stylus called Marker Plus that lets you erase by flipping

  • AirTags drop back down to $65 for a four-pack an hour ago by Anna Washenko
    Shopping, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Apple keeps most of its product pricing on a tight leash, but we do see the company's AirTags go on sale pretty frequently. Another cost cut has come around for this item just in time for the holidays. Amazon is currently selling a four-pack of AirTags for $65. At a third off the regular cost, that price is pretty close to the record low discount of $63 we've seen for these Bluetooth trackers. AirTags can be useful for people who travel frequently, helping you to keep track of essentials like your passport as well as a way to keep tabs on

  • FTC finalizes GM punishment over driver data sharing scandal an hour ago by Steve Dent
    Sectors & Industries, Business, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Steve Dent

    After reaching a proposed settlement last year, the FTC has banned General Motors from sharing specific consumer data with third parties, TechCrunch reported. The finalized order wraps up one of the more egregious cases of a corporation collecting its customers' data and then using it against them.  Two years ago, the New York Times report released a report detailing how GM's OnStar "Smart Driver" program collected and sold detailed geolocation and driving behavior data to third parties, including data brokers. Those brokers in turn sold the data to insurance providers, which jacked up the rates for some drivers based on the


The Verge

  • RAM price hikes: the latest on the global memory shortage 31 minutes ago by Emma Roth
    AI, Business, Gaming, News, PC Gaming, Samsung, Tech

    Random access memory, or RAM, is in just about every piece of technology we use. But it’s also the technology that AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta are using to power the servers in their massive data centers. Now, the world’s biggest memory makers — Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron — are taking advantage of a surge in demand, shifting their resources away from consumer-focused products and toward more lucrative deals with AI companies. The result is a severe shortage in RAM for consumer products, which is not only contributing to price hikes on the RAM kits used by

  • Game of Thrones shows its playful side in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms an hour ago by Charles Pulliam-Moore
    Entertainment, HBO, Streaming, TV Show Reviews, TV Shows

    Though House of the Dragon tells a different story than Game of Thrones, there are enough tonal similarities to make the spinoff feel more like a remix of its predecessor than a show with its own distinct voice. That's part of what made it a little hard to get excited when HBO first announced that it was producing yet another Game of Thrones prequel focused on digging into the annals of Westeros' bloody history. But unlike House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms takes a unique and very refreshing approach to fleshing out the details of George

  • ‘Get Grok Gone’: Advocacy groups demand Apple and Google block X from app stores an hour ago by Robert Hart
    AI, Apple, Google, News, Policy, Tech, xAI

    Two open letters are directed at Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. | Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images X is awash with nonconsensual sexual deepfakes that blatantly violate Apple's and Google's policies, yet it and xAI's Grok remain on both companies' app stores. In open letters published Wednesday, a coalition of 28 advocacy groups, including women's organizations and tech watchdogs, are demanding CEOs Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai grow spines and evict them. > "Grok is being used to create mass amounts of nonconsensual intimate images (NCII), including child sexual abuse material (CSAM) - content that is both

  • Spotify is hiking prices again an hour ago by Jess Weatherbed
    Entertainment, News, Spotify, Tech

    Plans are increasing by $1-$2 per month. The price of Spotify Premium is about to jump again in the US, marking its third price hike since 2023. Spotify announced that subscribers in the US, Estonia, and Latvia will be contacted about the updated pricing over the coming month. Individual Premium plans in the US will increase from $11.99 to $12.99 by the next billing date. Student plans are also increasing from $5.99 to $6.99. Other plans will see a bigger hike, with Duo increasing from $16.99 to $18.99, and Family increasing from $19.99 to $21.99. These are US-specific increases, but users in

  • All the news that’s fit to WhatsApp 2 hours ago by Mia Sato
    Creators, Law, News, Policy, Social Media, Tech

    The WeChat channel 纽约移民记事网Documented (or the New York Immigrant Chronicle) is part newsfeed and part public service. The channel, run by the nonprofit newsroom Documented NYC, is filled with local news for Chinese speakers in New York: stories about healthcare and immigration arrests, but also information on local events like toy giveaways, places where families can get free groceries, and affordable housing lottery listings. Followers can also contact reporters directly - to send them tips, of course, but followers also turn to Documented for essential questions: Where can I find free English classes? What should I expect at an upcoming


Wired


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