An antitrust probe of Microsoft’s surprise deal with French startup Mistral will come down to the role of “decisive influence,” legal experts say. Microsoft revealed on Tuesday that it’s investing €15mn in…
Month: February 2024
What is Sora? A new generative AI tool could transform video production — and amplify risks
This month, OpenAI announced a new generative AI system named Sora, which produces short videos from text prompts. While Sora is not yet available to the public, the high quality of the…
Regurgitated ‘American Pie’ adds sour taste to GenAI copyright claims
Don McClean has always shared “American Pie.” Since its release in 1971, the hit song has re-emerged in covers by Madonna, parodies by Weird Al Yankovic, serenades by South Korean presidents, subplots…
ESA releases final images of satellite as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere
Following almost 30 years of service, the European Space Agency’s ERS-2 satellite re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 18:17 CET on February 21. Launched in 1995 and with an original mission life of…
Russia-linked LockBit hackers re-emerge, pledge to vote for Trump
Cybercrime cops still celebrating the takedown of LockBit should put the champagne back on ice because the Russia-linked hackers have re-emerged — and declared support for Donald Trump. Often described as the “world’s…
Why PHP continues to be a popular but divisive programming language
One thing you can say for PHP is that it’s persistent. Like many long-standing programming languages, it’s often maligned by developers who would like to see a shift to newer candidates, yet…
Mistral releases new ‘top-tier’ AI model, partners with Microsoft
Less than a year since its founding, Paris-based Mistral is launching a new AI flagship model for developers, Mistral Large — just a few months after the release of its first model,…
This solar module could power and heat your home at the same time
European scientists have developed a solar module that can produce electricity and heat at the same time — in a potential breakthrough for low-cost clean energy generation. The device is made up…
Meta taskforce to fight EU election disinformation as deepfake fears grow
Meta is launching a special task force dedicated to tackling disinformation and abusive AI-generated content in the lead-up to the EU elections in June. The power of social media to influence voting…
Google DeepMind taps the power of its AI to accelerate quantum computers
In new research, Google DeepMind has demonstrated that its AI can help accelerate the development of quantum computers — taking one step further in combining two of the most disruptive technologies. DeepMind…