Category: News and Views

Amazon forms a new AI agent-focused lab led by Adept co-founder | TechCrunch

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Amazon says that it’s establishing a new R&D lab in San Francisco, the Amazon AGI SF Lab, to focus on building “foundational” capabilities for AI agents.

The Amazon AGI SF Lab, which will be led by David Luan, the co-founder of AI startup Adept, will seek to build agents that can “take actions in the digital and physical worlds,” and “handle complex workflows” using computers, web browsers, and code interpreters.

“Our work will build on that of Amazon’s broader AGI team,” reads a post jointly written by Luan and Pieter Abbeel, a robotics research lead who joined Amazon by way of the company’s “license and hire” deal with Covariant. An Amazon spokesperson tells TechCrunch that Abbeel will be working “closely” with Luan and the AGI SF Lab going forward.

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OpenAI one step closer to the Pentagon thanks to partnership with defense startup | Mashable

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OpenAI has entered into its first major defense partnership, a deal that could see the AI giant making its way into the Pentagon.

The joint venture was recently announced by billion-dollar Anduril Industries, a defense startup owned by Oculus VR co-founder Palmer Lucky that sells sentry towers, communications jammers, military drones, and autonomous submarines. The “strategic partnership” will incorporate OpenAI’s AI models into Anduril systems to “rapidly synthesize time-sensitive data, reduce the burden on human operators, and improve situational awareness.” Anduril already supplies anti-drone tech to the U.S. government. It was recently chosen to develop and test unmanned fighter jets and awarded a $100 million contract with the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and AI Office.

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GM is struggling so much in China, it had to announce massive charges to fix its business | CNN Business

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China, once GM’s largest and most important market, has become its biggest problem.

General Motors told shareholders on Wednesday that it would record two non-cash charges totaling more than $5 billion on its joint venture in China, one related to the restructuring of the operation and another reflecting its reduced value.

GM expects the charge for restructuring costs to be $2.6 to $2.9 billion and the charge for reduced joint-venture value to be $2.7 billion.

The automaker’s shares were down 2.7% before the bell.

GM partners with SAIC Motors in China to build Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles.

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12 strange reasons humans haven’t found alien life yet | Live Science

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One night about 60 years ago, physicist Enrico Fermi looked up into the sky and asked, “Where is everybody?”

He was talking about aliens.

Today, scientists know that there are millions, perhaps billions of planets in the universe that could sustain life. So, in the long history of everything, why hasn’t any of this life made it far enough into space to shake hands (or claws … or tentacles) with humans?

It could be that the universe is just too big to traverse. It could be that the aliens are deliberately ignoring us. It could even be that every growing civilization is irrevocably doomed to destroy itself (something to look forward to, fellow Earthlings).

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Coffee prices raise to 47-year high with Brazil’s supply concerns | Fast Company

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Coffee prices rose on Friday to their highest in nearly half a century, buoyed by tightening supplies as next year’s crop in top grower Brazil struggles to recover fully from this year’s drought.

Dealers also said some Brazilian farmers have delayed deliveries of this year’s crop in the hope of securing even higher prices, leading to short-term supply tightness and large financial losses for traders who had been expecting to receive the coffee.

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Deloitte Announces its 50 Fastest Growing Technology Companies | The Startup Magazine

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Deloitte announced this month its 50 Fastest Growing Technology Companies, placing a spotlight on a number of innovators.

Now in its 27th year, the organization’s Technology Fast 50™ program recognizes the world-class achievements of leading technology companies—highlighting their commitment to innovation, strong leadership, and rapid revenue growth.

Said a representative from Deloitte, “These remarkable companies have positioned themselves as growth leaders in their respective sectors, paving the way as catalysts and setting new benchmarks for success. We are proud to celebrate their achievements and recognize them as the driving force behind the country’s technological advancement and economic prosperity.”

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Europe’s flying taxi dreams falter as cash runs short | BBC News

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One of the innovations at this year’s Paris Olympics was supposed to be an electric flying taxi service.

Germany’s Volocopter promised its electric-powered, two-seater aircraft, the VoloCity, would be ferrying passengers around the city.

It never happened. Instead the company ran demonstration flights.

While missing that deadline was embarrassing, behind the scenes a more serious issue was playing out – Volocopter was urgently trying to raise fresh investment to keep the firm going.

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Why Canada could become the next nuclear energy ‘superpower’ | BBC News

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Uranium is making a comeback thanks to a renewed focus on nuclear energy as a climate crisis solution. Canada, rich with high-grade deposits, could become a nuclear “superpower”. But can its potential be realised?

Leigh Curyer had been working in uranium mining for nearly two decades when he noticed a striking shift.

In 2011, the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan badly damaged the world’s view of nuclear power, and the price for the heavy metal – a critical component for nuclear fuel – cratered.

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Amazon’s telehealth platform adds low-cost plans for hair loss, skin care, and more | TechCrunch

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Amazon One Medical is expanding its telehealth services with the launch of upfront and low-cost treatment plans and medication delivery for several beauty and lifestyle concerns. Customers can get treatment plans and medication for men’s hair loss for as low as $16 per month, anti-aging skincare for $10 per month, and erectile dysfunction care for $19 per month.

Other treatment plans include medication for motion sickness and eyelash growth.

The move puts Amazon in direct competition with Hims & Hers, a direct-to-consumer telehealth company that offers treatment plans for a variety of health and wellness concerns like hair loss, erectile dysfunction, weight loss, and more for a monthly fee.

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New Apple security feature reboots iPhones after 3 days, researchers confirm | TechCrunch

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Apple’s new iPhone software comes with a novel security feature that reboots the phone if it’s not unlocked for 72 hours, according to security researchers.

Last week, 404 Media reported that law enforcement officers and forensic experts were concerned that some iPhones were rebooting themselves under mysterious circumstances, which made it harder for them to get access to the devices and extract data. Citing security researchers, 404 Media later reported that iOS 18 had a new “inactivity reboot” feature that forced the devices to restart.

Now we know exactly how long it takes for this feature to kick in.

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