Anthropic Will Pour $50 Billion into AI Infrastructure; Apple Launches Digital ID-Passports on Your iPhone; People Can’t Tell If a Song is AI or Not; Airbnb Tests Ordering Groceries via Instacart

Posted: November 12, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

We have just reported in the past couple days on eye-watering billions being dropped on AI infrastructure by Meta and others…now comes Anthropic, announcing plans to drop $50 billion on custom data centers in Texas and New York. Cnbc.com reports that the facilities are being developed in partnership with Fulidsack…an AI cloud platform that supplies large-scale graphics processing unit (GPU) clusters to clients like Meta, Midjourney, and Mistral. Anthropic is also planning to build out several other locations…but these will be live in 2026 if all goes well. The AI firm said they would create some 2,000 construction jobs and about 800 permanent jobs. Meanwhile, arch-competitor OpenAI has locked up some $1.4 trillion in long term infrastructure commitments. We are in the crazy money spending stage of AI infrastructure building apparently. 

Apple has rolled out Digital ID…in beta at least.. it’s a way to carry your passport on your iPhone or Apple Watch that is useable at TSA checkpoints. According to techcrunch.com, up to 250 airports will allow this for domestic travel. A number of states already allow a version of driver’s licenses to live in Apple Wallet. Note that it isn’t intended to replace your physical passport. Also, for international travel, you will still need the real thing…no way to stamp your phone at this point…although a digital way to do that might be possible. The TSA website has a list of states that support mobile ID, by the way. 

This is maddening for artists and musicians, but according to music streamer Deezer, a huge majority of people can’t tell AI generated music from the real thing…composed and performed by actual humans! Gizmodo.com notes that Deezer did a joint survey with Ipsos, and queried 9,000 people across eight countries: the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan. Sadly, 97% of those surveyed couldn’t tell the difference. 80% of participants did say that AI generated music should be clearly labeled. Deezer already does this. As of September, the streamer found that 28% of music uploaded to its platform was completely AI generated. Of course the AI is trained on the actual works of real musicians…so it could be thought of as a type of theft of intellectual property…but copyright laws are unclear about this right now. 

So you are headed out for a little getaway and have rented an Airbnb. When you get there, you are gonna need groceries. Well now, Airbnb is testing out letting you order them either ahead of time or upon arrival using Instacart. Engadget.com reports that Airbnb will give hosts who do the ordering $25 for every completed order, so long as the food is put away before the guests arrive. Customers will be able to place orders on Instacart up to 3 weeks before their stay. The service is being tested out in Phoenix, Orlando, and LA.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technifled’ for now. 

iPhone 17 Date Leak; Disney+ Will Assimilate Hulu; Nvidia Rejects Demand for Backdoor in AI Chips; Grok Generates Fake Taylor Swift Nudes

Posted: August 6, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mark Gurman has reported, and we have also that the likely date for the iPhone 17 rollout will be the week of September 8th. That’s based on prior year activity, and not exactly rocket science. Now, Bgr.com reports that a leak has picked up internal info from a German mobile phone provider which indicates the actual date will be Tuesday, September 9th. That will mean if Apple follows its usual routine, the phones will be available in stores and delivered by September 19th. We have already reported on a couple of the headlines…like the super thin iPhone 17 Air (if that’s what they end up calling it) and a noticeably better 48 MP telephoto lens. Do expect a relatively modest $50 price hike across the board on the iPhone 17 models…the first price bump in several years. 

Now that Disney owns all of Hulu, it looks like the House of Mouse will tie a bow around things, killing off the Hulu app and totally integrating Hulu’s streaming service into a new, unified Disney Plus app next year. According to engadget.com, a Disney spokesperson said that they will still offer standalone plans for Disney Plus and Hulu….presumably by just dimming out one or the other in the unified app if you aren’t paying for all of it. Having both on the same app will not only be convenient for users, but will give Disney more ways to package ad sales. Disney will also stop disclosing separate subscriber numbers for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.  Between the 3, Disney had 183 million subscribers as of the end of June…up 2.6 million from March. 

A number of countries including the USA, China, and the UK have called for or demanded back doors before. Now, it is Nvidia and their AI chips. Theverge.com says Nvidia has responded in a blog post saying that its GPUs ‘do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors.’ In fact, China actually claimed that such already exist in Nvidia AI chips. Regarding the US, a bipartisan group of lawmakers have introduced the Chip Security Act, which would require Nvidia and other manufacturers to include tracking technology to identify when chips are illegally transported internationally, and leaves the door open for further security measures including remote kill switches. While Nvidia is expecting to be granted permits to once again sell certain AI chips in China, its most powerful hardware is still under strict US export controls there and elsewhere. David Reber Jr, Chief Security Officer for Nvidia notes that “There is no such thing as a ‘good’ secret backdoor.” He commented in a post that there are “only dangerous vulnerabilities that need to be eliminated.” He goes on to call kill switches “an open invitation for disaster.”

Elon Musk’s Grok has gone further in offending and pissing off some people than before. Now, it’s not political…think MechaHitler of a couple weeks back…the video generator has spewed out topless images of Taylor Swift without even being asked to do so! Editorial: she’s a billionaire…I hope she sues. Arstechnica.com reports that a reporter for the Verge, Jess Weatherbed, was testing the Grok Imagine video generator shortly after it was released, and it displayed the images of Swift ‘the very first time’ she used it. In fact, when she ask it to show ’Taylor Swift celebrating at Coachella with the boys,’ the thing cranked out 30 images of Swift in revealing outfits. There are presets on the latest iteration of Grok Imagine…custom, normal, fun, and spicy…that can convert images into video clips in 15 seconds. All the reporter did was input ‘spicy’ and confirm her birthdate. The AI then produced a clip of swift ‘tearing off her clothes’ and dancing in a thong.’

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.

Meta Bulking Up AI Age Detection; China Firm-EV Battery Charges as Fast as Gassing Up; Bluesky Gets Blue Checkmarks; New RAM 10,000 Faster

Posted: April 22, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Meta is expanding AI use in its age detection program for Instagram. Theverge.com reports that it started using AI last year, spotting things like wishes for a 16th birthday (when an account claimed to be 18 or over.) Meta puts restrictions on teen accounts that they don’t have once over 18. Strangers can’t send them messages, and some content is limited. With the AI, Meta will be more proactive…and will actually change settings on accounts it suspects are kids masquerading as adults. The Meta folks say they know there will be errors, but feel like protecting kids will be worth it…plus, no harm in their not seeing adult content or getting messages from strangers. 

The EV range and recharging battles are heating up. Now Contemporary Amperex Technology…CATL…out of China has revealed its latest battery cell tech, which they say will charge as fast as filling a gas tank, and potentially lower costs. According to electrek.co, CATL is the world’s largest battery manufacturer by quite a ways. The new sodium-ion battery cells not only charge as fast as filling up, but you can drill into a cell or cut one in half without a ‘thermal event,’ or in plain English, catching fire! So how fast is fast? A 45 minute charge can get you 300 more miles of range, depending on EV model. They expect the tech to be in some 67 EV models by the end of the year. Arch competitor BYD also has a fast charging battery. Are you hearing this, Tesla? 

Bluesky is joining the blue checkmark club. The platform is beginning to grant official verification through blue checkmarks to “authentic and notable” accounts. It will also allow some “trusted organizations” to verify users as well. An example of that: they will allow major news organizations to give the check to their reporters. By the way, the ‘trusted organization’ checkmarks will be surrounded by a badge with scalloped edges, instead of just a circle. At this point, they are just giving out the trusted organization ones, and will encourage other users to verify themselves via a custom domain. 

Things are picking up speed all over…not just fast charging for EVs, either. Now, a team at Fudan University in Shanghai, China has unveiled a big leap in memory tech. Bgr.com reports that this new next generation RAM can write data in 400 pico seconds. That’s some 25 billion operations per second…and it’s 10,000 times faster than the flash memory in your regular b-flat laptop! The new RAM utilizes two-dimensional graphene instead of the usual silicon. It’s non-volatile memory, too…so if the data is written and power cut, the data is intact. This could slash energy consumption, bring powerful AI right on to smartphones, and heaven knows what the military will do with it!

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

New Amazon Kindles-Including Color; YouTube Rolling Out New Miniplayer & Updates; Threads Option-Shows When You Are Online; Taiwan Semiconductor to Build More Chip Plants in Europe

Posted: October 16, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon has announced new Kindles, including a first…a new color model. Theverge.com reports that the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition…which is a lot like the updated Paperwhite with a color screen…is priced at $279.99 and you can preorder now. It ships on October 30th. It is still based on E Ink’s Kaleidoscope tech, but uses an entirely new display stack as compared to other Kindles. The new tech also allows for faster page turns. Kevin Keith, who runs Kindle products for Amazon said “All the things you think about with Kindle — high resolution, long battery life, fast page turns, good fluidity — we weren’t willing to sacrifice those.”  The goal was to offer a color screen that still looked just as good as the Paperwhite in black and white, and he’s convinced Amazon got there. Amazon also freshened the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite. The Paperwhite gets a bigger screen that is totally flush with the bezels, and the entry level model gets a pop of color and speed improvements. The standard Paperwhite is increased in price by 10 bucks and is now $159.99. the Signature Edition is $199.99, and is identical to the entry level model, but has 32 gigs of storage, optional wireless charging, and an auto-adjusting front light. The entry level Kindle has a new dark mode and is 25% brighter with improved contrast. It starts at $109.99, up $10 from the previous model.

The YouTube app on both Android and iOS is getting a new MiniPlayer. According to 9to5google.com, instead of a second bar above the bottom bar with a tight rectangular crop, play/pause, and an x, the new player looks like a picture-in-picture window. The video appears above with a close button in the corner, and a strip at the bottom with controls. You can resize the window if you like. YouTube also rolled out some playlist updates, and the ability to create custom thumbnails using your own images or with AI. 

Threads has added an ‘activity status’ now, to let you choose to let people know when you are online…as well as see when accounts you follow are online if they choose to disclose that. Theverge.com says the feature is being pitched as a  “way to help you find others to engage with in real-time.” At least that is what Threads head Adam Mosseri is pitching. The activity status will show up next to your profile picture in the feed and on your profile. It is off by default, by the way.

We have followed the progress of new chip plants from TSMC…Taiwan Semiconductor….here in the US. Now, thenextweb.com notes that they are planning to expand further in to Europe, too. TSMC broke ground in August on a plant in Dresden, Germany. The German government will kick in half the funding with 5 billion Euros in aid. Right now, Europe makes about 10% of the world’s supply of semiconductors, but most are older school…not the advanced ones made in Taiwan or even here in the US. Most of what will be made in the German plant will be for automotive and industrial use. TSMC didn’t comment on where other facilities may go, saying they wanted to get the ones being built up and running first. This one should be producing by 2029.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.