Google Hits Brakes on AI Images of People; AT&T, Others Cell Outage This Morning; ARM Claims ‘Software is Driver in Deal With Nuro; Samsung Will Bring Galaxy AI Features to More Devices

Posted: February 22, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Google has pumped the brakes, disabling Gemini’s ability to generate images of people. PCMag.com reports that this came after users found that Gemini was producing historically inaccurate images in some situations. Like some extreme examples? It showed what it claimed was a Native American man and woman as an 1820s German couple…and one of the Founding Fathers as African American. It also came up with Asian members in the 1929 German military. Google put out a message saying “We are aware that Gemini is offering inaccuracies in some historical image generation depictions, and we are working to fix this immediately.” 

There were widespread cellular outages this morning starting at about 3:30 am Eastern that affected calls and even 911 service. The problems were all on  AT&T’s network. According to NPR, AT&T now says it has restored around three quarters of its cellular network. Some 73,000 customers were affected. Verizon and T-Mobile reported that their networks were ‘operating normally.’ This is more concerning than in the past, since these days, nearly 71% of adults and 82% of kids live in wireless-only households. AT&T hasn’t said what caused the outages at this point. 

Chipmaker ARM supplies most of the systems on a chip that run the world’s smartphones, and now they are diving into the world of driverless cars. Thenextweb.com says the chip maker has cut a deal with Nuro, a startup in the autonomous vehicle realm. The partnership aims to accelerate the commercialization of self-driving cars. Arm will bring its famed semiconductor IP to Nuro’s vehicles, starting with the startup’s delivery robots. In an only slightly hyped statement, ARM says ‘software is becoming the driver’ for cars! Arm is finding a nice place in the automotive segment…since 2020, they have nearly doubled their revenue in the sector. As for startup Nuro, they are shooting for level 4 autonomy, which doesn’t need a human driver under certain road conditions. They haven’t given any roadmap for how soon they think that will become a reality.

The AI push marches relentlessly on…Samsung is now going to bring its Galaxy AI features to more devices with a software update in March. The handsets affected are the Galaxy S23 series, S23 FE, Z Fold5, and Z Flip. The tablets that will get the AI include the Tab S9 Ultra, Tab S9+, and Tab 59. With this upcoming update, users will get access to Google’s “Circle to Search” feature, which lets users search from anywhere on their phone using gestures like circling, highlighting, scribbling or tapping. Another feature called Live Translate will provide voice and text translations for phone calls. Plus, users will get access to an “Interpreter” feature that generates text translations for live conversations.

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

Rivian Smaller, Cheaper SUV Coming soon; More Efficient Solar Cell from Oxford Wizards; Google Rebranding Bard to Gemini; Underground Site Uses Neural Networks to Make Really Good Fake IDs

Posted: February 5, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Rivian is getting set to unveil its smaller, cheaper SUV dubbed the R2. The drop date is March 7th. TechCrunch.com reports that it should retail for between $40-60,000, a much lower price than the R1S SUV and the R1T pickup. The reveal will happen in Laguna Beach, CA. Rivian has been operating at a loss, despite decent sales of the present SUV and pickup, as well as the vans it makes for Amazon. They believe at this lower price point, they will be able to scale up production enough to get into the black. Rivian built some 57,000 vehicles in 2023. 

A spinoff from Oxford University called Oxford PV has now made the most efficient solar panel ever built. According to thenextweb.com, compared to the average panels out there…which can convert about 15-20% of solar energy to electricity, this new one can convert 25% of the sun’s energy it receives. It uses a material that is better at absorbing light than previous cells. The spinoff claims that the panels have a theoretical efficiency of 43%…but this has yet to be shown in a real world setting. If they can show that, it would be a gigantic leap forward for solar power.

Google is getting ready to rebrand its Bard generative AI as ‘Gemini,’ likely as early as this week. 9to5google.com reports that Google has upgraded Bard with new features and capabilities. They are also powering the AI with what they call ‘Gemini Pro.’ A Gemini Advanced tier will be available on February 7th. It is a paid product, and includes  “expanded multi-modal capabilities,” better coding support, and “the ability to upload and more deeply analyze files, documents, data, and more.” After the rebranding, Google will be putting out an Android App. The app has a distinct similarity to the current Google Assistant app available in the Play Store, and they note will only run on ‘select devices.’ Most likely that means phones like Tensor-powered Pixels and the Galaxy S24 handsets.

In a flashback to my college days, when one guy I knew made fake out-of-state IDs so his pals could buy booze, a website called OnlyFake is claiming to use “neural networks” to generate realistic looking photos of fake IDs for just $15, radically disrupting the marketplace for fake identities and cybersecurity more generally. This technology, which 404 Media has verified produces fake IDs nearly instantly, could streamline everything from bank fraud to laundering stolen funds. These guys are pikers…the guy I knew charged $25 back decades ago. Ok, inappropriate, I know. At any rate, 404Media says OnlyFake created a highly convincing California driver’s license, complete with whatever arbitrary name, biographical information, address, expiration date, and signature. 404 Media used another fake ID generated by this site to successfully step through the identity verification process on OKX. OKX is a cryptocurrency exchange that has recently appeared in multiple court records because of its use by criminals. BTW, the alleged owner of OnlyFakes goes by John Wick. 

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

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