BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Scarlett Johansson 'shocked' by AI chatbot imitation
Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has said she was left "shocked" and "angered" after OpenAI launched a chatbot with an "eerily similar" voice to her own. The actress said she had previously turned down an approach by the company to voice its new chatbot, which reads text aloud to users. When the new model debuted last week commentators were quick to draw comparison ... Read more
2024-05-22 03:47:51
Scarlett Johansson 'shocked' by AI chatbot imitation
Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has said she was left "shocked" and "angered" after OpenAI launched a chatbot with an "eerily similar" voice to her own. The actress said she had previously turned down an approach by the company to voice its new chatbot, which reads text aloud to users. When the new model debuted last week commentators were quick to draw comparison ... Read more
2024-05-22 03:37:29
Can we really 'reset the internet' to make it safer for children?
“A major reset of the internet to make it much safer” is how Ofcom's Gill Whitehead described the communications watchdog's child safety announcements to me. But can it really deliver that kind of a sea-change in the protection of children online? Turning faulty tech off then on again is a tried and trusted fix, but "resetting the net" is considerably more challenging. First of all, c ... Read more
2024-05-08 19:54:17
Starliner: Nasa to fly new craft to space station
Two Nasa astronauts are due to head for the International Space Station aboard a new spacecraft. Boeing’s Starliner will blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida, in its first crewed test flight. The mission has been delayed for several years because of setbacks in the spacecraft's development. If it is successful, it will become the second private firm able to provide crew transport to and fro ... Read more
2024-05-05 21:55:32
Instagram courts TikTok users with algorithm revamp
Instagram is overhauling its recommendations algorithms in what analysts say is an attempt to capitalise on TikTok's woes. Changes to its system for suggesting content, particularly on Reels - its short-form video service - will prioritise original content and "give all creators an equal chance of breaking through". Experts say the Meta-owned platform is trying to copy what has driven ... Read more
2024-05-05 00:39:50
US probes Ford hands-free driving tech after crashes
A US road safety agency is investigating Ford's BlueCruise driver assistance system following two fatal collisions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wrote in both cases Ford Mustang Mach-E cars collided with stationary vehicles at night, while the system was engaged. BlueCruise is a driver assistance technology that allows hands-free driving on certain roads, typically ... Read more
2024-04-29 23:37:53
World's biggest 3D printer whirs into action
A giant 3D printer, which is big enough to make a house, has been unveiled at the University of Maine. The university says it has beaten its own record for the world's largest polymer 3D printer - with the new printer four times bigger than the previous machine. The Factory of the Future 1.0 (FoF 1.0) can print objects 96ft (29m) long - approximately the length of a blue whale. But experts say, ... Read more
2024-04-27 19:37:13
Google accused of making it harder to search for rival
Google has been accused of taking advantage of its market dominance to make it harder to search for a rival email service. Tuta Mail - which says it has more than ten million users worldwide - alleges that, since March, it hasn’t appeared prominently in Google searches for “encrypted email." The company has made a complaint to the EU claiming that Google - which has its own hugely popular G ... Read more
2024-04-25 19:24:13
Three-year-olds groomed online, charity warns
Sexual predators are grooming children under six into performing “disturbing” acts of sexual abuse via phones or webcams a charity has warned. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said it had discovered more than two thousand remotely filmed child abuse images of three to six-year-olds online in 2023. If follows recent warnings from the communications watchdog Ofcom that almost a quarter of child ... Read more
2024-04-22 19:39:05
TikTok warns US ban would 'trample free speech'
TikTok says a potential ban on its app in the US would "trample the free speech" of 170 million Americans. The US House of Representatives voted on Saturday to ban TikTok if the app's owner does not cut its ties with China. The legislation was part of a US foreign policy package that included aid for Ukraine and could become law as early as next week. In recent months US officials hav ... Read more
2024-04-21 19:36:49