BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Biden urged to back AI weapons to counter China and Russia threats
The US and its allies should reject calls for a global ban on AI-powered autonomous weapons systems, according to an official report commissioned for the American President and Congress. It says that artificial intelligence will "compress decision time frames" and require military responses humans cannot make quickly enough alone. And it warns Russia and China would be unlikely to keep ... Read more
2021-03-01 19:33:27
MyHeritage offers 'creepy' deepfake tool to reanimate dead
Genealogy site MyHeritage has introduced a tool which uses deepfake technology to animate the faces in photographs of dead relatives. Called DeepNostalgia, the firm acknowledged that some people might find the feature "creepy" while others would consider it "magical". It said it did not include speech to avoid the creation of "deepfake people". It comes as the UK g ... Read more
2021-02-28 19:26:01
Bitcoin energy use 'bigger than most countries'
We've all heard the stories of Bitcoin millionaires. Elon Musk is the latest. His electric car company Tesla made a paper profit of more than $900m (£646m) after buying $1.5bn (£1bn) -worth of the cryptocurrency in early February. Its high profile support helped pushed the price of a single Bitcoin to more than $58,000. But it isn't just the digital asset's price that has hit an all-time high. ... Read more
2021-02-26 19:06:34
Amazon rainforest plots sold via Facebook Marketplace ads
Parts of Brazil's Amazon rainforest are being illegally being sold on Facebook, the BBC has discovered. The protected areas include national forests and land reserved for indigenous peoples. Some of the plots listed via Facebook's classified ads service are as large as 1,000 football pitches. Facebook said it was "ready to work with local authorities", but indicated it would not take ... Read more
2021-02-25 19:11:57
Spot: Boston Dynamics condemns robot paintball rampage plan
A US art installation that will let people control a paintballing robot in a mock art gallery has been condemned by the firm that made the robo-dog. Boston Dynamics criticised the project, calling it a "provocative use" of its quadruped robot, Spot. It warned that if the "spectacle" goes ahead, Spot's warranty might be voided, meaning it could not be updated. The group behin ... Read more
2021-02-24 18:58:12
Google-linked smart city plan ditched in Portland
A smart city project started by Google's sister firm Sidewalk Labs to track mobility patterns in the US city of Portland has been shelved. Last year, Sidewalk also ditched an ambitious project to build a digital city in Toronto, following controversy about the scale of its plans. Portland confirmed the project would no longer go ahead. Sidewalk said the scheme had most recently been in the hand ... Read more
2021-02-23 18:50:59
Huawei Mate X2 folding phone unveiled despite chip supply worries
Huawei has unveiled a revamped foldable smartphone, which it says has a much smaller internal gap when closed than that of its main rival Samsung. The Mate X2 marks a major redesign for the Chinese firm. When shut, the large display is now hidden inside the device rather than exposed over its exterior, as was the case with past generations. But its price - about £2,000 ($2,800) - is likely to li ... Read more
2021-02-22 19:05:13
Margaret Mitchell: Google fires AI ethics founder
Google has fired the founder and co-head of its artificial intelligence ethics unit, claiming she violated the company's code of conduct. In a statement, Google said an investigation found Margaret Mitchell had moved files outside the company. The ethics unit has been under scrutiny since December, following the departure of another senior figure, Timnit Gebru. Both women had campaigned for mor ... Read more
2021-02-21 22:22:04
Clubhouse downloads double in two weeks, analytics firm says
Audio chat app Clubhouse has doubled its download numbers in just over two weeks, according to download estimates by one analytics firm. App Annie reports that the app saw global downloads grow from 3.5 million to 8.1 million between 1 and 16 February. The invite-only app has surged in popularity amid appearances by some high-profile celebrities. But that popularity has also seen the firm attra ... Read more
2021-02-19 19:30:46
Nvidia limits crypto-mining on new graphics card
Graphics card-maker Nvidia says it will deliberately reduce the efficiency of its latest card by 50% when it is used to mine the crypto-currency Ethereum. Crypto-currency enthusiasts have contributed to a shortage of graphics cards by snapping up supplies to use for non-gaming purposes. Nvidia said it had intervened to make sure its products "end up in the hands of gamers". But it wil ... Read more
2021-02-18 19:34:05