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Meta

Meta announces AI training and inference chip project

To further assist artificial intelligence work, Meta Platforms (META.O) revealed additional information on its data centre initiatives on Thursday. This information included a proprietary chip “family” that is being developed internally.

In a collection of blog articles, the owner of Instagram, as well as Facebook, said that as an element of the Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) programme, it would be developing a first-generation microprocessor in 2020. The goal was to make suggestive models, which are used to distribute adverts and other material in news feeds, more effective.

Meta
Image Source: moneycontrol.com

It was previously reported by Reuters that the company was already working on an upgrade and did not have intentions to fully use its first internal AI processor. In the blog posts, the very first MTIA chip was advertised as an educational tool.

Also Read: OpenAI to introduce ChatGPT app for iOS

The articles claim that the early MTIA chip focused exclusively on the inference AI method, which uses computers educated on massive amounts of data to decide what should be displayed.

Software developer Joel Coburn from Meta stated amid a talk on the new processor that the company had first used GPUs, for inference operations but had discovered that these devices were not the best option.

“Their efficiency is low for real models, despite significant software optimizations. This makes them challenging and expensive to deploy in practice,” Coburn said. “This is why we need MTIA.”

Source: reuters.com

A Meta representative did not provide details on the forthcoming chip’s release schedule or go into further detail about the organization’s plans to create chips that might additionally train the models.

Since executives realised, the chip needed the technology and software to handle requirements from product teams developing AI-powered innovations, Meta has been working on a significant effort to update its AI architecture.

Consequently, the business abandoned intentions for a wide-scale release of an internal inference chip and began developing a more ambitious chip that could conduct training as well as inference, according to Reuters.

Although Meta’s original MTIA chip struggled with high-complexity artificial intelligence (AI) models, it tackled low- & medium-complexity models more effectively than rival chips, according to Meta’s blog entries.

The MTIA chip also utilised an open-source chip structure known as RISC-V and consumed only 25 watts of power, which is significantly less than that of renowned chips in the market from suppliers like Nvidia Corporation, according to Meta.

Also Read: Will AI Take Over The World?

The company Meta said it would start construction on the company’s initial structure this year as well as offered further details on intentions to restructure its data centres towards more advanced AI-focused networking along with cooling technologies.

In a video describing the improvements, a staff member claimed that the updated layout would be 31 per cent less expensive and could be constructed twice as rapidly as the company’s present data centres.

To assist its developers in writing computer code, Meta claimed to have a system driven by artificial intelligence, which is comparable to that provided by Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., alongside Microsoft Corp.

OpenAI

OpenAI to introduce ChatGPT app for iOS

The ChatGPT app is going mobile. After the App Store was flooded with questionable, unofficial services for several months, OpenAI announced the release of an official iOS app that enables users to use its well-known AI chatbot while on the road.

The company claims that the newly released ChatGPT app will be free to download and use, ad-free, and voice-enabled, but it will only be available to users in the United States at first.

OpenAI
Image Source: freemalaysiatoday.com

The ChatGPT app, like its desktop equivalent, enables users to communicate with an AI chatbot to ask queries without performing a standard online search and to receive advice, discover inspiration, study, conduct research, and do other things.

Also Read: Google to delete inactive accounts starting December

Given the problems with Apple’s own voice assistant, Siri, and Apple’s own lack of advancement in artificial intelligence, the latest update may encourage more customers to adopt ChatGPT as their primary mobile assistant.

Since Google now reaps the benefits of serving as the default search provider in Safari on Apple’s iPhone, the launch may also have an effect on Google.

When using ChatGPT on a mobile device, the app will sync your history across devices, which means it will remember any searches you’ve made through its web interface and make those results available to you.

In order to support voice input, Whisper, an open-source speech recognition technology from OpenAI, is also integrated into the app.

OpenAI claims that ChatGPT Plus members will have early access to additional features and quicker response times in addition to being able to use GPT-4’s capabilities through the new app. “ChatGPT Plus subscribers get exclusive access to GPT-4’s capabilities, early access to features, and faster response times, all on iOS,” the company stated.

The technology that underpins the highly successful ChatGPT has been replaced by the potent artificial intelligence model GPT-4. Earlier in February, OpenAI unveiled a $20 per month test subscription package for their well-known AI-powered chatbot, named ChatGPT Plus.

Also Read: WhatsApp Lock Feature to Protect ‘Extra Special’ Chats?

According to the corporation, the roll-out of iOS is already underway in the United States and will soon be extended to new nations. With the release of ChatGPT at the end of last year, the public competition to control the AI technology market began. This spurred big giants like Alphabet Inc. and Meta to promote their own products.

The release of the ChatGPT app coincides with major tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, experimenting with AI. Google and Microsoft have also integrated artificial intelligence (AI) features into their search engines, the latter of which was accomplished through a costly partnership with OpenAI.

But having direct access to ChatGPT on a mobile device rather than through a search engine or browser may significantly alter how users now use their phones to look for and engage with information.

Twitter

New Twitter CEO discloses plan to build ‘Twitter 2.0’

Newly appointed Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino emphasized her enthusiasm for making a contribution to the social networking platform’s transition in a tweet made on Saturday. She also discussed how the owner Elon Musk’s vision for a brighter future has encouraged her.

It was Yaccarino’s first public statement following Thursday’s revelation that she was being considered as the successor to Jack Dorsey’s position as CEO of Twitter. since purchasing the company, Musk, who has been the platform’s CEO for $44 billion in October, made the announcement of her hiring on Friday.

Twitter
Image Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

“I’ve long been inspired by [Musk’s] vision to create a brighter future. I’m excited to help bring this vision to Twitter and transform this business together!” Yaccarino tweeted.

Source: indianexpress.com

Linda Yaccarino, who devoted a long time modernizing NBCUniversal’s marketing business while serving as the company’s advertising executive for Comcast Corporation., stated she has a dedication to the future of Twitter and that feedback from users is essential to creating Twitter 2.0.

Also Read: Twitter to soon allow calls and encrypted messaging

Linda Yaccarino serves on the WEF’s Media, The Entertainment Industry, and Cultural Industry Supervisors steering group and is the Taskforce on Future of Work Chairman.

Prior to joining NBCU, Linda was Turner’s Executive Vice President and COO (Chief Operating Officer) in the Advertising Sales, Marketing, and Acquisitions divisions. Turner was formerly known as Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. She completed her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania.  

In her other roles, the profile says she “rallied support from the business community, the White House, and government agencies to create a vaccination campaign, featuring Pope Francis, reaching more than 200 million Americans.”

Source: indianexpress.com

Yaccarino is going to take control of a social networking site that has been struggling to recover from a decline in advertising revenue and is heavily indebted.

Because the company fired off nearly 80% of its staff after Musk acquired Twitter, marketers stopped using the service out of concern that their adverts would be shown next to harmful content. Musk acknowledged the sharp decline in Twitter’s advertising earnings earlier this year.

Despite Musk’s claim that Yaccarino would be helpful in the development of the “everything app,” which he had previously stated could offer a variety of services like collaborative money transfers, his selection of an expert in marketing indicated that online advertising would still be the primary objective of the business.

Musk has previously revealed his desire to appoint a new Twitter CEO.

The appointment of Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s newest CEO, according to Musk, who also serves as the CEO of electricity-powered vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc., will allow him to spend more time working on Tesla.

inactive accounts

Google to delete inactive accounts starting December

In an effort to minimize safety threats such as cyberattacks, Alphabet Inc.’s child company Google announced on Tuesday that it will deactivate accounts that had been inactive for two years beginning in December.

According to the business, accounts, and materials within Google Workspace, such as Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Meet, along with Calendar, YouTube as well as Google Photos, may be deleted if they have not been utilized or registered for a minimum of two years.

Inactive Accounts
Image Source: arabnews.com

The policy modification solely affects individual Google Accounts; it does not affect accounts used by corporations or institutions like schools.

Also Read: Google Launching Tools to Identify Misleading and AI Images

Google stated in 2020 that while it would erase the account itself, it was going to delete any content kept in a deactivated account.

Before deleting inactive accounts initiated on Tuesday, Google will be sending repeated reminders to the account’s email address including recovery mail.

“The simplest way to keep a Google Account active is to sign in at least once every 2 years,” the company’s policy says. “If you have signed into your Google Account or any of our services recently, your account is considered active and will not be deleted.”

Source: nbcsandiego.com

Your account won’t be deleted if you’ve opened up your email, viewed a YouTube video, or installed an app from the Google Play Store, according to the firm.

Just individual Google Accounts are subjected to these rules and regulations, accounts used by companies and organizations like schools are not affected. This change restricts the duration of time Google keeps your inactive personal information and matches the policy with standard practices for account termination and preservation.

A Google Account can be kept active by just logging in no less than once every two years. If you have lately signed into your Google account and have utilized any of its various additional features, your Google account is considered active and won’t be deleted.

Also Read: WhatsApp Lock Feature to Protect ‘Extra Special’ Chats?

The steps that you can take when you log in or when logged into your Google Account may be considered activity include,

Read or send emails, use Google Drive, stream YouTube videos, install apps from the Google Play Store, use Google Search, and If you use a service or services from a third party and sign in using Google.

Your account will remain unaffected if you already have a membership set up via your Google Account, such as to Google One, a media outlet, or an app. They also take into consideration this account activity.

Google

Google Launching Tools to Identify Misleading and AI Images

In order to stop the spread of false information, especially now that photorealistic fakes are so easy to make thanks to artificial intelligence capabilities, Google is introducing a pair of updates to its image search.

The first new feature from Alphabet Inc. is named “About this image,” and it provides more information by indicating when an image or ones that are similar to it were originally indexed by Google, where they initially appeared, and other places they have appeared online.

Google
Image Source: finance.yahoo.com

The purpose is to assist users in identifying the original source while contextualizing an image with any discrediting information that may have been supplied by news organizations.

Also Read: Apple to open the first online shop in Vietnam

Every AI-generated image produced by Google’s tools will be marked as such, and the company is collaborating with other platforms and services to ensure that the markup is included in the files they distribute.

Among the publisher’s Google has on board are Midjourney and Shutterstock, and the objective is to make sure that every AI material that appears in search results is tagged as such.

Google noted in a blog post, “You’ll be able to find this tool by clicking on the three dots on an image in Google Images results, searching with an image or screenshot in Google Lens, or by swiping up in the Google App when you’re on a page and come across an image you want to learn more about.

Later this year, you’ll also be able to use it by right-clicking or long-pressing on an image in Chrome on desktop and mobile. ”

Google is expanding its image search with new features. The ‘About this image’ drop-down will offer more context, such as the date an image or one similar to it was originally indexed by Google, the location of that indexation, and the source of the image. Every AI-generated image that is made by the tech giant’s technologies will be marked.

Google announced that any image created using its own generative AI tools would have metadata indicating if it was created using AI. Using the same technology, both creators and publishers would be enabled to label their photographs.

Also Read: EU antitrust regulators seeking more info on Apple Pay

In the age of AI, the provenance of online photos is a rising problem, and several businesses are developing solutions for verification and authentication. For instance, Truepic Inc., which is supported by Microsoft, provides solutions that guarantee an image hasn’t been altered from capture to transmission.

Although Google’s new features, which are being released throughout this year, are relatively low-tech, they could have a greater positive impact if they receive enough industry backing.

Vietnam

Apple to open the first online shop in Vietnam

In response to slow-moving iPhone sales in China, Apple announced on Friday that it would launch its first online shop in Vietnam the following week.

Only a few weeks have passed since the first Apple stores in India, in Mumbai and Delhi, were launched by the Cupertino, California-based business.

Vietnam
Image Source: siliconangle.com

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, is placing his bet on developing regions, where there are fewer iPhones and a younger age group, which will present more growth potential.

Also Read: UK restricts Microsoft, Activision from buying interest in each other

Apple did not specify when it will be opening actual retail outlets in Vietnam, which comprises a “100 million-person” population.

“We’re proud to be expanding in Vietnam,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of retail.

Source: finance.yahoo.com

Retail stores frequently open before they go online. Licensed retailers currently sell Apple gadgets in Vietnam, and the company has several suppliers who assemble its devices there for exportation.

During India’s holiday shopping season in 2020, Apple opened its first online shop there.

“We’re proud to be expanding in India and want to do all we can to support our customers and their communities,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People. “We know our users are relying on technology to stay connected, engage in learning, and tap into their creativity, and by bringing the Apple Store online to India, we are offering our customers the very best of Apple at this important time.”

Source: apple.com

Discounts according to a federal plan to increase domestic mobile manufacturing in India were granted in October for 16 companies, including prominent Apple suppliers.

After staging a protest over unpaid salaries in December of that same year, contract employees at Apple partner Wistron’s Bengaluru facility trashed the building. Apple placed the plant on probation before allowing it to resume manufacturing two months later.

In December 2021, after over 250 female employees who live in one of the business dorms received medical treatment for food poisoning, riots broke out at the Foxconn facility in Tamil Nadu.

The facility was shut down for more than three weeks when Apple discovered that the facilities did not satisfy the necessary standards.

The same year, the competition regulators in India request a probe into Apple’s in-app pricing scheme because it initially believed the iPhone manufacturer had broken several antitrust regulations.

Pegatron, a supplier of Apple, opened its first iPhone assembly facility in the Tamil Nadu province in September 2022.

Foxlink, an Apple vendor that makes iPhone chargers, temporarily ceased operations at its manufacturing factory in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh for several weeks in February 2023 after a significant fire caused a portion of the structure to collapse.