Author: TechBrunch
Last week, Google DeepMind announced Genie 2, a new video model that generates plausible, consistent, and playable 3D environments based on prompt images. According to DeepMind, Genie 2 comes with a host of new and exciting features that improve lighting and reflections, and can even generate videos from real-world images. Within these generated worlds, models can also create animated characters that act as embodied agents for training purposes. Characters can interact with the world by popping balloons, opening doors, and even interacting with non-playable characters. The DeepMind team seems to be hoping that these AI-generated video games will help train…
On Wednesday, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads were all facing varying degrees of issues as a result of the global outage that affected Meta's apps. The cause of the outage is still unknown, but Meta acknowledged “technical issues” in a post on X. “We're aware that technical issues are impacting the ability of some users to access our apps. We're working hard to get things back to normal as soon as possible,” the company said in a statement at 1:48 p.m. ET. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.” Instagram posted a similar message to X, prominently using…
In addition to the release of many new AI functions, Apple has also updated voice memo apps on iOS 18.2. On Wednesday, iPhone manufacturers have announced that iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max users will be able to stack vocal trucks on existing instrument recording with voice memo apps without using headphones. Instead, the user will be able to record vocals using an iPhone speaker to record the instruments and at the same time using 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max microphones. This update was announced for the first time in the Apple event held in September, and the company's…
After years of discussion about Apple's lack of innovation when it comes to Siri, Apple has promised to launch a smarter version of its digital assistant. Siri is getting new features and updates in iOS 18 thanks to the addition of Apple Intelligence, the company's generative AI product, and integration with ChatGPT. It's worth noting that some of Siri's notable upcoming updates, such as on-screen recognition features, are not yet available and are expected to be released at some point in the future. With the introduction of Apple Intelligence, see what you can do with your improved digital assistant. ChatGPT…
Hello everyone, welcome to TechCrunch's regular AI newsletter. If you'd like to have this sent to your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. Longtime readers of this newsletter may have noticed that we skipped a week last week. That was not our intention and we apologize. The reason is that we have reached a tipping point in the AI news cycle. We are a small team and underpowered. It's becoming nearly impossible to cover all the announcements, controversies, academic papers, trends, open model releases, lawsuits, etc. Let's take this month as an example. OpenAI is in the midst of what…
Deep learning scientist, last startup acquired by Snap to build My AI chatbot, is seeding its latest venture, a platform to build and operate real-time video-based conversational AI agents We have raised funds. Today, the startup known as eSelf is coming out of stealth with $4.5 million in its coffers and joining the race to build live, interactive, and more realistic AI assistants. The initial focus will be on areas such as education, sales, financial services, real estate, and health and wellness. The initial pitch for eSelf was that agents currently have query/interaction response times of less than 1.7 seconds.…
Following Apple's integration of OpenAI's ChatGPT into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, OpenAI has detailed how data is processed when using ChatGPT through Apple's integration. You can use ChatGPT through Apple integration without logging into your ChatGPT account, but logging into your account gives you access to additional features. For example, you can access OpenAI's more powerful AI models, save your conversations, and more. Use ChatGPT without an account through Apple integration If you use ChatGPT through the Apple integration without logging into your ChatGPT account, OpenAI says it will not receive your IP address, store your requests,…
OpenAI seems to be in the holiday spirit. The series of ChatGPT rollouts, dubbed “12 Days of OpenAI,” will be live-streamed weekdays at 10 a.m. Pacific time through December 23. So far, we've seen the launch of ChatGPT Pro, OpenAI's $200/month subscription plan. A version of its “inference” o1 model, the long-awaited public release of text-to-video generator Sora, and the rollout of Canvas. We don't know what other announcements or product launches are planned, but we could hear more information about updates to Advanced Voice Modes, potential work on AI agents, and other surprises. there is. Below, we'll explain how…
A Russian state-backed hacker group used tools and infrastructure developed by cybercriminals to target the Ukrainian military, according to a new investigation. On Wednesday, Microsoft released a report detailing a hacking campaign carried out by a group the company calls Secret Blizzard. The group previously stated that the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is “almost certainly subordinate to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) Center.” ”, which other security companies call Turla. In a report shared with TechCrunch ahead of publication, Microsoft researchers say Secret Blizzard was sold on Russian hacking forums to attempt to infiltrate “devices associated with…
Apple is working with semiconductor company Broadcom to develop its first server chip designed to handle AI applications, The Information reported, citing three people familiar with the project. That's what it means. Apple is known for designing its own chips for its devices, called Apple Silicon and primarily manufactured by TSMC. But these chips aren't necessarily designed to power AI processing. Apple on Wednesday rolled out some long-awaited Apple Intelligence features to users with new iPhones and Macs, including ChatGPT integration. Apple plans to run much of the AI directly on the device, but certain tasks like Siri and Maps…