NerdNews

AWS CEO Matt Garman talks about the company's AI strategy, including the launch of Amazon Bedrock, a new generation of foundation AI models, and a partnership with Anthropic to build one of the world's most powerful AI supercomputers. Garman emphasizes the importance of safety and responsibility in AI development and discusses the company's commitment to reducing emissions and achieving net zero by 2040.

Elon Musk has offered to buy OpenAI's nonprofit entity for $97 billion, complicating the company's plans to transition to a for-profit model. The move highlights concerns over the valuation of OpenAI's assets and potential conflicts of interest. Musk's bid may be seen as a public service, shedding light on the undervaluation of OpenAI's assets and the need for a fair market price in the transition.

OpenAI is changing how it trains AI models to explicitly embrace intellectual freedom, allowing ChatGPT to answer more questions and offer more perspectives, even on controversial topics. This shift may be part of a broader movement in Silicon Valley towards prioritizing free speech and away from content moderation.

Baidu is making its Ernie Bot chatbot free, while Alibaba's AI has been chosen to power Apple's Intelligence service in China. Baidu's Ernie Bot, which draws on the ERNIE 4.0 model, will be free from April 1st and include a new 'Deep Search' feature. Alibaba's deal with Apple is a significant win, and its stock price has surged as a result.

Meta is planning to invest in AI-powered humanoid robots, focusing on developing the software to power these machines. The project will be headed by Marc Whitten and will fall under Meta's Reality Labs division. Meta aims to create AI that can be used by robotics companies, with the goal of powering humanoid robots capable of completing household chores and more.

OpenAI has updated its Model Spec guidelines, allowing ChatGPT to generate erotica and gore in appropriate contexts, while prohibiting illegal content. This shift in policy aims to provide more flexibility for users and developers, and is a response to calls for a 'grown-up mode' that can handle sensitive content.

Bruce Schneier, a renowned cryptographer and privacy expert, believes that privacy is still under threat due to surveillance capitalism. In an interview, he stated that the situation has not improved since his book 'Data and Goliath' was published in 2015. Schneier argues that government agencies and tech giants continue to exploit personal data, and that comprehensive privacy laws are needed to protect individuals. He also expressed concerns about the impact of AI on privacy, citing the potential for increased surveillance and data collection.

Germany's Federal Cartel Office is investigating Apple for potentially breaking competition law by exempting itself from its own app tracking rules. The probe alleges that Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework only applies to third-party developers, not to Apple itself, giving the company an unfair advantage.

Researchers are developing AI systems to interpret animal emotions, such as the Intellipig system, which examines photos of pigs' faces to detect signs of pain or distress. Another team is training AI to identify signs of discomfort on dogs' faces, which share 38% of facial movements with humans. These systems rely on human observation and can learn to identify signs of pain with an 88% success rate.

Google's Gemini AI Assistant can now remember past conversations to provide more relevant responses. It can summarize previous discussions, continue conversations where they left off, and refer to previous conversations if relevant. This feature is available for Gemini Advanced subscribers in English and will be extended to additional languages and Google Workspace users.

TikTok has returned to Apple and Google app stores in the US after President Trump delayed the enforcement of a ban. The app was removed due to concerns over its Chinese ownership and data security. TikTok has denied allegations of sharing US user data with the Chinese government and argues that the ban violates its users' First Amendment rights.

Broadcom and TSMC are reportedly exploring separate deals to acquire parts of Intel. Broadcom is considering acquiring Intel's chip-design and marketing business, while TSMC is looking at controlling some or all of Intel's chip plants. The discussions are preliminary and no formal proposals have been submitted to Intel.

Meta is investing multiple billions of dollars in Project Waterworth, a new subsea internet cable spanning 50,000 kilometers and reaching 5 continents, to support AI innovation and strengthen global internet reliability.

A lawsuit has been filed to stop Elon Musk from making changes to the government, citing unconstitutional actions. The case has been assigned to a tough judge, Tanya Chutkan, who has a history of ruling against the Trump administration. The lawsuit argues that Musk's actions, including accessing sensitive data and causing chaos, are a threat to democracy.

A drone strike has hit the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, setting fire to the New Safe Confinement shield that protects the world from radiation. The strike was blamed on Russia, but Moscow denied involvement. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that no radiation had leaked out and radiation levels were normal.

A security researcher found two Google flaws that can leak YouTube channel email addresses. The flaws were found in Google's People API and the web version of Pixel Recorder. Meanwhile, the FBI stopped cryptocurrency scams, and Zacks Investment Research suffered a data breach.

A group of digital thieves, believed to be linked to the Russian government, have been sending fake Microsoft Teams meeting invites to trick victims into handing over their authentication tokens, granting access to emails, cloud data, and other sensitive information. The phishing campaign, attributed to a group called Storm-2372, has been ongoing since August and targets government, non-governmental organizations, IT services, and other high-value sectors.

SAP has relaunched its Business Suite as a 'truly modular, composable' set of cloud applications. The move is part of the company's 'Business Unleashed' strategy, which also includes an extended alliance with Databricks to offer managed analytics products. Customers are welcoming the move but are calling for transparent discounting and commercial arrangements.

Datacenter energy demand in Virginia nearly doubled in the second half of 2024, with Dominion Energy reporting 40 GW in various stages of contracting. The company expects demand to continue growing, with 26 GW of expected datacenter demand and a $50 billion capital expenditure forecast over the next five years.

Uber is suing DoorDash, alleging that the company is engaging in anti-competitive practices by pressuring restaurants to exclusively use its services. DoorDash allegedly threatened to increase commission rates for restaurants that also partner with Uber Eats. Uber claims that this behavior is harming its business and is asking the court to compel DoorDash to change its practices.