NerdNews

Sam Altman's World project aims to create tools that link AI agents to people's online personas, allowing other users to verify that an agent is acting on a person's behalf. This technology could be used to license AI agents to act on behalf of users, and may integrate with OpenAI in the future.

OpenAI has introduced a new feature called Operator, which allows ChatGPT to use the web to perform tasks such as booking trips, buying groceries, and hunting for bargains. The feature uses AI to operate a web browser and can execute complex, multistep workflows. Operator is available as a research preview for ChatGPT users with a Pro account and has the potential to automate many day-to-day tasks and workday errands.

Microsoft and OpenAI's Stargate project sparks a wave of AI investments from tech CEOs, with Meta's Mark Zuckerberg announcing a $60-65 billion investment in AI data centers, while Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman discusses the company's AI priorities and the industry's data scaling debate.

Mark Zuckerberg plans to invest up to $65 billion in AI, including a massive data center in Louisiana. The data center is expected to be one of the largest in the world, covering a significant part of Manhattan. This investment is part of Meta's effort to further its AI ambitions and compete with other tech giants like OpenAI and Google.

Researchers, including two from Netflix, developed Go-with-the-Flow, a model that allows users to control motion patterns in video diffusion models by cutting and dragging. It enables camera control, motion transfer, and turntable animations. Although the results may look janky, it's a notable advance in AI video generation.

ElevenLabs, a startup that develops synthetic voice technology, has raised a Series C of $250 million at a valuation between $3 billion and $3.3 billion, led by ICONIQ Growth. The company's AI audio technology is used by various businesses, including tech platforms, publishing giants, and gaming companies.

The $100B Stargate AI venture will be powered by solar and batteries, with SoftBank-backed SB Energy building the renewable power installations. This move aims to address the growing energy demands of data centers, which are expected to consume 12% of US power by 2028. Solar and wind farms can be completed in half the time of nuclear and natural gas plants, making them a viable solution for the venture's energy needs.

Kodiak Robotics has made its first commercial driverless truck deliveries to Atlas Energy, marking a significant milestone in autonomous trucking. The trucks, equipped with Kodiak's AI Driver-as-a-Solution, operated without human safety drivers in an off-road environment in West Texas. This partnership is a key part of Kodiak's near-term go-to-market strategy, with Atlas planning to scale its driverless trucking deployments over the course of the year.

Meta plans to significantly increase its capital expenditures to $60-80 billion, primarily for data centers and AI development teams, aiming to have 1.3 million GPUs for AI by the end of the year, as it competes with rivals like Microsoft and OpenAI in the AI space.

As AI models grow, datacenters need to expand. However, power limits and latency issues arise. To address this, the industry is moving towards distributing workloads across multiple datacenters, using high-speed interconnects and software optimization to mitigate latency and bandwidth challenges.

Retro Biosciences, a biotech startup backed by Sam Altman, is raising $1 billion to extend human lifespan by 10 years. The company plans to launch trials for drugs targeting diseases like Alzheimer's and has trained a model with OpenAI to turn regular cells into stem cells.

LG Electronics has acquired a majority stake in Bear Robotics, a California-based startup that builds AI-powered server robots for restaurants. The deal values Bear Robotics at $600 million and gives LG a 51% ownership stake. LG plans to integrate Bear with its commercial robot unit to develop a comprehensive software platform for commercial, industrial, and home robots.

TikTok is back online in the US after President-elect Donald Trump gave the company's service providers reassurance that his administration wouldn’t enforce a law banning the app. The move comes less than 24 hours after the app went dark, with Trump set to issue an executive order to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect.

Rivian will launch a hands-free driving assistant system for its R1T and R1S vehicles later this year, followed by an 'eyes-off' version in 2026. The system will work similarly to Ford's Blue Cruise or GM's Super Cruise software, and will be indicated by a color-changing light bar on the vehicle.

OpenAI's Stargate data center in Texas, a $100 billion project, is expected to employ only 57 people, despite its massive scale. The project aims to power AI systems and is partnered with Oracle and SoftBank. The data center's construction is expected to create more jobs, but the long-term employment opportunities are limited.

UnitedHealth has confirmed that a ransomware attack on its Change Healthcare unit affected around 190 million people in America, nearly double previous estimates. The breach, attributed to the ALPHV ransomware gang, resulted in the theft of health and insurance-related information, including names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers.

Character AI, a chatbot platform, has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit claiming it is protected by the First Amendment. The lawsuit was brought by the parent of a teen who committed suicide after allegedly becoming hooked on the company's technology. Character AI argues that its users' First Amendment rights would be violated if the lawsuit succeeds, and that the platform is protected against liability by the First Amendment, just like computer code.

Apple introduces the Advanced Commerce API to support more in-app purchase formats, such as subscriptions and content add-ons, without changing the commission structure. This move aims to support developers' evolving business models, including large content catalogs and creator experiences.

The Supreme Court's ruling on TikTok's ban from the US has sparked concerns about online speech regulation. While the court's decision was narrow, some experts believe it could have a broad impact on tech law and free speech. The ruling may enable backdoor speech regulation and give the government more power to restrict speech in the name of national security.

Security researchers found vulnerabilities in Subaru's Starlink web portal, allowing remote control and access to a year's worth of vehicle location history. The flaw was patched in November, highlighting risks in connected cars.