technology
Google-backed Anthropic launches Claude, an AI chatbot that’s easier to talk to
/ Anthropic says its chatbot is ‘less likely to produce harmful outputs’ than some of its competitors, like Microsoft’s GPT-4-powered Bing.
Will you be the bearer of Magic: The Gathering’s One Ring?
Gaming/ Entertainment / For its Lord of the Rings Magic: The Gathering set, Wizards of the Coast has printed a special, one-of-a-kind, The One Ring card and hidden it in special packs. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Wizards of the Coast The card for Tom Bombadil — who is either whimsical or boring depending on who you ask — artfully captures his love of storytelling and song by allowing you to play Saga cards over and over again. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>...
Waze is adding electric vehicle charging stations to its route planning tool
/ The Google-owned navigation tool says its EV charging locator will be the most accurate thanks to its crowdsourced map editing feature.
Microsoft Edge now has a Bing AI chatbot sidebar
Microsoft/ Tech / Microsoft brings its AI-powered Bing sidebar out of testing and into stable versions of its Microsoft Edge browser. a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>The new Bing sidebar in Microsoft Edge.
Meta is laying off 10,000 more employees in a series of cuts
/ The news comes after 13 percent of the company was cut in November. ‘This will be tough and there’s no way around that,’ CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees.
This tiny chip is being used to develop a tooth-mounted sensor that can read your spit
/ Silicon Labs is hoping more device makers will follow suit and use their teeny xG27 SoC to make medical and wearable devices. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Silicon Labs Miniaturizing tech is a perpetual challenge for wearable makers. The smaller the device, the better it is for wearability. The thing is, that usually comes at the expense of battery life. However, Silicon Labs is hoping its latest xG27 chipset is small and energy-efficient enough to spark some big ideas in the medical tech space — like a saliva reader that’s so tiny it can be mounted onto a tooth. Accord...
California’s gig worker-focused Prop 22 isn’t overturned after all
/ A court has overturned a 2021 ruling that struck down the law, declaring it unconstitutional. It allows companies like Uber to classify workers as contractors, not employees. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images An appeals court in California has ruled that the state’s Proposition 22 should mostly be allowed to stand, after a judge ruled to strike it down in 2021, declaring it unconstitutional, according to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The law, which passed in 2020 following a massive and expensive campaign, made it so companie...
Meta gives up on NFTs for Facebook and Instagram
/ Meta is moving on from more crypto projects, even though NFTs / digital collectibles were once pitched as part of its ‘metaverse’ future.
Sony wants to help low-vision users enjoy photography by shining lasers in their eyes
/ A new viewfinder housing from QD Laser for the DSC-HX99 point-and-shoot camera uses retinal lasers to help people see clearly through it, and Sony is helping foot the bill. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Sony Giant frickin’ laser beams get all the buzz and sci-fi love, but it’s our little laser bros that are putting in the work: taking measurements, entertaining our cats, and now, in the case of a Sony camera, helping people with vision problems see clearly through an electronic viewfinder and take pictures. Sony is working with fellow Japanese company QD Laser to releas...
Samsung caught faking zoom photos of the Moon
/ A viral Reddit post has revealed just how much processing the company’s cameras apply to photos of the Moon, further blurring the line between real and fake imagery in the age of AI. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: u/ibreakphotos For years, Samsung “Space Zoom”-capable phones have been known for their ability to take incredibly detailed photos of the Moon. But a recent Reddit post showed in stark terms just how much computational processing the company is doing, and — given the evidence supplied — it feels like we should go ahead and say it: Samsung’s pictures of the...
Custom AI chatbots are quietly becoming the next big thing in fandom
Artificial Intelligence AI chat systems put a new, sometimes solipsistic twist on the fannish roleplaying tradition. Share this story a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>Self-help bots on Character.AI sit alongside celebrities and fictional characters. Similar to the “Historical Figures” chat app that caused a stir in January, Character.AI lets users speak to AI-generated characters. But where that app offered paid chatbot versions of William Shakespeare, Albert Einstein, and Adolf Hitler, Character.AI’s offerings are broader. The founders of Character.AI claim that their ideals behind the company are to “he...
Oscars 2023: Everything Everywhere All at Once did the thing many times over
/ Everything Everywhere All At Once and All Quiet on the Western Front cleaned up very nicely at an Oscars that felt like a return to simpler times. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images With 23 awards to be given out, the 95th Academy Awards Ceremony definitely ran a little long, but after last year’s theatrics, the evening felt like a studied return to form for the Oscars and a fitting end to awards season. As improbable as it might have once seemed, A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once from the Daniels absolutely dominated at this year’s ceremony...
