Tuesday, 24 Dec, 2024

Tech

SpaceX delays US robot spaceplane liftoff for safety checks

SpaceX said it was targeting, December 28 for the launch of the United States military's X-37B robot spaceplane on its seventh mission to orbit. "Now targeting no earlier than Thursday, December 28 for Falcon Heavy to launch USSF-52 to orbit from Florida," SpaceX said in

Pope Francis urges global treaty on AI ethics for a safer future

Pope Francis has called for world leaders to adopt a global treaty on the use of artificial intelligence to ensure it is used ethically. The 86-year-old pontiff appealed in a six-page message published ahead of the Catholic Church's World Day of Peace on January 1, which this year

Turkish authorities launch investigation over Meta's Threads

The Turkish Competition Authority has decided to investigate Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, based on allegations of violating the Law on Protection of Competition. According to a statement released by the Competition Board's website, a

Fortnite maker Epic Games wins case against Google Play Store

A jury in the United States has found that Google unlawfully made its Play Store dominant over rival app stores. Epic Games, which owns popular video game Fortnite, sued Google in 2020, accusing it of a monopoly over the distribution of apps and in-app billing. Hundreds of millions

TikTok to reopen Indonesia shop after $1.5bn deal

Social media app TikTok has struck a joint venture deal with Indonesian tech giant GoTo to restart its online shopping business in the country. The firm, owned by China's Bytedance, plans to invest over $1.5bn (£1.2bn) in the long-term in Indonesia's biggest e-commerce

EU agrees ‘historic’ deal with world’s first laws to regulate AI

The world’s first comprehensive laws to regulate artificial intelligence have been agreed in a landmark deal after a marathon 37-hour negotiation between the European Parliament and EU member states. The agreement was described as “historic” by Thierry Breton, the

Google faces controversy over edited Gemini AI demo video

Google is facing scrutiny over its demonstration video for its newly launched artificial intelligence model, Gemini. On Wednesday, just weeks before the year’s end, Google launched what it considers its largest and most capable AI model Gemini and presented a demonstrative video

Google launches Gemini, the AI model it hopes will take down GPT-4

It’s the beginning of a new era of AI at Google, says CEO Sundar Pichai: the Gemini era. Gemini is Google’s latest large language model, which Pichai first teased at the I/O developer conference in June and is now launching to the public.  To hear Pichai and Google

Spanish media files near $600M lawsuit against Meta over unfair ads

A group representing 83 Spanish media outlets on Monday said it has filed a 550 million euro ($598 million) lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta Platforms, citing unfair competition in the advertising market. The lawsuit was filed by the AMI newspaper publishing association in a

AUKUS trio bolster alliance with 'Deep Space' technologies

The defence chiefs of the United States, Australia and Britain met in California, touting high-tech cooperation on deep space radar, artificial intelligence and quantum computing systems to bolster their armed forces in the face of growing global threats, including from China. The

South Korea confirms first spy satellite with SpaceX in orbit

South Korea confirmed Saturday its first military spy satellite had reached orbit after a successful SpaceX rocket launch and that communication was established with ground control. Seoul's reconnaissance satellite, carried by one of Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets,

Meta sues US regulator to stop privacy settlement change

Meta filed a lawsuit late Wednesday arguing that US regulators planning to change the terms of a 2020 privacy settlement are overstepping their authority and should be stopped. The Silicon Valley tech giant, known as Facebook when the $5 billion settlement was made, said that aspects

US plans lunar landing 50 years after last Apollo mission

More than 50 years after the last Apollo mission, the United States will try once again to land a craft on the Moon on January 25, said the head of what could be the first private company to successfully touch down on the lunar surface. The lander, named Peregrine, will have no one on

Most online hate targets women, says EU report

Women are the main targets of online hate, including abusive language, harassment and incitement to sexual violence, a European Union report has said. This should encourage the EU and social media platforms to pay close attention to protected characteristics such as gender and

Google to begin deleting inactive accounts this week

That Google account you haven’t checked in years might be getting wiped this week. Beginning Friday, Google is moving ahead with its plan to delete accounts that have been inactive for at least two years. The company announced the new policy back in May, saying it’s

Elon Musk visits Israel after antisemitism row

Israel's president has told Elon Musk he has "an important role" in preventing antisemitism, which both he and his social media platform X have been accused of promoting. Addressing the entrepreneur, Isaac Herzog said social media "including some you lead - harbor so

First transatlantic flight using 100% green fuels to take off

The first transatlantic flight powered only by sustainable fuels is due to take off on Tuesday morning. Operated by Virgin Atlantic, it will fly from London's Heathrow to New York's JFK airport at 11:30 GMT. Airlines see the flight, which is supported by government funding,

TikTok v X: The Israel-Gaza battles raging on social media

Young or old. TikTok or X. Pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. Your social media feeds are unique to you. Could they be shaping how you view the Israel-Gaza war? When I open up my TikTok feed, two videos play one after the other. The first shows four Israeli soldiers dancing with guns, set

Kim Jong hails 'space power' after spy satellite launch

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has congratulated his team of scientists for launching a spy satellite, calling it a "new era of space power". He described the mission as a "full-fledged exercise in self defence". North Korea fired a rocket believed to

China approves $69bn US technology merger 

Computer chipmaker Broadcom has completed its $69bn (£55bn) acquisition of cloud computing firm VMware, wrapping up one of the biggest takeover deals in the technology sector. The deal was scrutinised by regulators around the world ahead of last clearance from China. There