Archive for April 2024

Following an initial report on AI Foundation Models (FMs) last year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has expressed “real concerns” about it and is investigating the dominance of a small number of big tech firms at the centre of the FM market. Foundation Models  Foundation models (FMs) are AI systems / large-scale machine learning…

Researchers at Oxford University’s UK Quantum Computing and Simulation Hub claim to have made what could be an important breakthrough in quantum computing security. The Issue  As things stand, if businesses want to use cloud-based quantum computing services, they face privacy and security issues when trying to do so over a network, similar to the…

Apple has announced that beginning in the autumn with select iPhone models, customers and independent repair providers will be able to utilise used Apple components in the repair process. Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, said: “With this latest expansion to our repair program, we’re excited to be adding even more choice and…

Apple has reported sending threat notifications to iPhone users in 92 countries, warning them that they may have been targeted by mercenary spyware attacks. These types of attacks use software designed to infiltrate and monitor computer systems or mobile devices and are typically “state-sponsored” and are used for intelligence gathering, surveillance of dissidents, journalist, and…

Following a decade of research, it’s thought that the recent decoding of the complex genome of sugarcane could pave the way for advanced breeding techniques, more agricultural sustainability, and perhaps for developing a cost-effective and sustainable aviation fuel. What Happened?  Scientists from The University of Queensland, Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, and Sugar Research Australia (SRA)…

This week’s Social and AI news video-update explains how to pin WhatsApp messages for convenience, which is a handy feature you may wish to try. https://videovault.vip/videos/social/2024-Apr-Pinning-WhatsApp-Messages.mp4

Following a fall in Tesla EV sales and profits, Tesla boss Elon Musk has announced that he’ll be unveiling a ‘Robotaxi’ on August 8 this year. May Swap Lower Cost EV For Robotaxi  Reports initially indicated that Mr Musk’s Tesla company would be abandoning its plans to build a lower-cost EV (the Model 2) in favour…

In this insight, we look at what ‘digital mindfulness’ is, how it could help you and your business, and what challenges there are to introducing it. The ‘Digital Stress’ Problem  Although the digital age has revolutionised work in terms of levels of productivity and connectivity, it has come at a cost. A significant challenge emerging…

Google is reportedly considering charging for premium AI-powered Internet searches as the company fears that AI chatbots are undercutting its search engine. Advertising-Funded  Google, up until now, has relied mainly on an advertising-funded business model (Google Ads) as a way to collect data and monetise its market-leading search. However, it seems that fears around users…

Microsoft’s announcement that it will sell its chat and video app Teams separately from its Office product globally is likely to cause considerable headaches for IT departments and managed service providers. Why Unbundle?  Teams is to be unbundled and sold separately globally (it’s been unbundled in the EU since last October) in response to an…