X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is facing a lawsuit from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-profit organisation that aims to combat online hate and misinformation. The lawsuit stems from a report published by CCDH in 2023, titled “The X Loophole”, which claimed that X failed to enforce its own policies against hate speech and extremism, and allowed thousands of accounts to spread hateful and violent content. The report also accused X of losing millions of dollars in advertising revenue due to its inaction.
X denies the allegations and argues that CCDH breached its rules by using automated tools to collect and analyse public tweets, which is prohibited by X’s terms of service. X also claims that the report was biased and inaccurate, and that it harmed its reputation and business. X is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction to prevent CCDH from further accessing or publishing its data.
The case is expected to have significant implications for the freedom of speech and expression online, as well as the accountability and transparency of social media platforms. The trial began on Monday, March 4, 2024, in a federal court in San Francisco, and is expected to last for several weeks.
Apple changes its mind on web app removal in the EU
Apple has announced that it will continue to support web apps on its iOS devices in the European Union, after previously stating that it would need to remove them due to new regulations. Web apps are applications that run on a web browser and can be added to the home screen of a device, without requiring installation from an app store. Web apps are often used by developers and users who want to bypass the restrictions and fees imposed by app stores, such as Apple’s App Store.
Apple claimed that the new Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is a proposed legislation by the European Commission to regulate the behaviour of large online platforms, would require it to make significant changes to its web app architecture and security model, and that it would not be able to comply with the new rules. However, after receiving feedback from developers and users, Apple reversed its decision and said that it would continue to offer web app support in the EU. Apple also expressed its support for end-to-end encryption, which is another feature that could be affected by the DMA.
The DMA is still under negotiation and has not been finalised yet, but it is expected to introduce new obligations and prohibitions for platforms that act as gatekeepers in the digital market, such as Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. The DMA aims to promote fair competition, innovation, and consumer choice, and to prevent the abuse of market power by dominant players.
Google unveils Gemma, a new open model for chatbots
Google has introduced Gemma, a new family of open models for natural language understanding and generation, based on the same research and technology used to create Gemini, its proprietary model for conversational AI. Gemma is designed to help researchers and developers build chatbots and other AI applications that can communicate with humans in a natural and engaging way. Gemma is also open for commercial use by any organisation, unlike Gemini, which is only available for Google’s own products and services.
Gemma consists of two versions: a 2 billion parameter model and a 7 billion parameter model, which are trained on a large and diverse corpus of text from the web. Gemma can handle various natural language tasks, such as answering questions, summarising texts, generating sentences, and completing dialogues. Gemma can also adapt to different domains, styles, and tones, depending on the context and the user’s preferences.
Gemma is available for free on Kaggle, a platform for data science and machine learning, where users can access the models and their implementations in eight different frameworks, such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Hugging Face. Google also provides tutorials, documentation, and code examples to help users get started with Gemma. Google hopes that Gemma will foster more research and innovation in the field of natural language processing, and that it will enable more people to benefit from the power of conversational AI.
Microsoft to develop its own processor with Intel
Microsoft has announced that it will collaborate with Intel to develop its own processor for its cloud computing and artificial intelligence services, such as Azure and Bing. The processor, codenamed “Lunar Lake”, will be based on Intel’s 7 nanometer technology, which is expected to offer better performance and efficiency than the current 10 nanometer chips. Lunar Lake will also feature Intel’s advanced packaging technology, which allows multiple chiplets to be integrated into a single package.
Microsoft is the latest tech giant to join the trend of creating custom chips for its own needs, following the footsteps of Amazon, Google, and Apple. By designing its own processor, Microsoft aims to reduce its dependence on external suppliers, such as Intel and AMD, and to gain more control and flexibility over its hardware and software. Microsoft also hopes that Lunar Lake will give it a competitive edge in the cloud and AI markets, where it faces fierce competition from Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform.
Lunar Lake is expected to be ready by 2025, and will be used for Microsoft’s internal and external cloud services, as well as for its edge computing devices, such as Azure Stack and Azure Sphere. Microsoft will also continue to use Intel’s and AMD’s processors for its other products and services, such as Windows, Surface, and Xbox.
Nvidia predicts artificial general intelligence by 2030
Nvidia, the leading company in graphics processing units (GPUs) and artificial intelligence (AI), has predicted that artificial general intelligence (AGI), the ability of machines to perform any intellectual task that humans can, will be achieved by 2030. Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, made this bold statement during a keynote speech at the company’s annual GPU Technology Conference, where he also unveiled new products and technologies for AI, gaming, and healthcare.
Huang said that Nvidia’s vision is to create the “metaverse”, a virtual world that is connected to the physical world, where people can interact with each other and with AI agents in realistic and immersive ways. Huang said that the metaverse will require massive amounts of computing power and data, and that Nvidia’s GPUs and AI platforms are the best tools to enable it. Huang also said that Nvidia is working on creating “neuromorphic” chips, which are inspired by the structure and function of the human brain, and that these chips will be the key to achieving AGI.
Nvidia’s prediction of AGI by 2030 is more optimistic than the estimates of other experts and organisations, who generally expect AGI to be achieved by 2040 or later. However, Nvidia’s prediction is based on its own research and development, and on its collaboration with other leading AI researchers and institutions, such as OpenAI, DeepMind, and MIT. Nvidia also claims that it has already made significant progress in creating AI systems that can perform complex tasks, such as playing video games, creating art, and synthesising speech.
