Author: GT

A baby and his family dog sit across from each other in a podcast studio.“Welcome to the talking baby podcast,” says the infant, wearing headphones and sounding like a deep-voiced radio broadcaster. “On today’s episode, we’ll be talking to the weird-looking person who lives at my house.”So begins a series of humorous interactions between two characters animated by artificial intelligence that’s attracted millions of views on social media. They’re a nod to the 1989 movie “Look Who’s Talking” but produced in a matter of hours and without a multimillion-dollar Hollywood budget.AI helped do all of that, but it didn’t craft…

With new AI models, health tracking companies have realized that they can now provide insights using both structured and unstructured data. The new goal is to create interfaces and modalities that make it easier for users to create a habit of logging their meals or workouts, along with having an ever-present AI assistant that can guide people in areas like nutrition and exercise. Khosla-backed health startup Healthify on Tuesday launched a new version of its health assistant Ria, which you can converse with live, via voice, and by using the camera for getting input about your food. The startup is…

Thomson Reuters and Imperial College London have established a frontier AI research lab to overcome historic deployment challenges.Speed and scale have defined the current AI boom. But for enterprises, the primary obstacles to deployment are different: trust, accuracy, and lineage. Addressing these barriers, Thomson Reuters and Imperial College London have announced a five-year partnership to establish a joint ‘Frontier AI Research Lab’.With the involvement of both a corporate and academic leader, the initiative appears built to target the disconnect between high-level computer science and the pragmatic requirements of professional services. The lab will pursue academic research in AI, focusing on…

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s telecoms ministry on Wednesday rolled back its order for smartphone manufacturers to preinstall a government-run cybersecurity app on new devices.The Ministry of Communications on Monday asked smartphone makers to install the government’s “Sanchar Saathi” app within 90 days and to prevent users from disabling it. It also required manufacturers to push the app onto older models through a software update.Monday’s directive led to widespread criticism and concerns of violation of data privacy and user consent in one of the largest handset markets in the world. That order also clashed with policies of companies like U.S.-based…

Chip stacking strategy is emerging as China’s innovative response to US semiconductor restrictions, but can this approach truly close the performance gap with Nvidia’s advanced GPUs? As Washington tightens export controls on cutting-edge chipmaking technology, Chinese researchers are proposing a bold workaround: stack older, domestically-producible chips together to match the performance of chips they can no longer access.The Core Concept: Building upward instead of forwardThe chip stacking strategy centres on a deceptively simple premise—if you can’t make more advanced chips, make smarter systems with the chips you can produce. Wei Shaojun, vice-president of the China Semiconductor Industry Association and a…

Gradium, a startup spun out of French AI lab Kyutai (backed by French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel), launched out of stealth on Tuesday with a $70 million seed round from a who’s who of investors.  The round was led by FirstMark Capital and Eurazeo, with participation from Niel, DST Global Partners, billionaire Eric Schmidt, and other investors.  Gradium has developed audio language AI models designed to deliver voice at scale with ultra-low latency — essentially, AI voices that respond almost instantly. It was founded just a few months ago, in September, by Kyutai founding member Neil Zeghidour, who cut his teeth…

The Indian government is widening the scope of its anti-theft and cybersecurity initiative to cover both new and used smartphones, an effort aimed at curbing device theft and online fraud but a move that is also raising fresh privacy concerns. As part of the expansion, the Indian telecom ministry is requiring companies that buy or trade used phones to verify every device through a central database of IMEI numbers. This comes in addition to a recent directive ordering smartphone manufacturers to preinstall the government’s Sanchar Saathi app on all new handsets and push it onto existing devices through a software…

Amazon Music announced on Tuesday the launch of 2025 Delivered, the platform’s take on Spotify’s popular Wrapped experience. The feature offers users a personalized annual summary of their music-listening habits. With 2025 Delivered, users will see a recap of their listening trends, showcasing their top artists, favorite songs, and preferred genres, along with stats for audiobooks and podcasts.  Amazon Music’s year-end recap stands out with a feature specifically designed for users with an Alexa-enabled device. These users can view the title of the most frequently requested song they’ve asked Alexa to play throughout the year. Image Credits:Amazon Music This year,…

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Social media platforms must report monthly how many children’s accounts they close once Australia begins enforcing its 16-year age limit next week, a minister said Wednesday.Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube would face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) from Dec. 10 if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove accounts of Australian children younger than 16. Livestreaming service Twitch was added to the list of age-restricted platforms less than two weeks ago.The Australian eSafety Commissioner will send the 10 platforms notices on Dec. 11 demanding information…

Apple announced on Tuesday that it’s rolling out Apple Music Replay, its answer to Spotify’s popular Wrapped feature. Apple Music Replay gives users a look back at their year in music by highlighting their top songs, artists, and albums they streamed. This year, the feature includes even more listening habits, including “Discovery,” which highlights new artists users listened to, and “Loyalty,” which spotlights artists that users have kept coming back to each year. Additionally, “Comebacks” highlights artists who made a return to users’ listening rotation. Users will also be able to see their total minutes listened to on the streaming…