Tencent hires WizardLM team, a Microsoft AI group with an odd history
WizardLM, a Beijing-based Microsoft AI research group, appears to have joined Tencent, the Chinese company that owns WeChat and blockbuster games like PUBG Mobile. In a post on X on Tuesday, Can Xu, a senior AI researcher who led a number of projects within WizardLM, said that he and the
Read moreTikTok launches TikTok AI Alive, a new image-to-video tool
TikTok is launching its first image-to-video AI feature, the company announced on Tuesday. The new feature is called “TikTok AI Alive” and allows users to turn static photos into videos within TikTok Stories. The feature is only accessible via TikTok’s Story Camera and uses AI to create short-form videos with
Read moreElon Musk’s The Boring Company might be in line for an Amtrak contract
Federal railroad regulators are in talks with Elon Musk’s tunneling firm, The Boring Company (TBC), over a multibillion-dollar Amtrak project, according to The New York Times. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the NYT reports that Federal Railroad Administration officials have spoken with TBC to learn whether the Musk-owned company
Read moreUP.Labs-Porsche’s newest startup wants to be the Plaid of automotive retail
As serial entrepreneur Joel Milne founded, scaled, and then successfully sold mobile auto repair service startup RepairSmith to AutoNation, he was plagued by a persistent problem. The automotive retail industry has a communication problem. And it’s an expensive one. Thousands of dealerships and mechanic shops — each one with an
Read moreAndroid launches new protections against phone call scammers
Google is rolling out several new features to protect Android users from falling victim to phone call scams. Now, Android will automatically block users from sideloading an app for the first time from a web browser, messaging app, or other service while on a call with an unknown contact. Google
Read moreApple Music introduces Sound Therapy, songs for focusing, relaxing and sleep
Apple Music is introducing a new “audio wellness” collection of songs called Sound Therapy. Designed in partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG), the feature combines songs that subscribers already know with other sound waves that promote focusing, relaxing, or sleeping. Songs may include auditory beats or colored noise, sound waves
Read moreTrump admin officially rescinds Biden’s AI diffusion rules
After a week or so of rumors, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) formally rescinded the Biden Administration’s Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule days before it was set to go into effect. The Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule, which was introduced by former president Joe Biden in January and set to come
Read moreHouse GOP wants to cut parts of the Inflation Reduction Act while sparing others
House Republicans’ axe has fallen in places both expected and surprising.
Read moreLeft-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker says he was detained and questioned at airport
Hasan Piker, one of the most popular left-wing political creators in the U.S., says he was detained and questioned at the Chicago O’Hare Airport upon returning to the U.S. after a trip to France. In a stream in which he addressed the experience, Piker claims that he was questioned about
Read moreAudible is expanding its AI-narrated audiobook library
Audible, Amazon’s audiobook service, announced on Tuesday that it’s partnering with select publishers to convert print and e-books into AI-narrated audiobooks. This initiative aims to quickly expand its catalog as it competes with Apple, Spotify, and others in the rapidly growing audiobook market. Audible is leveraging Amazon’s AI capabilities to
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