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Tech news summarized in under 100 words retaining the essence so you don’t have to read long news articles.
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AI Model Predicts Alzheimer’s Using Speech Analysis

AI can predict whether someone with mild cognitive impairment will develop Alzheimer’s disease with 78.5% accuracy by analyzing speech. This tool could enable earlier diagnoses and more accessible cognitive impairment screening without expensive tests.

The model uses machine learning to evaluate speech content, offering a non-invasive way to monitor dementia risk. Further research aims to improve and expand this technology.

Trying to figure out whether someone has Alzheimer’s disease usually involves a battery of assessments—interviews, brain imaging, blood and cerebrospinal fluid tests. But, by then, it’s probably already too late: memories have started slipping away, long established personality traits have begun subtly shifting.


Source-Link: neurosciencenews
What Meta should change about Threads, one year in

It’s been a year since Meta pushed out Threads in an attempt to take on the platform now known as X. At the time, Mark Zuckerberg said that he hoped it would turn into “a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it.”

Meta’s timing was good. Threads launched at a particularly chaotic moment for Twitter, when many people were seeking out alternatives. Threads saw 30 million sign-ups in its first day and the app has since grown to 175 million monthly users, according to Zuckerberg. (X has 600 million monthly users, according to Elon Musk.)

But the earliest iteration of Threads still felt a little bit broken. There was no web version, and a lot of missing features. The company promised interoperability with ActivityPub, the open-source standard that powers Mastodon and other apps in the fediverse, but integration remains minimal.


Source-Link: engadget
Will AI Tools for Data Analysis Replace Data Analysts?

AI and Data Analysis are two closely related scientific areas, that have been developing rapidly for the last several years. As technology continues to evolve, the question arises: Will AI tools for data analysis replace data analysts?

This article aims to describe how AI is related to Data Analysis, what it can do, and will AI tools for data analysis replace data analysts. Starting with the introduction to AI and its fundamental aspects, to how it is going to affect the world in the distant future, the article addresses that and also focuses on how AI is associated with Data analysis.

The moderate generation of AI comprises Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Generative AI. While generative AI is the capability to produce materials and contents like images, sound, and music, Machine Learning is a specific type of GI that prepares an algorithm to feed information to make a prediction.


Source-Link: analyticsinsight
Study reveals why AI models that analyze medical images can be biased

That research team has now found that the models that are most accurate at making demographic predictions also show the biggest “fairness gaps” — that is, discrepancies in their ability to accurately diagnose images of people of different races or genders. The findings suggest that these models may be using “demographic shortcuts” when making their diagnostic evaluations, which lead to incorrect results for women, Black people, and other groups, the researchers say.

“It’s well-established that high-capacity machine-learning models are good predictors of human demographics such as self-reported race or sex or age. This paper re-demonstrates that capacity, and then links that capacity to the lack of performance across different groups, which has never been done,” says Marzyeh Ghassemi, an MIT associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science.


Source-Link: MIT
Google’s greenhouse gas emissions are soaring thanks to AI

As Google has rushed to incorporate artificial intelligence into its core products — with sometimes less-than-stellar results — a problem has been brewing behind the scenes: the systems needed to power its AI tools have vastly increased the company’s greenhouse gas emissions.

AI systems need lots of computers to make them work. The data centers needed to run them, essentially warehouses full of powerful computing equipment, suck up tons of energy to process data and manage the heat all of those computers produce.

The end result has been that Google’s greenhouse gas emissions have soared 48% since 2019, according to the tech giant’s annual environment report. The tech giant blamed that growth mainly on “increased data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions.”


Source-Link: Edition CNN
Telegram update brings enhanced location sharing, birthday reminders and more features

The highlight of this update is undoubtedly the newfound capability to view one's own profile as others on the platform would see it. Previously teased in Telegram 10.11, this feature now allows users to see and edit their profiles directly within the app, adding a layer of personalization and control, reported 9to5google.
Additionally, Telegram users can now receive birthday reminders for their contacts, complete with celebratory animations and year-specific content. This delightful feature adds a touch of festivity to the platform and can be easily customized or disabled according to user preferences.
Furthermore, the update introduces the option to pin up to three stories and add birthdays to receive greetings with a festive profile display. Channel owners can also enhance accessibility by adding a preview of their channel to their profile for convenient access.


Source-Link: hindustantimes
Our Entire Approach to AI Is Flawed

AI’s ROI is potentially far worse, and ironically, much of our problem this century is not the lack of productivity or performance but poor decision support.

Last week, I attended a Computex prep event. As I watched the presentations, I noticed a familiar undercurrent of productivity. I remain concerned that if we improve speeds significantly but do not also improve the quality of the related decisions, we’ll be making mistakes at machine speeds, which may not be survivable.

Let’s talk about that this week, and we’ll close with my Product of the Week, which is the airline I just took to Taiwan. It was so much better than United, which I usually use for international trips, that I figured I’d point out why so many non-U.S. airlines are significantly better than U.S. carriers.


Source-Link: technewsworld
The Next Wave of AI is Memory and Personalisation

Echoing the same, recently on the ‘Unconfuse Me’ podcast, Sam Altman and Bill Gates held a discussion on the next evolution of AI tools. Altman mentioned that “customisation and personalisation is very important for GPT-4, allowing users to tailor its style and assumptions to their needs”. Additionally, Sam mentioned that the system aims to incorporate personal data, including email, calendar, and appointment preferences, as well as connect to external data sources.

With personalisation came the worry of systems knowing too much about oneself. For instance, a user raised the concern of AI “owning memories,” with responses suggesting AI could become an extension of oneself, similar to smartphones. Thus, raising the question of trust and security.


Source-Link: analyticsindiamag
Nvidia delays next gen AI chip as investors issue ‘bubble’ warning

Nvidia highly anticipated “Blackwell” B-200 artificial intelligence chip will reportedly be delayed, sending the near-term future of the entire AI industry into a state of uncertainty.

Tech news outlet The Information claims that a Microsoft employee and at least two other people familiar with the situation have stated that the new chip’s launch date has been pushed back by at least three months due to a design flaw.

While Nvidia hadn’t given a public launch date, CEO Jensen Huang recently announced that the company would begin sending engineering samples “this week” on July 31 at the SIGGRAPH event in Denver, Colorado.

Source-Link : MSN
Google paid Apple for default search engine status. A staggering $22 billion

In November, lawsuit documents indicated that Google was paying 36 percent of the total revenue that it earns from searches conducted on Safari, and now it turns out that equates to $20 billion.

Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc, paid Apple $20 billion in 2022 for Google to be the default search engine in the Safari browser on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

The information was revealed in court documents Google provided in its antitrust dispute with the United States Department of Justice, reported Bloomberg.


Source-Link: businesstoday
What could Google monopoly ruling mean for you?

Google is much more than just search.
Just look at Android, a firm it bought for $50m (£39.3m) in 2005, which now runs on the majority of smartphones - or YouTube, a $1.65bn acquisition in 2006, which now generates many multiples of that in revenue each year.
The argument might be that all of these can remain under Google, but the actual search engine should be spun off into a separate business.
That might cause consternation for Alphabet executives. But as long as Google remained the default search engine on devices, the average consumer would be unlikely to notice the difference.
"Any such move would certainly be met with years of litigation and regulatory bun-fighting, but it seems to be far more 'on the table' than at any time in Google’s history," said Gareth Mills, Partner at legal firm Charles Russell Speechlys.


Source-Link: BBC
Microsoft pauses Windows 11 full-screen alerts on Windows 10 after feedback

Microsoft initially tested Windows 11 naggings with a smaller group of Windows 10 users, mostly those with Home License, but some Pro and Business users also observed the alerts. A full-screen popup appeared, usually after a reboot, reminding users of the benefits of upgrading to the new operating system.
Microsoft planned to expand the invitation to more Windows 10 users from April 2024 but dismissed the plan shortly after the announcement. In an update to the Microsoft 365 advisory, Microsoft has quietly confirmed that it paused these Windows 11 nagging after “feedback” from users.


Source-Link: windowslatest
Why You Desperately Need a Digital Spring Cleaning

With consumers spending more on tech every year (to a projected $512 billion this year), and dependency on tech at an all-time high (with potentially dangerous consequences), tools that help organize our digital footprints and make our online presences more fluid are becoming a worthwhile expense. But how highly should I prioritize it? How much should I spend to store my data and activities, versus frequently deleting and cleaning them up? Since we create so much digital pollution every day—and our storage units for them are vaporous clouds.

According to two experts I spoke to in the data storage space, we are each generating roughly 8MB of data traffic every day when we’re online. Ten years ago, it was 2MB. They estimated that the average American owns about 500 GB of storage for everything (which includes social media usage, how much time you’re spending and engaging on TikTok) and that will continue to increase.


Source-Link: The Daily Beast
Huawei smartphone that folds three times will debut next month, confirms CEO

Huawei is working on a tri-fold smartphone, which might enter the market in September. After several folds and flips entering the global market, this will be the first-ever smartphone to feature a triple fold.
The launch of fold and flip smartphones has revolutionised the mobile landscape, triggering a fresh wave of technological design innovations. In recent times, we have seen the release of several foldable devices. While Google has recently launched its second foldable smartphone, Samsung has been poking Apple for a long time, asking "let us know when it folds". But Huawei, the Chinese tech company, is a step ahead in the race. According to recent events, it has been confirmed that Huawei is working on a triple-fold smartphone. Yes, you heard it right. The company is aiming to bring in a triple-fold device, the first one to enter into the global market.

Source-Link: India Today
Mark Zuckerberg eyes metaverse, AI in Reels, and business messaging to drive growth

Zuckerberg believes one of the main transformations in Meta's business right now is that social feeds are going from being driven primarily by the people and accounts to being driven by AI recommending content that users find interesting from across Facebook or Instagram.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, Reels engagement is growing quickly. Last quarter, Reels made up 20% of the time that people spend on Instagram. This quarter Meta saw a more than 30% increase in the time that people spent engaging with Reels across Facebook and Instagram.
Zuckerberg believes metaverse is a massive opportunity. He said, "I feel even more strongly now that developing these platforms will unlock hundreds of billions of dollars, if not, trillions over time.”


Source-Link: economictimes
AI Is Coming for Our Kids (or at Least Their TV Shows)

Last year, Kartoon Studios (then Genius Brands) unveiled two educational animated series that were almost completely created by artificial intelligence. ChatGPT wrote the scripts, with other AI tools generating the animation and voicing the characters.

In one, Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club — intended to teach kids financial literacy — a 3D animated Buffett is featured as a talking head speaking to the significance of mentors. Cartoon renderings of a piggy bank and a multigenerational family flash in the background, along with streaking brushes of color.

“So remember, the trick to life is knowing who to be the bat boy for,” the famed investor says as a stock image of a baseball player shoots across the screen. “This is important to understand if you want to be a home run hitter!”

Source-Link: Hollywood Reporter
As you head back to the office, Zoom promises it's still relevant

Zoom chief product officer Smita Hashim explains why even video-chat innovators need the physical space – with a little help from AI.

For many, Zoom rose to prominence during the pandemic era of working at home in pyjamas. Schools held virtual classes on the platform during lockdowns and friends gathered there when they couldn't meet in person. There were even Zoom weddings and funerals. It was so ubiquitous during lockdown that "Zoom" entered the lexicon as a catch-all term for virtual calls, joining companies like Kleenex or Band-Aid whose names symbolise a single product. With offices shut, demand reportedly surged from 10 million daily meeting participants to 200 million in March 2020. Zoom's market valuation peaked at approximately $161.65bn (£125bn) in October 2020.
But as lockdowns lifted, that sky-high stock price was followed with an equally spectacular crash.

Source-Link: BBC
Gemini in Gmail can now help polish up your drafts

Google is upgrading its Gemini writing tools in Gmail to help you polish drafts that you’ve already written. Now, among other Gemini-powered “Help me write” options like Formalize and Elaborate, you can tap “Polish” to refine your emails, Google says in a blog post. The company has also added shortcuts that appear in the body of your emails on Android and iOS, making it more obvious that there are AI writing tools to use.

The tools are available to people who pay for Google One AI Premium accounts or who have paid for Google’s Gemini add-on for Workspace. If that’s you, when you open an empty draft, you’ll see a “Help me write” shortcut appear that you can tap to have Gemini draft text for you. Once you have 12 or more words in a draft — AI-written or not — you should see a new “Refine my draft” shortcut, shown in gray letters below the words.
Swipe your thumb across the text, and you’ll be given the choice to Polish.


Source-Link: The Verge
AI Lacks Independent Learning, Poses No Existential Threat

New research reveals that large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT cannot learn independently or acquire new skills without explicit instructions, making them predictable and controllable. The study dispels fears of these models developing complex reasoning abilities, emphasizing that while LLMs can generate sophisticated language, they are unlikely to pose existential threats. However, the potential misuse of AI, such as generating fake news, still requires attention.

“The prevailing narrative that this type of AI is a threat to humanity prevents the widespread adoption and development of these technologies, and also diverts attention from the genuine issues that require our focus,” said Dr Harish Tayyar Madabushi, computer scientist at the University of Bath and co-author of the new study on the ‘emergent abilities’ of LLMs.

Source-Link: neurosciencenews
Android Malware Exploits NFC Reader to Steal Payment Card Details

A new type of Android malware is using smartphones' Near Field Communication (NFC) readers to steal payment card details. Once the malware is installed, it can capture the card information and allow attackers to clone the cards. The malware is typically spread through phishing schemes, where users are tricked into downloading malicious apps.


Source-Link: Times of India