Technology

Sam Altman participates in a discussion during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. The board of ChatGPT-maker Open AI says it has pushed out Altman, its co-founder and CEO, and replaced him with an interim CEO(AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Microsoft hires Sam Altman and OpenAI’s new CEO vows to investigate his firing

Microsoft snapped up Sam Altman and another architect of OpenAI for a…

 

Salmon Arm’s 4AG Robotics (formerly TechBrew Robotics) has secured $17.5 million in financing to accelerate the development and deployment robotic solutions for mushroom harvesting. (TechBrew Robotics/Youtube image)

B.C. robotics firm secures $17.5M to revolutionize mushroom industry

Salmon Arm’s TechBrew Robotics rebranding to 4AG Robotics, developing robo-mushroom picker

 

A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. The European Union ratcheted up its scrutiny of Big Tech companies on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, with demands for Meta and TikTok to detail their efforts on curbing illegal content and disinformation amid the Israel-Hamas war. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

Nepal bans TikTok and says it disrupts social harmony

Nepal’s government decided to ban the popular social media app TikTok on…

 

FILE - This March 20, 2018, file photo shows the YouTube app on an iPad in Baltimore. YouTube is rolling out new rules for AI content, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, including requiring creators to reveal whether they’ve used generative artificial intelligence to make realistic looking videos. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

YouTube creators will soon have to disclose use of gen AI in videos or risk suspension

YouTube is rolling out new rules for AI content, including a requirement…

FILE - This March 20, 2018, file photo shows the YouTube app on an iPad in Baltimore. YouTube is rolling out new rules for AI content, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, including requiring creators to reveal whether they’ve used generative artificial intelligence to make realistic looking videos. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
File - The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone in Boston, USA, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Facebook and Instagram users in Europe are getting the option to pay for ad-free versions of the social media platforms as a way to comply with the continent’s strict data privacy rules. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Former Meta engineering leader to testify before Congress on Instagram’s harms to teens

On the same day whistleblower Frances Haugen was testifying before Congress about…

File - The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone in Boston, USA, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Facebook and Instagram users in Europe are getting the option to pay for ad-free versions of the social media platforms as a way to comply with the continent’s strict data privacy rules. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
Agility Robotics’ robot Digit performs maneuvers at the company’s office in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Agility co-founder Jonathan Hurst makes a point of describing Agility’s warehouse robot Digit as human-centric, not humanoid, a distinction meant to emphasize what it does over what it’s trying to be. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Humanoid robots are here, but they’re a little awkward. Do we really need them?

Leaders behind the movement say such robots will be needed as human birth rates fall

Agility Robotics’ robot Digit performs maneuvers at the company’s office in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Agility co-founder Jonathan Hurst makes a point of describing Agility’s warehouse robot Digit as human-centric, not humanoid, a distinction meant to emphasize what it does over what it’s trying to be. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Eric Byres, chief technology officer of Lantzville-based aDolus Technology, said the research done for Microsoft’s annual state of worldwide cybersecurity report revealed serious concerns about vulnerabilities in industrial control systems. (News Bulletin file photo)

Island tech firm collaborates with Microsoft on global cybersecurity report

ADolus Technologies discovers 57 per cent of control systems are highly vulnerable to cyberattack

Eric Byres, chief technology officer of Lantzville-based aDolus Technology, said the research done for Microsoft’s annual state of worldwide cybersecurity report revealed serious concerns about vulnerabilities in industrial control systems. (News Bulletin file photo)
This Dec. 7, 2016, photo provided by Amazon shows an Amazon Prime Air drone in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. Amazon announced the successful delivery of a package by drone to a customer in Cambridge, U.K., part of a small testing program. With drones, Amazon aims to make deliveries in 30 minutes or less. Packages must weigh five pounds or less and can only be delivered during the day and in clear weather. Amazon plans to expand the trial to hundreds of users. (Amazon via AP)

Amazon will start testing drones that will drop prescriptions on your doorstep, literally

Amazon will soon make prescription drugs fall from the sky when the…

This Dec. 7, 2016, photo provided by Amazon shows an Amazon Prime Air drone in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. Amazon announced the successful delivery of a package by drone to a customer in Cambridge, U.K., part of a small testing program. With drones, Amazon aims to make deliveries in 30 minutes or less. Packages must weigh five pounds or less and can only be delivered during the day and in clear weather. Amazon plans to expand the trial to hundreds of users. (Amazon via AP)
Toys “R” Us at Willowbrook Shopping Centre. File photo

Amid a mental health crisis, toy industry takes on a new role: building resilience

As more children emerge from the pandemic grappling with mental health issues,…

Toys “R” Us at Willowbrook Shopping Centre. File photo
Martin Shane, right, customizes the button layout on the Sony Access controller before playing a video game at Sony Interactive Entertainment headquarters Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in San Mateo, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Sony’s Access controller for the PlayStation aims to make gaming easier for people with disabilities

Paul Lane uses his mouth, cheek and chin to push buttons and…

Martin Shane, right, customizes the button layout on the Sony Access controller before playing a video game at Sony Interactive Entertainment headquarters Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in San Mateo, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
FILE - A view of the mobile phone app logos for, from left, Facebook and Instagram in New York, Oct. 5, 2021. Meta plans to give European Facebook and Instagram users the option of paying for ad-free versions of the social media services as a way to comply with the continent’s data privacy rules, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

Facebook and Instagram users in Europe could get ad-free subscription option, WSJ reports

Meta plans to give Facebook and Instagram users in Europe the option…

FILE - A view of the mobile phone app logos for, from left, Facebook and Instagram in New York, Oct. 5, 2021. Meta plans to give European Facebook and Instagram users the option of paying for ad-free versions of the social media services as a way to comply with the continent’s data privacy rules, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the tech giant’s Connect developer conference on Wednesday with a focus on virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. (AP PHOTO/GODOFREDO A. VÀSQUEZ)

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicks off developer conference with focus on AI, virtual reality

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the tech giant’s Connect developer conference…

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the tech giant’s Connect developer conference on Wednesday with a focus on virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. (AP PHOTO/GODOFREDO A. VÀSQUEZ)
Some news outlets say they’ve been unable to post on Meta’s social media sites some or all of the time since the digital giant began rolling out its restrictions on Canadian news. The Facebook logo is seen on a cellphone in Boston, Oct. 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Michael Dwyer

UK’s new online safety law adds to crackdown on Big Tech companies

British lawmakers have approved an ambitious but controversial new internet safety law…

Some news outlets say they’ve been unable to post on Meta’s social media sites some or all of the time since the digital giant began rolling out its restrictions on Canadian news. The Facebook logo is seen on a cellphone in Boston, Oct. 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Michael Dwyer
In this 2022 photo provided by Joby Aviation is Joby’s pre-production prototype aircraft at the company’s flight test facility in Marina, Calif. The same Ohio river valley where the Wright brothers pioneered human flight will soon manufacture cutting-edge electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. An agreement announced Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, between the state and Joby Aviation Inc. will bring air taxi production to a 140-acre site at Dayton International Airport by 2025. (Eric Adams/Joby Aviation via AP)

Hundreds of flying taxis to be made in Ohio, home of the Wright brothers and astronaut legend

The same Ohio river valley where the Wright brothers pioneered human flight…

In this 2022 photo provided by Joby Aviation is Joby’s pre-production prototype aircraft at the company’s flight test facility in Marina, Calif. The same Ohio river valley where the Wright brothers pioneered human flight will soon manufacture cutting-edge electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. An agreement announced Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, between the state and Joby Aviation Inc. will bring air taxi production to a 140-acre site at Dayton International Airport by 2025. (Eric Adams/Joby Aviation via AP)
The Juno Awards have introduced new “AI Eligibility” submission guidelines for music creators to specify how much artificial intelligence technology can be used in recordings. A video camera is silhouetted as people gather for a press conference for the 2023 Juno Award nominee announcement in Toronto, on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Plug pulled on Fake Drake as Junos add AI guidelines

Eligible recordings can use AI, but it can’t be the ‘sole or core component’

The Juno Awards have introduced new “AI Eligibility” submission guidelines for music creators to specify how much artificial intelligence technology can be used in recordings. A video camera is silhouetted as people gather for a press conference for the 2023 Juno Award nominee announcement in Toronto, on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in the city center of Munich, Germany, Dec. 16, 2020. Apple is expected to take the wraps off its next iPhone on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, during what has become an annual late summer rite aimed at giving more people more reasons to buy the technology trendsetter’s marquee product. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

Apple unveils iPhone 15 Pro Max as it tries to reverse mild slump

New iPhones get faster chips, better cameras and new charging ports

FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in the city center of Munich, Germany, Dec. 16, 2020. Apple is expected to take the wraps off its next iPhone on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, during what has become an annual late summer rite aimed at giving more people more reasons to buy the technology trendsetter’s marquee product. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
The Google sign is shown over an entrance to the company’s new building in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. The U.S. government is taking aim at what has been an indomitable empire: Google’s ubiquitous search engine and the lucrative digital services hatched by its unwavering status as the internet’s main gateway. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

U.S. goes after Google in largest anti-trust suit in a generation

Officials trying to prove Google rigged the market in its favour against competitors

The Google sign is shown over an entrance to the company’s new building in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. The U.S. government is taking aim at what has been an indomitable empire: Google’s ubiquitous search engine and the lucrative digital services hatched by its unwavering status as the internet’s main gateway. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
FILE - The logo for 3M appears on a screen above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Oct. 24, 2017. 3M, on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, has agreed to pay $6 billion to settle numerous lawsuits from U.S. service members who say they experienced hearing loss or other serious injuries from using earplugs made by the company. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

3M agrees to pay $6 billion to settle earplug lawsuits from US service members

Chemical and consumer product manufacturer 3M said Tuesday it has agreed to…

FILE - The logo for 3M appears on a screen above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Oct. 24, 2017. 3M, on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, has agreed to pay $6 billion to settle numerous lawsuits from U.S. service members who say they experienced hearing loss or other serious injuries from using earplugs made by the company. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
(AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)

How PayPal is using AI to combat fraud, and make it easier to pay

Artificial intelligence has been the buzzword of 2023 ever since ChatGPT made…

(AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)
FILE - Text from the ChatGPT page of the OpenAI website is shown in this photo, in New York, Feb. 2, 2023. Anthropic, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and other major developers of AI systems known as large language models say they’re hard at work to make them more truthful. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Untruthful tech: Chatbots prone to making things up

Not everyone thinks AI’s hallucination problem is fixable

FILE - Text from the ChatGPT page of the OpenAI website is shown in this photo, in New York, Feb. 2, 2023. Anthropic, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and other major developers of AI systems known as large language models say they’re hard at work to make them more truthful. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)