BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Donald Trump joins TikTok despite previously wanting ban
Donald Trump has joined TikTok, despite attempting to ban it on national security grounds during his presidency. In 2020 he signed a presidential executive order attempting to ban the platform for its links to China, which was ultimately blocked by US courts. He has since criticised recent attempts to curtail it, saying this would empower Facebook-owner Meta. Mr Trump, who has amassed mor ... Read more
2024-06-04 02:59:15
Santander staff and '30 million' customers hacked
Hackers are attempting to sell what they say is confidential information belonging to millions of Santander staff and customers. They belong to the same gang which this week claimed to have hacked Ticketmaster. The bank - which employs 200,000 people worldwide, including around 20,000 in the UK - has confirmed data has been stolen. Santander has apologised for what it says is "the concern ... Read more
2024-05-31 21:20:23
Wordle in legal row with geography spinoff, Worldle
The owner of the hit online game Wordle is legally challenging a geography-based spinoff called Worldle. In the filing, the New York Times, which purchased Wordle for a seven figure sum in 2022, accuses its near-namesake of "creating confusion" and attempting to capitalise on "the enormous goodwill” associated with its own brand. But the creator of Worldle, software developer Kory ... Read more
2024-05-31 03:35:07
'The chatbot has transformed my life'
While for many of us AI chatbots are perhaps just an interesting novelty, for some people they are proving to be transformational. Yasmin Shaheen-Zaffar, from North Yorkshire, has dyslexia, dyspraxia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). As a result of these conditions, she would struggle with written assignments. Then AI came into her life. “It was a few years ago that I wa ... Read more
2024-05-29 20:23:42
Ex-FTX executive sentenced to over 7 years in prison
Another former executive of FTX has been jailed over his part in the cryptocurrency giant's implosion in late 2022. Ryan Salame, who was the co-CEO of FTX's Bahamian subsidiary, was sentenced to 90 months in prison, US federal prosecutors said. Salame - who was a top lieutenant to Sam Bankman-Fried, the bankrupt crypto exchange's founder - pleaded guilty in September last year to violating polit ... Read more
2024-05-28 19:44:16
The influencers rallying South Africa's youth to vote
South Africa’s social media influencers, popular with the youth, have been stepping into a new role ahead of this week’s general election – political mobilisers. With 42% of registered voters under the age of 40, the younger demographic could have a big role to play in Wednesday's election. Nestled in between videos of jokes about power cuts and relationships, Karabo “Kay” Mahapa, a TikTok c ... Read more
2024-05-27 20:53:32
Glue pizza and eat rocks: Google AI search errors go viral
Google's new artificial intelligence (AI) search feature is facing criticism for providing erratic, inaccurate answers. Its experimental "AI Overviews" tool has told some users searching for how to make cheese stick to pizza better that they could use "non-toxic glue". The search engine's AI-generated responses have also said geologists recommend humans eat one rock per day ... Read more
2024-05-26 20:10:19
Scarlett Johansson 'shocked' by AI chatbot imitation
Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has said she was left "shocked" and "angered" after OpenAI launched a chatbot with an "eerily similar" voice to her own. The actress said she had previously turned down an approach by the company to voice its new chatbot, which reads text aloud to users. When the new model debuted last week commentators were quick to draw comparison ... Read more
2024-05-22 03:47:51
Scarlett Johansson 'shocked' by AI chatbot imitation
Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has said she was left "shocked" and "angered" after OpenAI launched a chatbot with an "eerily similar" voice to her own. The actress said she had previously turned down an approach by the company to voice its new chatbot, which reads text aloud to users. When the new model debuted last week commentators were quick to draw comparison ... Read more
2024-05-22 03:37:29
Can we really 'reset the internet' to make it safer for children?
“A major reset of the internet to make it much safer” is how Ofcom's Gill Whitehead described the communications watchdog's child safety announcements to me. But can it really deliver that kind of a sea-change in the protection of children online? Turning faulty tech off then on again is a tried and trusted fix, but "resetting the net" is considerably more challenging. First of all, c ... Read more
2024-05-08 19:54:17