Tech Archive

Researchers from Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi said they successfully developed an AI that imitates handwriting. The model learns from looking at a few paragraphs of handwritten words. The researchers hope to use the technology to help those who can no longer pick up a pen write again but did acknowledge its potential for forgeries.

Vergecast listeners know about my tortured relationship with my family’s new Samsung Frame TV, but easily the funniest thing is that using any third-party frame blocks the ambient light and motion sensors that make Art Mode convincing. So naturally there is a $99 aftermarket sensor dongle to make it all work... and it still doesn’t quite work, as Samsung won’t let it talk to the API that controls brightness in Art Mode. Whoops!

Electrek points out this Fox 32 report from Monday showing Teslas that couldn’t charge in subzero temperatures, similar to issues some drivers reported last winter.

The giant hashtag statue? Jon Ball, a former Twitter engineering manager, owns that. (“I think I got a pretty decent deal on that,” he said. “My wife doesn’t think so.”) Paintings of famous Twitter moments? People bought those, too. What was the experience of the auction like? “It’d be like if somebody you love went bankrupt and then you’re bidding on the remains.”

That’s one of a few things I learned from the platform’s 2023 moderation report. Also, it plans to open source its frontend moderation review system (called “Ozone”) and says it is “in the process of pulling out the moderation back-end as a standalone service that other organizations can self-host.”

US District Judge William G. Young blocked the acquisition in a decision on Tuesday, stating the move “would eliminate one of the airline industry’s few primary competitors that provides unique innovation and price discipline.”

Under ownership of private equity-backed marketing firm Red Ventures, CNET secretly published AI-generated articles, pushed journalists to be more favorable to advertisers, and laid off dozens of staffers. Workers unionized in May, citing the company’s use of AI and a need for editorial independence.

Gaming record keeper Twin Galaxies said in a statement published today that it restored his arcade scores after “fair consideration” of expert witness testimony that Mitchell’s record-setting Donkey Kong run was possible on aging, malfunctioning original hardware.

You can look through the FCC filings here. (It’s lots of tests and reports, so it may not be the most interesting reading.)

Will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame is really embracing the AI revolution. Later this month, he’ll debut on Will.i.am Presents the FYI Show on SiriusXM with bot qd.pi. “I didn’t want to just do a traditional show, I wanted to bring tomorrow close to today, and so I wanted to have my co-host be an AI,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.