April 15, 2024
Meta to Deploy Custom Artemis AI Chips Alongside Nvidia GPUs: Meta is set to deploy its new custom-designed Artemis AI processors in its datacenters this year to support its AI product rollout and reduce reliance on Nvidia GPUs, while still maintaining a significant presence of Nvidia’s H100 chips for AI training workloads.
Work-From-Home Trend Leads to Plummeting Burglary Rates in the U.S.: The number of burglaries in the United States has decreased by 9.8% in 2020, marking the 12th consecutive annual reduction and the 29th in the last 35 years, with the trend accelerating during the pandemic as more people work from home, making it harder for burglars to find unoccupied homes. When adjusted for population, the number of burglaries has plummeted by 86% since 1980, 52% since 1960, and 29% since the pre-pandemic period in 2019.
Why School Absences Have ‘Exploded’ Almost Everywhere: Student absenteeism has surged across the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated 26% of public school students considered chronically absent last school year, up from 15% before the pandemic. Schools are struggling to address the complex, multifaceted reasons behind this trend, which include increased mental health challenges, families taking more vacations during the school year, and a general shift in the perception of school attendance as an “optional” habit.
Microsoft Acknowledges Unintended File Explorer Ads in Windows 11: Microsoft has confirmed that the recent appearance of ads within the File Explorer on Windows 11 was an unintended experiment, stating that the ads “were not intended to be published externally” and have since been turned off; however, the company’s statement does not rule out the potential future integration of ads in File Explorer, as Microsoft has a history of incorporating advertisements into various aspects of its Windows operating system.
Costco Selling As Much As $200 million in Gold Bars Monthly: Costco’s gold bar sales have become a significant revenue stream, with Wells Fargo analysts estimating monthly revenue ranging between $100 million and $200 million, a substantial increase since the product’s launch in August 2023. The growth in gold sales can be attributed to Costco’s aggressive pricing, high customer trust, and the overall surge in gold prices, which have risen over 13% in 2024 due to persistent inflation and concerns about the U.S. fiscal situation.
Old MRI, New Tricks: Q Bio Puts Forward Quantifiable, Reproducible Scanning Approach: Q Bio aims to revolutionize MRI technology by offering quantifiable and reproducible scans that provide easy-to-read assessments of the entire body, enabling longitudinal tracking of changes over time and supporting the development of AI applications. The company’s tensor field mapping approach, which will be integrated into its purpose-built Mark I MRI machine, aims to capture precise measurements of various tissues, such as fat percentage throughout the body, with the goal of establishing personal health baselines and making preventive screening more accessible.
SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites on Record 20th Reflight of a Falcon 9 Rocket First Stage: SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket for a record 20th time, delivering 23 Starlink internet satellites to low Earth orbit, as the company continues to demonstrate the viability of its reusable rocket technology to drive down the costs of space travel. This milestone launch, which coincided with the 43rd anniversary of the first space shuttle flight, underscores SpaceX’s relentless pursuit of its ambitious goals, including Mars colonization, through the rapid and efficient reuse of its launch vehicles.
Microsoft Pitched OpenAI’s DALL-E as Battlefield Tool For U.S. Military: Microsoft proposed using OpenAI’s DALL-E image generation tool to help the U.S. Department of Defense build software for military operations, according to internal presentation materials, though Microsoft claims this was just an example of potential use cases and not an actual implementation. While OpenAI has stated its policies prohibit the use of its tools for developing weapons or causing harm, the revelation raises ethical concerns about the potential militarization of generative AI technologies.
Adobe’s ‘Ethical’ Firefly AI Was Trained on Midjourney Images: Adobe’s new “ethical” AI image generation tool, Firefly, was trained on images created by rival AI systems like Midjourney, raising questions about the company’s commitment to developing truly original AI-powered creative tools. While Adobe claims Firefly was designed with safeguards to prevent the misuse of AI-generated content, the revelation that it relied on data from other sources undermines its positioning as a more responsible alternative to other generative AI platforms.