Connect with us

Technologies

Elon Musk Eyes Moon Facility, Catapult to Send AI Satellites Into Orbit

Musk has described a proposed facility that would include a massive catapult designed to launch satellites into space, according to The New York Times.

During a recent staff meeting at artificial intelligence company xAI, CEO Elon Musk reportedly told employees that he wants to build an AI satellite factory on the moon, according to The New York Times. Musk also said he wants a giant catapult at the factory that would launch those satellites into space.

A representative for xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment but this wouldn’t be the first time the tech mogul has toyed with the idea of moving operating facilities to space. 

«Current advances in AI are dependent on large terrestrial data centers, which require immense amounts of power and cooling,» Musk said in a statement after his companies SpaceX and xAI merged. «Global electricity demand for AI simply cannot be met with terrestrial solutions, even in the near term, without imposing hardship on communities and the environment. In the long term, space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale.»

And this «space-based AI» could happen sooner rather than later if it’s up to the billionaire. 

«By far the cheapest place to put AI will be space in 36 months or less,» Musk reportedly said during a recent appearance on the podcast Cheeky Pint.

If the moon mission is successful, Musk seems to have his eye on establishing a colony on Mars next. For years, he has described involvement with Mars as a necessary step in safeguarding humanity’s future, framing space colonization as a necessary backup plan and the next frontier of exploration.

Technologies

Samsung’s One UI Code Hints at Existence of ‘Wide’ Galaxy Z Fold

The company’s latest Android application packages, spotted by a leaker online, include references to animations for the rumored phone.

We may see a wide version of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold phone sooner rather than later, according to a report by Android Authority using Android Package files spotted by known leaker wr3ckl3ss. The latest One UI 9 build includes light and dark mode animations for a new foldable phone, which could be the wide Samsung Galaxy Z Fold.

The latest data scraped from Samsung’s One UI Android APKs has a product codename — «H8» — plastered all over it. Android Authority’s previous reporting connected the H8 to a device model number SM-F971U, which is rumored to be a wide Galaxy Z Fold phone. While data scraped from APKs doesn’t always make it to a full release of the software, the mention of new hardware is a good flag for what’s being internally developed.

It’s important to note that there are still no leaked photos or concrete visual assets indicating the existence of the wide Galaxy Z Fold. Several crude AI mockups have circulated online, generated in response to features that might show up on Samsung’s rumored phone, but no leaker has produced real photos of the device. 

A representative for Samsung didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Most of our knowledge about this new Galaxy Z Fold is derived from a Korean report from Etnews, which says Samsung has been working on a device referred to internally as the «Wide Fold.» While the latest info gleaned from the APKs doesn’t offer insight into how the phone will look, this report claims the Wide Fold will be squarer and boxier, with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The phone could have a 7.6-inch internal screen when open, and a 5.4-inch external display when folded, according to the report.

Samsung’s rumored wide foldable phone might be designed to shake up its lineup just as Apple is rumored to bring its first iPhone Fold to the market in 2026. It also follows the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Trifold earlier this year.

The H8 animations included in the latest One UI APKs are the most compelling developments surrounding this phone we’ve seen yet, and they might lend credence to the idea that we’ll hear more about the Wide Fold through official Samsung channels soon.

Continue Reading

Technologies

Pinterest Lets Your Control How Much AI Slop You See. Here’s How to Tone It Down

Pinterest is giving some settings for you to control AI slop. Here’s where to find them.

AI slop has come for just about everything in your digital life, and it’s found itself a cozy home in your social media feeds. It’s everywhere, and even if it can sometimes be entertaining, the bulk of it is useless, misleading or downright lies. While some platforms take no issue with this type of content, some are putting controls into your hands so you can at least tone it down, like Pinterest. 

Pinterest made updates to its platform’s user settings on web and mobile so users can reduce the amount of AI-generated posts they see in their feeds. Now, that’s not to say it’s allowing users to remove all AI posts — just some — but some is better than none, especially if your feeds have become overrun with the nonsense.  

Below, we’ll show you how to find the new settings so you can adjust the amount of AI posts you see on your Pinterest feed. 

How to reduce AI in your Pinterest feed

You can find the new settings this way:

  1. Head to the home feed tuner section of your Pinterest account.
  2. Locate the new GenAI Interests tab there. 
  3. Use that tab to limit the number of AI posts you see on your home feed by toggling the «switch to off» position. 

Pinterest says it’s starting with categories that are highly prone to AI-generated or modified content. The company expects to add more options based on user feedback. 

It’s essential to note that nowhere does it state that the new settings will eliminate AI-generated content. Rather, they’ll reduce it in specific categories. 

Pinterest Chief Technology Officer Matt Madrigal says the site isn’t looking to eliminate all AI-generated posts, adding that the new controls strike «the right balance between human creativity and AI innovation.» While some users may want the option to completely turn off AI generated social media posts, it’s essentially unavoidable. At the very least, Pinterest is giving its users some control. 

Continue Reading

Technologies

Google Sued by Former NPR Host Over NotebookLM AI Voice

A lawsuit by radio host David Greene alleges that Google used his voice to train its AI. Google denies the allegation.

A former NPR radio host has sued Google and its parent company Alphabet, alleging that the tech giant used his voice for its NotebookLM AI product.

David Greene, former host of NPR’s Morning Edition and current host of KCRW’s Left, Right & Center, filed the lawsuit in California Superior Court in Santa Clara County. «Google used Mr. Greene’s voice without authorization and then used those stolen copies to develop, train, and refine its AI broadcasting product, NotebookLM,» the lawsuit alleges.

NotebookLM is an AI-powered research assistant that generates insights from data that you input into the system. Google last year introduced audio and video overviews for NotebookLM. In the case of the former, someone using the software can generate an AI podcast based on information in a file you upload. Greene says that others began informing him after the fall 2024 addition of the feature that one of the voices in those podcasts sounded a lot like his.

«These allegations are baseless,» a Google spokesperson told CNET. «The sound of the male voice in NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews is based on a paid professional actor Google hired.» Google has not identified the voice actor that it says it paid for work on NotebookLM.

According to the lawsuit, Greene said he hired an independent forensic software company that specializes in voice recognition to compare his voice to the one in question on NotebookLM.

«The company conducted a thorough analysis of the voice similarity between Mr. Greene’s voice and the voice used in NotebookLM,» the lawsuit says. «The tests indicated a confidence rating of 53%-60% (on a -100% to 100% scale) that Mr. Greene’s voice was used to train the software driving NotebookLM.»

The voices of professional voice actors or celebrities have been the subject of previous complaints, lawsuits and licensing deals. In 2024, Scarlett Johansson raised concerns about an OpenAI voice that sounded similar to hers. The company removed the sound-alike. Last year, ElevenLabs struck a deal to license voices from celebrities including Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © Verum World Media