Technologies

Nvidia Is Building a Computer for AI Data Centers in Space

The big challenge is keeping things cool, apparently.

Space may be the next frontier for the AI infrastructure boom, but it will take some work to make that happen, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during his keynote address Monday at the company’s GTC conference in San Jose, California.

While the company already has chips in satellites, creating a data center in space is an entirely different beast, Huang said. «Obviously, very complicated to do so.»

Nvidia isn’t the only one eyeing orbit for AI factories. Elon Musk has talked often of putting data centers in space, which makes sense considering he recently merged the AI company he owns with the rocket company he owns.

Read more: Nvidia GTC: All the AI and Robotics News From Jensen Huang’s Keynote

Space has some distinct advantages for data centers. For one, there are no zoning boards or neighbors to worry about annoying. You could likely power an orbital data center with solar power.There’s also a ton of room, although the number of satellites is making orbit crowded.

But there’s a big challenge that Nvidia is facing as it designs its Space-1 Vera Rubin module computer. How do you keep chips cool in a vacuum?

«In space, there’s no conduction, there’s no convection, it’s just radiation,» Huang said. «So we have to figure out how to cool these systems out in space.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, March 17

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 17.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s not too tough — only 1-Down puzzled me until I filled in the other responses. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: One drawing X’s and O’s
Answer: COACH

6A clue: Company whose market cap (~$4 trillion) exceeds the G.D.P. of most countries
Answer: APPLE

7A clue: «Chill!»
Answer: RELAX

8A clue: Do some rhythmic tapping
Answer: DRUM

9A clue: Back talk
Answer: SASS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: What’s the deal?
Answer: CARDS

2D clue: «The Phantom of the ___»
Answer: OPERA

3D clue: Excellent grade
Answer: APLUS

4D clue: Sandpipers dig for them in the sand
Answer: CLAMS

5D clue: Evil spell
Answer: HEX

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 17, #540

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 540 for Tuesday, March 17.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Yes, you saw both DUNKIN and DONUT in today’s Connections: Sports Edition. But, of course, those words weren’t referring to the bakery chain. That would be far too easy. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Hockey division.

Green group hint: Sporting goods.

Blue group hint: Some are birds.

Purple group hint: Sounds like a star hoops player.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: A Western Conference NHL player.

Green group: Baseball equipment.

Blue group: Items in NFL logos.

Purple group: Homophones of Basketball Hall of Famers.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is a Western Conference NHL player. The four answers are Blackhawk, Blue, Oiler and Shark.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is baseball equipment. The four answers are base, bat, donut and tee.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is items in NFL logos. The four answers are bolt, fleur-de-lis, horseshoe and swords.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is homophones of basketball Hall-of-Famers. The four answers are Berry, Dunkin, Morning and Weighed.

Technologies

ByteDance’s AI Video Tool Seedance 2.0 Reportedly Delayed Amid Hollywood Pressure

The global rollout of the video tool, which sparked panic with its cinema-quality AI-generated video, appears to be delayed.

China’s ByteDance is delaying the global rollout of its Seedance 2.0 video-generating AI model, according to a report from The Information.

When it debuted in China in February, Seedance 2.0 caused a stir, as high-quality AI-generated videos made with the new model flooded social media, featuring existing actors and familiar intellectual property, including Tom Cruise and Star Wars. Unlike typical AI slop — or even advanced video from other AI-generation models — some of the Seedance-generated videos posted looked photorealistic enough to be mistaken for footage from big-budget Hollywood films or TV shows.

The model was expected to be rolled out to other countries by mid-March, but according to the report, ByteDance is working on ways to address legal and copyright issues that would arise in countries outside China.

Hollywood studios and unions did not react kindly to the videos that surfaced online in February.

The Motion Picture Association demanded that ByteDance «immediately cease its infringing activity,» referring to copyrighted works that appear to be used in training the model.

Labor union SAG-AFTRA, representing Hollywood performers, said it also condemned the Seedance model, pointing to the danger that the AI model could pose to actors’ careers in a statement. The union noted: «Seedance 2.0 disregards law, ethics, industry standards and basic principles of consent.»

Representatives for ByteDance and SAG-AFTRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What’s different about Seedance 2.0

Like many other industries, the entertainment world is being upended by AI technologies, with concerns that tools will put human creatives out of work.

As AI-generated video content, animation, screenwriting and other forms evolve rapidly, popular photo and video generators are getting heat for propagating deepfakes and relying on copyrighted content. Many would have trouble spotting an AI-generated actress as fake, and viewers could easily confuse some AI-generated cinema with Marvel movies or other full-blown Hollywood productions.

While other AI-generators tools such as OpenAI’s Sora or Google’s Veo can quickly make videos good enough for casual social media use, Seedance 2.0 appears to be able to bypass some of the usual tells of AI video — text appears clear and not garbled, faces look convincingly human and there aren’t extra fingers or other strange AI hallucinations you might find in other AI video models. One viral example of this was «Will Smith Eating Spaghetti,» in which Seedance 2.0 created a video that convincingly depicted the actor eating a plate of pasta.

The degree of realism that makes footage practically indistinguishable from traditionally produced film and video is a prime reason why movie and TV studios have cause for concern.