OpenAI today announced that it’s created a new team to assess, evaluate and probe AI models to protect against what it describes as “catastrophic risks.” The team, called Preparedness, will be led by Aleksander Madry, the director of MIT’s Center for Deployable Machine Learning. (Madry joined OpenAI in May as “head of Preparedness,” according to…

This week, I heard from an ex-colleague I hadn’t heard from in a few years. Let’s call him Jeremy. He wrote me a lovely email, referring to a moment I have such a clear memory of. He asked about my health, mentioned that he’d seen I recently had pneumonia. After telling me a little bit…

Google is adding a slew of new updates for Maps, including a few AI-powered features that are designed to make it easier for users to search, explore their surroundings and get to their destinations. The company is making it easier to find specific items near you and find inspiration for things to do, rolling out…

Apple released iOS 17.1 on Wednesday to all users, with features including improved AirDrop sharing and updates to Apple Music. The biggest change with this release is the ability to use AirDrop when you move out of Wi-Fi range. AirDrop uses Bluetooth to securely create a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network between two Apple devices when you…

Meta said today that its text-based social network Threads has less than 100 million monthly users three months after its launch. Mark Zuckerberg noted during the company’s latest earnings call that the social networking giant is happy with Threads’ progress — with the current growth rate, it could achieve the mark of a billion users…

The Asia Internet Coalition, a powerful industry group that represents Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft and many other tech companies, has requested India’s IT Ministry for an extended deadline to comply with certain provisions of a newly approved data protection regulation governing user data processing. In a Thursday letter to India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and…

Elon Musk announced Wednesday that an early version of video and audio calling is now available on X, formerly known as Twitter. The move is another step toward Musk’s goal of turning X into an “everything app” that can handle everything from online payments to news to food delivery. Not all users can access it…

Apple is making Apple Pay Later available to all users in the United States, after initially releasing it to a limited number of users back in March. Apple Pay Later allows users to split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments over six weeks without interest or late fees. The company…

With today’s watchOS 10.1 drop, Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 owners now have access to the smartwatches’ most exciting feature. Double Tap, which adds gesture-based interactions through tapping one’s index finger and thumb together twice. It’s a clever new way to interact with the wearable when your other hand if full.…

Google is taking aim at potentially problematic generative AI apps with a new policy, to be enforced starting early next year, that will require developers of Android applications published on its Play Store to offer the ability to report or flag offensive AI-generated content. The new policy will insist that flagging and reporting can be…