Here are the top trending news from the world of technology. News that every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
Apple Music shuts down Siri only $5 Voice Plan
Apple seems to have shut down its lowest cost Apple-Music subscription plan, the Apple Music Voice Plan. Although Apple hasn’t officially announced about discontinuation of the plan, it is no longer available on Apple Music website. It is also currently unavailable for purchase through Siri. Launched in 2021 in limited markets, users could access Apple Music Voice Plan through voice assistant Siri instead of the music app. However, this plan came with serious limitations. For instance, users were unable to add songs to their library or create their own custom playlist. Besides, they were not able to enjoy real time lyrics and couldn’t use this plan on non-Apple devices.
2)
YouTube is cracking down on Ad Blockers
YouTube has decided to start a global war against Ad Blockers. The Google owned streaming platform has decided to block all ad blockers on its platform. What this basically means is that users can no longer watch YouTube’s free version by using ad blockers. Such users will now have to subscribe to YouTube’s premium plan. YouTube has taken this step obviously because it heavily relies on advertising revenue. If users use ad blockers then they can’t see ads and YouTube can’t earn revenue. Another reason why YouTube may have taken this step is because ad blockers hinder the user experience. Interestingly, YouTube claims that viewing ads actually enhances the user experience of its users.
3)
Twitch’s AI Seinfeld Show almost breaks down
The AI rendition of Seinfeld that has been playing in continuous loop on Twitch since last one year has developed a problem. The images appeared to be broken and pixilated and the loop seems to have broken. It is not clear exactly what is causing this problem. Twitch has not removed the show and the show is still continuing on the platform. The AI Seinfeld is very unique show since it is completely generated by AI, from the writing to the acting to the directing. It has been primarily created with the help of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, DALL-E and Stable Diffusion. Although the AI Seinfeld loop doesn’t enjoy great viewership on Twitch, the die-hard Seinfeld fans certainly seem to be hooked by the show.
4)
UK to invest $273 Mn to build its own AI Supercomputer
The UK government has announced that it is investing $273 million to build a dedicated AI super-computer. This super computer will be called Isambard-AI and will be the most powerful supercomputer in UK’s entire history. Its main aim would be helping United Kingdom in accelerating research in a wide-range of fields, including AI, climate change, and drug discovery. This move seems to signify UK’s commitment to becoming a strong leader in AI and compete more strongly with the US and China in the field of AI. The US and China are already home to some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, and they are investing heavily in AI research.
5)
At UK’s AI summit, UK announces Bletchley Declaration signed by 28 countries
At the ongoing global AI summit in UK, the UK’s Minister of Technology Michelle Donelan announced on Wednesday the ‘Bletchley Declaration.’ Expectedly, the Bletchley Declaration calls for AI to be “designed, developed, deployed, and used in a manner that is safe, human-centric, trustworthy and responsible. The Bletchley Declaration seems to be yet another global effort safeguarding the world against possible risks associated with AI. The UK’s two day AI summit is indeed special one as for the first time countries from around the world have come together to agree on a set of principles for AI safety.