TECHNOLOGY

Tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform is misleading users with its blue checkmarks for certified accounts, and is also violating EU content rules, Brussels said Friday, in a finding that could lead to hefty fines.

Japanese eSports gamer Mashiro is blind and often relies on a companion to get around Tokyo -- but he hopes that artificial intelligence, hailed as a promising tool for people with disabilities, can help him travel alone.

Microsoft has ditched plans to take up a non-voting position on the board of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, according to a letter seen by AFP on Wednesday, as regulators step up scrutiny of deals involving AI companies.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland stated that stocktaking could be an ongoing process. "This I actually think going forward, given the threat level, given the amount of concern over foreign interference, this is may well be something that continues into the future, and rightly so."

Australia has been in the news in recent weeks following the launch of the ASX's first spot Bitcoin ETF, and for an industry expert, the latest development could be a key driver in the country's crypto literacy bid.

China's AI sector showed confidence this week at a major fair in Shanghai that it would overcome restrictions imposed by the West, with companies rolling out cutting-edge products developed by a growing pool of young talent.

Threads, Meta's alternative to X (formerly Twitter), has hit 175 million monthly users a year after its out-of-the-blue launch.

Run by Amazon Web Services and Australian Signals Directorate, the project will harness artificial intelligence with Australian government maintaining sovereignty over the cloud.

Microsoft is to invest 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in a huge data centre project in northeastern Spain, regional authorities said Wednesday as the area seeks to establish itself as a cloud storage hotspot.

Researchers found personal photos of Australian children, including infants, toddlers, and females in swimwear at school functions, were included in a well-known dataset called LAION-5B to train AI models that produce hyper-realistic photographs.

Google made major changes to its search algorithm and spam filters earlier this year to get rid of low-quality content -- but the effects have proved devastating to some smaller websites.

The EU accused Facebook owner Meta on Monday of breaching the bloc's digital rules, paving the way for potential fines worth billions of euros.

The launch of VanEck's VBTC on the ASX drew attention to Australia's evolving views of the cryptocurrency industry, and it could further propel the Australian public's growing trust for Bitcoin as a suitable investment.

The expansion of EV charging technology and the ever-decreasing electric vehicle costs further fuel market expansion.

A city council in South Korea said Wednesday their first administrative officer robot was defunct after throwing itself down some stairs, with local media mourning the country's first robot suicide.

A consortium led by the top shareholder of troubled French tech giant Atos, an IT partner for the Paris Olympics and French military, has withdrawn a rescue offer for the group, the companies said on Wednesday.

Microsoft violated EU antitrust rules by bundling its Teams communications app with its popular Office suite, Brussels said on Tuesday, as the US tech giant vowed to do what it takes to address competition concerns.

Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari on Friday inaugurated a new solar-powered factory at the group's historic Maranello site, where its much anticipated wholly electric car should be produced from 2026.

Frank McCourt, a US real estate billionaire, aims to buy TikTok to rescue the internet from the clutches of major platforms that he firmly believes are destroying society and endangering children.

Musicians around the world have described artificial intelligence as a threat to creativity, but the CEO of one popular platform told AFP he thinks critics are looking at it all wrong.

VanEck will launch the first spot BTC ETF on ASX on Thursday, marking a positive development in the market's move toward wider crypto adoption through regulated access to digital assets.

The European Union said this week it would slap additional tariffs of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric cars from next month after an anti-subsidy probe.

The United Arab Emirates is in "complete alignment" with the US on developing artificial intelligence, the oil-rich country's AI minister told AFP, confirming a shift away from China.

Electric automaker Tesla has launched a charm offensive to try to coax shareholders to vote Thursday for billionaire CEO Elon Musk's giant pay package, after the windfall was nixed in court.

Microsoft's Xbox team on Sunday showcased action-packed coming video games and a new digital-only version of its console to launch by the end of this year.

Apple on Monday will attempt to persuade doubters on its AI strategy after rivals raced ahead in adopting artificial intelligence.

One of the critical advancements in AI within fintech is its application in customer service. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can now handle complex queries, enhance customer experience, and reduce operational costs.

Tests on a leading AI tool allowed the creation of deceptive and incriminating images of President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, a watchdog said Wednesday, despite pledges to block fake photos of the presidential contenders ahead of elections in November.

US chip titan Intel on Tuesday struck a defiant tone in the face of strong challenges from rivals Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm, unveiling technologies it said would lead the artificial intelligence revolution.