‘Choosing your own adventure’: Winnipeg’s Select Start readies Exchange District for brand new ‘barcade’ experience
A 7-year-old rivalry between tech leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman over who should run OpenAI and prevent an artificial intelligence "dictatorship" is now heading to a federal judge as Musk seeks to halt the ChatGPT maker's ongoing shift into a for-profit company. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk has since escalated the dispute, adding new claims and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI’s plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. The world's richest man, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, last year started his own rival AI company, xAI. Musk says it faces unfair competition from OpenAI and its close business partner Microsoft, which has supplied the huge computing resources needed to build AI systems such as ChatGPT. “OpenAI and Microsoft together exploiting Musk’s donations so they can build a for-profit monopoly, one now specifically targeting xAI, is just too much,” says Musk's filing that alleges the companies are violating the terms of Musk’s foundational contributions to the charity. OpenAI is filing a response Friday opposing Musk’s requested order, saying it would cripple OpenAI’s business and mission to the advantage of Musk and his own AI company. A hearing is set for January before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland. At the heart of the dispute is a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling startup that led to Altman becoming OpenAI's CEO. Musk also sought to be CEO and in an email outlined a plan where he would “unequivocally have initial control of the company” but said that would be temporary. He grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the startup succeeded in its goal to achieve better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence , or AGI. Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten humanity. “The current structure provides you with a path where you end up with unilateral absolute control over the AGI," said a 2017 email to Musk from co-founders Ilya Sutskever and Greg Brockman. “You stated that you don't want to control the final AGI, but during this negotiation, you've shown to us that absolute control is extremely important to you.” In the same email, titled “Honest Thoughts,” Sutskever and Brockman also voiced concerns about Altman's desire to be CEO and whether he was motivated by “political goals.” Altman eventually succeeded in becoming CEO, and has remained so except for a period last year when he was fired and then reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced. OpenAI published the messages Friday in a blog post meant to show its side of the story, particularly Musk's early support for the idea of making OpenAI a for-profit business so it could raise money for the hardware and computer power that AI needs. It was Musk, through his wealth manager Jared Birchall, who first registered “Open Artificial Technologies Technologies, Inc.”, a public benefit corporation, in September 2017. Then came the “Honest Thoughts” email that Musk described as the “final straw.” “Either go do something on your own or continue with OpenAI as a nonprofit,” Musk wrote back. OpenAI said Musk later proposed merging the startup into Tesla before resigning as the co-chair of OpenAI's board in early 2018. Musk didn't immediately respond to emailed requests for comment sent to his companies Friday. Asked about his frayed relationship with Musk at a New York Times conference last week, Altman said he felt “tremendously sad” but also characterized Musk’s legal fight as one about business competition. “He’s a competitor and we’re doing well,” Altman said. He also said at the conference that he is “not that worried” about the Tesla CEO’s influence with President-elect Donald Trump. OpenAI said Friday that Altman plans to make a $1 million personal donation to Trump’s inauguration fund, joining a number of tech companies and executives who are working to improve their relationships with the incoming administration. —————————— The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP’s text archives.Engineer pleads not guilty in US case of deadly Iran-linked drone strike
The new Apple 15-inch Macbook Air is displayed during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on ... [+] June 05, 2023 (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) From the darling of Cupertino and the glory of taking the first step into a brave new world to a late-arriving afterthought, Apple’s MacBook Air has seen the highs and lows of the technology rollercoaster since 2020. The latest details on the upcoming M4 MacBook Air show that the consumer laptop isn’t returning to the highs for some time. When Is The Next MacBook Air Launching? Apple has long been expected to announce the next MacBook Air during the first quarter of 2025, and the assumption has been on a March release to tie in with the next wave of Apple Intelligence software and the launch of the fourth generation of the iPhone SE . Also on the launch docket are the iPad 11, AirTag 2 and iPad Air. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has suggested some tweaks to the timing, and it’s the final phrase that will attract the Mac community’s attention: “New entry level iPads (J481 and J482) are coming in the spring. iPhone SE, new iPad Air are on the same general timeline. The M4 MacBook Air will be earlier." How Will Apple Launch The Next MacBook Air? In the last few years, Apple has seen a rise in the number of products launched by press releases. While in-person events take place for the big-ticket items, and smaller online presentations have brought together the community for a shared experience, an increasing number of products are seen as either minor updates or not part of the current storyline Apple is telling. With the MacBook Air launching earlier than the iPhone SE and ahead of the next Apple Intelligence update, this points to a press release launch and Apple pushing its consumer laptops further into the background. Google’s Gmail Upgrade—Why You Need A New Email Address In 2025 Urgent New Gmail Security Warning For Billions As Attacks Continue FinCEN Extends Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting Deadline At one point, the MacBook Air sat on the beeling edge. With the move away from the Intel-based x86 technology across the Mac platform, the MacBook Air was chosen as the launch platform for the M1 Apple Silicon chipset. That launch in late 2020 upended the consumer laptop market with the increased performance, lower thermal characteristics, and improved battery life that the ARM-based chipset offered. Arguably, it’s only in 2024 that the Windows platform has leveraged the ARM advantage with this year’s Snapdragon X series. How Will Apple Position The MacBook Air? Apple Silicon continues to advance , but the MacBook Air is no longer given the standard to carry . The Mac launch of the M4 series was handed to the professionally-focused MacBook Pro in October 2024, and not a single MacBook Air was spotted. Even then, the Mac community could easily hold a grudge as Tim Cook’s team had given the all-important and symbolic “first flight” of the M4 to that summer’s iPad Pro. The MacBook Air will pick up the M4 technology nearly nine months after it first arrived in Apple’s tablet. That will be a welcome boost in the specifications, especially for consumers using their Mac for content creation, but Apple’s approach to the MacBook Air suggests a strategy of taking it away from the cutting edge and creating an artificial distance between its capabilities and that of the tablet alternative and the lust of a more powerful macOS laptop. The MacBook Air is no longer a player on Apple’s stage. Now read the latest MacBook Air, iPhone and iPad headlines in Forbes’ weekly Apple news digest...How Sophie Rain is spending her $43 million OnlyFans fortune... and her plans to get even richer in 2025
Walmart accused of illegally forcing over 1 million of its drivers it open bank accounts
This holiday season, many Russians are tightening their belts. Stubborn inflation has driven up prices of staples such as butter, potatoes and chicken in recent months, hitting Russia’s poorest and causing some to cut back this festive season. Reuters spoke to Russians in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg in the Urals and Omsk in Siberia to understand how people are managing their finances. “Prices have noticeably increased,” said Natalia Moreva, 58, listing flour, bread, chocolates, fruit, vegetables and meat as all having gone up in price. “Incomes are sufficient, but when you go to the shop you used to be able to buy more,” said Moreva, who works for the Omsk regional government. “The holiday is turning out to be a modest one.” Russians traditionally increase their spending in the final few weeks of each year, gearing up for New Year celebrations and nationwide holidays in the first weeks of January. This year, they have had to spend a lot more. “Way more expensive, it is heavy on the pocket. In past New Years, expenses more or less met the budget. Now, the costs are much higher, maybe three or four times more than before,” said Dinara, a student from Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city. Real wages have risen across Russia, largely due to rising salaries in the defence and technology sectors. But for many, wages have not kept pace with inflation, which is running at more than 9%, despite the central bank maintaining interest rates at 21%, their highest in more than 20 years. Vyacheslav, 73, a pensioner in Omsk, said he was noticing prices rising from one day to the next. “It is, of course, not very nice or convenient for people at the moment. We understand that the country is in a difficult situation at the moment, but nevertheless I would like for grocery prices not to grow so quickly. The price of his favourite cheese has risen by 15% to 20% since September, he said, to around 850 roubles. Inflation could end the year at as high as 9.8%, Andrei Gangan, director of the central bank’s monetary policy department, told Interfax on Tuesday, and will peak in April 2025 before starting to come down. The central bank defied expectations for a rate hike last week and opted to keep the current cost of borrowing, but soaring borrowing costs are cooling demand in Russia’s real estate market, with mortgage rates of up to 30% putting off potential buyers and fuelling a rental market boom. “Communal services are getting more expensive, (so are) taxes, and it is very noticeable,” said Moscow student Veronica Arefieva. “When you go to the shop, a loaf of bread that once cost 20 roubles, now costs 50 roubles.” Another Moscow student, Sergei Shoreshorin, said the price of chocolates was “scary”. Even the cost of fir trees was high, buyers in St. Petersburg agreed. “There are people who need a tree who don’t even ask the price, they just buy one,” said Ramiz, who was selling trees in the city. “And there are people who, even when we offer a discount, say they can’t afford it. “I wish everyone season’s greetings, all the best and that next year everyone will be able to afford it!” Source: ReutersLiverpool boss Arne Slot talks up ‘special player’ Mohamed Salah