Technology

Meta Platforms on Friday launched its subscription service in the U.S., which would allow Facebook and Instagram users pay for verification in the same vein as Elon Musk-owned Twitter. The Meta Verified service will give users a blue badge after they verify their accounts using a government ID and will cost $11.99 per month on the web or $14.99 a …

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft pressed on with its AI revolution on Thursday, announcing that it would apply the powers behind ChatGPT to its iconic Excel, Word and Outlook programs. The Redmond, Washington giant has been swiftly adopting language-based AI, showing less caution than its rivals despite early problems such as chatbots giving disturbing responses or blatantly inaccurate information. Microsoft’s latest chatbot, …

Maqsad, an edtech platform for academic content, has raised a seed round of $2.8 million at an undisclosed valuation, co-founder Rooshan Aziz told Dawn in an interview on Wednesday. The latest funding takes the startup’s all-time capital raised to $4.9m as it conducted a pre-seed round of $2.1m a year-and-a-half ago. A company statement said the round was led by Speedinvest and returning investor …

LONDON: Top cryptocurrency bitcoin hit a nine-month high of $26,533 on Tuesday, in its fourth consecutive day of gains, as it appeared to benefit from chaos in global markets following last week’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Bitcoin rose to $26,533, up around 10 per cent on the day at its highest since June 2022. It gained 7.6pc on Sunday …

PALO ALTO: Alphabet Inc’s Google on Tuesday unveiled a flurry of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for its email, collaboration and cloud software, taking aim at Microsoft Corp days before its rival is expected to make a similar announcement. In a replay of last month’s dueling chatbot launches by the tech giants, Alphabet touted a “magic wand” for its popular Google …

Major cryptocurrencies stabilised on Monday after US authorities announced plans to limit the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the issuer of the USD Coin stablecoin said it remained redeemable with the dollar. U.S. authorities launched emergency measures on Sunday to shore up confidence in the banking system after the failure of SVB threatened to trigger …

SAN FRANCISCO: Advances in artificial intelligence are coming so hard and fast that a museum in San Francisco, the beating heart of the tech revolution, has imagined a memorial to the demise of humanity. “Sorry for killing most of humanity person with smile cap and moustache,” says a monitor welcoming a visitor to the “Misalignment Museum,” a new exhibit on …

WASHINGTON: The world’s first 3D printed rocket is scheduled to blast off from Florida on Saturday on the maiden flight of an innovative spacecraft billed as being less costly to produce and fly. Liftoff of the rocket, Terran 1, had been scheduled for Wednesday at Cape Canaveral but was postponed at the last minute because of propellant temperature issues. The …

The world’s first 3D printed rocket is scheduled to blast off from Florida on Saturday on the maiden flight of an innovative spacecraft billed as being less costly to produce and fly. Liftoff of the rocket, Terran 1, had been scheduled for Wednesday at Cape Canaveral but was postponed at the last minute because of propellant temperature issues. The new …

General Motors is exploring uses for ChatGPT as part of its broader collaboration with Microsoft, a company executive told Reuters. “ChatGPT is going to be in everything,” GM Vice President Scott Miller said in an interview last week. The chatbot could be used to access information on how to use vehicle features normally found in an owner’s manual, program functions …