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The most futuristic tech we cover, from AI to private space travel to concept cars.
McDonald’s pauses AI-powered drive-thru voice orders
McDonald's has ended a two-year trial of automated voice-ordering systems at more than 100 drive-thru locations. The company is also ending a partnership with IBM over the use of AI order-taking tech.
McDonald’s pauses AI-powered drive-thru voice orders
McDonald's has ended a two-year trial of automated voice-ordering systems at more than 100 drive-thru locations. The company is also ending a partnership with IBM over the use of AI order-taking tech.
General Motors revives its robotaxi service Cruise in Houston, with human drivers
GM's Cruise robotaxi service is taking rides again in Houston.
Nokia just made the first phone call using 3D spatial audio
Nokia just made the first audio and video call using 3D spatial audio. It’s all thanks to an upcoming upgrade to 5G.
Boeing’s Starliner overcomes last-second problems to dock with the ISS
Boeing’s Starliner has successfully docked with the ISS — but not without some last-minute problems. The company’s first crewed mission to the space station linked up at 1:34 PM ET after missing its first shot due to several thrusters malfunctioning.
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McDonald’s pauses AI-powered drive-thru voice orders
McDonald's has ended a two-year trial of automated voice-ordering systems at more than 100 drive-thru locations. The company is also ending a partnership with IBM over the use of AI order-taking tech.
General Motors revives its robotaxi service Cruise in Houston, with human drivers
GM's Cruise robotaxi service is taking rides again in Houston.
Nokia just made the first phone call using 3D spatial audio
Nokia just made the first audio and video call using 3D spatial audio. It’s all thanks to an upcoming upgrade to 5G.
Boeing’s Starliner overcomes last-second problems to dock with the ISS
Boeing’s Starliner has successfully docked with the ISS — but not without some last-minute problems. The company’s first crewed mission to the space station linked up at 1:34 PM ET after missing its first shot due to several thrusters malfunctioning.
TikTok’s AI efforts reportedly exploit loopholes to use premium Nvidia chips
The US has banned companies like Nvidia from selling their most advanced AI chips to China since 2022. But if loopholes exist, profit-hungry corporations will find and exploit them. A bombshell report on Thursday details how Oracle allows TikTok owner ByteDance to rent Nvidia’s most advanced chips to train AI models on US soil.
Starship survives reentry to splash down in the Indian Ocean after successful fourth flight test
SpaceX’s Starship just soared through a series of critical milestones in its development, surviving reentry through Earth’s atmosphere and demonstrating a landing burn for the first time, before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.
Billionaire space tourist cancels lunar flight amid changing SpaceX priorities
Yusaku Maezawa, the Japanese billionaire who signed up for a lunar orbit flight aboard SpaceX's Starship back in 2018, has cancelled his trip.
NASA’S James Webb Space Telescope has found the most distant galaxy ever observed
NASA’S James Webb Space Telescope has found the most distant and oldest known galaxy. The “bright, massive and large” star system reportedly formed just 290 million years after the big bang.
The world’s first tooth-regrowing drug has been approved for human trials
The world’s first tooth-regrowing drug has been approved for human trials. If things go as planned, the medicine could be available to consumers by 2030.
US House bill would require national security reviews on connected vehicles from China
Newly proposed Congressional legislation would require the US to conduct security reviews for connected vehicles built by automakers from China and “other countries of concern.” Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) introduced the bill on Wednesday.
The Atlantic and Vox Media made their own deal with the AI Devil
The Atlantic and Vox Media are the two latest publishers to cut deals with OpenAI so that the AI giant can train itself on their content.
OpenAI’s new safety team is led by board members, including CEO Sam Altman
OpenAI has created a new Safety and Security Committee less than two weeks after the company dissolved the team tasked with protecting humanity from AI’s existential threats. This latest iteration will include two board members and CEO Sam Altman.
Russia can reportedly jam Ukraine’s access to Starlink at will
Russia has reportedly found new, more effective ways to knock out Ukraine’s Starlink service. The increased interference has disrupted communications at critical moments and is posing “a major threat to Ukraine.”
Google plans to run a fiber optic cable from Kenya to Australia
Google said on Thursday it will build a fiber optic cable to connect Africa and Australia. Named Umoja (a Swahili word meaning “unity”), the project will start in Kenya and pass through several other African nations before crossing the Indian Ocean to the land down under.
New research places the sun's magnetic field close to the surface, upending decades of theories
Researchers from Northwestern University have discovered that the sun’s magnetic field originates close to the surface, instead of deep inside the sphere. This could improve solar forecasts in the future.
Sure, why not: China built a chatbot based on Xi Jinping
China has developed a chatbot trained on the various thoughts and philosophies of President Xi Jinping. This bot was built using literature attributed to the leader.
Volvo and Aurora introduce their first self-driving truck
Volvo and Aurora just showed off the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck at ACT Expo in Las Vegas.
Blue Origin successfully sends tourists to the edge of space again after a long hiatus
Jeff Bezos’ spaceflight company successfully flew six paying customers to the edge of space and back this morning, breaking its nearly two-year-long hiatus from crewed missions. This was Blue Origin’s seventh trip with humans on board.
AT&T deal will make every phone a satellite phone
AT&T is getting close to offering subscribers the capability to transform their regular phones into legit satellite devices.
Google Project Astra hands-on: Full of potential, but it’s going to be a while
At Google I/O 2024, Google gave us a glimpse at what next-gen AI could do, but after trying it out, it's clear it won't arrive anytime soon.
