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Showing posts from March, 2024

James Carville says Biden's poll numbers have gotten 'a little bit better' but that the president won't 'replicate' 2020

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The Democratic strategist James Carville. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky James Carville told MSNBC's Ari Melber that Democrats face a major engagement issue this year. "We're not going to replicate the 2020 coalition," he said, pointing to polling struggles with non-white men. Carville has been vocal that the party isn't adequately reaching out to males. Democratic strategist James Carville during a recent MNSBC interview said he didn't think President Joe Biden would be able to reassemble his 2020 electoral coalition in the November election. Carville, who in recent months has been increasingly vocal about his view that the party is losing touch with non-white male voters, told host Ari Melber that while Biden's polling numbers have improved, the president would have a lot of work to do to win reelection. "I do think that the polling has gotten a little bit better," Carville said of Biden's standing after his recent State of the Union add...

FOMO may be one of the things driving the super rich to invest tens of billions in AI

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Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky speaks with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei during a 2023 conference. Noah Berger/Getty Investors are dumping money into AI as they grapple with the fear of missing out. Amazon may invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic, an AI rival of OpenAI . Despite the hype and cash influx, AI companies face their share of challenges. The fear of missing out is real — even among the mega-rich. Wealthy investors are jumping on the AI train because they don't want to miss out on the next big thing. Amazon recently said it would invest as much as $4 billion in Anthropic, an AI rival of the well-known OpenAI. In September, Amazon invested $1.25 billion and then more than doubled that with its latest $2.75 billion infusion. In total, investors have dumped almost $30 billion into the industry in 691 deals in 2023, PitchBook reported . Artificial intelligence startups snatched 1 in 3 investment dollars in 2023, according to Reuters . Along with venture cap...

Demis Hassabis says the AI hype caused by a surge of money is clouding research; CB Insights: VCs invested $42.5B in 2,500 AI startup equity rounds in 2023 (John Thornhill/Financial Times)

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John Thornhill / Financial Times : Demis Hassabis says the AI hype caused by a surge of money is clouding research; CB Insights: VCs invested $42.5B in 2,500 AI startup equity rounds in 2023   —  British AI pioneer says the billions of dollars being poured into start-ups is obscuring scientific progress in the field from Techmeme https://ift.tt/bq4mQik

About half of all senior congressional staffers are mulling an exit: The 'physical and psychological toll of this place cannot be understated.'

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The US Capitol. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Congressional dysfunction is not just an issue confined to lawmakers. The Congressional Management Foundation said many senior aides are also eyeing the exit. One GOP aide cited a 'my way or the highway' attitude as a problem in Congress right now. The wave of lawmakers on Capitol Hill calling it quits in recent months — many of them citing entrenched acrimony — has been difficult to ignore as Republicans barely hold on to a razor-thin House majority. But the gridlock and partisanship that has become commonplace among lawmakers has also taken a toll on senior congressional staffers. Nearly half of upper-level aides are now eyeing the exits , according to an investigation conducted by the nonprofit Congressional Management Foundation, which seeks to strengthen trust in Congress. The report says that 48% of senior staffers are considering leaving Capitol Hill due to "heated rhetoric from the other par...

Prince William faced criticism for not appearing with Kate Middleton when she revealed her cancer diagnosis. But a PR professional says it was the right call.

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Kate Middleton in September 2020. WPA Pool/Getty Images Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, announced her cancer diagnosis on March 22. Some criticized Prince William for not appearing in the video statement beside Middleton. PR professional Dini von Mueffling said Prince William's appearance may have been distracting. Kate Middleton quelled weeks of wild speculation by announcing her cancer diagnosis , yet some corners of the internet still weren't satisfied. Kensington Palace released the video statement featuring the Princess of Wales, 42, on March 22. In the video, Middleton donned casual clothes and sat on a bench in the garden while delivering details about her health. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Prince and Princess of Wales (@princeandprincessofwales) Although the video sparked waves of support from other royals, politicians, and celebrities , some netizens criticized her husband , Prince W...

IEEE stops accepting papers with the "Lenna image", featuring a 1972 Playboy model, after complaints that it makes some women feel unwelcome in computer science (Benj Edwards/Ars Technica)

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Benj Edwards / Ars Technica : IEEE stops accepting papers with the “Lenna image”, featuring a 1972 Playboy model, after complaints that it makes some women feel unwelcome in computer science   —  Use of “Lenna” image in computer image processing research stretches back to the 1970s. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/t9Wmgu8

Gypsy Rose Blanchard announces split from her husband 3 months after her prison release: Report

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Gypsy Rose Blanchard in prison. Courtesy of the Blanchard Family Gypsy Rose Blanchard has reportedly split from her husband, Ryan Scott Anderson. Anderson is a middle school special education teacher from Louisiana.  The couple met after Anderson wrote Blanchard a letter while she was in prison.  Gypsy Rose Blanchard , the woman who conspired with her then-boyfriend to have her mother killed, has reportedly called it quits with her husband, Ryan Scott Anderson, and moved in with her parents only three months after her release from prison. On Friday, People reported that Blanchard announced she and Anderson had separated in a statement on her private Facebook account obtained by the publication. "People have been asking what is going on in my life. Unfortunately my husband and I are going through a separation and I moved in with my parents home down the bayou," the statement read, per People. "I have the support of my family and friends to help guide me throu...

A profile of DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, who was just knighted, as some wonder if he can navigate Google's bureaucracy and turn AI research into great products (Alex Kantrowitz/Big Technology)

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Alex Kantrowitz / Big Technology : A profile of DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, who was just knighted, as some wonder if he can navigate Google's bureaucracy and turn AI research into great products   —  The DeepMind founder has a track record of insane AI breakthroughs.  Can he do it within the Google mothership? from Techmeme https://ift.tt/uhjdDfT

Meet California's new state bat that eats scorpions and lizards

The fuzzy, golden pallid bat officially became California's state bat in 2024. Here's why it's celebrated by farmers, conservationists, and bat enthusiasts. Read the original article on Business Insider from Business Insider https://ift.tt/2DTP4jd

Amazon launches iOS and Android apps for Amazon One, which let users sign up for the palm-scanning service by using generative AI to analyze palm vein structure (Emma Roth/The Verge)

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Emma Roth / The Verge : Amazon launches iOS and Android apps for Amazon One, which let users sign up for the palm-scanning service by using generative AI to analyze palm vein structure   —  Amazon now lets you sign up for its palm recognition service directly from your phone. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/QGiFbZp

The Fed could cut rates 5 times in 2025 with the US economy bound to slow, chief economist says

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Jerome Powell stressed that the Fed would maintain support for the economy. Pool/Getty Images The Fed could cut rates five times in 2025, according to S&P Global Ratings' global chief economist. A slowing US economy will give the Fed the green light to cut, the firm predicted. That implies the Fed will lower rates by 2 full percentage points as inflation continues to cool. The Fed could cut rates as many as five times next year, as the US economy can't keep its hot pace of growth forever, according to Paul Gruenwald, S&P Global Ratings' global chief economist.   Speaking to Yahoo Finance on Wednesday, Gruenwald predicted that central bankers would issue three rate cuts in 2024, followed by as many as five rate cuts in 2025. That implies the Fed will take interest rates down by two full percentage points over the next 21 months, a far steeper pace of monetary easing than other economists have forecast. That's because the economy is bound to slow, Gr...

NY-based Hume, which is building a conversational AI that it claims can interpret emotions based on people's voices, raised a $50M Series B at a $219M valuation (Rashi Shrivastava/Forbes)

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Rashi Shrivastava / Forbes : NY-based Hume, which is building a conversational AI that it claims can interpret emotions based on people's voices, raised a $50M Series B at a $219M valuation   —  Hume has raised $50 million in funding at a $219 million valuation to build “empathic” conversational AI.  —  Alan Cowen feigns a dejected expression. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/hH4iStk

Watch the crazy AI short films and videos created by artists with early access to OpenAI's Sora tool

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A cross between a giraffe and a flamingo is only one of the surreal images to come out of the first third-party Sora releases. @donalleniii via OpenAI Sora OpenAI has released the first third-party videos produced with its unreleased Sora tool . The new clips include a bizarre nature documentary and the story of a man with a balloon for a head. The AI videos are impressive, but one former Stability AI exec accused OpenAI of "artistwashing." The first artist-produced videos from OpenAI's Sora are here, and they give a glimpse at what Hollywood or other storytellers could create with the text-to-speech AI tool. The ChatGPT developer posted on its website several short clips made by content creators with early access to the unreleased generative video tool that caused quite a stir in Hollywood. It's not the first taste we have of Sora's potential, but past clips were all created in-house at OpenAI. This is the first time seeing what others outside the ...

Sources: Stability AI was in a "death spiral" prior to Mostaque's resignation, due to talent departures, mismanagement, legal troubles, and dwindling resources (Bloomberg)

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Bloomberg : Sources: Stability AI was in a “death spiral” prior to Mostaque's resignation, due to talent departures, mismanagement, legal troubles, and dwindling resources   —  Inside the startup's journey from AI darling to cautionary tale.  —  LEARN MORE from Techmeme https://ift.tt/dgjK90R

Elon Musk says Tesla and SpaceX are collaborating on the new Roadster

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The Tesla Roadster is on display at the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing facility during the "Cyber Rodeo" grand opening party on April 7, 2022 in Austin, Texas. SUZANNE CORDEIRO The long-awaited Tesla Roadster return is going to have "some rocket technology." Musk has dangled a return for the Roadster since 2017. Details about the Tesla-SpaceX collaboration are still sparse. The long-awaited second-generation Tesla Roadster is engineered to go where no car has gone before, CEO Elon Musk said. In a recent interview with ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon , Musk revealed that Tesla is collaborating with SpaceX on the reincarnation of the Roadster, Tesla's iconic electric sports car. Musk wouldn't directly answer questions about whether the Roadster could fly, only saying such a feature is not "out of the question." "It's gonna be really cool, and it's gonna have some rocket technology in it," Musk said. "The only way to do som...

The US and the UK sanction a Wuhan-based company linked to the Chinese state-backed hacking group APT31 for targeting critical infrastructure organizations (Sergiu Gatlan/BleepingComputer)

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Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer : The US and the UK sanction a Wuhan-based company linked to the Chinese state-backed hacking group APT31 for targeting critical infrastructure organizations   —  The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a Wuhan-based company used by the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/5GBW8Kj

Russia was too distracted trying to conquer Ukraine to notice ISIS-K gunmen slip into Moscow to massacre concertgoers, says Zelenskyy

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L: Emergency services vehicles are seen outside the burning Crocus City Hall concert hall following the shooting incident in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on March 22, 2024. R: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping via phone line amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 26, 2023. STRINGER via Getty Images/REUTERS Russia was too busy trying to conquer Ukraine to notice ISIS-K gunmen slip into Moscow, said Zelenskyy. Ukraine's president said Russians now killing on Ukrainian land could have stopped the terrorists. Security analysts say Russia's security agencies dropped the ball when it came to ISIS-K. The war in Ukraine distracted the Kremlin from ISIS-K's terror threat to Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his Saturday night address. "Everything is absolutely predictable. Those hundreds of thousands of Russians who are now killing on Ukrainian land would surely be enough t...

Despite X's push to attract creators, its strategy remains unclear, as some creators cite concerns about the state of X's ad business and inconsistent payments (Alexa Corse/Wall Street Journal)

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Alexa Corse / Wall Street Journal : Despite X's push to attract creators, its strategy remains unclear, as some creators cite concerns about the state of X's ad business and inconsistent payments   —  Despite platform's push, many creators say X is still a long way away from becoming a major source of revenue for them from Techmeme https://ift.tt/ryklLf4

Free F1 live stream: Where to watch every Formula 1 GP race weekend from anywhere

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When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Max Verstappen is the man to beat in 2024. Again. Mark Thompson/Getty Images 22 more races of free F1 live streams await us in the new 2024 season, and wherever you are in the world, we can help you watch every single lap. As the most popular motorsport in the world, there are plenty of options. And if you're a die-hard fan looking for the whole race weekend experience, we'll help you tune into F1 qualifying events. All for free.  This hub has everything you need to know about where to watch Formula 1 live streams each week, with multiple countries covered. Due to varying popularity and time zones, some countries charge more than others, and many lock it behind pricier paywalls.  We're big fans of cutting down on streaming costs, so we'll find the cheapest F1 deals for you. More importantly, we can help you watch F1 online for free every week, thanks to numerous live str...

Didi Q4: revenue up 55.4% YoY to ~$6.83B, a ~$113.15M net income, up from a ~$131.8M loss YoY, as the company continues its recovery after regulatory challenges (Reuters)

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Reuters : Didi Q4: revenue up 55.4% YoY to ~$6.83B, a ~$113.15M net income, up from a ~$131.8M loss YoY, as the company continues its recovery after regulatory challenges   —  Didi Global, China's largest ride-hailing company, on Saturday reported a fourth-quarter profit, indicating … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/rWgPbhk

I tried the viral TA3 swimsuit of 'Shark Tank' fame that doubles as shapewear, and it actually worked

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When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Olivia wearing the Lacey suit on the left, Sally wearing the Lacey Plunge suit on the right. Olivia Rose Ferreiro/Sally Kaplan/Insider Whether you're a Shark Tank lover or a TikTok scroller (or both), you may have heard of TA3 – a sculpting swimsuit company that didn't happen to receive a deal with any of the show's investors, but still blew up nonetheless.  With 32.2 million amassed views on both TikTok hashtags #TA3 and #TA3Swim combined, it's safe to say that their swimsuit designs have garnered some serious buzz – and for good reason. The standout feature of TA3 suits is that they have a criss-cross corset back that instantly snatches the waist with a tug of the strings.  The videos on social make it seem almost too good to be true, showing awe-struck reactions to the shaping effect. So, we had two people from our team take the suits for a spin, and see if the lofty...