Meta Platforms has published a new AI technology, the Segment Anything Model (SAM) that the company claims can identify objects it hasn’t seen before. Acting on a text prompt, SAM will highlight items in a photo or video, picking out all the cats, for instance, or flowers. It can also execute other functions, such as generating a 3D construct using a single 2D image or extrapolating from things viewed in a mixed reality headset. Segment Anything can work in concert with other models, potentially minimizing the need for voluminous data sets for training. Continue reading New Meta AI Can Detect Objects It Has Not Been Trained On

Google has teamed with San Francisco startup Replit in a bid to challenge Microsoft’s GitHub and the Github Copilot code generator launched in conjunction with OpenAI. Under the new partnership, Replit developers will get access to Google Cloud infrastructure, services, and foundation models via Replit’s software development AI, called Ghostwriter, while Google Cloud and Workspace developers will get access to Replit’s collaborative code editing platform. Replit, which says 20 million developers use its platform, launched Ghostwriter in the fall and in January added a conversational AI interface for generating code and debugging. Continue reading Google Cloud Partners with Replit to Develop AI Coding Tools

Despite threats by U.S. lawmakers to ban popular social video app TikTok, parent company ByteDance continues to drive its apps to the top of the charts. The Chinese company’s latest hit is Lemon8, described as a rival to Instagram that serves a “lifestyle community.” As of Monday, Lemon8 was No. 10 across apps and games in the U.S. App Store’s Top Charts. On Tuesday it climbed to No. 9 among apps. The video- and photo-sharing app was launched internationally in March 2020, but ByteDance appears to have taken a new interest in promoting it. Last month, media outlets reported the company was paying influencers to post on it. Continue reading ByteDance Pushes Lemon8, a Possible Instagram Competitor

On the heels of its success debuting the new Bing AI search engine, Microsoft has revamped Teams, promising twice the performance using half the memory resources and allowing users to appear as 3D avatars in video meetings. Teams now features AI and the interface has been redesigned. For now, the new Teams is available only to those who opt-in to a public preview for Windows users, though Microsoft plans to make it more widely available (including on Apple devices) later this  year. In January, Microsoft reported Teams had 280 million monthly active users, up from 250 million in July 2021. Continue reading Microsoft Upgrades Teams with Avatars, AI, Improved Speed

In what the White House says is a precedent-setting move, President Biden has signed an executive order prohibiting use by the U.S. Government of “commercial spyware,” powerful cyber technology used by state actors to spy on journalists, dissidents and human rights activists. The White House defined the class of apps as “sophisticated and invasive cyber surveillance tools sold by vendors to access electronic devices remotely, extract their content, and manipulate their components, all without the knowledge or consent of the devices’ users,” explaining such technology “has proliferated in recent years with few controls and high risk of abuse.” Continue reading Biden Restricts the Government Use of Commercial Spyware

Canva, the web-based design platform, is debuting “Magic” AI-powered tools that can automate a variety of tasks, from logo design to video editing. The idea is to empower people without design training to do these things, and more. Infographics, advertising materials, illustrations and presentations are among the types of output Canva AI offers. The company is also adding brand management tools to its Visual Worksuite, including a Brand Hub that provides assets for creative application, with permission settings that can restrict off-brand use of things like color or fonts. Continue reading Canva Launches New Branding Features and Magic AI Tools

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to offer broad platform safety and security promises at his hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, according to testimony provided in advance of today’s event. The well-being of child users will be a point of focus, as will the Chinese-owned app’s proposed firewall to protect U.S. data from foreign access and government interference. “TikTok will remain a platform for free expression and will not be manipulated by any government,” Chew’s prepared remarks indicate, noting “there are more than 150 million Americans who love our platform.” Continue reading TikTok CEO Testifies Before Congress as App Faces Scrutiny

If it overcomes regulatory hurdles and completes its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft plans to launch a mobile app store for games to challenge Apple and Google, according to Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Games. The EU’s Digital Markets Act mandates that the makers of Android devices and iPhones must make their mobile platforms accessible to app stores by third parties, with enforcement beginning in March 2024. That means Microsoft could open a mobile app store as soon as next year, adapting the company’s Xbox and Game Pass apps to accommodate sales to mobile devices. Continue reading Microsoft Plans to Launch Its Own Mobile Games App Store

The waitlist has officially opened for Meta Verified checkmarks on Facebook and Instagram in the U.S. The blue checkmarks, which cost $12 per month on the web and $15 for mobile apps, were first introduced in Australia and New Zealand last month. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram’s Meta channel Friday that in addition to a badge, Meta Verified offers “proactive impersonation protection and direct access to customer support.” To be verified, users must be at least 18 years old, agree to two-factor authentication and provide a government-issued photo ID. Continue reading Facebook and Instagram Users Can Sign Up for Meta Verified

A video editing app from China’s ByteDance is gaining in popularity in the U.S. even as the parent company comes under fire for its viral video app TikTok potentially threatening national security. App-tracking firms including Shanghai-based Diandian show CapCut has more U.S. downloads than TikTok in recent weeks. CapCut lets users quickly create online memes and videos using templates and filters that include music and visual effects. Users say the app helps them achieve professional-looking results that are more likely to go viral on TikTok, as well as Facebook, Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube. Continue reading ByteDance Video Editing App ‘CapCut’ Gains Traction in U.S.

Microsoft is giving its Office 365 productivity suite an AI update using OpenAI technology, including GPT-4, to power the new Microsoft 365 Copilot, “your copilot for work.” In February, Microsoft generated attention by adding ChatGPT to its Bing search platform, but it says Copilot is a much bigger deal. Combining the power of large language models with data in the Microsoft 365 apps, Copilot promises “more agency” via natural language, a “universal interface.” A new Business Chat feature turns prompts like “update my team on the new product strategy” into a summary of the latest meeting notes, emails and chat threads. Continue reading Microsoft Creating AI Updates for Business Productivity Apps

Meta Platforms is said to be considering the launch of a decentralized federated app powered by ActivityPub, the framework used by Twitter, Mastodon and others, according to a report originating in Mumbai-based Moneycontrol, which says the app, codenamed P92, will be “Instagram-branded,” allowing users to login using their Instagram credentials. A Meta spokesperson confirmed to Moneycontrol “we’re exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.” Continue reading Meta Is Developing a Social Network That Could Rival Twitter

The Biden administration has reportedly come to the conclusion that ByteDance must sell its stake in TikTok or face the possibility of a U.S. ban. The decision comes as Congress turns up the heat on action against TikTok, which is suspected of compromising U.S. data and potentially manipulating news feeds to influence opinion. It follows a quiet, years-long assessment by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), which The Wall Street Journal says “made the sale demand recently.” The Treasury Department, which oversees CFIUS, declined to comment. Continue reading ByteDance Must Sell Chinese TikTok Stake or Face U.S. Ban

The demand for artificial intelligence by enterprise as well as consumers is putting tremendous pressure on cloud service providers to meet the vast data center resources required to train the models and deploy the resulting apps. Microsoft recently opened up about the pivotal role it played in getting OpenAI’s ChatGPT to the release phase via its Azure cloud computing platform, linking “tens of thousands” of Nvidia A100 GPUs to train the model. Microsoft is already upgrading Azure with Nvidia’s new H100 chips and latest InfiniBand networking to accommodate the next generation of AI supercomputers. Continue reading Microsoft Believes Azure Platform Is Unlocking ‘AI Revolution’

Google is readying an API and other enterprise tools for its Pathways Language Model (PaLM) — a large language model similar to GPT — to encourage developers to create chatbots and other apps using the platform. PaLM is one of Google’s most advanced systems, with the capability to generate text, images, code, video and audio from natural language prompts. Much like OpenAI’s GTP series and the LLaMA family from Meta Platforms, it is suitable for a wide variety of general tasks. To facilitate PaLM’s use for specific tasks, Google is launching the MakerSuite along with the PaLM API. Continue reading Google’s PaLM API, MakerSuite Coming to Select Developers