N e w s C e n t r a l
Here's another glimpse at what the Galaxy S25 probably looks like
Samsung hasn't even announced when Galaxy Unpacked will take place, but that hasn't stopped more Galaxy S25 leaks from springing. The latest of which comes courtesy of Dbrand, giving us a look at the back designs.
Source: Android Central
Reception: Positive
TCL Ai Mi Companion Bot is Just a Baby That Follows You Around video
It's hard to dislike AI home robots when they are cute babies. CNET's Bridget Carey checks out TCL's latest smart home concept, an AI companion robot for kids named Ai Me ("Aime").
Source: CNET
Reception: Positive
There Is So Much New Lego You Can Buy This January
New year, new me, new means of finding shelf space for all this Lego.
Source: Gizmodo.com
Reception: Positive
Federal Court Throttles Biden’s Net Neutrality Rules on His Way Out the Door
In a blow to the free and open internet, a federal appeals court ruled that the FCC does not have the authority to impose net neutrality rules.
Source: Gizmodo.com
Reception: Positive
Here’s the tech that could turn millions of Zigbee light bulbs into motion sensors with a single update
<figure> <img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/t4RHmMqTX6kewE9WIjEWekNI55M=/27x0:723x464/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73860668/how_it_works4.0.png" /> <figcaption><em>In development for several years, Zigbee ambient sensing could turn existing Zigbee-powered lights, switches, and plugs into motion sensors. </em> | Image: Ivani</figcaption> </figure> <p id="RMe3cK">Lights that turn on when you walk into a room and turn off when you leave are one of the most desirable smart home features. But you need to buy additional hardware like motion sensors to make this “magic” happen. A new ambient sensing technology called <a href="https://www.ivani.com/tech-bytes-news/zigbee-and-wireless-network-sensing">Sensify</a> could make this easier by turning your light bulbs into motion sensors. And it might be landing on a Philips Hue bridge near you very soon.</p> <div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="TvS4c6"><q>“There are tens of millions of devices with the base firmware already out there; we’re just working on the final touches to light up the full experience.” </q></aside></div> <p id="SqUSgV">Sensify is a <a href="https://www.ivani.com/tech-bytes-news/zigbee-and-wireless-network-sensing">wireless network sensing</a> (WNS) technology developed by <a href="https://www.ivani.com/about-us">Ivani</a> that can turn mains-powered Zigbee devices into motion sensors for controlling your lights with just a firmware update — no additional hardware needed. The best part is that it can work on devices already in most homes. “There are tens of millions of devices with the base firmware already out there; we’re just working on the final touches to light up the full experience,” Ivani cofounder Justin McKinney tells <em>The Verge.</em> </p> <p id="C0Ptep">An obvious use case for this is a Zigbee-based smart lighting system such as Philips Hue. There’s been speculation that Hue is <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/6/23990457/philips-hues-version-of-wi-fi-sensing-may-be-coming-soon-to-its-smart-lights">working on a Zigbee sensing technology</a> since its sister company <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/16/23355255/signify-wiz-spacesense-wi-fi-motion-sensing-smart-lights">Wiz debuted a similar tech</a> called SpaceSense in 2022, which uses WNS over Wi-Fi. The well-informed hueblog.com reports that Zigbee wireless network sensing is <a href="https://hueblog.com/2025/01/15/zigbee-ambient-sensing-lights-become-motion-detectors/">the technology Hue will most likely use</a>. <em>The Verge </em>reached out to Signify, which owns Hue, but hasn’t yet received a response. </p> <div id="6erGbL"> <div class="volume-video" id="volume-placement-314"></div> <div class="caption"> <em>This engineering video demonstrates how Sensify’s Zigbee ambient sensing can turn lights on and off based on occupancy. </em>Video: Ivani</div> </div> <p id="As1dAy">McKinney wouldn’t say which companies are using Ivani’s Sensify, which has been in development since 2016, but he did share that the company is working “with some large household names poised to deploy the technology very soon.” He also said it’s the only company offering this capability over Zigbee networks. </p> <p id="0mUjw0">Ivani is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), which runs the Zigbee protocol, but Sensify is a proprietary solution that leverages the Zigbee network. Despite reports indicating this sensing tech is coming to all Zigbee devices, the CSA confirmed to <em>The Verge </em>that this is not a new feature within Zigbee itself.</p> <p id="TuRS97">WNS works by detecting disturbances in radio frequencies and can also be applied to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread technologies. McKinney says Sensify requires three or more devices positioned around a detection area to detect motion and occupancy in the space. The tech also allows for precise detection zones based on where the devices are situated. “The devices send messages to each other, look at underlying network diagnostic information, and process it to provide occupancy sensing decisions,” says McKinney.</p> <figure class="e-image"> <img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5jooOUS_jB3drdEQpDodIzglnYA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25840707/LayoutMesh_Gray__3_.png" /> <cite>Image: Ivani</cite> <figcaption><em>Wireless network sensing requires three or more devices to work. This diagram from Ivani illustrates typical topologies.</em></figcaption> </figure> <p id="lr8cKM">Performance-wise, McKinney says Sensify is “equivalent or superior” to passive infrared sensing (PIR) tech, which is traditionally used for motion sensing. It also doesn’t need line of sight, as PIR does. However, it’s not as precise as technologies like <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/12/23998677/aqara-presence-sensor-fp2-track-your-sleep">mmWave sensing</a>, which can determine if someone is in a room through as slight a movement as breathing. “The lights will still likely turn off if you’re still, even if you’re in the space,” he says. </p> <p id="6iITvb">The good news is that Sensify can run on Zigbee networks with a range of chipsets working together, meaning it can be deployed as a software update to existing systems. McKinney also confirmed Sensify runs locally on your Zigbee network, there’s no Sensify cloud, and any sensing data is only accessible to the manufacturer deploying the technology. </p> <div id="r7R5bN"><div style="width: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"></div></div> <p id="CRwLuB"><small><em>This video, published by the CSA, illustrates how Ivani’s wireless network sensing works over a Zigbee network.</em></small></p> <p id="1sOsfH">Motion sensing in the smart home has several use cases, from lighting control and security to energy management and elder care. Two big advantages of WNS here are cost and scale. There’s no need to buy additional hardware to get the capability, and many homes already have devices that can use it. </p> <p id="vlBq4f">Ivani is currently the only company with a Zigbee solution, but there are WNS solutions out there that use Wi-Fi. <a href="https://www.originwirelessai.com/request-a-demo/">Origin Wireless</a> and its partner company, <a href="https://nami.ai/wifi-presence-sensing/">Nami,</a> were the first to develop Wi-Fi sensing, and they are leading Matter’s efforts around bringing ambient RF sensing technologies to the smart home standard. </p> <div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="brcvAv"><q>“It really is the promise of what home automation was supposed to be”</q></aside></div> <p id="KiECcI">Origin’s technology powered <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/8/20905223/linksys-aware-mesh-routers-motion-detection-wifi-smart-home">Linksys Aware</a>, a feature the router company launched in 2019 that turned its routers into motion sensors, and last year, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/10/24266406/threshold-wi-fi-sensing-plugs-motion-detection">Threshold launched a smart plug</a> using Origin’s Wi-Fi sensing to allow caregivers to monitor a loved one’s activity remotely. </p> <p id="LE38WD">In 2021, I tested <a href="https://www.the-ambient.com/news/hex-home-wifi-home-alarm-system-2489/">Hex Home</a>, a proof-of-concept security system from Origin that used Wi-Fi sensing instead of motion sensors. But false positives made it virtually unusable. I also tried Wiz’s Wi-Fi-based SpaceSense when it first launched. It was more reliable but still fairly inconsistent. However, according to McKinney, advances in machine learning and AI have brought significant improvements to WNS technology.</p> <p id="BcpZoK">He says Ivani’s Sensify tech is ready for deployment over Zigbee, and they’re just waiting for their partners to fine-tune how best to “introduce the feature within their product lines.” He expects they will update existing products in the next few months. “We have the pleasure of experiencing our partner’s products and their beta tests in our homes, and it really is the promise of what home automation was supposed to be.” </p> <p id="5PcFaz">There have been a lot of promises around home automation over the years, with very few being fulfilled. But the idea of, say, every Philips Hue light bulb in your home turning into a motion sensor overnight, making it simple to automate control of your lights without sticking white plastic sensors everywhere, is a fairly exciting one.</p>
Source: www.theverge.com
Reception: Positive
Google will let you control your Chromebook with your face
<figure> <img alt="A screenshot of ChromeOS beside a picture of a person controlling the on-screen cursor with their face." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tsjIHXAsQIfR2byAqDInY4bCE_I=/313x0:1600x858/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73860544/google_face_control_chromeos.0.png" /> <figcaption><em>I want to use this feature just to side-eye Gemini.</em> | Image: Google</figcaption> </figure> <p id="qKDb3e">Google is <a href="https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/bett-2025/">announcing</a> a variety of classroom and accessibility-focused ChromeOS features today, and one of the standouts is being able to control your computer with your head and facial expressions. The feature — aimed at those with motor impairments — was <a href="https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/accessibility/face-control-chromeos/">first announced in early December</a>, but it’s now rolling out to more users with compatible Chromebooks (Google recommends 8GB of RAM or more).</p> <p id="Oc0PDd">This isn’t Google’s first foray into the face-as-a-cursor space. It previously made an open-source AI accessibility tool for Windows games called <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/12/23720351/project-gameface-google-io-2023-ai-facial-recognition-control">Project Gameface</a>, which was also <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/14/24156810/google-android-project-gameface-accessibility-io">announced for Android</a>. Here’s a sample video from Google of the tech in action, demoed by software engineer Amanda Lin Dietz who helped develop it.</p> <div id="Z7b3Tj"><div style="width: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"></div></div> <p id="kJNKJ6">Additionally, Google is also teasing a boatload of new Chromebooks for 2025, with over 20 new devices in its standard Chromebook and Chromebook Plus lines coming this year. That estimate may be a bit of a stretch, since Google seems to be counting the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/1/24259069/chromebook-quick-insert-ai-button-samsung-lenovo">Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus</a> that launched back in October, but it does also count the just-announced <a href="https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/flexible-devices-ai-assisted-learning-future-of-education/">14-inch Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1</a> and more to come.</p> <p id="fVW6mQ">Along with laptops aimed at educators and students, Google’s got a new batch of classroom-focused ChromeOS features called <a href="https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/class-tools-chromebook/">Class Tools</a>. These allow teachers to have real-time control of their students’ screens. Once a pairing code is shared, educators will be able to send students direct content on their Chromebook screens, flip on live captions or translations for them, remotely view their screens, and share a student’s work with the whole class. </p> <figure class="e-image"> <img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dDqpzLuQW-DFnykkLHUgZUHqwRU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25841187/Screenshot_21_1_2025_205123_.jpeg" /> <cite>Image: Google</cite> <figcaption><em>An educator’s view of Google’s Class Tools settings.</em></figcaption> </figure> <p id="bxUD2s">In addition to these collaborative tools, Google Classroom is also getting an integration with Figma’s <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/7/23950667/figma-figjam-generative-ai-design-tools-beta-announcement">FigJam</a>, allowing teachers to assign online whiteboards to students for brainstorming and group work. Maybe the combination of FigJam with the teacher’s ability to snoop on students’ screens will reveal who’s really doing all the work for the group.</p>
Source: www.theverge.com
Reception: Positive
Here’s what Bambu will — and won’t — promise after its controversial 3D printer update
<figure> <img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RY8BJCqoHwtASQYQU1uKsrtm6Qc=/0x336:4032x3024/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73860120/p1p_load.0.jpg" /> <figcaption><em>Using the non-touch screen on an older Bambu P1P 3D printer.</em> | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge</figcaption> </figure> <p id="RgaUy8">Bambu Lab, the company behind <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23924708/creality-k1c-bambu-p1p-review">my favorite 3D printers</a>, has given itself one hell of a week. Now, I’ve got answers to some of my burning questions, answers which you might also hopefully appreciate. But first, some backstory.</p> <p id="Aeg3Ic">Since last Thursday, some creators have pledged not to buy Bambu printers anymore, even removed some of their 3D models from its online repository, after the company <a href="https://blog.bambulab.com/firmware-update-introducing-new-authorization-control-system-2/">revealed it would add a new proprietary authentication mechanism</a> that could keep you from using third-party tools to remote control your printer. </p> <p id="2fudR6">While you’d still be able to stick a file on an SD card and physically put it into your printer or use Bambu’s proprietary cloud, the old way of printing remotely from a third-party slicer would be no more — unless you downloaded a new proprietary Windows and Mac “Bambu Connect” desktop app to be the middleman between your slicer and Bambu’s hardware.</p> <div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="k5uLX2"><q>“Unauthorized third-party software will be prohibited from executing critical operations” — Bambu</q></aside></div> <p id="BAfgBu">While Bambu was clear early on that this would be an <em>optional</em> update, one you could simply choose not to install, the company also positioned it as a <em>necessary</em> one to secure printers against remote hacks....</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24349031/bambu-3d-printer-update-authentication-filament-subscription-lock-answers">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
Source: www.theverge.com
Reception: Positive
Trump pardons Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht
<figure> <img alt="Photo collage of an image of Donald Trump behind a graphic, glitchy design." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lZceCAQEMNAGoCokq591tWrJcHs=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73860116/STK175_DONALD_TRUMP_CVIRGINIA_C.0.jpg" /> <figcaption>Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images</figcaption> </figure> <p id="UgJk4i">On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/technology/trump-ross-ulbricht-silk-road.html">issued a pardon</a> to Ross Ulbricht, who ran the dark web marketplace Silk Road under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts.” Ulbricht has been serving a life sentence without parole since 2015, when he was convicted of multiple charges, including the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahjeong/2015/02/04/jury-finds-ross-ulbricht-guilty-of-running-silk-road-marketplace/">distribution of narcotics</a>.</p> <p id="Fsog5d">The Silk Road marketplace, which was only accessible through the Tor network, became one of the most prevalent early commercial uses of Bitcoin. Buyers and sellers traded in illicit drugs, forged passports, and more. </p> <p id="J1kFOO">In the intervening years, Ulbricht became a cause celebrè for a certain segment of the right-wing, particularly in the crypto crowd that <a href="https://www.theverge.com/24211345/bitcoin-conference-2024-nashville-trump-maga-crypto">embraced Trump last year</a>. To his supporters, Ulbricht’s life sentence is unusually punitive. Similar offenses have garnered much more lenient sentences — for instance, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/24/business/blake-benthall-silk-road-crypto.html">Blake Benthall</a>, who operated Silk Road 2.0, was sentenced to time served and three years of probation. Ulbricht’s lieutenant, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/silk-road-variety-jones-sentencing/">Thomas Clark</a>, also known as “Variety Jones,” was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year. </p> <div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="x7Cc8N"><div></div></aside></div> <p id="CSqx5J">Although the criminal offenses were nonviolent in nature, the judge who sentenced Ulbricht took into account multiple deaths attributable to drugs bought through the Silk Road. </p> <p id="SDm6RP">Throughout his trial, Ulbricht denied that he had committed the crimes at issue. Because law enforcement had arrested him with his laptop open, they had access to all his files, which included the code of the website, private messages between him and employees of the Silk Road, and a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahjeong/2015/01/22/the-dread-pirates-diary/">diary</a> whose entries corresponded to OKCupid messages tied to Ross Ulbricht’s real identity. </p>
Source: www.theverge.com
Reception: Positive
Trump says he’s open to Musk or Ellison buying TikTok
<figure> <img alt="Vector art of the TikTok logo." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wQRIyXcz6Ho3HqFCkruJjw8G4uo=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73860023/STK051_TIKTOK_CVirginia_B.0.jpg" /> <figcaption>Image: The Verge</figcaption> </figure> <p id="bobF4q">President Donald Trump says he’d be open to his buddies Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying TikTok.</p> <p id="i8fjFb">“Larry, let’s negotiate in front of the media,” Trump said at a press conference with the Oracle co-founder, SoftBank CEO Masa Son, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to announce <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24348816/openai-softbank-ai-data-center-stargate-project">a $500 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure investment</a>. “What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it, and give half to the United States of America. Half, and we’ll give you the permit. And they’ll have a great partner, the United States.”</p> <p id="l5i3Zx">“Sounds like a good deal to me, Mr. President,” Ellison said.</p> <div id="TXtyQP"> <blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@nbcnews/video/7462514854767775019" class="tiktok-embed"> <section> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@nbcnews?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="@nbcnews">@nbcnews</a> <p>President <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/trump?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="trump">#Trump</a> says he’s open to <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/elonmusk?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="elonmusk">#ElonMusk</a> buying TikTok “if he wanted to buy it.”</p> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7462514905086806826?refer=embed" target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - nbcnews">♬ original sound - nbcnews</a> </section> </blockquote> </div> <p id="hiGq10">It’s still not entirely clear how <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/19/24347463/trump-plan-to-save-tiktok-from-ban">all of this would work</a>, or how the US could legally operate a speech platform without violating the First Amendment. But it’s one of the earliest examples of how <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/20/24346317/trump-gangster-tech-regulation-corruption-grift">Silicon Valley’s coziness with Trump</a> could manifest over the next four years. </p> <div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="2kQKlp"><div></div></aside></div> <p id="FNkMrr">Trump <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/20/24348213/trump-tiktok-ban-executive-order-sale-delay-china">signed an executive order</a> on Monday instructing his administration not to enforce the law on service providers covered by the forced divestiture bill — which include Oracle, Apple, and Google — for 75 days. But legal experts say the action provides hardly any legal cover for those companies to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/19/24347325/tiktok-service-providers-penalties-apple-google-orcale-trump">violate federal law and risk $850 billion in penalties</a>. Even so, Oracle has <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/19/24347280/tiktok-ban-shutdown-ends">appeared to rely on Trump’s assurances</a> to help TikTok run in the US after the January 19th sale deadline, though the company has not yet commented on it directly. </p> <p id="elQDdm">TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance still has other offers on the table, including from billionaire Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty and now, apparently, from YouTube creator MrBeast — whose investor group is receiving legal counsel from a <a href="https://www.paulhastings.com/news/paul-hastings-advises-investor-group-on-all-cash-bid-for-tiktoks-u-s-operations">team that includes</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-21/mrbeast-internet-s-top-creator-joins-new-bid-to-buy-tiktok?srnd=undefined">the brother of Trump’s attorney general pick</a>.</p> <p id="c8EATF">As he was leaving the briefing, a reporter asked Trump if he has TikTok on his phone. “No, but I think I might put it there,” Trump responded. “I think I’ll get it right now.”</p>
Source: www.theverge.com
Reception: Positive
Microsoft is letting OpenAI get its own AI compute now
<figure> <img alt="Vector illustration of the Microsoft logo." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rIECRNTw12SHOIT9pFwffOPH_Rg=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73859997/STK095_MICROSOFT_2_CVirginia_D.5.jpg" /> <figcaption>Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge</figcaption> </figure> <p id="N2hda8">Microsoft and OpenAI <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2025/01/21/microsoft-and-openai-evolve-partnership-to-drive-the-next-phase-of-ai/">announced Tuesday</a> that they have adjusted their partnership so that OpenAI can access competitors' compute. </p> <p id="VxOoIg">The new agreement “includes changes to the exclusivity on new capacity, moving to a model where Microsoft has a right of first refusal (ROFR),” Microsoft says. “To further support OpenAI, Microsoft has approved OpenAI’s ability to build additional capacity, primarily for research and training of models.”</p> <p id="iiESBM">The foundation of their relationship (which runs through 2030) stays pretty much the same — Microsoft keeps its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s tech for products like Copilot, and OpenAI’s API remains exclusive to Azure. They’ll maintain their two-way revenue-sharing setup (it's been <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-and-openai-wrangle-over-terms-of-their-blockbuster-partnership?rc=mshudk">reported</a> that Microsoft gets 20 percent of OpenAI’s revenue). Prior to today’s change, OpenAI was locked into using Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure exclusively for its computing needs. </p> <p id="fEU93e">The news follows <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24348816/openai-softbank-ai-data-center-stargate-project">the announcement of a joint venture</a> between Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and OpenAI to build a system of data centers in the U.S. called Starbase.</p> <p id="JeihBX">The models OpenAI hopes to build and the user base it's looking to serve require billions of dollars in compute. It has been <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-eases-away-from-microsoft-data-centers?rc=mshudk">previously reported</a> that some OpenAI shareholders felt Microsoft wasn’t moving fast enough to supply OpenAI with computing power, hence why the startup <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/12/24177188/openai-oracle-ai-chips-microsoft">partnered with Oracle back in June</a> (with the blessing of Microsoft) for the necessary compute.</p> <p id="1Eteci">There’s been a lot of buzz about Microsoft and OpenAI facing relationship woes after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was briefly ousted from the company, causing a lot of very public drama. <em>The New York Times</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/17/technology/microsoft-openai-partnership-deal.html">reported</a> that the relationship has grown increasingly strained due to financial pressures at OpenAI, concerns about stability, and growing friction between employees at both companies.</p> <p id="cVFJ2Y">Last March, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/19/24105900/google-deepmind-microsoft-mustafa-suleyman-ai-ceo">Microsoft hired Inflection CEO Mustafa Suleyman</a> to lead its consumer AI efforts, along with most of Inflection’s staff, in a $650 million deal. According to <em>The New York Times </em>report, this move particularly angered some OpenAI leadership, including Altman.</p> <p id="52ECy3">OpenAI’s deal with Microsoft also <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/26/24329618/openai-microsoft-and-the-100-billion-agi-question">has an unusual escape clause</a>: if OpenAI creates artificial general intelligence (AGI), it could close off Microsoft’s access to some of its most powerful models developed after that point. AGI, reportedly, is defined as a system capable of <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-and-openai-wrangle-over-terms-of-their-blockbuster-partnership">generating more than $100 billion</a> in profits. This was originally meant to keep such powerful AI from being commercialized, but now OpenAI is <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2c14b89c-f363-4c2a-9dfc-13023b6bce65">reportedly</a> considering dropping this provision, likely to secure more Microsoft funding.</p>
Source: www.theverge.com
Reception: Positive